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Brazilian police arrest members from a gang that was created to spy and kill lawmakers, judges
The Federal Police of Brazil announced on Wednesday that it had arrested five suspects suspected of involvement in a group formed to assassinate and spy on high-ranking politicians and judges. One source familiar with the investigation stated that the gang was formed by both a civilian and a military officer. The document, which was seized by police and seen by, reveals that the group went by the acronym C4, which is a reference to the full name Command for Hunting Communists, Corrupt People, and Criminals. Documents also show that the gang targeted high-ranking judges and senators with 250,000 reais. Documents stated that the organization used explosives, rifles, and prostitutes to lure in their victims. The investigation was launched after the police began investigating the murder of a lawyer from the city of Cuiaba in Mato Grosso. According to the news website UOL a retired colonel who has been imprisoned for over a year now, suspected of being involved in the murder of a lawyer, was one of those targeted during Wednesday's raid. As part of this investigation, Federal Police officers executed six search warrants in three states across Brazil. (Reporting and writing by Ricardo Brito, editing by Bill Berkrot).
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Exxon shareholders face no stockholder proposals when Chevron rejects them.
Chevron shareholders rejected three shareholder proposals at the annual meeting of the U.S. Oil Producer on Wednesday. One proposal called for a human rights report, and the other one demanded a company report. Exxon Mobil, the larger competitor, faced no resolutions from investors for the first times in decades. Due to a lack of interest from investors, there have been fewer ESG resolutions this year than in 2024 or 2023. Investors have shifted their focus to oil and natural gas due to lower-than-expected returns on renewable energy projects. Investors in Chevron rejected a proposal that would have permitted holders of at least 10 percent of the common stock of the company to call special meetings. According to preliminary voting results, they also rejected a proposal for a report on whether investments in renewable energies could lead to so-called "stranded assets" or projects that lose their value prematurely. Exxon held its annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday with no resolutions qualifying as shareholder resolutions. This was the first time in 1958 that this had happened. Exxon CEO Darren Woods attributed this to Exxon’s outperforming competitors and its willingness to fight against proposals he deemed detrimental to the business. Investors approved the compensation plans and director nominations for both companies. Reporting by Sheila Dang and Tanay dhumal from Houston, Bengaluru respectively; editing by David Gregorio
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West Africa ECOWAS at 50: Jihadist violence, coups and more
The Economic Community of West African States faces growing threats from terrorism, climate changes, military coups and poverty, said its most senior official on Wednesday, as leaders celebrated 50 years since the formation of the bloc in Nigeria. This year, jihadist violence in Nigeria, the Sahel, Burkina Faso and Mali has increased. These nations recently left ECOWAS to protest sanctions after military coups. Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, said: "We face the biggest challenges today, terrorism and climate change, unconstitutional changes in government, poverty, and economic disparities." He expressed confidence that the challenges would be overcome. ECOWAS was founded on May 28th 1975 with the aim of promoting regional economic integration, cooperation in security, human rights and democratic governance. Five decades after the founding of the group, Burkina Faso and Mali have both disassociated themselves from it, claiming that their interests are no longer served. These countries have created their own Alliance of Sahel States, a confederation and cut diplomatic and military ties with Western powers. They also sought to work more closely with Russia. Touray stated that ECOWAS will continue to try and cooperate with the three nations. Analysts in the security and political fields said that curbing insecurity is crucial to ECOWAS' ability to achieve its prosperity promises and lift millions out of poverty. Beverly Ochieng is a senior analyst with Control Risk, based in Dakar, Senegal. She said: "If there's no security, you can't guarantee a robust economic environment in the region." Analysts also criticized ECOWAS's silence when leaders amend constitutions in controversial ways to extend their ruling, leading citizens to applaud military coups. The opposition parties pointed to the example of Togo’s leader Faure gnassingbe who, after being granted the powerful new role of president of the Council of Ministers without a fixed term limit, was able to extend his rule indefinitely. MacDonald Dzirutwe reported from Lagos, Ope Adetayo from Abuja and Bate Felix edited the article.
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BTG sells Eletronuclear stake to Brazil utility Eletrobras
Three sources familiar with this deal said that Brazilian electric company Eletrobras tapped investment firm BTG Pactual for advice on the sale its remaining stake in the state-run nuclear energy generator Eletronuclear. After its privatization in 2020, Eletrobras no longer controlled Eletronuclear. However, it remained as a minority shareholder with 36% voting shares and 68% total capital. Eletrobras et BTG have declined to comment. The proposed sale was part of an agreement reached last month that increased the government's presence on Eletrobras' board, and allowed the utility to reduce their exposure to nuclear business. Eletronuclear is responsible for the operation of Brazil's nuclear power plants in Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro. The two reactors have a combined capacity of 1,990 Megawatts. The Angra 3 Project, a 1,405MW new unit, has also been stalled by difficulties in obtaining government approval. Eletronuclear faces economic and financial difficulties, since the revenue generated by its plants is not enough to cover its high costs. Specialists have also said that the national nuclear chain is also affected by a lack of planning. Globally, nuclear energy is gaining popularity as a cleaner and more reliable alternative to fossil fuels. The U.S., Europe and other markets are looking to restart or launch nuclear power projects in order to meet the increasing energy demand of artificial intelligence data centres. (Reporting and editing by Richard Chang; Luciana Magnhaes)
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Cummins India's quarterly profit drops as rising costs offset the price increases
Cummins India announced a lower profit for the fourth quarter on Wednesday as rising costs offset price increases it made to some of its generators. The company is a subsidiary of U.S. truck-engine maker Cummins Inc. Its profit was 5.30 billion rupees (about $62.1 million), which is 1.7% less than the 5.39 billion rupees it made a year earlier. Analysts attribute the company's increased sales of 6.4%, to 24.14 billion rupies, to higher prices during the quarter. This is especially true for its CPCB generator sets. About 40% of the sales are CPCB4+ generators, which comply with India's Federal Pollution Control Board's latest emission standards. Cummins India’s total expenses increased 9.2%, to 19.88 billion Rupees. This was primarily due to an increase of 16.8% in raw material prices. In February, the company said that it expects demand to grow in all sectors including power cars and tower cars for railways as well as construction. Cummins Inc, the parent company, has also withdrawn its annual forecast. This is in line with other automakers who are reevaluating their expectations due to the uncertainty created by President Donald Trump's new tariffs. The shares of Cummins India were flat on Wednesday, ahead of the results.
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After a glacier collapse, a Swiss village is evacuated after being hit by a torrent of ice and rock.
Authorities said that a huge chunk of a Swiss glacier broke off Wednesday afternoon, causing a torrent of ice and rocks to hit a mountain village that was evacuated earlier in the month because of the danger of a landslide. Matthias Ebener is a local authority spokesperson who said that no human casualties were reported. The rockslide was particularly damaging to the buildings and infrastructure of Blatten, an approximately 300-person village that had been evacuated from May 19, after geologists identified a risk of imminent avalanche rock and ice. The Swiss broadcaster SRF reported that the slide had destroyed houses and buried large parts of the village in the Loetschental Valley in southern Switzerland. Since ordering residents to leave, Swiss authorities have been closely monitoring the slopes of Blatten. A video widely shared on social media captured the moment the glacier partially fell, creating a cloud of rock and debris that rolled down the mountainside into the village. (Reporting and editing by Dave Graham.)
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Palestinian sources claim that Israeli forces have killed a third Palestinian in West Bank within 24 hours.
Israeli forces killed a Palestinian on Wednesday in the West Bank, according to the local health minister. This is the third Palestinian reported dead by Israeli forces within 24 hours. There has also been an increase in settler attacks against Palestinian villages in the occupied territories. The Palestinian Authority reported that Jewish settlers had also increased their efforts to gain new footholds on the West Bank. They said they had set up tents at seven different locations over the past 10 days, in an unprecedented burst. Since the Gaza War, Jewish settlements have accelerated in West Bank, the territory that Palestinians want for their future state. Violence has also increased there. Ahmed al-Sedda said that Jassem Ibrahim was killed by Israeli troops who stormed into his house in Jit village after midnight. He described a blood-stained pillow, mattress and blanket in his bedroom. The Palestinian official news agency WAFA said that this was in response to the death by Israeli forces on Tuesday of a Palestinian man aged 20 during a raid conducted in Jericho. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, Israeli forces killed another Palestinian in Nablus city on Tuesday. Israel's Military did not respond to a comment immediately. During the months-long military operation in the West Bank settler attacks against Palestinian villages have increased, while the new construction has accelerated during the right-wing Netanyahu government. SLOGANS RACIST Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that in their latest attack, Jewish settlers set fire to several vehicles and daubed racist messages on homes in Rammun village, east of Ramallah. Residents in the village Qaryout, near Nablus said that settlers threw stones at homes and set cars ablaze on Tuesday. Another attack took place on Tuesday near Ramallah in the village al-Mughayyir, where Palestinian crops were destroyed. The number of attacks spiked in early this month, after Palestinian militants killed a pregnant settler in the West Bank. Since 1967, Israel has occupied the West Bank and Gaza, the three main Palestinian territories that they want to form the future core of their state. Most countries view settlements as illegal. Israel denies this, citing the historical and Biblical links of the Jewish people with the area. Amir Daoud is a Palestinian Authority official that monitors settlement activities. He said settlers have pitched tents at seven different locations in the past 10 days - five in Ramallah, Jericho, and Nablus. He said: "This is a continuous and unprecedented escalation." Israel launched its biggest operation in the West Bank this year since the Second Intifada or uprising two decades ago. According to the U.N., the operation in northern cities Jenin and Tulkarm has caused more than 40,000 Palestinians to be displaced.
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Sources say that OPEC+ may decide to raise July prices this week after discussing 2027 baselines.
OPEC+ will discuss a mechanism to set baselines for production in 2027 at a Wednesday meeting, delegates reported. Separate talks scheduled for Saturday may agree on a further accelerated increase of oil output for July. Since a few years, the group, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, such as Russia has been discussing the new baselines, or production levels, from which each member can make cuts or increase. Baseline issues can be controversial, because some countries, such as the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and others, have increased their oil producing capacity, arguing for higher quotas. Other members, such as Africans, have experienced a decline. Two delegates stated that the 22-member group may adopt on Wednesday a mechanism for establishing the baseline assessment of 2027. Sources said that the Wednesday meeting would not affect output policy. Eight OPEC+ member countries who are gradually increasing output will meet on Saturday and could agree to a July output increase of 411,000 barrels a day, just as they did in May and in June, according to the delegates. Due to the sensitive nature of the subject, all sources declined to provide their names. OPEC+ agreed to three levels of production cuts starting in 2022. Two are in effect until the end 2026, and the eighth member is unwinding the third. The production policy could theoretically include the 2027 baselines when all current output reductions expire. In April, oil prices dropped to a 4-year low below $60 per barrel as OPEC+ announced it would increase its production in May. Meanwhile, tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump raised fears of global economic weakness. Since then, it has recovered to around $65. Sources told us earlier this month that, on top of a July output increase, the eight countries may also unwind the rest of the latest cut by the end October. Reporting by Alex Lawler and Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Emelia S. Sithole-Matarise and Kirsty Donovan
US Supreme Court rejects Native American challenge against Rio Tinto's Arizona Copper Project
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear on Tuesday a Native American's religious rights-based bid to stop Rio Tinto from gaining control over Arizona land required to build one the world's biggest copper mines. This project is located on land that has been used for Apache sacred ceremonies.
The Justices rejected an appeal from Apache Stronghold, a conservation group and advocacy group made up of Arizona's San Carlos Apache Tribe, against a ruling by a lower court that allowed the federal Government to swap land with mining companies in order to complete their Resolution Copper Project.
On May 8, a federal judge in Arizona temporarily stopped the Republican administration of President Donald Trump from transferring land pending the outcome the Supreme Court's appeal.
Rio Tinto, a British-Australian company, owns 55% of the project and BHP has 45%. Rio Tinto operates the project. Both companies have invested more than $2 billion in the project, but it has not yet produced any copper.
Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in 2021 at the federal court in Arizona to stop the project. They claimed that it violated religious rights protections in both constitutional and statutes. The plaintiffs argued that, by destroying a religiously significant site, the project would violate both the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protections of the free practice of religion and a federal law passed in 1993 called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Plaintiffs claimed that destroying the sacred site would also violate an 1852 treaty in which the U.S. Government promised to protect the land, and "secure permanent prosperity and happiness" for the Native American tribe.
The land swap was approved in part by a defense bill signed by Democratic President Barack Obama in 2014. It allowed the companies to trade acreage that they owned for a plot federally-owned land located about 70 miles (113km) east of Phoenix, known as Oak Flat.
The exchange was conditional on the federal regulators publishing an environmental impact report for the mine, which happened in January 2021 during the last days of Trump’s first term.
The site is located on top of a reserve of over 40 billion pounds (18,1 million metric tons) copper. Copper is a vital component in electric vehicles and virtually every electronic device.
According to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty's lawyers and the Apache group's history, the land has been used by Western Apaches for centuries for sacred rituals.
The mine would create a crater that was 2 miles wide (3 km) and 1,000 feet deep (304 m), which would destroy the worship site.
Apache Stronghold appealed in an emergency after a federal court refused to stop the land transfer. In March 2021, just before the former Democratic president Joe Biden was due to respond to the appeal, the administration announced that it would withdraw the environmental impact report, which froze land transfer.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, has declined to block the transfer twice. In two separate rulings, the Circuit Court of Appeals declined to block this transfer. The most recent was in March 2024 when a panel of eleven judges ruled against the plaintiffs 6-5. The panel was divided along ideological lines with six judges who were appointed by Republican Presidents making up the majority.
The majority of judges throughout the appeals procedure said that, while they were sensitive to religious concerns, they still felt they had to make a narrow ruling on the question whether the U.S. Government can do whatever it wants with their own land.
On April 17, after Trump's return to office, U.S. Forest Service announced that it would publish within 60 days the environmental report required for the Resolution Copper Project land swap to take place. On May 9, a federal judge blocked the U.S. Forest Service from publishing the report pending the Supreme Court's appeal. (Reporting from Boston by Nate Raymond and London by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Will Dunham).
(source: Reuters)