Delivering his final briefing for the year, Hans Grundberg noted that 2024 was marked by immense turmoil and tragedy across the Middle East region, where far too many people – including in Yemen – have endured profound loss due to violent conflicts. “With the last months’ dramatic developments in Lebanon and Syria, it should be obvious to all that the Middle East is in urgent need of stabilization. This includes Yemen,” he said. Pathway to peace In Yemen, Government forces, who are backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and Houthi rebels, have been fighting for over a decade. The country is…
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Donald Trump’s victory in November’s US presidential election saw the US dollar strengthen. It surged to a one-year high within two weeks, and has since retained its strength against its major peers. His election has also again brought the prospect of US tariffs on imports, and attention has focused on the disruption to global trade that these may bring. As part of this, Trump made a not-so-veiled threat of steep levies on the Brics group of leading emerging markets should they create a rival to the US dollar, which has been the world’s “dominant currency” since the second world war.…
The Department of State hosted a high-level delegation from Czechia for a U.S. Civil Nuclear Study Tour to promote cooperation on small modular reactor (SMR) and advanced nuclear technologies from December 1-11, 2024. The delegation visited Washington, D.C., Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and the Deep Isolation Borehole Demonstration Center in Cameron, Texas, to meet with federal, state, local, and private sector partners who are on the forefront of deploying the next generation of advanced U.S. nuclear technologies. The study tour is an integral element of U.S.-Czechia collaboration under the Nuclear Expediting the Energy Transition (NEXT) One Stop…
“Even if you reduce everything back home, but you don’t manage to take the others along, you still face all the problems that we’re currently facing. So diplomacy and applying carrots and sticks and incentivizing others to do more is essential,” Hoekstra said, without specifying the potential sticks. One stick the EU is about to impose on the world is a carbon border tax, which will charge importers a levy on emissions-intensive goods starting in 2026. The move has drawn fierce criticism from countries such as Brazil, India, China and South Africa, which also sought to discuss the issue at…
ATLANTA – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found a Marietta tree trimming contractor could have prevented the fatal injuries of a 38-year-old worker whose equipment came into contact with an unprotected power line less than 10 feet away from an Acworth worksite.Investigators with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that on May 20, 2024, an arborist employed by Serious Tree Services LLC was fatally electrocuted when their stabilizing line made contact with a residential power line while they were trimming the lower branches of a 60-foot-tall tree. “Serious Tree Services failed to meet their obligation to protect workers by adhering to…
Today, in the framework of Raw Materials Week, the European Commission has officially endorsed the roadmap for its strategic partnership with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on raw materials, reinforcing the EU’s commitment to secure, sustainable, and resilient value chains for critical raw materials. The partnership aims to support both the EU’s strategic autonomy and the economic development of the DRC, particularly in the mining sector, through concrete projects and investments.The roadmap, endorsed following the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Global Gateway Forum October 2023, marks the beginning of a comprehensive partnership aiming at sustainable development, covering the…
The United States calls on the Government of Azerbaijan to free immediately Rufat Safarov, Sevinj Vagifgizi, Azer Gasimli, Farid Mehralizada, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, Gubad Ibadoghlu, recently detained associates of independent outlet Meydan TV, and many others arrested for their work on human rights. The United States is deeply concerned not only by these detentions, but by the increasing crackdown on civil society and media in Azerbaijan. Two of these individuals were to be celebrated in Washington this week for their human rights advocacy: Rufat Safarov is the co-founder of Defense Line, a civil society organization that documents and reports on politically motivated arrests and prosecutions, government corruption, and allegations of…
ATALLA, AL – A follow-up inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor at an Atalla meat processing and packing facility in July 2024 found the company failing to correct safety hazards identified in two inspections dating back to 2022, continuing to endanger workers.In December 2022, investigators with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Dean Sausage Company Inc. with seven serious and seven other-than-serious violations for not ensuring machines had proper safety guards, failing to lockout/tagout machines before maintenance and servicing, using electric power and lighting installations unsafely and exposing employees to struck-by and caught-in hazards, electric shock and burns, and hazardous chemicals. OSHA…
The 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons reveals a 25 per cent increase between 2022 and 2019, as more children are exploited and forced labour cases spike due to vulnerabilities brought on by poverty, conflict and the climate crisis. “Criminals are increasingly trafficking people into forced labour, including to coerce them into running sophisticated online scams and cyberfraud, while women and girls face the risk of sexual exploitation and gender-based violence,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly. “We need to step up criminal justice responses to hold those at the top of the criminal chain accountable, work across borders…
Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez will travel to Brussels, Belgium December 11-13 to attend the European Commission’s Raw Materials Week and to advance discussions on critical minerals projects and policies with members of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) and MSP Forum. On December 12, alongside representatives from the Republic of Korea, Under Secretary Fernandez will co-host an MSP Forum Principals meeting, including an in-depth review of current MSP projects. Under Secretary Fernandez will also lead a round table discussion with new members of the MSP Forum. Following these engagements, he will attend an MSP Forum workshop…