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Q&A: How to create a sustainable lithium supply chain for a carbon neutral world?

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:11:30 GMT

Chile’s Atacama Desert hides a precious secret—salt flats packed with lithium, a key component in the batteries that power electric vehicles and other gamechanging green technologies. Striving to meet this demand, mining companies are converging on the “lithium triangle” spanning Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. Deposits are abundant, but extracting them sustainably remains a challenge. The possible impact of lithium production on the local environment and neighboring communities are relevant concerns that must be taken into consideration.SQM, the world’s largest lithium producer by volume with more than 25 years of experience in lithium production in Chile’s Salar de Atacama region, has continuously improved production processes, adapted technologies and strengthened its cooperation with local communities in order to respond to those concerns.As production scales, to support the planet’s transition to a low carbon mobility, pushing toward the highest standards of min...

Western air defenses turn Kyiv into a rare safe spot in war-torn Ukraine

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:11:30 GMT

KYIV — Inna Kozich, a communications specialist from Kyiv, still cries when she remembers the first weeks of last year’s Russian siege of the Ukrainian capital. “At one moment my kids and I slept in a corridor for three weeks. I was going to bed, not sure if we all wake up the next day,” Kozich remembers.But the air defenses now protecting the capital make her feel safer in Kyiv than anywhere else in Ukraine — so much so that she’s afraid of venturing beyond the city. “I was even afraid to take my kids for a summer vacation because I knew other regions unfortunately do not have as strong air defense as we now do. And I feel so much pain for Ukrainians from other regions, who are still forced to live under daily Russian bombardment,” Kozich said.When the full-scale Russian invasion launched on February 24, 2022, a desperate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the West to close Ukraine’s skies to Russian aviation and missiles. That didn’t happen, but Ukrai...

Party like it’s 2010? Rishi Sunak takes Tories back to the future

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:11:30 GMT

LONDON — David Cameron called it a “hammock idea” — a policy dreamt up during a lazy summer holiday in 2007 that would electrify his opposition Conservative Party’s ailing fortunes and put him on the path to power.The idea in question was a radical cut to inheritance tax, allowing people to pass on far more wealth to their children whey they die.“It was deeply Conservative, rewarding people who worked hard, saved and wanted to pass something on,” Cameron wrote in his memoir, For the Record.When George Osborne — Cameron’s shadow Chancellor, who devised the policy while on vacation — announced the inheritance tax pledge that fall, it was an instant hit.Prime Minister Gordon Brown was spooked, and cancelled plans for a snap election. His reputation never recovered.The policy, however, wasn’t introduced when Cameron and Osborne won power in 2010, after the 2008 financial crisis blew a huge hole in Britain’s national finances. But 16 years later, Cameron is back in Cabi...

Who wants what out of COP28

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:11:30 GMT

This article is part of the Road to COP special report, presented by SQM.Should countries move quickly to phase out their fossil fuel production or opt for a more gradual “phase-down”? Will wealthy governments like the U.S. cough up tens of billions of dollars for poorer nations’ climate damage — and should China pay too?When more than 70,000 people from nearly 200 countries descend on Dubai starting next week to negotiate over the fate of the planet, the talks will become the scene for a host of competing national agendas.The annual U.N. climate summits have drawn criticism for having grown unwieldy since they started in 1995, thronging with corporate lobbyists and marked more by non-binding pledges and squabbles over grammar than their ability to deliver change. But they have a real-world impact, sending signals to markets about governments’ coming policies and reflecting real-world trends. And supporters are quick to point out that they remain the one forum where e...

For Israel to beat Hamas quickly, Arab neighbors should admit Gazans

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:11:30 GMT

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe. TEL AVIV — How would the world have reacted if Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia had turned their backs on Ukrainian families seeking refuge from war over the past 18 months? It isn’t hard to imagine the likely outcry.But when it comes to the Middle East, the refusal of Israel’s Arab neighbors to open their doors to Palestinians and offer them temporary sanctuary hasn’t produced a similar reaction.Neither Egypt nor Jordan, which flank Israel and share borders with Gaza and the occupied West Bank, respectively, have offered refuge. Quite the opposite: Both have adamantly refused to accept Gazans. “No refugees in Jordan, no refugees in Egypt,” Jordan’s King Abdullah II declared last month.Moreover, both countries argue they have justifiable grounds for keeping their doors firmly bolted — hence the absence of Western outrage over their refusal to accept Gaza’s Palestinians. Jordan already has a large Palestinian populat...

How to watch the Dutch elections like a pro

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:11:30 GMT

THE HAGUE — The Dutch on Wednesday will vote to choose a new parliament in a knife-edge election with three major groupings vying to propose the next prime minister.After 13 years as leader of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte is leaving The Hague after his fourth cabinet resigned last summer over a migration row. Dilan Yeşilgöz, Rutte’s successor as head of the conservative-liberal People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), is leading the field — and a win would make her the first woman to be Dutch prime minister. But she is closely followed in the polls by centrist Pieter Omtzigt, who’s riding a wave of popularity after starting a party just three months ago.Here’s what you need to know:Who’s in the running?Even though it’s been only two years since the last Dutch election, many of the contenders are new, including the two front-runners.Yeşilgöz became the VVD’s new leader after Rutte’s July announcement that he was leaving Dutch politics. Although a da...

Hamas, Gaza and ‘fighting smaller’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:11:30 GMT

Tanya Goudsouzian is an Istanbul-based Canadian journalist covering the Middle East and Afghanistan. Her work has been published in outlets including the Washington Post, Al-Jazeera English and Newsweek.Since the start of the Ukraine war, military operations have ushered in a tidal wave of new technology.Unlike wars of the recent past, we can now see the depths of the battlefield with ease; weapons have surgical precision; and technology — whether drones, communications intercept, satellite imagery or GPS — is comparatively inexpensive. Commercial drones can destroy trench lines, small missiles can rip apart armored vehicles, and even minor threats can send warships scurrying.Yet, while many analysts may proclaim a new epoch in ground warfare, as Israel consolidates its grip on Gaza City, it might just turn out that Ukraine proves to be an exception.In Ukraine, both Moscow and Kyiv have decided to fight symmetrical conventional operations. The technological changes on this front hav...

Thanksgiving travelers preparing for traffic, historic crowds at airports

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:11:30 GMT

Whether traveling by air, road, or rail, travelers should be prepared for delays and big crowds during what could be a record Thanksgiving travel season.Airports are expected to be packed, with AAA predicting about 4.7 million Americans will board flights for the holiday. AAA also predicting that some 49 million Americans will be driving to their destination this Turkey Day. TSA will be adding additional staff to handle the rush at airports nationwide.Stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest holiday travel updates.

Rasmus Dahlin leads Buffalo Sabres past Chicago Blackhawks 3-2

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:11:30 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and two assists, and the Buffalo Sabres stopped a three-game slide by topping the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Sunday night.Erik Johnson snapped a third-period tie and Jeff Skinner also scored for Buffalo, which dropped four of five overall. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 24 saves.Johnson drove around Chicago defenseman Seth Jones midway through the third before flipping a tough-angle shot over Petr Mrazek’s right shoulder for a 3-2 lead. It was the second goal of the season for the veteran defenseman. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines Chicago had a chance to take the lead earlier in the third, but Buffalo defenseman Owen Power ushered a loose puck out of the goalmouth. Luukkonen also stepped up as the Blackhawks pressed for the tying goal in the final seconds.Chicago dropped its fourth consecutive game. Philipp Kurashev had a goal and an assist, and Taylor Raddysh also scored. Mrazek made 17 saves.Buffalo jumped in front on Dahlin's fourth g...

Matthew's Law ups access to free drug test strips

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:11:30 GMT

CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) -To expand public access to fentanyl and xylazine test strips, Governor Kathy Hochul signed new legislation on Sunday, November 19. Matthew's Law allows pharmacies and health care providers to receive and give them out for free.Over at Marra’s Pharmacy, Assemblyman John McDonald telling NEWS10's Anthony Krolikowski about their first batch of test strips. Along with naloxone, he says pharmacists are ready to better serve New York. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! "No questions asked policy. For years, pharmacists have been providing needles and syringes to individuals who are struggling with substance use disorder," stated McDonald.The governor says this is being done to decrease the chances of an accidental overdose, which happened to the person the law is named after. "Matthew’s Law is actually named after Matthew Horan in November of 2020. The supply from his dealer, unfortunately it carried a tra...