2023-12-21 06:36

137 dead, 982 injured in disaster zone 12 missing in Qinghai; no missing reported in Gansu Rescue efforts in Gansu ended in about 15 hours Temperatures near epicentre around daily low of -15°C since Tuesday DAHEJIA, China, Dec 21 (Reuters) - A dozen people were still missing on Thursday after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck northwestern Gansu province late Monday, and netizens questioned the speed at which rescue operations had ended. Chinese media reported that search-and-rescue work in Gansu ended at 3 p.m. (0700 GMT) on Tuesday, about 15 hours after the disaster hit a remote and mountainous area near the border straddling Gansu and Qinghai provinces. It was not immediately clear whether the search in Qinghai was continuing. In Gansu, 115 people had been found dead as of 9 a.m. on Wednesday (0100 GMT) and 784 were injured, authorities said. Gansu has not reported any missing persons. Neighbouring Qinghai saw its death toll rose to 22 with 198 injured and 12 missing as of 8:56 p.m. on Wednesday. More than 207,000 homes were wrecked and nearly 15,000 collapsed in Gansu, affecting more than 145,000 people. Discussions online showed netizens curious about how quickly rescue efforts wrapped up in Gansu, with many suggesting that the sub-freezing temperatures were the main factor in shortening the "golden period" for finding survivors - typically 72 hours post-disaster. People trapped under rubble exposed to prolonged temperatures of -10° Celsius (14°F) run the risk of rapid hypothermia and may only be able to live for five to 10 hours even if uninjured, local media reported, citing researchers. "They would have been dead by the time they were found, even 24 hours is already too long. Outdoor temperatures are below minus 10 C," a user on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo commented. Some users on Weibo considered other factors such as that the search area was not especially wide, and that people have been all accounted for, leading to rescue efforts ending in less than a day. SURVIVING THE COLD Rescuers on Wednesday pulled to safety victims of the earthquake, which jolted Jishishan county in Gansu a minute before midnight on Monday, sending many residents in the area out of homes into the cold in the dead of the night. Survivors face uncertainty in the wintry months ahead without permanent shelter amid freezing temperatures. Many of the affected families are Hui people, an ethnic minority mostly found in western Chinese provinces and regions such as Gansu, Ningxia and Shaanxi. In Gansu's Sibuzi village, villagers worried about the freezing winter. "Many people escaped from their homes, some without socks, just ran out barefoot. It's extremely cold standing on the ground," said Zhou Habai, an ethnic Hui woman. The 24-year-old, now staying in a makeshift tent after her home was destroyed, said some villagers have been gathering and burning firewood to keep warm. About 60% of the survivors have not received tents, 63-year-old Ye Zhiying, from the same village, told Reuters. He said officials from the Communist Party had told them that the village would distribute tents by noon on Thursday, and would be set up in less than a week. "Whether everyone can be accommodated or not, we don't know," said the Hui villager, who was given a tent on Wednesday. Roads, power and water lines and agricultural production facilities have suffered damage, and the quake triggered land and mudslides that swept through villages in Qinghai's Haidong where the missing were reported from. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/dozen-still-missing-after-chinas-earthquake-2023-12-21/

2023-12-21 06:16

Russia has dipped into rainy day fund to support aviation sector Airbus, Boeing halted services, key parts supplies in 2022 Moscow faces daunting task to reduce foreign dependency Putin: Russia will produce more than 1,000 aircraft by 2030 Dec 21 (Reuters) - Russia has handed out more than $12 billion in state subsidies and loans to keep its aviation sector afloat since Western sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine cut off supplies of key parts and maintenance services, a Reuters analysis shows. Dependent on foreign-made aircraft, Russia faces the daunting task of developing its aviation industry alone with domestically sourced parts, while buying aircraft from foreign lessors to avoid more of its fleet being seized. Western planemakers Airbus (AIR.PA) and Boeing (BA.N) halted supplies of services and spare parts in March 2022 and dropped regular maintenance support for flag carrier Aeroflot (AFLT.MM) and other Russian airlines. Since then, Russia has spent 1.09 trillion roubles ($12.07 billion) supporting the civil aviation industry, including aircraft manufacturing and financial assistance for airlines, Reuters calculations show, based on data from the Ministry of Finance and the Accounts Chamber, which oversees budget execution. The spending is almost twice as much as 547 billion roubles in payments made in 2020-21, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused a drastic reduction in air travel, and highlights the scale of the Kremlin's effort to wrest control of a crucial industry. "Our fleet of aircraft is very overloaded ... with foreign-made planes," President Vladimir Putin said last week. "We plan to produce more than 1,000 aircraft by 2030, our own planes. Work is needed." According to Swiss aviation intelligence provider ch-aviation, Russian airlines currently operate 991 aircraft, including 405 made in Russia. But just 133 are Superjets made by state-owned producer United Aircraft Corporation (UNAC.MM). Other Russian-produced aircraft - Tupolev, Yakovlev and Ilyushin - are rarely used for commercial flights. Support for aircraft manufacturing, a key industry, will be maintained for years to come, the industry and trade ministry said in response to Reuters' findings. "The main emphasis is on supporting sales, expanding production capacity and creating a post-sales service system," the ministry said. The importance of a reliable air industry is particularly crucial for Russia, both for transporting people and goods across its enormous territory and to bolster Moscow's narrative that sanctions have had but a minimal impact. With voters heading to the polls in three months, the collapse of an airline could apply reputational and electoral pressure on Putin who is running again for president. As a key aviation power since Soviet times, Russia's technical ability is not in doubt. Western aviation analysts say the investments will at best keep the fleet flying but doubt its aircraft will return to Western markets any time soon, even if the conflict in Ukraine ends. That's because of the cost and bureaucracy involved in rebuilding a fleet with a clean and traceable safety record and approved parts. RAINY DAY FUNDS Russia has dipped into reserve funds, the data showed, spending 110 billion roubles in 2022 on compensating airlines for losses from a sharp rise in jet fuel costs. This year, the National Wealth Fund (NWF) has played a bigger funding role with Moscow drawing almost 400 billion roubles for aviation spending so far in 2023. The scale of spending in 2022-23 is equivalent to just under 1% of projected gross domestic product (GDP) for 2023. Russia has spent an additional 2.3 trillion roubles in 2022-23 on developing transport outside the aviation sector. The country's domestic air passenger traffic began to rebound in late 2022, as airlines found ways to import spare parts through a grey import scheme the government introduced. Russian airlines have kept their fleet of Western jets in the air, partly by importing spare parts via third countries without the manufacturers' - mainly Airbus and Boeing - consent. Passenger numbers are recovering but still lag pre-COVID levels. Meanwhile, the loss of foreign parts and maintenance expertise has raised concerns about aircraft safety. Some airlines have stripped airplanes for parts, aviation industry sources told Reuters last year. Moscow hurriedly localised the registration of its fleet and has used NWF funds to buy back aircraft from foreign lessors to avoid the risk of their confiscation when flying abroad. Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said 300 billion roubles could be used for buying aircraft from foreign lessors in 2023. So far, 190 billion roubles has been spent, the data showed, with state-owned insurance company NSK holding aircraft on airlines' behalf. A government document setting out strategic spending plans for aviation, seen by Reuters last autumn, said that Russia would have to spend at least 711 billion roubles on "achieving technological independence from foreign suppliers". Aeroflot, the transport and finance ministries did not respond to requests for comment. ($1 = 90.2900 roubles) https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russia-splashes-12-bln-keep-aviation-sector-air-2023-12-21/

2023-12-21 06:14

Dec 21 (Reuters) - Social media platform X and X Pro suffered outages globally early Thursday, according to Downdetector.com. Users on X, formerly known as Twitter, were unable to view posts on the social media site with a message that said "Welcome to X!" Users encountered loading issues on X Pro, formerly TweetDeck, with a message that said "Waiting for posts." Over 47,000 U.S. users faced access issues with X and X Pro, according to Downdetector data. Downdetector tracks outages by collating status reports from several sources including users. https://www.reuters.com/technology/social-media-platform-x-down-users-globally-downdetector-2023-12-21/

2023-12-21 06:12

TOKYO, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor (7203.T) shares slumped on Thursday as Japan's transport ministry inspected a subsidiary over safety concerns dating back decades and as the world's top-selling automaker separately announced a recall of 1.1 million vehicles. Shares in Japan's biggest automaker closed down 4.0%, underperforming the benchmark Nikkei average (.N225), which fell 1.6%. A day earlier, Toyota's small-car unit, Daihatsu Motor, said it would halt shipments of all of its vehicles indefinitely after discovering more safety-inspection irregularities. An independent committee said it had found issues involving 64 models, including almost two dozen sold under Toyota's brand. The panel had been investigating the unlisted automaker after it said in April that it had rigged side-collision safety tests carried out for 88,000 small cars. Daihatsu said on Wednesday it did not know when it would resume shipments, but that the impact on its earnings would be substantial. Analysts said the impact on Toyota's earnings would likely be limited given the parent company's size. A one-month suspension of production, for example, would equal 120,000 vehicles and translate to a revenue reduction of 240 billion yen ($1.68 billion) for Toyota, Nomura auto analyst Masataka Kunugimoto wrote in a report. A bigger impact could be on Daihatsu's suppliers. The company's supply chain in Japan comprises 8,316 companies that made 2.21 trillion yen in annual sales from Daihatsu, Teikoku Databank said in a report. Shares in parts manufacturer Metalart (5644.T), which has strong ties with Daihatsu, plunged 10%. Daihatsu's infraction drew criticism from the government, with the transport ministry saying it would consider administrative penalties including revoking Daihatsu's production certification depending on the outcome of its investigation. "This is an extremely regrettable case that undermines the trust of automobile users and is a misconduct that affects the very foundation of the automobile certification system," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. Daihatsu has said it would consider financial support and damages for its suppliers. Separately, Toyota said it would recall 1.12 million vehicles worldwide, mainly in the United States, to fix a faulty sensor that could cause air bags to not deploy as designed. Shares in Toyota affiliate and parts supplier Aisin (7259.T), which manufactured those sensors and is a major supplier for Daihatsu, lost 3.9%. Shares of Suzuki Motor (7269.T), Daihatsu's main rival in Japan's mini-vehicle market, rose 2.1%. ($1 = 142.8600 yen) https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/toyota-shares-slide-unit-daihatsus-safety-scandal-widens-2023-12-21/

2023-12-21 06:11

SHANGHAI, Dec 21 (Reuters) - China's financial hub Shanghai was set to record its chilliest period in December in four decades, spurring authorities to issue warnings for low temperatures and wind, while northern cities battled icy conditions forecast to ease only next week. The city's lowest temperatures on Thursday will be minus 4 to minus 6 degrees Celsius (21 to 24 degrees Fahrenheit) in Shanghai's suburbs, and temperatures will remain below zero all day throughout the city, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said in a post on its Weibo social media account. Wang Kaiyun, 59, a cleaner in downtown Shanghai who commutes from the city's suburbs on an electric scooter, said the temperature was minus 5 C on her one-hour ride in on Thursday. "Even though I was wearing gloves, I quickly lost feeling in my hands and they are still painful now," Wang said. While the city's temperatures remain far warmer than those in northern China, where many provinces have recorded historically low temperatures in recent weeks, the run of cold weather was unusual for Shanghai. The city's weather bureau said it expects the minimum temperature at one downtown reading station to remain below zero for five straight days until Dec. 25, a run of cold in the month of December that hasn't occurred in 40 years. "This year is not normal," said a 68-year-old Shanghai resident surnamed Li. "This year is super cold and it was not this cold last year." The unusually frigid weather ushered in by a powerful wave of cold air from Siberia has spread across China since the middle of last week, with many northern provinces rewriting December records as the mercury sank as low as minus 30 C in some cities. "We obviously see the influence of climate change on hot extremes, be they droughts, wildfires and heat waves," said Benjamin P. Horton, director of Earth Observatory of Singapore. "But there's so much instability in the atmosphere that you also see cold snaps where you get extreme cold temperatures, where polar temperatures migrate down in towards the mid-latitudes, causing unprecedented lows in temperature." 'NARRATIVES OF SUFFERING' While the snowfall was modest compared to deep snowdrifts and blizzards seen in North America and Europe, the bitter cold, ice and gusty conditions in China have disrupted road, rail and air transportation, sharply increased demand for heating, and even hampered rescue efforts in the northwest where an earthquake destroyed over 200,000 homes. On Dec. 13, as the cold wave swept into northern China, Yuanqu, a small county in northern Shanxi province, suddenly found itself without electricity. The rare power outage persisted for the next three days as its grid operator raced to de-ice transmission lines. Residents without power also went without heating, as well as hot food and even mobile phone signal, according to Chinese media. In Lvliang, a city of 3 million people also in Shanxi, firefighters had to put out a fire in a building even as their protective helmets and jackets quickly became encased in ice in minus 18 C conditions, state media reported on Thursday. The cold snap has also threatened to freeze China's busy online food delivery sector. On social media, some people have expressed their reluctance to order takeout in the extreme cold due to worries for the safety of delivery drivers. Their concerns prompted the official Workers' Daily on Thursday to urge people "not to dwell on narratives of suffering", but instead, think of the potential loss of income for delivery drivers. Across China, prices of vegetables have also risen due to the impact of the cold weather. The commerce ministry on Thursday said it would take measures to safeguard a stable supply of daily necessities. The prolonged sub-freezing conditions across China are expected to ease from Friday, with temperatures rising back to historical averages next week, according to national forecasters. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-cold-snap-reaches-shanghai-with-chilliest-year-end-40-years-2023-12-21/

2023-12-21 05:58

NEW YORK, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The dollar hit a one-week low against a basket of major currencies on Thursday as U.S. equities rebounded from the prior day's sell-off and investors braced for Friday's U.S. inflation data for clues to the path of future Federal Reserve policy. Data earlier Thursday showed gross domestic product increased at a 4.9% annualized rate last quarter, revised down from the previously reported 5.2%. The consumer spending element of third-quarter GDP was revised downward to 3.1% from 3.6% in the previous estimate. "The GDP number wasn't very helpful," said Marc Chandler, chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex in New York. "We had a little bit less growth than we thought." "But there is nothing (in the day's action) that says the market is having second thoughts about how aggressive it's anticipating rate cuts in the year ahead," he said. "The dollar has been generally soft ... so I think we're just churning for the most part." The U.S. currency rose on Wednesday in a safe-haven bid after U.S. stocks' abrupt afternoon sell-off. The Fed held interest rates steady last week and policymakers signaled in new economic projections that the historic monetary policy tightening engineered over the last two years is at an end and lower borrowing costs are coming in 2024. A separate report on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose just marginally last week, suggesting underlying strength in the economy as the year winds down. Investor now await Friday's reading on U.S. core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index. A November rise of 0.1% would slow the six-month annualized pace of inflation to just 2.1%, almost at the Fed's 2% target. Some investors expect slower inflation will prompt the Fed to ease policy to stop real rates from rising, and are wagering on early and aggressive action. The dollar fell 0.93% against the Japanese yen. Japan's government on Thursday slightly raised its economic growth projections for this fiscal year from its previous estimates. The yen is down roughly 8% against the dollar for the year as the Bank of Japan has steadfastly kept short-term rates negative, against 300 basis points of U.S. interest rate hikes. Sterling was up 0.4% at $1.2689 against the dollar on Thursday, a day after suffering its sharpest drop in two months on news that British inflation dived below forecasts to an annual 3.9% in October, a two-year low. Traders priced in Bank of England rate cuts as soon as May. The dollar index , which tracks the U.S. currency against six peers, was last down 0.596% at 101.8. It hit its lowest level in a week. Some analysts said month-end rebalancing in thin trade could weigh on the dollar in the near term. "U.S. equity market outperformance through December rather suggests that passive hedge rebalancing flows will run against the USD through month end," said Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist at Scotiabank. The risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars traded higher on the day. The Aussie was last up 1.04 % at $ 0.68005 , after touching $ 0.68035 . The kiwi traded up 0.74 % at $ 0.6294 . Bitcoin was 0.29 % higher at $ 43,791 . https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/dollar-steadies-stocks-slip-2023-12-21/