2024-11-30 05:39

BEIJING, Nov 30 (Reuters) - China's Baidu (9888.HK) , opens new tab has received a licence to test autonomous vehicles with its Apollo Go robotaxi service in Hong Kong as it expands its footprint outside the Chinese mainland. Baidu Apollo International Ltd was approved to conduct trials for 10 autonomous vehicle in North Lantau, according to a statement released by Hong Kong's Transport Department on Friday. The license will be valid from Dec. 9, 2024 to Dec. 8, 2029, with only one self-driving car operating on specified road sections at a time in its first phase, according to the statement. During the trial, a backup operator stationed on board will take over control of the vehicle if necessary, it added. The Hong Kong government has actively promoted autonomous vehicles since at least 2017, but has only recently allowed their wider trials, including on public roads, following the rollout of a new legislation in March this year. This is the first pilot licence given out by the Hong Kong government since the introduction of the new regulatory regime. It is also Baidu's first known permit for autonomous vehicle testing outside mainland China. The company's robotaxi service Apollo Go operates in multiple Chinese cities, with the largest fleet, of more than 400 vehicles, in central China's Wuhan city. "Apollo Go looks forward to bringing the benefit of AI and autonomous driving technology to more countries and regions," a spokesperson for Apollo Go said. "This marks an important milestone in our journey towards globalization." As competition to commercialize autonomous vehicles heats up, Baidu plans to launch its robotaxi service outside mainland China, including in Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported last month. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/baidus-apollo-autonomous-vehicles-granted-licence-test-hong-kong-2024-11-30/

2024-11-30 01:57

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Donald Trump's Florida resort on Friday to meet with the U.S. President-elect, days after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on Canadian imports over border-related concerns. Trudeau, whose public itinerary did not list a scheduled visit to Florida, was seen leaving a hotel in West Palm Beach, Florida, to go to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a Reuters witness. Trudeau's office and Trump's representatives did not immediately responded to requests for comment. Trump threatened on Monday to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico until the countries clamped down on drugs, particularly fentanyl, and migrants crossing their borders with the U.S. Officials from Mexico, Canada and China, along with major industry groups, have warned that the hefty tariffs threatened by Trump would harm the economies of all countries involved, cause inflation to spike and damage job markets. Any hit to the Canadian economy would add to Trudeau's woes at a time when his popularity has sunk in part due to a slowing economy and a surge in the cost of living over the past few years. Polls show Trudeau's Liberals would lose to the opposition Conservative party in an election that must be held by late October 2025. Trudeau this week pledged to stay united against Trump's tariff threat and called a meeting with the premiers of all 10 Canadian provinces to discuss U.S. relations. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc is traveling with Trudeau, CBC News reported. Canada is the world's fourth-largest oil producer and sixth-largest natural gas producer. The vast majority of its 4 million barrels per day of crude exports go to the U.S. Trump's plan does not exempt crude oil from the trade penalties, two sources familiar with the plan told Reuters on Tuesday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-pm-trudeau-meet-with-trump-friday-florida-globe-mail-says-2024-11-29/

2024-11-30 00:35

Nov 30 (Reuters) - BayWa (BYWGnx.DE) , opens new tab concluded the second draft restructuring report that was commissioned by the company, and the German agricultural group said on Saturday it would be possible to reach a final commercial agreement on the contractual documentation of the restructuring solution by the end of 2027. The company said several cost-cutting measures had been included in the draft, as well as the sale of key international affiliated companies. BayWa also said the equity ratio will have improved after the transformation phase, and the company will generate normal market earnings. The Munich-based trader of farming supplies and produce said the final restructuring report is planned by the beginning of the second quarter of 2025 at the latest. BayWa has been grappling with rising borrowing costs. The company concluded the first draft of its restructuring plan in September. The departure of the CEO and CFO of the group was also announced in October. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/baywa-says-it-is-possible-reach-agreement-documentation-restructuring-by-end-2024-11-30/

2024-11-30 00:03

Nov 30 (Reuters) - A possible resumption of nuclear weapons tests by Moscow remains an open question in view of hostile U.S. policies, a senior Russian diplomat was quoted as saying early on Saturday. "This is a question at hand," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS news agency when asked whether Moscow was considering a resumption of tests. "And without anticipating anything, let me simply say that the situation is quite difficult. It is constantly being considered in all its components and in all its aspects." In September, Ryabkov referred to President Vladimir Putin as having said that Russia would not conduct a test as long as the United States refrained from carrying one out. Moscow has not conducted a nuclear weapons test since 1990, the year before the collapse of the Soviet Union. But Putin this month lowered the threshold governing the country's nuclear doctrine in response to what Moscow sees as escalation by Western countries backing Ukraine in the 33-month-old war pitting it against Russia. Under the new terms, Russia could consider a nuclear strike in response to a conventional attack on Russia or its ally Belarus that "created a critical threat to their sovereignty and (or) their territorial integrity". The changes were prompted by U.S. permission to allow Ukraine to use Western missiles against targets inside Russia. Russia's testing site is located on the remote Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, where the Soviet Union conducted more than 200 nuclear tests. Putin signed a law last year withdrawing Russia's ratification of the global treaty banning nuclear weapons tests. He said the move sought to bring Russia into line with the United States, which signed but never ratified the treaty. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/senior-russian-diplomat-says-possibility-new-nuclear-tests-remains-open-question-2024-11-30/

2024-11-29 23:43

PRISTINA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - An explosion on Friday evening damaged a canal in northern Kosovo supplying water to two coal-fired power plants that generate nearly all of the country's electricity, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said, blaming what he called "a terrorist act" by neighbouring Serbia. There were no immediate reports of injuries and the cause of the blast, which also impacted drinking water supplies, was not clear. Serbian officials did not respond to requests for comment, and Reuters found no immediate evidence of Belgrade's involvement. "This is a criminal and terrorist attack with the aim to destroy our critical infrastructure," Kurti said in a televised address. He said that some of the country could be without power if the problem is not fixed by morning. In a sign of ethnic tensions between the two Balkan countries, Kurti echoed Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani by blaming Serbian criminal gangs without providing proof. Earlier on Friday, Kosovo police announced increased security measures after two recent attacks where hand grenades were hurled at a police station and municipality building in northern Kosovo where ethnic Serbians live. It was not clear if the incidents were linked. Local media showed pictures of part of the canal destroyed and leaking water and a heavy police presence at the site. Faruk Mujka, the head of water company Ibar-Lepenci, told local news portal Kallxo that an explosive device was thrown into the canal and damaged the wall of a bridge. He said the water supply, which also feeds drinking water to the capital Pristina, must be halted to fix the problem as soon as possible since it was the main channel for supplying Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK), the country's main power provider. Independence for ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo came in 2008, almost a decade after a guerrilla uprising against Serbian rule. However tensions persist, mainly in the north where the Serb minority refuses to recognise Kosovo's statehood and still sees Belgrade as their capital. The EU's Kosovo ambassador, Aivo Orav, condemned the attack that he said was already "depriving considerable parts of Kosovo from water supply". Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/explosion-damages-canal-feeding-power-plants-northern-kosovo-2024-11-29/

2024-11-29 22:04

LIMA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Peru's Congress passed late on Friday passed an extension to a scheme allowing temporary permits to be given to small-scale informal miners, controversial due to accusations by opponents that it has been misused to expand illegal mining. Legislators moved forward a bill proposed earlier in the day by the Energy and Mining Legislative Committee to extend for six months a registry called REINFO, which allows small-scale miners to continue working while seeking formalization. The resolution states a one-time extension for the temporary permits. REINFO, which has already been extended multiple times, expires on Dec. 31. The government has pushed for the scheme to end, claiming that its misuse over more than a decade has caused illegal mining to increase. On Tuesday, Energy and Mines Minister Romulo Mucho was removed from his post by Congress amid protests by small-scale miners who are demanding REINFO be extended by two years. Peruvian small-scale miners, mainly gold miners, have rejected the bill as inadequate and have been blocking a key southern transport route for over a week. In Lima, hundreds of artisanal miners have camped out in front of the legislature. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/peru-takes-step-extend-permit-scheme-informal-miners-2024-11-29/