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Rains scarce in Ivory Coast cocoa regions last week
Rains were limited in the majority of leading grower Ivory Coast's primary cocoa areas last week and more are needed to improve the ApriltoSeptember midcrop, farmers said on Monday. Ivory Coast, the world's leading producer of the main component in chocolate, has its dry season from mid-November to March when rainfall is poor. Cocoa prices hit record highs last month buoyed by worries that dry weather in West Africa might lead to a 4th successive global deficit this season. Farmers informed Reuters that as flowers and cherelles, which develop into cocoa pods, were proliferating on trees more wetness was required to assist them make it through and turn into bean-producing pods. They added that if the dry conditions continue, flowers and cherelles could shrivel and potentially reduce the size of the mid-crop harvest Bean supplies from the October-to March main crop harvest. are tailing off, farmers said. Cocoa beans arrivals at Ivory Coast's two primary ports for the week of Jan. 13-19 were at 34,000 metric loads, compared to 41,000 loads for the same week the previous season, exporters' information showed on Monday. In the centre-western area of Daloa and the central areas of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where no rain fell last week, farmers said they were worried as the absence of rain might compromise cocoa trees with leaves drying on trees. If it does not rain, the mid-crop harvest will begin late and we'll not get enough cocoa beans, said Maurice N'Da, who farms near Daloa, where 0 millimetres (mm) fell last week, 1.2 mm below the five-year average. In the western area of Soubre and the southern areas of Divo, where second-rate rains were last week, and Agboville, and the eastern area of Abengourou, where no rain fell last week, farmers said it was still too early to be pessimistic. In Soubre, 2.1 mm of rains was tape-recorded last week, 1.1 mm listed below the five-year average. The weekly average temperature level throughout the country varied from 27.7 to 29.1 degrees Celsius.
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United States upgrades probe into emergency situation braking problems in certain Honda vehicles
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Security Administration said on Monday it is broadening and upgrading a probe into about 295,125 American Honda cars over reports of crashes and injuries due to their automatic emergency situation braking systems. According to the reports, the automatic emergency braking system in these lorries was triggering unintentionally, which increases the threat of a crash due to the quick deceleration. The problem affects the 2019-2022 models of the Honda Insight, a hybrid electrical car, and the Honda Passport SUV, according to the U.S. vehicle safety regulator. The regulator said it is upgrading the probe from March to an engineering analysis, and broadening it to include 2023 Honda Passport lorries. Engineering analysis is a necessary step before the NHTSA could require a recall. The NHTSA stated Honda provided an analysis of the declared flaw and specified that some consumers might have perhaps had an insufficient understanding of the braking system and its limitations. The company's report states that the Workplace of Defects Examination got 106 problems, which included reports of three crashes and two injuries. Honda did not instantly respond to a Reuters request for remark.
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Airport group ADP reacts to Air France-KLM's accusation of unfair treatment
Groupe ADP, which manages 3 of Paris' primary airports, pressed back on Monday versus accusations by the head of Air FranceKLM that other airlines got better treatment at its Charles De Gaulle Airport center. ADP said in a declaration that the activity of other airline companies, many of which operate just a couple of everyday flights, was not comparable to that of Air France-KLM. In an interview with Le Parisien paper published on Monday, Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith stated: We are treated even worse than foreign companies, despite the fact that the state is the majority shareholder of ADP! He said that while foreign airlines had the ability to disembark and embark straight to and from the airport structures 100% of the time, Air France-KLM's terminal had that capability just 85-90% of the time. ADP stated it was surprised by Smith's comments, adding that it was working with the airline company to satisfy the competitiveness obstacles of the center and enable planes at the terminal to disembark and embark straight almost all the time.
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US upgrades probe into 129,000 Ford cars over hands-free tech
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Security Administration said on Monday it is updating a probe into 129,222 Ford Automobile over reports of collisions including the company's handsfree driving innovation, BlueCruise. The NHTSA opened the examination after getting notices of two deadly crashes last April, involving BlueCruise-equipped Ford Mustang Mach-E lorries. The regulator said it is updating the probe to an engineering analysis, covering automobiles in between the 2021-2024 design years. Engineering analysis is a necessary step before the NHTSA could require a recall. The BlueCruise system utilizes a camera-based chauffeur tracking system to identify driver attentiveness and is utilized on 97% of U.S. and Canadian highways without any intersections or traffic signals. The technology was introduced in model year 2021 and is currently readily available in a select variety of Ford and Lincoln vehicles. In April, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). opened separate examinations into the 2 Mach-E crashes,. consisting of a Feb. 24 crash of a Honda CR-V in Texas and a March 3. accident in Philadelphia. According to the NHTSA, in both fatal crashes, the. Ford Mustang Mach-E lorry was traveling over 70 miles per hour on a. highway throughout nighttime lighting conditions on BlueCruise mode. when it hit a fixed automobile. The company stated these vehicles seem to have system. restrictions associating with the detection of stationary vehicles. while traveling at highway speeds and in nighttime lighting. NHTSA stated it will further examine these limitations. and examine motorists' ability to react to circumstances that. go beyond such limitations. Ford did not immediately react to a Reuters' request. for remark.
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Yemen's Houthis say they will only target Israeli-linked vessels after Gaza ceasefire
Yemen's Houthis will restrict their attacks on industrial vessels to Israelilinked ships after the Gaza ceasefire came into result, according to the Yemenbased Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center. The HOCC, which liaises between Houthi forces and business shipping operators, said in an email sent to shipping market officials dated Jan. 19 that it was stopping sanctions versus vessels owned by U.S. or British people or entities, as well as ships cruising under their flags. We affirm that, in case of any aggressiveness versus the Republic of Yemen by the United States of America, the UK ... the sanctions will be restored versus the assailant, the email said. You will be quickly notified of such procedures need to they be executed. The HOCC stated they would stop targeting Israeli-linked ships upon the full implementation of all stages of the contract. A number of the world's most significant shipping companies have suspended shipping through the Red Sea and have actually diverted their vessels around southern Africa to avoid being assaulted. The Iran-backed Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships given that November 2023 and sunk two vessels, took another and killed a minimum of four seafarers. The Houthis have targeted the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which are signed up with by the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait, a chokepoint between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. Hamas launched three Israeli captives in Gaza and Israel freed 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, the very first day of a. ceasefire suspending a 15-month-old war that has actually desolated. the Gaza Strip and irritated the Middle East.
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PostNL requires 'immediate' federal government action after 2024 revenue warning
PostNL's president called for urgent federal government action to secure the Dutch postal service on Monday, after the group cautioned on 2024 profit partly due to what she called an unsustainable service design. Shares of the postal operator fell as much as 8.4% in early trading, nearing their all-time low seen in March 2020. Slow to broaden their parcel networks and at times in monetary trouble, conventional postal services in Europe are having a hard time to keep up with competitors from other parcel locker operators such as Poland's InPost or Amazon. In a statement, outgoing CEO Herna Vernhagen called again on the Dutch federal government to increase financial contributions as an unavoidable step to secure a future-proof and financially practical postal service. Chief Financial Officer Pim Berendsen, who will become the CEO in April, said during a call with analysts that he expected the universal service in PostNL's home market to end up being structurally loss-making. An option for margins to enhance would be to much better yield from bigger consumers, he stated, including that different customers would require different kinds of steps, such as expense cuts and new pricing methods. PostNL will reassess its technique and focus more on its worldwide chances, he added, with more information to come in February when it reports its final annual results. Among the couple of European incumbent mail operators without any state involvement, PostNL stated its normalised 2024 operating revenues would be around 53 million euros ($ 54.64 million) based on preliminary readings. That was listed below its earlier projection of around 80 million euros, last cut in November. 4Q24 results disappointed due to a velocity of existing trends, with the key chauffeur for the outlook miss being the higher-than-expected customer concentration at parcels in 4Q24, KBC experts said in a note to clients. The business, which provides parcels and letters throughout Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, approximated its yearly complimentary capital at about 12 million euros, above the anticipated break-even, pointing out well-executed money and balance sheet management.
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LME authorizes Hong Kong as delivery point for metals
The London Metal Exchange (LME) has authorized Hong Kong as an LME delivery point and the listing will become active three months after the first warehouse company has been approved, it stated on Monday. The metals approved for shipment in Hong Kong SAR are aluminium alloy, copper, lead, nickel, primary aluminium, tin, and zinc, the LME stated. Companies looking for approval to operate a warehouse in Hong Kong needs to reveal that they have access to the needed experience needed to run a storage facility in accordance with the LME procedures, it stated. Authorizing storage facilities in China, the world's biggest consumer of industrial metals, to store metal traded on the LME has actually been a tactical goal considering that Hong Kong Exchanges and Cleaning (HKEx). bought the LME in 2012 for $2.2 billion. Growth could suggest a boost to LME trading volumes, however. market sources said worldwide warehouse companies stressed. about the exorbitant costs of storage in Hong Kong are unlikely. to hurry to list storage facilities in the area. Presently the LME has 465 approved storage facilities in 32. locations throughout the United States, Europe and Asia keeping. metals such as aluminium, copper, zinc, lead, tin and nickel.
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Malaysia Airports buyout offer reached Feb 4
A takeover offer for Malaysia Airports Holdings by a consortium consisting of the country's sovereign wealth fund and BlackRock has been extended for a third time this month to Feb. 4, a stock market filing on Monday revealed. The consortium, consisting of Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund Khazanah and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners, has now secured an additional 45.63% stake as of Jan. 17, the filing revealed, bringing their overall control to 86.51%. The consortium also decreased the acceptance condition to at least 85%, and continued to provide 11 ringgit per share to purchase all remaining shares, offering the airport operator an equity worth of 18.4 billion ringgit ($ 4.09 billion). The 85% approval condition was the level at which Malaysia Airports was anticipated to be removed from MSCI and other indexes, according to a joint declaration by the consortium, also referred to as Entrance Development Alliance or GDA Having actually currently received approvals totaling 86.5%, GDA. shortly anticipates to state the offer genuine and stays confident that overall approvals will exceed 90% which MAHB will be delisted from Bursa Malaysia, GDA stated in the statement. The consortium had earlier extended the takeover deal to Jan. 24 from the prior deadline of Jan. 17. Shares of the airport operator have risen around 5% since the offer was initially announced in mid-May last year, however have remained below the 11 ringgit each offer cost. The stock was 0.4% higher at 10.94 ringgit on Monday.
Rome Fiumicino opens solar farm to suppress airport emissions
The operator of Rome's. Fiumicino airport on Monday opened a solar farm built by energy. group Enel and network service provider Circet which. is developed to cut its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more. than 11,000 loads each year.
The new facilities, which the airport provided as the. initial step of a more comprehensive drive to boost renewable resource, extends. for almost 2.5 kilometres (1.55 miles) along the eastern side of. Fiumicino.
Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), which manages Fiumicino, said in a. statement the solar farm was the largest self-consumption. photovoltaic system in a European airport, and one of the. largest systems in the world within an airport border.
The farm has a peak capacity of 22 megawatts, ADR stated, and. aims to reach 60 megawatts in the next 5 years by including. solar panels.
ADR, which is owned by infrastructure group Mundys, stated the. task was worth around 50 million euros, part of its more comprehensive. 200 million euro plan of investments on renewables and. sustainable movement.
The solar farm is a best example of how airport grounds. can be optimised ... to enable the airport's sustainable growth,. stated Mundys chairman Giampiero Massolo.
The Italian federal government of Giorgia Meloni has an objective to add. more than 35 gigawatts of green energy capability by 2030 through. photovoltaic plants.
In 2015 nevertheless it passed rules suppressing the installation. of solar panels on farming land after sector lobbies. grumbled that they were incompatible with cultivation.
This is a demonstration of how we can use numerous areas that. do not have monumental worth or high farming intensity to. accomplish the objective of decarbonisation, Energy Minister Gilberto. Pichetto Fratin said at the job's presentation.
(source: Reuters)