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Seven warehouse workers killed in Russia by Ukrainian drones after fire breaks out at Moscow oil depot
Regional governors reported on Saturday that waves of Ukrainian drone attacks killed seven people who were working at a warehouse in the capital region. They also caused a fire to break out at an oil depot. Evgeniy Pryshov, the governor of Tambov, said that 25 people were injured when Ukrainian drones?slammed? into a warehouse belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s?largest?online retailer?, in the town of?Kotovsk, located 475 kilometres (290 miles) south of Moscow. Pervyshov posted on Telegram that "Seven people working the nightshift?died right there on the spot." 28 UAVs were destroyed on approach. If they had succeeded in their mission, the number civilian casualties would have been higher." The governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov said that falling 'drone debris' caused a fire at an oil depot in the city of Noginsk. He didn't specify the extent of the damage, but said that two people had been?injured? in the city and the nearby maternity hospital was evacuated.
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Seven warehouse workers killed in Russia by Ukrainian drones after fire at Moscow oil depot
Regional governors reported on Saturday that waves of Ukrainian drone attacks killed seven warehouse workers and injured dozens more. Another attack caused a fire to break out at an oil depot within the capital region. Evgeniy Pryshov, the governor of Tambov, said that 25 people were hurt after Ukrainian drones crashed?into the warehouse of Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer?in Kotovsk, located 475 km (295 miles) south of Moscow. Pervyshov, a Telegram user, wrote: "Seven night workers died right there on the spot." He added that 28 drones had been?also fired upon as they approached. He said that if they had reached their goal the number of casualties among civilians could have been higher. In another incident, Andrei Vorobyov said that 24 people had been injured following a drone strike on a Wildberries warehouse located in Elektrostal, east of Moscow. Tatyana Kim is the co-founder of Wildberries and the?CEO. She said that it was a "terrible" night for Russia and the company. She offered her condolences the families of the victims. Vorobyov reported that in Noginsk city, which is also located in the Moscow Region, falling drone debris caused an oil depot to catch fire. He did not specify the damage to the facility, but said that two people had been injured in Noginsk. A nearby maternity clinic was evacuated.
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China's aluminium imports in June fell as overseas prices increased and curbed flow
Imports of aluminium, both unwrought and fabricated, fell?17.4% from June 2012 to June 2013, according to?customs figures released on Saturday. This was due to an unfavorable import arbitrage. According to the General Administration of Customs, volume?dropped?to 250,000 metric tons. Imports in the first half 2026 totaled 1.88 million tonnes, down 5.1% compared to a year ago. This data includes both primary metals and alloyed, unwrought aluminium. Import arbitrage was unfavorable, making overseas aluminium costlier than locally produced metal. Traders said that the London Metal Exchange's higher prices and physical premiums increased losses for Chinese importers in the second quarter. Early in June, the benchmark three-month aluminum on the LME reached a four-year-high of $3 724 per ton due to Middle East?supply?concerns. It then ended the month with a drop of almost 16%. Rusal had been trying to divert some cargoes out of China and onto markets in Japan and Asia, where the buyers paid higher prices. Japan aluminium buyers have agreed to pay an?upgrade' of $395 per ton to the benchmark price, up 13% from the $350 increase in the second quarter. In June, the exports of?China?s unwrought aluminum and products reached a new record. Imports of Bauxite (a major?raw material used in aluminium) rose 12.6% on an annual basis to?20.32 millions tons in June. Imports for the first half of 2026 reached 120.93 millions tons, an increase of 17.4% year-on-year. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that China produced 3,98 million?tons of aluminum in June. This was a 4.7% increase from a previous year. (Reporting and editing by Dylan Duan; Amy Lv, Lewis Jackson, and Muralikumar Anantharaman).
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Why are parts of North America covered in smoke from wildfires in Canada?
In recent years, orange-hued skylines, smoke from wildfires and scorched forests have become commonplaces in North America as global warming has contributed to "massive forestfires". Many of these fires are located in northern Canada which is home to some the largest, intact forests on earth. Canada has more active wildfires now than in the previous two years. The area that has been burned this year is also greater than the 10-year average. Here are some facts regarding the recent smoke and wildfires. Why does Canada have so many wildfires? Canada is the second largest country in the world based on area. It has nearly one tenth the total forest land and 24% of all boreal forests. Many are not accessible by road, and many of them have no inhabitants. Forest fires are an important part of nature that helps to eliminate pests and unhealthy shrubbery. In recent years the size and intensity have increased. Climate change is causing temperatures to rise, resulting in drier forest. Fires spread more quickly in drier forests. Lightning or campfires can start fires in populated areas. Mike Flannigan is a professor at Thompson Rivers University, British Columbia. He is a wildland fire expert. He said that warmer temperatures have extended the wildfire season and more lightning has also caused fires. Climate scientist Andrew Dessler is a professor of atmosphere sciences at Texas A&M College of Arts and Sciences. He said that the Canadian fires are burning in forests that have been largely left unmanaged for the last 100 years. He also said that higher temperatures in Canada were causing larger, more intense fires. Climate change is the main reason why this has a major impact on the U.S. at the moment. "Nothing else has changed," said he. What happened this week? Smoke follows the wind as fires grow and forest areas are scorched. Toronto, New York and Washington were affected by the worst air quality in the world earlier this week due to fires burning in northern and Western Ontario and northern Minnesota. Detroit and Chicago had the worst air quality in the world by Friday. Can the fire be stopped? Although some fires cannot be avoided, the government tries to protect communities through the closing of forest areas, the use of non-flammable materials in high-risk places, and better preparation. What has Canada done so far? The federal government has increased funding to fight wildfires. This includes C$316.7 ($227 millions) over a five-year period for aerial firefighting capability and C$47.8 for Parks Canada's National Fire Management Program. Ontario spent C$271 millions on emergency firefighting, surpassing its budget of C$135millions in 2025-26. The budget for 2026-2027 is C$150 millions. WHAT MORE COULD WE DO? Experts and politicians started calling for a National Response Organization after Canada's largest wildfire season in terms of area burned, 2023. These calls increased after fires in the year 2024 destroyed a third of Jasper, a tourist town. The only Group of Seven nation without a federal agency dedicated to combating "wildfires" is Canada. The provinces are responsible for a large part of firefighting. The Canadian Senate released a report in June 2026 that included a call for the creation of a federal coordination office for wildfires, emergency response and funding for a modern fleet of firefighting aircraft. The report noted that wildfires have become a crisis, citing the area burned in the past few years. The federal Office of Emergency Management and Community Resilience announced that it was evaluating recommendations for wildfire response and possible creation of a Federal Emergency Management Agency. The 'leasing of ten new firefighting planes as an example of how they are addressing severe fires by bolstering the provincial and territorial firefighting capability. Canada has approximately 126,000 firefighters working for towns, cities and villages, with about 90% of them being volunteers. Ken McMullen is the president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs. He said that only 3,000-5,000 firefighters in Canada are trained to fight wildland blazes. McMullen stated that a centralized approach could help coordinate, train, and move firefighters and equipment throughout the country when necessary. What are some other areas with wildfires? According to the National Interagency Fire Center, 2026 has been a year of fires that is above average in the United States. 3.7 million acres have burned from year-to date, compared with an average 10-year burn rate of 2.7 millions acres. Fires in?the?U.S. West is burning more intensely and consuming more land, after a record low winter snowpack caused drought conditions in more than 90% the region. According to NIFC, the United States has seen 40,000 wildfires this year. This is well above its 10-year average, which was around 31,000 at this time. A wildfire that burned an area as large as San Francisco in northeastern Spain forced thousands of people to flee. This summer, there have been nearly 20 reported wildfires in England and Wales. A historic forest near Paris has also burned and turned the skies black. (Reporting from Nivedita Balu, Toronto; Additional reporting provided by Andrew Hay; Editing done by Caroline Stauffer and Edmund Klamann).
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Boeing maintains its 20-year forecast of jet demand, despite the Iran War impact
Boeing's latest?market?projection, released on Saturday in England, just ahead of the Farnborough Airshow, maintained the strong forecast it made for global demand?for new commercial planes over the next 20 years. The U.S. aircraft manufacturer's forecast for 2025 was nearly identical. Boeing predicted that the industry would deliver 43,625 jetliners and cargo aircraft around the globe from 2026 to 2045. This includes 33,545 single aisle jets, 7,715 broadbody aircraft, and 930 factory built freighters. Airbus, Boeing's European competitor, cut its forecast by 1% this month to 42,060 new aircraft. The reason given was the Iran War and trade tensions. Boeing anticipates a growth in air passenger traffic of 2.3% for this year. This is less than half of the 5.3% growth rate last year. It anticipates growth of 6%-7% by 2027, and 5%-6.6% by 2028. Boeing Commercial Marketing Vice president Darren Hulst said that the passenger traffic worldwide will be at its current level by 2028. He said that the current slowdown was different from the demand shock of several years caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. Boeing predicts that passenger traffic will grow by 4% per year over the next 20-years, while cargo traffic is expected to increase by 3.7%. The jet fleet will expand by 3%, and the global economy is expected to grow 2.5%. The demand for new aircraft is growing faster than the planemakers' ability to deliver them. Hulst stated that passenger traffic had recovered to pre-pandemic level last year, but new jet deliveries remained below 2018 output. The company expects a shortage of around 2,000 aircraft by 2026. Single-aisle shortages are unlikely to be resolved until the end of this decade, while widebody shortages will likely persist well into the early 30s. The outlook assumes that demand will be split roughly evenly between replacements and growth. Boeing projects that 21,475 of the deliveries will be older jets, and 22,150 to support fleet expansion. Global fleet is expected to grow from 28,000 aircraft by 2025 to 50,000 aircraft by 2045. New-generation aircraft will increase from 32% to 92%. China will account for 21% of all deliveries. Eurasia is next at 20%. North America, South/Southeast Asia, and the Middle East/Africa are each at 19%. Latin America, Oceania/Northeast Asia, and Oceania/Northeast Asia, at 5%, follow. Boeing's outlook reflects a recovering market - but still constrained by the fragility of supply chains and manufacturing capacity. Boeing faces delays in certification for key programs, including the 737 MAX 7 & 10 and 777-9. Hulst stated that the long-term demand is supported by migration, trade, tourism and expansion of airline networks. He said, "The reasons why we travel or why goods are moved don't change." (Reporting from Seattle by Dan Catchpole; editing by David Gregorio).
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Clariant rejects Dow Europe’s $1.3 billion claim under the Competition Law
Clariant announced on Friday that it is rejecting the damages claim of 1.1 billion euros ($1.26 billion) filed by Dow 'Europe against four companies. The claim was made for an alleged violation of competition law in the ethylene buying market. In the past, Swiss specialty chemical manufacturers have received similar claims from OMV BASF and TotalEnergies. Dow announced in a letter to? that it filed a claim for "significant losses" sustained by its European operations, claiming the defendants' anticompetitive conduct lowered ethylene prices. The European Commission fined Clariant in 2020, Orbia of Mexico, and Celanese of the United States 260 million Euros for colluding with each other to keep ethylene prices low. Clariant's statement said that it "firmly rejects (Dow Europe’s) allegation" and will "adamantly defend their position in the proceeding." It added that the claim had been filed with a court in Dortmund, Germany. Clariant didn't name the other companies in its statement. Clariant added that "substantiated evidence" had been gathered that "the?conduct of parties?didn't produce a?any impact on the market."
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Pampa Energia invests $2.7 billion into Argentine urea factory
The Argentinean energy company Pampa 'Energia announced on Friday that it will invest $2.7billion to build a granulated urea facility in 'Bahia Blanca', a town located south of the province of Buenos Aires. The project is aimed at supplying fertilizer to Argentina - one of the largest exporters in the world of grains and agricultural products - as well as to Brazil, another major producer of farming goods. In a press release, Pampa Energia chairman Marcelo Mindlin stated that the plant would allow the country to have its own urea, making it more competitive and predictable. It will also enable the nation to export to other countries in the'region' and 'worldwide. Pampa says the plant will begin producing 2.1 millions metric tons urea per year by?the middle of 2029. The company stated that the project would be the'start of a brand new business line for 'Pampa Energia. It will also generate a source of foreign currency in Argentina with an estimated contribution of a little over $1 billion per year through exports and import substitution. Pampa said that it has already submitted its?project for Argentina's incentive -regime known as RIGI - which offers tax advantages and other benefits to companies. (Reporting by Eliana Raszewski;)
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Why are parts of North America covered in smoke from wildfires in Canada?
In recent years, orange-hued skylines, wildfire smoke, and scorched forests have become commonplaces in North America as global warming has 'contributed to massive forest fires. These fires are primarily in the north of Canada, which is home to some of?the world's largest intact forests. Canada has experienced more wildfires this year than in the previous two years. The area that has been burned is also higher than the average for the last 10 years. Check out these facts about recent wildfires and smoke. Why does Canada have so many wildfires? Canada, which is the second largest country in the world by area, contains nearly a 10th of all the forest land on the planet and 24% of its boreal forests. Many are not accessible by road or inhabited. Forest fires are an important part of nature that helps to eliminate pests and unhealthy shrubbery. In recent years the size and intensity have increased. Climate change is causing temperatures to rise, resulting in drier forest. Fires spread more quickly in drier forests. Lightning or campfires can start fires in more populated regions. Mike Flannigan is a professor at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia who specializes in wildland fires. He noted that the area of land burned has nearly quadrupled across Canada since the 1970s. He said that warmer temperatures have extended the wildfire season, and more lightning has also caused fires. WHAT HAPPENED OVER THE LAST WEEK? Smoke follows the wind as?fires grow and more forest is burned. Toronto experienced the worst air quality in the world earlier this week due to fires from northern and western Ontario, as well as northern Minnesota. Then it spread to New York and Washington. Detroit and Chicago had the worst air quality by Friday. Can the fires be stopped? Although some fires cannot be avoided, the government is trying to protect their communities by closing forests to prevent fires caused by humans, using non-flammable materials in high-risk areas and being more prepared. What has Canada done so far? The federal government has increased funding to fight wildfires. This includes C$316.7 (or $227 million) over five years for aerial firefighting capability and C$47.8 for Parks Canada's?National Fire Management Program. Ontario spent C$271,000,000 on emergency firefighting during 2025-26. This was more than its budget of C$135,000,000. The budget for 2026-2027 is C$150 millions. WHAT MORE CAN BE DONE? Experts and politicians started calling for a National Response Organization after Canada's largest wildfire season in terms of area burned, 2023. These calls increased after fires in the year 2024 destroyed a third of Jasper, a tourist town. Canada is the lone Group of Seven nation without a federal agency dedicated to fighting wildfires. The provinces are responsible for a large part of firefighting. The Canadian Senate released a report in June 2026 that proposed funding for a "national fleet" of modern firefighting planes, as well as other measures. The report noted that wildfires have become a crisis, citing the area burned in the past few years. The federal Office of Emergency Management and Community Resilience announced that it is evaluating recommendations for wildfire response and possible creation of a federal agency to manage emergency situations. The leasing of 10 firefighting planes is one way it has boosted the capacity of provincial and territorial firefighting agencies to combat severe wildfires. Canada has approximately 126,000 firefighters, 90,000 of whom are volunteers, who work for towns, villages, and cities. Ken McMullen is the president of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs. He said that only 3,000-5,000 firefighters in Canada are trained to fight wildland fires. McMullen stated that a centralized approach could help with coordinating, training, and moving equipment and firefighters across the country if needed. What are some other areas with wildfires? According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the United States also has an above-average year for fires, with 3.7 millions acres burning year-to date in 2026, compared to a 10-year-average of 2.7million acres. According to the U.S. Drought monitor, fires are burning more intensely and consuming more land in the U.S. West after a record low winter snowpack caused drought conditions to spread to 90% of the region. According to NIFC, the United States had?40,000 wildfires in its first half of this year. This is well above the 10-year average, which was around 31,000 at this time. A wildfire that burned an area as large as San Francisco in northeastern Spain forced thousands of people to flee. This summer, there have been nearly 20 reported wildfires in England and Wales. A historic forest near Paris has also burned and turned the skies black. (Reporting from Nivedita Balu, Toronto; additional reporting by Andrew Hay. Editing by Caroline Stauffer, Deepa Babington and Caroline Stauffer)
Gold to experience its biggest weekly decline since early June due to inflation and rate hike worries
Gold prices rose Friday, but were on track for their biggest weekly drop?in the past six weeks as tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated. This fueled inflation fears while also reinforcing expectations that interest rates will be raised in the U.S.
By 11:50 am EDT (1550 GMT), spot gold had risen 1.2% to $4,017.09 an ounce. Prices fell to their lowest levels since July 1, earlier in the day, and are down about 2.5% for the entire week. U.S. Gold?futures delivered in August fell by 0.5%, to $3973.10.
The U.S. Dollar rose for the second consecutive session, increasing the price of bullion for foreign buyers.
Chris Gaffney is president of EverBank's world markets. He said that the main reasons for gold's decline were a stronger U.S. Dollar and increased global inflation fears.
The U.S. escalated its renewed bombing campaign against Iran by hitting bridges and airports. Tehran responded by launching strikes on U.S. bases in the Middle East.
Brent crude oil was up by more than 14 percent in the week after the attacks.
The price of gold has dropped by about 25% since U.S.-backed Iran's war began in late Feburary, due to expectations that inflation-driven war could cause interest rates to rise for longer.
Gold is often seen as an inflation hedge, but higher interest rates can have a negative impact on this non-yielding metal.
"Recent data has decreased the likelihood of a rate increase at the next FOMC Meeting, but global interest levels continue to rise and the recent 'increase in oil price could lead the Federal Reserve to adopt a more hawkish stance with regard to?U.S. Gaffney stated that interest rate policy was a priority.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, traders see a 53.3% probability of an interest rate increase in September.
Philip Jefferson, Fed vice chair, said on Thursday that he was "open" to raising interest rates if inflation did not improve in the near future.
Goldman Sachs stated in a report that "gold's percentage in private portfolios is still low. Recent?geopolitical events, such as the Iranian nuclear deal and wider tensions? may accelerate diversification to private investors beyond central banks."
Spot silver increased 1.1% to $66.09; platinum fell 1.3% to $1.597.13 and palladium remained steady at $1.249.81. All three metals are headed for weekly losses. (Reporting and editing by Jan Harvey in Bengaluru, Noel John from Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)