2024-10-27 04:20

HANOI, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Storm Trami hit central Vietnam on Sunday, threatening to trigger heavy rains and dangerous floods after leaving a path of destruction in the Philippines. The Southeast Asian country, with its extended coastline, is prone to storms and floods that often cause significant casualties and property damage. Rainfall in several parts of provinces from Quang Binh to Quang Nam is forecast to reach 60 cm (23.6 inches) on Sunday and Monday, according to the national weather forecast agency. "The risks of floods are high at urban areas from Ha Tinh to Binh Dinh provinces," the agency said. Heavy rains are also expected to hit the Central Highlands, the country's key coffee growing area, according to the agency. After sweeping across the Philippines' main Luzon island, Trami left large areas submerged under floodwaters, making rescue and relief operations difficult as Manila braces for the impact of incoming storm Kong-rey. The storm hit the Philippines on Thursday, causing floods and landslides that have left 90 people dead as of Sunday, up from 46 deaths reported on Friday, the disaster agency said. Ariel Nepomuceno, head of the Office of Civil Defense, said many of these reported deaths were still being validated to confirm the cause of death was directly related to the storm. Food, water, hygiene and medical supplies are sufficient, however, extensive flooding was hindering relief efforts, with many areas accessible only by boats, Nepomuceno said. Trami, with wind speeds of up to 88 kph (54.7 mph), made landfall in Hue and Danang. Maximum wind speeds have since weakened to 74 kph (46 mph). The storm has forced four airports in central Vietnam to temporarily close, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam. Among them, the international airport in Danang City will be closed from 6:00 a.m. on Sunday until 4:00 a.m. on Monday. State media reports said Trami's strong winds downed trees and advertisement boards in Danang. Last month, typhoon Yagi and the floods it triggered killed more than 300 people and caused property damage of more than $3.3 billion in northern Vietnam. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/storm-trami-lands-central-vietnam-posing-flood-risks-2024-10-27/

2024-10-27 03:31

SINGAPORE/LONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices are expected to fall when trading resumes on Monday as Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran over the weekend bypassed Tehran's oil and nuclear infrastructure and did not disrupt energy supplies, analysts said. Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 4% last week in volatile trade as markets priced in uncertainty around the extent of Israel's response to the Iranian missile attack on Oct. 1 and the U.S. election next month. Scores of Israeli jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn on Saturday against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran, in the latest exchange in the escalating conflict between the Middle East rivals. "The market can breathe a big sigh of relief; the known unknown that was Israel's eventual response to Iran has been resolved," Harry Tchilinguirian, group head of research at Onyx said on LinkedIn. "Israel attacked after the departure of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the U.S. administration could not have hoped for a better outcome with U.S. elections less than two weeks away." Iran on Saturday played down Israel's overnight air attack against Iranian military targets, saying it caused only limited damage. "Israel's not attacking oil infrastructure, and reports that Iran won't respond to the strike remove an element of uncertainty," Tony Sycamore, IG market analyst in Sydney, said. "It's very likely we see a 'buy the rumour, sell the fact' type reaction when the crude oil futures markets reopen tomorrow," he said, adding that WTI may return to $70 a barrel level. Tchilinguirian expects geopolitical risk premium that had been built into oil prices to deflate rapidly with Brent heading back towards $74-$75 a barrel. UBS commodity analyst Giovanni Staunovo also expects oil prices to be depressed on Monday as Israel's response to Iran's attack appeared to have been restrained. "But I would expect such downside reaction to be only temporary, as I believe the market didn't price a large risk premium," he added. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-likely-fall-after-israel-shows-restraint-strikes-iran-2024-10-27/

2024-10-26 21:35

ABU DHABI, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Champion Ilia Topuria overcame early adversity to score a thunderous third-round knockout victory over Hawaiian Max Holloway to retain the UFC featherweight title at UFC 308 at the Etihad Arena on Saturday. The 27-year-old Topuria scored an early takedown but struggled to manage the distance through the first two frames of an intriguing title fight, but once he figured it out, the writing was on the wall for his opponent. Holloway, who defeated Jose Aldo to become undisputed featherweight champ in June 2017 but lost the belt in December 2019, used his dizzying array of strikes to keep his Georgian-born opponent at bay, but Topuria's piston-like right hand was a threat throughout. That right hand was what started Holloway's demise, but it was a follow-up short left that sent Holloway crashing to the canvas and the Spain-based Topuria quickly followed him to the ground, raining down blows before referee Marc Goddard jumped in to stop the fight. "With that right hand, I felt it. I just saw it with him, in his face, he started making some steps back, and you don't see that often with Max," Topuria said, paying tribute to his opponent as Holloway suffered the first knockout loss of his UFC tenure. "I hope I'm going to be a small portion of the example he has been for me, for the new generation." In the co-main event, undefeated Chechen Khamzat Chimaev put on another dominant grappling display before submitting former champ Robert Whittaker in the first round of their middleweight bout to set himself up for a crack at the title. Chimaev wasted no time taking the Australian down, using his limpet-like wrestling to control Whittaker before taking his back and latching on to a face crank that appeared to dislocate his opponet's jaw, forcing a very quick tap with 1:26 left to go in the first frame. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sports/topuria-kos-holloway-retain-ufc-featherweight-title-2024-10-26/

2024-10-26 20:22

MEXICO CITY, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Nineteen people died and six others were injured when a bus crashed on a highway in Mexico's central state of Zacatecas on Saturday, local authorities said. The accident occurred in the early morning hours when the bus carrying the victims collided with the back of a tractor-trailer carrying corn, which had come loose. Zacatecas Governor David Monreal earlier on Saturday had initially reported a preliminary death toll of 24 people, but the state attorney general's office later revised the tally in a statement. The attorney general's office said it was "carrying out investigations to arrest the driver" of the tractor-trailer. Efforts were ongoing on Saturday morning to recover some of the bodies that had fallen into a ravine, a local government official who asked not to be named told Reuters. Images shared on social media showed rescue teams and security forces, including military personnel, securing the area while rescuers worked to recover the bodies. The bus was headed for Ciudad Juarez, a city on the U.S.-Mexico border in the state of Chihuahua. The victims did not include migrants, according to the attorney general's office. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/two-dozen-people-die-central-mexico-bus-crash-2024-10-26/

2024-10-26 16:52

WASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - The Bank of England is reluctantly pressing on with work to create a form of digital money accessible to the general public, as commercial banks risk failing to keep up with less-regulated tech firms, Governor Andrew Bailey said on Saturday. Bailey's remarks build on his longstanding concerns that he does not want to see day-to-day payments or banking-type services shift to cryptocurrencies or services from tech companies that are less safe or private than banks. The BoE and Britain's finance ministry have said they will not make a final decision before 2025 at the earliest whether to go ahead with a state-backed digital pound or central bank digital currency (CBDC), following a consultation which drew widespread concerns about privacy. "That (CBDC) is not my preferred option, but it's one we can't rule out," Bailey said at the Group of Thirty in Washington, a forum for central banks and commercial bankers. While Britain's electronic payment infrastructure already provides fast transfers with no upfront costs for the public, future forms of digital currency could offer more options in areas such as automatic payments. "Commercial bank money, i.e. the banking system, is the best home for that innovation," Bailey said. "But ... are they the only game in town? At the Bank of England we're continuing to prepare for a retail CBDC, because to be frank we are not yet seeing enough evidence that innovation will happen in the commercial banking system." Commercial banks might be avoiding innovation because they made too much profit from the current system, Bailey said. "To be particularly frank about this, if the rents that are being earned from the 'rails' (payment systems) act to inhibit innovation and act to inhibit competition, that is why ... we need a retail CBDC on the table," Bailey said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/bank-england-press-with-digital-currency-case-banks-fall-short-bailey-says-2024-10-26/

2024-10-26 15:59

BRASILIA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's environmental protection agency IBAMA has imposed 365 million reais ($64 million) in fines on cattle ranches and meat packers, including the world's largest JBS SA (JBSS3.SA) , opens new tab, for raising or buying cattle on illegally deforested land in the Amazon. IBAMA said on it had identified 69 properties that had sold 18,000 head of cattle raised on deforested land, and 23 meat packing companies that bought the cattle in the states of Para and Amazonas. The enforcement operation was aimed at curbing deforestation in the Amazon by monitoring the chain that produces or sells cattle from illegally deforested areas, IBAMA said. JBS denied buying cattle from the properties named by IBAMA. "None of the JBS purchases indicated by IBAMA were made from embargoed areas," the company said. JBS added in a statement that its geospatial monitoring system ensures the company does not acquire animals from farms involved in illegal deforestation, the invasion of indigenous lands or environmental conservation areas. Extensive cattle ranching along with clearing land to sell timber or grow soy are driving deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. A number of meat packers signed commitments with prosecutors in 2013, agreeing not to buy cattle from ranches that were cleared illegally or have been blacklisted for environmental crimes. JBS and more than a dozen other major agriculture firms have also pledged to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains by 2025, including destruction linked to indirect suppliers that sell to middlemen who then sell to meat packers. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-fines-meat-packers-64-million-buying-cattle-deforested-amazon-land-2024-10-26/