Greece's planned offshore deep-sea oil and gas exploration poses a serious threat to marine life, a global campaigning network said on Wednesday.

Greenpeace’s Greece office shared findings of research conducted in collaboration with the Athens-based scientific and non-profit organization Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute in parts of the Hellenic Trench.

Stressing that the Mediterranean is already experiencing the effects of the climate crisis, Greenpeace warned that the planned project would expose endangered species to “unbearable” noise and pollution from seismic blasts and deep-sea drilling operations.

Greenpeace urged that all hydrocarbon exploration plans in the region should be canceled.

“Any new investment in the falsely advertised ‘good’ fossil gas will in a few years become a stranded asset with dire consequences for the economy, Greek and European taxpayers, and the country's natural resources,” it added./aa

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday removed the word “transitory” from describing inflation, and indicated it will end tapering, the process of reducing monthly asset purchases, earlier and faster than previously planned.

"In light of inflation developments and the further improvement in the labor market, the Committee decided to reduce the monthly pace of its net asset purchases by $20 billion for Treasury securities and $10 billion for agency mortgage-backed securities," the Fed said in a statement after its much-anticipated two-day meeting.

In a November meeting, the Fed said it started to reduce the monthly pace of its net asset purchases by $10 billion of Treasury securities and $5 billion for agency mortgage-backed securities.

Although Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Sept. 22 he expects tapering to end in mid-2022, he shifted from a dovish stance to a hawkish tone Nov. 30 while testifying before the Senate, saying it would be "appropriate to consider wrapping up the taper of asset purchases  a few months sooner."

Before the House of Representatives on Dec. 1, he also said the Fed will use its tools to fight record inflation.

US consumer prices jumped 6.8% in November, from the same month a year ago -- its largest annual increase since 1982./aa

The former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted in the murder of George Floyd is facing the prospect of more years behind bars after pleading guilty Wednesday to separate federal charges in Floyd's death.

Derek Chauvin appeared in court to confirm his guilty pleas. The charges included depriving Floyd of his rights when Chauvin kneeled on Floyd's neck for about nine minutes during a routine police interaction, then failing to render medical aid.

Floyd's death in May 2020, caught on a bystander’s cell phone, triggered worldwide demonstrations, some violent, and led to a nationwide reckoning on race and policing in the US.

Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in a highly-watched trial last spring, then sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.

Critics said the prison time was too lenient, given that he could be eligible for parole in about 14 years.

But federal prosecutors are now asking for a 25-year prison sentence, that would run concurrently with his current sentence. Under those guidelines, Chauvin could spend an additional six years in prison, before he is eligible for parole.

The decision will be up to the judge who accepted Chauvin's guilty plea but the judge did not set a date yet for sentencing.

At his sentencing in June, Chauvin suggested that there was more to the story in Floyd's death, cryptically saying that there would be more information coming out that was of interest to the Floyd family.

But so far, he has not provided any explanation or apology for what he did.

As part of Wednesday's plea deal, Chauvin admitted guilt in violating the civil rights of a 14-year-old boy in 2017 when he held the boy by his throat, hit him in the head with a flashlight and held his knee against the boy's neck.

As with Floyd, the boy was handcuffed and not resisting.

Three other former police officers who were with Chauvin on the day of Floyd's death will face state charges next year./aa

The US House of Representatives voted 428-1 to ban all imported goods from China's Xinjiang region unless it can be proven the goods were not made by forced labor.

The Biden administration, as the Trump administration before it, deemed as genocide China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the region.

The administration also warned that it could take action against other governments and companies that do business with Xinjiang and that they could violate US laws on forced labor.

The House bill, called the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, requires companies to prove that they do not import goods from Xinjiang that come from forced labor.

The US has accused China of mass detentions, sterilizations, forced labor and genocide against the Uyghurs since 2017.

But proving goods are made freely is difficult and major companies such as Nike, Coca-Cola and solar panel manufacturers rely on a supply chain that goes through Xinjiang.

The House bill will now be reconciled with a version that unanimously passed in the US Senate, and the final version will be sent to President Biden for his signature.

Separately, the House will vote Wednesday on resolutions condemning the Uyghur genocide and the way the Chinese government has handled sexual assault allegations by tennis star Peng Shuai.

She accused a Chinese government official of assault, and serious questions have been since raised about her well-being./aa

US Congress agreed early Wednesday to raise the country's debt limit by $2.5 trillion, officially avoiding the first American government default in history.

After the Senate passed the measure in a 50-49 vote, the House of Representatives approved the legislation in a 221-209 vote, sending the bill to President Joe Biden's desk for signature.

The debt limit, which is now around $31.4 trillion, will finance the government’s debt obligations through 2023 and includes the 2022 mid-term elections, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The measure came less than one day before the federal government was expected to reach its debt ceiling -- Dec. 15 -- a date Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned lawmakers repeatedly in the last few months./aa

Triggered by the coronavirus health crisis and resulting deep recession, global debt reached $226 trillion in 2020, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday.

The figure last year rose 28 percentage points to 256% of global gross domestic product (GDP), the largest one-year debt surge since World War II, the IMF said on its website’s blog.

"Debt was already elevated going into the crisis, but now governments must navigate a world of record-high public and private debt levels, new virus mutations, and rising inflation," it warned.

Public debt accounted for nearly 40% of total global debt, the highest share since the mid-1960s.

The IMF highlighted that the debt dynamics differed markedly across countries, as advanced economies and China accounted for more than 90% of the $28 trillion debt surge in 2020.

"These countries were able to expand public and private debt during the pandemic, thanks to low interest rates, the actions of central banks (including large purchases of government debt), and well-developed financial markets," it noted.

Public debt in advanced economies climbed to 124% of GDP in 2020, versus 70% of GDP in 2007, while private debt rose at a more moderate pace from 164% to 178% of GDP during the same period.

China accounted for 26% of the global debt surge.

Emerging markets (excluding China) and low-income countries accounted for small shares of the rise in global debt, around $1-$1.2 trillion each, mainly due to higher public debt.​​​​​​​/aa

The US is “very actively” looking to designate the ongoing repression of the Rohingya population of Myanmar as a “genocide,” the top US diplomat said on Wednesday.

“We continue also to look actively at determinations of what are the actions taken in Myanmar and whether they constitute genocide and that’s something we’re looking at very actively right now,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a news conference on Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in Myanmar in 2012.

More than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women, and children, fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar’s forces launched a violent crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017, including killings, beatings, rape, and burning down homes.

Blinken said the situation in Myanmar after the military coup this February has “gotten worse,” calling for the release of those detained by the junta regime, including deposed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

“I think it’s going to be very important in the weeks and months ahead to look at what additional steps and measures we can take individually, collectively to pressure the regime to put the country back on a democratic trajectory,” Blinken said.

“The long and short of it is we have to look at what additional steps, measures could be taken to move things in a better direction and that’s something that we’re looking at,” Blinken told a joint news conference alongside Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah.

According to Blinken, additional measures may include sanctions to pressure the Southeast Asian nation’s military leaders to return to a “democratic trajectory.”

Role of ASEAN

Blinken is on a three-nation trip to Southeast Asia, beginning in Indonesia.

Abdullah said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must do some “soul-searching” when it comes to Myanmar.

ASEAN, a regional grouping of 10 nations, has restricted its measures against Myanmar due to its “policy of non-interference in its members’ internal affairs.”

Since Myanmar’s Feb. 1 coup, more than 1,000 civilians have been killed and over 5,400 others, including the top leadership of the previous administration, were arrested by junta forces.

Blinken called for the release of all prisoners who have been “unjustly detained,” including Suu Kyi, besides urging the junta administration to allow unhindered humanitarian access and end violence against protesters.

“I understand that we celebrate the principles of non-interference, but ... ASEAN should also look at the principle of non-indifference because what happens in Myanmar is already getting out of Myanmar,” Abdullah said.

Malaysia is hosting nearly 200,000 Rohingya refugees.

“We have to do some soul-searching,” he said, expressing hope that an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in January would be able to clarify the group’s position on Myanmar and lay out clear demands and milestones for the country’s military to meet along with a specific timeline for completing them.​​​​​​​/agencies

Turkey's flag carrier Turkish Airlines has been voted as the Best Airline for Business Class for the fifth year in a row by readers of leading US travel magazine Global Traveler.

According to a statement from the airline on Wednesday, it also took its sixth win for the Best Airport Staff/Gate Agents in the 18th edition of the GT Tested Reader Survey.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Airlines Corporate Club was chosen as Best Corporate Program for Business Travelers for the fourth consecutive year.

"We are honored to be recognized by the Global Traveler’s reader survey and to be included among the world’s leading travel providers," said Turkish Airlines CEO Ilker Ayci.

Singapore Airlines took the top honor as Best Overall Airline in the world, reclaiming its title after a one-year hiatus.

Founded in 1933, Turkish Airlines has a fleet of 373 (passenger and cargo) aircraft flying to 333 destinations, including 281 international and 52 domestic.

With a centrally located hub between the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, Turkish Airlines provides connectivity through the new Istanbul airport from 15 North American gateways./aa