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Gabes, Tunisia's protest hotspot, is now a 'nightmare for the environment'.
Under a smog-choked skies, the waters of Gabes are now darkened with rusty streaks. The air is filled with a suffocating smell, trees are dying and fish are disappearing. A generation ago, the town was known as an eco-jewel of green oases. Today, it is a toxic wasteland, rife in cancer, respiratory illnesses and bone diseases. Residents, environmentalists, and officials blame a state-owned phosphates-processing plant, Tunisian Chemical Group (CGT), whose smokestacks tower over litter-strewn beach. The anger over the plant has exploded this month and become one of the biggest challenges facing President Kais Saied since he came to power in 2019. The police used tear gas to disperse the protesters that stormed the plant, and thousands of people returned to the street on Wednesday. Contrary to other recent protests in Gabes, the demonstrators there are not calling for civic liberties but instead a change of conditions that they find intolerable. "The plant poisoned everything, including the trees, sea and people," Safouan Kbibieh said during a recent trip. "Even Gabes pomegranates taste like smoke now." Saied has called the conditions in Gabes an "environmental murder," but blamed previous governments and asked ministries to fix leaks of chemical substances. CGT has not responded to any questions. Tunisia's Health Ministry could not comment immediately. 'LET US BREATHE' The Gabes complex, built over a half century ago, is Tunisia’s largest phosphates-processing plant. It accounts for more than half of the country's output. The industry is a vital source of revenue for a government that has been plagued by high debt levels and slow growth. Residents describe a high price. It is difficult to find a family in the nearby towns of Ghannouch or Chott Essalem whose life has not been shaped by illness and loss. Rimel ElHaji, 45 described how, about a week ago, her daughter, nine, began gasping and walking more slowly, along with other students who were also affected. Haji explained that the girl's mother now helps her with simple movements, as a result of the neurological damage caused by suffocation. Haji said, "She is unable to walk more than 2 steps." "She is fading like a flower in the sun." Amina, a 53-year-old woman, lives two kilometers away in a brick house that is covered with dust and chemical residue. Her shelves are stacked with medications to treat her throat cancer and osteoporosis, which she first discovered six years ago. She says, "Doctors told me that I must leave this town in order to survive." Where would we go?" "This is our home." She said that six members of her family had been diagnosed with cancer. "This pollution is slowly causing us to die," she said. Maha Mahmoud, the neighbour next door, is clutching an inhaler that she refers to as her "daily food." "We don't ask for jobs or food anymore. We only want to dismantle chemical units. "Let us breathe", she said. Residents blame the plant as well for the collapse of fish stocks. Sassi Alaya said that he used to make 700 Tunisian Dinars ($240), but now he's lucky to get 20. He has been fishing for more than 25 years and now farms to feed his children. He said, "The sea was our livelihood and dignity." "Now it's a horror." "LIKE A WARZONE" According to a copy of the report, an expert audit conducted by CGT in July 2025 found "serious violations" with respect to international standards and national requirements. Audits found that the complex dumped between 14,000-15,000 tonnes of phosphogypsum, a by-product of phosphate processing, into the ocean and along the coastline every day. It also released high levels of ammonia and nitrogen oxides, as well as sulfates. The discharges "significantly damaged marine seagrass bed and led to desertification in large marine areas". The website of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that Phosphogypsum is a source of radium. Radium decays into radon, and both are radioactive, and can cause cancer. The EPA in the United States requires that phosphogypsum is managed as engineered stacks or piles to reduce public exposure to radon. It is difficult to link pollution in Gabes with the illnesses that residents suffer. Kraiem T. Taoufik is a local physician who confirmed that illnesses increased as the conditions worsened. He said, "The city is like a battle zone." "Where once we saw a few cases of cancer quarterly, they now appear every day." Residents live on top of a chemical bomb. Authorities have promised to renovate the plant, despite the tensions and the dwindling finances of the state. The plans have not been able to calm activists or residents who are at the breaking point. Kbibieh said, "For each ton of processed phosphate, one soul is lost." "But we will not abandon our land." "We'll fight until Gabes breathes again." Reporting by Tarek Amar, Editing by Alexander Dziadosz & William Maclean
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Australia's Weather Bureau Casts Doubt on La Nina Prospects
A senior climatologist at Australia's Weather Bureau isn't convinced that La Nina is forming, which could affect crop production and change rainfall patterns in parts of Asia, the Americas and Oceania. La Nina and El Nino are both caused by a cooling or heating of the ocean surface temperature in the eastern and Central Pacific. El Nino is the opposite. The former brings more rain to Australia's east, Southeast Asia, and India, with dryer weather in North America. Both can lead to flooding and hurricanes. Around this time of the year, models that forecast weather patterns tend to converge around a strong signal. However, there are currently many variations in these models. She added, "This speaks to the fact there's still lots of uncertainty in the systems." The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that La Nina conditions are present, but in a weak form, and will likely persist until December. Models from the Australian Bureau show sea surface temperatures dipping below a La Nina threshold in October, December and November by 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.44 Fahrenheit). Then they move back to neutral. Gamble said that the cooling effect on cloud patterns and trade wind directions is not enough to give confidence in the existence of a La Nina. The senior climatologist stated that "our model is probably among the weaker predictions for La Nina." She said that although NOAA deemed the atmospheric response adequate, "We would like to see more." Gamble said that, except for certain islands in the southwest Pacific region, there were no signs of typical La Nina rainfall patterns. We aren't experiencing the same impact because we don't see a dominant La Nina pattern. She said that when you have a weaker sign, other influences can start to take over and possibly override the signal. Between 2020 and 2023, three consecutive La Nina events brought record rainfall to Australia and droughts and heatwaves to parts of the Americas. Reporting by Peter Hobson
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Hong Kong stocks rise on signs of eased Sino-US tensions
Hong Kong shares rose by the most since two months, while China's shares recovered after last week’s steep sell-off. Signs of easing tensions in trade boosted bets on President Donald Trump backing down from his tariff threat. Investors also have their eyes on the Chinese Communist Party's leadership meeting, which will map out China's 5-year vision. On Monday, authorities released economic data for the third quarter that were in line with expectations. The benchmark Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong closed with a gain of 2.4%. This is the largest percentage increase since mid-August. Tech shares led gains. Both the Shanghai Composite Index and China's blue chip CSI300 index rose by roughly 0.6%. Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, said on Friday that he expected to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this week to try and forestall a escalation in U.S. Tariffs on Chinese Goods which Trump claimed was unsustainable. The stocks of China and Hong Kong dropped the most last week since April, as Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese imports. Yuan Yuwei is a hedge fund manager with Water Wisdom Asset Management. She said that Trump will certainly back down. He said that a hard decoupling would increase U.S. inflation, and cause pain to the average American. China's economy expanded 4.8%, as expected, in the third quarter. This was the slowest growth rate in over a year. From Monday to Thursday, all eyes will be on the fourth plenum. This is a meeting of CCP top officials that will examine a roadmap for China between 2026-2030. Megan Ie is a senior equity analyst with GIB Asset Management in London. She said that the five-year plan was China's strategic map. It "tells you how leaders will direct capital, talent, and subsidies." Investors would be well supported if policymakers had the same messages about innovation, self-sufficiency and commitment to capital markets. China's robot, artificial intelligence and chipmaking sectors recovered on Monday after recent corrections. The Hang Seng Tech Index in Hong Kong jumped by 3%. (Shanghai Newsroom; Editing done by Subhranshu Sahu and Lincoln Feast)
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Australia's Weather Bureau Casts Doubt on La Nina Prospects
A senior climatologist at Australia's Weather Bureau isn't convinced that La Nina is forming, which could affect crop production and change rainfall patterns in parts of Asia, the Americas and Oceania. La Nina and El Nino are both caused by the cooling and warming of ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific. El Nino is the opposite. The former brings more rain to Australia's east, Southeast Asia, and India, with dryer weather in North America. Both can lead to flooding and hurricanes. The models that forecast the weather patterns usually converge around this time of the year, but there are currently many variations. She added, "This speaks to the fact there is still a great deal of uncertainty in the systems." The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that La Nina conditions are present, but in a weak form, and will likely persist into December. Models from the Australian Bureau show sea surface temperatures dipping below a La Nina threshold in October, December and November by 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.44 Fahrenheit). Then they move back to neutral. Gamble said that the cooling effect on cloud patterns and trade wind directions is not enough to give confidence in a La Nina. The senior climatologist stated that "our model is probably among the weaker predictions for La Nina." She said that although NOAA considered atmospheric response sufficient, "we'd like more." Gamble said that, except for certain islands in the southwest Pacific region, there were no signs of typical La Nina rainfall patterns. We aren't experiencing the same impacts because we don't see a dominant La Nina pattern. She said that when you have a weaker sign, other influences can start to take over and possibly override the signal. Between 2020 and 2023, three consecutive La Nina events brought record rainfall to Australia and droughts and heatwaves to parts of the Americas.
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The Kremlin has said that Russia is ready to expand its ties with Iran across all fields.
The Kremlin announced on Monday that Russia is ready to expand its cooperation with Iran across all fields. Moscow maintains close ties with Tehran. It has condemned the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear sites in early this year, which were conducted with the stated goal of preventing Tehran acquiring a nuke bomb. Iran denies building a nuclear weapon. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, was asked by reporters to comment on how Russia viewed events surrounding Iran's nuclear program and whether Moscow would strengthen ties with Tehran. "Russia is ready to expand its cooperation with Iran across all fields." "Iran is our partner and our relationship is developing very rapidly." Peskov stated that European countries are putting "excessive" pressure on Iran regarding negotiations over its nucleo programme. He added that the situation is "very complex". A Russian envoy is scheduled to meet with Ali Larijani, the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. This meeting will take place later on Monday. It comes less than one week after Larijani was arrested. The Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ayatollah Khamenei sent a message to the Kremlin's leader. Putin and Masoud Peshkian, his Iranian counterpart, signed a strategic agreement partnership in January. The pact did not include a clause on mutual defense. Moscow claims it supplies military equipment to Tehran legally, and Iran provided drones for Russia's war in Ukraine. Last month, the Russian state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom signed a deal worth $25 billion with Iran for the construction of four nuclear power stations in the country. Iran suffers from an electricity shortage and has one nuclear power station in operation, which was built by Russia, in the southern town of Bushehr.
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Gold consolidates following record rally; focus on US-China discussions
Gold prices edged higher on Monday, after a record rally. Investors waited for clues from the upcoming U.S. China trade talks. As of 0951 GMT, spot gold was up by 0.3% to $4,259.84 an ounce. U.S. Gold Futures for December Delivery climbed 1.5%, to $4275 per ounce. Silver spot rose by 0.5%, to $52.12, after falling 4.4% the previous day after reaching a record high at $54.47. Ole Hansen is the head of commodity strategy for Saxo Bank. He said that gold was still very bullish. TRUMP'S 100% CHINA THREAT AND EXPECTED FEDER RATE CUT Hansen said that the U.S. shutdown of government is still providing some support, while the U.S. China meeting scheduled for next week will be a key focus. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said Friday that his proposal of a 100% tariff on Chinese goods would not be sustainable. He also added that he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping within two weeks. Gold, which hit record highs multiple times this year, most recently Friday at $4,378.69, gained more momentum last week when the U.S. announced steep tariff increases over China's controls on rare-earths exports. It fell by more than 1.8% after Trump's remarks. The U.S. CPI, which has been delayed because of the government shutdown in the U.S., will be released Friday, just days before the Fed policy meeting on October 28-29. Core inflation is expected to have remained at 3.1% for September. It is widely believed that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again by a quarter of a percentage point. In the third quarter, China's economy grew at its slowest pace in over a year. Hansen stated that "the weakness in the Chinese real estate market is a major source of support for gold." Palladium fell 1.4% and platinum dropped 0.9%, to $1.595.85 an ounce.
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Sandvik's quarterly profit missed forecasts but orders rose on strong mining demand
Sandvik, a Swedish company, reported on Monday a lower-than-expected decline in its core profit for the third quarter. However orders increased due to strong demand for mining equipment. In a statement, CEO Stefan Widing stated that Sandvik successfully mitigated tariffs by implementing surcharges in the third quarter. This strategy was repeated from the previous three month. He added that currency headwinds had a negative impact on the company's earnings margin. The company's shares, which are often viewed as an indicator of industrial demand due to the wide customer base it has and its short lead time for orders, rose 3.3% at 956 GMT. In a LSEG poll, analysts predicted that the operating profit before amortization and items affecting comparableity would be 5.54 billion Swedish crowns (588.39 millions) in the period July-September. This is 6% lower than a year ago. However, organically, orders grew by 16%. Sandvik reported that orders at its Machining and Intelligent Manufacturing division, which accounts for around 40% of the group's revenue, have been stable in the fourth-quarter.
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Copper gains from strong China industrial data
Copper gained ground on Monday, bouncing back from a dip on Friday, as investors cheered stronger-than-expected China industrial output data and focused on the so-called fourth plenum - a key meeting of the Chinese leadership. As of 0900 GMT, the benchmark three-month copper price on London Metal Exchange had increased by 0.4% to $10,648.50. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed on Monday that China, a major metals consumer, saw its industrial output grow 6.5% in September compared to last year. This was better than the forecasted growth of 5.0% and lifted sentiment even though China's GDP grew at its lowest pace in over a year during the third quarter. Nitesh Sha, commodity strategist at WisdomTree, said: "The fact that production numbers are higher than expected is good news for the base metals sector." Shah said, "But I also think we still have the 'halo' effect from LME Week," referring to London's metals meeting last week. Everyone was talking about the possibility of a larger deficit in the copper markets. "I think it's likely that prices will continue to rise over the next couple of weeks." Analysts have revised their forecasts for market balance due to a series of mining disruptions. This includes the Grasberg Copper and Gold Mine in Indonesia. The plenum, which will take place in Beijing between Monday and Thursday, is where the top Chinese Communist Party officials review a proposed 5-year plan for 2026-2030. They also focus on U.S. China trade negotiations. Shah stated, "We are aware that discussions take place behind closed doors in China. Anything that is leaked out could affect the market one way or another." U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has said that he will meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng this week in Malaysia to prevent an escalation of U.S. Tariffs on Chinese products. Other LME metals include aluminium, nickel, and lead. Lead rose 0.6%, and tin increased 0.1%. (Reporting and editing by Harikrishnan Nair; Additional reporting by Dylan Duan, Lewis Jackson and Subhranshu sahu; Shailesh kuber and Harikrishnan Nair)
Venezuela increases coal production in search of income, despite environmental concerns
Venezuela is scrambling to find income in the face of U.S. sanction. It has recently restarted its coal production with a Turkish firm and plans to export over 10 million tons this year.
According to Indigenous leaders, members of local communities and a source from the company with knowledge of operations, the mining takes place without any environmental safeguards.
Venezuela's government claims that the economy grew by 8.7% during the third quarter. However, many international companies left the country long ago. Inflation is expected to hit 200% in this year, and foreign oil companies are required to obtain U.S. operating licenses.
The coal industry is not subject to sanctions. This allows the joint venture Carboturven between Venezuelan state-owned Carbozulia, and Glenmore Dis Ticaret Ve Madencilik A.S., to reactivate.
The government of President Nicolas Maduro has made other efforts to diversify Venezuela's economy and move away from oil. This is just the latest example in Latin America of coal mining continuing, even though countries such as Chile are turning to renewable energy.
COAL PUSH FOR STATED COFFERS
Maduro stated earlier this year that it was time to unite forces and build a prosperous nation. He added that coal would accelerate the growth.
Carbozulia and Glenmore formed a joint venture, Carboturven, in 2018. Five sources within the company claim that production will resume at two mines in the north-west of the country – Paso Diablo, and Mina Norte – in December 2024, after several years being suspended.
Maduro also approved plans for a second coal project to be developed in Falcon State.
According to Carbozulia data, Venezuela's coal output was around 3 million tonnes in the first quarter 2025. This puts the nation on course to surpass the 8 million tons of annual production of the early 2000s.
The coal from Venezuela that is high energy and cleaner burning is sold almost exclusively for export.
One employee of Paso Diablo, who requested anonymity, stated that Venezuela exports raw coal to Turkey which then sells it to other countries in Europe.
The employee stated that recent U.S. Navy strikes in the Caribbean had halted the exports and forced the company to stop production a week earlier when it ran out of space for storage.
Carbozulia nor the Venezuelan government did not respond to our repeated requests for comments. Carboturven has no website and neither its Turkish partner nor the Venezuelan government responded to repeated requests for comment.
Import Genius, a trading tracker, shows that Glenmore has registered as an exporter for bituminous coke from Palmarejo in Zulia.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Environmental groups including the local non-profit Sociedad et Natura say that the mines release sulfate and lead into the Guasare river, as well as cyanide, mercury, and cadmium.
According to Sociedad homo et natura and other groups, mining has displaced at least 12 Indigenous and rural farming community in the last few years. They also fear that more communities could be affected if coal is expanded.
Lusbi, a leader of the indigenous group and coordinator for Sociedad Homo et Natura, said: "They're trying to grab everything they can."
Carbozulia's environmental document, seen this year, lists mitigation measures that could be used for coal mining. These include runoff treatment, emission controls, dust suppression systems, sprinklers on stockpiles and belts. However, it is not clear if these are actually in place.
The Paso Diablo employee said that there were no environmental controls. The employee said that monitors had been installed in every community to measure environmental contamination, but these were no longer functional.
Residents living near mines claim that coal dust damages crops and homes.
In a telephone interview, an elderly woman living in a small community near Paso Diablo said: "You can't stay here any more."
She asked to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisals. Residents sent images of blackened houses and drinking water containers, as well as people's feet covered in coal dust.
An Indigenous person from La Guajira stated, "We are poor communities who live by herding and the animals are dead from dust," referring to goats, which are crucial to the economic survival of the community. "We are in extreme poverty, surrounded by wealth from coal." (Reporting and Editing by Rosalba o'Brien).
(source: Reuters)