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Petrobras Steps Closer to Developing Hydrogen Plant Powered by Renewables
Petrobras has signed a protocol of intent Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) and CSN Inova Soluções, marking a first step towards structuring a business partnership aimed at setting up a low-carbon hydrogen plant on a commercial scale in Brazilian state of Paraná.Low-carbon hydrogen can be used in industrial processes or as fuel and will be obtained through the electrolysis of water from renewable sources of electricity. The initiative aims to support the decarbonization efforts of CSN and Petrobras' operations and products.Petrobras did not specify which renewable energy sources would be used to power the production of hydrogen.The signing of this Protocol of Intent is in line with the Petrobras’ Strategic Plan 2050 and Business Plan 2025-2029, which aim to prepare Petrobras to lead the fair energy transition, reducing its emissions and expanding the supply of more sustainable products.
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Thai ceremony for the dead brings good karma and psychological closure
When two month old Bibeam passed away in November 2023, the temples in her district would not cremate her, considering her too young for such an event. Rather she was buried without any religious rites in a. cemetery in Rayong, about two hours southeast of the Thai. capital Bangkok and one hour from her household's home. It was just this year that Bibeam was given the Buddhist. cremation her parents had wanted when she was consisted of in a rare. Lang Pa Cha cemetery cleaning ceremony, a ritual that. originated during China's Tune dynasty and was brought to. Thailand by Chinese immigrants. I am extremely pleased and delighted that my baby can have her. funeral rite like others, her mother, 26-year-old Paikaew. Thaijaroen, informed Reuters. Lang Pa Cha ceremonies occur every year at cemeteries. throughout Thailand's 77 provinces and are organised by a small. group of non-profit organisations. The ritual involves exhuming remains and performing Buddhist. and Taoist rites in an event that is now special to the. Southeast Asian country, stated Sayomphu Kiatsayomphu, president. of Thailand's Cemeteries Cleansing Network. Cremation is extensively practised in Thailand, but people who. pass away without being officially identified, perhaps because they. moved a lot of were a migrant worker, are normally buried. Bibeam was included in the ceremony because when the. volunteers exhumed her grave, which was in the very same area as. those who were unclaimed, her body was found to have actually been. uncommonly well protected. The ultimate objective is to guarantee the ascension of these. unclaimed souls to paradise, Kiatsayomphu stated. When exhumed, the remains are cleaned by Buddhist volunteers. before a medium identifies their gender. For some of the volunteers the event assists in benefit. making - a Buddhist principle where performing kindness. adds to that individual's own joy and wellness. I first started Lang Pa Cha around 20 years back as a. volunteer, stated Tonploy Boonporn, a 63-year-old masseur. After. that, I found real spiritual fulfilment in this ceremony, so I. kept going. As the day of cremation draws near, the volunteers utilize. tooth brushes and holy water to carefully wash the mud from the. remains, before decorating them with gold leaf. The embellished remains are then set up in two different. pyres - one for males and one for women. The cemetery in Rayong, where Bibeam was cremated, had not. been cleansed for almost twenty years and included about 1,000. unclaimed bodies, according to Pakkhapoom Boonchothirun, an. executive member of the Sawang Pornkuson Foundation that runs. the graveyard and arranged the ceremony. The Lang Pa Cha happened between March and May. On the day of the cremation, Bibeam's body was put on top. of the funeral pyre, symbolically leading the souls of the. left on their journey to heaven. Seeing her maintained body put on the top of a female. funeral pyre makes me feel more complete, Paikaew said.
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Codelco copper output misses November target, document programs
Chile's staterun copper giant Codelco produced 125,500 metric lots of the metal in November, up 18% yearonyear, however still fell back its target for the month, an internal file acquired revealed Friday. The miner's output was 3% lower than anticipated, according to the file titled Preliminary Business Outcomes and dated in December. The only departments to satisfy their target were the enormous El Teniente and the smaller Radomiro Tomic. Codelco did not instantly respond to an ask for comment. The copper giant, which is the world's greatest producer of the red metal, has been intending to quicken production to meet its 2024 target after levels in the last 2 years hit a. quarter-century low. After November's efficiency, Codelco will still require to. produce more than 161,000 lots of copper in December to reach. the low-end of its target, which the business previously this year. put in between 1.325 million to 1.352 million tons. Senior company sources previously informed Reuters that. Codelco anticipates to end the year at 1.331 million tons, which. would be 0.5% above in 2015's output. November production was injured by delays at the Rajo Inca. job at the Salvador mine, according to the document. It also. revealed lower recovery and processing at the Andina, Chuquicamata. and Gabriela Mistral systems and lower ore grades at Ministro. Hales. Smelting and cathode production were likewise below. Codelco's target in November, according to the document.
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Nippon Steel declares excessive White Home impact on doomed offer review-letter
Nippon Steel declares the White Home had impermissible undue impact over a nationwide security review of its $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel and threatened legal action if the deal is blocked. The allegation was made in a Dec. 17 letter, signed by counsel for Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel and seen , to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ( CFIUS). CFIUS, which reviews foreign acquisitions for nationwide security dangers, has a Monday due date to approve the deal, extend the evaluation, or suggest that President Joe Biden scuttle it. However, an expected government shutdown would stop briefly the clock, CFIUS attorneys said. Last weekend, CFIUS set the phase for Biden, who has long opposed the tie-up, to block it in a 29-page letter by raising supposedly unsettled nationwide security dangers, Reuters specifically reported. In its response, Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel rebut CFIUS's. nationwide security arguments and allege that Biden incorrectly. influenced the evaluation's result before CFIUS could reach its. conclusions. Specifically, their Dec. 17 letter claims Biden might have. weighed in on the offer to please United Steelworkers (USW). President David McCall, who opposes the tie-up, and backed. Biden for President soon after he revealed his opposition to. the merger. Biden has opposed the offer due to the fact that he thinks that U.S. Steel ought to be American-owned and operated. We are gravely worried that the December 14 Letter. reflects impermissible influence in the CFIUS procedure from the. White House, at the request of 3rd parties who oppose the. transaction and seek to weaken the Celebrations, particularly,. Cleveland-Cliffs ..., led by CEO Lourenco Goncalves, and Mr. McCall, Nippon and U.S. Steel's most current action to CFIUS checks out. Cleveland-Cliffs was a suitor for U.S. Steel and likewise. opposes the handle Nippon. White House representative Saloni Sharma said the accusation. is not real. She did not specifically address if Biden would. block the deal, adding, The President has actually been clear that he. will continue to see what the CFIUS process yields. We anticipate settling the deal and. remain devoted to working with all relevant parties to do so,. U.S. Steel said in a statement. Nippon Steel and Cleveland Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves. decreased to comment. TOP-LEVEL OPPOSITION The proposed tie-up has faced top-level opposition within. the United States considering that it was revealed a year ago, with both. Biden and his inbound follower Donald Trump taking objective at it. as they sought to woo union citizens in the swing state of. Pennsylvania, where U.S. Steel is headquartered. Trump has also. asserted the iconic American business must remain. American-owned. The merger appeared fast-tracked to be obstructed after the. business got an Aug. 31 letter from CFIUS, seen by. Reuters, arguing the deal might injure the supply of steel required. for important transportation, construction and agriculture. tasks. But Nippon Steel countered that its investments, made by a. business from an allied nation, would in truth support U.S. Steel's output and won a 90-day evaluation extension. That extension. offered CFIUS up until after the November election to make a. decision, sustaining hope among advocates that a calmer political. environment could assist the offer's approval. PERSONAL ASSURANCES In making the case that President Biden was doing a favor to. McCall, the letter cited a February USW news release in which. the union leader specified, Today we received personal guarantees. that President Joe Biden has our backs, McCall said. He's. always been a pal to the American worker and our union, and. we're grateful he's taking an interest in this matter. The White House rejected the allegation Biden's opposition is. at the request of McCall and referred Reuters to his March. statement against the offer. McCall stated in a declaration that. Nippon's efforts to distribute unfounded reports and dangers of. legal action are regrettable, but eventually, they disappear. than a diversion from the dangers the company's acquisition of. U.S. Steel positions.. If Biden obstructs the offer, the Celebrations would right away submit. a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. challenging the decision as an offense of due procedure and the. authority of the President, under CFIUS authorities, Nippon. Steel composes.
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United States prepares to blacklist company that purchased TSMC chip found in Huawei processor, source states
The Biden administration prepares to blacklist a Chinese company whose TSMCmade chip was unlawfully integrated into a Huawei artificialintelligence processor, according to a person knowledgeable about the matter. The Chinese company, Sophgo, drew attention after a chip discovered on Huawei's Ascend 910B multi-chip system matched one it ordered from Taiwan Semiconductor Production Business . Sophgo is the most recent Chinese company slated to be penalized by the U.S. for helping Huawei. This month, the Commerce Department included other companies considered as part of Huawei's shadow network to the U.S. Commerce Department's restricted trade list. Sophgo, an affiliate of bitcoin mining devices provider Bitmain, is in the procedure of being put on the list, referred to as the Entity List, the source said. Companies are added to the list for activities contrary to U.S. national security and foreign-policy interests. Exporters are then disallowed from delivering goods and innovation to them without a license, which is most likely to be rejected. China's Huawei, a telecommunications equipment maker and technology corporation, was placed on the list in 2019. Given that 2020, it has actually been an infraction to deliver even foreign-made chips to the company without a license. A U.S. Commerce Department spokesperson declined to comment. Sophgo did not right away react to ask for comment. In an October statement, the company said it has never ever been taken part in any direct or indirect organization relationship with Huawei. Sophgo is a provider to city governments and state-owned firms such as China Telecom, according to tenders reviewed by Reuters. Over the past two years, Sophgo and Bitmain AI chips have been bought by Chinese state-run universities constructing AI tools and police headquarters seeking to upgrade their monitoring capabilities, according to the tender review. RESEARCH FIRM FOUND CHIP Tech research study firm TechInsights took apart the Huawei 910B, discovered the TSMC chip and informed the chipmaker, which alerted the U.S. Commerce Department, as Reuters reported in October. After figuring out the chip matched Sophgo's style, TSMC suspended shipments to the company, sources have said. TSMC, the world's biggest contract chipmaker, stated in October it has actually not supplied Huawei because 2020. A Taiwan authorities said that month that TSMC informed Taiwan and U.S. authorities and started a comprehensive investigation. A TSMC representative decreased comment on Friday about what the investigation had actually shown up. Beginning on Nov. 11, the U.S. purchased TSMC to stop deliveries to China of seven-nanometer or advanced chips that could be utilized in AI applications, as Reuters exclusively reported. Huawei said in October it has not produced any chips via TSMC considering that the U.S. imposed brand-new export guidelines on the business in 2020. It did not instantly react to a request for discuss Friday. When hobbled by the U.S. constraints, Huawei has because diversified and reappeared at the center of China's AI-chip aspirations. The business's Ascend 910B, released in 2022, is deemed the most sophisticated AI chip offered from a Chinese company. Huawei plans to begin mass producing its most recent chip, the Ascend 910C, meant to measure up to U.S. AI chipmaker Nvidia in early 2025, as Reuters reported last month. Sophgo was co-founded by Micree Zhan, who also co-founded Bitmain, according to a corporate registration database. Zhan still indirectly owns 23% of Xiamen Sophgo Technologies Ltd, and five of its subsidiaries by means of an investment automobile, Beihaishan Beside Investment Partnership, which he owns in full, according to Wirescreen, a business-intelligence platform and business records reviewed . Sophgo interacted with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in 2023 utilizing a Bitmain e-mail address. Bitmain stated on social networks on Oct. 28 that it is not involved in or otherwise associated to the supply chain examination. Bitmain's website says it is the world's leading manufacturer of digital currency mining servers through its brand name Antminer, and that it has clients in over 100 nations.
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Israeli airstrikes eliminate at least 25 Palestinians round Gaza, medics state
Israeli airstrikes eliminated at least 25 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Friday, medics said, consisting of a minimum of 8 in a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp and a minimum of 10 in the town of Jabalia. Mediators have yet to protect a ceasefire in between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas after more than a year of conflict. Sources near to the conversations informed Reuters on Thursday that Qatar and Egypt had actually had the ability to resolve some distinctions between the warring celebrations but sticking points stayed. Israel started its assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel states about 100 captives are still being held, but it is unclear the number of are alive. Authorities in Gaza say Israel's campaign has actually killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the 2.3 million population. Much of the seaside enclave is in ruins.
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ADVISORY-Holiday schedule for major US financial, other data
The Christmas and New Year's Day federal holidays on Wednesday, Dec. 25 and Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, respectively, will affect the release schedule of some major financial, energy and commodities reports from Washington during the Dec. 22 and Dec. 29 weeks. Below is the schedule for these weeks. Times in EST/GMT. Some Treasury announcements are subject to change. MONDAY, DECEMBER 23 Treasury Dept weekly sale of 3-, 6-month bills, 1000/1500 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launches weekly U.S. export examinations for grains, oilseeds, 1100/1600 Treasury Dept. sells 52-week bills, 1130/1630 Treasury Dept. sells 2-year notes, 1300/1800 USDA issues monthly Freezer; Quarterly Hog and Pig Inventory, 1500/2000 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24 Commerce Dept. issues Building License Revisions for November, no set time Commerce Dept. concerns Resilient Product for November, 0830/1330 Redbook concerns weekly retail sales index, 0855/1355 Commerce Dept. issues Single-Family Home Sales for November, 1000/1500 Treasury Dept. announces weekly sales of 4-, 8- and 17-week bills, 1100/1600 Treasury Dept. offers 2-year floating rate notes, 5-year notes, 1130/1630 American Petroleum Institute issues weekly nationwide petroleum report, 1630/2130 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25 Christmas Day vacation. Federal federal government offices, IMF, Federal Reserve, stock and bond markets closed. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26 Labor Dept. problems weekly Jobless Claims, 0830/1330 Treasury Dept. weekly statement of 3- and 6-month expense sale offerings, 1100/1600 Treasury Dept. holds weekly sale of 4- and 8-week, 17-week bills, 1130/1630. KEEP IN MIND: 17-week bills sale postponed from Wednesday due to holiday Freddie Mac concerns weekly U.S. home loan rates, 1200/1700 Treasury Dept. offers 7-year notes, 1300/1800 Federal Reserve weekly balance sheet, 1630/2130 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27 Commerce Dept. problems Advance Economic Indicators for November, 0830/1330 USDA launches weekly Export Sales, 0830/1330. KEEP IN MIND: Postponed from Thursday due to holiday Energy Info Administration (EIA) concerns weekly U.S. underground natural gas stocks, 1030/1530. NOTE: Postponed from Thursday due to vacation EIA concerns weekly petroleum stocks and output data, 1300/1800. NOTE: Delay from Wednesday, time modification due to vacation MONDAY, DECEMBER 30 National Association of Realtors concerns Pending Home Sales for November, 1000/1500 USDA releases weekly U.S. export inspections for grains, oilseeds, 1100/1600 ( TIME TENTATIVE) Treasury Dept weekly sale of 3-, 6-month bills, 1130/1630 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31 Redbook problems weekly retail sales index, 0855/1355 Federal Real estate Finance Company problems U.S. Home Cost Index for October, 0900/1400 Treasury Dept. announces weekly sales of 4-, 8- and 17-week expenses, 1100/1600 American Petroleum Institute issues weekly nationwide petroleum report, 1630/2130 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2025 New Year's Day holiday. Federal government workplaces, IMF, Federal Reserve, stock and bond markets closed. THURSDAY, JANUARY 2 Home mortgage Bankers Association issues Home mortgage Applications Survey for weeks ending December 20 and December 27, 0700/1200 Labor Dept. concerns weekly Jobless Claims, 0830/1330 Commerce Dept. problems Building and construction Costs for November, 1000/1400 Treasury Dept. weekly statement of 3- and 6-month costs sale offerings; announces sales of 3- and 10-year notes, 30-year bonds, 1100/1600 EIA problems weekly petroleum stocks and output data, 1100/1600. NOTE: Delay from Wednesday, time modification due to holiday Treasury Dept. holds weekly sale of 4- and 8-week, 17-week bills, 1130/1630. NOTE: 17-week costs sale postponed from Wednesday due to holiday Freddie Mac concerns weekly U.S. home mortgage rates, 1200/1700 Federal Reserve concerns weekly balance sheet, 1630/2130 FRIDAY, JANUARY 3 USDA releases weekly Export Sales, 0830/1330. KEEP IN MIND: Postponed from Thursday due to holiday EIA problems weekly U.S. underground natural gas stocks, 1030/1530. KEEP IN MIND: Delayed from Thursday due to vacation
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US authorizes significant Massachusetts overseas wind farm
The Biden administration approved its eleventh largescale offshore wind farm on Friday, a project backed by European energy companies EDP Renewables and ENGIE, as it seeks to seal its legacy in the formation of a new domestic energy market. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The approval of Ocean Winds' SouthCoast Wind comes a month before Biden's successor, President-elect Donald Trump, takes office. Trump, a Republican, throughout his campaign for the presidency vowed to stop the offshore wind market's. development. Ocean Winds is a joint endeavor between Portugal's EDPR and. France's ENGIE. KEY QUOTE When we strolled in the door of this Administration, there. were zero authorized, commercial-scale offshore wind jobs in. federal waters. Today, I am happy to commemorate our 11th. approval, a testimony to the commitment and enduring development. made by the dedicated public servants at the Department of the. Interior, Interior Secretary Deborah Haaland said in a statement. CONTEXT Regardless of the ambitious objectives set by Biden's administration,. the overseas wind market has actually been struggling with soaring. costs, supply chain obstacles and a building and construction mishap at. the nation's first commercial-scale job. This brand-new approval. comes amid issues that the industry might not hit its targets,. which might leave a space in renewable energy production. BY THE NUMBERS SouthCoast Wind is anticipated to generate up to 2.4 gigawatts. of offshore wind energy, enough to power more than 840,000. homes. The task area covers about 127,388 acres and is. situated about 20 nautical miles south of the island of. Nantucket, Massachusetts. The job will have 141 turbines and up to 5 offshore. substation platforms. It intends to start construction next year. and deliver power to New England by the end of this decade,. according to the project site.
Electric dreams become a problem for battery metals: Andy Home
It's been a ruthless year to be in the battery metals service.
Costs of lithium, nickel and cobalt collapsed in 2023 and have continued grinding steadily lower over the course of 2024.
A sector that was as soon as racing to build new supply has actually been closing mines and delaying jobs as low prices bite into the expense curve.
The roadway to an electrical future has ended up being much bumpier than anticipated with need from the critical electric vehicle (EV) sector not measuring up to expectations.
This is also a story of enormous oversupply with excessive new capability brought online at precisely the incorrect time.
And it will be supply discipline, or the lack of it, that will figure out whether there will be any rate recovery in 2025.
EV NARRATIVE VEERS OFF TRACK
The international EV market is still expanding.
November was another record-breaking month with 1.8 million systems sold, according to consultancy Rho Movement. Global sales growth over the very first 11 months was an impressive 25% relative to 2023.
But the favorable headings mask two undesirable realities for the battery metals sector.
China is still the main motorist of the EV transformation with Western markets struggling to develop momentum.
While Chinese sales set a new monthly record in November, those in the United States and Canada were up by just 10%. year-on-year in November and those in Europe were really. lower.
Western consumers still need an incentive to make the switch. from internal combustion engine to electric motor. German. new-energy lorry sales have actually plunged this year after aids. were abruptly gotten rid of at the end of 2023.
U.S. aids might go next year if Donald Trump makes good. on his risk to roll back the Biden administration's EV policy.
The second reality check is that lots of EV purchasers,. especially those in the vital Chinese market, are opting. for hybrids or plug-in-hybrids over battery electric vehicles.
These have batteries about a 3rd of the size of those used. in pure battery designs, meaning a similar-sized decrease in all. the metal cathode inputs.
CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENT
Some balanced out for lithium need originates from the increasing market. share of lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, which accounted. for two-thirds of all EV sales in China in 2015, according to. the International Energy Agency.
LFP batteries are cheaper than nickel-rich chemistries and. Chinese battery-makers have enhanced their performance to the. point that CATL's latest Shenxing Plus design boasts a. single-charge driving series of over 1,000 kilometers.
They are, nevertheless, bad news for nickel, cobalt and manganese. markets.
The quantity of lithium released on the road in new EV sales. was practically 48,000 metric heaps in October, up 28% year-on-year,. according to consultancy Adamas Intelligence.
Nevertheless, the implementation of nickel, manganese and cobalt was. up by just 10%, 4% and 2% respectively, showing both the. shift to hybrids and the changing battery chemistry mix.
SUPPLY FLOOD
Lower-than-expected need from the EV sector, particularly. beyond China, has actually accompanied supply surges throughout the. battery metals spectrum.
BHP's Nickel West was expected to be the miner's. display green metals center. It was closed down in October due to. low rates caused by enormous overproduction in Indonesia.
Chinese nickel producers have actually made the technical leap of. processing Indonesia's reasonably low-grade ore into high-purity. Class I metal. Integrated Sino-Indonesian production will grow by. 30% this year, according to Macquarie Bank.
At least the Indonesian authorities have revealed signs of. supply discipline, limiting mining quotas and placing a. moratorium on approvals for new processing plants.
China's CMOC Group, the world's biggest cobalt. manufacturer, appears unconcerned to the cost implosion. It reported. output of 84,700 loads in January-September, up from 37,000 heaps. in the year-ago duration.
Such is the scale of oversupply in the cobalt market that. Chinese stockpile managers have actually had the ability to scoop up. significant tonnages with no obvious market effect.
Chinese lithium manufacturers are likewise withstanding production. cuts. Numerous are vertically incorporated, implying losses in the. ground can be balanced out versus gains even more down the processing. chain.
Even permitting the many price casualties amongst Western. operators, lithium supply is still expected to go beyond need for. the third year running in 2025, according to consultancy. Criteria Mineral Intelligence.
The supply overhang must shrink to less than 1% of need. from near to 10% last year, which might restrict more cost. weakness.
Supply surplus in the nickel and cobalt markets, by. contrast, dangers ending up being structural until production is more. carefully aligned with need.
TRADE TENSIONS
Given such negative supply-demand characteristics, it's not tough to. see why the analyst consensus is for more manufacturer rate discomfort in. the coming months.
China is a dominant gamer in all 3 markets and shows no. signs of quiting on its own electrical dreams.
This, however, is a point of increasing stress with the United. States.
The last report of the Crucial Minerals Policy Group, part. of a Select Committee on U.S.-Chinese relations, implicated Chinese. lithium producers of driving rates lower through a mix of. discarding and overproduction.
China, the report stated, uses rate controls, vertical. integration, and significant barriers to entry to prevent. competition.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump may disagree on electrical lorries. but there is exceptional bipartisan agreement on the requirement to. build domestic battery metal capability and loosen up China's grip on. the global supply chain.
Trump 2.0 is most likely to crank up the Biden administration's. mix of federal spending and tariffs on Chinese metals.
U.S. trade policy will include yet another moving part to an. currently intricate battery metals market dynamic.
Indeed, if the U.S. tariff walls are constructed high enough,. there's a danger the global market will begin fracturing into. Chinese and U.S. prices spheres.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a. writer .
(source: Reuters)