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Iran threatens to attack other nations' energy field if US launches new attacks
Iran warned this weekend against "adventurous actions" by the U.S. and said it would retaliate if American forces follow through on President Donald Trump’s threats to launch fresh attacks on Iranian target. Abbas Araqchi, the Iranian Foreign Minister, made his comments on Saturday in separate telephone calls with senior Turkish officials and Saudi officials. This was just hours after Kuwaiti army claimed to have destroyed Iranian drones that had attacked vital facilities. Araqchi, speaking to Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshall Asim Munir, and Turkish Foreign Ministry Hakan Fidan on Telegram, said Iran would react decisively to "aggressions" and discussed consequences of U.S. "destabilizing action" as well as prospects for?increased regional insecurity. Araqchi told Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, that the U.S. or Israel would face a "proportionate" response if they attacked. Nournews, an outlet of Iran's top national security agency, stated on Saturday that U.S. strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure will prompt Iranian?strikes against oil fields in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel. It also said, "all?will be?burned to ashes". Trump told his cabinet on Friday at Camp David that he still believed U.S. negotiators including Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio could reach an agreement with Iran. Trump said that he had lost faith in Iran, saying "They break their words so often." This is a charge Tehran has made against Washington on many occasions. He also stated that he would "hit them." STRAIT of HORMUZ Since U.S. forces and Israeli forces began the war on Iran with strikes on February 28, oil prices have remained high. Trump has claimed that the stated goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is justified by higher fuel prices in the short term. However, the economic pain has placed political pressure on Trump to find a solution to the conflict. Benchmark Brent crude prices rose by 24% in July, and according to analysts polled at, they expect the price of oil to continue rising this year. Since the beginning of the conflict, the threat of Iranian attacks has slowed down most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. This is an important conduit for energy supplies around the world. It's sent shockwaves throughout the global economy. The Kuwaiti Army reported that a government facility located in northern Kuwait, and a civilian property owned by a company located on Bubiyan Island were both hit Saturday. Falling shrapnel caused material damage, but there were no injuries. Add to the 'energy industry's worries, Iran's Houthi ally in Yemen has recently begun threatening Bab el-Mandeb - the strait on the opposite side of the Red Sea, from the Suez Canal - another route for Saudi 'crude' oil exports. United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations announced on Saturday that it had received reports about two maritime incidents near Oman. One of them involved a tanker being struck by an unknown object which damaged the engine room. The master of the tanker in the second incident reported seeing an explosion and a large splash close to his vessel. However, no damage was reported.
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Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 4 despite Trump's announcement of breakthrough
Israeli airstrikes in Gaza continued for the second day in a row on Sunday, killing four Palestinians despite U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that a breakthrough had been made in efforts to implement last year's Gaza ceasefire accord. Palestinian health officials reported that Israeli warplanes carried out separate strikes in Gaza City, and Deir al-Balah. Two people, including a young child, died in a Gaza City apartment airstrike, according to medics. Trump stated on Thursday that a breakthrough had occurred after Hamas agreed disarming under an initiative backed by the United States to implement the ceasefire agreement signed last year in Egypt. Trump's Board of Peace released a 15 point roadmap on Friday that outlines?the final steps to implement the agreement. The roadmap is yet to be implemented. Hamas has said it will only hand over weapons to be stored after Israel ceases military operations, and withdraws all its forces according to the agreement of last year. Israeli officials said that there would not be a withdrawal of the military from its current positions until Hamas underwent "genuine dearmament." Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has not publicly commented on this initiative. National Security Minister Itamar Bin-Gvir called it inacceptable and said Israel should keep assassinating Hamas leaders. Mohammed Dahlan, a former senior Fatah official based in the 'Arab Emirates said in a post on Facebook that Jared Kushner - Trump's son in law and senior adviser in the U.S. Initiative - had told him he worked with the Israelis to halt attacks in Gaza. Dahlan said that contacts were being maintained with the U.S. to ensure the agreement is fully implemented. He added that the success of the agreement 'now depends on Israel ending its daily attacks on Gaza. The U.S. State Department has been contacted for a comment on Dahlan’s remarks. Israel did not immediately comment. Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Hatem Maher and Rod Nickel. Editing by Rod Nickel
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Iran threatens to attack other nations' energy field if US launches new attacks
Iran warned against "adventurous actions" by the United States this weekend. Iran said it would respond if American forces followed through on President Donald Trump’s 'threats' of fresh attacks against Iranian targets. Iran's Foreign minister Abbas Araqchi made his comments on Saturday in separate telephone calls with senior Turkish officials, Pakistani officials and Saudi officials just hours after Kuwaiti army claimed it destroyed hostile drones that Iran had launched against several vital infrastructures. Araqchi, speaking to Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshall Asim Munir, and Turkish Foreign Ministry Hakan Fidan on Telegram, said Iran would react decisively to "aggressions" and discussed consequences of U.S. "destabilizing action" as well as prospects for increased regional insecurity. Araqchi told Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, that any attack by the U.S. or?Israel and/or participation by countries in the region would be met by a "proportionate reaction." Nournews, an outlet of Iran's leading security agency, stated on Saturday that the U.S. Attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure will lead to Iranian strikes against oil fields in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel. Trump told his cabinet members at a meeting held on Friday, Camp David, that he still believed U.S. negotiators - including Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, the special envoy, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio - could reach an agreement with Iran. Trump said that he had lost faith in Iran, saying they "break their word so many times" -- an accusation Tehran has made against Washington frequently -- and that he would "hit them." STRAIT of HORMUZ Since U.S. forces and Israeli forces began the war on Iran with strikes on February 28, oil prices have remained high. Trump claims that the stated goal to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is worth higher fuel prices 'in the short term. But the economic pain has forced him to find an end to the war. Benchmark Brent crude prices rose by 24% in July and according to analysts polled, they expect the price to increase 'further' this year. Since the start of the conflict the threat of Iranian attacks has stopped most shipping from using the Strait of Hormuz as an important conduit for global energy supplies. This has sent shockwaves throughout the world's economy. The Kuwaiti army reported that a government facility located in the north of Kuwait, and a civilian property owned by a company located on Bubiyan Island, were both hit Saturday. Falling?shrapnel caused material damage, but there were no injuries. Iran's Houthi ally in Yemen has recently begun to threaten the Bab el-Mandeb strait, which is at the opposite end of the Red Sea, from the Suez Canal and another route for Saudi crude export. On Saturday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations announced that it had'received reports about two maritime incidents near Oman. One of them involved a tanker being struck by an unknown object which damaged its engine room. The master of another tanker saw a large explosion and splash close to his vessel. However, no damage was reported.
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Officials: Nirmal Purja, a well-known climber in Pakistan, is among the 10 people killed in an avalanche.
Nirmal Purja died on Saturday in an avalanche in Pakistan during an expedition. He was a celebrated Nepali mountaineer who had set a world record for fastest ascents of the 14 highest mountains. Elite Exped, the company that organised his expedition, posted on Instagram: "It is with great sadness and heartbreak that we confirm Nirmal Nimsdai Purja tragically lost his life after the avalanche at Broad Peak." The report added, "We also received confirmation from other members of this expedition that they unfortunately did not survive." Balendra Shah, the Prime Minister of Nepal, expressed shock at the death of climbers including Purja. "Only the physical journey of climbers has ceased. Shah said in a post on social media that the courage, dedication and contributions of these climbers will remain inspiring and alive. Purja, 43 and nine other climbers had been missing since Thursday, after an avalanche struck Broad Peak in Pakistan, which is the world's 12th-highest peak at 8,051 metres (26,414 feet). Officials said the bodies of Purja, and other climbers, were located at a difficult location and still had to be recovered. Purja, a former Gurkha soldier in the British army, and then a member of the Special Forces, achieved his record-breaking feat within six months, in 2019. Purja became internationally known after the Netflix documentary "14 Peaks : Nothing is Impossible" was released two years later. Wes Streeting, UK defence minister, said that he was "incredibly sad" to hear of the deaths of Purja and other climbers. Streeting wrote: "He was a man of inspiration who served in our Armed Forces over many years - whose incredible adventures are well known around the globe." Around midday, the 10 mountaineers got caught in a avalanche. Six were Nepalis, and the rest were from Pakistan (Oman), the U.S., and China. Three bodies were found by search crews on Friday. Chhang Dawa Sherpa is a board member of Seven Summit Treks, which included three Sherpa climbers among the dead. He said that the rest of the bodies had been "spotted and identified" using drone footage, and were yet to be recovered. Chhang said, "They're in a tough spot and still haven't been recovered." He stated that unlike Nepal Pakistan does not practice long-line rescues by helicopters in the mountains. We?must take into consideration the safety of those going to retrieve the bodies." Sajid Hussain said that the rescue operation is ongoing. He said: "Rescue Teams have identified the location of victims, but they haven't been able yet to recover them and bring them safely down." He said that while drone surveillance and aerial recon helped to pinpoint the exact location of the victims, it was still difficult to reach the deceased and recover them safely. Purja scaled Annapurna in 2019. It is the 10th highest mountain on the planet. Then he began to climb other 8,000-metre mountains. Eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world are located in Nepal, while five others are in Pakistan, and the last one is in the Tibet region in China. Purja was described as a "charismatic colorful" character by elite climbers. Kenton Cool of the UK, who is the first non-Sherpa to have climbed Everest 20, said that he would be hard pressed not to mention his role in reshaping high altitude climbing. (Reporting and editing by Alex Richardson, Hugh Lawson, and Mushtaq Al in Peshawar)
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Peru consumer prices increased by 0.29% in July
Data from 'the national?"statistics "agency INEI on Saturday showed that?peruvian _monthly_ consumer prices rose 0.29% during?July. This was slightly below the median forecast of 0.30% in a poll, and follows a 0.23% increase in June. INEI?said that the increase in prices was primarily due to a rise of 0.67% in food and non-alcoholic drinks,?led mainly by higher prices for poultry meat and cuts, eggs and?some fruits and vegetables. Fuel prices fell, but transport prices rose 0.20%. This was due to increased demand during Fiestas Patrias for air and interprovincial travel. Restaurant and hotel prices increased by 0.18%. Gas, electricity, and housing prices all fell 0.12%. This was due to lower gas prices and lower electric tariffs after a new rate system that went into effect on July 4. The annual inflation rate in Lima, the nation's primary inflation benchmark, increased to 4.07% from 4.01% in June. This is still above the central banks' 1%-3% target range. Preetika parashuraman, Bengaluru. Edited by Hugh Lawson.
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Turkey, Iraq sign one-year oil pipeline deal
Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkish Energy Minister announced on Saturday that Turkey and Iraq had signed an agreement for a year to maintain the crude oil pipeline between 'the two countries. The agreement extends a bilateral arrangement dating back decades that expired Monday, which allowed the operation of Baghdad’s only export pipeline (ITP), the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline. The minister stated: "While we continue to work towards a long-term agreement on this 'pipeline..., we have implemented a transit arrangement that covers a daily?capacity of 750,000 barrels." Bayraktar stated that he met with Iraq's Oil Minister and his delegation in Ankara and signed a one-year agreement between the Turkish state energy companies BOTAS and Iraqi state oil companies SOMO and NOC. The extension gives time to talk about a?more comprehensive agreement. The Turkish government wants to use the 1.5 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) capacity 'pipeline to its fullest and extend it to southern Iraqi oilfields. Turkish data indicates that the pipeline carrying oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan carries approximately?170,000 barrels per day.
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Israeli strikes kill 2 in Gaza and destroy medicines storage warehouses
In separate strikes, Israel's military killed two Palestinians and destroyed two 'warehouses' near a hospital storing medicine. The strikes came amid uncertainty about whether Israel had accepted the Hamas-negotiated disarmament deal. Palestinian officials confirmed that two Palestinians died in an Israeli airstrike in the Sheikh Radwan area of Gaza City, central 'Gaza. The Israeli military claimed that the militants targeted by their airstrike were Hamas, but refused to give further details. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza released a statement stating that an Israeli airstrike destroyed two warehouses used by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital to store medicines in Deir al-Balah, a southern Gaza suburb. The military has not yet commented on the attack. The strike also damaged two other warehouses that housed medicine and the hospital's outpatient clinic. No immediate reports have been made of injuries. The hospital stated that the warehouses contained essential?medical supply used to treat dialysis patients with kidney failure, as well as other materials such gauze used for wound care and routine treatments. Khalil Al-Daqran said that the Israeli occupation had committed a "heinous crime" during the strike. He said that "in the middle of night (the military) destroyed a warehouse which contained medical supplies for the hospital." Witnesses reported that the military issued an evacuation order for the area before the strike. Under international humanitarian law, hospitals and other civilian sites can be protected. However, this protection may be lost if the site is used for military purposes. Israel's military claims that Hamas, and other armed group operate within civilian facilities and areas. Fatima Sharab said that many people who needed medical attention were sheltering near the warehouses to be close to the hospitals. She said, "The strike struck and then we returned to the camp - there was no camp." Israel has continued to strike Gaza after agreeing to a ceasefire last October, mediated by the United States. In the nine months since then 1,222 Palestinians have been killed. Palestinian health officials claim that the majority of those killed were civilians including women and kids. Hamas does not usually announce its casualties. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, appeared to announce on Thursday a breakthrough in his plan to end the conflict. Israel and Hamas had agreed to it last year. The ceasefire was the first step. Trump stated that Hamas had agreed to lay its weapons down. Hamas ruled Gaza for?nearly 20 years before launching the attack on Israel in October 7th, 2023 that sparked the Gaza?war. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has not yet made a public comment. However, his National Security Minister Itamar Bin-Gvir called the agreement "inacceptable" and said that Israel should continue its policy of assassinating Hamas leadership. The Board of Peace, Trump's appointed body to implement the plan for ending Gaza war, published a roadmap Thursday that outlines the final steps in implementing the initiative. In the document, it is stated that Israel has committed to Trump's plan of 20 points which was signed by Israel last year. (Writing and editing by Hugh Lawson; Alexander Cornwell)
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India's record renewable power generation in July reduces coal's share to a 1-year low
In July, the share of coal in India's power generation mix fell to its lowest level?in an entire year as renewable energy production surged?to a new record high. The data revealed that renewable power has risen to 20% of India's total mix. The data showed that the number of kilowatt hours (kWh) consumed in July was 36.25 billion, up 30% on last year. Grid-India, the state-run regulator, calculated that coal-power generation dropped to 65.7% from 69% in July. India's clean energy generation has risen as solar and wind output have exceeded 100 gigawatts. This is the first time that this figure was higher than 42.8%. Manoj Kumar, analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air said that the majority of peak power demand occurs during the daytime, when solar contributes more. He cited a rising renewable share in the nation's electricity generation. The data revealed that coal-fired electricity generation increased by 12.8% on an annual basis to 119.40 Gigawatt Hours in July. Analysts attribute the rise in coal-power production to a decline in hydropower and due to an El Nino pattern where "searing heat" is driving the demand for cooling at night. El Nino has caused a significant shift in rainfall patterns and elevated temperatures. This is why hydropower generation fell for the second consecutive month. CREA stated that the lower hydro generation due to El Nino combined with increased power demand could result in a gap in power generation of nearly 18 billion kWh. This will lead to an increase in coal-fired energy in India. Data showed that India's electricity production in July increased 10.4% compared to a year ago, reaching 181.79 billion kWh. Sethuraman N.R.; William Mallard, Editor
Evacuations are required after fires in Washington State that cover more than 250,000 acres.
State officials reported on Saturday night that wildfires covering more than a quarter million acres of Washington state have caused widespread evacuations in the Spokane area and caused power outages.
Dave Upthegrove said that more than a dozen fires were burning in the'state.
On Saturday morning, Governor Bob Ferguson issued a burn ban and declared an emergency in the state. Officials said that at this time, they were unaware of any injuries or deaths related to the fire. Spokane is home to 230,000 people in eastern Washington. The Old Trails Fire has been active for 3,000 acres, and threatens 4,000 buildings, according to Washington State Forester George Geissler. Mayor Lisa Brown confirmed that some major Spokane facilities have been evacuated. These include water reclamation plants, a waste energy plant, and the Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital. About 200 homes had been evacuated in Spokane as of 3:30 pm (2230 GMT) but officials expect that number to change. Brown said: "These are huge areas of the city, so I expect it will be more than 200 homes."
Stacey McClain, of Washington State Emergency Management Division, said that?60,000 people in eastern Washington were without electricity.
Ferguson stated that the multiple fires in the state would be a serious problem. He noted that the high winds and temperatures over the weekend will make it more difficult to fight the fires.
Upthegrove stated that Washington State has burned about 450,000 acres this summer. This is not normal. "We're seeing fires raging throughout the state of Washington," he said.
Geissler said that the fire in Spokane was one of five major complex fires in Washington. Kaiser Canyon Fire, located in the northeastern corner of the state, is the largest, covering approximately 134,000 acres. This summer, wildfires have caused problems in many parts of the Pacific Northwest. Last month, nearly 34,000 lightning strikes led to a series of fires in southern British Columbia.
Washington officials stated that firefighters from over a dozen different states, in addition to the National Guard are also helping.
"It is a tragedy that we are seeing over there," said Major Gen. Gent Welsh, the?adjutant-general of Washington National Guard. "When the sun goes down and rises again in the morning, we will be shocked to see the scenes that have emerged." (Reporting and editing by Kenrick Non; Kenrick Cai)
(source: Reuters)