China's critical mineral dominance puts Washington's supply chain hopes at risk

South China Morning Post
Mon, October 28, 2024 

Beijing's dominance in the resource-rich central African nation Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may complicate Washington's ambitions to de-risk its critical minerals from China's supply chains, according to new analysis.

London-based minerals research and pricing firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence said that most of the DRC's cobalt - a crucial component in electric vehicle batteries and other electronics - is already in the hands of mining companies from China.

Chinese companies control two-thirds of cobalt in the DRC, which accounts for an estimated 74 per cent of global output, putting it at a "high risk" of falling foul of the foreign entity clause in the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

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CMOC, previously known as China Molybdenum, is a top cobalt producer from its two main sites in the DRC - Tenke Fungurume mine and Kisanfu project - and a potential target for the IRA's foreign entity of concern clause (FEOC), Benchmark Minerals said.

Benchmark's study noted that 60 per cent of the global supply of mined cobalt in 2024 is expected to come from assets classified as FEOC or at "high risk" of becoming part of that category.

The clause captures entities owned, controlled or subject to the jurisdictions of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.


The Benchmark study also found that 79 per cent of the world's supply of refined cobalt in 2024 will originate from assets that are either already FEOC or at high risk of becoming so.

"The majority of DRC volumes fall under the 'high risk' category, owing to high levels of Chinese ownership in assets in the country, and therefore are likely to be ineligible for consumer tax credits under the IRA," said Will Talbot, research manager at Benchmark.

"Over time, we do expect the share of material coming from high risk or FEOC countries will decline marginally as more ex-China supply comes online, but we forecast it to remain significant," he said.


The Tenke Fungurume mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa is one of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the world. Photo: AFP alt=The Tenke Fungurume mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa is one of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the world. Photo: AFP>

DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, who began his second term in January, pushed for a renegotiation of the previous administration's minerals-for-infrastructure deals with China, to ensure that the DRC's citizens benefit from its mineral wealth.

Tshisekedi's visit to China in 2023 was followed by this year's revised agreement on the Sicomines copper and cobalt joint venture that will see Sinohydro Corporation and China Railway Group invest up to US$7 billion in infrastructure.

The Benchmark study found that Chinese firms are deeply embedded in the DRC's mining sector, having secured several of the country's key assets in the past decade as Western countries ceded many of these interests to China.

According to Benchmark Minerals, chief among these acquisitions was the sale by US-based Freeport-McMoran of two of the world's largest cobalt assets - the Tenke Fungurume mine and Kisanfu project - to CMOC in 2016 and 2020, respectively.

The acquisitions more than doubled CMOC's cobalt supply and the company last year surpassed its Swiss rival Glencore to become the world's largest producer of the mineral in terms of output.

Concerns over the Chinese mining giant's outsize role in the DRC have led to Washington's recent initiatives to challenge China's grip on the critical minerals market.

The US is angling for a share of the battery metals and in 2022 signed a memorandum of understanding with Zambia and the DRC to bring funding and expertise into their mining industries.

The US is currently leading its allies in a multibillion-dollar investment to revamp the Lobito railway corridor between Angola and Zambia through the DRC, with the aim of developing transcontinental connectivity from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

The project involves refurbishing an existing section of the 1,344km (835 miles) Benguela railway into southern DRC, and construction of an 800km (497 miles) railway line through northwestern Zambia.

Tanzania has also signed a deal with the US to allow the expansion of the Lobito Corridor to reach the Indian Ocean and Tanzania's nickel deposits. An expanded Lobito could also bring copper-cobalt exports from the DRC or Zambia into Western markets.

Chris Berry, president of ­New York commodities advisory firm House Mountain Partners, said that US investment in the Lobito Corridor is indeed part of a plan to de-risk and diversify cobalt supply chains.

"[However] it's likely that the US and much of the world will be reliant on DRC-sourced cobalt for years to come," he said, adding that the assets in the DRC are extraordinarily large and high grade - "a very tough combination to compete with".

According to Berry, various US government entities, including the Defence Department and the Export-Import Bank, have provided capital in the form of grants and loans to North American cobalt, copper and nickel assets such as Electra or Jervois.

Berry said this "positive momentum" must be sustained through volatile metals price cycles. "There is no quick fix here, as there is a dire need for FEOC-compliant material, but it will take some years to build a sustainable supply chain."

Washington was also reported to be behind moves to block Norin Mining - a subsidiary of China's state-owned defence company Norinco - from acquiring Chemaf Resources, operator of the Etoile copper mine.

According to the Financial Times, US officials encouraged state-owned miner Gecamines to review the sale of Chemaf, which is also developing Mutoshi, one of the DRC's largest pipeline copper-cobalt projects. The deal was rejected.

The Benchmark study said that the US has also reportedly tried to assist Swiss trading firm Mercuria's bid to acquire copper-cobalt mines from Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), contingent upon the removal of sanctions against Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler.

Carlos Lopes, a professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, said Washington's approach to "de-risking" cobalt supply chains is a sign of intensifying geopolitical competition.

According to Lopes, the US seems increasingly focused on securing critical minerals for its own economic and security interests.

"This rivalry-driven approach narrows the scope for a partnership with Africa based on mutual benefit and long-term development. The continent, and the DRC in particular, should not be seen merely as a resource base to fuel external interests," he said.

Lopes noted that while the significant investment in the Lobito rail corridor aligns with the broader US agenda to diversify and secure mineral supply chains beyond Chinese influence, there are also risks

"Without a genuine commitment to local development, it risks perpetuating Africa's role as a supplier of raw materials rather than fostering economic transformation on the continent," he said.

To be truly beneficial, these efforts must include investment in value-addition industries and infrastructure that support African economies and employment, not just US supply chain security, according to Lopes.


Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Countries launch nature coalition at UN COP16 talks, warn of human extinction

Tue, October 29, 2024 

Colombian President Gustavo Petro attends the opening of the 16th United Nations Biodiversity Summit in Cali

By Jake Spring

CALI, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombia at the U.N. COP16 biodiversity talks on Tuesday launched a coalition with 20 other countries seeking to make "peace with nature," as leaders warned that the rapid destruction of the environment risks humanity's own extinction.

The summit of nearly 200 countries under way in the mountain-ringed city of Cali is tasked with figuring out how to halt the decline of nature by 2030, as humans drive habitat loss, climate change, pollution and other activities that destroy biodiversity.

The coalition includes countries from four continents including Mexico, Sweden, Uganda and Chile, although none from Asia-Pacific.

The coalition is open to countries that agree to a set of principles aimed at changing humanity's relationship with nature, to live in harmony with the environment.

That includes marshaling money toward conservation and sustainable development, cooperating internationally and mobilizing all of their society toward preserving nature.

At the opening of Tuesday's COP16 meeting with six presidents and more than 100 government ministers, leaders warned that by destroying nature, humanity is killing itself.

"We are beginning the era of human extinction. I do not think I am exaggerating," Colombian President Gustavo Petro said.

Petro said that the world cannot wait for it to be profitable to save nature and that the market will not save humans, adding that the value of life should be placed over money.

"Nature is life. And yet we are waging war against it. A war where there can be no winner," said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "This is what an existential crisis looks like."

Leaders said COP16 could be a turning point for conservation as the summit seeks to implement 23 goals to stop nature loss by 2030 laid out in the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, that includes mobilizing $200 billion annually for conservation and preserving 30% of the Earth.

Countries as of Tuesday were far from reaching an agreement on how to advance the wide-ranging agenda, remaining at an impasse on how to ramp up finance. A handful of nations announced millions of dollars in new commitments to a global fund for biodiversity, but observers said it falls far short of the billions of dollars needed.

"Today we can change," Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa said. "I want to believe we can change and the world is not going to end."

(Reporting by Jake Spring; Editing by Sandra Maler)

UN chief calls for more pledges, private sector input to save global biodiversity at Colombia summit

STEVEN GRATTAN
Tue, October 29, 2024 

FILE - Fog drifts over the woods of the Taunus forest near Frankfurt, Germany, Oct. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Boats maneuver low water levels amid a drought on the Amazon River, at a port that connects Colombia with Peru, in Leticia, Colombia, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Animals in risk of extinction display is exhibited in the green zone, a day ahead of the COP16 United Nations biodiversity conference, in host city Cali, Colombia, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)ASSOCIATED PRESS

An artist spray paints the finishing touches on a mural a day ahead of the COP16 United Nations biodiversity conference, in host city Cali, Colombia, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - A member of the Pakanyo tribe set a fire in protected forest land at Chiang Mai province, Thailand, Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - A fisherman casts his net in a lake polluted by oil on the outskirts of Moanda, western Democratic Republic of Congo, Dec. 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - A cormorant gets a running start to take off from the calm waters of Northeast Harbor, Maine, at sunrise Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

CALI, Colombia (AP) — United Nation's Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged countries on Tuesday to make new pledges to help save global biodiversity and called for the private sector to come on board.

“Nature is life, and yet we are waging a war against it, a war where there can be no winner,” Guterres said in his opening remarks at the U.N. biodiversity summit, known as COP16, in Cali, Colombia.

“Every day, we lose more species. Every minute, we dump a garbage truck of plastic waste into our oceans, rivers and lakes,” he said. “This is what an existential crisis looks like.”

The two-week summit is a follow-up to the historic 2022 accord in Montreal, which includes 23 measures to save Earth’s plant and animal life.

Guterres' comments came a day after talks gridlocked over how to fund conservation. On Monday, eight governments pledged an additional $163 million to the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund, which environmental advocates say is far off the billions needed to save global biodiversity.

So far a total of $400 million is in the fund that provides targeted support to countries and communities to conserve and restore plant and animal species and ecosystems.

“We need a lot more committed, from many more nations,” said Kristian Teleki, CEO of the conservation charity Fauna & Flora.



The 2022 agreement signed by 196 countries calls for protecting 30% of land and water by 2030, known as 30 by 30. When the agreement was signed, 17% of terrestrial and 10% of marine areas were protected — and it hasn’t changed significantly.

A report released Monday by the International Union for Conservation of Nature said 38% of the world’s trees are at risk of extinction and that the number of threatened trees is more than double the number of threatened birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians combined.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro made a 40-minute opening speech where he repeatedly warned a shift away from oil and gas energy is needed to save the world.

“Another way of producing is needed .. in order to safeguard life on this planet and of humanity,” Petro said.

Guterres said no country, rich or poor, is immune from the devastation inflicted by climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation and pollution.

“These environmental crises are intertwined. They know no borders ... they are devastating ecosystems and livelihoods, threatening human health and undermining sustainable development,” he said, blaming outdated economic models for driving the problems.

Guterres said finance promises from countries must be turned into action and support to developing countries accelerated.

"We cannot afford to leave Cali without new pledges ... and without commitments to mobilize other sources of public and private finance to deliver the Framework,” he said. “And we must bring the private sector on board. Those profiting from nature cannot treat it like a free, infinite resource.”

The U.N. leader highlighted the importance of Indigenous people, people of African descent and local communities as the “guardians of nature”.

“Their traditional knowledge is a living library of biodiversity conservation," he said. "They must be protected. And they must be part of every biodiversity conversation.”

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Follow Steven Grattan on X: @sjgrattan

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

COP16 Biodiversity Summit: Urgent calls for action as global leaders gather in Cali

Cyril Fourneris
Tue, October 29, 2024 

COP16 Biodiversity Summit: Urgent calls for action as global leaders gather in Cali

The United Nations COP16 biodiversity summit is entering its final week in the Colombian city of Cali, where international negotiations are underway to clarify the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted by nearly 200 countries at the end of 2022.

The conference is pivotal in shaping global biodiversity policies, focusing on the urgent need for action against environmental degradation.

The GBF includes 23 targets, including the famous ‘30 by 30’ target in which more than 100 countries committed to protecting 30% of the planet’s lands and oceans by 2030.



The UNEP report found countries have made some headway on pledges, but that expansion of the global network must accelerate over the next six years to meet the goal.

The report says 17.6% of land and inland waters and 8.4% of the ocean and coastal areas globally are within documented protected and conserved areas.

“The increase in coverage since 2020, equivalent to more than twice the size of Colombia, is to be celebrated,” UNEP said in a news release. “But it is a rise of less than 0.5 percentage points in both realms.”
Progress remains slow

The summit in Cali is being attended by representatives of indigenous communities from all over America, who are calling on countries to honour these commitments they made two years ago.

“Our governments are not making quick decisions; they are slow to implement changes. They are focused on enforcing laws and standardising policies but are not taking action to reverse harmful activities or work toward restoring and conserving biodiversity,” says Teddy Sinacay Tomas, President of CECONSEC, an organisation which defends the territorial and civil rights of indigenous communities in the region.

Sandra Valenzuela, CEO of WWF Colombia, also highlighted the need for accelerated action. "So far, we have 17% globally in terrestrial areas and only 8% in marine and coastal regions," she said.

Valenzuela also stressed that national action plans must not only enhance protection but also promote restoration efforts to achieve these targets effectively.

Meanwhile, the European Union has positioned itself as a leader in the fight for biodiversity.

“We had Natura 2000 which is a vast network of connected protected sites. Because of that and the nature restoration law, we are quite confident that the 2030 goal for the land, we will relatively soon reach,” says Florika Fink-Hooijer, Director-General of the Environment Department at the European Commission.

Fink-Hooijer did, however, acknowledge the complexities surrounding water protection and the need for a comprehensive water resilience strategy.

In addition to environmental policies, major financial discussions are underway.

According to the United Nations, there is an urgent need to triple green investments to meet the ambitious targets set for 2030.

Slight progress in global biodiversity protection efforts but some species decline, new reports find

STEVEN GRATTAN
Mon, October 28, 2024

FILE - McCain Maximo runs back into the trees filled with bridled tern nests on the northern end of the sand bar on Helen Island, Palau, on July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Yannick Peterhans, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Deforestation is visible near areas of several wood pellet production companies in Pohuwato, Gorontalo province, Indonesia, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Yegar Sahaduta Mangiri)ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - People tour the green zone of COP16, the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, in Cali, Colombia, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - Police stand guard in front a hotel at COP16, the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, in Cali, Colombia, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - Signs of drought are visible on the Amazon River, near Santa Sofia, Colombia, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - A snorkeler watches fish near a shipwreck off Cubagua Island, Venezuela, Jan. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - Antelope run as they migrate through national parks and surrounding areas in South Sudan, June 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS

CALI, Colombia (AP) — Global efforts to protect the world's plants and animals have made slight progress and some species remain in serious decline, according to two reports released Monday at a major United Nations biodiversity summit in Colombia.

A report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) evaluated global progress since its biodiversity report in 2020. Two years ago, 196 countries signed a historic treaty to protect biodiversity on 30% of the planet by 2030.

The biodiversity summit underway in Cali, Colombia is a follow-up to the 2022 accord in Montreal, which includes 23 measures to halt and reverse nature loss. One calls for putting 30% of the planet and 30% of degraded ecosystems under protection by 2030.

The UNEP report found countries have made some headway on pledges, but that expansion of the global network must accelerate over the next six years to meet the goal. The report says 17.6% of land and inland waters and 8.4% of the ocean and coastal areas globally are within documented protected and conserved areas.

“The increase in coverage since 2020, equivalent to more than twice the size of Colombia, is to be celebrated,” UNEP said in a news release. “But it is a rise of less than 0.5 percentage points in both realms.”

An area of land roughly the size of Brazil and Australia combined and sea area larger than the Indian Ocean need to be protected and conserved by 2030 to meet the global target, said UNEP.

“It is ... equally important that these areas are effective and that they do not negatively impact the people who live in and around them, who are often their most valuable custodians," said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen. “Today’s landmark report shows some progress has been made in the past four years, but we are not moving nearly far or fast enough."

The UNEP's report uses the latest official data reported by governments and other initiative stakeholders.

“The ‘30 by 30’ is an ambitious target, but one that is still within reach if the international community works together across borders, demographics and sectors,” said Grethel Aguilar, director general at The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The IUCN reported Monday that 38% of the world’s trees are at risk of extinction.

The Swiss-headquartered organization says its Red List of Threatened Species now includes 166,061 species — 46,337 of them threatened with extinction.

Trees now account for over one quarter of species on its endangered list, and the number of threatened trees is more than double the number of threatened birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians combined, IUCN said.

Tree species are at risk of extinction in 192 countries around the world, the organization said. The highest proportion of threatened trees is found on islands since they are particularly at high risk due to deforestation for urban development and agriculture, as well as invasive species, pests and diseases.

“This comprehensive assessment presents the first global picture of the conservation status of trees, which enables us to make better informed conservation decisions and take action to protect trees where it is urgently needed,” said Malin Rivers, Global Tree Assessment lead at Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

Global loss of trees is a major threat to thousands of other plants, fungi and animals, according to IUCN.

The report also noted the conservation status of the Western European hedgehog has deteriorated and it's now listed as “near threatened,” with numbers reduced by an estimated 16 to 33% over the past 10 years.

The worst declines have been documented at up to 50% in Bavaria, Germany, and Flanders, Belgium. The decline is driven by “increasing human pressures, particularly the degradation of rural habitats by agricultural intensification, roads and urban development,” the report said.

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Amazon announces plan to develop 4 nuclear reactors along Columbia River

Aimee Plante
Tue, October 29, 2024 



PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Amazon has announced plans to develop four nuclear reactors along the Columbia River in Washington in an effort to consistently achieve net-zero carbon.

The facility, a small modular reactor (SMR) created in collaboration with Energy Northwest, will be stationed near the Columbia Generating Station nuclear energy facility in Richland, Wash.

Kevin Miller, Amazon’s vice president of global data centers, said the company is investing in nuclear energy to “help power our operations and provide net-new, safe sources of carbon-free energy to the grid.”

“This new SMR project is a significant step toward Amazon’s Climate Pledge commitment to reach net-zero carbon across our operations by 2040, and signifies our continued dedication to becoming a more sustainable company,” Miller said.

According to Energy Northwest, the four reactors will produce 320 megawatts of energy — and could be built out with eight additional reactors to produce up to 960 megawatts. For context, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council says an average megawatt can power 796 homes for a year.

“Amazon’s announced investment in small modular reactors gives me hope for the future of the Northwest power grid,” Benton Public Utility District GM Rick Dunn said. “Under 100% non-emitting electricity requirements, nuclear power is the only technology capable of reliably delivering the massive amounts of around-the-clock energy our society needs, while also positioning utilities to meet aggressive electrification goals. I am ecstatic and deeply grateful to Amazon for their bold and visionary leadership.”

It is not clear when the reactors will be installed and ready for use.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

WA nears energy crisis as Amazon funds nuclear reactors, sparking controversy

Taylor Winkel
Mon, October 28, 2024


WASHINGTON - A new report indicates Washington could face an energy crisis within five years as its power capacity approaches its limit.

The growing demands from AI and major tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are driving this strain on the state's energy resources.

As the ink dries on the deal Amazon just signed with Energy Northwest and X-energy, investing in four new nuclear reactors along the Columbia River in Richland — near Hanford, the most contaminated nuclear site in the U.S. — some groups are asking why we’re risking this again?

"Nuclear kills," Leona Morgan, an indigenous organizer said during a panel hosted by the organization Columbia Riverkeeper. "And nuclear is killing my people. Nuclear is what we call 'a slow genocide.’"

Morgan says the health impacts her family and other indigenous people face stem from radioactive exposure and contamination on their land.

"Just because we can’t see it, it’s out of sight out of mind, doesn’t mean it’s not happening. And if you need proof of it, come visit us," Morgan added. "See an abandoned uranium mine anywhere in the world? On Navajo, we have over 2,000."

The panel came just after Amazon's SMR announcement.

Columbia Riverkeeper maintains nuclear energy is far from clean.

"It’s the most expensive, complicated, dirtiest way to boil water," said Morgan, explaining that the carbon footprint of nuclear is only counted at the power plant, not during the process to building it and the toxic waste left behind.

Billions in federal and local funds go toward nuclear site decommissioning and cleaning every year.

Washington state just approved a record $3 billion to spend on cleanup at the Hanford site this year.

Money Amazon is investing in Small Modular Reactors near Hanford could be better invested in other renewables like solar, wind and hydro, according to Columbia Riverkeeper, which says nuclear isn’t the clean energy savior that big tech makes it out to be.

"When it comes to companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon, the public has plenty of reasons to be angry at them," panelist M.V. Ramana said. "These companies steal your data, they do bad things, they want to pretend to be good citizens. The reason they can use investment in nuclear energy as a way to pretend they are good citizens is because the hard work of convincing the public has already been done by the nuclear lobby."

Ramana is the author of the book "Nuclear is not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change." He says we should focus on energy conservation instead.

Kelly Rae, who works in corporate communications with Energy Northwest, tells Fox 13 Seattle that the permits for the SMR’s haven’t been secured yet, although lawmakers from Jay Inslee down are already lining up behind the project.

Rae says Amazon’s funding will pay for a feasibility study over the next two years, in which after they are hopeful to fund the SMR’s. If they’re successful, the energy generated from the first four reactors would be available to Amazon only. Rae says after that, other utility companies and municipalities could come to the table to help Amazon fund additional reactors to provide energy for Washingtonians.

Energy Northwest is a collection of 28 utility districts, including Seattle City Light, Tacoma Public Utilities and Snohomish County PUD. Amazon didn’t say how much it's spending on the project, or how much, if any, will come from Energy Northwest.

So far, there aren’t any other small modular reactors like the ones Amazon is investing in, operating in the U.S.


60 MW: Small Swiss nuclear reactor to supercharge data centers, feed hungry AI

Interesting Engineering
Updated Tue, October 29, 2024 


Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.Generate Key Takeaways


Deep Atomic, a Switzerland-based nuclear energy startup, has unveiled plans for a small modular reactor (SMR) to satisfy data centers' growing energy demands.

The small nuclear reactor called the MK60 offers a compact and scalable solution by supplying 60 megawatts of electricity and 60 megawatts of cooling for the data centers, according to a press release by the firm.

“Data centers (DCs) are the backbone of digital innovation, but their massive energy needs have become the critical bottleneck blocking growth,” William Theron, Founder and CEO of Deep Atomic, said in the press release.

Deep Atomic's SMR is "designed to be installed on-site at data centers, delivering reliable zero-carbon electricity and energy efficient cooling, thereby significantly reducing carbon footprints, and helping data centers meet their increasingly stringent sustainability goals."

With the integrated "data center-centric design," this digital infrastructure can be zero-carbon and highly efficient in power and cooling, lowering operating costs and environmental impact.

The company claims the reactor is well-suited for energy-sucking artificial intelligence (AI) applications, cryptocurrency, and traditional cloud services.
MK60 'hits a sweet spot'

Deep Atomic has purposefully chosen a smaller 60 MW design, defying the trend of bigger 300 MW reactors typical in the nascent SMR sector.


“A 60 MW reactor with additional 60 MW of cooling capacity hits a sweet spot for data centers," stated the startup's head of engineering, Freddy Mondale, while explaining the rationale behind the reactor.

"It's large enough to power significant compute infrastructure, yet small enough to allow for modular deployment and scaling.”

The reactor's scalable power solution can benefit data centers in different locations, particularly those with restricted grid access.

Its sophisticated safety features enable placement close to urban areas, supporting edge data centers with reduced latency and speedier service for high computing.


“This size also reduces initial capital costs and project risks compared to larger SMRs, making it more attractive for DC operators," added Mondale.

"The MK60 can be deployed in multiples, allowing scalability from 60 MW up to over 1 GW to meet growing energy demands.”

By bypassing the grid restrictions, the MK60 on-site reactors allow ideal placement without putting additional load on the infrastructure. The reactor works regardless of grid reliability and continues all-weather operations around the clock.
Race to limitless nuclear power

Many companies, including tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI, have signed massive deals recently to acquire nuclear power to feed their energy-hungry data centers.

Earlier in October, Google inked the first contract in its history to purchase electricity from several SMRs, a move designed to support the company's growing energy needs driven by AI.

On the other hand, a three-mile closed island in Pennsylvania that previously operated as a US nuclear plant will reopen to meet the energy needs of Microsoft’s data centers.

Meanwhile, the Zurich-based Deep Atomic claims its MK60 reactor design policy focuses on risk mitigation and practical deployment, particularly rooted in decades-old nuclear technology tailored specifically for data centers.

“Our core philosophy is to design to be built. We're not reinventing nuclear technology, but rather refining it for data center applications," said Deep Atomic Co-founder and Chief Design Officer Rea Stark.

Japanese nuclear reactor which survived earthquake that badly damaged Fukushima power plant restarts

MARI YAMAGUCHI

AP
Tue, October 29, 2024 

This photo shows the Onagawa nuclear power plant, operated by Tohoku Electric Power Company, Inc., in Onagawa, northeastern Japan, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. 

(Juntaro Yokoyama/Kyodo News via AP)

People protest against resuming operations of the Onagawa nuclear power plant, background, in Onagawa town, northeastern Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024.

 (Miyuki Saito/Kyodo News via AP)

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese nuclear reactor which survived a massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami that badly damaged the nearby Fukushima nuclear power plant was restarted Tuesday for the first time since the disaster after a safety upgrade, as the government pursues a renewed expansion of nuclear energy to provide stable power and reduce carbon emissions.

The No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa nuclear power plant on Japan's northern coast was put back online and is expected to start generating power in early November, operator Tohoku Electric Power Co. said.

The reactor is one of the three at the Onagawa plant, which is 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the Fukushima Daiichi plant where three reactors melted following a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, releasing large amounts of radiation.

The Onagawa plant was hit by a 13-meter (42-foot) tsunami but was able to keep its crucial cooling systems functioning in all three reactors and achieve their safe shutdowns.

All of Japan's 54 commercial nuclear power plants were shut down after the Fukushima disaster for safety checks and upgrades. Onagawa No. 2 is the 13th of the 33 still useable reactors to return to operation. It is also the first restart in Japan of the same type of reactor damaged in Fukushima.

Tohoku Electric President Kojiro Higuchi said the reactor's restart highlights the area's recovery from the disaster.

Last year, Japan's government adopted a plan to maximize use of nuclear energy, including accelerating restarts of closed reactors, extending the operational life of aging plants, and developing next-generation reactors, as the country struggles to secure a stable energy supply and meet its pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

“Nuclear energy, along with renewables, is an important power source for decarbonization," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday. “We will maximize its use while ensuring safety.”

Restarting nuclear reactors is also increasingly important for Japan's economic growth, Hayashi said.

Concern about the government's revived push for nuclear energy grew after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit Japan's Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, 2024, killing more than 400 people and damaging more than 100,000 structures. Minor damage was reported at two nuclear facilities and evacuation plans for the region were found to be inadequate.

For the Onagawa No. 2 reactor, Tohoku Electric in 2013 began upgrading its safety, including tsunami risk estimates and anti-quake measures. It also built an anti-tsunami wall extending up to 29 meters (95 feet) above sea level, and obtained safety approval from regulators in 2020.

Twenty-one of Japan's nuclear reactors, including six at Fukushima Daiichi and one at Onagawa, are currently being decommissioned because their operators chose to scrap them instead of investing large amounts for additional safety equipment required under the much-stricter post-Fukushima safety standards.


Japan’s Nuclear Power Revival Threatened by Lack of Workers

Shoko Oda and Tsuyoshi Inajima
Tue, October 29, 2024 

BLOOMBERG




(Bloomberg) -- The restart of the nuclear power plant closest to the epicenter of Japan’s devastating 2011 earthquake this week was hailed by the government as a major step toward reviving atomic energy. It’s also been a reminder of the crippling shortage of skilled workers that could slow that comeback.

Onagawa didn’t suffer the meltdown seen at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant, further down the coast. But no corner of the country’s nuclear industry was immune as public opinion soured on a technology that used to generate about a quarter of its electricity.

All of Japan’s reactors were subsequently shut. Restarting them has been a tortuous process, with around 60% of commercially available units still offline. The hiatus and slow revival has dramatically worsened a skills crunch visible across the nation’s nuclear industry.

At Onagawa, a power station near a small fishing port in northeastern Japan, more than a third of its technical staff have never operated a reactor before, and have practiced only on simulators.

An emissions-free and stable source of electricity, nuclear power is undergoing a global renaissance as governments turn to it to meet decarbonization targets and tech companies look for clean energy for the artificial intelligence data center boom. The dearth of skilled workers in Japan is a threat to the industry’s growth.

“Students were driven away from nuclear programs and managers with a great deal of ambition almost certainly looked for other opportunities” after 2011, said Mark Nelson, founder and managing director at Radiant Energy Group, a consultancy focused on the transition to cleaner fuels. If Japan can’t rely on atomic energy, it risks crimping the development and deployment of AI at scale, he said.

Between 33% and 58% of operators at nuclear plants managed by seven Japanese utilities have had no prior experience running them, let alone dealing with an emergency, local newspaper Asahi Shimbun said in a study published in March. The Japan Electrical Manufacturers’ Association said the number of people working in the country’s wider atomic power industry dropped by more than a fifth from 2010 to 2023.

Other nations are grappling with similar issues. France and the UK are facing difficulties hiring engineers for planned reactors. Taiwan, which will shut its last unit next year, is looking for ways to retain personnel from decommissioned plants so there’s a talent pool if the island decides to adopts next-generation reactors in the future.

Affordable and stable electricity “is the basis of people’s livelihood and business activities,” said Masakazu Tokura, the chairman of Japan’s biggest business lobby, Keidanren, in a statement on Tuesday. “We hope that Onagawa No. 2 will contribute to improving Japan’s energy self-sufficiency and achieving carbon neutrality.”

At Onagawa, some 51 of 140 technical staff have no previous experience operating reactors, according to Tohoku Electric Power Co., which runs the plant.



The utility said it had trained inexperienced staff on simulators, sent them to learn at thermal power plants and also assigned seasoned operators to provide them with support. Still, it acknowledged that on-the-job experience is “incredibly important” and that workers need first-hand knowledge of an operating reactor to detect problems.

Despite the lack of experienced staff, Onagawa, and places like it, are set to become training grounds for the next generation of Japanese nuclear workers. Toshiba Energy Systems and Solutions Corp., which was involved in the construction of the reactor and conducted the safety work needed for the restart, has been sending staff there.

“Experience on-site is different from inheriting skills face-to-face,” said Yuki Komukai, group manager at the company’s power systems division. “We are sending new recruits to Onagawa to get first-hand experience.”

The number of students studying in nuclear-related departments in Japanese higher education has been falling from a peak as far back as 1993, according to a white paper from the Japan Atomic Energy Commission, with the decline possibly exacerbated by the country’s aging population.

To help stoke interest in nuclear careers, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum started hosting job fairs in the mid-2000s, with almost 2,000 students attending events in Tokyo and Osaka in 2010. Interest plummeted after the Fukushima disaster though, and they’ve only attracted around 300 to 400 jobseekers since then, it said.

With both the government and Keidanren pushing for the nuclear energy revival there are signs more young people are becoming more interested about careers in the industry, however. Sentiment toward nuclear is improving, said Toshiba’s Komukai.

Masato Suzuki, who is studying nuclear safety engineering at Tokyo City University, was one of the attendees at this year’s JAIF job fair in the Japanese capital. Just eight years old at the time of the Fukushima meltdown, he said he’d been interested in nuclear power since reading in a textbook about how much Japan relied on it before the disaster.

“I’ve always thought it’s a waste to not use something that supported Japan for so long,” Suzuki said. “I want to work at a manufacturer and become a nuclear engineer in the future.




WA nears energy crisis as Amazon funds nuclear reactors, sparking controversy

Taylor Winkel
Mon, October 28, 2024

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WASHINGTON - A new report indicates Washington could face an energy crisis within five years as its power capacity approaches its limit.

The growing demands from AI and major tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are driving this strain on the state's energy resources.

As the ink dries on the deal Amazon just signed with Energy Northwest and X-energy, investing in four new nuclear reactors along the Columbia River in Richland — near Hanford, the most contaminated nuclear site in the U.S. — some groups are asking why we’re risking this again?

"Nuclear kills," Leona Morgan, an indigenous organizer said during a panel hosted by the organization Columbia Riverkeeper. "And nuclear is killing my people. Nuclear is what we call 'a slow genocide.’"

Morgan says the health impacts her family and other indigenous people face stem from radioactive exposure and contamination on their land.

"Just because we can’t see it, it’s out of sight out of mind, doesn’t mean it’s not happening. And if you need proof of it, come visit us," Morgan added. "See an abandoned uranium mine anywhere in the world? On Navajo, we have over 2,000."

The panel came just after Amazon's SMR announcement.

Columbia Riverkeeper maintains nuclear energy is far from clean.

"It’s the most expensive, complicated, dirtiest way to boil water," said Morgan, explaining that the carbon footprint of nuclear is only counted at the power plant, not during the process to building it and the toxic waste left behind.

Billions in federal and local funds go toward nuclear site decommissioning and cleaning every year.

Washington state just approved a record $3 billion to spend on cleanup at the Hanford site this year.

Money Amazon is investing in Small Modular Reactors near Hanford could be better invested in other renewables like solar, wind and hydro, according to Columbia Riverkeeper, which says nuclear isn’t the clean energy savior that big tech makes it out to be.

"When it comes to companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon, the public has plenty of reasons to be angry at them," panelist M.V. Ramana said. "These companies steal your data, they do bad things, they want to pretend to be good citizens. The reason they can use investment in nuclear energy as a way to pretend they are good citizens is because the hard work of convincing the public has already been done by the nuclear lobby."

Ramana is the author of the book "Nuclear is not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change." He says we should focus on energy conservation instead.

Kelly Rae, who works in corporate communications with Energy Northwest, tells Fox 13 Seattle that the permits for the SMR’s haven’t been secured yet, although lawmakers from Jay Inslee down are already lining up behind the project.

Rae says Amazon’s funding will pay for a feasibility study over the next two years, in which after they are hopeful to fund the SMR’s. If they’re successful, the energy generated from the first four reactors would be available to Amazon only. Rae says after that, other utility companies and municipalities could come to the table to help Amazon fund additional reactors to provide energy for Washingtonians.

Energy Northwest is a collection of 28 utility districts, including Seattle City Light, Tacoma Public Utilities and Snohomish County PUD. Amazon didn’t say how much it's spending on the project, or how much, if any, will come from Energy Northwest.

So far, there aren’t any other small modular reactors like the ones Amazon is investing in, operating in the U.S.


Opinion
The Rise and Fall of NuScale: a nuclear cautionary tale
Kelly Campbell
Tue, October 29, 2024 

The Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Washington. is storing 53 million gallons of highly radioactive and hazardous waste produced through the 40 years of plutonium production. (Getty Images)

The Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Washington. is storing 53 million gallons of highly radioactive and hazardous waste produced through the 40 years of plutonium production. (Getty Images)

A decade ago, NuScale, the Oregon-based small modular nuclear company born at Oregon State University, was on a roll. Promising a new era of nuclear reactors that were cheaper, easier to build and safer, their Star Wars-inspired artist renditions of a yet to be built reactor gleamed like a magic bullet.

As of last year, NuScale was the furthest along of any reactor design in obtaining Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing and was planning to build the first small modular nuclear reactor in the United States. Its plan was to build it in Idaho to serve energy to a consortium of small public utility districts in Utah and elsewhere, known as UAMPS.

This home-grown Oregon company was lauded in local and national media. According to project backers, a high-tech solution to climate change was on the horizon, and an Oregon company was leading the way. It seemed almost too good to be true.

And it was.

Turns out, NuScale was a house of cards. The UAMPS project’s price tag more than doubled and the timeline was pushed back repeatedly until it was seven years behind schedule. Finally, UAMPS saw the writing on the wall and wisely backed out in November, 2023.

After losing their customer, NuScale’s stock plunged, it laid off nearly a third of its workforce, and it was sued by its investors and investigated for investor fraud. Then its CEO sold off most of his stock shares.

NuScale’s project is the latest in a long line of failed nuclear fantasies.

Why should you care? A different nuclear company, X-Energy, now in partnership with Amazon, wants to build and operate small modular nuclear reactors near the Columbia River, 250 miles upriver from Portland. Bill Gates’s darling, the Natrium reactor in Wyoming is also plowing ahead. Both proposals are raking in the Inflation Reduction Act and other taxpayer funded subsidies. The danger: Money and time wasted on these false solutions to the climate crisis divert public resources from renewables, energy efficiency and other faster, more cost-efficient and safer ways to address the climate crisis.

A recent study from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis concluded that small modular nuclear reactors are still too expensive, too slow to build and too risky to respond to the climate crisis.

While the nuclear industry tries to pass itself off as “clean,” it is an extremely dirty technology, beginning with uranium mining and milling which decimates Indigenous lands. Small modular nuclear reactors produce two to thirty times the radioactive waste of older nuclear designs, waste for which we have no safe, long-term disposal site. Any community that hosts a nuclear reactor will likely be saddled with its radioactive waste – forever. This harm falls disproportionately on Indigenous and low-income communities.

For those of us downriver, X-Energy’s plans to build at the Hanford Nuclear Site on the Columbia flies in the face of reason, as it would add more nuclear waste to the country’s largest nuclear cleanup site.

Ukraine Strikes Chechnya With Long-Range Drones For The First Time

Thomas Newdick
Tue, October 29, 2024 

The Kremlin-appointed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has vowed to avenge a Ukrainian drone attack that struck a military training facility in Chechnya. The raid, which appears to be the first of its kind to hit the southern Russian republic, is one of the longest-range drone strikes that Ukraine has attempted. The target was special forces training center, but the attack also has significant symbolic value, due to Kadyrov’s vocal support for the Russian war in Ukraine.More

The Kremlin-appointed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has vowed to avenge a Ukrainian drone attack that struck a military training facility in Chechnya. The raid, which appears to be the first of its kind to hit the southern Russian republic, is one of the longest-range drone strikes that Ukraine has attempted. The target was a special forces training center, but the attack also carries significant symbolic value, due to the high level of support of local strongman Ramzan Kadyrov for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Imagery posted to social media shows the apparent aftermath of the drone strike, on the military training academy in the town of Gudermes, 22 miles east of Grozny, the Chechen capital. As we have discussed in the past, Kadyrov was directly responsible for the creation of the Russian University of Special Forces — also known as the University of Spetsnaz — in Gudermes in 2013.

Unprecedented: this morning around 6:30 am local time, the so-called "Russian Special Forces University named after Vladimir Putin" in Gudermes, Chechnya, was attacked by unidentified drones, as reported by Ramzan Kadyrov. According to him, the roof of an empty building caught… pic.twitter.com/GZPwXph7Jl

— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) October 29, 2024


Ramzan Kadyrov says a UAV struck the Spetsnaz University in Gudermes. https://t.co/FHlEmAEs3nhttps://t.co/UA7dTZMUdfhttps://t.co/FhtwtUQ7w3 pic.twitter.com/kUIJGI2bZM

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) October 29, 2024


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El ataque a la Universidad de las Fuerzas Especiales de Rusia en Gudermes es el primer ataque con aviones no tripulados contra objetivos en Chechenia. Según la información disponible, un avión no tripulado atacó un edificio de la universidad de fuerzas especiales esta… pic.twitter.com/yLSvIktDCo

— Dan-i-El (@Danielibertari0) October 29, 2024

“Today at 6:30 a.m. in Gudermes, as a result of an unmanned aerial attack, the roof of an empty building on the territory of the Russian University of Special Forces caught fire,” Kadyrov wrote on social media. “There are no victims or injured. The fire has been extinguished.”


This is what "Putin's Russian Special Forces University" looks like in Chechnya's Gudermes after a UAV attack

Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov said that the perpetrators would be shown "such retribution that they have never imagined." pic.twitter.com/BVhZjwmWJL

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 29, 2024


In Chechnya, drones hit the Putin Special Forces University in Gudermes, Chechnya. It is interesting that among the suspects are not only Ukrainians, but also the Russian-occupied states of Dagestan and Ingushetia, which also have drones. pic.twitter.com/ESqVa4RRzo

— Devana

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(@DevanaUkraine) October 29, 2024

Kadyrov claimed that the academy was still operating as usual and that “investigative bodies” were working on “identifying those involved in the crime.”

“They’ve bitten us — we will destroy them,” Kadyrov told reporters in a video published by Russian state news agency RIA.

“In the very near future we’ll show them the kind of vengeance they’ve never even dreamt of,” he added.

A satellite image of the Russian University of Special Forces in Gudermes. Imagery from today shows the large, boomerang-shaped building close to the center of the facility on fire. Google Earth

As is typical for drone strikes of this kind, there was no immediate comment from officials in Kyiv.

The privately run training academy’s glitzy website describes it as a “professional educational institution,” that offers “unique training grounds, methodology, and teaching staff that have no analogs in Russia.” The website features prominent testimonies from both Kadyrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The academy instructs both soldiers and civilians in a variety of combat tactics, including gunnery, drone operating, battlefield first aid, and parachute landing.

A Chechen instructor supervises gunnery practice at Gudermes. Russian University of Special Forces

A Russian University of Special Forces course in the operation of quadcopter-type drones. Russian University of Special Forces

More than 47,000 troops deployed to the front line in Ukraine have been trained in Gudermes, according to the Kremlin. Meanwhile, a report from the Russian state news agency TASS claims that over 19,000 volunteers have been trained at the university before going to fight in Ukraine.

Ukraine has been regularly using long-range drones of various types to strike targets in Russia, including hitting targets many hundreds of miles behind the front lines. Gudermes is around 780 miles from Odesa and around 650 miles from Kharkiv.

As far as we know, this is the first time a Ukrainian drone strike has been launched against Chechnya, which is led by Kadyrov, a close ally of Putin who has frequently played on his warlord credentials to help bolster support for the war in Ukraine.

Last month, Kadyrov garnered press coverage due to his claim that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had “remotely disabled” his machine-gun-armed Cybertruck, which he had sent to the front line in Ukraine, where he said it had been “performing well in combat.”

“What Elon Musk did was not nice. He gives expensive gifts from the heart and then remotely switches them off,” Kadyrov said, before noting that another pair of Cybertrucks had since been sent to the Ukrainian battlefield.

More significantly, Kadyrov has contributed thousands of his own Chechen paramilitary forces to support the full-scale Russian invasion, since the very beginning of the operation.


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| At the special order of Ramazan Kadyrov, about 10,000 #Chechen National Guard departs to support the #Russia|n invasion of #Ukraine.

– Local resources –pic.twitter.com/rUtUNmJ9hq

— EHA News (@eha_news) February 25, 2022


Chechen servicemen from a Rosgvardia spetsnaz unit in Hostomel raising the Russia flag over a Ukrainian national guard base. https://t.co/R9s49D667ghttps://t.co/LBfPPL8kMr pic.twitter.com/ceQjZ2Tgia

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) February 26, 2022


Reportedly video of Chechen fighters headed to Ukraine on a transport aircraft. https://t.co/N7R24x2NTr pic.twitter.com/rHUChT2ZeT

— Rob Lee (@RALee85) March 13, 2022

While Kadyrov presents an image of staunch loyalty to Moscow, his position has also seen him emerge as one of the few political figures in Russia who speaks out about the way the war in Ukraine is being fought.

Kadyrov has not held back from criticizing the Russian Armed Forces leadership when Ukrainian forces have made advances or offered tougher-than-expected resistance and he has suggested in the past that Putin might not be fully aware of the real situation on the ground in Ukraine.

Earlier this year there were signs that the Kremlin might be looking to appoint a new Chechen leader, amid rumors that Kadyrov was seriously ill with pancreatic necrosis. The leader responded by publishing a workout video to counter claims of his deteriorating health.

“Remember that taking care of your health is an investment in your future,” a caption to the video read, while footage showed Kadyrov bench-pressing, lifting weights, and wrestling with a sparring partner.

Interestingly, Kadyrov also moved to shore up his position as a staunch Putin supporter after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group who launched a brief armed mutiny against Russia’s leadership in the summer of 2023, before being killed in a plane crash, the details of which remain murky.


A day after Prigozhin’s funeral, Kadyrov — who had previously suggested that he could provide an alternative to the Wagner boss — described himself as Putin’s foot soldier and said he was ready to die for the Russian president. There were also suggestions Kadyrov might be lining himself up as Prigozhin’s successor, with his claims that former Wagner Group mercenaries were training in Chechnya with his forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov visit the Russian University of Special Forces in Gudermes on August 20 of this year. Photo by Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEVMore

With repeated accusations of human rights violations, including torture and extrajudicial killings, as well as sanctions in multiple countries to his name, Kadyrov remains a very visible and highly active supporter of the Russian war effort. The fact the territory he rules over has come under long-range drone attack shouldn’t be too much of a surprise as Ukraine continues to expand its drone programs.

There is a possibility that Russia’s failure to defend Kadyrov’s republic against drone attacks will lead to more criticisms leveled toward the Russian Ministry of Defense. Ever since Ukraine began its campaign of long-range drone strikes, there have been questions asked about the efficiency and preparedness of Russian air defenses to counter these threats.

At the same time, depending on the damage that was inflicted, targeting the Russian University of Special Forces may also serve to disrupt the operations at what is, by all accounts, an important training center feeding both Russian soldiers and volunteers to support the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. But above all else, this was a symbolic strike, although it could be the first of many more to come.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Maryland voters embrace rare chance to help determine US Senate control

BRIAN WITTE
Tue, October 29, 2024 

Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, right, the county executive of Maryland's Prince George's County who is running for U.S. Senate, talks to students at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., during a campaign stop, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan, who is running for U.S. Senate, talks to reporters after a campaign stop with supporters in Millersville, Md., Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jon Michael, a Republican who voted early for Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan for U.S. Senate in Maryland, as well as for former President Donald Trump, stands outside an early voting center on Kent Island in Chester, Md., Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Peyton McDonald, a student at the University of Maryland, poses on campus after listening to Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks talk about her U.S. Senate bid during a campaign stop in College Park, Md., on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan, who is running for U.S. Senate in Maryland, talks to supporter Virginia Umberger during a campaign stop in Millersville, Md., Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, right, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat in Maryland that is opening with the retirement of Sen. Ben Cardin, left, talks to supporters during a campaign stop in Upper Marlboro, Md., on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHESTER, Md. (AP) — Republican Jon Michael hasn't always been a fan of Larry Hogan, who has been one of the GOP's sharpest critics of Donald Trump, but he voted for Hogan for U.S. Senate. Democrat Diane Stokes crossed party lines to vote for Hogan to be Maryland's governor, but she's not supporting him this time.

Both are quick to point out the high stakes in the race between Hogan and Democrat Angela Alsobrooks in a deeply blue state.

As early voting began on a breezy autumn day last week, Marylanders began sorting through a swirl of conflicting sentiment. On the Eastern Shore, a rural part of the state that is more conservative than Maryland's larger population centers, some Trump-loyal Republicans wrestled with their unease about Hogan, while others voted for him with enthusiasm. On the other side of the Chesapeake Bay, some Democrats in Annapolis weighed their fondness for Hogan against their fears of contributing to a Republican Senate majority.

Michael, who describes himself as a far-right voter, was unhappy about Hogan's write-in vote of former President Ronald Reagan instead of Trump for president in 2020. He didn't agree with Hogan's COVID-19 policies, either. But Michael said he believes Hogan is good for Maryland overall, especially compared to the alternative.

“I think the Republican Party needs to be in power," Michael, 54, said at an early voting center on Kent Island on the bay, a gateway to the Eastern Shore. "While I’m not a fan of Larry Hogan in all respects, he’s our best option.”

On the other side of the Chesapeake, Democrats in the state capital of Annapolis were keenly aware of how important the Senate race is this year. While a Republican hasn't won a Senate seat in Maryland in more than 40 years, Hogan was a popular governor who won enough Democratic votes to prevail in statewide races in 2014 and 2018.

On Monday, some Democrats who supported Hogan for governor attended a news conference with Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, to emphasize how it's different this time.

“Many of my friends and I — many of whom did vote for Larry Hogan for governor — are deeply concerned about the Senate majority," said Stokes, of Hyattsville. "Kamala Harris needs Maryland to deliver a Senate majority, and that’s exactly what we want to do.”

The potential for the race to determine Senate control has weighed heavily on the minds of many voters, who don't see this much in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1.

Democrats currently hold a 51-49 Senate advantage, including independent senators who caucus with Democrats. And Democrats are defending 23 of the 33 Senate seats on the ballot around the country this November.

If Hogan wins Maryland’s open Senate seat, Republicans will have a clear path to a majority.

Both major parties have invested heavily in advertising on the race, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign spending — with neither side establishing a clear advantage. Between the May 14 primaries and Tuesday, the two campaigns and partisan groups supporting them had spent more than $35 million apiece on the race, data shows, with roughly two-thirds coming from outside groups.

Democrat Paula Dickerson, 70, said she gave Hogan a lot of thought. The stakes of Senate control, however, made it too hard for her to support him.

“It did, because without the Senate going in the Democratic way, it would change policy," Dickerson said after voting for Alsobrooks and Vice President Kamala Harris for president on Kent Island. "It would make it so much harder for the candidate on the top.”

Republican Liza Hamill said she voted for Hogan, because she believes he was the best governor Maryland has had for “a very, very long time.” Hamill, who also voted for Trump, said Hogan's criticism of the former president didn't bother her.

“Larry Hogan was saying the truth: Donald Trump is an ass," Hamill, who is 68, said after voting on Kent Island. "He does stupid things, and he says stupid things, but his overall objective is much better for our country in my opinion than the Democratic Party.”

About 40 miles away, in the suburbs of the nation's capital in Prince George's County, Bonnie Hadley was volunteering at a phone bank for Alsobrooks, after voting for her and Harris on Maryland's first day of early voting. The 69-year-old said she was volunteering for a political campaign for the first time ever because she believes so much is riding on this election, including democracy itself.

“In my lifetime, it’s the most important election," Hadley said, noting that Barack Obama's 2008 victory also was huge. "But this is even more important to me, because democracy is so much at risk at this point.”

Alsobrooks, chief executive of majority-Black Prince George’s County, would be Maryland’s first Black senator. Making a campaign stop with retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin in her home county last week, she noted palpable energy at early voting centers.

“They’re fired up about, many of them, electing a woman to the Senate, and some of them just feel that I represent their values, but it’s also keeping the Senate blue,” Alsobrooks said.

At the University of Maryland, College Park, the state's flagship university, students gathered to hear Alsobrooks at a campaign stop.

Peyton McDonald, a 19-year-old sophomore from Cumberland in western Maryland, said she planned to vote by mail for Alsobrooks.

“I think having a Black woman senator from the state of Maryland would be a good representation for the state, and I think she’s done good work as the Prince George’s county executive that we’ve been able to see being students in Prince George's County," McDonald said.

About 20 miles away in Millersville, Hogan told supporters he's used to being an underdog. He noted that he was behind in polls when he won his first race for governor.

“You know, they say lightning can’t strike twice. We’re going to make lightning strike three times,” Hogan told a cheering crowd.

Republican Virginia Umberger, 72, who was in the audience, said she'd be voting for him. She cited Hogan's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and his willingness to be independent.

“I love that he stands up to anyone that he doesn’t agree with, because he’s more about principle than about getting along," Umberger said.

___

Elon Musk is sharing some details about his immigration path. Experts say they still have questions

Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
Mon, October 28, 2024 

It’s rare to hear Elon Musk discuss the details of his own immigration journey.

But the billionaire tech tycoon opened up about some of it over the weekend in a series of posts on the platform he owns, X, hours after the Washington Post reported that Musk began his career working illegally in the US when he was building a Silicon Valley startup in the 1990s.

The newspaper’s story cited court records, company documents and former business associates, including a past CEO of the company who said investors had worried that Musk could be deported.

Musk hasn’t responded to CNN’s requests for comment on the report. He also hasn’t responded to CNN’s requests for comment about remarks he once made describing his past immigration status as a “gray area.”

In a post on X, where video circulated of President Biden referencing the Washington Post report’s claims, Musk denied that he’d worked without authorization.

“I was in fact allowed to work in the US,” Musk wrote, accusing Biden of lying.

The newspaper’s report and Biden’s remarks circulated widely among critics of Musk, some of whom accused the world’s richest man of having a double standard given how much time he’s devoted to slamming illegal immigration in the runup to the 2024 presidential election.



Supporters of Musk, including Tesla fan accounts, also swiftly rose to his defense and criticized Biden.

In response to one such post, Musk described two visas he once had — offering more detail than he’d previously shared publicly.

“I was on a J-1 visa that transitioned to an H1-B,” Musk wrote. “They know this, as they have all my records. Losing the election is making them desperate.”

But experts told CNN those details raise additional questions Musk hasn’t answered.

The J-1 visa is for exchange visitors and can be used for foreign students to pursue academic training or research. It requires a sponsoring program, such as a university. An H-1B is a temporary employment visa for specialty occupations.
Why Musk’s student status matters

Musk didn’t detail what institution sponsored his J-1 visa, or which years he had the visa.



Musk was born in South Africa, obtained Canadian citizenship through his mother and came to the US to study at the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. He became a US citizen a decade later, according to biographies of the billionaire.

He has said in the past that after leaving Penn he had planned to pursue graduate studies at Stanford, but dropped out to work on founding his first company.

That’s significant, experts say, because there are strict rules about the kind of work allowed when someone is in the US on a student visa, and work authorizations tied to student visas generally require someone to be actively studying or for the sponsoring institution to allow the student to get academic or practical training after graduation.

Immigration attorney Greg Siskind, who’s co-authored multiple editions of a guide to J-1 visas, says transitioning from a J-1 visa to an H-1B visa is a possible path. But he says a J-1 visa wouldn’t provide work authorization to someone who dropped out of a degree program. The moment Musk dropped out, he would have lost his status and been unauthorized to work, Siskind says.



“Musk would have needed to be engaged in a full course of study (at least 12 academic hours a semester) in order to qualify for work while being a J-1 student,” Siskind wrote on X.

A Stanford spokeswoman told CNN last month that the university had no record Musk had ever enrolled there, but that he had been accepted into the school’s Materials Science and Engineering graduate program. Asked if Musk ever had a student visa connected with the university, the spokeswoman said she did not know because further documentation was unavailable.

What if Musk’s visa was obtained through the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied as an undergraduate?

The same criteria would apply, Siskind says.

Students walk between classes at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Elon Musk graduated from the university with bachelor's degrees in physics and economics in 1997. - Charles Mostoller/ReutersMore

And given Musk’s background, Siskind says it’s unlikely he would have been eligible for humanitarian exceptions sometimes granted to allow off-campus work due to economic hardship.

Atlanta immigration attorney Charles Kuck says Musk stating that he had a J-1 visa makes it clear he worked illegally, given the restrictions that would have only allowed work in connection with his academic program.

“So clearly, he’s admitting now that in fact, he did work illegally and violate his status. The only question is at that point, what did he do to fix his status violation?” Kuck says.

Working illegally isn’t a crime, Kuck says, but having done so would require certain steps to be taken to return to a legal immigration status.

Key unanswered questions, Kuck says, are what steps Musk took to get his H-1B visa, and when that occurred.

Musk graduated from Penn in May 1997, according to a university spokesman. Biographies of the SpaceX and Tesla CEO indicate he finished his studies there in 1995.

According to the Post’s report, a 1996 funding agreement with venture capitalists who’d agreed to contribute $3 million to Musk’s first company “stated that the Musk brothers and an associate had 45 days to obtain legal work status. Otherwise, the firm could reclaim its investment.” Musk had told coworkers that he was in the country on a student visa, six former associates and shareholders in the company told the Post.

“Student visas are some of the most complicated visas out there, and work related to them is also extraordinarily complicated. And to dismiss it in a in a two-line tweet, ‘Well I had a J-1 and it went to H-1B,’ yeah, trust me, there’s always a lot more to it than that,” Kuck says.

Elon Musk, left, and his brother Kimbal Musk, right, have repeatedly described the humble origins of their startup, including sleeping in their office in Palo Alto, California, before securing funding from investors. - AP/Reuters

What the world’s richest man has said about his immigration journey

Musk is an increasingly powerful force shaping and amplifying conversations around immigration — especially since his 2022 takeover of Twitter, now known as X, and given his huge audience on the platform.

His more than 200 million followers on X frequently see him sharing posts endorsing conspiracy theories that claim the Biden administration has deliberately allowed undocumented immigrants to cross the border to gain political advantage. It’s also common to see posts referring to his own background as an immigrant and advocating for increased legal immigration to the US.

In response to details his mother, Maye Musk, has shared on X about her own immigration journey, Elon Musk has called legal immigration to the US “a laborious Kafkaesque nightmare” and noted that becoming a US citizen “was extremely difficult and took over a decade.”

But he’s offered few specifics about his immigration status in the early days of his career, when he and his brother were founding their early online city guide and mapping tool that was later dubbed Zip2.

His brother, Kimbal Musk, has repeatedly stated that early investors in their company soon learned they were “illegal immigrants,” but Elon Musk has disputed his brother’s characterization.

“I’d say it was a gray area,” Elon Musk said at a 2013 event.

And in a 2020 podcast interview, Elon Musk said he had a “student work visa” at the time.

“Student work visa” is not an official term, and experts told CNN last month that it’s impossible to know Musk’s immigration path without access to the paper trail in his government file.

It’s likely regulations weren’t enforced as strictly during Musk’s time as a student, according to Hunter Swanson, associate director of the Center for International Education at Washington and Lee University in Virginia. Enforcement of student visa restrictions, and the systems officials use to monitor compliance, intensified dramatically after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, Swanson told CNN earlier this year. Some of the hijackers involved in the attacks were in the U.S. on student visas, according to the official 9/11 Commission Report.

“It definitely wouldn’t be possible to do academic training now on a J-1 Visa if you dropped out in your first term,” Swanson said in an email Sunday.

What’s the importance of digging into Musk’s own immigration history?

“For me, it’s the hypocrisy,” Siskind says. ”He’s been fixated on illegal immigration in the last year. And you know, he should be empathetic to the people who are struggling with the immigration system.”

Gaza humanitarian crisis could develop into famine, WFP says

Reuters
Tue, October 29, 2024

FILE PHOTO: Palestinians gather to receive aid, in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip

GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.N. World Food Programmed called on Tuesday for immediate action to avert famine in the Gaza Strip, warning that the humanitarian crisis there could soon worsen amid what it said were severe restrictions on aid flows.

A global monitor warned this month that the whole of the Palestinian enclave remained at risk of famine, with Israeli military operations adding to concerns and hampering humanitarian access.

"Now, as the situation in northern Gaza continues to deteriorate, the likelihood of a larger group being impacted by famine will surely increase unless conditions on the ground improve," said WFP, the United Nations' food agency.

WFP said that it had approximately 94,000 tonnes of food standing by in Egypt and Jordan that could feed 1 million people for four months, but that could not bring it into Gaza because too few entry points were open and others were not safe enough.

Since Israel seized the Rafah crossing with Egypt in May - months after it began its offensive in Gaza following the Ham as-led attack on Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023 - all routes into Gaza have been controlled by Israel.

"Restrictions on humanitarian aid coming into Gaza are severe," WFP said, adding that only 5,000 tonnes had entered the Gaza Strip this month.

Other constraints that needed to be addressed to improve aid flows in Gaza include approval of trucks and truck drivers and delays at check points, it said.

(Reporting by Emma Farge, Editing by Friederike Heine and Timothy Heritage)

Humanitarian crisis in Gaza could escalate to famine

Jessi Turnure
Tue, October 29, 2024
DC News Now Washington



WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The U.N. World Food Programme warned Tuesday the humanitarian crisis in Gaza could soon turn into a famine if restrictions on aid continue.

This comes after Israel passed two laws Monday that could stop a key U.N. agency from entering the area.

“We are deeply troubled by this legislation,” said Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department. “It poses risks for millions of Palestinians who rely on UNRWA for essential services.”

UNRWA provides food, water, health care and education to refugees amid the Israel-Hamas war, and Miller said no other agency can currently take over.

“The work is absolutely critical and irreplaceable in Gaza right now,” he said.

The Israeli laws will not take effect for months, but Miller said the U.S. could take action against its ally.

“There could be consequences under U.S. law and U.S. policy for the implementation of this legislation,” he said.

UNRWA called the new laws unprecedented.

“We are the backbone of the aid operation,” said John Fowler, a spokesperson for UNRWA. “That’s not just us saying that. All other agencies from the U.N. rely completely on our logistical platforms, our thousands of staff to be able to do their work.”

However, Israel accuses UNRWA of being “a terrorist front” for Hamas, saying some of its staff participated in the Oct. 7 attack and even more have militant ties.

“These are not aid workers,” said Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations. “These are savages who have seized UNRWA Gaza and transformed it into a Hamas chapter. These heinous criminal scandals can no longer be swept under the rug.”

UNRWA fired nine workers after an investigation but denies it knowingly helps armed groups. The U.S. and other allies temporarily paused funding to the agency over the allegations.