2023-11-04 11:47

BEIJING, Nov 4 (Reuters) - State-owned Chinese firm Sinopec (600028.SS) signed a new 27-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply and purchase agreement with QatarEnergy, the two companies said on Saturday. Under the agreement, the two companies will cooperate on the second phase of the Gulf Arab state's North Field expansion project, which will supply 3 million metric tons of LNG per year to Sinopec. A partnership agreement was also signed under which QatarEnergy will transfer a 5% interest to Sinopec in a joint venture company that owns the equivalent of 6 million tons per year of LNG production capacity in the North Field South project. The deal, signed at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, is the third long-term supply deal between Sinopec and Qatar Energy, the world's top LNG supplier. The two companies signed a 10-year LNG purchase and sales agreement in 2021, followed by a 27-year deal last year. The North Field is part of the world's largest gas field which Qatar shares with Iran, which calls its share South Pars. The North Field expansion plan includes six LNG trains that will ramp up Qatar's liquefaction capacity to 126 million metric tons per year by 2027 from 77 million. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/sinopec-says-signs-new-27-year-lng-supply-deal-with-qatarenergy-2023-11-04/

2023-11-04 08:56

KATHMANDU, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Rescue workers in Nepal began digging through the rubble of collapsed houses with their bare hands on Saturday, searching for survivors after the country's worst earthquake in eight years killed 157 people and shook buildings as far away as New Delhi. The quake struck the Jajarkot region in the west of the Himalayan nation at 11:47 p.m. (1802 GMT) on Friday with a 6.4 magnitude, Nepal's National Seismological Centre said. The German Research Centre for Geosciences measured it at 5.7 and the U.S. Geological Survey at 5.6. Officials fear the death toll could rise as first responders had reached the hilly area near the epicentre, some 500 km (300 miles) west of the capital Kathmandu, only early on Saturday and began searching for survivors. "The number of injured could be in the hundreds and the deaths could go up as well," Jajarkot district official Harish Chandra Sharma told Reuters by phone. Although the quake's magnitude was not severe, the damage and the death toll are high due to the poor quality of construction in the area and because it struck while people slept, officials said. Rescue work was expected to be slow as emergency teams must first clear roads blocked by landslides in many places, they said, adding that helicopters and small planes have been asked to be ready to join the effort. The quake is the deadliest since 2015 when about 9,000 people were killed in two earthquakes. Whole towns, centuries-old temples and other historic sites were reduced to rubble then, with more than a million houses destroyed, at a cost to the economy of $6 billion. The death toll included 105 people killed in Jajarkot and 52 in neighbouring Rukum West district, both in Karnali province, Rama Acharya, an official in the disaster department of the federal home (interior) ministry, told Reuters. The epicentre was in the village of Ramidanda. The National Seismological Centre said 175 aftershocks were recorded in Jajarkot and six of them were of magnitude 4 or higher. Three towns and three villages were known to be affected in Jajarkot, which has a population of 190,000 with villages scattered in remote hills, authorities said. At least 85 people were injured in Rukum West and 55 in Jajarkot, an official in the prime minister's office said. APPEAL FOR HELP "Many houses have collapsed, many others have developed cracks. Thousands of residents spent the entire night in cold, open grounds because they were too scared to go in into the cracked houses as aftershocks struck," Sharma said. "I have myself not been able to go in." Local TV channels showed rescuers digging through the rubble with their bare hands looking for survivors in the debris of collapsed houses. Injured people were shown being carried to a rescue helicopter to move them to hospitals. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal flew to the area early on Saturday with a 16-member army medical team to oversee search, rescue and relief, his office said. His office appealed to political parties, social workers and the public to donate funds to help arrange food, water, clothes and tents for the survivors. Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha said India and China have offered to help in search and rescue operations. "We have told them that we are carrying out preliminary search, rescue and relief operation now. We will request you for any help if required later," he told Reuters. A small aeroplane carrying medical supplies and health workers was diverted to nearby Surkhet after it failed to land in Chaurjahari in nearby Rukum district due to bad weather, said army spokesman Krishna Bhandari. Local media footage showed crumbled facades of multi-storied brick houses, with large pieces of furniture scattered. Videos on X showed people running into the street as some buildings were evacuated. The tremors were felt in New Delhi, about 600 km (370 miles) away, and other parts of north India, shaking buildings and forcing people to run into the street late in the night. Authorities in the northern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, both of which border Nepal, said there were no reports of any damage there. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was deeply saddened by the loss of lives and damage in Nepal. "India stands in solidarity with the people of Nepal and is ready to extend all possible assistance. Our thoughts are with the bereaved families and we wish the injured a quick recovery," he posted on X. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/rescuers-struggle-find-nepal-quake-survivors-deaths-137-2023-11-04/

2023-11-04 06:28

Nov 4 (Reuters) - The Himalayan country of Nepal was hit by an earthquake on Friday in which 128 people were killed and dozens injured, with officials fearing the toll could rise. The poor, mountainous nation wedged between Asian giants China and India has been hit by quakes often, with the deadliest recorded in 2015 when about 9,000 people were killed in two earthquakes. Whole towns, centuries-old temples and other historic sites were reduced to rubble then, with more than 1 million houses destroyed, at a cost to the economy of $6 billion. Below are details of Nepal’s deadly quakes since 2015. NOV 3, 2023 At least 128 people were killed and dozens injured when a strong earthquake struck the western area of Jajarkot. Houses in the area collapsed and buildings as far away as capital New Delhi in neighbouring India shook. The German Research Centre for Geosciences measured the quake at magnitude 5.7, while the U.S. Geological Survey pegged it at 5.6. OCT 3, 2023 Two earthquakes rocked western Nepal, injuring 17 people, damaging homes and triggering a landslide that blocked a major highway. The landslide after the quakes of magnitude 6.3 and 5.3 in the district of Bajhang, bordering India, blocked the road to the southern plains. JAN 24, 2023 At least one person died and more than two dozen houses were damaged in a remote Nepalese district after an earthquake of magnitude 5.6. Tremors were felt as far away as New Delhi. NOV 12, 2022 An earthquake of magnitude 5.4 struck Nepal, shaking houses in the Himalayan country and India. NOV 9, 2022 An earthquake in western Nepal killed at least six villagers, four of them children, as the tremor destroyed mud and brick houses in remote communities living in the foothills of the Himalayas. SEPT 16, 2020 An earthquake measuring magnitude 6 struck Nepal and tremors caused by the quake were felt in the capital, Kathmandu. APRIL AND MAY 2015 The worst earthquake in Nepal's history struck at four minutes to midday on April 25. It measured magnitude 7.8 and was followed by a second tremor 17 days later, killing 9,000 people in total. The previous deadliest earthquake to strike the country, in 1934, killed at least 8,519 in Nepal, as well as thousands more in India. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/deadly-earthquakes-nepal-since-2015-2023-11-04/

2023-11-04 02:12

SYDNEY, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday his much-anticipated visit to China to meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang marks a "very positive step" in stabilising strained bilateral ties. Arriving on Saturday, Albanese will be the first Australian leader to visit China since 2016, part of an effort to patch up relations that had deteriorated over several years due to disputes over Chinese telecoms firm Huawei, espionage and COVID-19. "The fact that is it is the first visit in seven years to our major trading partner is a very positive step, and I look forward to constructive discussions and dialogue with President Xi and the Premier Li during my visit," Albanese said in Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory. "It is a result of the patient, calibrated and deliberate approach that we have to the relationship with China." Albanese's government has taken credit for stabilising ties with China since coming to office last year. China has lifted most trade blocks imposed in a 2020 diplomatic dispute that cost A$20 billion in commodity and food exports. The Australian leader is to attend China's top imports fair in Shanghai, to be opened by Li, on Sunday. He will meet Xi in Beijing on Monday, where the prime minister has said he will raise concerns over rising tensions in the South China Sea. He said he would also raise the case of Australian writer Yang Hengjun, jailed in Beijing for four years on espionage charges. "The case needs to be resolved," Albanese told reporters on Saturday. He will be joined in Beijing by Foreign Minister Penny Wong before she makes a stopover in Tokyo for talks on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting, Wong's office said. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-pm-says-china-visit-very-positive-bilateral-relations-2023-11-04/

2023-11-04 00:28

ACAPULCO, Mexico, Nov 3 (Reuters) - A 35-year-old sea turtle refuge in Acapulco is fighting for its life after the most powerful hurricane on record to strike Mexico's Pacific coast tore it apart last week. Campamento Tortuguero Playa Hermosa (Playa Hermosa Turtle Camp) has since the 1980s been working on Acapulco's beachfront to protect the marine reptiles, collecting their eggs so they can safely nest, hatch and return to the Pacific Ocean. But it faces an uncertain future since Otis, a Category 5 hurricane, slammed into Acapulco on Oct. 25 and devastated the camp and home of founder Monica Vallerino - alongside thousands of other dwellings in the city of nearly 900,000 people. "We have a camp to protect the sea turtle, my mother has worked and fought for it for 35 years, but this time the hurricane destroyed our whole house, where we live with my daughters," said Michelle Montero, Vallerino's daughter. Mexico's government this week launched a $3.4 billion rescue plan in response to Otis, which is known to have killed nearly 50 people. Dozens more are still missing. Olive ridley turtles visit the camp in the rainy season, and Vallerino was preparing for the arrival of the brown leatherback turtle in cooler waters when Otis struck. "We were expecting a storm, but not one of such magnitude," she said. "Unfortunately, it hit us so fast that we didn't even have time to protect the nests." Initially forecast just to become a tropical storm, Otis strengthened with a ferocity that stunned weather experts. Vallerino hopes the camp can recover from the destruction so her family's work can go on. "Sea turtles have been around since the time of the dinosaurs and are totally enigmatic animals," she said. "So we fight for them and want to keep preserving them on our planet." https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/hurricane-otis-leaves-acapulco-sea-turtle-refuge-ruins-2023-11-04/

2023-11-03 23:34

Apple falls on weak quarterly sales forecast Block surges on annual forecast raise U.S. job growth weaker than expected in Oct Indexes up: Dow 0.66%, S&P 0.94%, Nasdaq 1.38% Nov 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main stock indexes rallied on Friday as bond yields fell sharply after data showed signs of slowing U.S. jobs growth and an uptick in unemployment, boosting hopes that the Federal Reserve is done with its interest rate hiking campaign. The Labor Department's report showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 150,000 jobs in October, much less than the expected 180,000 increase, partly due to strikes at Detroit's Big Three automakers. Data for the last month was revised lower to show an increase of 297,000 instead of 336,000. The unemployment rate edged up to 3.9%. "From a policy perspective this gives confidence the Fed remains on hold for the foreseeable future and only really hikes again if growth or inflation accelerate from here," said Matt Palazzolo, senior investment strategist at Bernstein Private Wealth Management. But what Palazzolo expects to happen is a steady deceleration in labor market gains and economic activity for the next six to nine months and, provided that happens it "should allow for the Fed to stay on hold at current levels," he said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 222.24 points, or 0.66%, to 34,061.32, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 40.56 points, or 0.94%, to 4,358.34 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 184.09 points, or 1.38%, to 13,478.28. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 5.9%, for its biggest gain since November 2022 and Nasdaq added 6.6%, also showing its biggest gain since Nov. 2022. The Dow showed a weekly gain of 5.1%, its biggest since late October 2022. The jobs data also helped push U.S. Treasury yields lower for the fourth consecutive session. During the session the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hit its lowest level in over five weeks. The move in yields supported stocks. "Falling interest rates is probably the top catalyst this week," said Tony Welch, CIO of SignatureFD, Atlanta Georgia, adding the jobs report supported this trend. The small-cap Russell 2000 index (.RUT) outperformed large-cap indexes on Friday, closing up 2.7% after touched its highest level since Oct. 17. It boasted a weekly gain of 7.6%, which was its biggest since February 2021. SignatureFD's Welch noted that the prospect of stalling rate hikes was particularly good news for smaller companies, which depend heavily on borrowing. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) boasted its sixth straight day in the green while the S&P 500 and the Dow showed their fifth consecutive sessions of gains. Most of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors advanced, led by rate-sensitive real estate (.SPLRCR), which finished up 2.4%, after hitting its highest since late September. Of the 11 only the energy sector (.SPNY) fell, ending down more than 1% on the day as oil prices fell. Welch also noted that solid earnings reports were helping stocks during the week as companies expanded profit margins. Analysts expect earnings growth of 5.7% for S&P 500 companies in the third quarter, with over 81% of the 403 companies in the benchmark index that have reported profits so far having beaten estimates, per LSEG data. However, Apple (AAPL.O) fell 0.5% on the day after its sales forecast for the holiday quarter was short of expectations. Among major movers, Block (SQ.N) jumped 10.7% after raising its annual adjusted profit forecast. Fortinet (FTNT.O) dropped 12.4% after a downbeat fourth-quarter revenue forecast. During the session, the CBOE volatility index (.VIX) touched a fresh six-week low, reflecting easing investor anxiety. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 5.55-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.56-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 20 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 77 new lows. On U.S. exchanges 12.05 billion shares changed hands compared with the 10.86 billion average for the last 20 sessions. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-slip-apples-weak-forecast-payrolls-data-looms-2023-11-03/