2024-08-27 12:27
Arbaat Dam collapse killed 30, likely dozens more Floods impede aid delivery amid war 118,000 displaced, 300,000 affected nationwide ARBAAT, Sudan, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Emergency responders were scrambling on Tuesday to find out how many people remain missing after waters burst through a dam in eastern Sudan, resulting in the worst in a series of floods that have devastated a country already torn by 500 days of war. The collapse of the Arbaat Dam on Sunday killed 30 people and likely dozens more, in the latest in a series of inundations around the country as this year's rainy season hits heavier, and in places earlier, than in past years. War-shattered Sudan is already suffering from the world's largest hunger and displacement crises, and the flooding has impeded aid delivery already disrupted by the conflict between the army and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. "Even before the dam burst people were trapped by the flooding and couldn't get anything from Port Sudan. The aid coming in now can't get to the people," said Mohamed Othman, a leader from one of the flooded villages. "Children are hungry and the roads are closed." A single excavator carried people and food across the water in Arbaat. Some 118,000 people have been displaced nationwide and more than 300,000 affected across the country, as the floods destroy homes and spread diseases including cholera. "We don't know how many are unaccounted for (in Arbaat). It's very difficult to get information out from there," said U.N. OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke. In the Darfur region, the flooding has blocked food deliveries, including the first shipment of supplies from the World Food Programme to famine-threatened Kreinik since the re-opening of the Adre border crossing to humanitarians. The bridge leading to the town, where thousands of displaced people are sheltering with little food, was destroyed in the rains, said one local volunteer. WFP on Sunday said that the first shipments since mid-July had made it through the al-Tina border crossing into North Darfur, having been blocked by flooding there. In Tokar, also in Red Sea state, at least 500 households were displaced as of Sunday, as people wade through rivers in between damaged homes. Overnight, heavy rains hit several parts of Northern Sudan, with images on social media showing collapsed roofs and flooded neighbourhoods, though little official information was immediately available on losses there. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/aid-struggles-reach-survivors-sudan-dam-collapse-floods-wreak-havoc-2024-08-27/
2024-08-27 12:09
EU faces two climate lawsuits at Europe's second-highest court Campaigners seek ruling to tighten EU emissions rules Second case aims to scrap 'green' investment label for planes BRUSSELS, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Environmental campaigners have taken the European Commission to court, seeking to force Brussels to upgrade its emissions rules for 2030 and, in a second case, scrap rules that label some planes as climate-friendly investments. In a case before the Court of Justice of the European Union's General Court, non-profit groups Climate Action Network and the Global Legal Action Network argue that national limits on greenhouse gas emissions for sectors such as transport and agriculture are unlawful. The campaigners said on Tuesday the thresholds would fail to cut Europe's planet-heating emissions fast enough to meet the Paris Agreement's goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (about 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. A European Commission spokesperson declined to comment on ongoing legal proceedings. The limits, which require EU member states to cut their emissions in those sectors between 10% and 50% from 2005 levels, contribute to the EU's overall goal of reducing net emissions 55% by 2030, in relation to 1990 levels. Scientists say the world's emissions need to roughly halve by 2030 to have a shot at limiting warming to 1.5C. Campaigners argue wealthy, large historical polluters like the EU should be moving faster than that. The court has given the case priority status, meaning it could be heard in 2025. A second case, filed by five campaign groups to the EU's General Court on Tuesday, seeks to force Brussels to revise rules adding aviation to the EU's "taxonomy", a list of investments labelled green and therefore eligible to receive green finance from investors and banks. The EU policy classes investments in new, more fuel-efficient planes as helping to fight climate change, on the grounds that they will push dirtier old planes into retirement - curbing emissions before technologies like zero-emission aircraft become commercially available. It also offers a green label to ships that run on liquefied natural gas - a fossil fuel that is less CO2-intensive than oil, but still produces CO2 emissions and is associated with emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane. The campaigners said the EU was greenwashing, by labelling planes and ships running entirely on fossil fuels as climate-friendly. "The aviation and shipping criteria send completely the wrong signal to investors," said David Kay, legal director at Opportunity Green, one of the groups bringing the lawsuit. A Commission spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this case. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/climate-campaigners-take-eu-court-over-2030-emissions-cutting-rules-2024-08-27/
2024-08-27 12:09
WINDHOEK, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Namibia plans to cull 723 wild animals, including 83 elephants, and to distribute the meat to people struggling to feed themselves because of a severe drought across southern Africa, the environment ministry said. The cull will take place in parks and communal areas where authorities believe animal numbers exceed available grazing land and water supplies, it said in a statement issued on Monday. Southern Africa is facing its worst drought in decades, with Namibia having exhausted 84% of its food reserves last month, according to the United Nations. Nearly half of Namibia's population is expected to experience high levels of food insecurity in the coming months. With such a severe drought, human-wildlife conflicts are expected to increase if the authorities do not intervene, the environment ministry said. "To this effect, 83 elephants from identified conflict areas will be culled, (and) meat will be allocated to the drought relief programme," it said. The country also plans to cull 30 hippos and 60 buffalo, as well as 50 impala, 100 blue wildebeest, 300 zebra and 100 eland. One hundred and fifty-seven animals have already been hunted by professional hunters and companies contracted by the government, yielding more than 56,800 kilograms of meat. "This exercise in necessary and is in line with our constitutional mandate where our natural resources are used for the benefit of Namibian citizens," the environment ministry said. More than 200,000 elephants are estimated to live in a conservation area spread over five southern African countries - Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Angola and Namibia - making the region home to one of the largest elephant populations worldwide. Hundreds of elephants died in Botswana and Zimbabwe last year because of drought. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/namibia-cull-83-elephants-distribute-meat-people-affected-by-drought-2024-08-27/
2024-08-27 11:45
MOSCOW, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Russia's largest gold miner Polyus (PLZL.MM) , opens new tab on Tuesday posted a 183% jump in first-half profit to $1.58 billion despite Western sanctions, boosted by higher global prices for gold that hit successive record highs this year. Its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 20% to $2.02 billion on revenue up 16% to $2.73 billion, Polyus said, adding the rise in EBITDA reflected "higher average gold prices during the reporting period". Gold has risen about 22% so far this year, striking a peak of $2,531.60 last week on expectations of imminent U.S. interest rate cuts and concerns about conflict in the Middle East. Polyus said its gold output in the first half of the year rose 2% to 1.47 million ounces. The company increased its production guidance for 2024 to 2.75-2.85 million ounces from 2.7-2.8 million ounces previously. The United States and Britain imposed sanctions against Polyus in 2023 over Russia's actions in Ukraine, a step that played some part in the company delisting its depositary receipts from the London Stock Exchange. Polyus said that it will begin pilot processing of ore from Sukhoi Log, the company's new flagship project in Eastern Siberia, in the second half of the year. Sukhoi Log is expected to go into full operation in 2027, doubling Polyus' gold output. The ore will be processed at the nearby Verninskoye plant while mining at the Verninskoye deposit will be suspended until 2027. Verninskoye's deposit accounted for 8.3% of Polyus gold output in the first half of 2024. Polyus sees reserves at the Sukhoi Log gold deposit at 540 million tonnes of ore, containing 40 million ounces of gold, but the costs of the $3.3 billion project are currently under review due to Western sanctions and the company is due to provide an update in the fourth quarter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/russian-gold-miner-polyus-h1-profit-jumps-higher-global-prices-2024-08-27/
2024-08-27 11:41
MOSCOW, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Russia's central bank said on Tuesday that it had annulled the brokerage licence of Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) , opens new tab Russian subsidiary, Goldman Sachs Bank LLC. The subsidiary said in June that it had requested cancellation of the licence. Goldman Sachs had no immediate comment on Tuesday. The subsidiary still has a valid Bank of Russia licence to conduct operations with funds in roubles and foreign currency. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/russia-cancels-goldman-sachs-subsidiarys-brokerage-licence-2024-08-27/
2024-08-27 11:36
Companies appeal selection of KHNP KHNP says dispute with Westinghouse won't affect Czech work CEZ says it will help anti-monopoly office with investigation PRAGUE, Aug 27 (Reuters) - EDF and Westinghouse have appealed against the Czech government's decision to award a multibillion-dollar nuclear power plant tender to South Korea's KHNP, the Czech anti-monopoly office said on Tuesday. The appeals are a potential sticking point for the Czech Republic's largest-ever energy investment as it seeks to expand nuclear energy in the coming decades while coal-fired power plants are de-commissioned. The government in July picked Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to build two new nuclear power units, and possibly more, choosing it over France's EDF in the final round of tender that U.S. group Westinghouse was not invited to join. A spokesperson for Czech anti-monopoly office UOHS said it would study the appeals that took issue with some steps in the selection process. EDF did not immediately comment. Westinghouse said in a statement it had appealed on the grounds that KHNP did not have a licensing agreement to export its reactors, which are based on Westinghouse technology. That has been the subject of an ongoing international arbitration process, and Westinghouse said a decision from the arbitration was not expected before the second half of 2025. KHNP said in a statement that "KHNP will respond sufficiently to the dispute with Westinghouse to avoid negative impacts on the Czech nuclear project". The Czech Republic has sought to finalise contract details with KHNP by the first quarter of next year. Earlier this year it widened the tender, which has been run by 70%-state-owned energy company CEZ (CEZP.PR) , opens new tab, to have the option to build multiple units, up from an originally planned one. CEZ said it had also received objections from bidders in recent weeks and was ready to provide answers to UOHS in its investigation. Czech governments have long sought to build up the country's nuclear power fleet. A previous tender was abandoned in 2014. The price for one new unit when building two at the same site was estimated at 200 billion crowns ($8.9 billion) at current prices, the government said last month. CEZ aims to start construction of the first of two new units at its Dukovany nuclear power plant later this decade, with expected completion in 2036. Two more units at CEZ's Temelin plant could possibly be added later. Nuclear power is seen composing half the country's generation mix in the future, up from around 37% now. ($1 = 22.4290 Czech crowns) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/edf-westinghouse-appeal-against-czech-nuclear-tender-2024-08-27/
