2024-04-27 19:00
KYIV, April 27 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a Russian attack on his country's energy sector on Saturday had targeted gas facilities important for supply to the European Union. Russia continues to supply gas to the EU via Ukraine under a transit deal with Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) New Tab, opens new tab that is set to expire in December. Ukraine's energy minister said last month that Kyiv had no plans to extend or replace the arrangement with Moscow, which pays Ukraine to export its gas to the EU. "The main target was the energy sector, various facilities in the industry, both electricity and gas transit facilities, in particular, those gas facilities that are crucial to ensuring safe delivery to the European Union," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. Zelenskiy, who is campaigning for supplies of defensive weapons systems from his international partners, said that Ukrainian forces had "managed to shoot down some" of the 34 Russian missiles of various types. He did not say which specific facilities were targeted, nor whether missiles hit those targets. Ukraine's state-run oil and gas firm Naftogaz said Russia had attacked its facilities but that no-one was hurt and supplies to Ukrainian consumers and clients were unaffected. Maksym Kozytskyi, the governor of Lviv region, which borders Poland, said his region had suffered strikes during an attack by cruise missiles and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, though Ukrainian forces shot down three missiles. He said two critical energy infrastructure objects in Stryi and Chervonohrad districts were damaged and caught fire, though emergency services quickly extinguished the flames. Zelenskiy repeated his previous plea for defensive missiles, particularly Patriot systems, saying Ukraine needed at least seven defensive systems. "The trajectories of the missiles and the nature of the strike were calculated by Russian terrorists in a way to make the work of our air defence system as difficult as possible," he said. "Each downed rocket today is a significant result." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/zelenskiy-says-russia-targeted-gas-facilities-that-secure-eu-supply-2024-04-27/
2024-04-27 18:36
April 27 (Reuters) - Bahrain's national carrier, Gulf Air, will resume flights to Iraq after a four-year suspension, the Bahraini news agency said on Saturday. Bahrain's flights to Iraq were suspended in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, the agency said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/bahrains-gulf-air-resume-flights-iraq-after-four-year-suspension-2024-04-27/
2024-04-27 17:55
April 27 (Reuters) - A tornado that struck the city of Guangzhou in southern China killed five people and left 33 injured, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday, citing local authorities. The tornado hit the city's Baiyun district on Saturday afternoon, the report said, adding it had damaged 141 factory buildings but no residential houses had collapsed, the report added. Rescuers from the city's emergency management, weather, fire, waterworks and health departments, as well as local residents, were sent to the area, Xinhua said, adding that search and rescue work was completed there. Last year, China's Jiangsu was hit by a violent tornado which killed 10 people after torrential rain lashed China's southeast, causing massive evacuations and landslides in the wake of unrelenting storms brought on by the remnants of Typhoon Haikui. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/tornado-chinas-guangzhou-kills-five-injures-33-xinhua-says-2024-04-27/
2024-04-27 17:28
April 27 (Reuters) - The European Union criticised Russia on Saturday for putting subsidiaries of one Italian and one German company under the "temporary external management" of a Gazprom entity, saying the move underscored Moscow's disregard for international norms. Russian President Vladimir Putin placed the Russian subsidiaries of Italian water heating company Ariston and German appliance maker BSH Hausgeraete under JSC Gazprom Household Systems, according to a decree published on Friday. "These measures, targeting legitimate economic activities, are yet another proof of Russia’s disregard for international law and rules," a spokesperson for the EU's diplomatic service said in a statement New Tab, opens new tab. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the government had summoned Russia's ambassador to provide clarification about the issue, adding that Rome was coordinating with Germany and European Union officials in Brussels. The EU statement said the moves confirmed that Russia, which is waging war on Ukraine, was "an unpredictable actor also in the economic field, and has created a business climate which is arbitrary and hostile towards foreign investors". "The European Union calls on Russia to reverse these measures and seek acceptable solutions with European companies targeted by them," the statement said. Ariston said on Saturday it was "extremely surprised" by the move and was assessing the implications of the decree from a governance and managerial standpoint. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/italys-ariston-says-it-wasnt-notified-transfer-russian-assets-2024-04-27/
2024-04-27 16:51
April 27 (Reuters) - BHP Group (BHP.AX) New Tab, opens new tab is considering making an improved offer for Anglo American (AAL.L) New Tab, opens new tab after its $39 billion initial proposal was rejected by the London-listed miner, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. BHP is in discussions on a revised bid for Anglo American to be made in coming weeks, the source said. The deliberations are ongoing and the group has not yet made a decision on the size and structure of the new proposal, the source added. BHP said it does not comment on what it called "rumour and speculation", while Anglo American did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Anglo American rejected BHP's $39 billion takeover offer on Friday, saying it significantly undervalued the miner and its future prospects. Under UK takeover rules, BHP has until May 22 to come back with a formal offer for Anglo American. It is expected to sweeten its 25.08 pounds per share offer to try to clinch a deal that would create the world's biggest miner of copper, a metal central to the clean energy shift. Some Anglo American investors, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters the company is worth around 30 pounds a share. Anglo shares closed at 26.43 pounds on Friday. Much of the focus of BHP's bid has been on copper. A tie-up with Anglo would forge a group accounting for about 10% of global output of the metal, which due to its conductivity and resistance to corrosion is used in everything from electric vehicles and power grids to construction. A deal, if successful, would be the largest mining takeover globally in 2024 so far and would rank among the top 10 largest deals ever for the sector, LSEG data showed. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/bhp-consider-improved-anglo-proposal-after-bid-was-rejected-bloomberg-news-2024-04-27/
2024-04-27 11:45
MILAN, April 27 (Reuters) - Italy is pushing for an agreement among the Group of Seven wealthy nations to set a target date for the phase-out of coal in power generation, diplomatic sources said ahead of a meeting of G7 energy ministers in Turin. An agreement on this would be one step in the direction indicated by the COP28 United Nations climate summit in Dubai last year to transition away from fossil fuels, of which coal is the most polluting. Italy, which heads the G7 rotating presidency this year, currently plans to turn off its coal-power plants by 2025, except on the island of Sardinia where the deadline is 2028. At the G7 meeting this weekend Rome wants to persuade its partners - the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Japan - to set a common target date for the end of coal, Italian diplomatic sources told Reuters. Rome is ready to bring forward its own deadline if it should be necessary to broker an agreement, the sources added. Germany is resisting Italy's efforts on a coal phase-out deadline, the sources said, amid ongoing negotiations to find a compromise at the Turin gathering starting on Sunday. Berlin is currently aiming to phase out its coal-fired power plants in 2030 but the fuel is still the country's second most important energy source for electricity generation. Italy and Germany are also at odds over nuclear power, with Rome willing to say in the G7 communique that power produced by nuclear fission is among the options G7 countries can choose to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Rome also wants to spell out support for research on new generation nuclear reactors, the sources said, but Germany, which mothballed its last nuclear power station in 2023, is against voicing support for energy derived from nuclear fission. Germany's economy ministry, which handles the country's energy policy, was not available to comment on the issue. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/italy-pushes-g7-coal-phase-out-date-ahead-energy-meeting-sources-say-2024-04-27/
