2026-01-25 12:51
MOSCOW, Jan 25 - The home town of Russia's main naval base was forced to switch to emergency generators after aging power lines collapsed during bad winter weather, cutting electricity and some heating, Russian officials said. The closed town of Severomorsk, the headquarters of Russia's Northern Fleet on the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea, is home to Russia's most important naval command. It controls Russia's biggest fleet of ballistic missile submarines and extensive arsenals of nuclear warheads, missiles and repair yards. Sign up here. Andrei Chibis, the governor of the Murmansk region, said on Friday night that the city of Murmansk and Severomorsk had their electricity supplies cut due to the collapse of pylons. Local officials said there were still some houses without electricity and heat in Severomorsk on Sunday. Five pylons, two of them almost 60 years old, collapsed about 7 km (4 miles) from Murmansk on Jan. 23, according to local media. Two dated from 1966, two from 1982 and one from 1988, according to Severomorsk online news site. The ships of the Northern Fleet docked in Severomorsk were switched to autonomous power mode to free up capacity, Vladimir Evmenkov, the head of Severomorsk, said. Russia's so-called "closed towns," usually around major defence or nuclear installations, have much stricter controls than most other places. Entry is controlled and special permissions are needed to visit. https://www.reuters.com/world/power-cut-russias-main-naval-base-home-town-after-pylons-collapse-2026-01-25/
2026-01-25 07:46
KYIV, Jan 25 (Reuters) - More than 1,300 apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv were still without heating following a Russian missile and drone attack earlier this week, Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said on Sunday. Russia has sharply intensified bombardments of Ukraine's energy system since it invaded its neighbour in 2022. Sign up here. Russia launched a vast attack on Ukraine's energy system on Saturday, rocking Kyiv with explosions overnight and leaving 1.2 million properties without power nationwide during sub-zero winter temperatures. The large-scale attack on Kyiv took place just as Ukrainian, Russian and American negotiators were discussing options in Abu Dhabi for ending the war. "Russia’s main targets right now are our energy sector, critical infrastructure, and residential buildings," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X. This week alone, he said Russia had launched more than 1,700 attack drones, over 1,380 guided aerial bombs and 69 missiles on Ukraine. Every massive attack by Russia could have a devastating impact, said Zelenskiy, who on Sunday visited Lithuania. "We are working with every leader to strengthen Ukraine. Everyone must clearly understand the threat coming from Russia," he said. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said on Saturday that more than 3,200 of Kyiv's buildings were without heating late that evening, down from 6,000 in the morning. Klitschko said on Telegram that since Saturday evening, utility workers and energy companies have restored heat supply to about 2,000 buildings, leaving 1,330 buildings still without heating. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/around-1700-kyiv-apartment-blocks-still-without-heating-after-russian-strike-2026-01-25/
2026-01-25 05:22
Jan 25 (Reuters) - Poland is in no hurry to join the euro zone, Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday. Domanski said that the case for adopting the euro had weakened as Poland has outpaced most economies in the bloc. Member states of the European Union are obliged to join the single currency area when certain criteria are met. Sign up here. “Our economy is now doing clearly better than most of those that have the euro,” Domanski said. “We have more and more data, research and arguments to keep the Polish zloty.” https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/poland-cools-joining-euro-zone-after-its-economy-surges-ft-reports-2026-01-25/
2026-01-25 04:05
SYDNEY, Jan 25 (Reuters) - New Zealand authorities suspended recovery efforts on Sunday for victims of a landslide that hit a busy campground on the country's North Island. Six people, including two teenagers, are presumed dead after heavy rains triggered Thursday's landslide at Mount Maunganui on the island's east coast, bringing down soil and rubble at the site in the city of Tauranga, crowded with families on summer holidays. Sign up here. Authorities have been working to identify the victims after human remains were found at the site on Saturday. But a crack found at the site prompted recovery work to cease for the day on Sunday, said police Superintendent Tim Anderson. "As a result of that, we've had to pull all our staff out," Anderson told reporters at Mount Maunganui, adding, "We've had to do that for the safety of everyone concerned." He did not specify when work would resume, saying the authorities were taking it "day by day at the moment". Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Saturday it was "devastating to receive the news we have all been dreading", after the rescue operation shifted to recovery. "To the families who have lost loved ones - every New Zealander is grieving with you," Luxon posted on X. The heavy rain this week unleashed another landslide in the neighbouring suburb of Papamoa, killing two. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/recovery-new-zealand-landslide-victims-halted-safety-concerns-2026-01-25/
2026-01-25 03:25
Funding package to help develop mine, magnet facility Deal to be announced on Monday, investor call planned Latest investment by Trump admin into minerals sector Jan 24 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is taking a 10% stake in USA Rare Earth (USAR.O) , opens new tab as part of a $1.6 billion debt-and-equity investment package aimed at helping the company develop a domestic mine and magnet facility, two sources familiar with the deal told Reuters. The deal and a separate $1 billion private investment will be unveiled on Monday and Oklahoma-based USA Rare Earth will host a morning conference call with investors to discuss the terms, according to one of the sources who was briefed on the plans. Sign up here. The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. USA Rare Earth declined to comment. China is the largest global processor of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used to make a range of electronics and military equipment. The U.S. produces only small volumes of rare earths, which has sparked a push in recent years from Washington to increase output. USA Rare Earth has been developing a mine in Sierra Blanca, Texas, with Texas Mineral Resources (TMRC.PK) , opens new tab that is slated to open by 2028 and has a magnet manufacturing facility in Stillwater, Oklahoma, that is expected to launch later this year. As part of the USA Rare Earth investment, Washington will receive 16.1 million shares in the company along with warrants for an additional 17.6 million shares, according to the sources. Both would be priced at $17.17 a share, near where the company's stock traded earlier this month. The Financial Times was first to report on the investment. The deal is the latest move by the Trump administration to move into the critical minerals space after taking equity stakes last year in MP Materials(MP.N) , opens new tab, Lithium Americas , opens new tab(LAC.TO) , opens new tab and Trilogy Metals(TMQ.TO) , opens new tab. A senior Trump official said last month that the administration was planning more "historic deals" with the U.S. mining sector to increase production of lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals used in national defense, artificial intelligence and other related areas. USA Rare Earth has hired Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm chaired by Brandon Lutnick, the son of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, to help with fundraising efforts, one of the sources said. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-inject-16-billion-into-rare-earths-miner-10-stake-ft-reports-2026-01-25/
2026-01-25 03:19
WEST BANDUNG, Indonesia, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Indonesian authorities resumed search-and-rescue efforts for 80 people missing after a landslide killed 10 in a residential area of West Java province. The landslide early on Saturday was triggered by heavy rains starting the day before, which the weather agency warned could continue for a week in the province and several other regions. Sign up here. Resident Dedi Kurniawan, 36, said it was the first big landslide he had witnessed in Pasir Langu village in a hilly area of the province about 100 km (60 miles) southeast of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. "Sometimes we have only small floods from the nearest river, but this time (the landslide) came from the forest," he told Reuters. Rescuers were hampered on Saturday as unstable terrain and rains hindered them from deploying heavy machinery, Kompas TV reported, citing authorities. There were multiple reports of floods in West Java, including Jakarta. The floods have caused residents in heavily impacted areas to evacuate to higher ground or unaffected places. The landslide occurred two months after cyclone-induced floods and landslides on the island of Sumatra killed 1,200 people, destroyed homes and displaced over a million residents. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/indonesia-resumes-search-80-after-landslide-kills-10-west-java-2026-01-25/
