2025-09-01 12:53
Rescuers comb rubble of homes in remote mountainous area Helicopters ferry the injured to hospital Midnight quake hit at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) KABUL, Sept 1 (Reuters) - One of Afghanistan's worst earthquakes killed more than 800 people and injured at least 2,800, authorities said on Monday, as helicopters ferried the wounded to hospital after they were plucked from the rubble of homes being combed for survivors. The disaster is set to further stretch the resources of the war-torn nation's Taliban administration, already grappling with humanitarian crises, from a sharp drop in aid to the pushback of hundreds of thousands of Afghans by neighbouring countries. Sign up here. Sharafat Zaman, the spokesperson for the health ministry in Kabul, called for international aid to tackle the devastation from the quake of magnitude 6 that struck around midnight, at a depth of 10 km (6 miles). "We need it because here lots of people lost their lives and houses," he told Reuters. The quake killed 812 people in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, said administration spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. Rescuers were battling to reach remote mountainous areas cut off from mobile networks along the Pakistani border, where mudbrick homes dotting the slopes collapsed in the quake. "All our ... teams have been mobilised to accelerate assistance, so that comprehensive and full support can be provided," said health ministry spokesperson Abdul Maten Qanee, citing efforts in areas from security to food and health. Reuters Television images showed helicopters ferrying out the affected, while residents helped security forces and medics carry the wounded to ambulances in an area with a long history of earthquakes and floods. Military rescue teams fanned out across the region, the defence ministry said in a statement, with 40 flights carrying away 420 wounded and dead. The quake razed three villages in Kunar, with substantial damage in many others, authorities said. At least 610 people were killed in Kunar with 12 dead in Nangarhar, they added. It was Afghanistan's third major deadly quake since the Taliban took over in 2021 as foreign forces withdrew, triggering a cut to the international funding that formed the bulk of government finances. Even humanitarian aid, aimed at bypassing political institutions to serve urgent needs, has shrunk to $767 million this year, down from $3.8 billion in 2022. A 6.1-magnitude earthquake that killed 1,000 people in the eastern region that year was the first major natural disaster faced by the Taliban government. CALLS FOR FUNDING Humanitarian agencies say they are fighting a forgotten crisis in Afghanistan, where the United Nations estimates more than half the population is in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Diplomats and aid officials say crises elsewhere in the world, along with donor frustration over the Taliban's policies towards women, including curbs on those who are aid workers, have spurred the cuts in funding. "So far, no foreign governments have reached out to provide support for rescue or relief work," a spokesperson of Afghanistan's foreign office said. China was ready to provide disaster relief assistance "according to Afghanistan's needs and within its capacity," a spokesperson of its foreign ministry said later. In a post on X, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said its mission in Afghanistan was preparing to help those in areas devastated by the quake. Humanitarian officials and locals say almost two years after a powerful tremor hit the western city of Herat, many villages are still recovering and living in temporary structures. Afghanistan is prone to deadly earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/earthquake-afghanistan-kills-800-injures-2800-2025-09-01/
2025-09-01 12:42
NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Some of the digital tokens backing the Trump family's cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, began trading on Monday, the cryptocurrency company said. In July, investors in the tokens voted to make them tradeable, paving the way for their sale and purchase - and potentially boosting the value of the president's holdings of them. Sign up here. The World Liberty tokens, known as $WLFI, were sold to investors after the Trump family and their business partners launched the venture - a "decentralized finance" platform that has also issued a stablecoin - last year. https://www.reuters.com/business/trumps-world-liberty-financial-tokens-begin-trading-2025-09-01/
2025-09-01 12:37
Sept 1 (Reuters) - Sudan has initiated a shutdown of the Heglig oil facility following drone attacks it blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, according to a letter sent by its government to its South Sudanese neighbour and seen by Reuters. Heglig, which lies along Sudan's southern border, houses the main processing facility for South Sudanese oil, which accounts for the majority of South Sudan's government revenues. Sign up here. The 2023 outbreak of the war between the Sudanese army and the RSF has disrupted the flow of South Sudanese oil to Sudan, which before the conflict had been receiving between 100,000 and 150,000 barrels of oil per day for further exports. The letter sent by Sudan's energy ministry to its South Sudanese counterparts cited drone attacks on August 26 and 30 as the cause for the shutdown. "Such unprovoked attacks represent a serious threat to the stability of oil flows from South Sudan and we cannot in good faith continue to man the operation there," the letter, dated August 30, said. As a result, Sudan had instructed the Sudanese companies operating in the area, 2B OPCO and PETCO to evacuate, and said the latter would not be able to meet its lifting schedule. "Their continued operation despite ongoing attacks by the RSF will render them inoperable in the long run," the letter said. South Sudanese officials and the two companies could not be immediately reached for comment. The RSF did not respond to requests for comment. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/sudan-shuts-down-heglig-oil-facilities-after-drone-attacks-2025-09-01/
2025-09-01 12:37
Nayara relied solely on Russian crude in August, data shows Most recent deliveries from Saudi Arabia, Iraq recorded in July Nayara's refinery operating at 70-80% capacity post-sanctions NEW DELHI, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco and Iraq's state oil company SOMO have stopped selling crude oil to India's Nayara Energy in the aftermath of sanctions imposed in July by the European Union on the Russian-backed refiner, three sources familiar with the matter said. The halting of supply from the two Gulf exporters means Nayara, majority-owned by Russian entities including oil major Rosneft (ROSN.MM) , opens new tab, relied entirely on Russia for its crude oil imports in August, according to sources and LSEG shipping data. Sign up here. Nayara typically receives around 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude and 1 million barrels of Saudi crude each month, but did not receive shipments from either of the two suppliers during August, shipping data from Kpler and LSEG showed. SOMO and Nayara did not respond to requests for comment. Saudi Aramco declined to comment. Two of the sources said that the sanctions had created payment problems for Nayara's purchases from SOMO, without providing further details. The most recent cargo of Basra crude from SOMO was discharged for Nayara by the Kalliopi, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), at Vadinar port on July 29, according to Kpler and LSEG data as well as data obtained from industry sources. The private refiner received 1 million barrels of Arab Light carried by the VLCC Georgios co-loaded with a similar quantity of Basrah heavy on July 18, its last Saudi delivery, according to LSEG data. Nayara is receiving direct supplies from Rosneft, an official from the Russian Embassy in New Delhi said last month. The private company is operating its 400,000 barrel-per-day refinery at Vadinar in western India at about 70-80% capacity due to difficulties in selling its products resulting from the sanctions, sources have said. Nayara Energy, which controls about 8% of India's 5.2 million barrel-per-day refining capacity, has been struggling to transport fuel since the EU sanctions, relying on so-called dark fleet vessels after other shippers backed out, according to shipping reports and LSEG data. The company's CEO resigned in July. Last week, Nayara announced the appointment of a senior executive from Azerbaijan's national oil company SOCAR as its chief executive. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/saudi-aramco-iraqs-somo-halt-crude-sales-indian-refiner-nayara-sources-say-2025-09-01/
2025-09-01 12:22
Russian drones knock out Ukraine power facilities Zelenskiy vows more strikes deep inside Russia OPEC+ due to meet on September 7 LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose by more than 1% on Monday on concern over supply disruptions stemming from intensified Russia-Ukraine airstrikes as well as a weaker dollar. Brent crude was up 83 cents, or 1.2%, at $68.31 a barrel by 1215 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also rose 83 cents, or 1.3%, to $64.84. Trading is expected to be muted because of a U.S. public holiday. Sign up here. Brent and WTI crude registered their first monthly declines in four months in August, losing 6% or more on increased supply from the OPEC+ producer group. "Crude fell in August and has started September with no clear direction within established ranges as fears of a fourth-quarter supply glut are offset by geopolitical tensions," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. Investors were focused on Beijing, where Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are attending a regional summit. Also on the radar was OPEC+ meeting on September 7, Hansen added. Markets remain concerned about Russian oil flows, with weekly shipments from its ports dropping to a four-week low of 2.72 million barrels per day (bpd), according to tanker tracker data cited by ANZ analysts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed on Sunday to retaliate with more strikes deep inside Russia after Russian drone attacks on power facilities in northern and southern Ukraine. Both countries have intensified airstrikes in recent weeks, targeting energy infrastructure and disrupting Russian oil exports. A Reuters poll on Friday showed that oil prices are unlikely to gain much from current levels this year, as rising output from top producers adds to the risk of a surplus and U.S. tariff threats weigh on demand growth. Coming out of the summer season, oil inventories should rise in the last quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, HSBC analysts said in a note, with a surplus of 1.6 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter. Elsewhere, the U.S. labour market report this week will give a read on the economy's health and test investor confidence that interest rate cuts are coming soon, a view that has strengthened appetite for riskier assets such as commodities. Ahead of the data, the dollar was close to a five-week low on Monday, making oil less expensive for buyers using other currencies. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-rises-weaker-dollar-russian-supply-disruptions-2025-09-01/
2025-09-01 12:18
BUDAPEST, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The Hungarian section of a planned oil pipeline from Hungary to Serbia will be completed by the end of 2027, Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday. In a statement released following a meeting with Serbia's energy minister, Szijjarto also said Hungary had imported some 5 billion cubic metres of gas via the Turkstream pipeline through Serbia by the end of August, meaning this year's gas imports via Turkstream could hit a record high. Sign up here. Szijjarto said the construction of the new crude pipeline by Hungarian oil group MOL (MOLB.BU) , opens new tab would be accelerated, enabling Serbia to be supplied with Russian Urals crude oil. "In Hungary, MOL will soon close the first phase of the preparatory work, and permissioning and environmental preparations are underway," he said, adding that the Hungarian section of the pipeline would run for 190 km (118 miles). Russian oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia were suspended late in August for several days after a Ukrainian strike on a facility in Russia. Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks on each other's energy infrastructure, hitting Ukrainian domestic heating supplies, Russia's Druzhba pipeline and other facilities, over the past few weeks as U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for a deal to end the conflict. The European Union reduced energy supplies from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and is seeking to phase out Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027. But EU members Slovakia and Hungary have maintained relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and oppose the phase-out. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/hungarian-section-new-oil-pipeline-serbia-be-finished-by-end-2027-minister-says-2025-09-01/
