2024-04-14 12:33

MOSCOW, April 14 (Reuters) - The governor of Russia's Kurgan region on Sunday urged people to evacuate flooded areas immediately, saying rain was exacerbating the already tough situation there and the coming night would be difficult. The water level in the Tobol river had risen by 56 cm on Sunday to 5.47 m (17.95 feet), the RIA news agency cited local authorities as saying. "You need to leave while the sun is up," governor Vadim Shumkov appealed to local people on the Telegram messaging app. "Gather your families, documents, and valuables and leave beforehand. The situation can worsen sharply at night and you might have not enough time to react." The Interfax news agency also cited the government of the Tyumen region to the northeast of Kurgan as saying that two villages there were being evacuated as the authorities feared the area could be threatened by the Ishim river. The TASS news agency cited Russia's emergencies ministry as saying more than 14,000 houses across Russia have been flooded. In Kazakhstan, also hit by floods, more than 1,000 houses in the city of Petropavlovsk have been flooded, the authorities said on Sunday, with more than 4,500 people evacuated. Overall, more than 107,000 people have been evacuated in the country since the beginning of the floods. Two men were found dead in Kazakhstan's western Atyrau region on Sunday after going missing in early April amid floods in the town of Kulsary, the emergencies ministry said. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-kurgan-governor-calls-residents-evacuate-flooded-areas-waters-rise-2024-04-14/

2024-04-14 12:07

LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - Oil prices, which hit a six-month high on Friday, are expected to rise on Monday after Iran's attack on Israel over the weekend, analysts said, but further gains may depend on how Israel chooses to respond. Iran launched explosive drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday in retaliation for a suspected Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria on April 1, a first direct attack on Israeli territory that has stoked fears of a wider regional conflict. Concern that Iran would respond to the strike on its embassy compound in Damascus supported oil last week and helped send global benchmark Brent crude on Friday to $92.18 a barrel, the highest since October. Brent settled that day up 71 cents at $90.45, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 64 cents to $85.66. Trading is closed on Sunday. "It is only reasonable to expect stronger prices when trading resumes," said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM. "Having said that, there has been no impact on production so far and Iran has said that 'the matter can be deemed concluded'. "However fierce and painful the initial market reaction will be, the rally could prove to be short-lived unless supply from the region is materially disrupted." Leaders of the Group of Seven major economies condemned Iran's attack and reaffirmed the G7's commitment to Israel's security during a meeting on Sunday regarding the development, the White House said in a post on X. The G7 leaders discussed sanctions against Iran, a senior U.S. administration official said. "There will probably be a knee-jerk jump in oil and potentially natural gas prices when markets open in Asian trading hours, although crude was already pricing in a fair amount of geopolitical risk in anticipation of an Iranian strike," said Amrita Sen, co-founder of consultancy Energy Aspects. "If the crisis does not escalate to a point that creates supply disruptions, then there will be downside risk over time, but only once it becomes clear Israel has chosen a measured response," she said. IRAN OIL EXPORTS IN VIEW UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said oil might spike at the opening and how long any gains last would depend on Israel's response. Whether or not the G7 decides to target Iranian crude oil exports is also a factor, he added. Iran has steeply raised oil exports - its main source of revenue - under the Joe Biden administration. Exports were severely reduced under Biden's predecessor Donald Trump, who faces Biden in a presidential election rematch in November. The Biden administration has argued it is not encouraging Iran to raise exports and is enforcing sanctions. Lower Iranian exports would lead to a further rise in oil prices and the cost of gasoline in the United States, a politically sensitive subject ahead of the elections. Another factor to watch will be any impact on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the volume of the world's total oil consumption passes daily. The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard's navy said on Tuesday Tehran could close the strait if deemed necessary, and earlier on Saturday Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported a Guards helicopter had boarded and taken into Iranian waters a vessel, the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries. "Crude prices already included a risk premium, and the extent to which it will widen further almost exclusively depends on developments near Iran around the Strait of Hormuz," said Ole Hansen at Saxo Bank. In comments that he said might be going against the stream, Viktor Katona, lead crude analyst at Kpler, said he thought the Iranian attack was slightly bearish for crude. "The market expected a pathway to World War III but Iran saying it considers its retaliation to be over would lower the risk of a bigger regional conflagration," he said. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-seen-opening-up-after-irans-attack-israel-further-gains-may-depend-response-2024-04-14/

2024-04-14 12:03

ADEN, April 14 (Reuters) - Yemen's armed Houthi movement said on Sunday that Iran's attack on Israel was a legitimate act in response to a suspected Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1. A Houthi spokesman added that the Yemeni group had been in direct confrontation with Israel since Oct. 7, by attacking the southern Israeli port of Eilat with missiles and drones and by preventing Israeli ships from sailing through the Red Sea. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-say-iranian-attack-israel-is-legitimate-2024-04-14/

2024-04-14 10:29

JAKARTA, April 14 (Reuters) - Landslides on Indonesia's Sulawesi island on the weekend killed at least 18 people with rescue efforts, including police sniffer dogs, still ongoing for two missing people, local authorities said on Monday. The local government in South Sulawesi also reported that two people were in a critical condition in hospital. Landslides, triggered by high-intensity rains, affected two villages in the region of Tana Toraja, in South Sulawesi and destroyed four homes, according to the country's disaster mitigation data on Sunday. Photos of affected villages provided by the agency showed rescuers trawling through the rubble for survivors, with homes flattened and reduced to planks of wood and concrete. Emergency response efforts have been complicated by poor weather conditions and damage to roads into the affected areas, making it difficult for vehicles, including ambulances to evacuate victims, the agency previously said. Located in the centre of Sulawesi island, the mountainous region of Tana Toraja is about 300 km (186 miles) from the provincial capital, Makassar. Floods and landslides killed at least 26 people on Indonesia's Sumatra island last month, with torrential rains destroying hundreds of homes, and displacing thousands. Indonesia's rainy season began in January with the meteorological agency forecasting a first-quarter peak, particularly on the islands of Java and Sumatra. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/landslides-kill-14-indonesias-sulawesi-island-2024-04-14/

2024-04-14 04:53

April 14 (Reuters) - About 1,000 more homes were flooded in Russia's Orenburg in the 24 hours to Sunday morning, but water levels in the Ural river that runs through the city have started subsiding, officials said. "Last night was still quite tense," said Deputy Mayor Alexei Kudinov, according to Russia's RIA state news agency. "Almost 1,000 homes have been flooded in the past 24 hours." The Ural started to recede early on Sunday, Orenburg's administration said on the Telegram messaging app. Authorities in the southern Russian city near Kazakhstan called on thousands of residents to evacuate immediately on Friday as major rivers burst their banks after a historic deluge of melting snow. Waters continued to rise sharply in the Russian region of Kurgan, east of Orenburg and also bordering Kazakhstan. Officials told the TASS state news agency that several settlements along the Tobol river were expected to be flooded in the next couple days. TASS reported that some 770 homes were flooded in the region in the 24 hours to early Sunday. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/more-homes-russias-orenburg-flooded-water-levels-inch-down-2024-04-14/

2024-04-13 23:52

For a Reuters live page of coverage of the Iranian attack, click JERUSALEM/DUBAI, April 13 (Reuters) - Iran launched explosive drones and fired missiles at Israel late on Saturday in its first direct attack on Israeli territory, a retaliatory strike that raised the threat of a wider regional conflict, as the U.S pledged "ironclad" backing for Israel. Sirens wailed and Reuters journalists in Israel heard distant heavy thuds and bangs from what local media called aerial interceptions of explosive drones. Authorities said a 7-year-old girl was critically injured. U.S. President Joe Biden, who spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said he would convene a meeting of leaders of the Group of Seven major economies on Sunday to coordinate a diplomatic response to what he called Iran's brazen attack. Six months into an Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza and amid growing risks of a greater regional war, Axios quoted a senior White House official as saying Biden also told Netanyahu the U.S. would oppose any Israeli counterattack against Iran. The U.N. Security Council was set to meet at 4 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) on Sunday after Israel requested it condemn Iran's attack and designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, according to a schedule released late on Saturday. Israel's military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said Iran launched dozens of ground-to-ground missiles at Israel, most of them intercepted outside Israeli borders. They included more than 10 cruise missiles, he said. The Iranian salvo of more than 200 drones and missiles caused light damage to one Israeli military facility, Hagari said. The Israeli military later said it was not advising any residents to prepare to take shelter. This revision of an earlier alert appeared to signal the end of the threat. Israel's Channel 12 TV cited an unnamed Israeli official as saying there would be a "significant response" to the attack. Iran had vowed retaliation for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two senior commanders. Tehran said its strike was punishment for "Israeli crimes". Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the consulate attack. "Should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran's response will be considerably more severe," the Iranian mission to the United Nations said, warning the U.S. to "stay away". However, it also said Iran now "deemed the matter concluded". U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said America did not seek conflict with Iran but would not hesitate to act to protect U.S. forces and support defence of Israel. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Iran's attack, saying he was "deeply alarmed about the very real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation." Russian Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said on the Telegram social media app that in addition to a letter from Israel, the Security Council had received one from Iran asserting its attack was within the U.N. Charter framework governing the right to self-defence. "The latter warns that if Israel responds, Iran will respond in a more powerful and decisive manner," Polyanskiy said. Biden, who on Friday had warned Iran against an attack, cut short a weekend visit to his home state of Delaware and returned to Washington to meet with his national security advisers, including his secretaries of defence and state, in the White House Situation Room. He pledged to stand with Israel. "Our commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad," Biden said on X after the meeting. The war in Gaza, which Israel invaded after an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, has ratcheted up tensions in the region, spreading to fronts with Lebanon and Syria and drawing long-range fire at Israeli targets from as far away as Yemen and Iraq. Drones were also reportedly launched against Israel by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group, British maritime security company Ambrey said in a statement. Those clashes now threaten to morph into a direct open conflict pitting Iran and its regional allies against Israel and its main supporter, the United States. Regional power Egypt urged "utmost restraint". While Israel and Iran have been bitter foes for decades, their feud has mostly unfolded via proxies or by targeting each other's forces operating in third countries. U.S. and British warplanes were involved in shooting down some Israel-bound drones over the Iraq-Syria border area, Israel's Channel 12 reported. The U.S. military knocked down dozens of drones and missiles bound for Israel, three U.S. officials said. Biden said he had directed the U.S. military to move aircraft and ballistic missile defence destroyers to the region over the course of the past week. "Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles," he said. ESCALATION Netanyahu convened Israel's war cabinet at a military headquarters in Tel Aviv, his office said. Israel and Lebanon said they were closing their airspace on Saturday night. Jordan, which lies between Iran and Israel, had readied air defences to intercept any drone or missile that violated its territory, two regional security sources said. Residents in several Jordanian cities said they heard heavy aerial activity. Syria, an ally of Iran, said it was putting its ground-to-air defence systems around the capital and major bases on high alert, army sources there said. The European Union, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Mexico, the Netherlands and Norway condemned Iran's attack. Biden's Republican rival in November's presidential election, Donald Trump, briefly referred to the airstrikes at a rally in Pennsylvania, criticizing his Democratic rival. "They're under attack right now," Trump said. "That's because we show great weakness. This would not happen, the weakness that we've shown, it's unbelievable, and it would not have happened if we were in office." Israel had been bracing for an Iranian response to the Damascus consulate strike since last week, when Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel "must be punished and shall be" for an operation he called equivalent to one on Iranian soil. Iran's main ally in the region, the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah that has been exchanging fire with Israel since the Gaza war began, said early on Sunday it had fired rockets at an Israeli base. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-launches-drone-attack-israel-expected-unfold-over-hours-2024-04-13/