South America

India's Russian crude oil imports will be at their lowest level in three years by December. They were already higher than they had been for several months in November as refiners sought alternatives to avoid violating Western sanctions. The United States, Britain and the European Union have all tightened sanctions against Moscow in response to the conflict in Ukraine. Washington's most recent measures target top Russian oil producers Rosneft, and Lukoil. The deadline for buyers of Russian oil to end their dealings with these two companies was November 21. Separately the EU set a deadline of 21 January after which...

The United States officially designated Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist group on Monday, adding additional sanctions related to terrorism against the group that includes Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and high-ranking officials. Venezuela's government has rejected what it calls a "ridiculous plan" by the United States to designate a "nonexistent" group. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced this month that his country will announce its designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) due to its alleged role in the importation of illegal drugs to the U.S. Maduro is under increasing pressure because President Donald Trump has increased the U.S.'s...

Investors said that BHP should focus on its own growth strategy and move away from Anglo American, following the Australian firm's last minute appeal to the London listed company, which is close to a $60 billion deal with Canada's Teck Resources. In recent days, the world's biggest miner contacted Anglo's board to determine if there was any interest in a merger. This was reported by Sunday. BHP announced on Monday that it would not pursue the bid, but instead focus its efforts on growth. The decision to leave comes before the votes of Teck and Anglo shares - scheduled for...

Brazil's COP30 Climate Summit faced a crunch-day on Saturday, after all night talks to overcome an impass after the European Union had blocked a deal it claimed would not advance efforts to curb greenhouse gases that are driving global climate changes. The two-week climate conference, billed as an opportunity to demonstrate that nations could still unite to combat climate change in the absence of the United States, was supposed to end on Friday. However the standoff forced the negotiators to work overtime. The Brazilian presidency tried to reach a compromise over a deal which most of the 200 countries attending...

Brazil, the COP30 summit's president, released a draft of a proposed agreement for this year’s U.N. Climate Summit early on Friday. It dropped a proposal that was included in a previous version to develop a plan to move away from fossil-fuels. This issue was one of the most controversial at the two week conference in the Brazilian Amazon city of Belem, attended by nearly 200 government officials. The nations have been arguing over the future for fossil fuels. Their burning releases greenhouse gases, which are the biggest contributors to global warming. The first draft of the deal, which was released...

On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an agreement from the Climate summit COP30 Some have called for clarification on the controversial subject of weaning off the world. fossil fuels The Belem summit, in Brazil's Amazonian city, missed the self-imposed deadline of Wednesday to reach agreement between the 200+ countries that were present. This included issues such as how to increase climate financing and move away from fossil fuels. Guterres said at a summit press conference: "I welcome the calls for a just and fair transition mechanism, as well as the growing coalition that is calling for clarity in...

The head of Colombia's largest industry group, said Friday, that private oil and gas investments in Colombia are expected to drop again in 2026. However, companies may reverse course after the presidential elections. The leftist president Gustavo Petro, whose term will end in August of next year, has halted all new hydrocarbon exploration agreements as part his efforts to reduce Colombia's dependency on fossil fuels. Both oil output and investment dropped in 2024, and they are expected to drop again in 2025. Frank Pearl, President of the Colombian Petroleum Association, (ACP), said that oil companies will spend less on exploration...

On Thursday, a U.S. court filed showed that a U.S. Judge denied Venezuela's and Gold Reserve's motions to disqualify a judge, two advisory firms, and a court official overseeing the auction of shares of Citgo Petroleum parent company, which is a U.S. refiner. The Toronto-listed Gold Reserve miner, which was the winner of the auction with its bid, and Citgo, the owner of Venezuela, both accused the firms that advised the court of receiving $170 million from Elliott Investment Management affiliates, whose offer had been recommended to the court as the auction's winning offer, as well as bondholders who would...

Four sources familiar with the matter said that Brazilian engineering group Novonor was close to reaching a deal to sell its majority controlling stake in petrochemical company Braskem to IG4 Capital. The Braskem stock in Sao Paulo rose more than 17% following a Bloomberg News article on the possible deal. It was the largest gainer of the Bovespa benchmark index, which rose by 1.5%. Sources who spoke under condition of anonymity said that Braskem's largest shareholders, state-owned oil company Petrobras and conglomerate Novonor, were negotiating with asset management firm IG4 and a deal may be completed in the coming days....

Gold Reserve, a Toronto-listed company, filed a lawsuit in Delaware against Rusoro Mining on Monday for alleged breach in contractual obligations. The consortium agreement required Rusoro to bid in an auction for Citgo Petroleum's parent company in the United States. In August, Elliott Investment Management's affiliate was recommended to be the winner of the auction. This bid beat Gold Reserve's bid of $7.9billion. The auction of Venezuela's PDV Holding is intended to compensate up 15 creditors for debt defaults and expropriations in Venezuela. As part of both bids, Rusoro agreed to allow the use of its $1.5 billion claim relating...

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed on Monday that the United States had struck two alleged drug vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing six on board. The strikes have sparked calls for an investigation. Hegseth stated in a blog post on X that the vessels had been identified as being associated with illegal narcotics smuggling. They were also carrying narcotics and transiting along a well-known narcotrafficking route. According to the U.S. Defense Secretary, the U.S. carried out more that a dozen attacks on vessels near Venezuelan shores and more recently in the eastern Pacific Ocean. More than 70...

The Argentinean state-controlled energy firm YPF reported a net loss in the third quarter of $198.7 million. This loss was attributed to a deferred taxes charge. The company's adjusted EBITDA, a key measure for industry profitability, was $1.36 billion from July to September. This is down 1% compared to a year ago and in line with the expectations of analysts surveyed by LSEG. YPF reported revenues of $4.64 billion. This is down 12% compared to the same quarter in last year. It was also a little below analyst's $4.76 billion forecast. The company reported that its total hydrocarbon output was...

Brazil's president Luiz inacio Lula da Silva said that the G20 climate summit in South Africa, and the COP30 summit in Brazil, show that multilateralism remains alive despite attempts by U.S. Donald Trump to dismantle. "Trump is trying to preach against multilateralism and to reinforce unilateralism. "I think multilateralism is going to win," he said to reporters at the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg. Lula said that Trump's absence from the summit "didn't really matter" to him. "The G20 is still strong." "We need to put the decisions we made into action," he said. He added that he was...

The Turkish president Tayyip Erdoan praised the deal that was reached on Saturday with Australia to host the U.N. Climate Summit next year, calling it a significant achievement for multilateralism. After a long standoff, both countries have agreed that Turkey will be the host of the COP31 Summit in 2026 and Australia will lead the negotiations. Ankara, Canberra and both had bid to host the conference in 2022 and refused to back down since. Erdogan said at an event on Saturday night in Johannesburg, "Considering that multilateralism in recent years has lost ground, I consider this agreement we reached with...

Media reports said that rescue workers searched on Tuesday for a group who had gone missing during a powerful storm in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, located in southern Patagonia. The storm killed at least 2 Mexicans. According to T13, one of the victims died after she was evacuated. Guillermo Ruiz is the delegate of the president for Chile's southern Ultima Esperanza Province. He told T13 the first responders are still searching for seven people but bad weather has complicated the search. The tourists are lost in the Los Perros camp of the national park, Ruiz stated. It...

COP30 discusses how to measure climate adaptation and pay for it Farmers say that they are not receiving enough climate funding Extreme weather events are increasing and requiring more funding for adaptation. Clar NiChonghaile This kind of climate change is not uncommon in Parana, where the summers are now hotter and the winters colder. Droughts have also become more frequent. Six people were killed by a tornado that struck Rio Bonito do Iguacu, Parana on November 7. Bevilacqua Mendonca (35), wants COP30 to do more for smallholder farmers to adapt to extreme weather by providing them with funds to access...

According to a study published on Monday, clearing land for agricultural purposes in Brazil's Cerrado tropical Savanna region leads to drier conditions which ultimately harm soybean yields. The study was first shared with and argues that falling yields drive farmers to clear more land. This further accelerates degradation of Brazil's largest biome, the Amazon, and hinders conservation efforts. Zero Carbon Analytics released a press release detailing the findings of their study. "Our new analyses found that farmers clearing native vegetation to plant soy have climate impacts far beyond the cleared areas," the group said. Brazil's Cerrado Region covers more than...

Chris Bowen, Australia's energy minister, said he will travel to Brazil on Saturday for the COP30 summit to press Australia to host the summit next year. This is despite a dispute with Turkey over hosting rights. Since then, both Australia and Turkey have refused to compromise on the issue. This month, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote to Turkish President Tayyip Erdoan in an effort to resolve the longstanding tussle. Bowen told reporters at Sydney Airport that a decision would be taken at COP30. He also asserted "Australia has the overwhelming backing of the world" to host the conference next...

Chris Bowen, Australia's energy minister, said he will travel to Brazil on Saturday for the COP30 summit to press Australia to host the summit next year. This is despite a dispute with Turkey over hosting rights. Both Australia and Turkey bid in 2022 for the United Nations Climate Conference and have refused to give up their positions ever since. This month, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote to Turkish president Tayyip Erdoan in an effort to resolve the longstanding dispute. Bowen stated in a press release that he will advocate strongly for Australia at the summit to be held in...

On Friday morning in Brazil, dozens of indigenous protesters blocked the entrance of the COP30 Summit venue. They staged a sit-in which forced delegates into a side door to resume their climate change negotiations. During the peaceful protests, security guards increased checks, and long queues formed to get into the compound. The sprawling complex is built on an old airport site in the Amazonian city of Belem. The venue hosts the annual U.N. Climate Conference where delegates of 195 countries are trying to make progress in halting global temperature rises that threaten delicate ecosystems, including the Amazon rainforest. The protesters...

Iceland's climate minister said that the government has classified the collapse of an Atlantic Ocean current as a threat to national security and an existential concern, which allows it to plan for worst-case scenarios. Warm water is brought from the tropics to the Arctic by the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). This warm water flow helps keep Europe's cold winters mild. Scientists warn that the flow of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could be disrupted by the cold water from Greenland melting the Arctic ice. The collapse of AMOC would trigger a new ice age in which winter temperatures...

On Tuesday, dozens of indigenous protesters forced themselves into the COP30 Climate Summit venue and clashed violently with security guards. The protesters shouted angrily and demanded entry to the U.N. compound, where thousands of delegates are attending the U.N. Climate Summit this year. Some carried flags or signs that said "Our land is not for Sale" or slogans urging land rights. A leader of the Tupinamba tribe, located near the lower reaches Tapajos River on the Brazilian coast, expressed his displeasure at the ongoing development. Gilmar, a man who goes by only one name, said: "We cannot eat money." "We...

Sebastian Vettel, the retired Formula One world champion, said that he was open to taking on a new sport role as long as it had meaning. The German spoke at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, where he raised climate awareness. He won four titles for Red Bull, and his last race was with Aston Martin 2022. "Why not? If it's well-spent time, there's a human element, it's challenging, and I enjoy it, why not?" He said this at Interlagos without giving any details or examples. "There must be a reason." I don't just want to come here to make money....

The U.N. Climate conference generates hundreds of headlines every year about global efforts to save the world from a climate catastrophe. The conference begins in Belem, a Brazilian rainforest city. What exactly takes place at these annual summits, then? What you should know WHAT IS A COP? The annual Conference is called a COP. This stands for Conference of the Parties who signed the U.N. Climate Treaty of 1992. The U.N. The Framework on Climate Change Convention, or UNFCCC, committed countries to work together to combat climate change. The treaty established the principle "common, but differentiated responsibility", which means that...