It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, June 05, 2026
TotalEnergies Gets Kremlin Approval to Sell Stake in Arctic LNG 2
An Arctic LNG 2 liquefaction train being positioned at its permanent berth in the Gulf of Ob (Novatek file image)
After seven years of involvement, TotalEnergies has received approval to exit the Arctic LNG 2 liquefaction terminal project in Russia's far north. The Novatek-led initiative has been under Western sanctions since the early days of the invasion of Ukraine, and has been exporting only a fraction of its designed volume.
TotalEnergies bought a 10 percent share of Arctic LNG 2 during the early stages of development in 2019. In combination with the French energy major's 19 percent stake in Russian gas developer Novatek, the majority owner and operator of the facility, TotalEnergies controlled about 21 percent of the economic interest in the site. At the time, TotalEnergies chief Patrick Pouyanne said that it aligned with the company's focus on "giant low cost resources primarily destined for the fast growing Asian markets."
A combination of Arctic ice and Western sanctions have inhibited the project's completion, and it has yet to achieve full-rate production. One train is idled, one is in operation and one is still incomplete (a technical challenge, as the Western firms that designed the equipment have exited Russia). The site requires special-purpose icebreaking LNG carriers for eastbound deliveries in ice conditions, and this fleet has not been fully built, leaving Arctic LNG 2 without year-round access to the Chinese market via the Northern Sea Route.
A federal decree issued by the Kremlin on Wednesday will allow TotalEnergies to sell its 10 percent stake to a Novatek subsidiary, according to Kommersant. The decision will bring Novatek's share in the project to 70 percent. The remaining 30 percent is held by Japanese and Chinese energy enterprises.
TotalEnergies still retains a 19 percent interest in Novatek and a 20 percent stake in the Yamal LNG project, which sells almost all of its exports to European buyers. If EU restrictions on Russian LNG imports take effect next year, as is expected, this plant could lose much of its market as well.
TotalEnergies declined to comment on the Arctic LNG 2 stake sale when asked by Reuters on Wednesday.
Police Charge Yacht Crew With Smuggling Wanted Fugitive Out of Australia
Australian police intercept the vessel and the fugitive at a position off Exmouth (Australian Federal Police)
Police in Western Australia have arrested three people in connection with an alleged attempt to smuggle a wanted fugitive out of the country on a sailing yacht.
The plot centered on the legal troubles of an alleged motorcycle gang member from Queensland, who had outstanding warrants for his arrest on drug trafficking charges and a return-to-prison order. The police were also looking to question him in connection with "multiple serious crimes."
An organized crime group is suspected of making arrangements for the fugitive to get out of the country. According to police, two suspects in their 40s - a man and a woman - picked up a newly-bought sailing yacht in Perth, Australia in May and sailed it to Exmouth, a remote port on Western Australia's central coast. A third woman picked up the fugitive and delivered him to a boat ramp at the port, where he met up with the yacht. Together, the small crew and their passenger set off for foreign shores in Indonesia, according to Australian authorities.
On Monday, a police tactical response force intercepted and boarded the yacht at a position about 45 nautical miles off the coast of Exmouth, outside of Australian territorial seas. They detained the fugitive and both crewmembers; the driver who had delivered the fugitive to Exmouth was arrested the same day.
The two crewmembers were charged with people smuggling, the first time that the statute has ever been used in Western Australia. The court refused their bail application, and they will next appear to face charges on June 15.
"We're grateful to our colleagues at the AFP and Western Australia Police Force who worked with us to locate the wanted Queensland man," Queensland Police Service Detective Inspector Dave Barron said in a statement. "We have zero tolerance for anyone who participates in the trafficking of dangerous drugs and as demonstrated in this case we will hold any alleged offender to account."
Illegal biker gangs play a substantial role in Australia's prolific and lucrative drug trade. They tend to operate the distribution side of the business, in partnership with the foreign organized crime groups that handle inbound wholesale smuggling operations, notably Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel.
Australia is the world's leading consumer of cocaine per capita, and has some of the highest prices for the drug to be found anywhere - and the highest profit margins. A single $2,000 kilo of cocaine successfully smuggled into Australia can be worth more than $200,000, depending on current market conditions.
Carmel: MARAD Was Not Consulted About Jones Act Waiver
In a hearing before the Congressional Transporation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday, committeemembers scrutinized the U.S. Maritime Administration and the Federal Maritime Commission's FY2027 budget requests. But the main topic for lawmakers was the White House's Jones Act waiver, the longest and broadest in recent history - which, according to testimony, MARAD was not informed of until after the decision to issue the waiver had been made.
When ranking member Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) asked Maritime Administrator Stephen Carmel for his views on the value of the waiver, Carmel said that his office had not been consulted.
"The Jones Act waiver was done by the Department of War and Homeland Security. We were not advised until the end that it was going to happen," Carmel said. "The way this works under 501(a), we are not involved in this process at all. We are not consulted before a waiver is issued and in fact we generally officially are not told about it until 10 days after the voyage ends."
Responding to later questions by Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Carmel confirmed once again that his office had not been consulted.
The waiver is broadly opposed by U.S. shipyards, shipping companies and maritime unions, who argue that it introduces uncertainty and could undermine the viability of the U.S. domestic fleet. Foreign-flag operators can hire seafarers and build tonnage in low-wage jurisdictions overseas, and can use their low overhead to outcompete American vessels on price point - reducing day rates for charterers, but at a cost to American maritime's national-defense capabilities in time of need.
Carmel is a longtime supporter of the Jones Act and an active member of the industry, having previously served as president of U.S. Marine Management, a division of the Jones Act vessel leasing and financing company Maritime Partners. In his confirmation hearing last October, he confirmed to the Senate Transportation Committee that he supports the Act.
Budget leans into Tanker Security Program, USMMA Revamp and Maritime Security Trust Fund
The U.S. Maritime Administration has requested funding to double the number of tankers in the U.S.-flagged Tanker Security Program (TSP) in FY 2027, bringing the fleet to the fully-authorized level of 20 vessels. Previously, Congress has only supplied funding for 10 ships, though the National Defense Authorization Act began mandating 20 hulls in FY2024.
"This investment addresses the urgent and critical national security requirements for the U.S.-flag product tankers. It also supports our deployed Armed Forces in contingency operations and improves core assets to enhance our Nation’s global network of distribution capabilities," said Maritime Administrator Capt. Stephen Carmel in a statement.
Carmel noted that there is "barely" enough cargo volume to sustain the 10 ships currently in the Tanker Security Program, in part because the military does not have to ship oil products aboard American tonnage and uses foreign-flag operators at will. Given the dearth of petroleum cargo, he acknowledged that increasing the TSP to 20 ships comes with risks. However, he told Congress that the investment in growing the fleet "is not only necessary, but warranted."
Other budget highlights include $550 million for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy's infrastructure revamp initiative, the Campus Asset Management Program (CAMP). USMMA stakeholders have long called for federal investment in fixing up the aging physical plant of the campus, and it is a major priority for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
The budget would also cut assistance to state maritime academies by $50 million, cancel funding for the Cable Security Program, and eliminate the Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance Program (META), MARAD's low-emissions R&D initiative.
The proposed budget is an increase over last year's levels, but it draws all of the increase from the proposed Maritime Security Trust Fund, which would have to be enacted as part of the FY2027 budget. The MSTF would be a repository for foreign-ship port fees (a policy deferred since last year), taxes and other revenue streams, plus an initial allocation of $1.4 billion in federal funding to start it off.
If the MSTF is not created as part of the FY2027 budget process, and there is no other funding pool to augment the regular budget, "there's a significant decrease in funding" for longstanding MARAD initiatives like the Port Infrastructure Development Program, cautioned Congressman Salud Carbajal (D-CA). Without the MSTF, the proposed budget allocation for the PIDP would drop by about $450 million, a $130 million budget for new "support ships" to work at the three National Defense Reserve Fleet sites would not be available, and most of the funding for USMMA renovations would disappear.
Giant Navy Shipyard Crane Departs Wisconsin on Long Tow to Hawaii
Giant portal crane "Big Blue" (P-82) passes through downtown Manitowoc (Mayor Justin Nichols / City of Manitowoc)
Giant portal cranes are a photogenic icon of the shipbuilding might of a past era, but a recent delivery from Konecranes suggest that they can be a sign of revitalization, too. Last week, a 200-foot-tall portal crane got under way from the manufacturer's site in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, bound on a 9,000-nautical-mile voyage to Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Hawaii.
The newly-delivered portal jib crane is the P-82, a behemoth that will be installed at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Dubbed "Big Blue," it is part of a $370 million contract to upgrade equipment at the four public shipyards, according to the Navy's Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Project (SIOP). Securely lashed to a barge and braced for a long ocean transit, it is now under tow by the tug Ocean Tower - and attracting attention everywhere on the route out to sea.
SIOP / USN
The Navy signed an order with Konecranes back in 2019 for the first of up to seven cranes of this classic design, and P-82 is the second in line for delivery. It is a custom crane with a base built to deal with multiple different support rail sizes and shapes, as found at the Navy's historical shipyard layouts.
The PHNSY crane - technically a "weight-handling system (crane type)" for the Navy's planning purposes - will be able to lift components weighing up to 175 tonnes. It is part of a deep renovation of the shipyard and will drive (in part) on brand new tracks: As part of the yard's comprehensive modernization overhaul, the Navy's engineers are building out a new full-size graving dock, a rare project in the United States and the first at PHNSY since the Second World War. The $2.8 billion Dry Dock 5 is scaled to support maintenance of future submarine classes, including the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine fleet, the most survivable element of the U.S. nuclear deterrent.
Coast Guard Offers Reward for Stolen Navigational Beacon
The bright green beacon of the Superior Entry Lighthouse (above) was stolen last month (Pete Markham / CC BY file image)
The U.S. Coast Guard has offered a $1,000 reward for information on who stole a navigational beacon from an important lighthouse at the harbor at Superior, Wisconsin. The "reckless" removal created an extremely hazardous condition for mariners who rely on the light for navigation, the service said.
According to the Coast Guard, on May 13 an unknown suspect broke into the Superior Entry Lighthouse on Wisconsin Point, a breakwater that shelters the harbor entrance at Superior Bay. The channel entrance serves laker traffic to and from Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin, where there are large-scale bulk terminals for grain and iron ore.
The structure of the lighthouse itself is privately owned, but the light belongs to the Coast Guard. It is not a traditional Fresnel lens white light - that system was retired decades ago - but rather a flashing green beacon. The suspect broke in, cut the power cable and took the beacon, the Coast Guard said in a statement. Since the light was owned by the service, the theft is a federal felony.
Courtesy USCG Great Lakes
"The removal of this navigational beacon creates a severe hazard that could lead to catastrophic vessel collisions or groundings. Such accidents pose a direct, life-threatening danger to commercial mariners and local recreational boaters," said the Coast Guard. "A major vessel incident in this area [would carry] the risk of devastating environmental damage from fuel spills and threatens to disrupt the vital, daily movement of critical maritime commerce."
Tips that lead to arrest and conviction will bring a reward of $1,000, and mariners and local residents are encouraged to contact the Coast Guard with any useful information. Any sightings of suspicious activity or vehicles in the area on or around May 13 could be of interest.
The marketability or private-party use value of a stolen green flashing beacon is not clear, but the tall, barrel-shaped light is a distinctive object that would be readily identifiable if the thief attempts to resell it.
Marjane Satrapi, French-Iranian author of 'Persepolis', dies of 'sadness' at 56
French-Iranian author and illustrator Marjane Satrapi, best known for the book and film “Persopolis”, has died of "sadness", members of her entourage said Thursday. She was 56.
Franco-Iranian author and film director Marjane Satrapi, renowned for her graphic novel and film "Persepolis", has died aged 56, a year after the passing of "the love of her life", a member of her close circle said on Thursday.
"Marjane Satrapi died of sadness a little over a year after the death of Mattias Ripa, her husband and the love of her life," they said in a statement sent to AFP.
Born in 1969 in Rasht in northern Iran, Satrapi arrived in France in 1994 and gained French nationality in 2006.
An outspoken critic of Iran's theocratic government, Satrapi's "Persepolis" recounts her early life in Tehran, struggling with restrictions imposed by Iran's Islamic leadership after the 1979 revolution before her parents sent her to Europe and she began a life in exile.
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Satrapi, saying she was "a great artist who turned her Iranian childhood into a universal tale".
The films she directed included a 2007 adaptation of the graphic novel of "Persepolis" – co-directed by Vincent Paronnaud – which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar.
"Even if this is a universal film, I want to dedicate this prize to all Iranians," Satrapi said at the time.
"Marjane was an extraordinary artist and a charming woman who embodied the joy of creation and the sorrow of exile and painful memories. We mourn her this morning," Cannes festival supremo Thierry Fremaux told AFP.
'Her courage will resonate'
She was a vocal supporter of the protests that erupted in the Islamic republic after the 2022 death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini while in custody for allegedly breaching the dress code for women.
She curated a collection of graphic stories on the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement in her latest book that came out in English in 2024, and was among those at a protest in Paris that same year to mark two years since Amini's death.
"It's very important that this regime disappears," she said of the Islamic republic, but she stressed it could not happen overnight.
"I think it's important to remain hopeful."
The foundation of Narges Mohammadi, the jailed Iranian Nobel peace prize winner, praised Satrapi as "a fearless voice for feminism, human rights, and freedom".
"She consistently advocated for women's rights, standing in solidarity with the people of Iran and amplifying the message of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement on the global stage," it said.
"Her courage will continue to resonate far beyond her lifetime."
Also a painter, in 2020 Satrapi exhibited a series of works she said she had spent the past seven years painting between other projects, speaking of a need to isolate herself from the world with her canvases.
"I think my mental health depends on it," she said.
She said she believed in being a feminist through her actions.
"If I show that I know how to do things just as well as – or even better than – a man, then I've won the battle and I can be an example for the girl who will come after me," she said. 'Love of my life'
She said last year she had turned down France's highest civilian honour, the legion d'honneur, accusing the country of "hypocrisy" over visa policies that prevented dissidents travelling from Iran to France.
"I can't ignore what I see as a hypocritical attitude towards Iran, which forged the other part of my identity," she wrote, adding that she meant no disrespect to the award and that she loved France "deeply".
Her work expanded beyond stories connected to Iran, including "Radioactive", a 2019 biopic about pioneering radioactivity researcher and Nobel-prize winner Marie Curie, starring Rosamund Pike.
Her husband, a Swedish producer, actor and screenwriter, had been a long-time collaborator.
After his death on April 8 last year, Satrapi founded the Mattias and Marjane Ripa-Satrapi Cinema Foundation to support foreign students wishing to come to Paris to study filmmaking.
Since he died, Satrapi's Instagram page consisted almost exclusively of a series of images spelling out "For I lost the love of my life", along with a picture of her husband and an announcement of the foundation.
In a special edition, we examine how climate change is affecting the lives of women as rising temperatures and increasingly extreme weather events continue to impact communities worldwide. This as the world is also facing a warming El Nino climate pattern in the coming months. We report from India where a series of recent intense heatwaves has pushed temperatures to dangerous levels and posed a particularly serious risk to pregnant women. Annette Young also talks to UK author, Natasha Walter, whose latest book is entitled 'Feminism for a World on Fire,’ who says a feminist approach is badly needed to address the climate crisis. Plus, how for millions of women, heatwaves are not just about the rising temperatures. It also puts them at risk of harassment in public as they wear lighter clothes such as shorts or sleeveless dresses and tops, according to French data.
Predicted global hunger crisis becoming a reality as Mideast war drags on, UN warns
Predictions that the Middle East war could drive tens of millions more people into acute hunger are proving to be accurate, the United Nations said Friday, warning that higher fuel and food costs linked to the conflict are deepening food insecurity far beyond the region.
"Pessimistic" predictions that the Middle East war could push tens of millions more people into acute hunger if drawn out are being proven right, the United Nations said Friday.
A few weeks after the US-Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28 sparked the conflict and plunged world energy markets into turmoil, the UN's World Food Programme warned that soaring oil prices were devastating global food security.
If oil prices were to remain around $100 per barrel until the end of June, an estimated 45 million more people worldwide would face acute hunger, the WFP warned in March.
They would come in addition to the nearly 320 million people considered acutely food insecure at the start of the year, it said.
Weeks of complicated talks marked by sharp rhetoric and flare-ups of violence have not managed to reach a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which is critical to oil supplies.
And now, nearly three months into the conflict, "the negative scenario is unfortunately materialising", Jean-Martin Bauer, the director of WFP's food and nutrition analysis service, told AFP.
"The closure of Hormuz is translating into increased hunger," he said, pointing to soaring costs for staples like rice and wheat.
"Unfortunately, the pessimistic projections that were made earlier this year are coming to pass, and we need to act." Millions could lose assistance
According to the WFP's analysis, "the crisis is generating significant spillovers", which were being felt far beyond the Middle East, "particularly through fuel, food price and income shocks and trade disruptions".
"As these factors interact with pre-existing vulnerabilities they quickly translate into visible impacts on food security and livelihoods," it said.
The analysis looked at the situations in several countries with different levels of exposure to the crisis, including Somalia, where six million people are currently considered acutely food insecure.
It projected that 2.5 million more people would be unable to afford basic foodstuffs by the end of the year.
And nearly 60 percent of households in the unstable Horn of Africa nation would be unable to afford essential needs, up from 47 percent in 2025, the agency said.
"What's shaping up is the return of a global cost of living crisis of the likes that we experienced in 2022," after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Bauer warned.
In 2022, "humanitarian programmes were better funded. Humanitarians were in places where they are no longer", Bauer said.
On top of that, logistical challenges and price inflation linked to the Middle East war have put a strain on aid efforts worldwide.
"The humanitarian system faces a double squeeze: rising needs and rising delivery costs, implying coverage gaps," the WFP analysis warned.
The agency estimated that it would now serve 1.5 million fewer people in 2026 than originally planned.
It cautioned that if the conflict lasted six months, more than nine million people could lose assistance. 'Running out of food'
For instance, the WFP risks basically "running out of food" to distribute in Somalia in a few months, Bauer said.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva on Friday, he said the agency was bracing for a "pipeline break" next month, meaning no food will be available for distribution.
"The ones who will experience the impact of this are going to be very vulnerable children under the age of five," he cautioned, also pointing out that there was already a risk of famine in one Somali district.
"This is a very serious situation that requires immediate attention," he said.
With no clear end in sight to the Middle East war, Bauer acknowledged that the global food security situation could worsen further.
And the impact of that war "is not the only cloud on the horizon", he said, pointing in particular to the high risk of a warming El Nino supercharging climate instability.
The petition, which deplored the tightening "grip of the far right" on French cinema, prompted a quick response. Maxime Saada, president of the Canal+ Group – France’s biggest source of film financing – announced that the network would no longer work with the signatories.
The latest incident occurred as Masson and Chim took part in an interview organised to promote Antonin Baudry’s feature film “La Bataille de Gaulle”.
As one of the actors in the movie answered questions from members of the press, FRANCE 24 journalist Nina Masson asked them about the open letter.
Visibly uncomfortable, the actor dodged the question. After the conversation drew to a close, their press officer prevented the journalists from leaving and demanded they turn over a recording of the interview.
“What happened at the end of the interview is of unprecedented gravity. The actor’s press officer blocked our team in the room, threatening them and demanding the immediate return of the memory card containing the recording of the interview,” FRANCE 24’s SDJ said in a statement.
This press officer was "very vindictive and angry, not at all professional", Masson said, adding that she firmly refused to hand over the memory card. Methods used in ‘authoritarian regimes’
Faced with our team’s refusal to yield to these illegitimate demands – notably because they violated journalistic ethics – a second press officer became involved. Under pressure, Masson and Chim were forced to sign “a written commitment not to broadcast the disputed segment”.
“Methods like this, where my equipment is snatched from me and I’m asked to hand over a memory card – that’s something that has happened to me in authoritarian regimes,” said Julie Dungelhoeff, president of FRANCE 24’s SDJ and a veteran correspondent, speaking on France Culture on Friday.
Climate of fear
FRANCE 24’s management condemned in the strongest possible terms the pressure exerted on its journalists, which it describes as archaic practices that constitute an unacceptable violation of press freedom.
“I find these methods appalling. It requires an immediate apology. Our team was mistreated while doing their jobs. This cannot set a precedent. We strongly condemn the acts of intimidation targeting our teams,” stated Vanessa Burggraf, editor-in-chief of FRANCE 24.
Masson said the incident speaks volumes about the “fear” that has permeated the French film industry since Saada spoke of essentially blacklisting actors.
“Since then, I’ve received dozens of messages on social media from culture journalists who are experiencing the same thing,” Masson said. “While it has not always gone to this extreme, they are being pressured not to ask certain questions. We’re fed up with working under these conditions.”
Shocked by this violent attempt at intimidation, our two journalists, along with FRANCE 24 management, are now demanding an apology from the two press officers.
The SDJ has offered its “unreserved support” to Masson and Chim, strongly condemning “the acts of intimidation and censorship” directed at them.
“Press freedom is non-negotiable,” it said.
NASA places ISS astronauts on evacuation alert as air leak worsens
NASA ordered astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to shelter in their spacecraft and prepare for a possible evacuation on Friday after an air leak in the Russian module of the orbiting laboratory worsened, raising fresh concerns over a long-running technical problem.
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station were ordered by NASA to shelter in their spacecraft and prepare for potential evacuation on Friday as a Russian crew attempts to fix a worsening leak of air on its portion of the orbital laboratory, NASA said.
The four astronauts of NASA's Crew-12 mission on the station – two US astronauts, a French astronaut and Russian cosmonaut – got orders from NASA mission control at 9:04 am ET Monday (1304 GMT) to enter their Crew Dragon spacecraft docked to the station and don their spacesuits in case the air leak warrants an emergency evacuation, a NASA official said. France eyes new space record with 9-month ISS mission for Sophie Adenot
NASA and Russia's space agency Roscosmos, the station's two primary operators, have debated for months over the cause and potential fixes of small air leaks aboard Russia's Zvezda service module, a key structure of the football field-sized laboratory
The air leaks have been relatively minor in recent months but escalated on Monday from a pound of air per day to 2 pounds, according to a senior NASA official who asked not to be named.
