2025-05-28 19:33

Glacier collapse buries Swiss village, one person missing Blatten is 90% covered by landslide, mayor vows to rebuild Climate change impact on glacier collapse remains uncertain, experts say GENEVA, May 28 (Reuters) - A huge chunk of a glacier in the Swiss Alps broke off on Wednesday, causing a deluge of ice, mud and rock that buried most of a mountain village that had been evacuated due to the risk of a rockslide, authorities said. One person is currently missing, officials said. Sign up here. Drone footage broadcast by Swiss national broadcaster SRF showed a vast plain of mud and soil completely covering part of the southwestern village of Blatten, the river running through it and the wooded sides of the surrounding valley. "We've lost our village," Matthias Bellwald, the mayor of Blatten told a press conference after the slide. "The village is under rubble. We will rebuild." Stephane Ganzer, an official in the canton of Valais where Blatten is located, told Swiss media that about 90% of the village was covered by the landslide. "An unbelievable amount of material thundered down into the valley," said Matthias Ebener, a spokesperson for local authorities. One person was missing, Ebener said. Officials gave no further details on the person during the press conference. Officials said millions of cubic metres of rock and soil have tumbled down since Blatten was first evacuated this month when part of the mountain behind the glacier began to crumble, sparking warnings it could bring the ice mass down with it. A video shared widely on social media showed the dramatic moment when the glacier partially collapsed, creating a huge cloud that covered part of the mountain as rock and debris came cascading down towards the village. Experts consulted by Reuters said it was difficult to assess the extent to which rising temperatures spurred by climate change had triggered the collapse because of the role the crumbling mountainside had played. Christian Huggel, a professor of environment and climate at the University of Zurich, said while various factors were at play in Blatten, it was known that local permafrost had been affected by warmer temperatures in the Alps. The loss of permafrost can negatively affect the stability of the mountain rock which is why climate change had likely played a part in the deluge, Huggel said. The extent of the damage to Blatten had no precedent in the Swiss Alps in the current or previous century, he added. The rubble of shattered wooden buildings could be seen on the flanks of the huge mass of earth in the drone footage. Buildings and infrastructure in Blatten, whose roughly 300 inhabitants were evacuated on May 19 after geologists identified the risk of an imminent avalanche of rock and ice from above, were battered by the rockslide, officials said. SRF said houses were destroyed in the village nestled in the Loetschental valley in southern Switzerland. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter expressed her solidarity with the local population as emergency services warned people the area was hazardous and urged them to stay away, closing off the main road into the valley. "It's terrible to lose your home," Keller-Sutter said on X. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/glacier-crumbles-above-evacuated-swiss-village-prompting-huge-rock-slide-2025-05-28/

2025-05-28 19:22

May 28 (Reuters) - Mining company Perpetua Resources (PPTA.O) , opens new tab on Wednesday said it has been awarded up to $6.9 million in additional funding from the U.S. Army for its Idaho antimony and gold Stibnite project. The Pentagon-backed mine, which would be the country's first antimony project, has an estimated reserve of 148 million pounds of the metal used in bullets and tanks, as well as in alloys for electric-vehicle batteries. Sign up here. China, responsible for nearly 60% of globally mined antimony in 2024, banned exports of the metal to the United States in December last year, prompting efforts to increase production within the U.S. This supplemental award will allow Perpetua to expand the research and support the U.S. Army's objective of establishing a fully domestic "ground-to-round" antimony trisulfide supply chain. "Advancing America's capabilities to process minerals critical to national defense is essential for our long-term mineral independence and resilience," said CEO Jon Cherry. The company said that with the receipt of this additional funding, its total awards from the Department of Defense exceed $80 million, including the $15.5 million received under an Ordnance Technology Initiative Agreement in August 2023. Last week, the company received the final federal permit, the Clean Water Act Section 404, from the U.S. Army Corps for the project. (This story has been corrected to say U.S. Army, not U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in paragraph 1) https://www.reuters.com/world/us/perpetua-resources-receives-additional-funding-stibnite-project-us-army-corps-2025-05-28/

2025-05-28 19:19

Narrow authorization received by Chevron allows it to preserve assets, staff PDVSA expected to continue overseeing oilfield workers PDVSA also taking over sales of crude produced by joint ventures May 28 (Reuters) - Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab has terminated the oil production, service and procurement contracts it had to operate in Venezuela, delegating its joint-venture governance to its partner, state company PDVSA, but it plans to retain its direct staff in the country, four sources close to the decisions said. A key license for Chevron to operate in Venezuela was revoked by U.S. President Donald Trump's government in March and a two-month period granted to wind down transactions expired this week, putting and end to the license, the company said. Sign up here. However, in recent days the U.S. producer received a narrow authorization from the Trump administration allowing it to preserve assets including its joint-venture stakes and retain staff, which it had expanded in recent years. The guidelines are similar to the terms of a U.S. license Chevron had between 2020 and 2022 before President Joe Biden's administration broadened it to allow the company's expansion in Venezuela and the resumption of crude exports to the U.S. Chevron and several European firms had requested U.S. permits to keep assets in the South American country amid Trump's restrictive policy toward the nation. It was not immediately clear if other companies received similar instructions. Following the new guidelines, Chevron executives this week met with contractors and Venezuelan top officials including oil minister Delcy Rodriguez to inform about the next steps, the sources said. Under the new authorization, Chevron cannot operate oilfields in Venezuela, export its oil or expand activities as its intention is to avoid any possible payments to President Nicolas Maduro's administration. The U.S. Treasury Department did not reply to a request for comment. Chevron said it remains in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including the sanctions framework provided for by the U.S. "Attacks and illegal action against PDVSA have not stopped our growth," the state company said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that output at oilfields was normal. "Our contribution to the economy's growth does not need licenses." Venezuela in April canceled cargoes scheduled to Chevron citing payment uncertainties related to U.S. sanctions, which cut short a May 27 deadline to wind down transactions. Chevron was exporting as much as 290,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan oil or over a third of the country's total before that. PDVSA, which is the majority stakeholder of the joint ventures, is expected to continue overseeing oilfield workers, though extra compensation bonus Chevron had implemented for its joint-venture workers might be suspended, three of the sources said. The state firm also is taking over sales of crude produced by the ventures, which could lead to a new accumulation of debt owed to its partner. Earlier this month, the state firm began exporting a heavy crude jointly produced. Trump accuses Maduro of not making progress on migrant returns and electoral reforms. Maduro has rejected sanctions by the U.S. and others, saying they amount to an economic war. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/chevron-terminates-contracts-will-keep-staff-venezuela-sources-say-2025-05-28/

2025-05-28 19:10

BRASILIA, May 28 (Reuters) - The average cost of Brazil's domestic debt issuance rose to the highest level in more than eight years, Treasury data showed on Wednesday, as elevated interest rates and persistent inflation continue to weigh on the country's debt profile. The cost reached 13.05% in April, up from 12.61% the previous month and the highest since January 2017. Sign up here. Local currency debt accounts for 96% of the total public debt in Latin America's largest economy. Brazil's debt burden is under pressure from high interest rates - nearly half of the public debt is linked to the Selic rate - as well as persistent inflation, which has long remained above the 3% target, making inflation-linked bonds more expensive. The central bank has raised interest rates by a total 425 basis points to 14.75% since it began a tightening cycle in September to curb sticky inflation. Annual consumer prices reached 5.40% in mid-May. According to Treasury data, Brazil's total public debt stock, including external debt, rose 1.44% in April from the previous month to 7.617 trillion reais ($1.34 trillion). Gross debt issuance totaled 204.6 billion reais, while redemptions reached 164.6 billion reais, resulting in net issuance of 40 billion reais. The debt stock was also impacted by 68.3 billion reais in interest payments, the Treasury said. Year-to-date, Brazil's public debt has increased by 300.6 billion reais, driven by 259.4 billion reais in interest payments and net issuance of 41.2 billion reais. ($1 = 5.6894 reais) https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-debt-issuance-cost-rises-highest-level-more-than-eight-years-2025-05-28/

2025-05-28 19:06

BRASILIA, May 28 (Reuters) - Brazil's economy created a net 257,528 formal jobs in April, data from the Labor Ministry showed on Wednesday, above the 175,000 expected by economists in a Reuters poll. The data accounts for 2,282,187 jobs opened and 2,024,659 closed in the period, according to the ministry. Sign up here. It was the highest figure for April since 2020, when the current methodology for the official series was introduced. From January to April, a net 922,362 jobs were created in Brazil, down from 965,818 a year earlier, according to adjusted data. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-creates-more-formal-jobs-than-expected-april-2025-05-28/

2025-05-28 18:57

Restructuring includes commitment of $1.6 billion in financing Deal also includes elimination of more than $2 billion of debt Further commitment of up to $950 million in equity financing May 28 (Reuters) - Brazilian airline Azul (AZUL.N) , opens new tab on Wednesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, it said in a securities filing, after months of trying to restructure mostly pandemic-era debt. The move, which may scupper a potential merger with peer Gol (GOLL4.SA) , opens new tab, makes the carrier the latest Latin American airline to file for bankruptcy in the aftermath of the severe industry fallout from the initial months of COVID-19. Sign up here. Sao Paulo-traded shares of Azul fell as much as 12% after the filing, before paring losses to trade down around 3% in the afternoon. The stock is now down 70% year-to-date. A restructuring deal includes a commitment of $1.6 billion in financing throughout the process, elimination of more than $2 billion of debt, and a commitment of up to $950 million in equity financing upon emergence, the carrier said. "We had too much debt on the balance sheet that principally came from COVID. We now have an opportunity to clean it all up," Chief Executive John Rodgerson told Reuters in an interview. Azul said it had entered into agreements with key financial stakeholders, including existing bondholders, aircraft lessor AerCap (AER.N) , opens new tab, and strategic partners United Airlines (UAL.O) , opens new tab and American Airlines (AAL.O) , opens new tab to support the restructuring. "We believe we could be in and out prior to the end of the year," Rodgerson said. "The exit is sometimes the most difficult part of this process. So we're already entering with the exit in mind, and exiting with the financing lined up." Azul's move follows in the footsteps of Aeromexico, Colombia-based Avianca and its two largest rivals, Gol and LATAM Airlines (LTM.SN) , opens new tab, all of which filed for bankruptcy. "This development comes as no major surprise," analysts at JPMorgan said in a note to clients, saying the bankruptcy process should lead to significant equity dilution and downgrading their recommendation on the stock to "Underweight" from "Neutral." SOARING INTEREST PAYMENTS Azul last year struck a deal with lessors to scrap $550 million in debt in exchange for an equity stake of around 20%, as well as a deal with bondholders to raise an additional $500 million. But factors such as high costs, supply-chain issues delaying aircraft deliveries and maintenance plans, as well as a weaker Brazilian real , have kept the company under pressure. "What I used to pay in interest in 2019 has gone up 10 times with a currency that is 50% weaker," Rodgerson said. United and American agreed to invest up to $300 million to backstop an equity rights offering to repay the airline's debtor-in-possession financing when it emerges from bankruptcy. Azul's net debt soared 50% year-on-year by the end of the first quarter to 31.35 billion reais ($5.6 billion), with its leverage ratio hitting 5.2, up from 3.7 a year earlier. The latest blow came last month, as a capital increase fell short of expectations, pressuring Azul's shares. Fitch and S&P recently downgraded Azul's credit ratings, with the latter citing an elevated default risk. Azul said it would maintain its operations and sales normally while in Chapter 11. The Chapter 11 filing likely spoils Azul's plans for a potential business combination with rival Gol, which would have created a dominant carrier in Latin America's No. 1 economy that Rodgerson once touted as a "national champion". "We believe that consolidation discussions with Gol should be put on hold until Azul emerges from Chapter 11," JPMorgan said. ($1 = 5.6377 reais) https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/brazil-airline-azul-files-chapter-11-restructure-high-debt-2025-05-28/