Kamis, 12 Januari 2023
President Biden speaks after second batch of classified files found in garage - BBC News - BBC News
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2023-01-12 16:44:02Z
1724777398
Ukraine war: Soledar devastation revealed in satellite images - BBC
The destruction caused by fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces battling for control of a town in eastern Ukraine has been revealed in newly released satellite images.
Comparison with earlier images shows a school and several agricultural buildings are among the structures destroyed in Soledar, while bomb craters scar the landscape and roads around the salt-producing town in Donetsk.
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Much of the damage has been caused in recent weeks with Russian forces trying to seize the town, after months in which they have failed to take a single key town or city in Ukraine.
The strategic significance of Soledar is disputed by military analysts but if Russia succeeds in establishing full control over the town it would be a symbolic victory for the Kremlin.
Russia's notoriously brutal Wagner mercenary group has been heavily involved in the battle for the town, with its head Yevgeny Prigozhin at one point claiming his fighters were in full control and that only his troops took part. However, Russia's defence ministry has insisted its forces are involved.
Ukraine's defence ministry said on Wednesday that heavy fighting continues, and Wagner forces have had no success in breaking through Ukrainian defences.
The images released by Maxar, a US-based space technology company, show how Ukrainian trenches in fields around the town have been targeted by Russian artillery.
Success in Soledar may help Russia in its assault on the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, about 10km (6 miles) to the south west, providing it with a secure artillery position within range of the city.
The town also has deep salt mines, which could be used to station troops and store equipment, protected from Ukrainian missiles.
Taking Bakhmut would be a "much needed boost for Russian forces in the east who have been under real pressure since September", says Edward Arnold, from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), although he adds it would have "little strategic significance for the outcome of the war".
The city has itself been devastated by months of fierce fighting, with Russia continuing its assault there even as its forces were pushed back elsewhere in Ukraine.
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2023-01-12 12:05:59Z
1733763175
Climate change: UAE names oil chief to lead COP28 talks - BBC
The head of one of the world's biggest oil companies has been named to lead the COP28 global climate talks in Dubai, later this year.
Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber is currently the chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
He is also the minister for industry and advanced technology for the COP28 hosts, the United Arab Emirates.
Campaigners say he must stand down from his oil business role while president as it is a clear conflict of interest.
They believe someone steeped in the oil industry may not push countries to rapidly reduce their production and use of fossil fuel, which scientists say is critical to avoiding dangerous climate change.
Running the global climate talks process is not an easy job - for months before, and especially during the conference, every word and action of the president is heavily scrutinised.
COP28 is already mired in some controversy as the hosts, the United Arab Emirates, are one of the world's biggest producers of oil and gas.
The appointment of a key figure in the energy industry as the president-designate of COP28 will likely increase the concerns that the global climate talks process is facing significant influence from fossil fuel interests.
The recent COP27 gathering in Egypt was described by some attendees as a "glorified fossil fuel trade show".
Analysis of those who registered for the event showed a significant increase in those who were connected to the oil and gas industry compared to previous meetings.
Among the large delegation from the UAE at the conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, there were 70 people closely connected to fossil fuels.
Mr Al Jaber is the chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, said to be the world's 12th biggest oil company.
Over the past decade he has become the face of the UAE's energy industry but he will be the first serving oil executive to assume the role of COP president.
As well as being a minister and his country's climate envoy, he is also chairman of Masdar, the government-owned renewable energy company that he helped set up.
He has certainly long warned of the dangers of climate change but campaigners are concerned about his appointment, and are calling for him to step aside from his industry roles.
"It is imperative for the world to be reassured that he will step down from his role as the CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company," said Tasneem Essop, from Climate Action International.
"He cannot preside over a process that is tasked to address the climate crisis with such a conflict of interest, heading an industry that is responsible for the crisis itself."
What will concern campaigners is that major oil and gas producers are among those opposed to a more rapid phase out of all fossil fuels.
At COP27, there was a strong push from more than 80 countries for the conference to declare support for a phase down of oil and gas as well as coal.
This attempt came to nothing in the face of strong opposition from countries the rely of fossil fuel exports.
While Mr Al Jaber's appointment has been met with criticism from activists, others involved in climate diplomacy have welcomed the move.
"The UAE has adopted a sound green growth strategy and is a major investor in renewable energy both at home and abroad," said Yvo de Boer, who was UN climate chief between 2006 and 2010.
"The COP president-designate has been instrumental on many of these issues. This equips him with the understanding, experience and responsibility to make COP28 ambitious, innovative and future focussed."
Certainly those skills will be tested at the gathering in Dubai in early December this year.
COP28 will hold the first formal assessment of progress on cutting carbon since the Paris agreement was signed.
The "global stocktake" as it is called will be a key moment in clarifying just how much further countries will need to go in restricting their emissions.
Follow Matt on Twitter @mattmcgrathbbc.
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2023-01-12 07:14:00Z
1737177263
Second batch of classified Biden documents found - BBC
US President Joe Biden's aides have found a fresh batch of classified government records at a second location, in a growing political embarrassment for the White House.
The first cache was found at a private office in Washington DC that Mr Biden used after his vice-presidency.
The matter is under review by the US Department of Justice.
Former President Donald Trump is facing a criminal investigation for allegedly mishandling classified files.
It was not yet clear on Wednesday when or where the additional tranche of files was found by Biden aides.
The original batch of about 10 documents was discovered in November at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank near the White House, but only came to light this week.
Those papers reportedly include US intelligence memos and briefing materials related to Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom.
The White House has not yet commented on the newly discovered batch. However, the find has been confirmed by the BBC's US partner CBS and other US media.
During her daily press briefing on Wednesday, Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to answer questions about the first cache of files.
"This is under review by the Department of Justice," she said. "I'm not going to go beyond what the president shared yesterday."
Mr Biden said on Tuesday he was "surprised" by the discovery of the records and was "co-operating" with the justice department's review.
The controversy comes as the Democratic president faces scrutiny from a new Republican majority in the US House of Representatives.
"Now that Democrats no longer have one-party rule in Washington, oversight and accountability are coming," James Comer, the new chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said on Wednesday.
The committee is launching inquiries into the president and his family, including a request for the White House to turn over documents and communications related to the classified files.
The law requires that all White House records, including classified ones, be turned over to the US National Archives after an administration's time in office.
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The White House has said Mr Biden's lawyers alerted the archives as soon as they recovered the classified materials at the think tank, and the agency retrieved them the next morning.
Last August, FBI agents searched the Florida home of Mr Biden's predecessor and seized more than 10,000 files that Mr Trump had not turned over to the National Archives.
The justice department had issued a subpoena for the return of the sensitive files before the FBI showed up at Mar-a-Lago.
More than 300 documents with classified markings, including 18 marked top secret, were recovered by federal agents from the golf club in Palm Beach.
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2023-01-12 04:38:37Z
1724777398
Rabu, 11 Januari 2023
FAA outage: Further delays to US flights expected after technical glitch - BBC
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Normal air traffic operations are slowly resuming in the US after flights were halted on Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
The disruption was due to a "damaged database file", the FAA said, adding that "at this time, there is no evidence of a cyber attack".
Flights began taking off again around 09:00 ET (14:00 GMT), though airlines have warned of further delays.
Airports nationwide were affected, from Denver to Atlanta to New York City.
As of Wednesday night east coast time, nearly 10,000 flights in and out of the US had been delayed and more than 1,300 were cancelled.
The technical issues marked the first time in nearly two decades that flights across the US were grounded.
Operations have since resumed - but delays are expected to continue through at least Thursday and possibly longer, as airlines try to get planes in and out of crowded gates. Limits on how long staff can work may also have an impact.
Captain Chris Torres, vice-president of the Allied Pilots Association, told Reuters delays could last into Friday: "This thing was lifted at 9am Eastern. That doesn't mean the problem stops at 9am This is going to cause ripple effects."
President Joe Biden had called for a "full investigation", the White House press secretary said.
US Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with CNN that the FAA had grounded flights out of "an abundance of caution" after it noticed irregularities with its Notice to Air Missions System.
"My primary interest, now that we've gotten through the immediate disruptions of the morning, is understanding exactly how this was possible and what steps are needed to make sure it doesn't happen again," Mr Buttigieg said.
The system provides real-time safety information to pilots "about closed runways, equipment outages, and other potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the flight", according to the FAA.
Officials said they are still working to determine the root cause of the issue.
Major US airlines said they were closely monitoring the situation. American Airlines, which carries the most passengers annually in North America, said it was working with the FAA to minimise customer disruption.
United Airlines said it would waive change fees and any difference in fare for customers rescheduling flights departing on or before 16 January 2023.
Delta said it was "safely focused on managing our operation during this morning's FAA ground stop for all carriers", adding it would provide updates as soon as possible.
For international passengers, Air Canada - the foreign carrier with the most flights into the US - said the outage would impact on cross-border operations on Wednesday, but it couldn't initially say to what degree. The carrier said it would put in place a "goodwill policy" so affected passengers can change their travel plans.
Meanwhile, airports in Paris - Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly - said they expected delays to US flights. Air France said it was monitoring the situation.
For UK passengers, British Airways said its flights to and from the US would operate as planned, and Virgin Atlantic said it was continuing to operate its schedule of US flights departing from the UK. However, some US departures, the airline said, might be affected by delays.
Germany's Lufthansa and Spain's Iberia said they were still operating flights to and from the US as normal for now.
Passengers have posted on social media that they were experiencing delays.
"This wasn't the best day to fly. The FAA grounded flights this morning causing our first flight to be delayed, then cancelled," wrote Brittney Gobble on Facebook. She added that American Airlines said they were not able to reschedule her flight until Thursday.
"Just another reminder of why I prefer to drive," Ms Gobble wrote.
Javan Gonzales, who lives in Wichita, Kansas, said his Wednesday evening connecting flight to Portland via Denver had already been delayed three times. "I'm trying not to let this disrupt my vacation," Mr Gonzalez told the BBC.
Michael Remy arrived at an airport in Virginia at 06:00 ET planning to head to North Carolina for vacation, but his flight was delayed right before boarding.
"It is what is, so, you can only get so upset," he told the BBC. "I may have seen it differently if I was headed to a wedding or a funeral, though."
Has your journey been impacted by the FAA glitch? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
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If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.
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2023-01-12 01:45:51Z
1735945389
Second batch of classified Biden documents found - BBC
US President Joe Biden's aides have found a fresh batch of classified government records at a second location, in a growing political embarrassment for the White House.
The first cache was found at a private office in Washington DC that Mr Biden used after his vice-presidency.
The matter is under review by the US Department of Justice.
Donald Trump is facing a criminal investigation for allegedly mishandling classified files.
It was not yet clear on Wednesday when or where the additional tranche of files was found by Biden aides.
The original batch of about 10 documents was discovered in November at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank near the White House, but only came to light this week.
Those papers reportedly include US intelligence memos and briefing materials related to Ukraine, Iran and the United Kingdom.
The White House has not yet commented on the newly discovered batch. Earlier on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to answer questions about the first cache of files during her daily press briefing.
"This is under review by the Department of Justice" she said. "I'm not going to go beyond what the president shared yesterday."
Mr Biden said on Tuesday he was "surprised" by the discovery of the files and was "co-operating" with the justice department's review.
The controversy comes as the Democratic president faces scrutiny from a new Republican majority in the US House of Representatives.
"Now that Democrats no longer have one-party rule in Washington, oversight and accountability are coming," James Comer, the new chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said on Wednesday.
The committee is launching inquiries into the president and his family, including a request for the White House to turn over documents and communications related to the classified files.
The law requires that all White House records, including classified ones, be turned over to the US National Archives, after an administration's time in office.
This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Last August, FBI agents searched the Florida home of Mr Biden's predecessor and seized more than 10,000 files that Mr Trump had failed to turn over to the National Archives.
The justice department had issued a subpoena for the return of the classified files before the FBI showed up at Mar-a-Lago.
More than 300 documents with classified markings, including 18 marked top secret, were recovered by federal agents from the golf club in Palm Beach.
The White House has said Mr Biden's lawyers alerted the National Archives as soon as they recovered the classified materials at the think tank, and the agency retrieved the materials the next morning.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiM2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLXVzLWNhbmFkYS02NDI0NDAwN9IBN2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLXVzLWNhbmFkYS02NDI0NDAwNy5hbXA?oc=5
2023-01-12 01:59:11Z
1724777398
FAA outage: Further delays to US flights expected after technical glitch - BBC
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To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Normal air traffic operations are slowly resuming in the US after flights were halted on Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
The disruption was due to "irregularities" in the system that alerts pilots to potential hazards on flight routes, officials said.
Flights began taking off again around 0900 ET (1400 GMT), though airlines have warned of further delays.
Airports nationwide were affected, from Denver to Atlanta to New York City.
As of Wednesday afternoon east coast time, more than 8,600 flights in and out of the US had been delayed and more than 1,200 were cancelled.
The technical issues marked the first time in nearly two decades that flights across the US were grounded.
Operations have since resumed - but delays are expected to continue through at least Thursday and possibly longer, as airlines try to get planes in and out of crowded gates. Limits on how long staff can work may also have an impact.
Captain Chris Torres, vice president of the Allied Pilots Association, told Reuters delays could last into Friday: "This thing was lifted at 9 a.m. Eastern. That doesn't mean the problem stops at 9 a.m. This is going to cause ripple effects."
The president had called for a "full investigation". , the White House Press Secretary said.
US Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with CNN that the FAA grounded flights out of "an abundance of caution" after it noticed irregularities with its Notice to Air Missions System.
"My primary interest, now that we've gotten through the immediate disruptions of the morning, is understanding exactly how this was possible and what steps are needed to make sure it doesn't happen again," Mr Buttigieg said.
The system provides real-time safety information to pilots "about closed runways, equipment outages, and other potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the flight," according to the FAA.
Officials said they are still working to determine the root cause of the issue.
Major US airlines said they were closely monitoring the situation. American Airlines, which carries the most passengers annually in North America, said it was working with the FAA to minimise customer disruption.
United Airlines said it would waive change fees and any difference in fare for customers rescheduling flights departing on or before 16 January, 2023.
Delta said it was "safely focused on managing our operation during this morning's FAA ground stop for all carriers", adding it would provide updates as soon as possible.
For international passengers, Air Canada - the foreign carrier with the most flights into the US - said the outage would impact on cross-border operations on Wednesday, but it couldn't initially say to what degree. The carrier said it would put in place a "goodwill policy" so affected passengers can change their travel plans.
Meanwhile, airports in Paris - Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly - said they expect delays to US flights. Air France said it is monitoring the situation.
For UK passengers, British Airways said its flights to and from the US will operate as planned, and Virgin Atlantic said it was continuing to operate its schedule of US flights departing from the UK. However, some US departures, the airline said, may be affected by delays.
Germany's Lufthansa and Spain's Iberia said they are still operating flights to and from the US as normal for now.
Passengers have posted on social media that they are experiencing delays.
"This wasn't the best day to fly. The FAA grounded flights this morning causing our first flight to be delayed, then cancelled," wrote Brittney Gobble on Facebook. She added that American Airlines said they were not able to reschedule her flight until Thursday.
"Just another reminder of why I prefer to drive," Ms Gobble wrote.
Javan Gonzales, who lives in Wichita, Kansas, said his Wednesday evening connecting flight to Portland via Denver had already been delayed three times. "I'm trying not to let this disrupt my vacation," Mr Gonzalez told the BBC.
Michael Remy arrived at an airport in Virginia at 0600 ET planning to head to North Carolina for vacation, but his flight was delayed right before boarding.
"It is what is, so, you can only get so upset," he told the BBC. "I may have seen it differently if I was headed to a wedding or a funeral, though."
Has your journey been impacted by the FAA glitch? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
- WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803
- Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay
- Upload pictures or video
- Please read our terms & conditions and privacy policy
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.
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2023-01-11 20:45:29Z
1735945389
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