2024-12-15 20:34

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Teamsters members working at Marathon Petroleum's (MPC.N) , opens new tab Detroit refinery have voted to ratify a seven-year collective bargaining agreement, the company and the union said on Sunday, three months after workers walked off the job. "The process to safely welcome our employees back to the refinery is already in progress," the Findlay, Ohio-based company said. Over 200 Teamsters at Marathon's Detroit refinery had called for the strike on Sept. 4 after months of pay and safety-related negotiations and mediations with the refiner yielded no results. Their previous contract expired in January this year. Marathon representatives and Teamsters had several negotiating sessions under a federal mediator since workers went on strike. The 140,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Detroit refinery is one of Marathon's 13 refineries with approximately 2.9 million bpd of crude oil refining capacity. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/marathons-detroit-refinery-union-workers-vote-ratify-agreement-2024-12-15/

2024-12-15 20:32

PARIS, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Following are some facts about the French overseas territory of Mayotte, devastated by Cyclone Chido this weekend. GEOGRAPHY Mayotte is a French territory located off the southeastern shores of Africa. It lies to the east of the Indian Ocean islands of Comoros and northwest of Madagascar. Mayotte is made up of two main islands: Grande-Terre and Petite-Terre. The nearby Comoros cover three small volcanic islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli. Unlike Mayotte, the Comoros declared independence from France in 1975. Mayotte's land area is 374 square kilometres (144 sq mi) - slightly more than twice the size of Washington DC. It has a population of some 321,000 people according to official estimates. HISTORY The islands were first settled by Arab seafarers about 1,000 years ago. The Arabs brought in slaves from Africa and established a series of small sultanates on the different islands, which traded with East Africa and Madagascar. France colonised Mayotte in 1843 and extended its influence to formally annex the whole archipelago in 1904. A measure of self-rule in 1961 failed to end agitation for full independence. In a 1974 referendum, 95% backed separation but 63% on Mayotte voted to stay French. Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli unilaterally declared independence on July 6, 1975. Mayotte remains part of France. ECONOMY Mayotte is heavily dependent on French financial assistance. While it has flourished under French control, Comoros' rapidly growing population has suffered poverty and political instability. Hundreds of Comorians risk their lives every year on the dangerous sea crossing to Mayotte. French social welfare and taxes apply in Mayotte. In 1898, two cyclones razed Mayotte and a smallpox epidemic decimated the survivors. The sugar industry was abandoned, replaced by vanilla, coffee, sisal and later fragrant plants such as ylang-ylang. Unemployment runs high in Mayotte: roughly one in three people of working age are jobless. Three in four people live below France's national poverty rate, according to the national INSEE statistics institute. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/key-facts-about-mayotte-pummelled-by-cyclone-chido-2024-12-15/

2024-12-15 19:31

ABUJA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - An oil spill has occurred at the Shell loading terminal in Nigeria's Delta region after a pipeline ruptured, Nigeria's maritime agency said on Sunday. The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said the spill which occurred on Saturday at the Bonny terminal has reached shoreline and that it was actively monitoring the situation. NIMASA added that it was also working with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and other stakeholders to assess the extent of the spill and follow-up actions. The maritime agency said SPDC has shut down the affected pipeline and deployed containment booms to protect neighbouring communities. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/oil-spill-occurs-shell-terminal-nigeria-2024-12-15/

2024-12-15 16:05

KINSHASA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A meeting between the presidents of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo will not take place as planned on Sunday, both countries said, dashing hopes of a deal to curb Congo's M23 rebel conflict that has displaced more than 1.9 million people. The event was meant to see a rare face-to-face meeting between the central African leaders in Angola, where long-running negotiations have sought to ease tensions between the neighbours linked to the almost three-year M23 insurgency. Expectations that a deal would be signed had raised hopes of an end to a standoff that has further destabilised eastern Congo and fanned fears of a broader conflict in Africa's Great Lakes region akin to two devastating wars between 1996 and 2003 that cost millions of lives. "The cancellation of this tripartite is caused by the refusal of the Rwandan delegation to take part," Congo's presidency said in a statement. It said on Saturday Rwanda had made the signing of a peace agreement conditional on Congo holding direct talks with M23 rebels, which Congo rejected. Rwanda’s foreign ministry said this lack of consensus meant it would not have been possible for it to sign Sunday's agreement. Postponing the meeting would allow Congo time to engage directly with M23, it said in a statement. The peace plan that was set to be signed envisaged Rwanda dismantling what it has called its defensive measures in the conflict in exchange for Congo eliminating a Hutu rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which had attacked Tutsis in both countries. Congo, the United Nations, and others accuse Rwanda of fuelling the rebellion in North Kivu province by deploying its own troops and weapons to support M23, a group formed to defend the interests of Congolese Tutsis, the ethnic group to which Rwandan President Paul Kagame belongs. Rwanda denies this, acknowledging only that it has taken defensive measures, and accuses Congo of recruiting FDLR militants to fight on its side. There were 3,000-4,000 Rwandan troops in Congo with "de facto control" over M23 operations, U.N. experts said this year. The international community needs to do more to push Rwanda to back down, said Congo expert Jason Stearns at Canada's Simon Fraser University. "There's very little pressure, especially as the country putting the most pressure on Rwanda so far is the United States, which is going through a transition of its own," he said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/congo-rwanda-say-peace-talks-angola-will-not-take-place-2024-12-15/

2024-12-15 13:20

LATAKIA, Syria, Dec 15 (Reuters) - In Syria's northwestern port town of Latakia, Christian worshippers attending Mass on Sunday at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral were hopeful that the country's new largely Sunni Muslim leadership would respect their religion. Like other Christians around the country, they were attending the first Mass since rebels overthrew President Bashar al-Assad a week ago Last Sunday, Church authorities warned people to stay away from worship amid the upheaval as rebels - led by Islamist former al Qeada offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - swept into Damascus and ended 50 years of brutal rule by the Assad family. Athanasios Fahed, the Metropolitan of Latakia and its dependencies for the Greek Orthodox Church, led Sunday's service in Latakia and the cathedral filled with people in brisk morning weather. "Last Sunday, we were surprised just like all Syrian people, of the change that happened. Of course, we had many fears, especially for those who are called minorities," Fahed told Reuters, although he added he did not consider Christians minorities since they were "part of this country". "But of course, a lot of questions rose because obviously there was chaos in the street due to the fall of the state and its security, military, official and civil institutions," Fahed said. Fahed said that while many Christians were displaced to other regions under Assad's rule, the coastal regions such as areas around Latakia were unaffected. Latakia was a stronghold of Assad's rule. Syria's population includes historic ethnic and religious minority communities including Christians, Armenians, Kurds and Shi'ite Muslims, who like many other Syrian Muslims had feared during the 13-year civil war that any future Islamist rule would imperil their way of life. Lina Akhras, a parish council secretary at the church, said Christians had been "comfortable" under Assad in terms of their freedom of belief. "It happened all of a sudden, we didn't know what to expect. So in order to protect everybody, we stopped (worship) until we saw how it will develop," she told Reuters. "Thank God, we received a lot of assurances and we saw that members of the (HTS) committee reached out to our priest... God willing we will return to our previous lives and live in our beautiful Syria," she told Reuters. "Your religion is yours, but our country is for all of us." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hoping-religious-harmony-christians-syrian-town-attend-mass-2024-12-15/

2024-12-15 11:59

Oil spills into sea after tanker damaged, Russia says Vessel had capacity of 4,200 tonnes of oil products Another damaged tanker drifting, evacuation efforts suspended Russia evacuating crews, at least one person killed MOSCOW, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A Russian oil tanker carrying thousands of tonnes of oil products split apart during a heavy storm on Sunday, spilling oil into the Kerch Strait, while another tanker was also in distress after sustaining damage, Russian officials said. The vessels were in the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, when they issued distress signals. Russian investigators opened two criminal cases to look into possible safety violations after at least one person was killed when the 136-metre Volgoneft 212 tanker, with 15 people on board, split in half with its bow sinking. Footage on state media showed waves washing over its deck. The Russian-flagged vessel, built in 1969, was damaged and had run aground, officials said. Unverified video posted on Telegram showed some blackened water on stormy seas and a half-submerged tanker. The second Russian-flagged ship, the 132-metre Volgoneft 239, was drifting after sustaining damage, the Emergencies Ministry said. It has a crew of 14 people and was built in 1973. KEY ROUTE FOR RUSSIAN GRAIN, OIL EXPORTS The Kerch Strait is a key route for exports of Russian grain and is also used for exports of crude oil, fuel oil and liquefied natural gas. In September, Ukraine accused Russia at an international court of flouting sea law by trying to keep the Kerch Strait under its sole control, something Moscow dismisses at groundless. Emergency services said one person had died in the wreck of the first tanker, and 12 other people had been evacuated. Eleven of those were taken to hospital, with two in a serious condition, the TASS news agency quoted Alexei Kuznetsov, an aide to the health minister, as saying. The Emergencies Ministry said it was still in contact with the other tanker and its crew after the ship ran aground 80 m from shore near the port of Taman at the south end of the Kerch Strait. The ministry later wrote on Telegram that efforts to evacuate the crew of the second ship, Volganeft 239, were suspended because of bad weather. The ministry said rescue teams were in contact with the ship, which had all facilities on board necessary to ensure the lives of the crew were not in danger. Both tankers have a loading capacity of about 4,200 tonnes oil products. Official statements did not provide details on the extent of the spill or why one of the tankers sustained such serious damage. President Vladimir Putin ordered the government to set up a working group to deal with the rescue operation and mitigate the impact of the fuel spill, news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying, after Putin met with the ministers for emergencies and environment. Russia said more than 50 people and equipment, including Mi-8 helicopters and rescue tugboats, had been deployed to the area. Svetlana Radionova, head of Russia's natural resources watchdog Rosprirodnadzor, said specialists were assessing the damage at the site of the incident. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-cargo-ship-carrying-oil-products-distress-kerch-strait-says-emergencies-2024-12-15/