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A minimum of 13 dead in 2 crowd crushes in Nigeria
A minimum of 13 individuals died in two events in Nigeria on Saturday as crowds, mainly females and children, rushed for charity, police authorities said. In the state capital Abuja, a minimum of 10 individuals died and many more were hurt in a scramble to receive gifts of charity being dispersed by the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Maitama district. This regrettable event, which occurred around 6:30 a.m., led to a stampede that declared the lives of 10 people, consisting of four kids, and left 8 others with differing degrees of injuries, said Josephine Adeh, a cops representative. In Okija in Anambra state, southeastern Nigeria, a crowd crush occurred after a member of the community provided presents including rice, grease and cash. State police stated 3 people were verified dead however eyewitnesses and Amnesty International Nigeria put the death toll at 20 with more injured. In both incidents, the victims were mostly women and kids who were trampled as crowds tried to reach the provisions being offered. On Thursday, a minimum of 32 individuals passed away in a similar event at an Islamic high school in Ibadan, the capital of Nigeria's. southwest Oyo state. Africa's most populous nation faces its worst. cost-of-living crisis in years as reforms presented by. President Bola Tinubu have actually slashed subsidies for electrical power and. fuel while a decline has actually worn down the value of the currency. Inflation in November rose to 34.60% in annual terms. from 33.88% in October, marking a third consecutive. month-to-month increase. Amnesty International Nigeria in a declaration on Saturday. stated that for lots of Nigerians having regular rice in the house is. developing into a luxury. The London-based human rights group prompted authorities to. immediately, thoroughly, independently, and transparently. examine how these charity events came down into disaster.
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Patrik Laine, Habs shoot for home-and-home sweep of Wings
Patrik Laine has actually been mighty productive, particularly on the power play, given that signing up with the Montreal Canadiens. He likewise stays especially effective versus the Detroit Red Wings throughout his career. After notching the game-winner at Detroit on Friday, Laine seeks to stay hot and help the host Canadiens sweep a back-to-back set versus the Red Wings on Saturday night. Laine, obtained by the Canadiens from the Columbus Blue Jackets in an August trade, missed Montreal's first 24 video games due to a knee injury. However, in eight games since making his Canadiens debut Dec. 3, he has totaled 7 goals-- remarkably, all on the power play. In truth, all of Montreal's power-play goals, in 25 opportunities given that Dec. 3, have been scored by Laine. His newest objective featured 7:58 left in regulation on Friday and offered the Canadiens a 4-3 lead. That margin stood, and Montreal has actually now published back-to-back triumphes following a 1-3-0 stretch. Him scoring objectives and assisting the group win on the power play is big, Montreal coach Martin St. Louis stated. It's a big part of when your special groups are running good. The Canadiens, who are in the middle of a 6-3-1 stretch in your home, made simply their fourth road win of the season, tied for 2nd least in the NHL. A really good one for us, and turn the page for (Saturday), Montreal defenseman Kaiden Guhle said. Laine, who has actually scored four goals in the past two contests, has 11 goals (2. on the power play) plus 8 assists in 21 career video games vs. the Reds Wings. Detroit gets in the back end of the home-and-home amid a 3-5-2 stretch. On Friday, goals from Patrick Kane, Joe Veleno and Tyler Motte had the Red. Wings up 3-2 early in the 3rd duration. However, they might not hold that. benefit in their bid for a third consecutive success. Perhaps fortunately for Detroit is that it does not have long to wait for a. chance to avenge the defeat. That's the very best part about it, said Red Wings star Dylan Larkin, who was. blanked Friday after totaling six points, all assists, in the previous five. games. We've just got to capitalize on our opportunities and play with a little bit more. intensity. Reduce our errors. Kane has two objectives with 2 helps in the past three games after going nine. directly without a point. On the other hand, teammate Michael Rasmussen had two. assists Friday, and he has 4 points in the previous three video games. Detroit goalie Cam Talbot was credited with 29 saves on Friday, and he has actually a. 3.89 goals-against average during his current 0-3-1 stretch. Alex Lyon could get the start in the back-to-back situation after he enabled. four objectives on 19 shots dealt with throughout a 6-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on. Wednesday in his return from missing nine games with a lower-body injury. Montreal's Sam Montembeault (2.93 GAA) made 25 conserves to win his second. straight begin on Friday, and it's possible he could be in net once again on. Saturday. Canadiens backup Cayden Primeau has actually allowed 11 objectives on 60 shot. attempts in his past 3 outings-- two of which were starts. Teammate Jake Evans, who scored a short-handed objective in his 300th profession NHL. video game on Friday, and has four points in the past four contests. -- Field Level Media
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France adds first atomic power plant in 25 years to grid
France connected the Flamanville 3 atomic power plant to its grid on Saturday morning, staterun operator EDF stated, in the first addition to the country's nuclear power network in 25 years. The reactor, which began running in September ahead of the grid connection, is going online 12 years behind originally prepared and at an expense of around 13 billion euros - four times the original budget. EDF groups have attained the very first connection of the Flamanville EPR to the nationwide grid at 11:48 am (1048 GMT). The reactor is now creating electrical energy, EDF stated in a statement. The Flamanville 3 European Pressurised Reactor is France's. biggest at 1.6 gigawatts (GW) and among the world's greatest,. together with China's 1.75 GW Taishan reactor, which is based on a. similar style, and Finland's Olkiluoto. It is the very first to be connected to the grid because Civaux 2. in 1999 however is being brought into service at a time of sluggish. consumption, with France exporting a record amount of. electrical power this year. EDF is planning to construct another 6 new reactors to fulfil. a 2022 pledge made by President Emmanuel Macron as part of the. nation's energy shift plans, although concerns stay. around the funding and timeline of the brand-new jobs.
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Islamist militants in northwest Pakistan kill 16 security personnel, law enforcement officers states
Sixteen security personnel were killed in northwest Pakistan in an attack by Islamist militants early on Saturday, a senior authorities official in the South Waziristan region stated, as Islamist fighters step up their attacks on the security forces. Another eight personnel were injured in the attack on a. security forces post, which took place at 2 a.m. (2100 GMT on. Friday), authorities deputy superintendent Hidayat Ullah informed. Reuters. A search operation is under way in the area, he added,. stating the assailants had actually utilized light and heavy weapons. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), likewise referred to as the Pakistan. Taliban, claimed obligation for the attack, giving a higher. figure for the number of security workers eliminated. At least 35 security personnel were killed and 15 hurt. in the attack, the group stated in a WhatsApp channel broadcast. It did not say whether any of its fighters had actually been killed. The TTP has performed more regular attacks in current. months, primarily targeting members of the security forces. An umbrella group of different Sunni Islamist militant groups,. it has actually long been combating in a quote to topple the federal government. and change it with a stringent Islamic-led system of governance. It is separate from the Afghan Taliban movement, however pledges. commitment to the Islamist group that now rules Afghanistan after. the withdrawal of U.S.-led worldwide forces in 2021.
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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.
Grains for gold: Indian export curbs drive boom in barter smuggling
Guards on either side of a border checkpoint in between India and Bangladesh search automobiles and frisk travelers in a hunt for illicit consignments of gold and drugs, in addition to food staples such as sugar, grain and even onions.
We caught smugglers in August who were transferring sugar hidden beneath a layer of sand in their vehicle, stated an officer of India's Border Security Force (BSF) in the northeastern city of Shillong, who looked for anonymity.
In spite of such efforts, unlawful barter trade of gold for food products has actually risen since mid-2022, as India's export curbs fuelled a vast variation with rates in Bangladesh, triggering combined government earnings losses of billions of dollars.
The smuggling distorts India's bullion trade with discounts from main costs, hides unaccounted wealth, and weakens New Delhi's efforts to suppress food inflation by limiting exports.
At the exact same time it undermines Bangladesh's import reduction measures aimed at enhancing regional farmers' production.
The practice of smuggling gold to purchase grain has continued even after India, the world's second-largest gold customer, slashed 9 percentage points from its import responsibility in July, taking it to the lowest in more than a years.
It is driven by considerably greater food rates in Bangladesh, which traditionally relies greatly on Indian supply.
However instead of merely making use of the price distinction between Indian and abroad gold, grey market operators utilize gold to barter for products such as sugar, wheat, and onions smuggled into Bangladesh.
The items are concealed, stated a BSF officer, citing the example of a smuggler in India's West Bengal state, apprehended in October with 4.7 kg (10.3 lb) of gold worth 35.1 million rupees ($ 414,000) stashed in his motorbike's air filter.
He had been used simply 10,000 rupees to ferry 18 gold biscuits into India to pay for food products already smuggled into Bangladesh, said the officer, who spoke on condition of privacy.
On India's border with Bangladesh, the BSF follows a. non-lethal policy that reduces deterrence, unlike the western. border with Pakistan, where officers carry guns to block. unlawful entry, the officer included.
REWARDING ARBITRAGE
Generally the most significant supplier of grains to Bangladesh,. India enforced curbs on exports of staples such as wheat, sugar,. rice, onions and pulses to check food inflation from 2022.
But gold costs have actually rallied more than 50% because the middle. of that year, encouraging broader activity by grey market. operators to exploit the arbitrage opportunity as food rates in. Bangladesh spiked as much as 150% over those in India.
The gold-for-grain trade grew as India gradually. tightened up curbs on food exports over the past 2 years, said a. grains dealer in the eastern city of Kolkata, who spoke on. condition of privacy.
More than 2 million metric lots of staples have actually been. smuggled into Bangladesh each year in exchange for gold, up from. less than 300,000 loads before India's curbs, authorities estimate.
The federal government limits farm exports to rapidly lower local. prices. But smuggling deteriorates that method, and farmers wind up. bearing the force of the constraints, said Balwant Holkar, a. trader in Lasalgaon in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, India's prohibited imports of about 156 metric heaps. of gold in 2015, worth about $9 billion, were up from 100 lots. in 2022, the World Gold Council (WGC) says.
Almost a 3rd originated from Bangladesh, say industry and. federal government sources, with the bulk utilized to settle payments for. smuggled grain, the BSF and India's Directorate of Income. Intelligence (DRI) authorities informed Reuters.
New Delhi lost an approximated $1.6 billion in overdue taxes. last year to gold smuggling, industry authorities estimate from. WGC information.
IMPORT DEPENDENCE
India banned exports of wheat in mid-2022 and curbed those. of white rice and sugar in 2023, while imposing high taxes on. deliveries of onions and parboiled rice.
But Bangladesh kept import taxes high, making it even more. attractive to smuggle grain throughout a permeable border stretching. more than 4,000 km (2,500 miles), stated a Dhaka-based grains. trader, who looked for anonymity as the matter is delicate.
In 2012, when India increased gold import duties, smugglers. made a margin of 54,000 rupees a kg, which increased to a. peak of 1.3 million rupees in mid-2024, industry quotes show.
Despite the July tax cut, margins remain profitable, at. 700,000 rupees per kg.
Even after representing operational expenses, grey market. operators still realise considerable earnings, stated James Jose,. secretary of the Association of Gold Refineries and Mints. This. is why smuggling continues, even after the task decrease.
Gold refining in India yields very thin margins, however grey. market operators offer large discounts because they avert taxes,. stated Harshad Ajmera of wholesaler JJ Gold House in Kolkata.
You can't take on them, Ajmera said. You simply lose. market share.
India's sugar export restriction drove a rise in international rates,. roughly doubling the rate of the sweetener in Dhaka over its. cost in eastern India, tempting grey market gamers.
To pay for items from India, Bangladeshi buyers utilize cartels. to provide the gold throughout the border, where Indian suppliers. exchange it for money in Kolkata to begin a brand-new trade cycle.
After India banned exports, Bangladesh's main imports of. raw sugar dropped 25% in the fiscal year ending in June, to. 1.386 million metric tons.
That gap was bridged with about 450,000 tons of smuggled. sugar, mainly spent for with gold, said some individuals in. official trade.
For the last few years, there's been no scarcity of. work, stated an Indian courier living near the border, adding. that he got paid right away on providing gold from Bangladesh. at a day's notice. ($ 1= 84.6825 Indian rupees)
(source: Reuters)