2024-08-25 11:41

LISBON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Firefighters have brought under control a large forest fire in the Portuguese island of Madeira that had been burning for 11 days, but authorities said on Sunday they would remain on the ground to stop it flaring up again. The blaze, which started on Aug. 14, has burnt more than 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) of vegetation, mostly in mountainous areas where the slopes are steep and the access is often difficult. "The fire has now been brought under control, but cannot yet be considered extinguished so the teams will remain vigilant on the ground to prevent possible reignitions," regional civil protection commander Antonio Nunes told news agency Lusa. Attempts to fight the flames have been hampered by adverse weather conditions, including high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity. EU authorities provided two Canadair planes to help put out the blaze. The regional government said there had been no injuries, no houses torched and no essential infrastructure destroyed. The Atlantic island of Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal with around 250,000 residents and is a popular tourist destination. Rising global temperatures due to climate change have led to more frequent wildfires, from southern and eastern Europe to North America and parts of Asia. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/madeira-wildfire-brought-under-control-after-11-days-2024-08-25/

2024-08-25 10:12

NEW DELHI, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The state of Odisha in eastern India has culled more than a thousand chickens after a positive test for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, a state government official told Reuters on Sunday. The epicentre of the outbreak was in the Puri district, about 19 miles from the state capital Bhubaneswar, and follows the recent death of 1,800 birds at a local poultry farm. “The work is ongoing. We are going to cull about 20,000 birds,” Additional Director of Disease Control Dr. Jagannath Nanda told Reuters. The H5N1 strain is considered highly pathogenic and can also be transmitted to animals such as pigs, horses, large cats, dogs, and occasionally humans. The spread of the virus is a concern for governments and the poultry industry due to the devastation it can cause to flocks, the possibility of trade restrictions and the risk of human transmission. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-odisha-state-culls-birds-after-avian-flu-outbreak-2024-08-25/

2024-08-25 09:01

Oil and gas output hits record 257.66 million barrels of oil equivalent Revenue slipped 1.1% to 1.58 trillion yuan due to lower diesel and petrochemical sales 2H crude oil throughput seen nearly flat with H1 at 126 million metric tons BEIJING, Aug 25 (Reuters) - China's Sinopec posted a 2.6% rise in net profit for the first half of the year, it said on Sunday, as record oil and gas output compensated for falling domestic demand for refined fuel and petrochemicals. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (600028.SS) , opens new tab, , as Sinopec is officially known, reported on Sunday a net income of 37.1 billion yuan ($5.21 billion) for January to June, according to a filing with the Shanghai stock exchange. Sinopec, the world's largest oil refiner by capacity, said its oil and gas production hit a record high of 257.66 million barrels of oil equivalent, up 3.1% on the year, led by rising natural gas production. Gas production was up 6% to 700.57 billion cubic feet, Sinopec previously reported, while crude oil output rose 0.6% on the year to 140.53 million barrels. Refined product sales rose 2.1% to 119 million metric tons, although the domestic portion of those sales fell 2.5% to 90.14 million tons. Revenue slipped 1.1% to 1.58 trillion yuan, dragged down by lower sales and prices of diesel and petrochemical products. "China diesel demand deterioration seems the most concerning," Citi analysts said in a note. Diesel sales fell 13.8% and gasoline 0.2% from a year earlier while aviation fuel sales expanded 7.5%. The company said it is growing its liquefied natural gas (LNG) refuelling and electric vehicle charging businesses to counter challenges posed by weak diesel demand and the shift from gasoline-powered vehicles to electric ones. China's apparent natural gas consumption rose 10% year-on-year in the first half, while domestic refined product consumption fell 0.5% year-on-year, Sinopec said. In July-December, the company forecasts crude oil throughput will be basically flat with the first half at 126 million tons. In January-June, the company processed 126.69 million metric tons of crude oil, about 5.08 million barrels per day (bpd), it previously reported in a stock filing. That compared with a 1.7% growth in the first quarter. The slowdown was driven by higher crude prices and tepid domestic fuel demand. Production of ethylene, a key building block for petrochemicals, fell 5.5% in the first half. Capital expenditure dropped to 55.9 billion yuan in the period, down from 74.67 billion yuan in H1 2023, as the company reduced outlays for its chemicals business. Citi analysts warned that third-quarter earnings could be weaker than the second quarter results because of inventory loss and lower oil prices. ($1 = 7.1244 Chinese yuan renminbi) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinas-sinopec-posts-27-rise-first-half-profit-2024-08-25/

2024-08-25 07:00

BANGKOK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Thirteen people including a Russian couple died in a mudslide on the Thai resort island of Phuket, the authorities said Sunday, after calling off a search for missing persons. Heavy rains last week set off the mudslides near the Big Buddha, a popular tourist destination in the south of the country, said Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat. Besides the Russians, nine of the dead were migrant workers from Myanmar and the other two were Thais, Sophon said. About 20 people were injured and 209 households were affected by the mudslide. A major cleanup is under way, the governor said, adding that the authorities were getting in touch with relatives and embassies of the victims. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/mudslide-thailands-phuket-kills-13-including-2-russians-official-says-2024-08-25/

2024-08-25 06:53

JAKARTA, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Thirteen people were killed and two injured in Indonesia's North Maluku province on Sunday after floods in the east of the sprawling archipelago, authorities said. The country's disaster management agency BNPB said the floods, caused by heavy rain since Saturday, also badly damaged 10 houses in Ternate city. Citing forecasts that heavy rain may continue in the next few days, BNPB warned local residents to be on guard. "We urge people to remain vigilant and follow directions from authorities on potential subsequent floods," spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement. BNPB said it has deployed a team to help evacuate the victims. Search and rescue agency Basarnas also said that efforts to evacuate victims, who were hit by landslides and debris swept along by floodwaters, were ongoing. In May, flash floods and mud slides in Indonesia's West Sumatra province killed more than 60 people. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/floods-kill-7-indonesias-north-maluku-some-missing-2024-08-25/

2024-08-24 23:28

Labor board imposes binding arbitration and continuation of existing contracts Teamsters president criticizes decision as setting a dangerous precedent Teamsters union prepared to file challenges in federal court if necessary CN satisfied, would have preferred negotiated deal MONTREAL, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered on Saturday a halt to work stoppages at the country's largest railways, signaling an end to an unprecedented service disruption at both main freight rail carriers that threatened to hammer Canada's export-driven economy. The independent labor tribunal made the decision after Canada asked it on Thursday to end an impasse in separate talks between more than 9,000 Teamsters members, and Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) , opens new tab and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP.TO) , opens new tab. The Teamsters said in a statement that workers' rights were "significantly diminished" with the ruling and that it would appeal in federal court. The board's decisions are the latest twist in the labor disputes at CN and CPKC, which locked out Teamsters members on Thursday, triggering a simultaneous rail stoppage that business groups said could inflict hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damage. Canada, the world's second-largest country by area, relies heavily on trains to transport a wide range of commodities and goods. Canadian Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said on social media site X that he expects "railway companies and employees will resume operations at the earliest opportunity." The decision will restart railway operations at CPKC where workers had been both locked out and on strike, by 00:01 ET (0401 GMT) on Monday, the railway said in a statement. A Teamsters spokesperson said workers would not come back earlier, despite CPKC's request for employees to return on Sunday. "We anticipate it will take several weeks for the railway network to fully recover from this work stoppage and a period of time beyond that for supply chains to stabilize," CPKC said. The labor board's decision averted a planned strike on Monday by locomotive engineers, conductors and other workers at Montreal-based CN just days after Canada's largest railway ended a lockout and began restoring service. The Teamsters confirmed its CN workers would not strike on Monday after the CIRB decision. Along with ordering an end to the stoppage, the board implemented government requests to impose binding arbitration on the parties to reach new deals and to impose a continuation of the existing contracts until new agreements are reached. "This decision by the CIRB sets a dangerous precedent," said Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference. "It signals to corporate Canada that large companies need only stop their operations for a few hours, inflict short-term economic pain, and the federal government will step in to break a union." A CN spokesperson said the company would have preferred a negotiated agreement, but "we are satisfied that this puts an end to the labor stoppage." The disruption could have drastically affected farmers and agriculture companies in both Canada and the United States. Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, which represents grain companies, said they had urged the government for weeks to refer the matter to the CIRB. "It means that the government has really listened to what Canadians were telling them," he said. "We can't take a self-inflicted wound on the economy." Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the U.S. Soy Transportation Coalition said the Canadian government had to intervene to help farmers who rely on seamless cross-border trade. "We have not taken a side between railroads and railroad workers," Steenhoek said. "However, we are on the side of the American farmer." On Thursday, MacKinnon, said his decision to refer the matter to the CIRB would survive a court challenge given his broad power under the country's labor code. The Teamsters union wants its members' working conditions and pay to be determined by bargaining, despite disputes with CN and CP over scheduling, shift duration and availability. CN, for example, wants employees to work up to 12-hour shifts, compared with 10 hours in the current agreement, a move opposed by the union. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-labor-board-orders-end-railway-work-stoppage-2024-08-24/