Latest News
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Russian nuclear experts fix turbine blade concern for brand-new plants, official states
Russia has totally. dealt with an issue with turbine blades at a kind of nuclear. power plant it is integrating in Hungary and Turkey, a senior. official said. State nuclear power corporation Rosenergoatom said last. November that the previously unencountered fault had actually caused. turbine blades to break, requiring the shutdown of an unit at the. Leningrad nuclear reactor, west of St Petersburg. Rosenergoatom manager Alexander Shutikov told the TASS news. agency that the unit had actually worked flawlessly from Jan. 19, when it. was rebooted after repair work, up until it was closed for arranged. upkeep in July. This issue has actually been completely solved. We have. thoroughly studied its causes and have actually done a great deal of work in. regards to right 'blading' of the turbine, that is, setting up. the blades on the turbine rotor, Shutikov stated. I am positive that if the procedure for installing the. blades on the turbines is followed properly, emergency situation. situations will not recur and the turbines will run without. failure. The next-generation VVER 1200 pressurised water reactor is. crucial for Russia's domestic nuclear industry and for its. export programme. The plant near St Petersburg - one of Russia's largest - has. 2 VVER-1200 units, and an additional two are prepared there to. replace aging RBMK-1000 systems. A plant in the southern Voronezh. area has two more. Units of the exact same type are being constructed by Russia at the. Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey and are planned for the. Paks-2 plant in Hungary. Russia has actually already supplied them to. Belarus. There was no immediate remark from Power Devices, the. company that produces the turbines.
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Toronto stocks struck record high after US rate cut
Canada's primary stock index reached a record high on Thursday, boosted by technology stocks, as financiers cheered an outsized interestrate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/ TSX composite index was up 210.38 points, or 0.89%, at 23,802.98. Financiers world over reacted positively to the U.S. main bank's 50-basis-point rate cut after keeping policy rates at an over two-decade high for over a year. Policymakers likewise projected another reduction of half-a-percentage point by the end of this year. Analysts believe the policy easing might assist the U.S. economy accomplish a. soft landing scenario. The rate cut is indicative of the Fed financing assistance to. the economy in the hopes of engineering a soft landing and. investors are purchasing that story and are bidding up stocks,. stated Brian Madden, primary financial investment officer at First Opportunity. Investment Counsel. Investors likewise assessed U.S. weekly jobless claims information,. which dropped to a four-month low recently, pointing to strong. task development in September and continued economic growth in the. third quarter. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd >, Lundin Mining Corp? and Hudbay Minerals Inc? were up between 4-6% and were. among the leading gainers on the composite index. The TSX is up. 13.3% this year. At least 8 sectors on the index logged gains, with four. sectors increasing over 1%. Canada's infotech sector was the. biggest gainer amongst sectoral indexes with a 2.4% jump,. supported by 5.2% surge in Bitfarms. The heavyweight energy sector increased 1.5% as it. tracked crude rates that benefited from the Fed rate cut. Crude. oil and gold are amongst Canada's leading exports. In oil markets, the West Texas Intermediate unrefined futures. increased 1.1%, while Brent crude rose 1.1%. Gold prices rose 0.9%.
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EU unfaltering as Cocoa sector joins calls for logging law hold-up
The European Commission stayed unfaltering on Thursday in the face of calls, this time from the bloc's cocoa sector, to delay its signature law prohibiting the import of items linked to deforestation, which enters result at the end of the year. In a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today, the European Cocoa Association (ECA) said carrying out the law end-December might have serious consequences for cocoa supplies, adding its voice to a growing chorus of calls from market and federal governments the world over. The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) has been hailed as a. landmark in the battle versus environment modification, however critics say it. is protectionist and might wind up omitting millions of bad,. smallholder farmers from the lucrative EU market. A bulk of EU member states have actually asked Brussels to scale. back the legislation. Currently, we predict a scenario where substantial volumes. of deforestation-free cocoa (without supporting documentation). will be obstructed. This will have a direct influence on farmers in. producing nations, and create a supply crunch within Europe,. stated the ECA. It added that its members are still unclear how to comply. with the law. Brussels has actually up until now withstood duplicated calls to postpone or. downsize the legislation, which it thinks is needed to. end the EU's contribution to logging, the 2nd leading. cause of climate change after the burning of fossil fuels. A spokesperson for the Commission stated it would reply to the. ECA letter to help them abide by the brand-new law. As emphasised consistently ... we have actually been continually. working very closely and in full transparency with all. stakeholders to help them in preparing to comply with their. legal responsibilities, the spokesman stated. The EUDR needs importers of coffee, cocoa, livestock,. timber, soy, palm oil, rubber and a vast variety of associated. products to prove their products weren't grown on land deforested. after 2020. Among the steps required, importers will have to. digitally map their supply chains down to the plot where their. raw materials were grown, tracing countless small farms in. remote, rural regions. Critics state geolocation requirements are exceedingly intricate. in supply chains that cover the globe and involve not simply. countless farms but multiple intermediaries whose information is not. quickly proven. The EU is the world's second biggest factor to. deforestation through its imports, according to WWF information.
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Holcim draws environment criticism ahead of $30 bln United States spinoff
Holcim's $30. billion New york city spinoff of its North American service has come. under fire from an ecological group that stated the significant. cement maker was doing too little to deal with climate change. The Swiss-based business has stopped working to cut direct emissions. from its plants or invest enough to lower products or energy. waste, said Industrious Labs, a U.S.-based environmental. non-profit. Holcim on Thursday revealed financial investment in a U.S. low carbon. cement start-up - its most current transfer to diminish its environmental. footprint. It turned down the claims of Industrious Labs and stated. it is devoted to sustainability. Industrious Labs, which is part of a project called. Concrete Modification to reduce the sector's environmental effect,. offered Holcim a D - the second least expensive grade - for its. sustainability efficiency. It said the spinoff, due to happen in the very first half of. 2025, hides mounting expenses and a failure to adapt to growing. demand for cleaner cement. Markets are harsh and do not reward incumbents which are. slow to respond to consumer need, Nachy Kanfer, a partner at. Industrious Labs, informed Reuters. We see numerous net zero cement. jobs under method, and Holcim is being left behind. Industrious Labs, which holds no stake in Holcim, stated it is. not offering investment advice, however Kanfer stated Holcim will. have to invest greatly to overtake rivals or risk missing. out on a market shift to lower carbon cement. We are not expecting a lower appraisal, however a premium. appraisal where Holcim makes a clear and specific commitment and. spends capital on enhancing sustainability, Kanfer said. The cement industry is responsible for about 7% of worldwide. CO2 emissions, according to the International Cement and Concrete. Association. Holcim stated it generates 90% of its cement sales in North. America from its low carbon variety, and is dealing with three. tasks in the area to catch more than 5 million tons of. CO2 annually. Holcim is transitioning to alternative fuels, with three. plants currently running with near to 100% fossil-fuel complimentary. thermal energy, a Holcim spokesperson said.
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Biden administration nears approval for ioneer's Nevada lithium mine
The Biden administration on Thursday released a crucial environmental report for ioneer's. Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada, the last action needed. before authorizing what would turn into one of the biggest U.S. sources of the electric vehicle battery metal. The relocation follows a review process of more than six years. and as part of Washington's ongoing efforts to boost domestic. crucial minerals production and offset China's market. supremacy. If approved, the mine would be the very first lithium. task permitted by Biden officials. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a last. ecological effect declaration that sets in motion an evaluation. period of a minimum of one month before a record of decision -. basically a mine's license - can be provided. The BLM likewise. released an opinion on how a rare flower at the mine website can. best be safeguarded. Shares of ioneer trading in New york city jumped 11% on Thursday. morning. The proposed mine, roughly 225 miles (362 km) north of Las. Vegas, consists of among North America's biggest sources of. lithium and might produce adequate of the metal to power roughly. 370,000 EVs each year. Ford Motor signed a binding supply. agreement in 2022 with ioneer. CRITICAL MINERAL The U.S. Geological Study has labeled lithium a crucial. mineral crucial for the U.S. economy and nationwide security. As. part of a push to enhance domestic production, the U.S. Department. of Energy in 2015 stated it would provide ioneer approximately $700 million. to develop the mine. The website is also home to the Tiehm's buckwheat flower, which. is found no place else in the world and was declared an. threatened species in 2021. Some conservation groups hence oppose. ioneer's project, making it a lightning rod in the debate over. whether biodiversity matters more than the battle versus climate. change. The BLM said on Thursday that it worked with the U.S. Fish. and Wildlife Service and the business to craft significant. protections for the plant, including altering mine style plans. and an official protection strategy. We're steadfast in our commitment to be accountable. stewards of our public lands as we deliver the pledge of a. tidy energy economy, stated BLM director Tracy Stone-Manning. The 30-day review process for the environmental report is a. routine part of the federal allowing process. Bernard Rowe, ioneer's CEO, said the report shows the. company's desire to deal with the government to secure the. flower and develop a domestic source of lithium. It's a testimony to the technique that we took, and that was. among engagement, dealing with the delicate issues, seeing if we. can create options. And we have actually done that, Rowe informed. Reuters. The strange death of more than 17,000 flowers near the. mine site in 2020 stimulated claims from conservationists of a. premeditated attack. Australia-based ioneer rejected damaging the. flowers. The U.S. federal government later on blamed thirsty squirrels. South Africa's Sibanye Stillwater agreed in 2021 to. buy half of the task for $490 million, however only as soon as ioneer. obtains final authorizations.
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Firemens quell most of Portugal's worst wildfires, fight still on
Thousands of firefighters taking on lethal wildfires in main and northern Portugal had actually mainly splashed the flames in the Aveiro district, one of the worsthit, as of Thursday early morning, and were focusing on more than a dozen blazes still raging in other places. After 5 days of damaging tens of thousands of hectares of forest and farmland, damaging houses and declaring 7 lives, the fires in Oliveira de Azemeis, Albergaria-a-Velha and Sever da Vouga, in the northwestern district of Aveiro, were no longer listed as active on the civil security service's fires website. The flames left parking lots with lines of burnt vehicles, trees and roads with smoke still rippling in Albergaria-a-Velha. It was horrific, horrible, the fire passed by really quickly because of the wind however it was really bad, Maria Rodrigues, local of the village of Macieira further north, informed Reuters. She stressed over her 11 sheep. Now they don't have anything to consume since there's nothing on the mountain, she stated. Cooler air temperatures with more humidity given that Wednesday have actually assisted the firefighting efforts after an unseasonably hot streak throughout which gusts of wind had fanned the flames. The weather condition company IPMA predicted optimal temperatures of 22-27 degrees Celsius (72-81 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday throughout the central and northern areas, well listed below those recorded in recent days, which went beyond 30 C. On Wednesday, a 270-strong Spanish military emergency situations team joined the effort to assist tired emergency workers in the main Vizeu district adjacent to Aveiro. As numerous as 12 aircraft were backing numerous firefighters combating flames near the town of Castro Daire in the district. Spain, Italy, France and Morocco have actually sent water-bombing airplane. Information from the European Forest Fire Info Service showed that massive blazes had burned an area of more than 105,000 hectares (405 square miles) given that Saturday, making this year's overall of some 140,000 ha the best burnt area considering that 2017, when Portugal suffered two devastating waves of wildfires that eliminated more than 100 individuals. That was well above the yearly average of around 94,000 ha in the 2006-2023 period. A minimum of some of the lots of fires throughout Portugal have been begun by arsonists, motivated by possible commercial interest, spite or criminal neglect, authorities said. Police have detained at least 14 individuals considering that Saturday believed of beginning fires.
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Gold gains as Fed begins much deeper rate-cut cycle
Gold costs rebounded on Thursday as the U.S. Federal Reserve released its financial easing cycle with a half point relocation, enhancing bullion to alltime highs just a few cents shy of crucial $2,600 ceiling in the previous session. Spot gold rose 0.7% to $2,575.90 per ounce by 10:05 a.m. ET (1405 GMT) and U.S. gold futures acquired 0.1% to $ 2,600.60. Spot rates scaled a record high of $2,599.92 on Wednesday after the Fed reduced its window for the benchmark policy rate by 50 basis indicate 4.75-5%, a move that aligned with trader expectations prior to the decision. Fed policymakers also projected the benchmark interest rate would fall by another half of a percentage point by the end of this year, a full percentage point next year, and half of a. percentage point in 2026. The marketplace is considering larger and more rate cuts. because we have both financial and trade deficits, which's going. to further weaken the general value of the dollar, stated Alex. Ebkarian, primary running officer at Obligation Gold. If you combine geopolitical risk with the existing deficit. that we have, along with the low yielding environment and weaker. dollar, the combination of all these is what's leading to gold. Monetary policy reducing by international banks along with robust. reserve bank purchasing and geopolitical concerns have fuelled a. rally in gold prices to tape-record highs numerous times this year. Bullion is considered a safe asset throughout political and. financial unpredictability. It also tends to prosper in a low-rate. environment. This rally might go even more, in our view. We target. $ 2,700/ oz by mid-2025. Alongside the near-term risk chauffeurs, we. prepare for higher gold ETF need to collect pace in the coming. months, UBS stated in a note. Somewhere else, spot silver rose 2.4% to $30.78 per ounce. after hitting its highest level since July in the previous. session. We maintain our view that silver is set to gain from a. increasing gold price environment, UBS included. Platinum included 1.4% to $982.27 and palladium. gotten 1.7% to $1,079.75.
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Canada - Sept 19
The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has actually not confirmed these stories and does not guarantee their accuracy. THE GLOBE AND MAIL - Rogers Communications stated it would purchase Bell's. stake in Maple Leaf Sports & & Home Entertainment for C$ 4.7 billion. ($ 3.46 billion) to become the majority owner of the Canadian. sports company behind the Toronto Raptors basketball team and NHL's. Toronto Maple Leafs. - An early estimate of Canada's national greenhouse gas. emissions indicated a drop of about 1 percent in 2023, but the. oil and gas sector has actually continued to steadily increase emissions. and now makes up 31% of Canada's nationwide overall. - The Bank of Canada's governing council was split on the. outlook for inflation ahead of its Sept 4 decision to cut rates. for the 3rd time in a row, minutes published on Wednesday. revealed. NATIONAL POST - Toronto-Dominion Bank said on Thursday that its. CEO Bharat Masrani will retire on April 10 and named Raymond. Chun, the current head of Canadian personal and industrial. banking, as Masrani's successor.
Coffee growers aim to postpone EU logging requirement
The world's top coffee body is set to request that the European Union postpone a. requirement that imported beans come from areas not linked with. deforestation, the group's head stated on Wednesday.
The guideline, set to take effect at the end of the year, would. restriction sales of coffee - as well as cocoa, soy, palm oil, wood,. rubber and cattle - if companies are not able to prove the product. originates from a location where forests have not been cut down in recent. years.
We can't fulfill that date, it is not possible, said Vanusia. Nogueira, director of the International Coffee Organization. ( ICO), in an interview.
The ICO, a United Nations-linked intergovernmental group,. represents more than 90% of coffee production and more than 60%. of usage worldwide. Top coffee producers such as Brazil,. Vietnam and Colombia are member countries.
It's a very ambitious due date, Nogueira stated. We believe. that by working with (EU leaders), they may be more open to. holding off that date.
She did not specify for how long the ICO was seeking to. hold off the deadline.
Asked about the potential effects if coffee manufacturers. did not fulfill the deadline, Nogueira stated the EU will find some. service.
The European people like coffee very much ... they will not. be left without coffee, she included.
Nogueira spoke at a coffee top hosted by the Community of. Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Tegucigalpa.
The nearly three-dozen member countries of the CELAC are. anticipated to close the summit with a declaration asking for the. EU to hold off the logging requirement date, Honduran. Deputy Minister of Coffee Growing Carlos Murillo stated.
(source: Reuters)