2025-01-12 20:17

Wildfires devastate Los Angeles, 24 dead, 100,000 evacuated Red flag conditions of high winds returning All of L.A. County warned anyone could be ordered to evacuate Seven states, Canada and Mexico send firefighters to help LOS ANGELES, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Firefighters raced to contain the frontiers of two Los Angeles wildfires that burned for the sixth straight day on Sunday, taking advantage of a brief respite in hazardous conditions before high winds were expected to fan the flames anew. At least 24 people have died in what California Governor Gavin Newsom said could be the most devastating natural disaster in U.S. history, one that has destroyed thousands of homes and forced 100,000 people to evacuate. Flames have reduced whole neighborhoods to smoldering ruins, leveling the homes of the rich and famous and ordinary folk alike, and leaving an apocalyptic landscape. Officials said at least 12,300 structures have been damaged or destroyed. "L.A. County had another night of unimaginable terror and heartbreak," Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said. Aerial firefighters, some of them scooping water out of the Pacific Ocean, dropped water and retardant while land crews with hand tools and hoses held the line of the Palisades Fire as it encroached on the upscale Brentwood section and other populated areas of Los Angeles. That fire on the western side of town has consumed 23,713 acres (96 sq km) or 37 square miles and stood at 13% contained, a figure representing the percentage of the fire's perimeter that firefighters have under control. The Eaton Fire in the foothills east of Los Angeles scorched another 14,117 acres (57 sq km) or 22 square miles - itself nearly the size of Manhattan - and firefighters increased the containment to 27%, up from 15% a day earlier. North of the city, the Hurst Fire was 89% contained, and three other fires that had ravaged other parts of the county were now 100% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) reported, though areas within the containment lines may still be burning. SEVERE WINDS RETURN Firefighters got a temporary break from the weather this weekend as Santa Ana winds, which reached hurricane force earlier in the week, finally eased. The dry winds originating from the inland deserts had fanned flames and blew embers up to 2 miles (3 km) ahead of the front lines. But, in an area that has not received any rain of note since April, the National Weather Service forecast Santa Ana winds of up to 50 to 70 miles per hour (80 to 112 kph) would resume on Sunday night (U.S. West Coast time) and last through Wednesday. Officials warned the entire Los Angeles County population of nearly 10 million that anyone may be ordered to evacuate from the flames and toxic smoke. By Sunday, more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles County had been ordered to evacuate - down from a previous high of more than 150,000 - while another 87,000 faced evacuation warnings. "These winds combined with low relative humidities and low fuel moistures will keep the fire threat in all of Los Angeles County very high," Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told a press conference, adding that evacuated areas may not be reopened until red flag conditions are lifted on Thursday. Even so, schools except some in mandatory evacuation zones would reopen on Monday, after closing for all 429,000 students in the Los Angeles Unified School District on Thursday and Friday, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced. Newsom told NBC News the fires were likely to be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history "in terms of just the costs associated with it." The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner reported 24 deaths from the fires. Private forecaster AccuWeather has estimated the damage and economic loss at $135 billion to $150 billion. To help expedite the monumental rebuilding effort ahead, Newsom signed an executive order on Sunday temporarily suspending environmental regulations for destroyed homes and businesses. Active duty military personnel are ready to support the firefighting effort, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in a series of Sunday television interviews, adding the agency has urged residents to begin filing for disaster relief. Firefighters from seven states, Canada and Mexico have already converged on the Los Angeles area to help fire departments from around the state. HIGH ANXIETY Hundreds of people displaced by the fires attended mass at the St. Monica Catholic Church in Santa Monica on Sunday, including parishioners whose churches were destroyed. Kathleen McRoskey, who attended mass regularly at Pacific Palisades' ruined Corpus Christi church for over 40 years, said she was grateful to St. Monica for opening its doors to those who lost their homes and place of worship. "It was the first offer of support that would heal us spiritually and physically and emotionally," she said. In Altadena on the edge of the Eaton Fire, Tristin Perez said he never left his home, defying police orders to evacuate as the fire raced down the hillside. Instead, Perez insisted on trying to save his property and his neighbors' homes. "Your front yard is on fire, palm trees lit up – it looked like something out of a movie," Perez told Reuters in an interview in his driveway. "I did everything I could to stop the line and save my house, help save their houses." His one-story yellow duplex survived. So did two more homes next door. Across the street, entire houses burned to the ground. "A lot of these areas still look like they were hit by a bomb. There are live electrical wires, gas lines and other hazards," said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. Zuzana Korda was evacuated from her home in the Fernwood neighborhood in Topanga, northwest of Los Angeles. Speaking outside a temporary assistance office at the West Hollywood Public Library, she said her landlord told her the family home was still standing, but she was anxious. "We've left everything behind. We have no insurance," Korda said. "We stand to lose everything." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/san-fernando-valley-under-threat-los-angeles-fire-rages-2025-01-12/

2025-01-12 14:59

MOSCOW, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Slovak Deputy Speaker of Parliament Andrej Danko arrived in Moscow on Sunday, Russian state-run TASS news agency reported, as Bratislava seeks a solution following Ukraine's decision to halt Russian gas pipeline deliveries to Europe. Danko's visit, planned before the gas dispute, will continue until Wednesday, TASS and Slovak news agency TASR reported. On Friday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that Russia's state gas company Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab would find alternative ways to deliver contracted gas to Slovakia after the end of transit through Ukraine. Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia since Moscow's 2022 invasion, refused to renew a transit deal with Russia as it seeks to cut revenues going to Moscow to fund the war. TASS cited recent statements of Danko and others in the delegation as saying they wanted to discuss investments in the West and also gas issues with the representatives of the Russian lower house of parliament - the Duma. According to TASS, the Slovak delegation is scheduled to meet Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Duma, on Monday and the head of the upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko, on Tuesday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/slovak-parliaments-deputy-speaker-arrives-moscow-tass-reports-2025-01-12/

2025-01-12 14:34

KYIV, Jan 12 (Reuters) - About 23,000 households were left without electricity after Russian shelling of Kherson in southern Ukraine damaged power equipment in the city, the local military administration said on Sunday. The attack targeted the Dniprovskiy district along the Dnipro River, an area of Kherson that is regularly shelled by Russian troops on the opposite bank. Kherson's governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, said Kherson city and around 50 settlements in the surrounding region had been shelled by Russian troops over the past 24 hours. "The Russian military shelled social infrastructure and residential areas of the region's settlements, in particular, damaging 2 multi-storey buildings and 8 private houses," Prokudin said on Telegram. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier on Sunday called on allies to honour their promises to supply Ukraine with weapons, including systems to counter Russian air attacks. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/thousands-without-power-after-russian-strike-ukraines-kherson-officials-say-2025-01-12/

2025-01-12 12:07

143 sanctioned oil tankers shipped over 530 mln bbls Russian crude in 2024 - Kpler New sanctions will disrupt Russian oil supply to top buyers China, India Refiners will seek more oil from Mideast, Africa, Americas driving up spot crude prices and freight costs Chinese independents will cut runs if ESPO supply hit - traders NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Chinese and Indian refiners will source more oil from the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, boosting prices and freight costs, as new U.S. sanctions on Russian producers and ships curb supplies to Moscow's top customers, traders and analysts said. The U.S. Treasury on Friday imposed sanctions on Russian oil producers Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM) , opens new tab and Surgutneftegas, as well as 183 vessels that have shipped Russian oil, targeting the revenues Moscow has used to fund its war with Ukraine. Many of the tankers have been used to ship oil to India and China as Western sanctions and a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven countries in 2022 shifted trade in Russian oil from Europe to Asia. Some tankers have also shipped oil from Iran, which is also under sanctions. Russian oil exports will be hurt severely by the new sanctions, which will force Chinese independent refiners to cut refining output going forward, two Chinese trade sources said. The sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak to media. The expected disruption in Russian supply drove global oil prices to their highest in months on Monday, with Brent trading above $81 a barrel. Among the newly sanctioned ships, 143 are oil tankers that handled more than 530 million barrels of Russian crude last year, about 42% of the country's total seaborne crude exports, Kpler's lead freight analyst Matt Wright said in a note. Of these, about 300 million barrels were shipped to China while the bulk of the remainder went to India, he added. "These sanctions will significantly reduce the fleet of ships available to deliver crude from Russia in the short term, pushing freight rates higher," Wright said. A Singapore-based trader said the designated tankers shipped close to 900,000 bpd of Russian crude to China over the past 12 months. "It's going to drop off a cliff," he added. For the first 11 months last year, India's Russian crude imports rose 4.5% on year to 1.764 million bpd, or 36% of India's total imports. China's volume, including pipeline supply, was up 2% at 99.09 million metric tons (2.159 million bpd), or 20% of its total imports, over the same period. China's imports are mostly Russian ESPO Blend crude, sold above the price cap, while India buys mostly Urals oil. Vortexa analyst Emma Li said Russian ESPO Blend crude exports would be halted if the sanctions were strictly enforced, but it would depend on whether U.S. President-elect Donald Trump lifted the embargo and also whether China acknowledged the sanctions. ALTERNATIVES The new sanctions will push China and India back into the compliant oil market to seek more supply from the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, the sources said. Spot prices for Middle East, Africa and Brazilian grades have already risen in recent months on rising demand from China and India as supplies of Russian and Iranian oil tightened and became more expensive, they added. "Already, prices are rising for Middle Eastern grades," said an Indian oil refining official. "There is no option than that we have to go for Middle Eastern oil. Perhaps we may have to go for U.S. oil as well." A second Indian refining source said the sanctions on Russian oil insurers will prompt Russia to price its crude below $60 a barrel so Moscow can continue to use Western insurance and tankers. Harry Tchilinguirian, head of research at Onyx Capital Group said: "Indian refiners, the main takers of Russian crude, are unlikely to wait around to find out and will be scrambling to find alternatives in Middle Eastern and Dated-Brent-related Atlantic Basin crude. "Strength in the Dubai benchmark can only rise from here as we are likely to see aggressive bidding for February loading cargoes of the likes of Oman or Murban, leading to a tighter Brent/Dubai spread," he added. Last month, the Biden administration designated more ships dealing with Iranian crude ahead of tougher action expected from the incoming Trump administration, leading the Shandong Port Group to ban sanctioned tankers from calling into its ports in the eastern Chinese province. As a result, China, the main buyer of Iranian crude, will also turn to heavier Middle Eastern oil and most likely will maximise its offtake of Canadian crude from the Trans-Mountain pipeline (TMX), Tchilinguirian said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/tougher-us-sanctions-curb-russian-oil-supply-china-india-2025-01-12/

2025-01-12 12:04

BUDAPEST, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Hungary plans to hold talks with regional allies to counter the impact of higher oil prices resulting from a new round of US sanctions on Russia's oil and gas sector, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Sunday. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration imposed its broadest package of sanctions so far targeting Russia's oil and gas revenues on Friday to give Kyiv and Donald Trump's incoming team leverage to reach a deal for peace in Ukraine. Oil prices hit a three-month high after the sanctions news broke. The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Russian companies Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM) , opens new tab and Surgutneftegas that explore, produce and sell oil and 183 vessels that have shipped Russian oil. "This package of sanctions again raises severe challenges for central Europe," Szijjarto said in a Facebook video. He said lower crude oil supplies would lift demand for refined fuels such as petrol and diesel, raising the risk of what he called "very serious" price increases in the region. Hungary imports most of its crude oil via the Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian crude through Belarus and Ukraine to Hungary and also Slovakia. Hungarian energy group MOL (MOLB.BU) , opens new tab did not immediately respond to emailed questions. Szijjarto said Hungary would start talks with regional allies to mitigate the hit to prices and the wider economy. He did say who Hungary might talk to. Higher energy costs and falls in the forint amid the threat of U.S. tariffs on Europe after Trump's re-election lifted Hungary's industrial producer price index to its highest in 19 months in November. The forint is trading near two-year lows versus the euro, raising risks of increased inflation after sharp falls from the European Union's highest levels of more than 25% in the first quarter of 2023. Economists polled by Reuters see December inflation rising to 4.4%, outside the target band of the National Bank of Hungary, which was forced to abandon its rate easing cycle last year amid currency falls and a rebound in prices. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/hungary-plans-talks-with-allies-combat-higher-oil-prices-after-new-us-sanctions-2025-01-12/

2025-01-12 10:37

MOSCOW, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Pulkovo airport in Russia's St Petersburg has resumed operations after being closed for several hours on Sunday due to heavy snowfall, the national aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said. At around 0830 local time (0530 GMT) the airport announced it was halting all flights and planned to resume operations shortly. However, this has been postponed until weather conditions improve. Artyom Korenyako, a spokesman for Rosaviatsia, wrote in his Telegram account that as of 1325 local time Pulkovo was reopened for inbound and outbound flights. Korenyako said that during the runway closure, 33 planes bound for St Petersburg had been redirected to alternate airports, primarily in Moscow. Earlier, Mash Telegram channel posted a video showing what it said was a plane waiting for departure from St. Petersburg, with passengers seated in the cabin and the outer panes of the windows heavily iced. It was unclear how long people had been waiting inside the aircraft. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-st-petersburg-airport-halts-operations-due-heavy-snowfall-2025-01-12/