2026-01-10 23:48

SYDNEY, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Thousands of people in Australia's northeast state of Queensland were without power on Sunday after a tropical cyclone crossed the coast bringing heavy rain and destructive winds. Koji, a category one cyclone, made landfall between the towns of Ayr and Bowen, about 500 km (310 miles) north of state capital Brisbane, before weakening to a tropical low, the nation's weather forecaster said. Sign up here. The storm, with wind gusts of up to 95 kph (59 mph) and heavy rain, hit coastal towns including Mackay, a tourist hub and gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, it said. Queensland state Premier David Crisafulli said around 15,000 properties had lost power due to Koji, which had also damaged property and boats, and closed roads. Koji brought rainfall of up to 200 mm (7.8 inches) to some areas overnight and was expected to result in heavy downpours over the next 24 to 48 hours, Crisafulli said. "There's the prospect of flooding, Queenslanders will handle that," he said in televised remarks from Brisbane. Earlier, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described flash flooding as a "major risk" across a large stretch of Queensland's coast. The weather forecaster said the severe weather would likely persist through Sunday before possibly easing on Monday. Koji comes after the state was hit in March by Alfred, a downgraded tropical cyclone, brought damaging winds and heavy rains, cutting power to hundreds of thousands. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/australias-queensland-state-braces-tropical-cyclone-koji-2026-01-10/

2026-01-10 20:13

Vitol to export about 460,000 barrels of naphtha from Houston to Venezuela Cargo would be first under new supply agreement with US government Naphtha used as diluent and needed to boost Venezuela oil output US supplies could displace Russian naphtha in Venezuela - analyst NEW YORK/HOUSTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Commodities trader Vitol is expected to load the first cargo of naphtha from the U.S. to Venezuela this weekend under a new supply agreement announced just days ago by President Donald Trump, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Saturday. The flow of naphtha, used as a diluent to thin Venezuela's heavy crude oil and make it easier to move and process, would mark a key milestone in efforts to boost production in the South American country as the Trump administration focuses on reviving its oil industry after removing President Nicolas Maduro from power last week. Sign up here. State-run PDVSA had been reducing output in recent days after a months-long U.S. naval blockade cut its shipments and forced it to store oil on ships as onshore tanks filled up. Vitol and its trading peer Trafigura struck agreements with the U.S. government to help market the stranded Venezuelan oil, the companies confirmed on Friday, days after the interim government in Caracas agreed to export up to 50 million barrels of crude oil to the U.S. With Venezuelan oil expected to start flowing again, the commodities traders, and oil major Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab, have been sourcing naphtha to ship it to Venezuela and help revitalize crude production in the country, sources told Reuters. Vitol has chartered the vessel Hellespont Protector to load roughly 460,000 barrels of naphtha from Houston, sources said. The vessel is currently looking for a window to load the product over the weekend and is expected to deliver it in Venezuela sometime next week, they added. The sources requested anonymity to discuss confidential details. Vitol declined to comment. Vitol and others had been supplying diluents to Venezuela until the U.S. government early last year began canceling licenses as part of a policy shift toward the country. Imports of diluent from Russia helped Venezuela replace the volumes it was receiving from the U.S. after those cancellations, and the U.S. could now take back that share from Russia, Commodity Context analyst Rory Johnston said. "Total diluent imports into Venezuela have been pretty flat over the past year, and assuming the current situation cuts off Russian naphtha flow, then the U.S. will need to replace ASAP to avoid further upstream shut-ins," Johnston said. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/vitol-load-first-diluent-cargo-under-venezuela-supply-deal-this-weekend-sources-2026-01-10/

2026-01-10 17:48

Jan 10 (Reuters) - Slovakia will sign an agreement on nuclear power cooperation with the United States next week, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Saturday, as the country moves toward a deal to build a new nuclear power unit with U.S. help. Slovakia, which currently has five nuclear power reactors at two plants, has been in talks with Washington since last year to build a large plant with U.S. group Westinghouse. Sign up here. Fico said on Saturday the plant would have capacity of almost 1,200 megawatts (MW), bigger than existing units. "In cooperation with American partners, we want to build a new huge block in purely state ownership on the grounds of the existing nuclear power plant in Jaslovske Bohunice," he said, without elaborating. Fico said he wanted to participate in the signing of the more general agreement on U.S.-Slovak cooperation in the nuclear sector in Washington on Friday. He did not give more details on the signing. The Slovak government approved an inter-governmental deal with the U.S. in October for the construction of a new unit, and Fico said in December U.S. President Donald Trump had invited him to the United States during this year's soccer World Cup for the signing of a nuclear power deal between the two countries. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/slovakia-sign-nuclear-energy-cooperation-agreement-with-us-pm-fico-says-2026-01-10/

2026-01-10 17:31

Jan 10 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at blocking courts or creditors from impounding revenue tied to the sale of Venezuelan oil held in U.S. Treasury accounts, the White House said on Saturday. The emergency order said the revenue, held in foreign government deposit funds, should be used in Venezuela to help create "peace, prosperity and stability." The order was signed on Friday, less than a week after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in Caracas. Sign up here. Several companies have longstanding claims against the country. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab and ConocoPhillips (COP.N) , opens new tab, for example, left Venezuela nearly 20 years ago after their assets were nationalized. Both are still owed billions of dollars. ConocoPhillips is the largest non-sovereign credit holder in Venezuela, its CEO Ryan Lance told U.S. President Donald Trump during a White House meeting on Friday, adding that the U.S. government has an opportunity to restore what has been lost. Trump said ConocoPhillips will get a lot of its money back, but the U.S. would start with a clean slate. "We're not going to look at what people lost in the past because that was their fault," Trump said before asking Lance how much ConocoPhillips lost in Venezuela. Lance said his company was owed $12 billion. "Well, good write-off," Trump remarked. Saturday's order does not mention any specific company. It declares that the money is the sovereign property of Venezuela held in U.S. custody for governmental and diplomatic purposes and is not subject to private claims. "President Trump is preventing the seizure of Venezuelan oil revenue that could undermine critical U.S. efforts to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela," the White House said in a fact sheet. A U.S. agreement with Venezuela's interim leaders would provide up to 50 million barrels of crude oil to the U.S., where numerous refineries are specially equipped to refine it. Trump cited the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the 1976 National Emergencies Act as a legal justification. Trump signed the order the same day he met in Washington with executives from Exxon, Conoco, Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab and other oil companies as part of a bid to encourage them to invest $100 billion in Venezuela's oil industry. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/trump-signs-order-protect-venezuelan-oil-revenue-held-us-accounts-2026-01-10/

2026-01-10 14:11

ATHLONE, Ireland, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Thousands of Irish farmers, many of whom travelled across the country on tractors, protested on Saturday against the European Union's Mercosur trade deal after a majority of EU states gave a provisional go-ahead for its largest ever free-trade accord. Opponents led by France, the EU's largest agricultural producer, failed to convince enough fellow member states on Friday that the deal with South American nations would flood the market with cheap food products and undercut domestic farmers. Sign up here. Under pressure from opposition parties, farming groups and members of its own coalition, the Irish government argued the deal lacks safeguards on what it says are weaker food safety standards in South America. "It's an absolute disgrace on behalf of the farmers and people that have put Europe where it is today," said Joe Keogh, a farmer from the central village of Multyfarnham at the protest in the nearby town of Athlone. "It's going to close down the whole countryside." Protesters held placards reading "Don’t sacrifice family farms for German cars", "Our cows follow the rules, why don’t theirs", and "Sell out". The demonstration, large by Irish standards, followed similar protests in Poland, France and Belgium on Friday. While Ireland is a small exporting nation that aims to diversify away from its reliance on the U.S. market, it has large beef and dairy industries that are major employers. Opponents of the deal have secured some concessions and compensation for EU farmers. The European Parliament must approve the accord before it can take effect, and like France, Ireland has pledged to fight for its rejection in what could be a tight vote. "The Irish farmer is at great risk as it is. We're a small country, we don't have large farmers and farmers struggle to make an income from the farm as it is," said Niamh O'Brien, a farmer who travelled from the western town of Athenry. "But also it's about the quality of the food we are eating. It has severe implications for both the farmer and for the consumer." https://www.reuters.com/business/thousands-irish-farmers-protest-against-eu-mercosur-trade-deal-2026-01-10/

2026-01-10 13:26

Jan 10 (Reuters) - At least six oil tankers, most of them loaded, that had departed Venezuela in early January in 'dark mode' - or with their transponders off amid a strict U.S. blockade - are now back in the South American country's waters, according to state company PDVSA and monitoring service TankerTrackers.com. A flotilla of about a dozen loaded vessels and at least three other empty ships left Venezuelan waters last month in apparent defiance of an embargo imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump since mid-December, which has dragged down the country's oil exports to minimum. Sign up here. One of the ships, the Panama-flagged supertanker M Sophia, was intercepted and seized by U.S. forces this week when returning to Venezuela and sent to U.S. waters; while another, the Aframax tanker Olina with a flag from Sao Tome and Principe, was intercepted but released to Venezuela on Friday, state company PDVSA said. Five more of the vessels that had departed in that flotilla, Panama-flagged Merope, Cook Islands-flagged Min Hang, Panama-flagged Thalia III, Guyana-flagged Vesna and Palau-flagged Nayara, were spotted by Tankertrackers.com in Venezuelan waters between Friday and Saturday through satellite images. U.S. authorities had said on Friday that Olina - previously known as Minerva M - would be freed. The next step for the country, which remains under strict U.S. supervision after it captured and extracted President Nicolas Maduro last week, would be the beginning of organized crude exports as part of a $2 billion oil supply deal Caracas and Washington are negotiating, they said. In a meeting with top oil company executives on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said arrangements for the supply had progressed. Global trading houses Vitol and Trafigura received this week the first U.S. licenses to negotiate and carry Venezuela's crude exports, and to provide naphtha to the OPEC country, sources said. The first naphtha cargo from the deal, to be supplied by Vitol, is expected to arrive in Venezuela next week, sources said on Saturday. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/four-tankers-that-had-left-venezuela-dark-mode-are-back-its-waters-2026-01-10/