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Southern China is soaked as Typhoon Noul hits land
Typhoon Noul hit southern China early on Sunday, bringing with it 'heavy rains and gale force winds in the Guangdong province and neighbouring Hong Kong. This led to the cancellation of flights at Hong Kong International Airport. Noul, or the glow of sunrise in Korean, is the third typhoon to hit China in this month and the 12th in the Pacific this year. Authorities said that it has forced more than 340,000 people to relocate in Guangdong Province. Hong Kong's?Observatory reported on Sunday that the typhoon was weakening while it moved further inland. It added that strong?gales continued to affect?much? of the city. The Observatory has issued an Amber Rainstorm Warning due to heavy rains and warned residents of flash floods. The Observatory said that rain exceeding 30 mm an hour (1.2 inches) has fallen, and it is expected to continue. The Asian financial hub upgraded the storm alert from Typhoon Signal No. 9 to Typhoon Signal No. Early on Sunday, as the storm approached Hong Kong within 80 km (50 miles), authorities in the Asian financial hub raised the alert to Typhoon?Signal No. At 7:10 am Saturday morning (2310 GMT), the storm was downgraded to Signal?No. Typhoon 'Signal?No. The observatory said that the Typhoon?Signal No. 8, which closes most businesses and transport routes, would be in effect until at least noon. The airport authorities have announced that flight operations will resume gradually after Sunday evening at 6:00 pm.
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Iran claims that a Ukrainian vessel attacked in the Caspian Sea has killed a sailor
Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned on Saturday an attack by Ukraine on a commercial Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea. It said that a resulting explosion killed one sailor and injured another. Throughout the Ukraine war, Kyiv had to combat drones designed by Iran that were deployed by Moscow. Kyiv offers its drone intercepting expertise to Middle East countries that have been hit by?Iran. Tehran called the attack on the Iranian vessel an act of aggression, and said it would defend national security and interests. It also accused Kyiv of trying to escalate the conflict in Ukraine. The Iranian denial coincided with the comments of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who said that Kyiv noted Russia's passing on of its'satellite observation in?the Middle East' to Iran in order to allow it to direct attacks in the region. Zelenskiy said earlier that Ukraine's military forces had struck a Russian ship and vessels transporting military cargo with ties to Iran in the Caspian Sea. In a series of?remarks on X, the Ukrainian president said that Kyiv has been recording since July 1 "active Russian satellite monitoring of the gulf states and U.S. Military facilities there." These images then appear in Iran." Zelenskiy stated that "there is a correlation between the Russian satellite imagery of the sites and the Iranian strikes - both before they were launched, as a 'preparation,' and afterwards, when assessing the damage done." He claimed that on July 19 and 20, he had observed four air bases, two in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait. Reporting by Enas Alashray in Cairo, Editing by Ron Popeski and Rod Nickel
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Houthis attack Saudi oil sites, but no US strikes on Iran for the first time in two-weeks
Yemen's Houthi militants, who are aligned with Iran, fired on Saudi oil facilities in two ports along the Red Sea Coast on Saturday. However, the U.S. did not launch air strikes against Iran for the first time in two weeks. Washington did not explain why it abruptly stopped a 13-night streak of escalating attacks in retaliation of Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz after an interim agreement to end hostilities failed. Hossein Kirmanpour, spokesperson for the Health Ministry, said on X: "It appears that our dear Iran enjoyed a peaceful sleep last night." No reports were made on Saturday about attacks by Iran against its Gulf neighbours like the ones that have been reported daily as a response to U.S. strikes. Axios cited two unidentified people familiar with the issue to report that Donald Trump had instructed the military on Friday not to launch any new attacks against Iran. The Pentagon and White House didn't?return any messages seeking comments on the pause of air strikes or the Axios Report. Trump stated on Friday that the U.S. was in talks with Iran to end their conflict but reiterated that Tehran wasn't ready to make a deal. The Gulf is quiet, but the fighting between Iran's Houthi and Saudi Arabia could indicate that the conflict, which has already disrupted the energy supply through the Strait Of Hormuz and Yemen's civil war, will spread to another major shipping route. WAR THREATENS SPREADING TO YEMEN Yahya Saree, the Houthi's military spokesperson, said that the group had struck successfully sites owned by Saudi Aramco at Jizan and Yanbu. A video shared on social media, and confirmed by, showed a column of smoke rising in the direction of Aramco's refinery in Jizan. Two Asia-based sources reported that they were informed of "potential damage" to the fuel and oil storage facilities at Jizan. Aramco has not responded to requests for comments. According to Greek security sources, in Yanbu, two missiles fired at oil installations by the Greek army were intercepted using a Patriot battery made by the U.S. military and operated by it in Saudi Arabia under an agreement signed with Riyadh. Yanbu, Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port, is where millions of barrels of oil are loaded every day. It has also become the main route for Saudi oil to bypass the Strait of Hormuz which Iran has blocked. Jizan is a Red Sea refinery that can produce 400,000 barrels of oil per day. It's located near the Yemeni border. Yemeni officials reported that the air force of Saudi-backed and internationally recognised government in Yemen, which has been fighting the Houthis since more than a century, had?struck Houthi launch sites for missiles and drones and weapons depots' in the Marib ad al-Jawf Provinces. The Saudi-led alliance had earlier claimed that it bombed Houthi positions in the Red Sea Port of Hodeidah on Friday. Officials in Yemen said that both sides of the civil war in Yemen are mobilising their forces on the front. SAUDI?COALITION ATTACKS HODEIDAH Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab coalition fighting against the Houthis since more than a century, when the fighters aligned with Iran captured Yemen's capital Sanaa. Since 2022, the Yemeni civil war has been on hold. During this time, hundreds of thousands of people have died in fighting and from famine. This truce ended this month when the Houthis joined the larger war that their Iranian allies are waging since they were attacked by Israel and the U.S. Houthis have declared a naval blocade against Saudi Arabia in the last week. Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Houthi leader, said that all Saudi oil installations could be targeted. Brent crude oil prices rose above $100 per barrel this week for the first since May. Trump said on Friday that he would "impose major military punishment" against Tehran and the Houthis, after they attacked two Saudi tankers at the Red Sea. Two weeks ago, an interim truce intended to end the war collapsed when U.S. forces struck targets in southern Iran as a response to Iranian disruption of the shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has recently threatened to expand the list of targets, including Iran's bridges and energy plants, to send ground forces into its oil hub, Kharg Island. He also said he would bomb Pickaxe Mountain, a nuclear-linked deep-underground site. Trump, however, said on Friday that he hadn't yet decided whether to launch any major new strikes.
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Kremlin calls attacks on Kazakhstan's Caspian Pipeline Consortium terrorism
Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, was quoted on Saturday as saying that the suspected Ukrainian attacks on facilities connected to 'Kazakhstan Caspian Pipeline Consortium' amounted "energy terrorism", aimed at Kazakhstan and Russia. Kazakhstan announced on Thursday that it had cut oil production after suspected Ukrainian drone strikes forced the CPC-operated Black Sea export terminal to close. Peskov was quoted by RIA as saying: "This is clear energy (terrorism), this is what they are doing in 'the Black Sea, in 'the Sea of Azov". These are terrorist acts, international terrorist acts, which could be extremely dangerous. RIA reported that he said the attacks were aimed at the United States because 'the consortium has a U.S. shareholder. The suspension of the CPC pipeline's loadings, which exports a little over 2% of world oil, is adding to the global oil worries already exacerbated by the war in Iran, which has disrupted Saudi Arabian and other Gulf producers. (Reporting and Editing by Louise Heavens).
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Modi's aura is tarnished by India's Instagram generation Z ahead of state elections
Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a rare video of himself, expressing his pain at the suffering of India's Cockroach Janta Party leaders. He promised to take remedial measures. The video posted late Thursday night?on Instagram where CJP had amassed 22 millions mainly Gen Z fans in just a few days in May was not enough for the thousands of demonstrators who gathered in central Delhi and braved an intense police crackdown a couple of days before, inspiring protests throughout the country. The education minister resigned on Saturday in response to the main protesters' demand. This was a rare setback for Modi. Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as Education Minister is a major victory for the CJP. Their young supporters openly mocked Modi with raps, posters and graffiti. This was an unthinkable event only a few weeks ago in a nation whose politics have been dominated almost exclusively by Modi ever since he took power in 2014. Sanjay Srivastava is an anthropology professor from SOAS University of London. He said that a large number of those who attended the protest were likely his supporters. "What could be interpreted as an achievement is that a much wider cross-section is now questioning the government. A wider group of people are now questioning the notion that the government is good for the nation. Analysts said that the protests were sparked by a leaked exam for medical entrance. But there are also other issues, including youth unemployment, and fears among young people that AI might take away their jobs at places like India's IT back offices. Amitabh TIwari, a political analyst, said that the paper leak was a "trigger point". It is largely the result of the "anxiety, nerves, discontentment, frustration, and anger" among youth. Rajnath Singh, Modi's senior Ministerial Colleague, said that the Government's "top priorities remain to understand and address our students' concerns promptly, as well as ensure they are aware of their voices being heard". GOVERNMENT IS OUT OF TOUCH with what Gen?Z wants, analyst says Tiwari stated that Indians between 18 and 40 years old make up approximately 40% of the population, but only 10% of seats are held in the lower chamber of Parliament, a decrease from the more than doubled number in 1950. The average age of the cabinet is over 60. The CJP, though not a political group, has tried to take advantage of the opportunity they saw in the recent protests against Modi by supporting the students' cause. Next year, the first test of youth anger will be the elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Modi’s home state Gujarat. Both Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh are run by the BJP. If the CJP becomes a political party, the biggest risk to?Modi would be the national elections in 2029. Abhijeet Dimple, its founder, said that no decision has been taken yet about joining electoral politics. Analysts claim that young voters have voted largely along religious or class lines in the past, which has benefited Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Things may be changing. A Gen Z actor, who ran for his party and was allied with the opposition parties, was elected as chief minister of Tamil Nadu in the southern state. His Instagram-first fan base was a major factor. Anurag Minus verma, an author, said: "This is a moment of reckoning for Modi. It shows that he's completely out of touch with Gen Z." "For many years, the BJP’s digital strategy has been centered on platforms such as X, where most of the political discussion took place. But the conversation is increasingly moving to Instagram, especially among younger users. The BJP, which claims to be the largest political party in the world, has only 10 million Instagram fans in the last few years. This is less than half of what the CJP achieved in a matter of days. The BJP is followed by 23 million people on X, and 18 million people on Facebook. Modi has a massive following on all three platforms, ranging between 60 and 107 millions. Santosh Desai, a columnist, said: "You must have a certain authenticity to use Instagram." "Pre-laboured and carefully massaged messages will not work. This medium was developed by this generation, and it is what it is today because of them. "This generation does not reverence anything." Modi's government has been resisting the pressure to sack ministers for a decade. Modi had to face protests from Indian farmers for almost a year in order to repeal controversial farm laws. Tiwari stated that "a leader who is willing to listen will do well in the future." Modi wants to demonstrate this. Reporting by Tora Aggarwala in New Delhi and Krishna N. Das Editing by Gareth Jones
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Indian Education Minister resigns as a major victory for youth protesters
Dharmendra Pradhan, the Indian Education Minister, announced on Saturday that he had resigned. This was a major victory for 'youth protesters across India who demanded he resign to accept responsibility for leaks of examination papers. Police fired tear gas at 'young protesters' in New Delhi just hours before their leaders planned to hold another round of discussions with ministers. "Considering the?situation that has arisen at Jantar Mantar, and throughout the country so that anti-national... Pradhan said in his blog that he had "sent my resignation letter" to the Prime Minister. "I deeply appreciate the feelings, aspirations and legitimate expectations of youth in this country." As the news spread, thousands of protesters in central Delhi and elsewhere erupted into cheers. The federal authorities have limited access to the Internet and '18 metro stations in order to curb the "protest" in the capital. The anger has been boiling since the police injured many students on Monday, using baton charges and tear gas to disperse protesters who were marching towards parliament. The protests are mainly led by youth and triggered by their discontent with the 'leakage of question papers' for high-stakes exams. They reflect anger about job shortages, corruption, and government accountability.
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Officials say that high winds can make it harder to fight wildfires in Spain
The Interior Ministry has warned that winds will increase in Spain on Saturday with gusts up to 60 km/h (38 mph). This could complicate the battle against wildfires out of control west of Madrid. On Friday, two separate wildfires in Madrid combined and became a single large blaze. However, they haven't yet merged with a fire in Avila in the neighboring Castilla y Leon area. More than 30,000 people have fled their homes in the Madrid region, and more than 20,000 are being confined to their homes, according to the Ministry of Interior on Saturday. Officials called it the worst fire ever recorded in the region. The overnight weather conditions helped the firefighters. The central government in Madrid announced on Saturday that the change in weather (less wind and higher humidity) had a 'greatly beneficial effect' in the fight against forest fires. Smoke plumes could be seen?west of the Capital. Authorities have said that more than 9,000 hectares of land has been affected by the wildfires which have raged in the Madrid area.
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Saudi Arabia and Houthis fire at each other as air defences intercept an attack on a refinery
Greek security sources said that air defence systems in Saudi Arabia intercepted on Saturday two ballistic missiles fired from Yemen, which were aimed at oil refineries in Yanbu. This was as Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthis traded fire in the new front of the Iran War. The coalition led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen announced late on Friday that it had hit Houthi military bases in the port of Hodeidah in connection with attacks against shipping by the group. This group has declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia. Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi group, said that if Riyadh intensified its involvement in this conflict then all Saudi oil facilities and other important infrastructures would be targeted by the group’s drones and missiles. Saudi Civil Defense (the state's emergency service) had issued warnings for Yanbu on the Red Sea and later announced that the danger was over. Civil Defense issued an alert for Jizan port city, which is home to a 400,000 barrels per day oil refinery. Aramco, the Saudi state oil company, did not comment on these incidents. A video was shared on social media that showed a column of smoke rising in the direction of Jizan's Saudi Aramco Refinery. Two Asia-based traders said they were informed about some damage on the site. In the years prior to 2022, the Houthis attacked both Yanbu & Jizan before striking a U.N. mediated ceasefire with Saudi Arabia that held until this month. In 2019, they claimed responsibility for the attacks on two Saudi oil installations that temporarily shut down more than half of Saudi Arabia's crude production. GREEK-OPERATED AERIAL DEFENCES Sources said that Greek military personnel operated the defence system which intercepted missiles on the morning of Saturday. Greece has been deploying a Patriot air defence system, made by the United States, in Saudi Arabia under an agreement since 2021 to protect the energy infrastructure of the kingdom. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, promised "major military sanctions" against Iran and its Houthi partners in Yemen on Friday after the Houthis claimed they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers on Thursday in the Red Sea. The Houthi blockade of the Strait of Hormuz threatens to disrupt the flow of millions of barrels of crude oil per day that Iran blocks almost completely. The Saudi-led alliance said that it would take the necessary steps to protect its ships and Saudi Arabian interests and would react "uncompromisingly", if Houthis continue hostile actions. Yemen's Houthi foreign ministry claimed that the strikes on Hodeidah were the "start of an escalation phase" and blamed Saudi Arabia for any developments. Al Masirah TV, a Houthi-affiliated channel, said that Saudi airstrikes hit state-owned telecommunications facilities in Hodeidah. The broadcaster?also claimed that Saudi forces attacked Kamaran Island off Yemen's west coast. Saudi Arabia waged a seven-year conflict in Yemen that began?in 2015. The Houthi movement had seized the capital city and driven the internationally recognized government from power. In 2022, a truce halted the majority of major fighting that had killed hundreds of thousands?of people through violence and hunger. The Houthi's targeting of an airport in Saudi Arabia on July 13, and the naval blockade, have undermined the truce. The Houthis claimed that the airport attack was in response to an attack by Saudi Arabia on an airport they controlled and that the blockade of the navy was a reaction to the Saudi siege against Yemen, something Saudi Arabia denies.
Key truths about Canada's greatest rail operators as massive work interruption looms
Canada is dealing with unmatched synchronised stoppages at both of its primary freight rail operators which might cause billions of dollars worth of financial damage.
The 2 rail operators, Canadian National Train and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, are holding different talks with the Teamsters' union, which represents about 10,000 workers throughout locomotive engineers, conductors, train and yard workers and rail traffic controllers.
The talks are currently deadlocked and the rail business state they will start locking out workers on Aug. 22 if they do not reach a labor offer.
Here are a couple of crucial facts about the 2 rail operators:
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
CN Rail's history go back to the 1830s, however it was just formally integrated in 1919. Headquartered in Montreal, the company was government-owned up until it was taken public in 1995. Through its acquisitions of Illinois Central Corp and Wisconsin Central in the late 1990s and early 2000s, CN broadened its rail network across the Great Lakes region and down to the Gulf of Mexico.
CPKC's history dates back to the 1880s. Previously referred to as CP Rail, it was developed to connect Canada from coast-to-coast. CP Rail was as soon as involved in several services including mining and hospitality, and it constructed and owned iconic Canadian homes such as the Banff Springs Hotel, the Royal York in Toronto, and Château Frontenac in Quebec City.
Calgary-headquartered CP Rail spun-out its other services in 2001. It bought Kansas City Southern Train in 2021, and it became CPKC, forming the very first single-line rail connecting the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
RAIL NETWORKS
Although some U.S. rail operators do have small branch lines that get in Canada, CN Rail and CPKC hold a duopoly and are the 2 dominant freight rail operators in the nation. With coast-to-coast networks, the duo account for the vast majority of all rail transportation market profits in the nation, own more than 75% of all tracks, and account for approximately three-quarters of the general tonnage carried by the rail sector in Canada.
For Canada, the two operators serve as crucial supply chain links to trade passages and ports throughout the continent of The United States and Canada.
CN Rail, which utilizes around 25,000 people, has a network that stretches from Vancouver to Halifax in Canada, and all the method down to New Orleans.
CPKC, which has approximately 20,000 staff members, has a network that runs from Vancouver to Montreal. It also links to the ports of Corpus Christi, New Orleans and Gulfport in the Gulf of Mexico, and more south it connects to the ports of Tampico and Lázaro Cárdenas on the east and west coasts of Mexico.
PROFITS MIX
In 2023, 25% of CN Rail's freight income came from grain, fertilizers and coal; metals, minerals and forest items were 24% of its earnings mix; and petroleum products, chemicals, automobiles and intermodal container cargoes represented the rest.
In 2023, 35% of CPKC's freight revenue originated from shipments of coal, grain, potash and fertilizers. Forest items, energy, chemicals, metals and autos accounted for 45% of its earnings mix, with the remainder originating from intermodal container cargo.
PRIOR WORK INTERRUPTIONS
In 2019, about 3,200 unionized employees of CN Rail, consisting of conductors and yardmen, went on an eight-day strike in Canada. That strike caused heating fuel lacks, large backlogs and a. slowdown in industrial output from plants making items ranging. from chemicals to canola oil.
In 2018, a day-long strike ended after the Teamsters and CP. Rail struck a four-year agreement. And in 2015, CP Rail and the. Teamsters agreed to look for mediated arbitration, ending another. brief strike.
In 2012, about 4,800 locomotive engineers, conductors and. yardmen of CP Rail went on over a week-long strike that only. ended after the federal government presented back-to-work legislation,. at a time when the economy was still recovering from the global. financial crisis and a recession.
(source: Reuters)