2025-11-21 12:48
PARIS, Nov 21 (Reuters) - U.S. investment firm American Industrial Partners plans to sell or list on the stock market Aluminium Dunkerque, France's largest aluminium plant, a union official said on Friday. The local management informed workers representatives of AIP's plan, Johan Vlietinck, a representative of the CGT union at the site, told Reuters. Sign up here. Bloomberg News had reported earlier that AIP was considering a sale or listing for Aluminium Dunkerque, which it acquired four years ago following a debt default by GFG Alliance, owned by commodities tycoon Sanjeev Gupta. A spokesperson for AIP in France said the investment fund was not denying the press reports but would not comment further. Aluminium Dunkerque could not be immediately reached for comment. Unions had anticipated a possible sale after Aluminium Dunkerque signed a 10-year power contract with utility EDF in May, providing long-term cost visibility for the energy-intensive business, Vlietinck said. Aluminium Dunkerque, which produces around 300,000 metric tons of raw aluminium per year, has an annual power consumption roughly equivalent to that of Marseille, France's second-largest city. It generates annual turnover of more than 800 million euros ($921.4 million), according to its website. No offers for the business have been communicated to worker representatives, Vlietinck said, adding that the CGT union would like the French state to invest as part of a consortium. France's economy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ($1 = 0.8682 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/aip-plans-sale-or-listing-french-aluminium-plant-union-says-2025-11-21/
2025-11-21 12:36
Board was dismissed amid investigation into alleged corruption Minister says recruitment process being strengthened Kyiv trying to reassure donors that it can tackle graft KYIV, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Ukraine's government plans to appoint a new supervisory board at Energoatom, the state nuclear company at the heart of a corruption scandal, by the end of this year, Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev said on Friday. Ukraine has been rocked by a scandal over an alleged $100 million kickback scheme involving senior energy officials and a former business associate of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Sign up here. It is the country's biggest corruption scandal since Zelenskiy became president in 2019 on a mandate to eliminate graft. "We need to restore management and proper functioning of all bodies at Energoatom to restore trust," Sobolev told reporters. Anti-corruption authorities have stepped up their fight against graft since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, aiming to reassure donors and prove that Kyiv is ready for membership in the European Union. But that has meant painful public revelations of high-level sleaze that has long plagued Ukraine. The government dismissed Energoatom's supervisory board earlier this month after an investigation was launched into alleged corrupt activity. All company officials involved in the investigation were suspended. Energoatom has said it is cooperating with authorities and committed to transparency. The scandal is unfolding amid escalating Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities, including substations that supply electricity to nuclear power plants. As the war with Russia approaches its four-year mark, millions of Ukrainians face long power cuts. Energoatom runs three nuclear power plants, which supply Ukraine with more than half of its electricity. It has said the investigation has no impact on production or safety. Sobolev said the new supervisory board would comprise seven members, three representing the government and four independent. He said the government was strengthening the recruitment process, including demanding more qualifications, and that a large pool of candidates had been identified. https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-appoint-new-board-nuclear-firm-amid-100-million-scandal-2025-11-21/
2025-11-21 12:33
GENEVA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - More food supplies are getting into Gaza since the October ceasefire but are still falling short of huge humanitarian needs as winter rains risk spoiling delivered foodstuffs, the U.N. World Food Programme said on Friday. "Things are better than before the ceasefire, but we have a long way to go. Sustained support is an important endeavour to help families rebuild their health, their nutrition and their lives," WFP spokesperson Martin Penner told reporters in Geneva via video link from the Gaza Strip. Sign up here. Hundreds of thousands of people remain in urgent need of food assistance, according to the WFP. In August a global food monitor said at least half a million people were experiencing famine in parts of the coastal enclave. Earlier this week, Gaza was hit by heavy rain that spoiled and washed away some food supplies that residents had been storing, senior WFP spokeswoman Abeer Etefa said. It was a sign of the challenges for families as winter sets in, she added. Since a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect on October 10 after two years of war that demolished much of the highly urbanised territory and caused a humanitarian disaster, the WFP has brought 40,000 tons of food aid into Gaza. But it has met only 30% of its target for food parcels - reaching around 530,000 out of 1.6 million people, due to logistical issues getting supplies into the enclave earlier this month. However, it said it is now starting to catch up. Though Gaza's markets are reviving, food prices remain high for Palestinians, many of whom lost their income during the war, with a chicken costing $25, meaning many are reliant on food aid, the WFP said. It said a woman had told the WFP in Khan Younis that she did not take her children to the market so they would not see all the food that's available, but unaffordable. "If they go near the market, she tells them to cover their eyes," Penner stated. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/food-supply-improving-gaza-since-truce-long-way-go-says-un-2025-11-21/
2025-11-21 12:04
IHC joins list of potential suitors for Lukoil's foreign assets US sanctions disrupt Lukoil's foreign operations ABU DHABI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC.AD) , opens new tab has told the U.S. Treasury it is interested in buying Russian oil group Lukoil's (LKOH.MM) , opens new tab foreign assets, the company said in response to a Reuters enquiry. IHC, an Abu Dhabi conglomerate led by a key member of the United Arab Emirates' ruling family, joins a growing list of potential bidders for Lukoil's global assets that includes oil majors ExxonMobil and Chevron, and U.S. private equity firm Carlyle. Sign up here. Lukoil's international assets are up for grabs after the U.S. imposed sanctions on the company. Washington rejected Swiss commodity trader Gunvor as a potential buyer, opening up the process to others. They have until December 13 to talk to Lukoil and U.S. approval will be needed for specific deals. Asked if IHC has notified the U.S. Treasury of its interest in Lukoil's foreign assets, IHC said: "Yes, we have expressed interest in Lukoil's foreign assets." IHC did not comment further. The U.S. last month imposed sanctions on Russia's two biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, as Washington seeks to pressure Moscow into ending the war in Ukraine. Lukoil has faced growing disruptions to its foreign assets, which account for about 0.5% of global oil production, since the sanctions were imposed. Lukoil has three refineries in Europe, stakes in oilfields in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Mexico, Ghana, Egypt, the UAE and Nigeria, and hundreds of retail fuel stations around the world, including in the United States. IHC has a wide range of activities, including healthcare, energy, real estate, agriculture and mining, with global investments in the U.S., India, Latin America and Africa. Its CEO told Reuters this week IHC could deploy $30 billion to $35 billion over an 18-month cycle, funding its investments through a mix of debt and equity. IHC, Abu Dhabi's largest listed company, is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, brother of the UAE's president and national security adviser, who is also head of two of the emirate's sovereign wealth funds. IHC is 61.2% owned by Royal Group, a private investment firm owned by Sheikh Tahnoon. Sheikh Tahnoon is seen as key to the UAE's ambitions of becoming a global AI hub and regularly meets with top global business and political leaders. U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Sheikh Tahnoon at the White House in March. ($1 = 3.6723 UAE dirham) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/abu-dhabis-ihc-interested-lukoils-foreign-assets-2025-11-21/
2025-11-21 11:59
LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Two teenagers pleaded not guilty on Friday to hacking charges over a 2024 cyberattack on London's public transport body, with one of them also denying charges related to two health systems in the United States. Transport for London (TfL), which operates the British capital's tube and bus networks with millions of journeys each day, was targeted in August 2024. TfL said at the time that some personal customer data was accessed. Sign up here. Thalha Jubair, 19, and Owen Flowers, 18, appeared at London's Southwark Crown Court charged under the Computer Misuse Act with conspiring to commit unauthorised acts against TfL. Flowers is also charged with offences relating to California's Sutter Health, one of the largest health systems in the U.S., and conspiring with others to infiltrate the networks of SSM Health Care Corporation. Jubair is also charged with failing to provide the passwords to devices seized from him in March. They both denied all the charges and will stand trial at the same court next June. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/two-british-teens-plead-not-guilty-london-transport-cyberattack-charges-2025-11-21/
2025-11-21 11:49
EU holds out against deal it labels too weak Draft COP30 deal omits fossil fuel transition plans Arab Group says energy industries off limits, sources say Developing nations demand stronger deal on funding BELEM, Brazil, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The outcome of Brazil's COP30 climate summit was left hanging in the balance, with the European Union refusing to accept a draft deal it said would fail to advance global efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change. The two-week conference being held in the Amazon city of Belem had been scheduled to end Friday evening, but blew past that deadline as negotiations continued late into the night. Sign up here. Brazil has cast the summit as a make-or-break moment for global climate cooperation, urging nations to bridge divides on issues including the future of fossil fuels and to send a message that concerted global action is the best way forward. "This cannot be an agenda that divides us," COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago told delegates in a public plenary session before releasing them for further negotiations. "We must reach an agreement between us." Some emerging economies hit back at the EU's position, demanding the bloc commit more finance to help poorer nations cope with climate change. "We can't just work with one pathway. If there is a pathway for fossil fuel, there has to be a pathway for climate finance as well," said a negotiator for a developing country, who was granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations. The rifts over fossil fuels, cutting CO2 emissions faster and finance highlighted the difficulty of reaching a consensus at the annual conference, a perennial test of global resolve to avert the worst impacts of global warming. A draft text for a deal, released by Brazil before dawn on Friday, contained no reference to fossil fuels, dropping a range of options on the subject that had been included in an earlier version. Scores of countries, including major oil and gas producer nations, had opposed the options. Earlier in the summit, some 80 governments had demanded COP30 deliver a plan to shift away from fossil fuels. But by Friday night, many of those nations had indicated in closed-door talks they would accept the deal without it, negotiators said. Burning fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases that are by far the largest contributors to global warming. STANDOFF OVER FOSSIL FUELS The 27-member EU said the text was too weak. "Under no circumstances are we going to accept this," EU Commissioner for Climate Wopke Hoekstra said in a statement on Friday. The EU indicated it could "move beyond its comfort zone" on finance for developing nations - but only if the text's sections on action to cut planet-warming emissions were strengthened. By Friday night, some European negotiators said the bloc was considering the option of walking away from the talks, rather than accepting the current deal. A Brazilian negotiator told Reuters the fossil fuel language was unlikely to be reintroduced, and that the summit presidency was pressing for only small adjustments to the existing draft. Other options being discussed by negotiators included a separate side deal on fossil fuels, which countries could voluntarily sign up to but which would not be agreed by consensus as COP deals need to be, negotiators said. Three sources said the Arab Group negotiating bloc, whose 22 members include Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, told a closed-door meeting of negotiators that its energy industries were off limits in discussions. Saudi Arabia delivered a statement from the Arab Group to negotiators, warning that targeting its industries would collapse the negotiations, the sources said. Saudi Arabia did not reply to a request for comment addressed to the Saudi government communications office. MULTILATERALISM UNDER PRESSURE The draft deal also called for global efforts to triple the financing available to help nations adapt to climate change by 2030, from 2025 levels. However, it did not specify whether this money would be provided directly by wealthy nations, or other sources including development banks or the private sector. A deal text would need approval by consensus among the nearly 200 countries present in order to be adopted. Corrêa do Lago said a show of multilateral unity was an important signal to send given this year's U.S. absence. President Donald Trump has called global warming a hoax. "The world is watching," Corrêa do Lago said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/cop30-draft-deal-drops-effort-new-fossil-fuel-transition-agreement-2025-11-21/
