2024-08-11 21:17

Cause of fire unclear Both sides trade blame Main fire since extinguished Aug 11 (Reuters) - Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of starting a fire on the grounds of Europe's largest and now Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine on Sunday, with both sides reporting no sign of elevated radiation. The U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog, which has a presence at the vast six-reactor facility, said its experts had seen strong, dark smoke coming from the northern area of the plant in southern Ukraine following multiple explosions. Russian state news agencies, TASS and RIA, cited the country's nuclear energy company Rosatom as saying the main fire was extinguished shortly before midnight on Sunday. The fire comes less than a week after Ukraine's forces launched their largest incursion into Russian territory since the war-start in 2022, a surprise move that has brought conflict into a new phase, after weeks of Moscow's battlefield gains. Ukraine's nuclear power company Energoatom said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that one of the cooling towers and other equipment were damaged. Russia's TASS agency also reported, citing Rosatom's statement, that a cooling tower was damaged. Citing local Russian emergency ministry representatives, TASS said it was a non-functioning tower. Russia captured the plant from Ukraine shortly after launching its full-scale invasion on its smaller neighbour in 2022, an attack described by Moscow as a "special operation". The plant's six nuclear reactors are in cold shutdown. TRADING BLAME By early Monday, it was not clear what caused the fire that started at around 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of lighting the fire which he said was visible from the Kyiv-held city of Nikopol, which looks out onto the Russian-held plant. Evgeny Balitsky, a Russian-installed official in the occupied south of Ukraine, accused Kyiv's forces of causing the fire by shelling the nearby city of Enerhodar which, like the plant, was captured by Russia soon after its February 2022 invasion. The IAEA said there had been no reported impact on nuclear safety at the site. "Team was told by (the nuclear plant) of an alleged drone attack today on one of the cooling towers located at the site," it wrote on X. Ukraine's Energoatom said Russia's "negligence" or arson could have sparked the fire. Without providing evidence, it also said Russia uses the plant's cooling towers to store military equipment and explosives. Russia's officials in turn, including Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, accused Kyiv of deliberately trying to destroy the plant and sow "nuclear terror." Zelenskiy published grainy video showing belching black smoke that appeared to be coming out a cooling tower with a blaze burning at its foot. "Currently, the radiation indicators are normal. But as long as Russian terrorists retain control over the nuclear plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal," he said. The six reactors at the plant located close to the front line of the war in Ukraine are not in operation but the facility relies on external power to keep its nuclear material cool and prevent a catastrophic accident. Moscow and Kyiv have routinely accused each other of endangering safety around it. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-russia-trade-accusations-over-fire-occupied-nuclear-plant-2024-08-11/

2024-08-11 19:59

VARNAVAS, Greece/ATHENS Aug 11 (Reuters) - Residents fled their homes on Sunday as a fast-moving wildfire outside Athens fuelled by hot, windy weather burned trees, houses and cars and sent smoke clouds over the Greek capital. More than 400 firefighters backed by 16 waterbombing planes and 13 helicopters battled the blaze that broke out at 3 p.m. (midday GMT) and quickly reached the village of Varnavas 35 km (20 miles) north of Athens. As night fell, firefighting aircraft ceased operations until morning. Flames turned the sky orange. "The situation remains dangerous as the fire is spreading between residences," fire brigade spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said. He said the blaze spread fast, "like lightning", due to gale force winds. Flames as high as 25 metres swallowed up trees and shrubland. Varnavas is a sparely populated area with about 1,800 residents, according to the latest census. "The village was surrounded in no time, in no time. It's really windy," resident Katerina Fylaktou told Reuters. "It started from one point and suddenly the whole village was surrounded," she said. Hundreds of wildfires have broken out across Greece since May and scientists attribute their frequency and intensity to the increasingly hot and dry weather conditions linked to climate change. After its warmest winter on record and long periods of little or no rainfall, Greece also registered its hottest June and July and is forecast to record its hottest-ever summer. "We are expecting a very difficult week," said Kostas Lagouvardos, research director of the Athens Observatory. "If the Varnavas blaze is not contained during the night, we will have a problem tomorrow," he said. Fires have also burned this summer amid extreme heat elsewhere in Europe, including in Spain and the Balkans. 'DANGEROUS CONDITIONS' Authorities sent evacuation alerts for nine areas near Varnavas. By early evening, thick brown smoke hung over much of Athens and had reached the island of Aegina to its south. Another blaze in a forested area near the town of Megara, west of Athens, had been contained by Sunday afternoon, the fire brigade said. Several other regions across Greece were on high alert for fire risk on Sunday and Monday. On Saturday, Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said he had called for emergency measures involving the army, police and volunteers to deal with forest fires until Aug. 15. "Extremely high temperatures and dangerous weather conditions will prevail," he said. "Half of Greece will be in the red." In April, a European Commission report said the 2023 wildfire season in the Europe was among the worst this century. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/firefighters-battle-contain-two-wildfires-near-athens-2024-08-11/

2024-08-11 19:19

TORONTO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Jinteng Mining, a subsidiary of Chinese gold and copper company Zijin Mining Group (601899.SS) , opens new tab, has sought a judicial review against Canada's decision regarding a Canadian company's sale of a gold mine in Peru, the Canadian Press reported on Sunday. Jinteng bought Pan American Silver Corp's (PAAS.TO) , opens new tab gold asset in Peru in May for $245 million with an option of additional payment of $50 million. The Canadian Press reported that the judicial review was against Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne's order seeking a national security review for the deal, which Reuters was unable to independently verify. A case filed in the Federal Court of Canada which was viewed by Reuters showed that Jinteng (Singapore) Mining filed a judicial review in late July under section 18.1 of the Federal Courts Act naming the Attorney General of Canada and the Minister of Innovation Science and Industry as parties to the case. Jinteng is represented by law firm Gowling WLG LLP, according to court documents. The law firm representing Jinteng and Canada's industry minister's office did not respond to email queries. Section 18.1 under Canadian law provides a legal recourse for any party affected by a federal order, allowing them to seek a review within 30 days after the decision. The judicial review by Zijin could be a test case on how other Canadian companies approach their deal making with regards to Chinese investments. Ottawa has taken a tough stance against investments by state-owned Chinese companies in Canada's critical minerals sector. Since 2022 Canada has asked Chinese investors in Canadian graphite, lithium and copper company to divest their holding even though the mining assets of these companies were outside of Canada, due to national security issues. But Chinese investors have continued their interest in Canadian mining companies. The Canadian government has identified 31 minerals, including copper, lithium and nickel, that it considers critical for their strategic uses in modern technology and the energy transition, such as in electric vehicle batteries. Gold is not considered a critical mineral. In July, the country's industry minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the country will have a high bar for approving large M&A deals in critical minerals and said any deals involving major Canadian miners will be approved "under exceptional circumstances" , opens new tab. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/chinese-mining-firm-files-judicial-review-against-ottawa-2024-08-11/

2024-08-11 18:07

BILBAO, Spain, Aug 11 (Reuters) - A fourth summer heatwave , opens new tab has hit Spain in recent days, with northern regions of the country sweltering in abnormally high temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius on Sunday. Temperatures soared over the weekend across Spain but especially in the traditionally cooler northern Cantabrian Sea area, triggering "extreme risk" alerts in the regions of Cantabria and the Basque country, weather service AEMET said. People wore hats and cooled themselves with fans in the Basque country's Bilbao, one of the worst affected cities. "It's too hot, you can't just be in the streets, neither at the beach," Josefa Castillo told Reuters. Patrick Heremans, a Belgian tourist, was shocked by the heat: "We're unused to this kind of temperature, but we're going to the museum today, where there's air conditioning," he said. Spain's health ministry told people to drink water, protect themselves against the sun and pay particular attention to the young and the elderly. According to the Spanish weather service, temperatures are expected to start lowering on Monday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/summer-heatwave-pounds-traditionally-cooler-northern-spain-2024-08-11/

2024-08-11 13:57

ACCRA, Ghana, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Ghana opened its first commercial gold refinery in which the state holds shares on Thursday as part of an effort by Africa's leading gold producer to add value and earn more from the precious metal, which has been mined there for centuries. The Royal Ghana Gold Refinery - a public-private partnership between Rosy Royal Minerals of India and Ghana's central bank, in which the bank holds a 20% stake - has the capacity to process 400 kilogrammes (kg) of gold per day. It will source gold dore from small-scale and artisanal miners before acquiring licences to process gold from large-scale miners. Speaking at the opening in the capital Accra, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia said the launch of Royal Gold Refinery marked "a new era" that would help contain gold smuggling and raise national earnings from the precious metal. "With the ability to refine our gold, we will be able to sell it at the appropriate price, enabling us to retain its economic value within our borders while creating numerous jobs for the youth," he said. Ghana's gold from licensed producers is exported in raw form while a sizeable amount of output from unregulated artisanal miners, locally called galamsey, is smuggled outside the country. The refinery will employ 80-120 people directly and create 500 indirect jobs, said Bawumia, who is running for president in the December polls. Ghana retained its spot as Africa's biggest gold producer last year, as increased production from small-scale and artisanal miners pushed output to 4.03 million ounces. The West African nation, which is also the world's number two cocoa producer, is on track to beat its 2024 gold output target, with production seen between 4.3 million and 4.5 million ounces. The Bank of Ghana launched a gold purchase programme in 2021 to build reserves through domestic purchases and cushion the cedi currency. Bank of Ghana Governor Ernest Addison said purchases totalled 65.4 tones, equivalent to $5 billion and the bank was keen on the refinery acquiring the London Bullion Market Association (LMA) certification quickly. Addison said LBMA accreditation for the refinery would help the bank "diversify and organically grow its foreign exchange reserves and accumulate more gold reserves to reduce dependence on external borrowing." The general secretary of the small-scale gold miners association, Godwin Armah, said the refinery has to be "transparent" with pricing and gold quantities received from members to help earn their trust and support. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/ghana-opens-first-gold-refinery-after-centuries-mining-2024-08-08/

2024-08-11 13:08

NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - A week of wild market swings has investors looking ahead to inflation data, corporate earnings and presidential polls for signals that could soothe a recent outbreak of turbulence in U.S. stocks. Following months of placid trading, U.S. stock volatility has surged this month as a run of alarming data coincided with the unwinding of a massive, yen-fueled carry trade to deal equities their worst selloff of the year. The S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab is still down around 6% from a record high set last month, even after making up ground in a series of rallies after Monday’s crushing selloff. At issue for many investors is the trajectory of the U.S. economy. After months of betting on an economic soft landing, investors rushed to price in the risk of a more severe downturn, following weaker-than-expected manufacturing and employment data last week. “Everybody is now worried about the economy,” said Bob Kalman, a portfolio manager at Miramar Capital. “We are moving away from the greed portion of the program and now the market is facing the fear of significant geopolitical risks, a hotly contested election and volatility that is not going away.” Though stocks have rallied in recent days, traders believe it will be a while before calm returns to markets. Indeed, the historical behavior of the Cboe Volatility Index (.VIX) , opens new tab - which saw its biggest one-day jump ever on Monday - shows that surges of volatility usually take months to dissipate. Known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, the index measures demand for options protection from market swings. When it closes above 35 - an elevated level that it topped on Monday - the index has taken 170 sessions on average to return to 17.6, its long-term median and a level associated with far less extreme investor anxiety, a Reuters analysis showed. One potential flashpoint will be when the U.S. reports consumer price data on Wednesday. Signs that inflation is dropping too steeply could bolster fears that the Federal Reserve has sent the economy into a tailspin by leaving interest rates elevated for too long, contributing to market turbulence. For now, futures markets are pricing in a 55% chance the central bank will bring down benchmark interest rates by 50 basis points in September, at its next policy meeting, compared with a roughly 5% chance seen a month ago. “Slower payroll growth reinforces that U.S. economic risks are becoming more two-sided as inflation cools and activity slows,” said Oscar Munoz, chief U.S. macro strategist at TD Securities, in a recent note. Corporate earnings, meanwhile, have been neither strong enough nor weak enough to give the market direction, said Charles Lemonides, head of hedge fund ValueWorks LLC. Overall, companies in the S&P 500 have reported second-quarter results that are 4.1% above expectations, in line with the long-term average of 4.2% above expectations, according to LSEG data. Walmart (WMT.N) , opens new tab and Home Depot (HD.N) , opens new tab are among companies reporting earnings next week, with their results seen as offering a snapshot on how U.S. consumers are holding up after months of elevated interest rates. The end of the month brings earnings from chip giant Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab, whose shares are up around 110% this year even after a recent selloff. The Fed’s annual Jackson Hole gathering, set for Aug. 22-24, will give policymakers another chance to fine tune their monetary policy message before their September meeting. Lemonides believes the recent volatility is a healthy correction during an otherwise strong bull market, and he initiated a position in Amazon.com (AMZN.O) , opens new tab to take advantage of its weakness. The U.S. presidential race is also likely to ramp up uncertainty. Democrat Kamala Harris leads Republican Donald Trump 42% to 37% in the race for the Nov. 5 presidential election, according to an Ipsos poll published on Thursday. Harris, the vice president, entered the race on July 21 when President Joe Biden folded his campaign following a disastrous debate performance on June 27 against Trump. With nearly three months until the Nov. 5 vote, investors are braced for plenty of additional twists and turns in an election year that has already been one of the most dramatic in recent memory. "While early events suggested a clearer picture of US Presidential and Congressional outcomes, more recent events have again thrown the outcome into doubt," analysts at JPMorgan wrote. Chris Marangi, co-chief investment officer of value at Gabelli Funds, believes the election will add to market volatility. At the same time, expected rate cuts in September could boost a rotation into areas of the market that have lagged in a year that has been dominated by Big Tech, he said. “We expect increased volatility into the election but the underlying rotation to continue as lower rates offset economic weakness,” he said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/wall-st-week-ahead-rollercoaster-week-us-stocks-leaves-investors-braced-bumps-2024-08-09/