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Albanese: Australia will not veto Turkey’s COP31 Summit bid
Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister of Australia, said that Australia would not oppose a successful Turkish bid for next year's COP31 Climate Summit. He warned, however, that a prolonged dispute over hosting rights might undermine the unity needed to assist Pacific Island nations. Australia and Turkey both submitted bids to host COP31 in 2022 and neither have withdrawn their bids. Albanese ruled out joint hosting earlier this week, stating that UN rules prohibit co-hosting for the annual summit. On Tuesday, he stated that there is "considerable concern", from many countries, Pacific nations included, about the possibility of a lack of consensus jeopardizing efforts to create a united diplomatic front on climate change. We would not try to block the selection of Turkey, or Australia, in that case. Albanese, a reporter at the time, said that they would try to make sure that Pacific countries benefited. "We're continuing our engagement... with Turkey and other countries to ensure that the Pacific interests are taken care of." A spokesperson for the Australian government said that Australia has not abandoned its bid, and they expect Turkey not to block Australia in case it wins. We would not block the bid of Turkey if it were selected. Turkey has not been selected. "Australia has overwhelming support from our peers", the spokesperson said. Australia, backed up by 18 members of the Pacific Islands Forum, has been campaigning to host COP31 along with Pacific island nations. Many Pacific States are at the forefront of rising sea levels, and have called for greater global efforts to reduce emissions and finance climate change. According to U.N. regulations, the 28 member "Western Europe and Others Group", which includes Australia and Turkey and is hosting COP31, must make a unanimous decision. COP30 in Belem Brazil is currently taking place and will end on Friday. If neither Australia or Turkey backs off, the conference will default to Bonn, Germany. Germany has stated that it does not wish to host the conference.
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Vulcan Elements, a rare earth magnet company, will build a $1 billion North Carolina facility
Vulcan Elements is a rare earth magnet manufacturer based in North Carolina. It announced on Tuesday that it would build a $1 Billion manufacturing facility to supply U.S. electronic and military customers. The facility is to be located in Benson, about 30 miles (48km) south of Raleigh. This would increase U.S. accessibility to magnets which convert power into motion in electric vehicles, mobile phones, fighter planes, and thousands of products. These magnets are the focus of a global trade dispute as China is using them to leverage negotiations with the Trump Administration. John Maslin, CEO of the company, stated that North Carolina was chosen over other states because it has a workforce devoted to engineering and offers economic incentives. The plant is located in North Carolina's "Research Triangle" near universities, military bases and laboratories. The workforce is the most important thing to us. Maslin stated that the most important thing was to find PhDs, engineers and technicians from complementary industries. The United States was once the largest magnet manufacturer in the world, but it lost that expertise during the 20th century. Maslin stated that Vulcan's technology for magnets was developed by one of its co-founders and that the company doesn't anticipate any patent issues. North Carolina estimates that the facility will boost North Carolina's economy by $2.6 Billion. Vulcan would be eligible to receive $17,6 million from the state if that were to happen. Vulcan signed an agreement with ReElement Technologies in August to supply rare earth oxides. Vulcan would have to convert the oxide into a metal first before turning it into magnets. Maslin stated that the metallization will take place in the Benson facility. He declined to state if Vulcan, or another party, would be responsible for this step. Vulcan wants to produce 10,000 tons of magnets per year, and a "significant amount" of this production will be online by 2027. This is about the same amount of magnets that MP Materials plans to produce at its Texas magnet plant. (Reporting and editing by Lincoln Feast; Ernest Scheyder)
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Vulcan Elements, a rare earth magnet company, will build a $1 billion North Carolina facility
Vulcan Elements of North Carolina, a rare earth magnet manufacturer, announced on Tuesday that it would build a $1 Billion manufacturing facility in the state to supply U.S. electronic and military customers. The facility is slated to be built in Benson, about 30 miles (48km) south of Raleigh. It is partially funded by grants from Pentagon. This would increase U.S. accessibility to magnets which convert power into motion in electric vehicles, mobile phones, fighter planes, and thousands of products. These magnets are the focus of a global trade dispute as China is using them to leverage negotiations with the Trump Administration. John Maslin, CEO of the company, stated that North Carolina was chosen over other states because it has a workforce that is focused on engineering and offers economic incentives. The plant is located in North Carolina's "Research Triangle" near universities, military bases and laboratories. The workforce is the most important thing to us. Maslin explained that the key was to find PhDs, engineers and technicians from complementary industries. There is no large magnetics workforce in the United States, because it has been hollowed-out. We need to rebuild this muscle. North Carolina estimates that the facility will boost North Carolina's economy by $2.6 Billion. Vulcan would be eligible to receive $17,6 million from the state if that were to happen. Vulcan signed an agreement with ReElement Technologies in August to supply rare earth oxides. Vulcan would have to convert the oxide into a metal first before turning it into magnets. Maslin stated that the metallization will take place in the Benson facility. He declined to state if Vulcan, or another party would be responsible for this step. Vulcan's target is to produce 10,000 tons of magnets per year, and a "significant amount" of this production will be online by 2027. This is about the same amount of magnets that MP Materials plans to produce at its Texas magnet plant. (Reporting and editing by Lincoln Feast; Ernest Scheyder).
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After protests, Peru lawmakers extend mining permits
The Peruvian Congress approved on Tuesday a bill that would extend temporary permits to informal miners through the year 2027. This was done as over a thousand protesters gathered outside the legislative building against the impending expiration of the permits. The bill is now going to be discussed in full plenary sessions of Congress before it can be approved. The REINFO program, which provides a temporary legal status and has been extended multiple times, is set to expire on December. The day before, miners protested again because they felt that the government's efforts to force them into formalizing their claims were too complicated and expensive. Most of these gold miners want an additional five years to leave the temporary system. Mining companies and professionals in the industry have expressed concern that another extension would increase illegal activity. The REINFO scheme, they say, has allowed illegal miners to profit, sometimes working alongside criminal gangs. This debate is just five months away from general elections, in which many lawmakers are running for re-election. Maximo Franco bequer, a union leader, said that he had met with Jose Jeri on Friday. Jeri took office in the month of January. Bequer reported that the president had "promised" to assess the situation with informal miners before he took a position regarding any possible decision made by Congress. Peru is one of the world's leading mining countries, and it exported gold worth $15.5 billion in 2024. According to data from the sector and the country's financial regulator, an estimated 40% of this gold is illegally sourced. (Reporting and Additional Reporting by Anthony Marina, Writing by Natalia Siniawski, Editing by Brendan O'Boyle & Lincoln Feast.
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US lends Constellation $1 Billion for Three Mile Island Reactor Reboot
The Trump Administration announced on Tuesday that it had loaned Constellation Energy Corp. $1 billion in order to restart the nuclear reactor of a Pennsylvania facility formerly known by the name Three Mile Island. Constellation and Microsoft signed a contract in 2024 to restart an 835 megawatt reactor that shut down in 2019. This would offset Microsoft’s data center energy use. The plant's other unit, now called the Crane Clean Energy Center after a 1979 accident that froze the nuclear industry, was shut down in 1979. The U.S. is experiencing its first increase in power demand since the 1990s, thanks to technologies such as artificial intelligence. The use of nuclear energy, which emits virtually no carbon, is now an option for companies that have a constant need for power and are committed to climate change. The critics point out that America has not found a permanent solution for radioactive waste. Greg Beard, the head of Energy Department's Loan Programs Office (LPO), said that the restart will support the PJM Regional Grid. Beard, who spoke to reporters, said that this type of energy was important because it is a large, stable and affordable base-load power. Constellation says the loan will lower its cost of financing, and help leverage private investment in order to restore electricity to the grid. Beard stated that the LPO had more than $250 billion of capital. "We expect a large part of this to be used to reinvigorate large-scale reactor development," he said. Chris Wright, Energy Secretary, said in a statement this month that most of the LPO funds would be used for nuclear projects. Constellation had accelerated the restart of the reactor in June by about a decade to 2027, after PJM accelerated its review process for connecting the project to grid. Constellation has ordered major equipment and hired hundreds of employees. It also completed inspections of the infrastructure. The reactor will require a new cooling tower, a new main power transformer, among other items, as well as refueling before electricity can be produced. Beard stated that this was the first instance the LPO had declared a company to have met all the conditions for a lending and then closed the loan at the same moment. He said Constellation was guaranteeing the loan and this loan structure would protect the taxpayers in the event the project did not succeed. Beard stated that Constellation was an established "investment grade" nuclear operator who could have obtained a bank loan even without government assistance. "But we are showing our support for reliable, affordable, stable and secure energy in the U.S. as directed by (Donald Trump)." Constellation announced this year that the plant needs to be approved by both the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as well as water related permits.
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Ukraine to sue Russia for $44 billion in wartime emissions
A government minister said that Ukraine will seek $44 billion in damages from Russia to compensate for damage caused by the war's increased emissions of greenhouse gases. This is the first time that a country has sought damages from Russia for an increase in climate-warming emissions from a war. The increased emissions include those from fossil fuels, steel, cement, and other materials used to fight the conflict, as well as the fires caused by the burning of trees. Pavlo Karashov, deputy minister of economy, environment and agriculture, said that "a lot of damage had been done to the water, land, and forests." Kartashov said in an interview at the sidelines of COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil that "we have enormous amounts of CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases." A member of Russia's delegation at COP30 refused to comment. Lennard de Klerk, a Dutch expert in carbon accounting, estimated that the war generated 237 millions tons of CO2-equivalent additional emissions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. This is nearly the same as the annual emissions of Ireland, Belgium, and Austria combined. De Klerk said he helped Ukraine calculate the damages figure, based on an article in Nature from 2022 that estimated the social cost of CO2, or the estimate of damages caused to society by CO2, to be about $185 per ton. He said that Ukraine was preparing a claim under a new compensation procedure being established by the Council of Europe, which has already received around 70,000 claims from Ukrainians for damages caused by war. A claims commission will decide on all claims, even those filed by legal entities like companies. Uncertainty remains about the source of compensation. De Klerk said that billions in frozen Russian assets might be used to cover the claims. Reporting by Simon Jessop, Sebastian Rocandio and Nia William; Editing by Katy Daigle & Nia Williams
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Five tourists are killed by a snowstorm in Chilean Patagonia
Authorities said that five tourists died in a powerful storm in Chile's Torres del Paine National Park in the southern region Patagonia. They also reported that four other tourists who had gone missing were found alive. Jose Antonio Ruiz said that talks have begun with representatives of the victims' home countries to repatriate their bodies. Authorities said that two Germans, one Briton, and two Mexicans were killed. They added that the weather conditions made it difficult to recover bodies. In a social media message sent to the families of victims, President Gabriel Boric expressed his deepest condolences. Know that Chilean institutions and authorities are at your side in these trying times. Guillermo Ruiz is the delegate of the president for the province Ultima Esperanza. He told reporters that the tourists got lost near Los Perros Camp, which can only be reached by walking four to five hours from the nearest accessible point. A snowstorm caused whiteout conditions, with wind speeds exceeding 193 kmh (12 mph), which is equivalent to a category 3 hurricane. Torres del Paine National Park is a vast area of about 1,810 km2 (700 sq mi) that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. Reporting by Sarah Morland in Santiago and Fabian Cambero Editing by Rod Nickel & Alistair Bell
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Peru's informal miners protest against the end of temporary permits at Congress
On Tuesday, more than 1,000 informal miners from the mining-powerhouse Peru protested against government attempts to regularize their status. The Peruvian government wants to stop a temporary permit for small-scale mining known as REINFO. This has sparked violent protests from miners who say that full regularization would be too complicated and expensive. The majority of gold-mining miners want to stay on the temporary scheme for up to five years. It is set to expire by the end the year. Peru's government has already extended the deadline multiple times. Maximo Franco Bequer, the union leader, said on Tuesday that there are some who would be willing to find "a middle-ground" with Congress. On Tuesday, a congressional mining committee was getting ready to discuss the extension of the temporary permits program until 2027. This debate is taking place five months before the general elections, in which many lawmakers from both left and right are seeking reelection. The formal mining companies fear that Congress may concede to protesters. This, they claim, could increase illegal activities in the sector. The process of formalizing informal mining status is a complex one, with many bureaucratic obstacles. However, Peruvian police and industry experts say that the REINFO scheme allows illegal miners to work, sometimes alongside criminal gangs. In July, more than 50,000 small scale miners were removed from REINFO. About 31,000 are responsible for updating their status. Bequer says he's pushing the government to let the expelled small-scale miners return to REINFO. He estimates that around 10,000 of them will be able to return. The union leader told reporters that he had met with Jose Jeri on Friday, the president who assumed office in December. Bequer stated that "he promised us he would assess the situation of informal miner before deciding on any possible decision by Congress." In 2024, Peru will export $15.5 billion in gold. This is a huge jump from the $11 billion exported last year. According to local financial regulator and sector data, it is estimated that 40% of the gold in Peru is illegal. (Reporting and Additional Reporting by Anthony Marina, Writing by Natalia Siniawski, Editing by Brendan O'Boyle).
Spain commemorates flood anniversary with state funerals, bringing out anger and grief
On Wednesday, one year after deadly floods killed 237 people in Spain's Valencia Region, hundreds of families of victims attended a state funeral, presided by King Felipe.
The City of Arts and Sciences, a futuristic building in Valencian, is a popular destination for many people who wear black T-shirts that read: "Their deaths could have been avoided".
Carmina is a relative to a flood victim. She said, "We are filled with mixed emotions." "We've been waiting for this ceremony a long time. A collective funeral was needed because it was a death that affected the whole community. "The day is here and we're ready to pay tribute to the people of our country."
Some of the attendees chanted insults at regional leader Carlos Mazon. He is being investigated for his role in this tragedy, and he attended the ceremony even though some relatives asked him to stay away. Tens of thousands of Valencians demonstrated on Saturday calling for his resignation.
Mazon said to reporters: "Today, is not the time for confrontation. In the days following the tragedy, many Valencians felt helpless. "We tried our best under unimaginable conditions, but it was often not enough."
TORCH LIT MARCHES
The protesters had covered the central plaza of Valencia earlier in the day with foil blankets. Each one represented a victim.
As the night fell, two marches carrying torches and silently marching joined together in Benetusser - one of the Valencia suburbs most affected by floods.
Last week, Spanish authorities found victims still buried in mud. The country is dealing with the worst flooding it has seen in Europe for more than 50 years.
On October 29, 2024, flash floods caused from torrential rainfall washed away bridges and cars as well as people. They also flooded homes and underground parking lots. In the Valencia region, 229 people were killed and eight more in other parts in Spain.
Some protesters and relatives claim that the regional government failed to alert citizens in time during an emergency. They sent a text message warning when many buildings had already been submerged.
After a local reporter claimed that she had spent nearly four hours with Mazon at a meeting of emergency services, a court is now investigating his handling of the situation and whereabouts. Mazon refused to reveal the details of his lunch, or the bill for the restaurant. However, he claims he was informed throughout the day over the telephone.
On Tuesday, the government approved a loan guarantee of 5 billion euros ($5.8billion) to assist businesses and homes that were affected by floods. More than 8 billion euro has been spent by the government to clean up flood-damaged areas.
Heavy rains and flash floods in the area were caused by an isolated high-altitude depression, locally known as a DANA. This is a weather system that can be highly destructive when warm and cold air combine to create powerful rain clouds.
Scientists believe that climate change is causing this phenomenon to occur more often.
(source: Reuters)