Forest Service Proposes Carbon Storage in National Forests

 

• Rule would exempt carbon storage projects from land use rule
• EPA would regulate carbon storage wells in national forests

The US Forest Service is proposing to allow carbon capture and storage projects in national forests—a first for the agency, which doesn’t permit permanent projects on its land.

Carbon capture and storage, or CCS, projects sequester carbon dioxide deep underground for 1,000 years or more, and they’re prohibited under current Forest Service regulations that don’t allow for any permanent project to occur in national forests and grasslands.

The proposal, published Thursday as a public inspection notice in the Federal Register, would exempt CCS projects from the agency’s prohibition on permanent projects.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/forest-service-plans-to-allow-carbon-storage-in-national-forests

Pro-Palestinian crowds try to storm air base housing U.S. troops in Turkey

 Turkish police used tear gas and water cannon as hundreds of people at a pro-Palestinian rally on Sunday tried to storm an air base that houses U.S. troops, hours before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due in Ankara for talks on Gaza.

Turkey, which has stepped up its criticism of Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened, supports a two-state solution while hosting members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Since the Israel-Hamas war started, protests have erupted across the country.

Earlier this week, the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, an Islamist Turkish aid agency, organised a convoy to travel to the Incirlik air base in the Adana province in southern Turkey to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza and U.S. support for Israel.

Incirlik, which has been used to support the international coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, also houses U.S. troops. IHH's protest called for Incirlik to be closed.

Footage from the protests showed police firing tear gas and using water cannons to disperse crowds waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting slogans. Protesters toppled barricades and clashed with police in riot gear.

Protesters were also seen hurling plastic chairs, rocks, and other items at police, who fired smoke bombs at crowds. Scuffles broke out between the crowds and security forces

IHH President Bulent Yildirim addressed crowds in Adana and urged them to refrain from attacking police.

"Friends, it is wrong to throw rocks or do similar things because both the police and soldiers would want to go to Gaza and fight and they will go when the time comes," he said.

"Our rage is huge. We cannot hold it in. But Turkey is doing what it can," he added. IHH ended its rally earlier than planned due to the clashes with police.

The rally comes hours before Blinken is expected to arrive in Ankara for talks on Gaza with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Monday, and after repeated criticism by Ankara towards the West over support for Israel.

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/Pro-Palestinian-crowds-try-to-storm-air-base-housing-U-S-troops-in-Turkey-45244233/

China to accelerate issuance of government bonds, finance minister says

 China will accelerate the issuance and use of government bonds, new Finance Minister Lan Foan told state-run news agency Xinhua in an interview published on Sunday.

China will also steadily promote the resolution of local government debt risks, he said, according to Xinhua.

Lan, a 61-year-old technocrat with little central government experience, was named finance minister, state media said last month, as the government ramps up fiscal stimulus to revive the world's second-biggest economy.

He was named the Communist Party chief at the finance ministry in September, succeeding Liu Kun who had been finance minister since 2018. Previously, Lan was the party chief of the northern province of Shanxi.

His appointment, which had been widely expected, comes as Beijing draws on a well-used playbook that relies heavily on debt and state spending but that analysts say falls short on the deeper reforms.

China's top parliament body last month approved the issuance of 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion) in sovereign bonds in the fourth quarter to fund rebuilding of areas hit by this year's floods, state media said.

The economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, improving the chances Beijing can meet its full-year growth target of around 5%.

But headwinds persist as a property crisis deepens and private firms are reluctant to spend amid weak confidence. 

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/China-to-accelerate-issuance-of-government-bonds-finance-minister-says-45243932/

Qatar says Gaza hostage releases need 'period of calm'

 Qatar's foreign ministry said on Sunday that without a "period of calm" in Gaza its mediators would not be able to secure the release of Israeli hostages held there.

"Any hostage release has to be linked to a period of calm that allows for the hostage release to work, which is something we have not seen for a while," Majed Al Ansari, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson told reporters.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday rejected U.S. calls for a temporary stop to Israel's offensive against Hamas to facilitate work to free more than 240 hostages seized by the Palestinian Islamist group.

Israel would not pause its attacks unless the hostages held by the militants are freed first, Netanyahu said.

The Gulf state of Qatar has, in coordination with the U.S., led mediation talks with Hamas and Israeli officials over the release of hostages since the militant group led a rampage into Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people and bundling more than 240 others into Gaza.

Since then, Israel has steadily escalated its assault on Gaza and its 2.3 million residents and overnight on Saturday struck by air, sea, and ground.

Gaza health officials said on Sunday that more than 9,700 Palestinians, including 4,800 children have been killed in the war.

Qatar's Prime Minister said on Sunday that the negotiations were at risk of failing because of Israel's attacks and misinformation circulating about the talks.

"The process of this mediation is at risk in light of the spread of false reports and leaks about the negotiations, in addition to the complexity of the field situation due to the practices of the Israeli occupation army," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who also serves as foreign minister, said at a press conference with his French counterpart in Doha.

Qatar, which has faced criticism over its hosting of top Hamas officials and a political office, said the group's presence in Doha serves as a "channel for peace".

"It is a channel that is used for the mediation of the release of hostages, the exit of the foreign nationals and in various aspects of the mediation that is taking place. So I don't foresee any reason to close that channel now," Al Ansari said.

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/Qatar-says-Gaza-hostage-releases-need-period-of-calm-45244098/

Zelenskiy pushes US for more aid, invites Trump to Ukraine

 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the U.S. to provide more funding to help his forces counter Russia, and invited former U.S. President Donald Trump to fly in to see the scale of the conflict for himself.

Zelenskiy said American soldiers could eventually be pulled into a greater European conflict with Russia if Washington did not step up support.

"If Russia will kill all of us, they will attack NATO countries and you will send your sons and daughters [to fight]," Zelenskiy said according to a transcript of an interview with NBC's 'Meet the Press' airing on Sunday.

U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has pressed the U.S. Congress to pass a $106 billion supplemental spending bill, with the bulk of the money going to bolster Ukraine's defenses and the remainder split among Israel, the Indo-Pacific and border enforcement.

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives has instead put forward its own funding plan. It passed a bill last week to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel, but did not include any increase in aid for Ukraine.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, majority leader of the Democratic-controlled Senate, said he would not bring the House bill to a vote and Biden has vowed to veto it.

In the interview airing on Sunday, Zelenskiy invited former U.S. President Donald Trump, a Republican, to visit Ukraine and see the fallout of the conflict initiated by Russia's President Vladimir Putin in February 2022.

Trump, who is seeking reelection in 2024 and is the leading candidate for his party's presidential nomination, has been sharply critical of U.S. support for Kyiv and has said he could end the war in 24 hours if reelected.

"If he can come here, I will need ... 24 minutes to explain to President Trump that he can't manage this war," Zelenskiy said. "He can't bring peace because of Putin."

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/Zelenskiy-pushes-US-for-more-aid-invites-Trump-to-Ukraine-45244212/

Russia: new nuclear sub tested missile in White Sea

  "Firing a ballistic missile is the final element of state tests, after which a decision will be made to accept the cruiser into the Navy," the defense ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

President Vladimir Putin has been pushing for Russia to maintain its nuclear deterrent to counter what he calls growing security threats, as ties between Moscow and the West have hit new lows over the war Russia launched in Ukraine in 2022.

The intercontinental ballistic missile, launched from an underwater position in the White Sea off Russia's northern coast, hit a target thousands of kilometers away on the Kamchatka peninsula in the Russian Far East, the ministry said, without stating when the test occurred.

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/Russia-new-nuclear-sub-tested-missile-in-White-Sea-45244242/

S.Korea to ban all stock short-selling through June 2024

 South Korea's financial authorities said on Sunday a ban on all short-selling will be re-imposed in the local stock market starting on Monday to help create a "level playing field" for both retail investors and institutional and foreign investors.

The ban reinstates curbs that were lifted in May 2021 on large-cap stocks that are included in the KOSPI200 and KOSDAQ150 indices.

The new restriction will go into effect on Monday, South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in an announcement on Sunday.

"The measure is aimed at fundamentally easing 'the tilted playing field' between institutional and retail investors," FSC Chairman Kim Joo-hyun told a news briefing.

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/S-Korea-to-ban-all-stock-short-selling-through-June-2024-45243961/