International

Greenpeace will have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the Energy Transfer company

A popular jury ruled on Wednesday that the Greenpeace organization must pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to the company Energy Transfer (ET) for inciting protests against the construction of a company pipeline that degenerated into acts of vandalism.

The jury found Greenpeace responsible for defamation and other lawsuits filed by ET, which accused it of instigating the 2016 Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s protests against the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline in the north of the country, which delayed the project and raised costs.

The energy company, based in Dallas (Texas), claimed 300 million dollars (about 287 million euros), a figure that the environmental organization itself has declared that would threaten its very existence.

Greenpeace had denied ET’s accusations, claiming that it simply supported those protests and is not responsible for their development.

The jury, composed of nine people, has made its decision after two days of deliberations in a court in North Dakota (United States) and a trial that has lasted almost a month.

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In its lawsuit, ET included the entities Greenpeace International, Greenpeace Inc and the Greenpeace Fund.

The case has been denounced as an example of a Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation (SLAPP), a type of civil litigation increasingly used by corporations, politicians and other powerful groups against activists, opponents or journalists, among others.

During the protests, which took place between 2016 and 2017, thousands of people camped for months arguing that the pipeline was being built on sacred lands and that it could pose a danger to the water supply.

According to The New York Times, the co-founder and chairman of the board of directors of Energy Transfer, Kelcy Warren – one of the largest donors in the last presidential campaign of the president, Donald Trump – assured in a video projected during the final arguments that the demonstrators created “a totally false narrative.”

One of the company’s lawyers, Trey Cox, said during the trial that “Greenpeace took a small and disorganized local case and exploited it to close the pipeline and promote his own selfish agenda,” reports the New York media.

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In a post on its website written before the verdict was known, the organization assures that, with this lawsuit, Energy Transfer “has used the US legal system as a weapon to try to silence us at a time when our voices are more necessary.”

International

Florida judge sets 2027 trial in Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against BBC

A federal judge in Florida has scheduled February 2027 for the trial in the lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump against the BBC, in which he is seeking $10 billion in damages for defamation.

Trump accuses the British broadcaster of airing a misleading edit of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, which, he says, made it appear that he explicitly urged his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

The president filed the suit in December in federal court in Florida, alleging defamation and violations of a law governing business practices when the program was broadcast ahead of the 2024 election.

Trump is seeking $5 billion in damages for each of the two claims.

Lawyers for the BBC unsuccessfully asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Trump had not suffered a “legally recognizable harm,” since the investigative program Panorama, which included the edited footage, aired outside the United States.

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International

Head-of-state diplomacy key to guiding China–U.S. ties, Beijing says

Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–United States relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday during a regular press briefing, when asked about high-level exchanges between the two sides.

Lin added that in a recent phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump once again expressed his intention to visit China in April, while Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his invitation.

Both sides remain in communication regarding the matter, the spokesperson said.

Lin noted that the essence of China–U.S. economic and trade ties lies in mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

“Both parties should work together to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, injecting greater certainty and stability into China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as well as into the global economy,” he said.

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International

Trump administration to end special immigration operation in Minnesota

The administration of Donald Trump is bringing to a close its special operation targeting illegal immigration in the northern state of Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday, following weeks of unrest and the fatal shootings of two activists by federal agents.

Thousands of federal officers had been deployed to Minnesota in December to carry out large-scale raids against undocumented immigrants.

The operations triggered strong reactions from residents and advocacy groups, leading to daily confrontations and the deaths of two people who were shot by federal agents.

“I proposed, and President Trump agreed, that this special operation should end in Minnesota,” Homan said during a press conference in the state capital, Minneapolis.

“A significant drawdown began this week and will continue into next week,” he added.

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Homan indicated that similar enforcement efforts could be launched in other cities.

“Next week we will redeploy the agents currently here back to their home stations or to other parts of the country where they are needed. But we will continue to enforce immigration laws,” he said.