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Angelina Jolie visits Ukraine’s frontline city Kherson
Angelina Jolie, the Hollywood actress, visited one of Ukraine’s most dangerous frontline towns and an adjacent region. She met with medical staff, volunteers, and civilians who are constantly attacked by Russian troops. The Legacy of War Foundation released a statement on Thursday that praised Jolie's visit to Kherson, a city near Mykolaiv. Jolie stated that "the people of Mykolaiv & Kherson face dangers every day but refuse to surrender." In photos, Jolie was wearing a flak-jacket in the basement and meeting with children in an unlit room. The group claimed that she visited medical and educational institutions that were relocated underground in order to avoid constant Russian attacks. Kherson was once home to almost 300,000 people and is now the largest city in range of Russia's weapons. It's one of Ukraine's deadliest cities. The city was occupied by Russian troops from March 2022 to their withdrawal eight months later, across the Dnipro River. They remain on the other bank. An U.N. investigation found that Russia was using drones to chase down civilians living near the front lines, forcing thousands of people to flee. This is a crime against mankind. Russia denies targeting civilians. Local officials reported that Ukraine's military shot down around 2,500 out of the 2,646 Russian drones sent to attack Kherson Region just last week. Oleksandr Tomokonnikov told Ukraine's state-controlled TV that "we are grateful for (Jolie’s visit) as well as the fact people are coming to us." We can see this clearly. Sometimes it may seem that we are forgotten. Jolie visited Lviv, a city in western Ukraine, to meet with people who had been displaced by war. (Reporting and editing by Anastasiia malenko)
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DuPont's Q4 forecast is downbeat due to Qnity spin-off and Aramids sales
DuPont, a maker of industrial materials, forecast sales and adjusted profits for the current quarter below Wall Street expectations on Thursday. This was due to its planned spin-off of Qnity Electronics and Aramids divestiture. Wilmington, Delaware based company is undergoing a strategic restructuring and trying to streamline its product portfolio. The chemicals industry is struggling with rising feedstock and energy prices. The industry is also affected by the lack of demand, particularly in Europe where strict regulations have increased the costs of manufacturing. DuPont announced in August that it would sell Aramids (which includes brands like body armor maker Kevlar) to Arclin, a competitor, for $1.8 billion. In October, the board of directors approved the separation of Qnity Electronics, a division that includes semiconductor technologies as well as interconnect solutions. LSEG data shows that DuPont's fourth-quarter adjusted profit is expected to be 43 cents per share. This is slightly less than the 45 cents anticipated by the market. The company's forecasted net sales were about $1.69 Billion, which is also lower than the analysts' average estimate $1.72 Billion. The industrials segment's net sales increased by 4.8%, to $1.8 billion, in the quarter reported, and the electronics segment experienced an increase of 11.2%, to $1.28billion, both in comparison to the previous year. DuPont announced that it has authorized a new share purchase authorization up to $2 billion. It expects to begin a $500,000,000 accelerated share buyback in the near future. Analysts' average estimates of $2.67 per shares have been replaced by the company's new expectation of $1.66 per share for full-year adjusted earnings. DuPont's adjusted profit per share was $1.09, compared to analysts' estimates of $1.06 each. (Reporting and editing by Pooja Deai in Bengaluru)
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Trump meets Central Asian Presidents in US bid to counter China and Russia Influence
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, will host five leaders from Central Asian countries at the White House this Thursday. The U.S. is seeking to gain influence in the region that has been dominated for decades by Russia but increasingly courted and influenced by China. The talks are taking place as the competition for Central Asia’s mineral resources intensifies. Western nations want to diversify their supply chains and move away from Moscow or Beijing. The U.S., in particular, is seeking new partnerships to secure vital minerals, energy supplies and overland trading routes that circumvent geopolitical competitors. The C5+1 platform, which was launched in 2015, brings together the United States with five Central Asian countries -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - to promote cooperation on issues of economics, energy, and security. They will also be attending a dinner at the White House with Trump on Thursday. Gracelin Baskaran, a director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the administration will pursue government-to-government engagement but also commercial deals that secure U.S. access to vital minerals. Baskaran stated that Washington was seeking to gain a foothold in the mining, infrastructure, and processing systems of the region as China and Russia consolidate their control. The five countries are rich in minerals and energy and remain economically linked to Russia, the former Soviet leader, while China, their neighbor, has increased its influence by large-scale infrastructure and mine investments. The countries together have 84 million inhabitants and vast deposits of strategic minerals such as uranium and copper. They also hold gold, rare earths, and other strategic elements that are essential for the global transition to greener energy sources. Kazakhstan, led by President Kassym Jomart Tokayev and the largest economy in the region, will be the world's top uranium producer, with a production of nearly 40% worldwide in 2024. Uzbekistan is ranked among the top five. Together, the two countries account for a little over half of all uranium produced in the world. This is a crucial resource for U.S. Nuclear Power, and a major source of electricity for America. Russia supplies about 20% of America's imported Uranium. Diversification is therefore an urgent goal. Under Trump, America has adopted a multifaceted strategy to secure vital minerals and reduce its reliance on China. China dominates the global supply chain for strategic metals such as uranium and rare earth elements. It also dominates copper and titanium. China has sometimes used its dominance to restrict exports, underscoring Washington’s urgency to find alternative sources.
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Portugal's EDP will invest $14 billion between 2026 and 2028, with a focus on US growth
EDP, Portugal's biggest utility, said it plans to invest 13.99 billion euros (12 billion euros) between 2026-2028. The company will mainly focus on expanding its renewable capacity, with an emphasis on the United States. EDP's strategic plan for the period 2028 reiterates its EBITDA target, which is around 4.9 billion euro in 2025. This will be 4.9-5 billion euro by 2026, and 5.2 billion euro by 2028. The company expects its recurring net profit to be between 1.2 and 1.3 milliards of euros in 2026 and approximately 1.3 billion in 2028. Morning trading saw EDP shares drop 4.5%, after a rise of more than 36% this year. EDP? EDP? The capacity of EDPR is expected to grow to 25 gigawatts (GW) by 2028, from the current 20 GW. EDP operates in 29 countries throughout Europe, North America, and Asia. The new plan was developed "in the context of an increased demand for energy, particularly supported by increased capacity at data centres in the U.S." A further 3.6 billion euro will be spent on electricity networks in Portugal and Spain. EDP has invested approximately 2.6 billion Euros in the first nine months 2025. In that time period, the net profit was 974 millions euros. EDP will use 5 billion euros of asset rotation to fund a part of its investment. This involves selling shares in mature wind and sun parks to finance the purchase of new ones. It will also dispose of 1 billion euro of assets before 2028. The net debt is expected to remain at 16 billion euro through 2026 and then decline to 15 billion euro by 2028, while maintaining a portfolio with low risk. EDP anticipates a dividend payment of 60%-70% from 2026-2028. The minimum dividend will increase 5% by 2028 to 0.21 euros.
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30 years of climate talk: Progress, pitfalls, and a planet at risk
The data on global warming shows a sobering picture as leaders gather in Brazil for the U.N. Climate Summit this month. Three decades have passed since the first annual climate conference. Scientists warn that global temperatures will soon exceed thresholds that could cause catastrophic damage to our planet. Despite years and years of summits and negotiations, greenhouse gas emission has risen by a third. The conventions have had some positive effects, but they are not enough to guarantee the future of life on Earth, said Juan Carlos Monterrey. He is Panama's Special Representative for Climate Change, and he is leading an effort to streamline major environmental agreement. Looking Beyond the Data This grim assessment prompts a fundamental questions ahead of the summit taking place in Belem (Brazil) from Nov. 10-21: Has global climate diplomacy failed? Or, have these gatherings been successful in ways that raw numbers cannot reveal? Simon Stiell is the U.N. The UNFCCC Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) says that the annual meetings help. "But it is clear that much more needs to be done, and faster, because climate disasters are hitting every country." Since 1995, global greenhouse gas emissions are up 34%. Scientists say that while this is a lower rate of growth than the 64% increase in the previous three decades, the trajectory still does not support climate stability. We still have time for this problem to be solved. If we do what we promised, we can still win this battle. John Kerry, the U.S. Climate Envoy for Democratic President Joe Biden said: "We just have to get moving and kick ourselves in our rear ends." In an October report, the World Resources Institute, which is a climate advocacy and research group, stated that current government targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 are not enough to prevent global temperatures rising over 1.5C above preindustrial levels. This was the threshold set by world governments in a landmark climate agreement signed in Paris in 2015. The Paris Agreement's benchmark of 30-year rolling average is still below this level. However, temperatures in the world have risen above the 1.5C mark some years. 2023 and 2024 are among the hottest years on record. In an interview, James Fletcher said, "There will be a overshoot which is very regrettable." He was the former energy minister of St. Lucia and climate envoy to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). He said that anything above 1.5 degrees Celsius would be disastrous for small island states. Stiell said that if the COP was not in place, the world would have experienced a 5C rise, rather than the projected 3C. The consumption of fossil fuels, which is the main source of global warming emissions, continues to be high. This is due primarily to economic growth, but also, and more recently, energy requirements of data centres that power artificial intelligence. According to the International Energy Agency, coal demand will remain at record levels through 2027 due to rising demand from China, India and developing countries. The International Energy Agency reports that solar and wind power have increased, electric vehicle sales are soaring globally and overall energy efficiency has improved. According to IEA figures, global investment in clean energy surpassed $1 trillion in fossil fuels last year. Jennifer Morgan, Germany’s former climate envoy who has attended every COP summit and is a veteran, said: "We couldn't have imagined that these technological advancements and the price drop for EVs or renewables would happen 10 years ago." Renewables and EVs have largely replaced fossil fuels, but not the growing demand for energy. In the United States, Donald Trump, who called climate change "the world's biggest con job", has cut subsidies for solar and wind power, and electric vehicles. He has also added permits to renewable projects, and opened up more land to drilling and mines. Taylor Rogers said that President Trump would not put our nation's national security and economic well-being at risk to pursue vague climate targets that kill other countries. SHORTCOMINGS AND SUCCESSES Despite the setbacks that the U.S. has suffered, the Paris Climate Agreement - the most important achievement of the COP Process - has survived, even after Trump's withdrawal. This means that countries are theoretically committed to preventing climate change at its worst. The COP's consensus-based negotiations, which requires nearly 200 countries to make a unanimous decision, have come under criticism. Monterrey said that the Panama climate envoy was "drowning" in paperwork. We need a systematic reform. Christiana Figueres was the U.N.'s lead climate official at the Paris talks. She said that the COPs might consider adopting a voting system similar to the International Monetary Fund. Figueres said that the politics of energy is becoming less important, as more and more countries adopt clean technologies. The government is not the driving force behind the change. The private sector, industry and technology development are the main drivers of change. According to the IEA, she pointed out that China alone accounts for a third of the global investment in clean energies, including solar, wind, battery and electric vehicle industries. CATALYST OR A CULPRIT Some COP veterans claim that the current process is best to ensure that all countries are represented at the table in order to solve a global issue. Manuel Pulgar Vidal is the climate director at the World Wildlife Fund and served as the president of COP20 Peru. Kerry, the former U.S. climate ambassador, acknowledged that these annual meetings had flaws but maintained their importance. "We know that they are not enough but banging on and keeping the process going is better than absolute nihilism."
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Portugal's EDP will invest $14 billion between 2026 and 2028, with a focus on U.S. Growth
EDP, Portugal's biggest utility, said it plans to invest 13.99 billion euros (12 billion euros) between 2026-2028. The company will primarily focus on expanding its renewable capacity, with an emphasis on the United States. EDP's strategic plan for the period 2028 reiterated that it had set a target EBITDA of 4.9 billion euro in 2025. This will be 4.9 to 5.0 billion in 2026, and 5.2 billion euros by 2028. The company expects its recurring net profit to be between 1.2 and 1.3 milliards of euros in 2026 and approximately 1.3 billion in 2028. EDP? EDP? The capacity of EDPR is expected to grow to 25 gigawatts (GW) by 2028, from the current 20 GW. EDP operates in 29 countries throughout Europe, North America, and Asia. The new plan was developed "in the context of an increased demand for energy, particularly supported by increased capacity at data centres in the U.S." A further 3.6 billion euro will be spent on electricity networks in Portugal and Spain. EDP has invested 2.6 billion Euros in the first nine month of 2025.
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Iraq's SOMO has offered more than 6,000,000 tons of fuel oil in the first half of 2026
According to documents and market sources, Iraq's state owned oil company SOMO offered over 6 million metric tonnes of high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO), between January and June of 2026. The bids will add to the global fuel oil supply, and cap Asia's price differentials that have been in discount since early October. SOMO, in one of its tenders offered to load about 855,000 tons of fuel produced at the Karbala Refinery from the Khor al-Zubair Terminal and Um Qasir Terminal between January and the end of June. The tender will end on November 26. According to the notice, bids are valid for a maximum of 20 days. Market sources reported that in the two other tenders, SOMO offered straight-run HSFO to be loaded during the first half 2026 at the Khor al-Zubair or Fujairah Terminal. They said that these included 1,54 million tons higher-sodium high-fructose HSFO produced by the Basrah Refinery as well as 3,76 million tons lower-sodium low-fructose HSFO manufactured from other refineries. The bids are valid for a maximum of 20 days after the 16th November. SOMO didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment.
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India's Grasim drops the most in more than 3 years, as paints chief departure fuels growth concerns
Indian textiles-to-chemicals firm Grasim Industries' stock fell as much as 6.5% on Thursday - its steepest in more than three years - as the exit of its paints segment's chief stoked investor concerns about the business' growth path. Rakshit hargave has been with the Aditya Birla Group for four years. He announced on Wednesday that he would step down from his position as CEO at Birla Opus and join biscuit maker Britannia in its role as chief executive officer. Grasim stock, last down 6% in value, is up about 11% this year. This outperforms the benchmark Nifty50 index's 8% increase. Motilal oswal, a brokerage firm, said that the exit would be a major "overhang" in the near term on the stock. Jefferies described it as a "negative shock" that could keep investor sentiment cautious. Hargave was the driving force behind Grasim’s ambitious 2024 Paints foray. The paints were launched in a hurry and gained significant market share in just a few months. This gave Asian Paints, market leader since decades, one of their biggest challenges. Investors are worried about whether Hargave's replacement will be able maintain the growth momentum. This is especially true as the brokerage Geojit Financial Services has almost completed its planned capital expenditure. Grasim reported its second quarter earnings on Wednesday and said that it had spent 97.3% the 100 billion rupees of capital expenditure earmarked for scaling up Birla Opus. It said that Himanshu Kapania, an insider, will supervise the business of paints in the interim. Thomas stated that "the uncertainty at Birla's Opus gives a breather for Asian Paints as well as other rivals like Berger Paints." At the last close of trading, shares of Grasim were up 31% from their foray while Asian Paints had fallen about 18%. Asian Paints' shares rose by 5% on the day. This was due to a higher weighting in MSCI Global Standard Indexes, as part of MSCI's quarterly review, effective November 24, which is now complete. (Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)
Brazilian startup becomes Google's top supplier of carbon credits after Google deals with Amazon for reforestation
Google's biggest deal to remove carbon emissions involves financing the restoration of Amazon rainforests with Brazilian startup Mombak. This comes as big tech searches for high-quality credits that can offset emissions from energy-hungry data centres.
Companies said the deal would offset 200 metric tons carbon emissions. This is four times more than a pilot agreement signed in September 2024 between Google and Mombak, its sole supplier of forestry credits.
Both companies declined comment on the deal's value.
The agreement shows how big tech wants to mitigate the climate impact of its massive investment in data centers that use a lot of power for AI. This is driving demand for Brazil's new reforestation sector to offset carbon emission.
Google, owned by Alphabet, committed over $100 million last year to a variety of carbon capture technologies. These ranged from enhanced rock weathering, biochar, direct air capture, and a project to make rivers more acidic.
When it was time to double-down, planting trees proved to be the most efficient option.
The most derisked method to reduce carbon emissions is photosynthesis, said Randy Spock of Google's carbon credits and removal department. This process involves plants using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide in order to produce glucose and oxygen.
Brazil, which hosts the United Nations Climate Summit known as COP30 this month in the Amazonian city of Belem, has dubbed the talks the "Forest COP", promoting conservation efforts, including a new proposed fund for tropical rainforests.
Push for Credible Offsets
Spock stated that Google avoided so-called REDD credit, which rewards developers for preserving forest areas that would have otherwise been destroyed. This market has been shaken by fraud allegations and links to illegal loggers from Brazil.
He said: "We quadrupled our efforts on Mombak because they have a very credible strategy."
Gabriel Silva, co-founder of Mombak and its Chief Financial Officer, said that the company, which transforms degraded pastureland into jungle, benefits from a "flight for quality".
Buyers were purchasing carbon credits, but did not know what they were getting. "They got involved with poor-quality and sometimes fraudulent projects," said he.
Google, Meta, Salesforce and Microsoft, who are the largest buyers to date, joined forces with Microsoft last year to create a group called the Symbiosis Coalition.
The coalition has pledged to procure over 20,000,000 tons of carbon offsets from nature by 2030, that meet their more stringent scientific standards.
This includes the need for transparent and conservative carbon accounting standards as well as long-term benefits to biodiversity and local communities. Mombak's was the only project out of 185 that met the standards.
Symbiosis' Executive Director Julia Strong said that Brazil has the most projects awaiting the coalition's approval. She added that more are expected to be approved soon.
Prices have been driven up by the scarcity of high-quality credits and the willingness of buyers to pay for these. While REDD credit can be purchased for as little as $10 per ton, Brazil's reforestation projects have sold at prices of $50 or even $100.
"Companies are becoming more efficient in terms of production at lower prices." Silva, of Mombak, said: "We are on the right track." But right now, there is more demand than available supply. Reporting by Brad Haynes, Editing by SonaliPaul
(source: Reuters)