Environment

U.S. futures for feeder cattle surged Thursday as traders and ranchers were alerted to the possibility of more cases of a parasitic fly that eats warm blooded animals alive. U.S. agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins confirmed to reporters that there had been no more detections of New World Screwworm in the region around the case in La Pryor in Texas. The federal government confirmed this late on Wednesday. This case is a major blow for U.S. ranchers, who were bracing themselves for an outbreak of domestic screwworm as the pest has been moving northward through Mexico in the last year. Rollins...

On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced that he would use emergency powers from the Cold War to send nearly $700,000,000 to the U.S. Coal Industry to Asia to ship the carbon-intensive fuel and to power companies in the United States to burn it. Trump intends to use the Defense Production Act (a 1950 law that granted presidents broad authority to oversee industries deemed crucial to national security) to finance upgrades to more than a dozen coal-fired plants, assist in financing two new coal plants, and support construction of an West Coast coal export facility. The Trump administration has framed the...

The Trump?administration has agreed to strip endangered species status from a lizard whose range overlaps?the biggest oil-producing area in?the United States. This is a settlement of a lawsuit?brought?by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton. The U.S. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the dunes sagebrush-lizard endangered in May 2024 after concluding oil and gas development had rendered the loss of habitat "effectively permanently." The U.S. Justice Department said that the USFS now considers that it made an "important and fundamental" mistake by assuming incorrectly that habitat restoration was impossible and by ignoring experimental efforts which "showed potential", in a court...

The U.S. Supreme Court has been deciding important cases in its current term. These include voting rights, presidential power, tariffs and birthright citizenship. Other issues are race, transgender sportspeople, campaign finance laws, LGBT "conversion therapies" and federal agency authority. The term began in October, and will run through the end of June. Separately, the court has also acted in emergency cases involving challenges against President Donald Trump's policy. VOTING RIGHTS ACT On April 29, the court gutted a crucial provision of the Voting Right Act, making minorities less likely to challenge electoral maps under the landmark civil right law as...

A White House official said that President Donald Trump is expected to announce Thursday that he would use his Cold War emergency powers to send nearly $700,000,000 to the U.S. coal sector to ship the fuel to Asia, and to power companies in the United States to burn the fuel domestically. The official and industry source confirmed that Trump intends to use the Defense Production Act, a law passed in 1950 that granted presidents broad authority to oversee industries considered critical to national defense, to finance?upgrades to more than a dozen power plants powered by coal, as well as to...

According to a White House spokesperson, U.S. president Donald Trump plans to use Cold War national defense powers in order to send $700 million towards coal plants. The official said that Trump could announce on Thursday he would invoke the Defense Production Act of 1950, which grants presidents broad?authority to national security-related industries. He will upgrade more than 12 coal power plants and build a massive West Coast Coal Export Terminal, as well as match corporate funds for the construction of new power plants. The person who spoke under condition of anonymity did not want to "preempt" the President's announcement...

SpaceX received tax incentives for its proposed Terafab project in Grimes County Texas on Wednesday, despite fierce opposition from residents who warned that the development would strain the?local resources, and disrupt the rural communities. Investors see this project as an important part of 'SpaceX's' efforts to expand beyond satellite communications and rockets into advanced computing infrastructure, and chip production in the United States. SpaceX will launch the largest IPO ever next week at a valuation of approximately $1.75 trillion. Investors will be watching closely to see if the company is able to translate its dominance in the space industry into...

An Indian official stated that New Delhi could reconsider the tariff concessions it made to Britain on Scotch Whisky, if London does not address New Delhi's concerns about its steel safety measures. The India-UK Free Trade Agreement, signed last May and expected to come into effect this year, has hit a snag after Britain proposed tighter safeguards for steel imports in order to protect the?domestic?industry. An Indian trade official told journalists on Monday that the ball was now in their court (UK). If they do not leverage their Free Trade Agreement, we can always revisit the concessions that we offered....

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced a proposal?on?Friday to eliminate dormant regulations that were adopted by former 'President Joe Biden, which?requires companies to disclose their climate-related spending and risks. This is part of the government-wide retrenchment in climate policy following President Donald Trump's return to office last summer. The rule was adopted in 2024, but it has not yet taken effect because of a legal battle from conservative states and industrial lobbies. It was meant to'respond to mounting investor demands for consistent information on the building up of climate-related risks in the financial system, and the costs that companies...

The U.S. Supreme Court has been deciding on a number of important cases in its current term. These include voting rights, presidential power, tariffs and birthright citizenship. Other issues are race, transgender sportspeople, campaign finance laws, LGBT "conversion therapies" and federal agency authority. The term began in October, and will run through June. Separately, the court has also acted in emergency cases regarding challenges to President Donald Trump’s policies. VOTING RIGHTS ACT On April 29, the court gutted a crucial provision of the Voting Right Act, making minorities less likely to challenge electoral maps as racially biased under the landmark...

Chicago wheat and corn futures declined on Friday, while soybeans rose. The'market' assessed the impact of the possible new ceasefire agreement between the United States an Iran. The weather conditions in the U.S. grain belts were also a major topic. Crude oil futures have been a major factor in recent grain prices. This is because reports indicated that the U.S. had agreed with Iran on a possible ceasefire extension. The markets expect that any?U.S. Iran peace deal would cause a sharp fall in commodity prices. Chicago Board of Trade's most-traded Wheat fell?0.1% at 1055 GMT to $6.23-1/4 per bushel. Corn...

Steven Guilbeault, former Canadian cabinet minister, announced on Wednesday that he will'step down' from his seat in the?parliament. He cited his desire to fight for?environmental?protections following his objections to the decisions of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government. Guilbeault’s departure will reduce Liberal Party’s slim majority in the parliamentary to one seat. Guilbeault announced on X that he would resign from his position representing downtown Montreal in the summer of this year, but would continue to be a Liberal member until then. He said, "It's time to change the way I fight for climate protection and environmental protection." "I want to...

A study by the nonprofit 'watchdog' Greenpeace revealed that despite President Luiz inacio Lula da S Silva's efforts to crackdown on wildcat mining, millions of dollars of gold are still being illegally extracted from Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. Lula promised to end illegal gold mining on Indigenous lands in 2023, after years of expansion encouraged and supported by the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil's Federal Police confiscated a record amount of illegally mined 985 lbs (447?kg) gold last year. Gold prices are at record highs, and geopolitical unrest is intensifying. The Greenpeace study found that illegal gold miners have adopted...

Highlights from the French Open's fifth day on Thursday (times GMT). 1730 GAUFF BREAZES PAST SHERIF Coco Gauff, the defending champion, cruised to victory over Egypt's Mayar?Sherif with a score of 6-3 6-2. The American now moves on to the third round where she will play the winner between Britain's Katie Boulter &?Austria’s Anastasia Potapova. 1540 TIAFOE BEATS HURKACZ Frances Tiafoe, last year's quarter-finalist, defeated Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-1 6-4 6-7(1) in a four hour and 43 minute battle. The 19th seed from the United States will play Portugal's Jaime Faria for the third round. 1347 CERUNDOLO...

Brazil is expecting to raise $50 billion reais (9.92 billion dollars) in what will be its most ambitious auction 'yet, under the Eco Invest Program, which is focused on 'developing advanced sustainable technology -in strategic sectors. The fifth auction announced on Monday, and the last one under the current administration will continue to leverage private investments with public funds from Climate Fund. Ceron stated that Brazil was preparing to?do a roadshow? in the U.S.A., Europe, and China, seeking foreign capital. The funds will be allocated to six areas, including: sustainable fuels, battery systems and artificial intelligence for production, green chemistry...

The World Surf League event was put on hold for several hours after a photographer who was shooting the event suffered an injury from what organizers believe to be a shark or sea lion bite. The WSL announced that the New Zealand Pro semi final between Brazilian world champions Yago Dore and Italo Fereira in Raglan had been halted because the in-water camera needed medical attention after suffering puncture wounds. Renato Hickel, WSL Tours and Competition Vice President said that "this morning one member of the water photography group suffered a wildlife injury." He's fine, he is on his way...

Paloma valencia, the Colombian presidential candidate, said that if she were elected as president of Colombia, she would abandon the "total-peace" policy of her government and adopt a more aggressive security strategy against armed groups. This is a radical departure from President?Gustavo Petro’s leftist approach. "The policy of total peace ends with me." "Total security will start," Valencia, 48 said in an interview Tuesday. She added that she would reactivate the arrest warrants and increase security forces with United States' cooperation. Valencia, the candidate of the Democratic Center Party, a right-wing party backed by Alvaro Uribe as former president, opposes...

In a press release, Brazilian labor inspectors fined Sigma Lithium after they found that the company had deposited waste into a pile which was closed because it posed a "grave" and "imminent" risk to workers and local residents. Inspectors discovered that despite three Sigma waste piles being closed last December, trucks continued to deposit waste on one of them. Sigma did not respond immediately to a comment request. The largest lithium producer in Brazil announced that it would resume mining at its flagship Grota do Cirilo Mine despite the piles having been shut down. When the piles closed late last...

Brazil's trade surplus in April jumped 37.5% from a year earlier to $10.5 billion. This was a record for that month. The government revealed the data on Thursday. It was boosted by the strong shipments of important commodities such as soybeans, crude oils, iron ore, and beef. However, the result was lower than the median estimate of $10.9 billion in an economist's poll. According to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, exports increased?14.3% compared to a year ago, to $34.1 billion. Exports rose by 18.8% in value, with soybeans, crude oils, iron ore, and beef all increasing by...

The London Court of Appeal has ruled that BHP can't appeal against the UK ruling that found it liable for the 2015 collapse of a dam in southeastern Brazil. In November, London's High Court ruled BHP was legally responsible for the collapse of the Fundao dam in Mariana, southeastern Brazil, ?which was owned and operated by Samarco, a joint venture ?between Australia-headquartered BHP and Brazilian company Vale. Brazil's worst ecological disaster unleashed a toxic sludge wave that left 19 dead, thousands homeless, inundated?forests, and polluted?the length of the Doce River. The High Court refused BHP permission to appeal the ruling...

The federal government announced on Saturday that heavy rains have caused tens of thousands to be displaced in the states of Pernambuco, and Paraiba. Pernambuco experienced flooding and landslides due to heavy rainfall in Recife, the capital of the state, and surrounding areas. Two people were killed in Recife, and two more in the neighboring town of?Olinda. Around 1,500 people were left homeless or displaced. According to the Integration and Regional Development Ministry of Brazil, in 'Paraiba two people were killed and 1,800 left homeless or displaced. The worst affected cities included Conde, Joao Pessoa, and Campina Grande. The National...

Researchers in Rio de Janeiro reported that the coral cover on Brazil's Abrolhos reefs, which is the most biodiverse ecosystem of the South Atlantic, had fallen by around 15% in 18 years due to climate changes and human activity. The climate change-linked heatwaves have intensified the so-called "bleaching events" where corals expulse the algae they call home. This permanently undermines the coral health. Corals are dying because their health is compromised by the increased frequency of heatwaves. They may even regain color with this increase, but will develop diseases and necrosis. Coral reefs sustain about 25% of marine life around...

Researchers in Rio de Janeiro have reported that the coral cover on Brazil's Abrolhos Reefs, which is the most biodiverse coral system in the South Atlantic has decreased by around 15% in 18 years as a result of climate change and human activity. The marine heatwaves caused by climate change have intensified the so-called "bleaching" events, where corals expulse the algae they call home. This permanently damages coral health. Corals are dying because of their compromised health, Moura explained. "With increasing heatwaves corals might regain color but develop diseases and?necrosis." Scientists have called the current state of coral reefs in...

WMO said that the return of El Nino weather conditions is expected as early as this May, and could affect?global temperatures, and a?rainfall pattern. El Nino, as defined by the WMO, is a periodic increase in sea surface temperature over the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. It typically lasts nine to twelve month. It said that a clear'shift' has been observed, with sea surface?temperatures rapidly rising, indicating a high probability of El Nino developing between May and July. Wilfran Moufouma OKia, WMO's Chief of Climate Prediction, said in a press release that "after a period neutral conditions, the climate models...