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Shell Secures Drilling Permit off South Africa's West Coast
Shell has been granted environmental authorisation to drill up to five deep-water wells off South Africa's west coast, the company said on Friday.The oil major applied for authorisation last year and plans to drill exploration or appraisal wells in the Northern Cape Ultra Deep Block in the Orange Basin, at water depths ranging between 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) and 3,200 metres (10,500 ft).Oil companies, including TotalEnergies, are aiming to drill off South Africa's west coast, where the prolific Orange Basin extends southwards into the country's waters, with hopes of replicating significant discoveries made in neighbouring Namibia."Should viable resources be found offshore, this could significantly contribute to South Africa’s energy security and the government’s economic development programmes," Shell said in a statement without providing any timelines.Shell's previous exploration programme along South Africa's east coast has been disrupted by court litigation over concerns about lack of public consultation and that seismic surveys may harm the marine environment.The long-running case is expected to be heard in South Africa's highest court later this year and could either help usher in a new exploration boom or dampen expectations.Mounting environmental pressures, including a bevy of court actions to halt drilling, and cumbersome bureaucracy have stifled South Africa's ambitions to develop its oil and gas potential.Africa's most industrialised economy has lost around half of its refinery capacity over the last few years and depends even more now on imports of refined petroleum products to meet rising demand.(Reuters - Reporting by Wendell Roelf. Editing by Sfundo Parakozov and Mark Potter)
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After cannabis raid, one California worker is killed and hundreds are arrested
According to a farmworker advocate group, a California farmworker was killed on Friday after suffering injuries a day before when U.S. Immigration agents raided and arrested hundreds workers at a cannabis plantation. On Thursday, dozens of migrant rights activists clashed with federal agents on the rural Southern California coast. This was the latest in President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. According to estimates, the Trump administration has given contradictory statements on whether it will target farm workers, of whom about half are not authorized to work in the U.S. In a press release, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that 200 people who were in the country illegally had been arrested during the raid. The raid targeted two locations of Glass House Farms. The statement also stated that agents found ten migrant children at the farm. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Rodney Scott said in a X post that the facility was under investigation for violations of child labor. The company didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. According to pictures and videos, the scene on the farm was chaotic on Thursday, as federal agents in helmets and masks used tear gas and smoke cannisters against angry protesters. Elizabeth Strater said that several farmworkers suffered injuries and one of them died after falling 30 feet from a building in the raid. Strater stated that U.S. citizens had been detained and some were still missing. UFW President Teresa Romero said that some citizen workers detained in custody were only released after they deleted photos and videos from their phones. Romero stated that "These violent, cruel, and criminal federal actions terrorize American Communities, disrupt the American Food Supply Chain, threaten lives, and separate families." The DHS didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment about the group’s statements. Farm groups have warned against the mass deportation farmworkers, saying that it would cripple Canada's food supply. Brooke Rollins, the Agriculture secretary, said in her latest comments that there will be "no amnesty" Farmworkers are protected from deportation. Trump has, however, said that migrant workers Should be allowed Stay on the farm. Reporting by Leah Douglas, Washington; editing by David Gregorio
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As Trump announces tariffs against imports from Canada, stocks and the Canadian dollar fall
The major stock indexes fell slightly on Friday, as U.S. president Donald Trump's announcement that tariffs would be imposed on Canadian imports sparked concerns about trade tensions. Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar was down against the US dollar. Investors also awaited an announcement by Trump regarding tariffs against the European Union. This move will likely trigger a tit for tat response from Europe and create new market uncertainty. Trump announced late Thursday that the U.S. will impose a tariff of 35% on Canadian imports in one month. He also said he planned to impose tariffs blankets of 15% or 20 % on most other trading partner. The reaction to tariff news has been more muted than it was in April when Trump started his trade war. Jake Dollarhide of Longbow Asset Management, Tulsa in Oklahoma, stated that this may change if there is no progress on tariffs. "I don’t think the market is able to take Trump's tariffs forever and on repeat." He said that the market's resilience in the face the tariffs, all the changes to the rules and rates, the delays, the extensions, the surprises and pauses was remarkable. If we don't see more results, the market could have another tariff meltdown similar to April. He said that the second-quarter results could still benefit stocks. Dollarhide stated that "that could be a salvation for the markets, if they started paying attention to earnings once again." JPMorgan Chase will release its results on Tuesday. This marks the beginning of the reporting period. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 279.13 points or 0.63% to 44,371.51, while the S&P 500 fell 20.71 points or 0.33% to 6,259.75, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 45.14 points or 0.22% to 20,585.53. The three major U.S. indexes of stocks were all down this week. Nvidia shares rose by 0.5%, reaching a new high. The stock market value of Nvidia now stands at $4.02 trillion. AeroVironment, a drone manufacturer, rose by 11% following an order from U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to increase drone production and deployment. The MSCI index of global stocks fell by 3.85 points or 0.42% to 922.37. The pan-European STOXX 600 ended the day down by 1.01%. "Today you are seeing a slight pullback due to the tariffs announced overnight." Three consecutive days have passed since the announcement of tariffs. They seem to come at random, so it's hard to predict what's going to happen," said Wasif latif, chief executive officer of Sarmaya Partners. The Canadian dollar fell 0.25% against the greenback, to C$1.37. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket currency) rose by 0.33%, reaching 97.91. The euro fell 0.15% to $1.1682. Bitcoin reached another record high and was last up by 3.84%, to $117,946.74. Crypto investors believe that the expected policy changes for the industry next week could attract new investment into the asset class. Trump had earlier in the week pushed back to August 1, his deadline for tariffs for many trading partners, to give more time for negotiation. But he also expanded his trade war by setting new tariffs for several countries, including Japan and South Korea. He also imposed a 50% copper tariff. The London Metal Exchange reported a 0.4% decline in the price of three-month copper, which is $9,664 per ton. Gold spot rose 1%, to $3,355.89 per ounce as investors sought safe-haven assets in the face of trade tensions. Investors focused on the consumer price index report due next week, which may show that prices increased in June. As it awaits the impact of tariffs, the Federal Reserve will likely keep interest rates at current levels. The yield of the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes rose 7.7 basis points to 4.423%. The yield on interest rate-sensitive 2-year notes climbed 4.4 basis to 3.912%. The International Energy Agency said that the market is tighter than it appears. Brent crude futures gained $1.72 or 2.5% to settle at $70.36 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude gained $1.88 or 2.8% to settle at $68,45.
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After cannabis raid, one California worker is killed and hundreds are arrested
According to a farmworker advocate group, a California farmworker was killed on Friday after suffering injuries sustained the day before when U.S. Immigration agents raided and arrested hundreds workers at a cannabis plantation. On Thursday, dozens of migrant rights activists fought with federal agents on the rural Southern California coast. This was the latest in President Donald Trump's campaign of deporting all illegal immigrants living in the U.S. In a press release, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that 200 people who were in the country illegally had been arrested during the raid. The raid targeted two locations of Glass House Farms. The statement also stated that agents found ten migrant children at the farm. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Rodney Scott said in a post to X that the facility was under investigation for violations of child labor. The company didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. Elizabeth Strater said that several farmworkers suffered injuries and one of them died after falling 30 feet from a building in the raid. Strater stated that U.S. citizens had been detained and some were still missing. UFW President Teresa Romero said that some citizen workers detained in custody were only released after they deleted photos and videos from their phones. The DHS didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment about the group’s statements. (Reporting and editing by David Gregorio in Washington, Leah Douglas reported from Washington)
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The European Commission has proposed a cap on Russian oil prices at 15% less than global prices
EU diplomats reported that the European Commission on Friday proposed a price cap for Russian crude oil at 15% less than the average price on the market in the three previous months. Since the beginning of the year, the European Union and Britain has been pressing the Group of Seven to lower its cap. This is because the oil futures market fell so much that the $60 per barrel price became largely insignificant. Brent crude prices have since recovered and Friday settled at $70.36 a barrel. The G7 price ceiling, which was intended to curb Russia's capacity to finance the Ukraine war, was initially agreed in December 2022. One diplomat added that the new floating cap will be adjusted according to the average monthly price. Although the EU diplomats who spoke to the media were not authorized, they said that technical details about the proposal needed to be clarified, the idea appeared to calm the fears of Malta, Greece, and Cyprus, the EU's maritime state. The U.S. government has refused to lower the cap despite repeated requests from European leaders. This led the Europeans, who have been pushing for this reduction, to act on their own. On Friday, the price of Urals oil in Russia remained 2 dollars per barrel under the limit of $60 per barrel. The cap prohibits the trade of Russian crude oil transported on tankers at a price above $60 per barrel. It also prevents shipping, reinsurance and insurance companies from handling cargoes containing Russian crude throughout the world, unless they are sold below the cap. In June, the Commission proposed to lower this cap from $60 per barrel to $45 per barrel as part its 18th package sanctions against Russia. The Kremlin stated on Friday that it has a lot of experience in dealing with challenges, such as the introduction by the European Union of a Russian oil price cap which is based on float. EU sanctions can only be adopted if all member states agree.
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As Trump announces tariffs against Canadian imports, stocks and the Canadian dollar fall.
The major stock indexes fell slightly on Friday, as U.S. president Donald Trump's announcement that tariffs would be imposed on Canadian imports sparked concerns about trade tensions. Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar was down against the US dollar. Investors also prepare for a Trump announcement of tariffs against the European Union. This move will likely trigger a titt-for-tat reaction from the EU and create new market uncertainty. Trump announced late Thursday that the U.S. will impose a tariff of 35% on Canadian imports in a month's time and plans to impose tariffs blankets of 15% or 20 % on most other trading partner. The reactions to tariff news, aside from the currency markets have been more muted than they were in April when Trump started his trade war. Jake Dollarhide of Longbow Asset Management, Tulsa in Oklahoma, says that this may change if there isn't more progress on the tariff front. "I don’t think the markets can handle the Trump tariffs forever and ever again." He said that the market's resilience in the face the tariffs and the changes to rules and rates as well as the delays, delays and surprise surprises has been amazing. If we don't see more results, the market could have another tariff meltdown similar to April. He said that stocks may benefit from the second-quarter results reports which start next week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 281.88 points or 0.63% to 44,368.76. The S&P 500 declined 15.03 points or 0.24% to 6,265.43 while the Nasdaq Composite increased 7.47 points or 0.04% to 20,638.13. Nvidia shares climbed more than 1%, reaching a new record high. The stock market value of the AI chipmaker now stands at $4.05 trillion. AeroVironment, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions and other drone makers jumped by about 11% following an order from U.S. Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth to increase drone production and deployment. MSCI's global stock index fell by 3.03 points or 0.33% to 923.19. The pan-European STOXX 600 ended the day down by 1.01%. "Today you are seeing a slight pullback due to the tariffs announced overnight. Three consecutive days have passed with after-market announcements of tariffs. They seem to come at random, so it's hard to predict what's going to happen. Wasif Latif is the chief investment officer of Sarmaya Partners, a New Jersey-based firm. The Canadian dollar fell 0.14% against the greenback, to C$1.37. The dollar index (which measures the greenback in relation to a basket of currencies, including the yen, the euro and others) rose by 0.26%, reaching 97.84. The euro fell 0.09% to $1.1689. Bitcoin reached a new record high of $117,652.50 with a gain of 3.58%. Crypto investors bet that the expected policy changes for the sector, which are due next week, will encourage new investment. Trump had earlier in the week pushed back to August 1, his deadline for tariffs for many trading partners, to give more time for negotiation. But he also expanded his trade war by setting new tariffs for several countries, including Japan and South Korea. He also imposed a 50% copper tariff. The London Metal Exchange reported a 0.4% decline in the price of three-month copper, which is $9,664 per ton. Gold spot rose 1%, to $3,355.89 per ounce as investors sought safe haven assets amid trade tensions. Investors focused on the consumer price report due next week, which may show that prices grew faster in June. The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates as it awaits the impact of tariffs. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10 year notes increased 7.3 basis points from late Thursday to 4,419%.
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Bloomberg News reports that JPMorgan will charge fintechs to access customer data.
Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the issue, reported Friday that JPMorgan Chase plans to charge fintech companies a fee for access to customer account data. According to a report, the largest U.S. bank has sent pricing sheets outlining new charges to data aggregators, intermediaries who link banks to fintech platforms, outlining new costs that could vary depending on use cases, with payment focused firms facing higher fees. JPMorgan Chase's spokesperson stated that "We have invested significant resources in creating a valuable, secure system to protect customer data." "We have had productive discussions and are working with everyone in the ecosystem to ensure that we all make the necessary investments in infrastructure that keeps our customer safe." This could have a negative impact on the business models of payment apps that rely on having free access to financial data from customers to complete transactions. PayPal shares fell 6.3%. Block shares dropped 5.6%. Visa and Mastercard both lost 2.9% and 2.82%, respectively. Bloomberg News reported that the new fees will be implemented later this year, but they are still subject to negotiation. U.S. banks are pushing for a lighter regulatory regime under the Trump administration, versus regulations from the Biden era that were more strict on capital requirements. (Reporting and editing by Pooja Deai in Bengaluru, Prakhar Srivastava)
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Peru Central Bank sees an economy growth of nearly 3% in the second quarter
According to the central bank's chief economist Adrian Armas, the economy of Peru is expected to grow by just over 3% during the second quarter 2025. This was in line with their forecasts for a 3.1% increase at the end of this year. In a telephone call, Armas stated that the Peruvian gross domestic product (GDP), likely increased by 2.4% to 2.6% between May and June. However, July's GDP is estimated to be down 0.2% due to protests from informal miners who blocked a copper corridor. The central bank anticipates that GDP growth will ease to 2.9% by 2026. The informal miners protested to extend the duration of the formalization program. However, the recent government decision to remove more than half the registered miners (over 50,000) from the scheme prompted organizers to increase the number of road blockades. This measure is designed to clamp down on illegal mining operations. Sources have told us On Friday, it was announced that the two week protest could begin to affect production at major mining companies. Peru is the third largest copper exporter in the world and also a major metals and agricultural commodity exporter to the United States. When asked about the impact of U.S. president Donald Trump's announcement that a Imports of copper are subject to a 50% tariff Armas stated that the tax would be imposed on August 1 if the U.S. didn't have the capacity to replace its copper imports. This could lead to higher prices for Americans. Chile and Mexico, two other major copper exporters have stated that they are looking to ship their production to new markets
Exxon lobbyist examined over hack-and-leak of ecologist emails, sources state
The FBI has been examining a longtime Exxon Mobil consultant over the professional's supposed function in a hackandleak operation that targeted hundreds of the oil company's greatest critics, according to 3 individuals knowledgeable about the matter.
The operation included mercenary hackers who successfully breached the e-mail accounts of ecological activists and others, the sources told Reuters.
The scheme presumably started in late 2015, when U.S. authorities compete that the names of the hacking targets were assembled by the DCI Group, a public affairs and lobbying company working for Exxon at the time, one of the sources said. DCI supplied the names to an Israeli private detective, who then contracted out the hacking, according to the source.
In an effort to press a story that Exxon was the target of a political vendetta targeted at damaging its company, some of the stolen material was consequently dripped to the media by DCI, Reuters determined. The Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered that DCI shared the info with Exxon before dripping it, the source stated.
Some environmental activists talked to state the hacking operation interfered with preparations for claims by cities and state chief law officers versus Exxon and other energy business. Those suits were modeled on lawsuits against the tobacco industry in the mid-1990s, which resulted in a watershed settlement and sweeping limitations on cigarette sales.
The stolen material continues to be used today to counter lawsuits declaring the oil giant misguided the public and its financiers about the dangers of climate modification. As just recently as April, a market trade group that has actually gotten funding from Exxon pointed out one of the hacked files-- an internal memo strategizing the proposed litigation method of the ecologists-- in an effort to get the Supreme Court to quash a claim filed by the city of Honolulu versus Exxon and other energy business. The case is pending.
The group, the National Association of Manufacturers, stated it was not knowledgeable about the claims the material had been hacked and will consider whether to stop utilizing it in future briefs.
Exxon and DCI parted methods around 2020, according to 2 individuals familiar with the matter.
In a statement, Exxon stated it has actually not been involved in or aware of any hacking activities, calling accusations to the contrary conspiracy theories. Reuters could not figure out whether Exxon itself has also been the topic of the FBI examination.
DCI said: We direct all our employees and specialists to comply with the law.
The leaks sent out a shudder through the ecological neighborhood, stated Kert Davies, director of examinations for an ecological group, the Center for Climate Integrity. Davies was amongst those targeted by the hackers. Matt Pawa, a lawyer whose technique drove much of the anti-Exxon lawsuits, stated the leakages fueled a legal counteroffensive that almost knocked him out of organization.
Those files were directly used by Exxon to come after me with all weapons blazing, he stated in a recent interview. It turned my life upside down.
The investigation into the hack-and-leak operation comes amid growing concern among police worldwide about how such cyberespionage schemes threaten to taint judicial proceedings.
The FBI has actually been examining the broader use of mercenary hackers to damage lawsuits considering that early 2018, Reuters has formerly reported. The Israeli private detective worked with by DCI, Amit Forlit, was apprehended this year at London's Heathrow Airport and is battling extradition to the United States on charges of hacking and wire fraud.
U.S. law enforcement authorities declined to comment on their efforts. They have not spoken publicly about the case against Forlit, which remains under seal. But in court hearings previously this year, British lawyers acting upon behalf of the American government declared that Forlit had actually performed hack-for-hire work for a Washington-based PR and lobbying company and that he dealt with behalf of an oil and gas corporation which wished to reject individuals associated with environment modification lawsuits. In those hearings, the energy company and the lobbying company were not recognized.
Federal prosecutors have actually protected a related conviction: that of Forlit's former service associate, private investigator Aviram Azari. Azari pleaded guilty in 2022 to wire fraud, conspiracy to dedicate hacking and exacerbated identity theft, which included targeting the environmental activists. In court files, prosecutors did not assert any link between Azari and Exxon, DCI or Forlit. However one of the sources with understanding of the FBI investigation stated Forlit contracted out the hacking of the ecological activists to Azari.
Forlit's attorneys did not respond to messages from Reuters seeking comment. A legal representative for Azari, Barry Zone, declined to remark.
Resolving his victims after he was sentenced in 2015 to 80 months in prison, Azari said that there will come a day when he could provide more details about what he had actually done. You don't know whatever, he stated. CODENAME FOX HUNT
The hack-and-leak operation began the heels of a series of media reports in 2015 contending that scientists at Exxon knew for years that fossil fuels were warming the Earth as the business's magnates publicly said otherwise. Exxon has actually said that its internal research and public positions on environment change have been misinterpreted.
Under the hashtag ExxonKnew, groups such as Greenpeace required legal action. So did then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who said the Department of Justice need to probe the firm because there's a lot of proof they deceived people. In November 2015, New York's attorney general of the United States, Eric Schneiderman, announced he was examining Exxon. Other matches followed.
With Exxon on the defensive, DCI swung into action to safeguard what was then one of the company's crucial customers. Reuters talked to a lots previous DCI workers to piece together the company's relationship with Exxon.
Founded in 1996 by veterans of Republican politics, DCI has worked for a variety of tobacco, telecom, hedge fund and energy companies. On its site, DCI says it deals with public relations crises, litigation support, and opposition research study.
5 former DCI workers stated Exxon was long one of DCI's. biggest sources of revenue. One ex-employee said the oil giant. regularly steered more than $10 million in service a year to. DCI. Lobbying work alone for Exxon made DCI a minimum of $3. million between 2005 and 2016, according to openly available. information gathered by the transparency site OpenSecrets.
DCI's staff in Washington tracked social networks chatter. around the ExxonKnew project along with relocations made by state. attorneys general, according to 2 people familiar with the. matter. DCI likewise hired the Israeli detective Forlit, who tapped. Azari to hack the accounts, according to one of the sources. familiar with the FBI examination. The operation's code name. was Fox Hunt, the source said.
Azari was the topic of a 2022 Reuters investigation that. exposed how he and other private detectives used mercenary. hackers in India to help wealthy clients acquire the upper hand in. legal cases. The report drew on a large dataset of Indian. hacking activity, which reveals that the spies tried to burglarize. more than 13,000 e-mail addresses over a seven-year period. Among. the targets were more than 500 email addresses coming from. ecologists, their funders, their associates and their. relative, all of whom were targeted in between 2015 and 2018.
Some information of the hacking project formerly have actually been. revealed. In 2020 the Canadian digital guard dog group Citizen. Lab recognized 10 organizations targeted in a sweeping. cyberespionage effort, including Greenpeace, the Union of. Worried Scientists and the Rockefeller Family Fund.
Reuters has actually discovered the identity of other prominent targets,. that include previous Democratic governmental candidate and. billionaire ecologist Tom Steyer, and the ex-wife of. Schneiderman, New york city's then-attorney general.
Steyer's lawyers did not respond to requests for remark. In. an email, Schneiderman's ex-wife and former political adviser,. Jennifer Cunningham, said she had long thought that Exxon was. behind the hack-and-leak effort.
Starting in April 2016, news reports appeared alleging the. ExxonKnew campaign was a politicized effort pressed by wealthy. benefactors. Within 24 hr of one another, two media outlets. published stories based upon an internal Rockefeller Family. Structure memo. The memo stated activists were working to. persuade the public that Exxon is a corrupt organization and. wanted to delegitimize them as a political star.
The individual with knowledge of the police. examination stated the FBI evaluated that the memo was gotten. by means of the Forlit-led hacking operation. Separately, Reuters. figured out that the memo was consequently dripped to the media by. DCI.
Exxon's legal representatives consistently made use of the hacked files to. support the company's lawsuits.
After the New york city attorney general submitted match versus Exxon. in 2018, for example, the energy company's lawyers pointed out the. stolen Rockefeller memo to argue that the case must be tossed. out.
The legal representative representing Exxon, Theodore Wells, told New. York's Supreme Court in his October 2019 opening declaration that. Schneiderman had actually poorly formed a political positioning with. activists for the function of advancing a program directed at. energy business.
New york city lost the case two months later, when a judge ruled. that the chief law officer stopped working to prove that Exxon had. defrauded financiers by concealing the real cost of environment modification. policy.
In an interview, Schneiderman stated the leaked files were. used to terrific result to strengthen what he called Exxon's. baseless claim that we were participated in a politically motivated. ' witch hunt.'
Wells and his law firm, Paul Weiss, did not respond to. messages seeking comment.
The memo or other hacked files were likewise mentioned in court. filings by Exxon against chief law officers in Massachusetts and. the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as in the company's 2018 effort. to depose environment change attorney Pawa and other legal representatives.
Much of the litigation is ongoing. On Tuesday, Maine ended up being. the ninth U.S. state to file a claim implicating oil business or. allied groups of tricking the public about environment modification. Pawa. said the industry has continued to conjure up the hacked files in. its effort to push back. They were used over and over again,. he informed Reuters. The net result, he said, was chilling people. from exercising their humans rights..
(source: Reuters)