China’s 2024 coal projects threaten climate goals: report

China last year began construction on projects with the greatest combined coal power capacity since 2015, jeopardising the country’s goal to peak carbon emissions by 2030, according to a report published Thursday.The world’s second-largest economy is the biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change, but also a renewable energy powerhouse. It plans to reach net zero by 2060.While coal has been a pivotal energy source in China for decades, explosive growth in wind and solar installations in recent years has raised hopes that the country can wean itself off the dirty fossil fuel.But according to a report from the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) in the United States, China began construction on 94.5 gigawatts of coal power projects in 2024 — 93 percent of the global total. Although the country also added a record 356 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity — 4.5 times the European Union’s additions — the uptick in coal power risks solidifying its role in China’s energy mix, the report said.”China’s rapid expansion of renewable energy has the potential to reshape its power system, but this opportunity is being undermined by the simultaneous large-scale expansion of coal power,” said Qi Qin, lead author of the report and China analyst at CREA. The rise comes despite a pledge by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2021 to “strictly control” coal power projects and increases in coal consumption before “phasing it down” between 2026 and 2030.Coal production has risen steadily in recent years, from 3.9 billion tons in 2020 to 4.8 billion tons in 2024.”Without urgent policy shifts, China risks reinforcing a pattern of energy addition rather than transition, limiting the full potential of its clean energy boom,” the report said.- Coal prioritised -New permits for coal power projects fell 83 percent in the first half of 2024, prompting optimism that China’s clean energy transition was gathering pace.In November, a survey of experts by CREA and the Australian think tank International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS) found 52 percent thought China’s coal consumption would peak in 2025.But coal power surged in the latter months of 2024, despite the country adding enough power from clean energy sources to cover its growth in electricity demand.That suggested coal power was being prioritised over renewable sources in some regions, the report said.”Chinese coal power and mining companies are sponsoring and building new coal plants beyond what is needed,” said Christine Shearer, research analyst at GEM.”The continued pursuit of coal is crowding out the country’s use of lower-cost clean energy.”China is due to announce details of its 15th Five-Year Plan — for 2026 to 2030 — in the coming months, likely including updated emissions and energy goals.This month it was also due to submit new emissions targets, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), under the 2015 Paris Agreement.So far only a handful of countries have submitted new NDCs.In October, CREA urged China to set a “strong but achievable” target of slashing emissions by at least 30 percent by 2035.

White House says American among three detainees freed by Belarus

US officials said Wednesday they had secured the release of three “hostages” who had been detained in Belarus, including an American citizen, in a diplomatic success for President Donald Trump’s administration.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the release of the three, including “one American and two individuals from Belarus, one of whom worked for Radio Liberty.”US Ambassador to Lithuania Kara McDonald, speaking on CNN from Vilnius, described the release as “a big day for team America, for the president, for the secretary of state,” adding “we just welcomed them (the detainees) here a few minutes ago.”Exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya hailed the “wonderful news” in a post on X, thanking Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “for their joint efforts in making this happen.”Chris Smith, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Eastern European affairs, described a “special operation” in which he and other US officials “crossed into the Belarusian frontier (and) went into Minsk to meet with Belarusian counterparts who brought these three detainees to us.””They were handed over to us, and we brought them back out through Lithuania,” he told CNN.The released American has not been identified.The White House’s Leavitt called the US citizen’s release “a remarkable victory on the heels of Marc Fogel returning to America last night.”Fogel, an American teacher held in Russia since 2021, was freed Tuesday in a prisoner swap with Moscow.One of the persons freed by Minsk is Andrey Kuznechyk, a veteran journalist with Radio Liberty, according to a statement from the broadcaster which is known in Belarus as Radio Svaboda.- ‘Joyous day’ -US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the two Belarusian detainees “political prisoners” and thanked the Lithuanian government for its its assistance in the matter, calling it “a true ally and friend.” He also did not name the released American.”We remain committed to the release of other US citizens in Belarus and elsewhere,” Rubio staid in a statement. “We call for the release of nearly 1,300 political prisoners who remain in jail across Belarus.”In a statement, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) President Stephen Capus said: “This is a joyous day for Andrey, his wife, and their two young children. After more than three years apart, this family is together again thanks to President Trump.”RFE/RL posted a video of Kuznechyk hugging his wife, still wearing a prison uniform.Founded during the Cold War, RFE/RL is a broadcaster funded by the US Congress to transmit information behind the Iron Curtain.Kuznechyk was arrested in 2021, and in 2022 was sentenced to six years in a hard labor camp on charges of participating in or organizing an “extremist organization,” the broadcaster said.On Sunday, billionaire Elon Musk, who is spearheading Trump’s federal government cost-cutting efforts, called for RFE/RL and another broadcaster funded by Congress, the Voice of America, to be shuttered.Tikhanovskaya wrote on X that the other Belarusian citizen released, activist Yelena Movshuk, is “in a serious health condition.”Movshuk was detained in 2020 and in 2021 sentenced to six years on a charge of taking part in mass riots.Tikhanovskaya’s aide Franak Viachorka wrote on Facebook that Movshuk “is in a difficult physical and psychological condition.””We drove her to a safe place. On the way she told of all the horrors that she had to go through,” he added.

Trump admin sues New York over immigration enforcement

US President Donald Trump’s administration filed a lawsuit against New York on Wednesday accusing the Democratic-ruled state of hindering federal efforts to crack down on undocumented migrants.The legal action comes a week after the Justice Department sued so-called “sanctuary” city Chicago and the Midwestern state of Illinois on similar grounds.”We sued Illinois and New York didn’t listen,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi said at a press conference. “New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops today.”If you don’t comply with federal law we will hold you accountable,” Bondi said. “And if you are a state not complying with federal law, you’re next.”Trump pledged during his 2024 presidential campaign to carry out the largest mass deportation of undocumented migrants in US history.Bondi complained that law enforcement officers in New York are not allowed, for example, to check the residency status of motorists who they pull over for traffic violations.”If (they) pull over someone and don’t have access to their background, they have no idea who they’re dealing with,” she said.New York’s Department of Motor Vehicles also has a “tipoff provision” to “inform any illegal alien when a federal immigration agency has requested their information,” Bondi said.”It’s unconstitutional, and that’s why we filed this lawsuit,” she said.Bondi was accompanied at the press conference by a woman whose 20-year-old daughter was murdered by a member of the MS-13 gang who the attorney general said should not have been allowed into the country.”No other parents should suffer by having their child murdered by somebody that shouldn’t be here,” Bondi said. “Millions of illegal aliens with violent records have flooded into our communities, bringing violence and deadly drugs with them.”Trump has insisted that undocumented migrants are disproportionately responsible for crime, despite research showing US citizens commit more offenses per capita.After taking office, Trump declared a “national emergency” on the southern US border and signed an executive order stating that undocumented migrants present “significant threats to national security and public safety.””Further exacerbating this national crisis, some of these aliens find safe havens from federal law enforcement detection in so-called Sanctuary Cities where they live and work among innocent Americans, who may later become their crime victims,” it says.Trump has long promised legal action against sanctuary states and cities, which are largely led by Democrats.

AP reporter again barred from Oval Office over ‘Gulf of America’

An AP reporter Wednesday was barred from attending White House events for the second straight day, as Donald Trump’s administration sought to justify its actions against media that refuse to call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”A day earlier the Associated Press said its reporter was blocked from covering an Oval Office signing because the AP “did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order” that renamed the body of water as the Gulf of America.On Wednesday the reporter for the 180-year-old media organization was again prevented from attending an Oval Office event, the swearing in of new Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.Asked about the restriction, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration was guarding against media “lies.””We reserve the right to decide who gets to go into the Oval Office,” Leavitt told reporters, describing the act of asking questions of the US president an “invitation” and not a right.”If we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable,” Leavitt said. “It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America. And I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is.”She noted how the US secretary of interior has officially designated the new name, and that Google and Apple have both complied with Trump’s executive order and made the changes on their popular map applications used in the United States.In the Tuesday statement, Associated Press Executive Editor Julie Pace called the White House’s decision “alarming.””Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment” right to freedom of speech.Trump has also ordered changing the name of North America’s highest peak from Denali to Mount McKinley, reversing then-president Barack Obama’s 2015 decision to officially recognize the name used by Alaska Natives for centuries.In a style note last month, AP said Trump’s executive order “only carries authority within the United States.””As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences,” it added.However AP said it would refer to Mount McKinley since it “lies solely in the United States and as president, Trump has the authority to change federal geographical names within the country.”

US stocks mostly lower on inflation, euro gains on Ukraine peace hopes

Wall Street stocks mostly fell Wednesday after US inflation data exceeded expectations, while the euro strengthened on signs Russia and Ukraine could be closer to a peace agreement.Major US indices began the day firmly in the red after January US consumer price index data showed inflation grew, raising questions about whether the Federal Reserve’s progress on bringing down prices was reversing.While both the Dow and S&P 500 dropped, they finished well above session lows. The Nasdaq mustered a small gain.”Equities were a lot more resilient than I would have expected given the news we had this morning,” said Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital.Still, US Treasury yields advanced, a sign investors see lower odds for Fed interest rate cuts.”Investors were looking for reassurance in this morning’s inflation report — and they didn’t get it,” said Bret Kenwell, US investment analyst at the trading platform eToro.He said the “higher-than-expected print further lowers the odds of rate cuts from the Fed this year and stokes investors’ reflationary fears.”Analysts warn that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs — and plans to slash taxes, regulations and immigration — risked reigniting inflation.”What makes today’s rise in CPI inflation data so precarious is that many believe this is just the beginning, as tariffs could push inflation even higher,” said Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at financial services firm CMC Markets.The dollar initially strengthened after the inflation report, but weakened later against the euro following news that Trump held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about immediately starting Ukraine peace talks.Later Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had had a “meaningful conversation” with Trump and that the leaders discussed ways to end Russia’s nearly three-year invasion of Ukraine.However, crude oil prices finished down more than two percent due in part to expectations for increased Russian oil output.- Heineken fizzes -In Asian markets, Hong Kong led gains thanks to another tech rally. In Europe, London and Frankfurt hit fresh record highs, with support coming from cuts to interest rates in Britain and the eurozone, as well as positive company earnings. Shares in Dutch brewer Heineken fizzed as traders cheered better-than-expected beer sales. The stock surged 14 percent, making it the biggest gainer on the Amsterdam market.But Chevron fell 1.6 percent after announcing it will cut 15 to 20 percent of its workforce as part of a reorganization to save money and to position the oil giant for the long-term.- Key figures around 2150 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 44,368.56 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.3 percent at 6,051.97 (close)New York – Nasdaq: UP less than 0.1 points at 19,649.95 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 8,807.44 (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 8,042.19 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 22,148.03 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 38,963.70 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.6 percent at 21,857.92 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 3,346.39 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0387 from $1.0307 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2446 from $1.2368Dollar/yen: UP at 154.39 yen from 152.00 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.40 pence from 83.33 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.7 percent at $71.37 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.4 percent at $75.18 per barrelburs-jmb/jgc

Une grenade lancée dans un bar à Grenoble: une douzaine de blessés, dont deux graves

Une grenade lancée dans un bar d’un quartier sensible de Grenoble a fait une douzaine de blessés dont deux graves, mercredi soir, la piste terroriste étant pour l’instant écartée.”Une personne est rentrée, a lancé une grenade, n’a pas prononcé de mot, semble-t-il, et ensuite a pris la fuite”, a déclaré à la presse le procureur François Touret de Coucy, présent sur place. “Aucune hypothèse n’est privilégiée à ce stade”, a-t-il ajouté. L’enquête est confiée aux policiers de la DCOS, ex-PJ.Mais “on peut exclure l’attentat purement terroriste, puisqu’il n’y a rien qui nous permet de penser que c’est lié à du terrorisme”, a dit le magistrat, évoquant “un acte de violence extrême” qui “peut être lié à un règlement de compte, d’une manière ou d’une autre”. “Cette personne aurait été armée aussi d’une kalachnikov, mais ça reste à déterminer. Il n’est pas certain que cette kalachnikov ait été utilisée. A priori, les dégâts ont été causés par l’éclatement de la grenade”, a-t-il expliqué.”Beaucoup de clients” était présent au moment de l’explosion, selon lui.- Plan blanc déclenché -L’explosion est survenue un peu après 20H00 dans le quartier du Village olympique, classé prioritaire de la politique de la ville et situé dans le sud de Grenoble.Un lien avec le trafic de stupéfiants est l’une des hypothèses explorées, a indiqué le procureur.Le bilan vers 23H00 faisait état d’une douzaine de personnes prises en charge par les secours, toujours présents sur place en nombre, dont deux blessés graves, sans que leur pronostic vital ne soit “forcément” engagé, selon le procureur.L’hôpital de Grenoble a déclenché son plan blanc pour soigner les blessés, a précisé le maire de la ville Eric Piolle.”Je condamne avec la plus grande fermeté l’acte criminel d’une violence inouïe qui s’est produit dans un commerce du quartier du Village olympique”, a réagi l’édile sur X.”Nous suivons la situation de près. La Ville apportera son concours comme elle le fait toujours”, a-t-il ajouté.Le bar associatif visé est “un lieu de rassemblement des personnes du quartier et de l’extérieur, et surtout pour regarder des matchs de foot”, a expliqué à l’AFP Chloé Pantel, maire adjointe du secteur 6 de Grenoble, qui s’est rendue sur place. Un peu plus de deux heures après les faits, “on attend que les derniers blessés, les moins graves, puissent être orientés vers les hôpitaux”, explique l’élue. “Les forces de police vont rester présentes sur le quartier pendant un moment”, a-t-elle précisé.

Une grenade lancée dans un bar à Grenoble: une douzaine de blessés, dont deux graves

Une grenade lancée dans un bar d’un quartier sensible de Grenoble a fait une douzaine de blessés dont deux graves, mercredi soir, la piste terroriste étant pour l’instant écartée.”Une personne est rentrée, a lancé une grenade, n’a pas prononcé de mot, semble-t-il, et ensuite a pris la fuite”, a déclaré à la presse le procureur François Touret de Coucy, présent sur place. “Aucune hypothèse n’est privilégiée à ce stade”, a-t-il ajouté. L’enquête est confiée aux policiers de la DCOS, ex-PJ.Mais “on peut exclure l’attentat purement terroriste, puisqu’il n’y a rien qui nous permet de penser que c’est lié à du terrorisme”, a dit le magistrat, évoquant “un acte de violence extrême” qui “peut être lié à un règlement de compte, d’une manière ou d’une autre”. “Cette personne aurait été armée aussi d’une kalachnikov, mais ça reste à déterminer. Il n’est pas certain que cette kalachnikov ait été utilisée. A priori, les dégâts ont été causés par l’éclatement de la grenade”, a-t-il expliqué.”Beaucoup de clients” était présent au moment de l’explosion, selon lui.- Plan blanc déclenché -L’explosion est survenue un peu après 20H00 dans le quartier du Village olympique, classé prioritaire de la politique de la ville et situé dans le sud de Grenoble.Un lien avec le trafic de stupéfiants est l’une des hypothèses explorées, a indiqué le procureur.Le bilan vers 23H00 faisait état d’une douzaine de personnes prises en charge par les secours, toujours présents sur place en nombre, dont deux blessés graves, sans que leur pronostic vital ne soit “forcément” engagé, selon le procureur.L’hôpital de Grenoble a déclenché son plan blanc pour soigner les blessés, a précisé le maire de la ville Eric Piolle.”Je condamne avec la plus grande fermeté l’acte criminel d’une violence inouïe qui s’est produit dans un commerce du quartier du Village olympique”, a réagi l’édile sur X.”Nous suivons la situation de près. La Ville apportera son concours comme elle le fait toujours”, a-t-il ajouté.Le bar associatif visé est “un lieu de rassemblement des personnes du quartier et de l’extérieur, et surtout pour regarder des matchs de foot”, a expliqué à l’AFP Chloé Pantel, maire adjointe du secteur 6 de Grenoble, qui s’est rendue sur place. Un peu plus de deux heures après les faits, “on attend que les derniers blessés, les moins graves, puissent être orientés vers les hôpitaux”, explique l’élue. “Les forces de police vont rester présentes sur le quartier pendant un moment”, a-t-elle précisé.

Trump and Putin set to meet in Saudi Arabia on Ukraine

US President Donald Trump revealed Wednesday he expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia for Ukraine peace talks, in an extraordinary thaw in relations after a surprise phone call between the two leaders.In their first confirmed contact since Trump’s return to the White House, the US president said he had held a “lengthy and highly productive” conversation with the Russian counterpart who ordered the bloody 2022 invasion of Ukraine.Trump, who has been pushing for a quick end to the nearly three-year war, also denied that Ukraine was being left out in the cold by the direct negotiations between the two nuclear-armed superpowers.”We expect that he’ll come here, and I’ll go there — and we’re going to meet probably in Saudi Arabia the first time,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office about his plans to meet Putin.Trump said he expected it to happen “in the not too distant future” and added that Saudi Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman — who played a key role in a Russia-US prisoner exchange this week — would also be involved.The Kremlin said the call lasted nearly one-and-a-half hours. Putin and Trump had agreed that the “time has come to work together” and that the Russian leader has invited his US counterpart to Moscow, it said.Republican Trump had previously promised to end the Ukraine war “within 24 hours” before taking office on January 20.- ‘Make peace’ -Trump took the world by surprise as he announced the call on his Truth Social network earlier, saying they had “both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,” using an unconfirmed figure for the toll in the conflict.The US president said he and Putin had agreed to “work together very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations” and to “have our respective teams start negotiations immediately” on Ukraine.Trump later called Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not included on the call with Putin. Zelensky said afterwards that he had a “meaningful” call with Trump in which he had “shared details” of his talks with Putin.Trump said after the conversation that Zelensky “like President Putin, wants to make PEACE.”But the move sparked concerns that Ukraine will be left out of talks on its own fate.Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told European counterparts earlier Wednesday that Ukraine’s dream of returning to its pre-2014 borders was an “illusionary goal” — and that Kyiv’s wish for NATO membership was “not realistic.”Both are key demands of Moscow.Trump denied that Zelensky was being frozen out, and rejected criticism that Hegseth’s comments meant Washington was agreeing to Russia’s preconditions.He added that NATO membership for Ukraine was “impractical.”The Ukrainian leader is calling for tough security guarantees from Washington as part of any deal with Russia. Trump has meanwhile suggested a deal for Kyiv’s rare earth minerals in exchange for its continued military aid.- ‘Root causes’ -Zelensky is due to meet US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday at the Munich Security Conference, after meeting US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Kyiv on Wednesday.The Kremlin’s statement on the call with Trump was more measured. It said Putin “agreed with Trump that a long-term settlement could be reached through peace negotiations” but said he wanted to “address the root causes of the conflict,” which Russian blames on western influence on Kyiv.There had been signs of a thaw this week with a prisoner swap deal that saw Moscow free US teacher Marc Fogel and Belarus release a US citizen, while Washington released Russian cryptocurrency kingpin Alexander Vinnik.Trump has previously expressed admiration for Putin and heaped praise on the Russian president in his Truth Social post. He said Putin “even used my very strong Campaign motto of, ‘COMMON SENSE.'” and thanked him for Fogel’s release.However, concern has been mounting in Kyiv and European capitals about the shape of a possible deal.The French, German and Spanish foreign ministers insisted Wednesday that there could be “no just and lasting peace” without the involvement of Kyiv and its European partners.burs-dk/jgc

Angleterre: Everton accroche Liverpool (2-2) dans un finish exceptionnel

Everton a arraché contre son voisin Liverpool, leader du championnat, un match nul de manière spectaculaire (2-2), dans les ultimes secondes du dernier derby disputé à Goodison Park, mercredi en Premier League.Le défenseur James Tarkowski a envoyé un missile en pleine lucarne au bout d’un interminable temps additionnel (90e+8) pour faire chavirer ses supporters dans un stade en fusion.Des fans sont même entrés sur la pelouse, brièvement, pour fêter l’égalisation, qui a été accordée plusieurs secondes après, le temps que le corps arbitral élimine la possibilité d’un hors jeu.Des échauffourées entre joueurs ont suivi le coup de sifflet final après une célébration d’Abdoulaye Doucouré devant les supporters de Liverpool. L’excitation entourant le derby de la Mersey était décuplée par le fait qu’il se jouait pour la dernière fois à Goodison Park, le stade des “Toffees” inauguré en 1892, bientôt promis à la démolition.Pour l’événement, Everton a freiné le rival Liverpool dans sa course vers le titre. Les “Reds”, avec 57 points, comptent sept longueurs de plus qu’Arsenal (2e, 50 pts) et dix de plus que Nottingham Forest (3e, 47 pts).Everton a ouvert le score par Beto (11e, 1-0) mais s’est fait renverser sur une tête d’Alexis Mac Allister (16e, 1-1) et un but de Mohamed Salah (73e, 1-2), son 22e en 24 matches de Premier League cette saison.Les “Toffees” ont rapidement perdu sur blessure l’ancien ailier de l’OM Iliman Ndiaye, sorti en pleurs, le visage enfoui sous son maillot.La rencontre a été hachée par de nombreuses fautes. L’arbitre a par exemple distribué cinq cartons jaunes en première période, et deux rouges pour Doucouré et Curtis Jones après le coup de sifflet final.