US to set water pollution standards for 'fracking'

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Administrator Lisa Jackson
© AFP/Getty Images/File Brendan Smialowski

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US government unveiled plans Thursday to set national standards for wastewater discharges from natural gas drilling amid growing concern over water pollution from a technique known as "fracking."

The EPA said in a statement it would accept comments for new standards over the coming months for shale gas extraction as well as for gas from underground coalbeds.

"No comprehensive set of national standards exists at this time for the disposal of wastewater discharged from natural gas extraction activities," the agency said in a statement.

The new regulations come in the face of criticism that the frenzy for natural gas exploration and new horizontal drilling techniques such as hydraulic fracturing or fracking to extract gas from shale formations would lead to contamination of underground water supplies.

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EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement that the administration of President Barack Obama "has made clear that natural gas has a central role to play in our energy economy."

"That is why we are taking steps -- in coordination with our federal partners and informed by the input of industry experts, states and public health organizations -- to make sure the needs of our energy future are met safely and responsibly," she added.

"We can protect the health of American families and communities at the same time we ensure access to all of the important resources that make up our energy economy," she added.

EPA noted that production from shale formations has grown from a negligible amount just a few years ago to almost 15 percent of total US natural gas production and this share is expected to triple in the coming decades.

Industry analysts say that recent discoveries of shale formations in several regions would make the United States the Saudi Arabia of natural gas.

But there are concerns that wastewater associated with shale gas extraction is prohibited from being directly discharged to waterways.

Critics say the industry has moved too fast with little regulation, and cite concerns about spills, leaks and contamination from chemicals used in the process. Similar debates are ongoing in Canada, France and other countries.

© AFP -- Published at Activist Post with license

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US debt ceiling deadline still August 2: Treasury

The deadline for raising the US debt ceiling or risk a
default remains August 2, the US Treasury said
© AFP/Getty Images/File Chip Somodevilla

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The deadline for raising the US debt ceiling or risk a default remains August 2, the US Treasury said Friday, after speculation that there might be more leeway for politicians to carve a deal.

"The Treasury Department continues to project that the United States will exhaust its borrowing authority under the debt limit on August 2, 2011," the Treasury said in a statement.

"Secretary (Timothy) Geithner urges Congress to avoid the catastrophic economic and market consequences of a default crisis by raising the statutory debt limit in a timely manner."

Geithner might quit after debt deal: reports

Timothy Geithner might leave his job after deal on debt
© AFP/File Tim Sloan

AFP

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner might leave his job after the White House reaches a deal with Congress over raising the US debt ceiling, US media reported Thursday.

But Geithner fudged when asked about the reports, saying he would stick to the job "for the foreseeable future."

"I've only worked in public service. I live for this work, it's the only thing I've ever done, I believe in it," Geithner told former president Bill Clinton in a webcast Chicago seminar on jobs and the economy.

Next US defense chief will not gut military: Pentagon

Robert Gates' Armed Services Farewell Ceremony
© AFP/Getty Images Chip Somodevilla

AFP

Incoming US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is determined to avoid gutting the American military despite the prospect of difficult budget decisions looming, a Pentagon spokesman said Thursday.

"He (Panetta) believes that it is a false choice between fiscal responsibility and national security," spokesman Douglas Wilson told reporters.

Amid mounting fiscal pressure, the defense budget "will be an important item on his agenda," Wilson said.

"He will take that very seriously. He knows there are difficult decisions to be made," he said.

Panetta "has said publicly, and he will say again, that he intends that there will be no hollow force on his watch."

US vows to support India's nuclear waiver

India has an ambitious nuclear programme
and in 2008 won a special exemption from
nuclear rules
© AFP

AFP

NEW DELHI - The United States will support India's continued exemption from global nuclear trade rules despite moves to tighten up restrictions, the US ambassador to India said on Thursday.

Last week the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which governs global nuclear trade, decided to tighten guidelines for transfers of sensitive uranium enrichment and reprocessing technology.

India, which has a electricity deficit, has an ambitious nuclear programme and won a special exemption in 2008 from NSG rules, which was negotiated by the United States.

Big banks relieved as Fed sets debit card rule

The Federal Reserve handed a partial victory to
Wall Street on bank card fees
© AFP/Getty Images/File Spencer Platt

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday slashed the fees which banks charge for debit card transactions, but did not cut them as deeply as initially expected, handing a partial victory to Wall Street.

Under the new rules, the fee charged for the average debit card transaction of $38 would be capped at approximately 24 cents, the Fed said in a statement announcing its decision.

Currently, the fee for an average debit card transaction is 44 cents. Banks had feared that the average fee would be cut as low as seven to 12 cents and mounted a fierce lobbying campaign to thwart the changes.

US refocuses on home-grown terror threat

President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism aide,
John Brennan, vowed to pursue the
"utter destruction" of Al-Qaeda
© AFP/File Saul Loeb

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States vowed Wednesday to pursue the "utter destruction" of Al-Qaeda, while refocusing its counter-terrorism strategy to combat the threat of home-grown terror.

The new strategy comes on the 10th year of the US-led "war on terror," launched by former president George W. Bush after the deadly September 11 attacks on the United States.

It is a "pragmatic, not ideological" approach to counterterrorism that "formalizes" the administration's approach since January 2009, said John Brennan, President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism advisor.

The new strategy, developed after US commandos killed Osama bin Laden on May 2 in Pakistan, also reflects "the extraordinary political changes" sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, Brennan said.

Chemical in plastic containers makes male mice act like females

AFP

WASHINGTON — Male mice who were exposed as babies to BPA, a chemical common in canned foods and plastic containers, act more like females and are seen as less desirable mates, a US study showed Monday.

The findings could have implications for how BPA, or Bisphenol A, may affect human development and behavior, said the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"The BPA-exposed deer mice in our study look normal; there is nothing obviously wrong with them.

Yet, they are clearly different," said lead author Cheryl Rosenfeld at the University of Missouri.

"Females do not want to mate with BPA-exposed male deer mice, and BPA-exposed males perform worse on spatial navigation tasks that assess their ability to find female partners in the wild."

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RELATED ACTIVIST POST ARTICLE:
5 Reasons NOT to Eat Genetically Modified Foods

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Obama vows to keep pressure on crippled Al-Qaeda

US President Barack Obama vowed to keep
pressure on the Al-Qaeda terror group
following the death of Osama bin Laden
© AFP Saul Loeb

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to keep pressure on the Al-Qaeda terror group following the death of Osama bin Laden in last month's daring US raid in Pakistan.

US military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan have served to "severely cripple Al-Qaeda's capacities," Obama said at a White House press conference.

"Osama bin Laden got the most attention, but before that we decimated some of the upper ranks of Al-Qaeda," he said.

US appeals court upholds Obama's health care law

A US court upheld the constitutionality of Obamacare
© AFP/Getty Images/File Justin Sullivan

AFP

CHICAGO (AFP) - President Barack Obama won a legal victory in the battle over his controversial health care law Wednesday when a federal appeals court in Ohio upheld the constitutionality of a key provision.

It was the first ruling at the appeals court level in the hotly contested legal battle over one of Obama's key domestic achievements.

The law, extending coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans, has been bitterly debated and challenged across the United States since Congress passed it last year.

Some 16 states have passed binding legislation opposing elements of the health reform bill and the attorneys general of 27 states have joined a lawsuit in Florida challenging its constitutionality.

A further 16 cases are pending in the federal courts.

Key US Senate panel backs limited Libya conflict

Libyan rebels capture a network of bunkers
in the desert around 25 kilometres (15 miles)
from the hilltown of Zintan
© AFP Florent Marcie

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A key US Senate panel voted Tuesday to authorize limited US strikes on Libya as part of a NATO-led campaign against Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi but to forbid the deployment of ground troops.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's 14-5 vote set the stage for what was sure to be a volatile full Senate debate as early as this week, with lawmakers deeply divided on whether President Barack Obama's Libya policy flouts US law.

The panel heard earlier from US State Department legal adviser Harold Koh, who argued Obama's approach did not violate the US Constitution or the 1973 War Powers Resolution that aims to constrain presidential war-making authority.

US 'strongly condemns' Kabul hotel attack

The Inter-Continental hotel in seen in the dark as tracer
bullets are shot during an attack in Kabu

© AFP Massoud Hossaini

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States condemned Tuesday a Taliban suicide attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, offering condolences to victims but providing no details on the number of casualties.

At least one suicide bomber and several gunmen attacked the hotel typically frequented by foreigners and Afghan officials, police and officials said, in a brazen strike claimed by the Taliban.

Witnesses reported hearing three explosions late Tuesday at the high-security hotel on a hill overlooking the Afghan capital, as gunmen penetrated the building and sparked a shootout.

Greece grinds to a halt as general strike gets underway

Workers across Greece walked off the job on Tuesday, kicking off a crippling 48-hour strike with a mass protest in the capital, Athens, as parliament debated a new austerity plan. Police fired tear gas in clashes with protesters. 

AFP -- France 24

Greece ground to a halt Tuesday as angry workers launched a 48-hour general strike against an austerity drive ordered by its bankruptcy-threatened government in exchange for a European bailout.

Crowds converged early on Syntagma Square, where parliament will vote on sweeping spending cuts as planes, ships and most public transport came to a halt.

Europe's economic tsar Olli Rehn in Brussels warned that Greece faced "a critical juncture" and the austerity programme was the "only way to avoid immediate default."

But that view was not shared by protestors, determined to block passage of the package.

"We don't want your money Europe," Iamando, 36, told AFP on the square where police were already out in force at 11:00 am (0800 GMT). "Leave us alone -- please, please, please."

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US says won't rule out options on Venezuela sanctions

Daniel Benjamin counterterrorism coordinator 
© AFP/Getty Images/File Chris Kleponis

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - (AFP) - The United States said Friday it was monitoring Venezuela's ties to Iran and "no option" is off the table for potential sanctions against President Hugo Chavez's government in Caracas.

Kevin Whitaker, the acting deputy assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, said Washington was monitoring Venezuela for "patterns of support for acts of international terrorism."

"No option is ever off the table, and the department will continue to assess what additional actions might be warranted in the future," he told a congressional hearing.

"The department strongly urged Venezuela to pursue a path of cooperation and responsibility rather than further isolation and we will continue to do so."

Hezbollah members confess to spying for CIA: Nasrallah

Hassan Nasrallah
© AFP/TV

AFP

BEIRUT (AFP) - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday said members of his group had confessed to being CIA agents, and accused arch-foe Israel of turning to the US spy agency after failing to infiltrate his party.

The US embassy in Beirut immediately dismissed the accusations as "empty," saying Nasrallah seemed to be "addressing internal problems within Hezbollah."

In the first such acknowledgement of infiltration since the Iranian-backed Shiite group's founding in the 1980s, Nasrallah refused to give the identities of two party members he said were working for the Central Intelligence Agency.

But he said a third case was also under investigation, and slammed the American embassy in Beirut as a "den of spies."

"When the Israeli enemy failed to infiltrate Hezbollah, it turned to the most powerful intelligence agency," he said in a closed-circuit television speech, referring to the CIA.

US debt ceiling talks fold after Republican walkout

Speaker of the House John Boehner speaks during
his weekly press briefing on Capitol Hill
© AFP/Getty Images Mark Wilson

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Crucial high-level talks on raising the US borrowing limit collapsed Thursday after Republicans walked out, accusing the White House of provoking an impasse with demands to raise spending and taxes.

The move sparked fears that Congress will fail to raise the 14.29 trillion dollar debt ceiling by an August 2 deadline and cause the United States to default on its obligations, sending shockwaves through the global economy.

Republicans, who won the House of Representatives last November amid public anxiety over government debt, will only back raising the borrowing limit in return for steep cuts in the annual deficit set to hit 1.6 trillion this year.

US sanctions Iran's national airline

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions against
Tehran's state-owned national airline, Iran Air
© AFP/File Thomas Coex

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions against Tehran's state-owned national airline, Iran Air, barring Americans from doing business with it.

Iran Air has been used by Tehran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to "transport military related equipment" since 2006, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

"Rockets or missiles have been transported via Iran Air passenger aircraft, and IRGC officers occasionally take control over Iran Air flights carrying special IRGC-related cargo," the statement said.

"Additionally, commercial Iran Air flights have also been used to transport missile or rocket components to Syria."

Indian family resists Mumbai's 'Trump Tower'

Mumbai is India's economic and financial capital
© AFP/File Indranil Mukherjee

AFP


MUMBAI (AFP) - An Indian family is refusing to budge from their home in Mumbai to make way for a new luxury apartment block being built by billionaire US property tycoon Donald Trump, a city newspaper said on Friday.


The Panvalkar family say they will not move from their first-floor flat in a building earmarked for demolition to make way for the tower block, claiming that Trump's local partner has refused to give them alternative accommodation.


Property firm Rohan Lifescapes denied the allegations, insisting that they had offered to relocate the family until the new complex was complete, at which time they would get an apartment in the block, the Mumbai Mirror reported.

India to press ahead on nuclear power

India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma
© AFP/File Mandel Ngan

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - India's commerce minister has called for more cooperation with the United States on nuclear energy and brushed aside talk of scrapping ambitious plans in the wake of Japan's Fukushima crisis.

On a visit to Washington, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said he has faced questions on whether India should rethink its nuclear energy policy and responded flatly: "My answer was no."

While supporting safety reviews of nuclear establishments, Sharma said: "We are very clear it is an absolute must in the bouquet of energy resources which have to be accessed."

US ready to arm Philippines amid China tension

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Philippines
Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario (L) meet in Washington
© AFP/File Paul J. Richards

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States said Thursday it was ready to provide hardware to modernize the military of the Philippines, which vowed to "stand up to any aggressive action" amid rising tension at sea with China.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, on a visit to Washington, said the Philippines hoped to lease equipment to upgrade its aged fleet and called for the allies to revamp their relationship in light of the friction with China.

"We are determined and committed to supporting the defense of the Philippines," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a joint news conference when asked about the hardware wish-list from the Philippines.