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It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
\u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
\u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
\"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
\"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
\"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
The government claims that firms that raise revenue from Australian advertisers must back Australians' ability to obtain quality news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
It is a scheme that would push large social media and search firms to either make commercial agreements with news platforms to utilize their content or spend a separate charge. The scheme was revealed in December. It will substitute an older system, under which Facebook (now Meta) and Google agreed to compensate ABC and commercial media outlets for using their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The government claims that firms that raise revenue from Australian advertisers must back Australians' ability to obtain quality news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
As part of its submission, the CCIA opposes the Albanese government's \"News Bargaining Incentive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a scheme that would push large social media and search firms to either make commercial agreements with news platforms to utilize their content or spend a separate charge. The scheme was revealed in December. It will substitute an older system, under which Facebook (now Meta) and Google agreed to compensate ABC and commercial media outlets for using their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The government claims that firms that raise revenue from Australian advertisers must back Australians' ability to obtain quality news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Those tariffs could lead to a new front in Mr Trump's trade war, as he considers putting new tariffs on Australia to create more profitable trade conditions for US companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of its submission, the CCIA opposes the Albanese government's \"News Bargaining Incentive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a scheme that would push large social media and search firms to either make commercial agreements with news platforms to utilize their content or spend a separate charge. The scheme was revealed in December. It will substitute an older system, under which Facebook (now Meta) and Google agreed to compensate ABC and commercial media outlets for using their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The government claims that firms that raise revenue from Australian advertisers must back Australians' ability to obtain quality news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents the industry, has submitted a formal submission as part of the White House's review of US trade policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those tariffs could lead to a new front in Mr Trump's trade war, as he considers putting new tariffs on Australia to create more profitable trade conditions for US companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of its submission, the CCIA opposes the Albanese government's \"News Bargaining Incentive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a scheme that would push large social media and search firms to either make commercial agreements with news platforms to utilize their content or spend a separate charge. The scheme was revealed in December. It will substitute an older system, under which Facebook (now Meta) and Google agreed to compensate ABC and commercial media outlets for using their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The government claims that firms that raise revenue from Australian advertisers must back Australians' ability to obtain quality news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Top executives from Silicon Valley, who have built close relationships with Trump<\/a>, are now pressuring him to ease Australia's regulations or risk retaliation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents the industry, has submitted a formal submission as part of the White House's review of US trade policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those tariffs could lead to a new front in Mr Trump's trade war, as he considers putting new tariffs on Australia to create more profitable trade conditions for US companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of its submission, the CCIA opposes the Albanese government's \"News Bargaining Incentive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a scheme that would push large social media and search firms to either make commercial agreements with news platforms to utilize their content or spend a separate charge. The scheme was revealed in December. It will substitute an older system, under which Facebook (now Meta) and Google agreed to compensate ABC and commercial media outlets for using their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The government claims that firms that raise revenue from Australian advertisers must back Australians' ability to obtain quality news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
US's enormous technology industry is lobbying the Trump government to engage in a new fight with the Australian government over its regulations governing social media and streaming services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Top executives from Silicon Valley, who have built close relationships with Trump<\/a>, are now pressuring him to ease Australia's regulations or risk retaliation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents the industry, has submitted a formal submission as part of the White House's review of US trade policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those tariffs could lead to a new front in Mr Trump's trade war, as he considers putting new tariffs on Australia to create more profitable trade conditions for US companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of its submission, the CCIA opposes the Albanese government's \"News Bargaining Incentive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a scheme that would push large social media and search firms to either make commercial agreements with news platforms to utilize their content or spend a separate charge. The scheme was revealed in December. It will substitute an older system, under which Facebook (now Meta) and Google agreed to compensate ABC and commercial media outlets for using their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The government claims that firms that raise revenue from Australian advertisers must back Australians' ability to obtain quality news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
This follows the FCC's approval of SpaceX's waiver for \"aggregate out-of-band emissions,\" enabling its cellular Starlink system to function beyond typical radio limits under certain conditions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"SpaceX lobbying effort targets Apple-backed Globalstar\u2019s satellite plans","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"spacex-lobbying-effort-targets-apple-backed-globalstars-satellite-plans","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:12:12","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:12:12","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7460","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7457,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-24 21:02:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-24 21:02:00","post_content":"\n US's enormous technology industry is lobbying the Trump government to engage in a new fight with the Australian government over its regulations governing social media and streaming services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Top executives from Silicon Valley, who have built close relationships with Trump<\/a>, are now pressuring him to ease Australia's regulations or risk retaliation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents the industry, has submitted a formal submission as part of the White House's review of US trade policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those tariffs could lead to a new front in Mr Trump's trade war, as he considers putting new tariffs on Australia to create more profitable trade conditions for US companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of its submission, the CCIA opposes the Albanese government's \"News Bargaining Incentive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a scheme that would push large social media and search firms to either make commercial agreements with news platforms to utilize their content or spend a separate charge. The scheme was revealed in December. It will substitute an older system, under which Facebook (now Meta) and Google agreed to compensate ABC and commercial media outlets for using their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The government claims that firms that raise revenue from Australian advertisers must back Australians' ability to obtain quality news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
In the letter, SpaceX also said: \u201cAccepting Globalstar\u2019s application for its new, higher-power system in the band would also fundamentally alter the spectrum environment in the 1.6\/2.4 GHz band to the detriment of prospective competitors, such as SpaceX, whose applications predated Globalstar\u2019s application and who have expressed an interest in efficiently sharing the band alongside other operators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This follows the FCC's approval of SpaceX's waiver for \"aggregate out-of-band emissions,\" enabling its cellular Starlink system to function beyond typical radio limits under certain conditions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"SpaceX lobbying effort targets Apple-backed Globalstar\u2019s satellite plans","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"spacex-lobbying-effort-targets-apple-backed-globalstars-satellite-plans","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:12:12","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:12:12","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7460","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7457,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-24 21:02:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-24 21:02:00","post_content":"\n US's enormous technology industry is lobbying the Trump government to engage in a new fight with the Australian government over its regulations governing social media and streaming services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Top executives from Silicon Valley, who have built close relationships with Trump<\/a>, are now pressuring him to ease Australia's regulations or risk retaliation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents the industry, has submitted a formal submission as part of the White House's review of US trade policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those tariffs could lead to a new front in Mr Trump's trade war, as he considers putting new tariffs on Australia to create more profitable trade conditions for US companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of its submission, the CCIA opposes the Albanese government's \"News Bargaining Incentive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a scheme that would push large social media and search firms to either make commercial agreements with news platforms to utilize their content or spend a separate charge. The scheme was revealed in December. It will substitute an older system, under which Facebook (now Meta) and Google agreed to compensate ABC and commercial media outlets for using their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The government claims that firms that raise revenue from Australian advertisers must back Australians' ability to obtain quality news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
SpaceX cited an earlier FCC ruling that limited the entry of new MSS into the 1.6\/2.4GHz and 2GHz bands, arguing that Globalstar\u2019s application ought to be rejected. It is crucial to highlight that the FCC can only exclude firms other than Globalstar and Iridium, and SpaceX\u2019s petition was submitted before Globalstar\u2019s application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the letter, SpaceX also said: \u201cAccepting Globalstar\u2019s application for its new, higher-power system in the band would also fundamentally alter the spectrum environment in the 1.6\/2.4 GHz band to the detriment of prospective competitors, such as SpaceX, whose applications predated Globalstar\u2019s application and who have expressed an interest in efficiently sharing the band alongside other operators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This follows the FCC's approval of SpaceX's waiver for \"aggregate out-of-band emissions,\" enabling its cellular Starlink system to function beyond typical radio limits under certain conditions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"SpaceX lobbying effort targets Apple-backed Globalstar\u2019s satellite plans","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"spacex-lobbying-effort-targets-apple-backed-globalstars-satellite-plans","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:12:12","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:12:12","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7460","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7457,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-24 21:02:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-24 21:02:00","post_content":"\n US's enormous technology industry is lobbying the Trump government to engage in a new fight with the Australian government over its regulations governing social media and streaming services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Top executives from Silicon Valley, who have built close relationships with Trump<\/a>, are now pressuring him to ease Australia's regulations or risk retaliation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents the industry, has submitted a formal submission as part of the White House's review of US trade policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those tariffs could lead to a new front in Mr Trump's trade war, as he considers putting new tariffs on Australia to create more profitable trade conditions for US companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of its submission, the CCIA opposes the Albanese government's \"News Bargaining Incentive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a scheme that would push large social media and search firms to either make commercial agreements with news platforms to utilize their content or spend a separate charge. The scheme was revealed in December. It will substitute an older system, under which Facebook (now Meta) and Google agreed to compensate ABC and commercial media outlets for using their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The government claims that firms that raise revenue from Australian advertisers must back Australians' ability to obtain quality news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
In a recent letter to the FCC, SpaceX stated that allowing shared access to the radio spectrum \u201cwould provide the most consistent treatment, efficient sharing, and strong competition among Globalstar and other next-gen satellite systems\u2014including SpaceX\u2014that aim to effectively utilize this previously underused spectrum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n SpaceX cited an earlier FCC ruling that limited the entry of new MSS into the 1.6\/2.4GHz and 2GHz bands, arguing that Globalstar\u2019s application ought to be rejected. It is crucial to highlight that the FCC can only exclude firms other than Globalstar and Iridium, and SpaceX\u2019s petition was submitted before Globalstar\u2019s application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the letter, SpaceX also said: \u201cAccepting Globalstar\u2019s application for its new, higher-power system in the band would also fundamentally alter the spectrum environment in the 1.6\/2.4 GHz band to the detriment of prospective competitors, such as SpaceX, whose applications predated Globalstar\u2019s application and who have expressed an interest in efficiently sharing the band alongside other operators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This follows the FCC's approval of SpaceX's waiver for \"aggregate out-of-band emissions,\" enabling its cellular Starlink system to function beyond typical radio limits under certain conditions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"SpaceX lobbying effort targets Apple-backed Globalstar\u2019s satellite plans","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"spacex-lobbying-effort-targets-apple-backed-globalstars-satellite-plans","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:12:12","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:12:12","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7460","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7457,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-24 21:02:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-24 21:02:00","post_content":"\n US's enormous technology industry is lobbying the Trump government to engage in a new fight with the Australian government over its regulations governing social media and streaming services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Top executives from Silicon Valley, who have built close relationships with Trump<\/a>, are now pressuring him to ease Australia's regulations or risk retaliation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents the industry, has submitted a formal submission as part of the White House's review of US trade policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those tariffs could lead to a new front in Mr Trump's trade war, as he considers putting new tariffs on Australia to create more profitable trade conditions for US companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of its submission, the CCIA opposes the Albanese government's \"News Bargaining Incentive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a scheme that would push large social media and search firms to either make commercial agreements with news platforms to utilize their content or spend a separate charge. The scheme was revealed in December. It will substitute an older system, under which Facebook (now Meta) and Google agreed to compensate ABC and commercial media outlets for using their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The government claims that firms that raise revenue from Australian advertisers must back Australians' ability to obtain quality news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
At the same time, Globalstar has contended that granting other companies access to the 1.6GHz and 2.4GHz bands might disrupt its satellite operations, which could impact iPhone connectivity. In a meeting with the FCC\u2019s new Chairman Brendan Carr last month, the company's attorneys stated, \u201cThere is no justification in the public interest for jeopardizing the spectrum environment that Globalstar depends on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a recent letter to the FCC, SpaceX stated that allowing shared access to the radio spectrum \u201cwould provide the most consistent treatment, efficient sharing, and strong competition among Globalstar and other next-gen satellite systems\u2014including SpaceX\u2014that aim to effectively utilize this previously underused spectrum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n SpaceX cited an earlier FCC ruling that limited the entry of new MSS into the 1.6\/2.4GHz and 2GHz bands, arguing that Globalstar\u2019s application ought to be rejected. It is crucial to highlight that the FCC can only exclude firms other than Globalstar and Iridium, and SpaceX\u2019s petition was submitted before Globalstar\u2019s application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the letter, SpaceX also said: \u201cAccepting Globalstar\u2019s application for its new, higher-power system in the band would also fundamentally alter the spectrum environment in the 1.6\/2.4 GHz band to the detriment of prospective competitors, such as SpaceX, whose applications predated Globalstar\u2019s application and who have expressed an interest in efficiently sharing the band alongside other operators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This follows the FCC's approval of SpaceX's waiver for \"aggregate out-of-band emissions,\" enabling its cellular Starlink system to function beyond typical radio limits under certain conditions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"SpaceX lobbying effort targets Apple-backed Globalstar\u2019s satellite plans","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"spacex-lobbying-effort-targets-apple-backed-globalstars-satellite-plans","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:12:12","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:12:12","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7460","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7457,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-24 21:02:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-24 21:02:00","post_content":"\n US's enormous technology industry is lobbying the Trump government to engage in a new fight with the Australian government over its regulations governing social media and streaming services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Top executives from Silicon Valley, who have built close relationships with Trump<\/a>, are now pressuring him to ease Australia's regulations or risk retaliation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents the industry, has submitted a formal submission as part of the White House's review of US trade policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those tariffs could lead to a new front in Mr Trump's trade war, as he considers putting new tariffs on Australia to create more profitable trade conditions for US companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of its submission, the CCIA opposes the Albanese government's \"News Bargaining Incentive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a scheme that would push large social media and search firms to either make commercial agreements with news platforms to utilize their content or spend a separate charge. The scheme was revealed in December. It will substitute an older system, under which Facebook (now Meta) and Google agreed to compensate ABC and commercial media outlets for using their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The government claims that firms that raise revenue from Australian advertisers must back Australians' ability to obtain quality news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
In an ongoing regulatory dispute between the company and SpaceX, the letter represents the latest development in the battle to control the 1.6GHz and 2.4GHz spectrum bands. Initially, Globalstar and Iridium held exclusive rights to the spectrum. However, SpaceX has advocated<\/a> for shared access to improve its cellular Starlink system, which presently relies on T-Mobile\u2019s 1.9GHz spectrum in the US market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, Globalstar has contended that granting other companies access to the 1.6GHz and 2.4GHz bands might disrupt its satellite operations, which could impact iPhone connectivity. In a meeting with the FCC\u2019s new Chairman Brendan Carr last month, the company's attorneys stated, \u201cThere is no justification in the public interest for jeopardizing the spectrum environment that Globalstar depends on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a recent letter to the FCC, SpaceX stated that allowing shared access to the radio spectrum \u201cwould provide the most consistent treatment, efficient sharing, and strong competition among Globalstar and other next-gen satellite systems\u2014including SpaceX\u2014that aim to effectively utilize this previously underused spectrum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n SpaceX cited an earlier FCC ruling that limited the entry of new MSS into the 1.6\/2.4GHz and 2GHz bands, arguing that Globalstar\u2019s application ought to be rejected. It is crucial to highlight that the FCC can only exclude firms other than Globalstar and Iridium, and SpaceX\u2019s petition was submitted before Globalstar\u2019s application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the letter, SpaceX also said: \u201cAccepting Globalstar\u2019s application for its new, higher-power system in the band would also fundamentally alter the spectrum environment in the 1.6\/2.4 GHz band to the detriment of prospective competitors, such as SpaceX, whose applications predated Globalstar\u2019s application and who have expressed an interest in efficiently sharing the band alongside other operators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This follows the FCC's approval of SpaceX's waiver for \"aggregate out-of-band emissions,\" enabling its cellular Starlink system to function beyond typical radio limits under certain conditions.<\/p>\n","post_title":"SpaceX lobbying effort targets Apple-backed Globalstar\u2019s satellite plans","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"spacex-lobbying-effort-targets-apple-backed-globalstars-satellite-plans","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:12:12","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:12:12","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7460","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7457,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-24 21:02:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-24 21:02:00","post_content":"\n US's enormous technology industry is lobbying the Trump government to engage in a new fight with the Australian government over its regulations governing social media and streaming services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Top executives from Silicon Valley, who have built close relationships with Trump<\/a>, are now pressuring him to ease Australia's regulations or risk retaliation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents the industry, has submitted a formal submission as part of the White House's review of US trade policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those tariffs could lead to a new front in Mr Trump's trade war, as he considers putting new tariffs on Australia to create more profitable trade conditions for US companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of its submission, the CCIA opposes the Albanese government's \"News Bargaining Incentive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a scheme that would push large social media and search firms to either make commercial agreements with news platforms to utilize their content or spend a separate charge. The scheme was revealed in December. It will substitute an older system, under which Facebook (now Meta) and Google agreed to compensate ABC and commercial media outlets for using their content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The government claims that firms that raise revenue from Australian advertisers must back Australians' ability to obtain quality news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the CCIA views <\/a>the proposal as a \"coercive and discriminatory tax that requires US technology companies to subsidize Australian media companies\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Currently, the two companies targeted by the law pay $AU250 million annually through deals that were coerced through the threat of this law,\" according to the submission. \"However, with the threat of the new 'incentive' tax from the Australian government (rate yet to be determined), this cost is likely to significantly increase.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n A local content quota is also among the complaints raised by the association about American streaming services. Netflix would be forced to finance Australian productions under the quotas, similar to the rules imposed on traditional television networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Australia's online video streaming market is estimated to generate up to $2.3 billion ($3.7 billion) of annual revenue, with the majority of it earned from US companies,\" the CCIA submission states. \"If the Australian government pursues the 20 percent expenditure mandate it has floated in the past year, that would put this revenue at risk.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Local content quotas were announced by the federal government more than two years ago. In recent times, however, the government has backed off the idea due to concerns about how it would fit with the Australia-US free trade agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a proponent of open trade, the CCIA opposes any new tariffs on Australia. However, it suggests they can be used as a negotiating tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This submission was made to the Office of the US Trade Representative, which has been charged with assisting in devising Mr. Trump's \"reciprocal tariffs\". On April 2, those tariffs will take effect, but Mr Trump has not yet outlined the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Australia has been attempting to convince the Trump administration not to place further tariffs on Australian imports after previous steps to exclude Australia from tariffs on aluminum and steel were ineffectual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers stated the standing taken by the US tech giants was unsurprising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I\u2019m not privy to the conversations that they have with President Trump from time to time,\" he added. \"It's self-evident they're very close with the US administration. Our focus and our job is to make our case in the US as we have been doing.\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n There are more than 20 big players in the tech industry affiliated with the CCIA, including Meta, Google, X, Apple, and Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being one of Mr Trump's most influential inner circle members, Elon Musk is heading up his \"DOGE\" cost-cutting operation. Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have strengthened their previously strained relationship with Mr Trump, announcing new business policies aligned with his administration's priorities and donating millions of dollars to his inaugural fund through their businesses.<\/p>\n","post_title":"US tech giants lobby Trump to fight Australian news, streaming regulations According to reports, DR Congo <\/a>hires Washington advisors to gain US support for military and diplomatic attention as M23 escalates the war in eastern Congo. President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi, is offering Washington access to Congo-Kinshasa\u2019s valuable minerals as a bargaining instrument to get the US\u2019s support to drive out M23 and Rwanda from eastern Congo-Kinshasa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congo has hired US lobbyists on a year-long agreement worth US$1.4 million with the aim of delivering \u2018strategic engagements to advance defence security and critical mineral diplomacy with the United States government\u2019, as reported in a filing with the Foreign Agents Registration Act on 20 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported, The contract is held by Aaron Poynton, an American businessman who was assigned by Kinshasa last June to arrange a roundtable discussion for business and political leaders from the US and Congo (Dispatches 19\/6\/24, Kinshasa gets a <\/a>new business Poynt man).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi\u2019s government had expanded its involvement in Washington prior to Donald Trump\u2019s election in November. Last April, state mining firm G\u00e9camines signed a one-year contract worth $925,000 with Mercury, a K Street lobby shop in Washington DC, to boost bargaining with Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, regarding Ukraine, Trump has explicitly stated \u2013 especially through his insistence that Ukraine sign a deal allowing the US access to a claimed $500 billion in rare earth minerals as a component of a peace agreement to halt Russia\u2019s invasion \u2013 that his approach will be distinctly transactional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mining of minerals has been a secondary aspect of M23\u2019s incursions into the Kivus. A report from United Nations experts revealed that minerals were being smuggled from areas controlled by M23 into Rwanda for sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tshisekedi referred to the European Union\u2019s cash-for-minerals agreement with Rwanda as \u2018an absolute scandal\u2019 and blamed Brussels for contributing to \u2018complicit in the theft and looting of Congo\u2019. During a February 24 interview with the New York Times, Tshisekedi asserted that the Trump administration has expressed interest in a strategic minerals agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This development could draw increased US investment into the $6 billion Lobito corridor project, which connects Angola\u2019s largest port with the copper mines in Zambia and eventually to Congo-K. Advocates of this initiative feared that the new US administration might hesitate to support Lobito, given its association with ex-President Joe Biden\u2019s Africa strategy. Until now, the pathway for US companies to leverage Lobito for greater access to Congo-K\u2019s essential minerals remained uncertain.<\/p>\n","post_title":"DR Congo's lobbying efforts to gain US support in fight against M23","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-congos-lobbying-efforts-to-gain-us-support-in-fight-against-m23","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-26 21:02:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7453","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7450,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-22 05:40:00","post_content":"\n Environmental advocates have warned that fossil fuel interests are attacking climate accountability litigation and pursuing a strategy that would destroy all future prospects for such cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 200 advocacy groups have urged Democratic representatives to \u201cproactively and affirmatively\u201d oppose any attempt by the industry to obtain immunity from litigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have reason to believe that the fossil fuel industry and its allies will use the chaos and overreach of the new Trump administration to attempt yet again to \u2026 shield themselves from facing consequences for their decades of pollution and deception,\u201d delivers a letter to Congress<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter was signed by 195 environmental groups, such as the Earthjustice and Sunrise Movement, Sierra Club, legal non-profits, including the American Association for Justice and Public Justice, and numerous other organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the last decade, states and municipalities have filed more than 30 lawsuits blaming Big Oil for concealing the climate risks of its products and pursuing potentially billions in damages. There has been limited success in killing the cases by the defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Republicans now holding the White House and both chambers of Congress, advocates worry that the industry may seek total immunity from all current and future climate-related lawsuits. To achieve this, they might push for a liability waiver similar to the one awarded to the firearms industry in 2005, which has effectively prevented most efforts to hold it accountable for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLawmakers must decisively reject any attempt by the fossil fuel industry to evade accountability and ensure both justice today and the right of future generations to hold polluters responsible for decades of deception,\u201d wrote the missive, addressed to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fossil fuel firms have competed for such a get-out-of-jail-free card for years. Republican officials, economists, and oil companies proposed legal liability for a carbon tax in 2017, claiming the industry could not weather both. Documents subpoenaed by the Senate show that Exxon threatened to leave the council when the council abandoned the waiver proposal two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, a waiver was included in a draft of the COVID-19 spending package in 2020, but it was later removed, Drilled found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This waiver would only be approved by the Senate with supermajority backing, which would need some Democratic support. In a January interview, Michael Gerrard, a climate law expert from Columbia University, stated that it is \u201chard to envision\" achieving bipartisan support. Advocates are concerned that oil companies might persuade officials to once again subtly include the proposal in a larger, essential piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his campaign, Trump vowed to \"put an end to frivolous lawsuits from environmental extremists.\" Recently, a rightwing think tank initiated a campaign aimed at combating lawsuits from \u201cradical climate groups,\" labeling it the \"greatest threat\" to Donald Trump\u2019s energy policy, according to E&E News. This think tank is associated with Leonard Leo, recognized as a key figure in the Federalist Society, which has played a significant role in the ultraconservative transformation of the American judiciary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, groups associated with Leo initiated another campaign described by one expert as \u201cunprecedented\u201d to persuade the supreme court to protect oil companies from lawsuits. This week and in January, the high court rejected their request. On Monday, a truck parked outside a significant fossil fuel conference in Houston cautioned that \u201clawfare and anti-energy laws are threatening America\u2019s pro-consumer energy dominance,\u201d referring to an op-ed from a group connected to Leo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil companies are also concerned about another development: \u201cclimate superfund\u201d bills pointed to making big polluters pay for climate action. Oil lobby groups and red states are challenging <\/p>\n\n\n\n the laws. <\/p>\n","post_title":"Fossil fuel giants intensify lobbying to seek immunity from climate lawsuits","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"fossil-fuel-giants-intensify-lobbying-to-seek-immunity-from-climate-lawsuits","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:44:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7450","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7447,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_date_gmt":"2025-03-21 05:37:00","post_content":"\n The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is secretly lobbying the Trump government to undermine a post-war agenda for the Gaza Strip that Egypt prepared and which has been supported by the Arab League, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As reported by the Middle East Eye, Abu Dhabi is using its unprecedented access to the White House to denounce the plan as unworkable and blame Cairo for giving too much influence to Hamas. Emirates' powerful ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba, has been lobbying US President Donald Trump\u2019s aides and congressmen to place pressure on Egypt to take in Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier this year, Otaiba stated that he saw no alternative to Trump's call for Palestinians to be displaced outside of the Gaza Strip. The UAE has targeted an offshoot of the Egypt-founded Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, across the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the UAE and Egypt broadly support the same Palestinian powerbroker for Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, an exiled former Fatah official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of March, Egypt announced its strategy for political transition, rebuilding, and recovery in the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of Israel\u2019s harsh offensive. Key points include governance by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the establishment of a Gazan security force trained by Jordan and Egypt, and the possibility of deploying UN peacekeepers in both the Strip and the occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian proposal emerged as a counter to US President Donald Trump\u2019s plans for an American takeover of Gaza and the coercive displacement of Palestinians. This led to the rapid endorsement of Cairo\u2019s initiative by the Arab League. Although several European nations supported the plan, it was unsurprisingly dismissed by the US and Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UAE has criticized Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan for not specifying specifically how to disarm and oust Hamas from the Gaza Strip. It is believed by some US and Egyptian officials that the UAE campaign has already adversely impacted US-Egyptian bilateral ties, with the US cautioning Egypt that it will decrease military aid in 2026. The US warnings that the White House prepared to cut military aid to Egypt were first noted by London-based news portal Al-Araby Al-Jadeed last week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In March, the Trump administration executed the previous Biden administration\u2019s strategy to redirect $95 million in military assistance intended for Egypt to the Lebanese Armed Forces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dispute is complicated by the fact that Egypt and the UAE see Dahlan as a power broker in post-war Gaza. When the Arab League endorsed the Egyptian-drafted plan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pardoned exiled former Fatah officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was widely perceived as a nod to Dahlan, Fatah's enforcer in Gaza before Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. When Dahlan fell out with Abbas in the occupied West Bank, he relocated to the UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been reported that the UAE is advocating for Dahlan to lead a committee governing Gaza and later replace octogenarian Abbas as president. Moreover, Sisi has a close relationship with Dahlan. The UAE is a pivotal backer of Sisi\u2019s cash-strapped administration. In 2024, it arranged a $35bn investment in Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean shore. However, the UAE and Egypt are supporting opposing flanks in a brutal civil fight in Sudan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to complicating matters, The Financial Times noted that the Trump administration is advocating for Sudan and the unrecognized government of Somaliland to get forcibly displaced Palestinians. According to reports, the Trump administration's nominee for Africa Affairs at the State Department, Peter Pham, is a vocal advocate of the UAE and Somaliland's independence. DP World, a state-owned company, operates the main port of Somaliland and trains the security forces there. DP World is the main power broker in Somaliland.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Emirates lobbying Trump to reject Egypt\u2019s Gaza plan with its political agenda","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"emirates-lobbying-trump-to-reject-egypts-gaza-plan-with-its-political-agenda","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_modified_gmt":"2025-03-23 05:40:25","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7447","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":49},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
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Reason of SpaceX seeks to prevent Globalstar\u2019s launch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n