2024-08-15 12:20

PREVALLE, Kosovo, Aug 15 (Reuters) - As firefighters in southern Kosovo prayed for rain in their battle against wildfires in the Sharr Mountains National Park, a young man on a motor-bike approached them and said: "I am here to help." Allmedin Smaili, 26, a dentist from the nearby town of Prizren, has been helping firefighters for seven days to stop a fire in the park where he and his friends usually go with their motorbikes to enjoy the thrill of riding over the harsh terrain. Two men at the fire department base fill backpack waterbags of 25 liters each and Smaili transports them to other firefighters to use to douse the flames as huge areas of pine trees burn. Most of the time he carries two backpacks with water totalling 50 liters, food and bottles of drinking water. "When I saw what firefighters are going through and how committed they are I told myself I have to do something," Samili said as he prepared to transport more water. On Wednesday, Smaili called three other friends to transport more water as breeze stopped the flames and a U.S. helicopter from the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo started to drop water. The challenge is to stop slow burning trees which can ignite again with a more destructive fire. "To reach the highest point with water on our back we need three hours and the boy (Smaili) was doing it in less than ten minutes," said Flamur Hoti, the firefighters' commander. "We never imagined he could be so helpful." Video from his GoPro camera shows Smaili handing water to his new colleagues as his motorbike sped along trails made by brown bears and wild goats. Steep slopes can be seen from his left and right side through traces of old burned areas which are still visible. Fire trucks can not reach the terrain some 1,900 meters above the sea level. "Cross motor-bike is a hobby for me but this week in turned into a real job," he said, smiling. "When I see the impact, it gives me pleasure and I never got tired during these days." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/kosovo-man-braves-wildfires-motorbike-deliver-water-firefighters-2024-08-15/

2024-08-15 12:17

Sept 6 (Reuters) - Brokerages have raised their year-end targets for U.S. stocks benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab amid rising expectations for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates at the Sept. 17-18 meeting. Most analysts expect the Fed to stick to a quarter-point rate cut at the September meeting, though are keenly awaiting the U.S. Department of Labor's August employment report for any signs of further job market softening that could trigger a bigger response from the central bank. Following are forecasts from some major banks on economic growth, inflation, and how they expect certain asset classes to perform: Forecasts for stocks, currencies and bonds: * UBS Global Research and UBS Global Wealth Management are distinct, independent divisions in UBS Group ---- U.S. INFLATION U.S. consumer prices rose moderately in July and the annual increase in inflation slowed to below 3% for the first time in nearly 3-1/2 years. ----- Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/brokerages-lift-sp-500-target-hopes-soft-landing-rate-cuts-2024-07-15/

2024-08-15 12:16

PARIS, Aug 15 (Reuters) - France has reported a sixth outbreak of bluetongue disease that affects livestock in eight days, this time in eastern France, the Marne prefecture said on Thursday. The virus, which is spread by insects and can be deadly for sheep, cattle and goats, has been circulating in the Netherlands, northern Belgium and western Germany since late last year. France reported a first outbreak of the BTV3 bluetongue disease on a sheep farm near the Belgian border last week and, including Thursday's announcement, it has now reported six outbreaks in five northeastern departments. The farm ministry said last week it would speed up and extend a vaccination campaign - taking the number of vaccines that will be given for free to farmers to 6.4 million doses, including 1.1 million for sheep and 5.3 million doses for cattle, up from a total of 4.6 million doses previously. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/new-bluetongue-disease-outbreak-eastern-france-sixth-total-2024-08-15/

2024-08-15 12:05

BEIJING, Aug 15 (Reuters) - China will impose export limits on antimony and related elements in the name of national security, its commerce ministry said on Thursday, Beijing's latest move to restrict shipments of critical minerals in which it is the dominant supplier. China accounted last year for 48% of global mined output of antimony, a strategic metal used in military applications such as ammunition, infrared missiles, nuclear weapons and night vision goggles, as well as in batteries and photovoltaic equipment. The restrictions are imposed "in order to safeguard national security and interests, and fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation", the ministry said in a statement. At a regular weekly briefing on Thursday, the ministry said the curbs are not directed at any specific country or region. "It's a sign of the times," said Christopher Ecclestone, a principal and mining strategist at Hallgarten & Company in London. "The military uses of Sb (antimony) are now the tail that wags the dog. Everyone needs it for armaments so it is better to hang onto it than sell it," he said. "This will put a real squeeze on the U.S. and European militaries." The limits, effective from Sept. 15, apply to six kinds of antimony-related products including antimony ore, antimony metals and antimony oxide, the ministry said in a statement. The rules also ban the export of gold antimony smelting and separation technology without permission. Exporters of affected products must apply for export licences for dual-use items and technologies - those with potential military as well as civil applications - it said. The U.S. and other countries are scrambling to ease their reliance on China for key materials, setting out policies and support packages for their critical minerals sectors, including rare earths. In an April research note, analysts at China Securities said increasing demand for arms and ammunition due to wars and geopolitical tensions was likely to see tightening control and stockpiling of antimony ore. WIDENING CURBS China's latest curbs follow a wave of such restrictions introduced since last year. In December, China banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets, which came on top of a ban already in place on exporting technology to extract and separate the critical materials. Beijing has also tightened exports of some graphite products, and imposed restrictions on exports of gallium and germanium products widely used in the semiconductor industry. Prices of antimony surged to record highs this year, fuelled by tight supply and growing demand, especially from the photovoltaic sector, where the metal is used to improve the performance of solar cells. That has helped push up the share prices of Chinese producers including Hunan Gold (002155.SZ) , opens new tab, Tibet Huayu Mining (601020.SS) , opens new tab and Guangxi Huaxi Non-Ferrous (600301.SS) , opens new tab by between 66% and 93% so far in 2024. One antimony producer in Hunan province said they were waiting to see the results of the latest move, but added: "We believe in the short term prices should be supported by a wave of rush stockpiling from overseas buyers." They declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media. While China is the biggest supplier of refined antimony, it is a net importer of concentrates and depends on ore from countries including Thailand, Myanmar, and Russia, customs data showed. Imports from Russia have fallen sharply this year. "A lack of concentrate feedstock remains the key feature of the antimony market at present," said Jack Bedder, co-founder of consultancy Project Blue. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-limit-antimony-exports-latest-critical-mineral-curbs-2024-08-15/

2024-08-15 11:12

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The deputy leader of South African opposition party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said on Thursday he was resigning to join the party led by former president Jacob Zuma, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK). Floyd Shivambu's departure is a blow to the Marxist EFF, headed by Julius Malema. The EFF saw its share of the vote fall to below 10% in May's national election, as the newly formed MK party surged ahead to become the third-biggest in parliament. EFF and MK are both part of a leftist opposition alliance formed after the election to counter the coalition government led by the long-ruling African National Congress (ANC) and the business-friendly Democratic Alliance. But Shivambu's switch indicates the rising appeal of MK, which largely draws on Zuma's popularity in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal. "This is a testing moment, ... the EFF will have to pass this test or it will have to die," Malema told reporters at a news conference. Zuma was expelled from the ANC this year after he took the reins of MK, which did better than expected in the election and played a key role in bringing the ANC's share of the vote below 50%. The EFF and MK have similar policies, including the nationalisation of banks and mines, and the expropriation of land for the benefit of Black farmers. They both rail against "white monopoly capital", which they say still controls South Africa's wealth three decades after the end of apartheid. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/boost-south-africas-zuma-prominent-leftist-politician-joins-his-party-2024-08-15/

2024-08-15 10:53

COPENHAGEN, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Offshore wind farm developer Orsted (ORSTED.CO) , opens new tab has no Chinese turbines in its current project pipeline, its CEO said on Thursday, but did not rule out buying turbines or technology from China in the future. The European wind turbine market is dominated by local players such as Vestas (VWS.CO) , opens new tab and Siemens Gamesa , but Chinese turbine makers have built momentum in the region in recent months, adding to concern in the EU industry that it faces an existential threat. Last week China's Mingyang Smart Energy (601615.SS) , opens new tab signed an agreement to set up a wind turbine manufacturing plant in Italy, while German utility EnBW (EBKG.DE) , opens new tab said it was considering whether to use Chinese turbines for future projects. Orsted CEO Mads Nipper said on a media call the group has followed "with interest" the developments in Italy and Germany, and ruled out "absolutely nothing" in its supply chain. But while Orsted is already using Chinese components and steel for its projects, it has no Chinese turbines in its current pipeline, he said. "I've previously said I think it is unlikely that (Chinese turbines) would become an integrated part of Western infrastructure. But that doesn't change our perspective that we have been and are following all technologies across." Nipper spoke after the company booked surprise impairment losses in the second quarter, sending its shares down more than 9%. In April, the EU said it would investigate subsidies received by Chinese suppliers of wind turbines destined for Europe, a move aimed at protecting domestic firms from cheap clean tech products. Nipper said the company was taking into consideration the regulatory risks of something unexpected happening "that could make this more troublesome". Other large Chinese manufacturers include Goldwind (002202.SZ) , opens new tab and Windey (300772.SZ) , opens new tab. (This story has been refiled to add the dropped word 'out,' in paragraph 1) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/wind-developer-orsted-does-not-rule-out-chinese-turbine-technology-2024-08-15/