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Michigan church shooting leaves 1 dead and 9 injured, police report
Local police reported that a man drove through the doors of a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shot at least ten people and killed one of them. The gunman got out of the vehicle and fired an assault-style weapon. William Renye, Grand Blanc Police Chief said. He said that the car smashed into the church and set it on fire. Social media footage showed smoke billowing from the building while firefighters sprayed water on the fire. Fire trucks and emergency vehicles parked nearby. The chief of police said that authorities believe they will discover additional victims among the ruins. The police did not immediately reveal the name of the suspect who died on the scene after an exchange of gunfire. The chief said that there were no officers at the church. Renye said he was a 40-year old man from Burton in Michigan. No further details are available at this time. In a social media statement, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer stated that her heart was breaking for the Grand Blanc Community. She said that violence, especially in places of worship is unacceptable. Officials from the United States, including U.S. attorney general Pam Bondi and U.S. president Donald Trump, announced that they were briefed about the shooting. Bondi wrote on X: "Such violent acts in a place for worship are heartbreaking and terrifying." In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump said that this shooting "appears yet another targeted assault on Christians in the United States of America", and the FBI were on the scene. "THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!" Informally, the Mormons are known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Grand Blanc is a small town with 7,700 residents located about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Detroit. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien, in Chicago; Joseph Tanfani, in New York; and Rebecca Cook, in Grand Blanc. Editing by Will Dunham and Leslie Adler.
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Turkish prosecutors have ordered the detention of Ciner, according to state media.
In an investigation of media company Can Holding, which purchased TV channels from Ciner Group's mining-to energy conglomerate, Turkish prosecutors ordered Turgay Ciner to be detained and some of his companies seized. Prosecutors ordered Can Holding to be seized on September 11 as part of an investigation into money-laundering, tax evasion, and organised crime. Can Holding purchased major television channels Haberturk Show TV and Bloomberg HT, from Ciner Group in late 2018. In a report by the state-owned Anadolu News Agency, Istanbul's chief prosecutor said that Turgay Ciner was arrested on Sunday after a suspicion of money laundering was raised. In the statement of the prosecutor, it was also stated that state trustees were appointed to manage Ciner’s Park Holding Inc. and its affiliated companies AFC Import Export Tourism and Zeyfa Import Export. The statement also said that detention warrants had been issued to 10 executives from companies connected to the group in connection with the investigation. Turgay Ciner was not immediately available for comment. Reporting by Darryl Butler and Can Sezer, Editing by Jonathan Spicer, Peter Graff
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Nigeria's oil union stops gas supply to Dangote Refinery due to mass dismissals
The Nigerian oil workers' union ordered its members to stop gas supplies to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. This escalated a labour conflict after hundreds of workers had been dismissed, and threatened to disrupt fuel supplies in Africa's largest nation. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (PENGASSAN), has directed major oil companies to immediately stop crude and natural gas deliveries to refineries. According to a letter from September 26, the union accused Dangote of "misinformation" and "propaganda" rather than addressing allegations of wrongfully disengaging unionised employees. Dangote Refinery announced on Friday that it had fired a few workers citing sabotage at various units. This sparked criticism by an oil workers union who claimed that over 800 Nigerians were fired and replaced with foreigners, mostly from India. DISPUTE ADDS FURTHER PRESSURE ON DANGOTE REFINERY PENGASSAN's General Secretary Lumumba OKugbawa said that crude oil valves should be closed and vessels heading there immediately stopped being loaded. Dangote Refinery stated that the dismissals are part of an organisational reorganization to improve safety, efficiency and productivity. It stated late Saturday that "absolutely, no law" gives PENGASSAN authority to order its branches to "cut off" gas and crude oil supply to Dangote Refinery at all or even to 'interfere' or disrupt their contracts with suppliers and vendors. This dispute puts pressure on the $20-billion refinery that announced it would stop selling petrol in naira as of September 28th due to a shortage of crude and mismatches with foreign exchange rates. This has led to concerns over fuel prices rising and further pressure on Nigeria's currency. PENGASSAN has said that chairs of union chapters in oil majors should "report immediately the progress of the Directive", signaling a coordinated shut down could disrupt the fuel supply of the country. Reporting by Tife owolabi, Isaac Anyaogu and Ben Ezeamalu. Editing by Toby Chopra, Bernadette Baum and Bernadette Chopra.
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Media reports: At least 29 people killed and 50 injured in Indian actor-politician Vijay’s rally
The Hindu newspaper, citing state Health Minister Ma, reported that at least 29 people died and 50 were injured during a protest held by Tamil actor-politician Vijay, in Tamil Nadu state, south of India. Subramanian. The report stated that large crowds attended the meeting as part of Vijay’s ongoing tour of the state for his political party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. Vijay is a single-named candidate who will be running in the state elections to be held at the beginning of next year. The report also stated that at least 44 doctors were sent from nearby districts Tiruchirappalli (Tirupati) and Salem (Salem). In a recent post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that the incident at a Karur political rally is "deeply saddening". The health ministry of Tamil Nadu and the office of Chief Minister MK STALIN in Tamil Nadu did not respond to calls. The news from Karur was worrying, said Stalin in an X-post. He added that he directed ministers and other officials to provide immediate medical aid to those who had collapsed during the Karur rally. Additionally, he ordered Tiruchirappalli to send additional help. (Reporting and editing by Barbara Lewis in Bengaluru, with reporting by Devika Nirra from Bengaluru)
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Peru's Gen-Z protests pensions, corruption and President Boluarte
On Saturday, Peruvian youth will rally for a second round of protests to protest against President Dina Boluarte, one week after clashes between police and protesters in the capital left over a dozen officers, journalists, and protesters injured. Protests broke out on September 20, following changes to Peru's pension system, which required all Peruvians over 18 years of age to sign up with a pension provider. However, they were also fuelled by anger that had been building against Boluarte for a long time. "There has been a low level of simmering discontent in Peru for quite some time," said Jo-Marie Burt. She is a visiting professor in Princeton University's Latin American Studies program and has studied Peruvian politics over the past decade. Burt stated that the discontent was fueled by corruption, economic insecurity and rising crime. There is also anger about the lack of accountability for dozens of protesters killed by security force when Boluarte took power late in 2022, after former president Pedro Castillo had been removed from office. According to the July report of the Institute of Peruvian Studies, Boluarte has a 2.5% approval rating while Congress is at 3%. Apart from the unrest, protests in the mining industry have shaken the country. Hudbay Minerals announced on Tuesday that it had temporarily closed its mill in Peru due to the ongoing unrest. Peru is the third-largest copper producer in the world and also a major gold and silver producer. The Peruvian Youth Take to the Streets The Gen Z protests in Peru follow the youth demonstrations that took place in Nepal and Indonesia. The demonstrations have been marked by a skull wearing a straw cap, a symbol taken from the Japanese manga "One Piece", about pirates who are on the hunt for treasure. Leonardo Munoz, a protester in Lima who has adopted the symbol. Munoz explained that "the main character Luffy travels from one town to another, freeing people of tyrannical and corrupt rulers who rule over slave towns." It represents what is happening in different countries. "That's what's happening in Peru right now." According to the INE statistics agency in Peru, 27% percent of Peruvian population are between 18 and 29 years old. "We are tired of it being normalized. "Since when have normalized death? Since when have normalized corruption and extortion?" asked Santiago Zapata a student activist. "My generation is now coming out to protest because we are tired of being made to feel scared when the government that we elected should be afraid of us." DEMOCRATIC BACSLIDING IN PERU & ABROAD Burt says that the protests are part of a larger context where democracies around the world are under pressure. They also follow the efforts by the administration to weaken the courts, watchdogs, and prosecutors. She said: "It is very similar to what happened under Fujimori in the 1990s, when the justice was captured essentially for the consolidation of authoritarian controls." Burt pointed out that while the United States is less inclined to support democracy abroad and there are still concerns about the administration's erosion of electoral institutions in the run-up to the 2026 elections in Peru, previous protests helped to "hold the line" against institutions being taken over and even led to the removal of presidents. "Democratic forces can mobilize, and act in unexpected, positive ways, even if there is almost total control from these authoritarian system," Burt said. He added that the key will be whether or not protests are sustained over time. "The opera is still not over."
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Italy receives 10 bids on Ilva Steel as the major competitors withdraw
Acciaierie d'Italia, the national steelmaker, said that Italy received 10 bids to buy the former Ilva Steel Plant. However, only two bidders were interested in buying the entire company. The two groups who were originally frontrunners in the tender, Azerbaijan’s Baku Steel Company, working with Azerbaijan Investment Company, and India’s Jindal Steel International have now withdrawn. Bedrock Industries is a U.S.-based investment company that has a private ownership, and Steel Business Europe, a Slovak steel trader, are the two bidders who remain interested in buying all of Ilva. Eight other offers, including those from Renexia Group (Toto), Industrie Metalli Cardinale, and Marcegaglia, targeted individual assets held by Ilva. Ilva, a steel mill based in Taranto that was once Europe's biggest, has been plagued by poor management, and environmental concerns. Ilva has been in financial turmoil for years, and the state has repeatedly injected funds to keep it afloat citing its strategic value. Italian media reported that Baku Steel had abandoned its investment plans because local opposition prevented the deployment a regasification ship needed to power its project for more environmentally friendly electric kilns. Jindal Steel is now focusing on Thyssenkrupp of Germany, who are also in the market. The latest round of tenders closed on Friday at midnight. Acciaierie d'Italia stated that its commissioners will need "an appropriate period of time" in order to review all offers. They will focus on employment issues, decarbonisation and investment amounts, to ensure sustainable development of the facility. The Italian metalworkers union UILM issued a statement in which it said that the tender was "a complete failure" and added that the two funds competing for Ilva's entire assets lacked any industrial credibility. UILM stated that "to avoid the total shutdown of the former Ilva, and an unprecedented environment, employment, and economic disaster, the only way forward is nationalisation." (Reporting and editing by Barbara Lewis; Crispian Balmer is the reporter)
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Nigeria's oil union stops gas supply to Dangote Refinery due to mass dismissals
The Nigerian oil workers' union ordered its members on Monday to stop gas supplies to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. This escalated a labour dispute that had been sparked by the dismissal hundreds of Nigerian workers. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, (PENGASSAN), has directed all its branches in major oil companies to stop crude and natural gas deliveries at the refinery immediately. According to a letter from September 26, the union accused Dangote of "misinformation" and "propaganda" rather than addressing the alleged wrong disengagement of unionised workers. "The crude oil supply valves should be closed." In the directive, PENGASSAN's General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa stated that all loading operations for vessels heading there must be stopped immediately. The directive was issued just days after Dangote refinery fired Nigerian workers and replaced them, according to reports, with foreigners, mostly Indians. The company claimed that the dismissals were a part of a reorganisation to improve safety and operational efficiency. Dangote Refinery didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for a comment about the PENGASSAN Letter. This dispute has increased pressure on the $20-billion refinery that announced it would stop selling petrol in naira as of September 28 due to shortages in crude oil and mismatches with foreign exchange rates. This has led to concerns over rising fuel costs and a further strain on Nigeria’s currency. PENGASSAN has ordered oil company union chapter chairs to "report immediately the progress of the Directive", signaling a coordinated shut down that could disrupt fuel supply in Africa's largest country. (Reporting and Writing by Ben Ezeamalu, Editing by Toby Chopra).
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Nigeria's Dangote refining plant halts the sale of naira fuel due to crude supply shortages
According to a memo sent to customers by the company, Nigeria's Dangote Refinery has stopped selling petrol locally in naira, citing an unsustainable volume that exceeded its crude allotments. The suspension, which takes effect on September 28, could complicate attempts to reduce dollar demand in Africa’s largest economy where fuel imports are a long-standing strain on foreign reserves. The company stated in a memo that "Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals have been selling petroleum products over our Naira Crude allocations, and as a result, we will not be able to sustain PMS in Naira moving forward." The refinery was selling petrol on the domestic market in naira under an agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company to swap crude for naira. The government initially welcomed the initiative as a means to support the naira and reduce the dollar pressure. Dangote’s increasing exports, including fuel oil, naphtha and diesel to Europe and West Africa, as well as the United States, have raised concerns about domestic priorities. The memo advised customers with pending transactions in naira to request refunds in writing. The refinery didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. Sources familiar with the situation say that Dangote had just laid off a number of Nigerian employees. Nigeria struggles to reduce inflation, which is above 20%. It also tries to stabilize a currency that has been weakened by the dollar shortages as well as subsidy reforms. Analysts believe that the decision to stop naira sale could force more marketers to purchase petrol in dollars and further pressure the naira. The 650,000-barrels-per-day refinery, Africa's largest, was expected to transform Nigeria's fuel landscape. Its domestic obligations and its export ambitions have now been questioned. Ben Ezeamalu, Emelia Sithole Matarise and Ben Ezeamalu are responsible for reporting and writing.
Trump transition group plans sweeping rollback of Biden EV, emissions policies
Inbound U.S. President Donald Trump's shift group is recommending sweeping changes to cut off assistance for electric cars and charging stations and to reinforce procedures obstructing automobiles, elements and battery materials from China, according to a file seen .
The recommendations, which have actually not been formerly reported, come as the U.S. electric-vehicle shift stalls and China's greatly subsidized EV industry continues to rise, in part since of its superior battery supply chain. On the project path, Trump promised to alleviate policies on fossil-fuel cars and trucks and roll back what he called President Joe Biden's EV mandate.
The shift team likewise suggests enforcing tariffs on all battery materials worldwide, a quote to enhance U.S. production, and then working out individual exemptions with allies, the file shows.
Taken together, the suggestions are a plain departure from Biden administration policy, which sought to stabilize encouraging a domestic battery supply chain, separate from China, with a fast EV shift. The transition-team plan would redirect money now flowing to building charging stations and making EVs affordable into national-defense priorities, consisting of securing China-free products of batteries and the important minerals to construct them.
The proposals originated from a Trump shift group charged with crafting a method for speedy application of brand-new automobile policies. The group also calls for eliminating the Biden administration's $7,500 tax credit for consumer EV purchases, a. plan that Reuters initially reported last month. The policies could. strike a blow to U.S. EV sales and production at a time when. lots of tradition car manufacturers, including General Motors and. Hyundai, have actually just recently presented a larger array of. electric offerings to the U.S. market.
Cutting federal government EV assistance could likewise harm sales of Elon. Musk's Tesla, the dominant U.S. EV seller. However Musk,. who invested more than a quarter-billion dollars helping to choose. Trump, has actually said that losing subsidies would injure competitors more. than Tesla.
The transition team calls for clawing back whatever funds. stay from Biden's $7.5 billion plan to construct charging stations. and moving the cash to battery-minerals processing and the. nationwide defense supply chain and vital infrastructure.
While batteries, minerals and other EV components are. critical to defense production, electric lorries and. charging stations are not, the document states.
The Defense Department in the last few years has actually highlighted U.S. strategic vulnerabilities due to the fact that of China's dominance of the. mining and refining of important minerals, consisting of graphite and. lithium required for batteries, and rare-earth metals utilized in both. EV motors and military aircraft.
A 2021 government report said the U.S. military faces. escalating power requirements for weapons and interaction. devices, among other innovations. Assured sources of. vital minerals and products are critical to U.S. national. security, the report discovered.
Trump shift spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated voters. gave Trump a required to deliver on campaign promises, including. stopping government attacks on gas-powered vehicles.
When he takes office, President Trump will support the. automobile industry, permitting area for both gas-powered cars and trucks and. electric vehicles, Leavitt stated in a declaration.
PERMITTING MORE TAILPIPE POLLUTION
Car manufacturers internationally have been shifting towards electric. vehicles in part to abide by stricter federal government limitations on. climate-damaging tailpipe contamination.
But the transition group suggestions would enable. car manufacturers to produce more gas-powered lorries by rolling back. emissions and fuel-economy standards championed by the Biden. administration. The shift group proposes moving those. regulations back to 2019 levels, which would enable approximately. about 25% more emissions per vehicle mile than the current 2025. limitations and typical fuel economy to be about 15% lower.
The proposition likewise advises blocking California from. setting its own, more stringent vehicle-emissions requirements, which. more than a dozen other states have actually embraced. Trump disallowed. California from setting harder requirements throughout his very first. term, a policy that Biden reversed.
California has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection. Agency for another waiver to integrate a more powerful set of. requirements beginning in 2026, which would eventually need. all lorries to be electric, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen-powered. by 2035. The Biden administration's EPA has not approved. California's request.
A number of the transition-team proposals appear targeted at. motivating domestic battery production, mostly for. defense-related interests. Others appear aimed at securing. car manufacturers, even those producing EVs, in the United States.
The propositions include:
-- Instituting tariffs on EV supply chain imports consisting of. batteries, important minerals and charging components. The. proposal seen said the administration must use. Section 232 tariffs, which target national security dangers, to. limitation imports of such products.
The Biden administration just recently increased tariffs on. Chinese imports of several pointed out in the Trump-transition. document, consisting of lithium-ion batteries, graphite and. irreversible magnets used in EV motors and military applications. Those tariffs were provided on economic instead of security. premises.
-- Waiving environmental reviews to accelerate federally. funded EV infrastructure jobs, consisting of battery recycling. and production, charging stations and important mineral. manufacturing.
-- Broadening export constraints on EV battery technology to. adversarial countries.
-- Offering assistance for exports of U.S.-made EV batteries. through the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
-- Utilizing tariffs as a working out tool to open foreign. markets to U.S. vehicle exports, including EVs.
-- Getting rid of requirements that federal agencies purchase. EVs. A Biden policy needs all federal acquisitions of cars. and smaller trucks to be zero-emission vehicles by the end of. 2027.
-- Ending DOD programs targeted at buying or developing. electric military automobiles.
(source: Reuters)