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Oklo speaks in discussions on using US Cold War plutonium for nuclear fuel
Nuclear power company Oklo said?on? Tuesday that the U.S. Energy Department has selected it for advanced talks about taking Cold War era plutonium - a dangerous, fissile substance - for use as potential fuel for nuclear reactors. Last year, it was reported that the Trump Administration plans to provide about 20 metric tonnes of Cold War-era Plutonium? from dismantled warheads to U.S. energy companies for use as reactor fuel. About a year ago, President Donald 'Trump' signed an executive ordnance ordering the U.S. Government to stop a large part of its program to dilute plutonium and dispose of it and use it instead as fuel for advanced nuclear technology. Energy?department has surplus U.S. Plutonium. It is stored in heavily guarded weapons sites, including those in South Carolina and Texas. Oklo plans to work with newcleo - a European firm that wants to build nuclear reactors of the highest technology. Oklo stated that Newcleo could bring experience in fuel and capital for projects, but only after obtaining the necessary approvals, agreements and U.S. safety and security requirements. Jacob DeWitte, co-founder of Oklo and CEO, said: "This program provides a way to use surplus material to fuel advanced reactors sooner. "Materials that have been set aside as a?disposal could instead be 'converted into fuel for electricity production." Stefano Buono is the CEO and founder of newcleo. He said that using plutonium for fuel would reduce U.S. nuclear liabilities. Democratic U.S. legislators have urged Trump not to proceed with his plan to use surplus plutonium as fuel. They say it is a proliferation threat and would require enough plutonium to build 2,000 atomic weapons. Chris Wright, the U.S. Energy secretary, was a member of Oklo before joining Trump's cabinet. His department didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment about the talks, or how the material will be kept secure. (Reporting and editing by Alexander Smith; Timothy Gardner)
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China investigates the mining disaster that claimed 82 lives.
State media reported on Tuesday that the initial investigation into the China's deadliest mining disaster in 15 years revealed unmarked tunnels, fake doors, and missing trackers. The government has vowed to leave no stone untouched. A gas explosion at the Liushenyu Mine in the coal-rich Province of Shanxi, in northern China, killed at least 82 people late Friday night. State media reported that two people were still missing and 128 others hospitalized. This is the worst mining accident to occur in China since 2009. A gas explosion in the Xinxing Mine, in Heilongjiang Province, killed 108 workers. The cause of the fatal incident is still under investigation. However, the official Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday stated that hidden mining tunnels, false?drawings, and outsourced, unregistered, and unregistered miners who were not provided with life-saving location tracking devices, contributed to the incident. 'YIN-YANG DRAWINGS' Xinhua reported that the mine controlled by 'Shanxi Tongzhou Coal Coking Group' maintained two different sets of plans and surveillance system. The mine, controlled by?Shanxi Tongzhou Coal Coking Group, maintained two separate sets of plans and surveillance systems. According to the state media, officials of the company were detained. The coal mined from the unregulated and hidden tunnels was not included in official production figures. Two sets of plans are colloquially known as "yin-yang" drawings: one is kept 'in the light for the inspectors to examine and the other in the darkness. The national mine safety authority has stated that despite crackdowns in China, similar profit-driven practices continue to be commonplace in coal mines. Xinhua reported that the Liushenyu Mine "used wire mesh, woven plastic sacks, and mortar to create fake doors which looked like the rock walls of the mine tunnel." The workers would close the fake doors and smear the coal ash on them to blend in with the rest. ALARMS FOR MISSING TRACKERS In order to evade detection, the mine operator hired subcontracted labour to work in the concealed tunnels without providing them with required identification-location trackers or logging them in ?the official entry record. If the trackers had been used, authorities could have monitored where the miner was underground. According to CCTV footage shown Monday, only 124 people were underground when the blast happened on Friday. The mine was actually staffed by 247 people, which means that 123 of them were not tracked in the tunnels. State media reported that the?lack' of accurate maps, and information on miners' locations has seriously hampered rescue efforts. In a separate report, Tuesday, state radio broadcaster said that the Liushenyu Mine - classified by authorities as a high-gas mine with an elevated blast risk -- also avoided installing gas monitoring?equipment in order to evade their supervision. Before Friday's tragedy, authorities were aware of the issues. The mine operator in 2025 was fined by regulators after they discovered hidden working faces. However, this penalty did not serve as a deterrent and the company continued to produce illegally. After the incident, some mines in China halted production or reduced it to allow for safety inspections.
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Russian oil prices are down by 11% so far in May compared to April
Calculations showed that the price of Russian oil, in roubles, has dropped 11% in May from April due to the strengthening of the rouble and lower global oil prices on anticipation of an agreement ending Iran's war. The Russian authorities use oil prices in roubles to calculate the mineral extraction tax. The?levy is the single biggest tax on the oil sector, and accounts for about a fifth (or more) of the total Russian budget revenue. The calculations show that the average price of oil in April was 7,299 roubles per barrel, the highest level since October 2023. The price in roubles remains around 20% higher than the target price assumed?in 2026's federal budget, which assumes that the rouble price is 5,440 roubles per barrel or $59, and the rouble rate is 92.2 roubles per $1. The price is the basis for Russia's budget revenue and expenses. The'set' was made before U.S. - Israeli airstrikes against Iran at the end of Feburary triggered a Middle?Eastern conflict exploding and causing unprecedented disruption to energy supply. On Tuesday, international oil prices were just under $100 per barrel. This is down from a spike of over $120 a barrel in April.
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Russia fails to sell its stake in UGC gold miner
The federal property management agency announced on Tuesday that Russia had failed to sell a stake in the gold producer Uzhuralzoloto, which it seized last year. This is a major blow to the Russian government, as it attempts to reduce budget pressures. A Russian court ruled in July last year that the majority of UGC owned by Konstantin Strukov should be confiscated and transferred to state. This was part of a larger pattern of nationalisation. This latest auction comes after a failed sale of Strukov’s assets in May. The?lot included a stake of 67.2% in UGC, which was valued at 162.02 billion rubles ($2.22 billion). BUDGET PRESSURES The auction was declared invalid this time because only one bidder had submitted a complete application and paid the deposit. The agency Rosimushchestvo said that a second bidder failed to pay the deposit or provide the necessary documents. The agency hasn't said if it will be holding another auction. The failed sale comes at a time when budget pressures are increasing. Finance Ministry had planned to sell its stake by 2025. It did not respond to a question for comment. The sale was structured in a Dutch auction where the price is gradually reduced until a bidder is found. The stake could have been sold for as low as 50% of the original asking price. In January, the Domodedovo Airport in Moscow was sold at Dutch auctions for a?minimum price of $869?million, with only one bidder. In the afternoon, shares on the Moscow Exchange were down 7.67%. (Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova. Additional reporting by Darya Korsunskaya. Writing by Alessandra Prentice. Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Potter and Mark Potter (Editing)
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Russell: China's structural shift is reflected in its weak steel production and strong imports of iron ore.
China's?weak production of steel and its robust imports of iron ore continue to contrast, and it is beginning to appear as?a structural change rather than just a temporary disruption. China, which is responsible for producing just over half the world's total steel, produced 86.63 million metric tons of steel in April. This was a 2.8% decline from the same month of 2025, and the lowest April figure since 2018. Steel production for the first four month of this year was 331.12 millions tons, down 4.1% on the same period of last year. According to official statistics, however, iron ore exports increased by 8% during the first four months this year, to 418,6 million tonnes. Imports of steel-related raw materials in April were 103.9 millions tons. This is down 0.8% compared to March's total of 104.74, but slightly higher per day due to April having one less day than March. Analysts at DBX Commodities estimate that seaborne arrivals in May will be 104.67 millions tons. The reason for the low production of steel is easy to understand, given the weakness in the property construction sector and the decline in exports. In April this year, shipments dropped?9% from the same period last year. Steel exports fell 9.7% in the first quarter of 2026 to 34.2 millions tons. Iron ore imports are a result of both structural and temporary factors. BUILD INVENTORIES SteelHome consultants SteelHome monitor port stockpiles to ensure that they are not contaminated. Holding near record highs The week ending May 22 saw inventories of 160.35 millions tons, up slightly from the previous week's 160.34 and close to the record-high 165.67million that was reached in the week prior to March 20. As steel production increases to meet demand, inventories tend to build towards the end of every year. They then peak early in the following year and decline toward the middle. Stockpiles are up 22% since the July low of 131.05 millions tons, which was 2025's lowest level. Market participants will be able to tell whether inventories will follow their usual seasonal pattern, and begin to decline as we approach the northern summer. Or if soft steel production will continue to keep them high compared with previous years. It is possible that the Iran war, and the threat of fuel shortages in Asia due to the continued closure of the Strait?Hormuz by the Iranian regime may have also encouraged Chinese steel mills to import iron ore. The lack of volatility may also be boosting import sentiment. Singapore Exchange contracts have been locked in a tight band?anchored at $105 per ton over the last 10 months. On Monday, the front-month contract closed at $109.09. Iron ore imports are driven by the decline of China's domestic iron ore production. This is further exacerbated due to the weakening of the ore grades. According to MySteel, China's first four months of the year saw an iron ore production of 326.8 millions tons, a 1% decrease from the same period the previous year. The drop in 2025 was 2.8%, from 1.04 billion tons to 983.7 millions. China's iron ore is a mixture of 20-30% iron. This means that it must be upgraded in order to match the imported grades, which are 60-65%. The process?is energy-intensive and costly. Assuming that steel production remains relatively stable, it's likely China's domestic iron ore supply will continue to decrease, which will lead to a greater share of imports. You like this column? Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X. These are the views of the columnist, an author for.
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Israeli strikes kill seven Gazans, doctors say
Health officials reported that Israeli strikes in Gaza Strip killed at least seven Palestinians on Tuesday, including five in a camp for refugees and two in cars. Residents and medics said that an Israeli drone shot a missile into the air at people who were coming out of their houses when a Palestinian militia backed by Israel tried to?storm an area east Maghazi camp. At least five people died, and'several others were injured. The Israeli military has not responded to an immediate request for comment about the incident. It has been fighting Hamas militants on Palestinian territory since October?2023. Hamas has branded Israeli-backed armed groups as "Israeli collaborators" and their attacks have increased in recent weeks. Leaders of these groups who operate in areas under Israeli control say that they aim to overthrow Hamas rule. Two people were killed and several more injured by an Israeli airstrike that struck a vehicle near the southern Gaza City of Khan Younis on Tuesday afternoon, according to medics. The Israeli military said it was "a targeted strike" but did not provide any further details. A ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump in October failed to stop Israeli attacks on Gaza. Israel and Hamas have reached a deadlock in indirect negotiations over the implementation of the second phase?of the agreement, which includes disarming the group and the withdrawal of the Israeli army. Israel now controls more than half the territory of Gaza. Hamas is only in control of a small sliver along the coast. Gaza health officials, who do not differentiate between civilians and combatants, have reported that 900 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes since the truce was implemented. The Israeli military said that four Israeli soldiers were?killed' by militants in the same time period. Hamas does not reveal the number of casualties amongst its fighters. Israel claims its post-ceasefire attacks are meant to prevent attacks or stop people from approaching the armistice line between Hamas and Israel. (Reporting and editing by Nidal Al-Mughrabi)
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Coal India requests units to increase supply as heatwave fuels record demand for power
Two sources who have direct knowledge of this matter say that Coal India, the state-owned coal company, has instructed its subsidiaries to increase the supply of coal to power plants in order to avoid shortages. The country's demand for?electricity is at a record high after an intense heatwave. As a result of the record heat caused by the El Nino weather pattern, several regions are experiencing power outages, mostly at night. According to the latest data from the Central Electricity Authority (the adviser to the Power Ministry), 21 power plants are critically short of?coal, with only enough to cover less than a weeks' demand. Sources said that the world's largest coal mining company has directed its subsidiaries to maximize dispatches by using all modes of transport, including rail links which move coal directly from mines into power plants. Coal India announced on Tuesday that it had encouraged utilities, especially those in difficult-to-reach areas, to stock up in advance of the peak demand. India's peak electricity, which is a measure for the "maximum amount of electricity required", reached a record of 270.8 gigawatts last week. India's electricity is still generated by coal, despite the 228 GW capacity of non-fossil energy. Data from the company showed that Coal 'India and its eight subsidiaries, which are responsible for 80% of coal production in India, saw a 9.7% decline to?56.1 millions metric tons. The miner stated that it had 168 millions tons of coal in its possession, including 47.6 Million tons at power plants. This is enough to meet 19 days' consumption. It said that the stocks at mines were 113.5 million tonnes as of May 23. This was an increase of about 10% compared to a year ago. Sethuraman NR, Nidhi verma, and Emelia Sithole Matarise edited the report.
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After US strike on Iran, European stocks drop and oil prices rise
European stock indexes lost some of their recent gains on Tuesday, and oil prices rose as a result. Investors' hopes that a U.S. peace deal with Iran was imminent were dampened by?new U.S. attacks in southern Iran. The market sentiment has improved over the last week, as traders have bet on the de-escalation of the U.S. and Israel war against Iran. This conflict began late February and has caused severe disruptions in Middle East oil supplies. They revised this view after the U.S. announced on Monday that it had conducted what it called defensive attacks in southern Iran. U.S. Secretary Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that negotiations with Iran may "take several days" as talks continue. STOXX 600 at 1051 GMT was down 0.2% for the day but close to its highest level since the beginning of the war. London's FTSE 100 rose 0.7%, while Germany's DAX fell 0.5%. The MSCI World Equity Index remained?flat' but has risen 3.8% this month. Peter Schaffrik is a global macro strategist with RBC Capital Markets. He said the Middle East uncertainty was weighing heavily on markets. "It's not clear what's happening there," he said. He was referring to U.S. president Donald Trump's statement on Monday that he had asked additional countries to sign Abraham Accords while he was trying to negotiate an end to the war. Wall Street futures still pointed to further gains in stocks for the U.S. day, with S&P500 eminis up by 0.7%, and Nasdaq minis up by 1.1%. Brent crude futures rose 2.4% to $98.50 per barrel on the same day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 4.7% since Friday's closing price of $92.04. Due to the US Memorial Day holiday, there was no WTI settlement Monday. Schaffrik noted that there was still some optimism on the market as traders held onto the hope that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen soon. Brent crude is down from its peak of $120 in late April. European traders also considered comments made by Isabel Schnabel of the European Central Bank, who said that even if peace talks with Iran are successful, the central bank should increase interest rates in June. She said that the conflict is taking longer than expected and that high energy prices are affecting the economy. Money market traders have priced in a 90 percent chance of a rate hike at the ECB meeting scheduled for June. The yields on European bonds rose after the U.S. strike, but the benchmark German 10-year yield was still near its lowest level in nearly seven weeks, at 2.9642%. Last week, yields dropped as investors became less worried about the impact of war on inflation and growth. U.S. government bond prices rose as investors remained 'hopeful' about a possible deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The dollar index was unchanged at 99.026 dollars, and the euro was flat at $1.1642. The dollar rose 0.1% to 159.12 Japanese yen. Gold fell by 0.8% to $4,534.86. (Reporting and editing by Rae Wee, Sharon Singleton, Muralikumar Aantharaman and Jan Harvey).
AI is revolutionizing the most prolific film industry in the world
Welcome to the new look movie set. The cacophony created by cameras, clapperboards, and shouted instructions has been replaced with the quiet hum from a coding room.
Collective Artists Network is a leading talent agency that represents Bollywood's A-listers. It has been facilitating the careers of superstars for many years. It's now engineering digital ones. The Bengaluru facility uses artificial intelligence to create content that is based on Hindu mythology, a genre popular in India. In a movie based on a religious text called "Ramayana," there is a scene where the god Hanuman is seen flying with a mountain in his arms. The show "Mahabharat" is based on another ancient epic. It features a scene depicting princess Gandhari who blindfolded her eyes when she married a blind king.
India is the country that produces most movies, and its stars like Shah Rukh Khan or?Amitabh?Bachchan have cult followings. Many?industry participants say that changing audience habits and the growth of streaming are impacting production budgets. Ormax Media, a consulting firm, says that moviegoers will drop to 832 millions in 2025 compared to 1.03 billion people in 2019. Box-office sales last year?hit an all-time high of $1.4 billion, but revenue has been choppy and dependent on a few hits and more expensive tickets since the pandemic. To view this story on.com go to
India's studios are deploying AI on a massive scale, releasing films in multiple languages and even recutting the endings of old titles in order to increase sales. They are also reshaping filmmaking economics by reducing production timelines and utilizing AI to improve efficiency.
Rahul Regulapati is the head of Collective's AI Studio, Galleri5. How about production time? He said, "down to a quarter."
Hollywood has taken a different approach, with union contracts and concerns about job loss limiting studios' adoption of AI. Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia are making early bets in India by partnering local filmmakers. At least one major production company is reviewing its entire catalog for AI rereleases. In previous reporting, we have explored the ways in which Indian filmmakers harness AI and India's divergence from Hollywood. The first report to detail the extent of India's film industries?reorganization around AI, and the economics that are driving this shift. This story includes interviews with 25 people, including directors and studio heads. American and British studios are experimenting with AI filmmaking. They will produce the first full-length AI animation features in 2024, and an AI powered immersive version of 'The Wizard of Oz' last year.
Dominic Lees said that India's film-makers' ambitions are at a?different level. He is a researcher in AI and film at the University of Reading, Britain. He said that if India can meet the demands, it will become a leader in AI filmmaking. India's pivot towards AI is a reflection of its embracement of technology in general. India bet last year that embracing AI would create enough opportunities to offset any short-term disruption. According to an analysis by EY, AI could increase revenue for Indian media and entertainment companies by 10% while reducing costs by 15% in the medium term.
Vikram malhotra, the founder of Abundantia Entertainment told reporters that Abundantia Entertainment is building their AI capability from scratch. The Bollywood production house recently announced an investment of $11 million in a studio for AI.
NEW ENDINGS FOR OLD DRAMAS
India's Eros Media World released "Raanjhanaa" with an AI-altered version last year. The film replaced the tragic ending in which the protagonist dies with a happier conclusion where the lover smiles through tears when he opens his eyes.
Rewrites drew criticism. Dhanush, Dhanush is the name of the actor who plays the main role. He said on X, that the AI remake "stripped away the film's very soul." It also set a "deeply worrying precedent for artists and art."
The re-released "Raanjhanaa", however, still attracted audiences. PVR Inox India's biggest cinema chain reported that 35% of tickets for the Tamil-language version were sold in August, the month when the film was released. This was 12 percentage points more than the average for 2025.
Eros has gone further. Pradeep Dwivedi is the group CEO and he said that Eros was reviewing its 3,000 titles catalog to "identify candidates for AI-assisted adaption." Last year, Eros' Indian unit Eros International warned about "competition by digital platforms," as its annual consolidated revenue from operations dropped 44%.
Dwivedi explained that the AI rewrites are both a revenue-generating opportunity and a strategy for creative renewal. Hollywood would have to deal with such changes. A deal with the U.S. actors union SAGAFTRA prohibits studios from digitally altering an actor's performance, or creating a digital copy without informed consent. The Directors Guild of America contract prohibits studios from relying on AI to make creative decisions without consulting directors and forbids AI from performing the work of their members.
Indian studios are experimenting aggressively with AI in Hindu mythology tales. This is big business for a country that has millions of devotees. Collective plans eight AI-generated titles focusing on deities like Hanuman and Krishna.
JioStar is a joint venture media company between Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Media and Walt Disney. It airs an AI-generated version of the Hindu epic “Mahabharat” – the first episode series that emerged from Collective’s cinematic AI laboratory.
JioStar said that the AI version of the story about a dynastic battle between princes, which was released in October on the streaming platform by JioStar, has attracted 26.5 million viewers since its release. A previous TV adaptation attracted 200 million viewers from 1988 to 1990. However, the show has been met with a mixed reception by audiences. IMDb gives "Mahabharat", a 1.4-star rating. Some reviewers cite lip-syncing issues, while others say that some scenes are low-quality and lack authenticity because of unnatural styling.
Alok Jain is a senior executive with JioStar. He stated that the response has been "a mixture of appreciation and healthy discussion, which is normal for any ambitious creative step." JioStar also plans to make original stories using AI.
Some film industry figures have expressed concern about the use of AI. Jonathan Taplin, a writer and producer from the United States who has worked for Hollywood studios, says that the use of AI to create feature films is an "affront to all of cinema's history."
He said, "It'll fill your screens and cinemas with formula slop."
AI DUBBING
The acceptance of AI may be easier to achieve through dubbing.
India has 22 official languages, and there are hundreds of dialects. Dubbing is essential to make a movie a blockbuster in India. AI is now beginning to solve the problem of mismatched lip movements, a complaint that audiences have had for years.
Subhabrata Debnath, the co-founder of NeuralGarage in Bengaluru, a startup that offers dubbing services to top studios such as Yash Raj Films and other major studios, demonstrated a clip showing an AI-generated English character. Subhabrata Debnath then added a German audio track and the character spoke fluent German within minutes.
Debnath explained that the technology preserved "the performance, the identity and the speaking styles of the person", while modifying the face to look natural.
Last year, NeuralGarage AI technology was used to translate Yashraj's Hindi film "War 2" from the Hindi language into Telugu of south India. The production house did not respond to any questions.
The Red Carpet meets the RED MAJORS
Tech giants around the world are also interested in getting a piece. Google partnered in August with Bollywood director Shakun Bhatra to produce a 5-part cinematic'series' using Veo 3 video generation and Flow AI to experiment with AI powered filmmaking. Mira Lane is Google's Vice President of Technology and Society. She said that AI can also help independent artists create complex sequences which "might be otherwise out of reach because of budget or logistical limitations."
Microsoft has been working on a collaboration with Collective, and it said that Microsoft would be providing AI computing power in order to "shape" the next wave of global story-telling through such collaborations.
Collective uses a hybrid approach of digital animation and physical recording to bypass the limitations of text prompts. The actors wear motion-capture suits equipped with sensors to capture body movements in 3D, while their smartphones record facial expressions. This data is then fed into the AI pipeline to allow for more nuanced control of the AI generated characters.
The ripples go beyond the studio. Festivals dedicated to AI-generated shorts have proliferated around the world, including in Los Angeles, Cannes and Barcelona. India's first event took place at Mumbai's Royal Opera House in November, when young storytellers and a robot walked down the red carpet.
In February, Nvidia was on stage in New Delhi with the second edition of India’s AI Film Festival. Pradeep Gupta told the audience that Nvidia is working on reducing computing costs to allow anyone "to create something substantial" without spending a lot of cash.
Anurag Kashyap is a Bollywood Director who expressed concern about the use of AI and its growth in India. He reluctantly acknowledged the economic benefits of studios deploying the technology.
In India, cinema doesn't revolve around art. "It's just business. Studios will use it to create mythologicals," Kashyap stated of AI. "Our audience loves it."
(source: Reuters)