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Vancouver's major highways closed due to flooding and falling rocks
Local authorities announced on Thursday that the majority of major Canadian highways leading to Vancouver, a Pacific port city, have been closed due to?floods, falling stones and?the risk of avalanches. The British Columbia Transport Ministry, which is the province where Vancouver is located - Canada's largest port -- said that the situation was "evolving and very dynamic". In a press release, it warned that "other provincial roads could be closed with little or no warning." Five of the six highways leading into Vancouver have been closed, but the main route from Seattle remains open. Vancouver is largely accessible via a limited railway and highway network that crosses over the Rocky Mountains. This makes it vulnerable to severe weather. A atmospheric river in late 2021 dumped two days' worth of rain on southern British Columbia. This caused floods and mudslides, which killed four people and damaged more than C$500,000,000 ($363,35,000,000) in property. Vancouver is a major exporter of resources, such as potash, coal and forestry products. It also exports pork and beef. (1 Canadian dollar = 1.3761 dollars) (Reporting and Editing by Bill Berkrot).
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Sao Paulo is left without electricity, water and flights after strong winds.
A cyclone extratropical that swept across Sao Paulo on Thursday knocked out electricity to 1.5 million homes and business. The storm also damaged power lines, disrupted flights and water supply and destroyed trees. In 2023 and 2024 there were also massive power outages caused by wind storms, which brought Enel to public attention. Enel reported gusts up to 98km/h (61mph) battered a region of 11 million people during a 12-hour gale Wednesday. The impacts of the storm continued into Thursday. Enel announced in an early Thursday morning statement that about 2 million customers in the region lost power during the storm. It added that the service was restored to 500,000 people. Aneel, the power regulator, demanded that the company give detailed explanations of the disruptions. Sabesp, the water utility in the area, warned of outages at its pumps that were affecting many neighborhoods. The system was severely affected by the long period of time that it was without electricity to pump water. Sabesp stated that the supply is being gradually resumed. There were also disruptions in air travel. Aena, the airport operator in Sao Paulo, said that its?Congonhas Airport handled domestic flights and was open Thursday, but had canceled 31 arrivals. Guarulhos International Airport's operator, in a statement, said that 61 arrivals and 56 departures had been canceled as of Wednesday. The airport was back to normal operations by early Thursday. Leticia Fucuchima reported from Sao Paulo, and Rodrigo Viga Gaier was in Rio de Janeiro. Gabriel Araujo wrote the article. Brad Haynes edited it.
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German court stops authorities from selling suspected Russian oil tanks cargo
The German top fiscal court has ruled in two separate cases that the authorities cannot sell or otherwise use an oil tanker and the cargo it carries, seized near the Baltic Sea coast. Federal Fiscal Court announced on Thursday that the owners, who are not identified, had won an earlier court challenge against the confiscation procedures of customs authorities. Customs officials appealed but the federal court upheld their earlier decision. The Panama flagged tanker Eventin was discovered drifting in the?German coast in January, after leaving Russia with approximately 100,000 metric tonnes of oil valued at around?40million euros ($47million). The court said that it was bound for India. German authorities suspect that the vessel is part of "shadow fleet", which Russia uses to avoid European Union sanctions after its full-scale invasion in Ukraine 2022. Industry experts warn that such ships, which are often uninsured or operate outside of conventional standards, can pose serious safety and environmental hazards. Other European countries have raised similar concerns. In October, French soldiers boarded an alleged shadow fleet tanker near Saint Nazaire. The German finance ministry, which oversees customs and is responsible for the handling of the tanker, has said that the court's ruling was preliminary, but a final decision on what the authorities can do about the vessel is still pending. The ministry confirmed that the tanker remains moored off the island of Ruegen, but declined to comment on the next steps. The Russian authorities said that they had no information on the owner or ship. EU sanctions are aimed at putting pressure on Moscow and limiting its ability to fund the war in Ukraine. They target shadow fleet vessels that transport oil, weapons and grain despite restrictions.
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Gascade, Germany, puts 400 km of hydrogen pipeline into service
Gascade, a German gas grid operator, announced on Thursday that it had converted a 400-km (249-mile) high-pressure pipe to transport low carbon hydrogen southwards as part of an 'European core network' to ship alternative fuels. The Ukraine conflict has also heightened the importance of energy security and the replacement of Russian gas in the EU. The pipeline can transport locally produced hydrogen from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state ?via Brandenburg to Saxony-Anhalt initially, with a view to reaching the industry in southern Germany by ?2029, and branching out to Poland, the Czech ?Republic and Austria later. Gascade's managing director Ulrich Benterbusch said: "Converting existing natural gas pipelines of 1.4 meter diameter to hydrogen is an innovative technical achievement." He spoke at an inauguration at the Baltic Sea Port of Lubmin. This port, which was formerly used as a landing point for Russian submarine pipelines, is now aiming to become a hydrogen-cluster. Technically, the pipeline is ready to operate after it has been?lined with cushion gas. Ines Jesse said that Gascade's decision would pave the way for further industrial development in the area and, hopefully, more?investments. Green hydrogen is a storage medium for wind and solar energy. It can be produced at large-scale electrolysis plants, and transported and stored. The development of green hydrogen is expensive, and can cause investment decisions to be delayed in difficult economic conditions.
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Portugal general strike stalls transport, closes schools in labour reform protest
On Thursday, train services were halted across Portugal, hundreds of flights cancelled and schools closed, as unions began their first "general strike" in more than a decade to protest proposed labour reforms. The centre-right minority government claims that the changes proposed - amending over 100 articles of the labour code - are intended to increase productivity and spur economic development. Unions, however, accuse the government of putting employers' interests ahead of workers rights despite an economy that is strong and low unemployment. The far-right Chega Party is expected to support the bill when it is presented to Parliament. Lisbon's streets were noticeably quieter. Although hospitals were open, many surgeries and appointments had to be postponed because nursing staff went on strike. The government downplayed the impact, saying that workers in the private sectors, which outnumber those employed by the public sector roughly five-to-one, had not joined the strike, despite some being affected by the?transport stops. "The vast majority of people in the country are working" It seems to be more of a partial strike than a general one. Cabinet Minister Antonio Leitao Amaro said at a press briefing. The unions cited disruptions in several large companies including the hub of the auto industry around Volkswagen's Autoeuropa near Lisbon where the morning shift halted their tools. The government is trying to minimize the impact of the strikes to push its political agenda. But the workers are resisting, just as they do now, said Tiago Oliveira. He added that a'major general strike' was in progress. FIRST STRIKE AFTER BAILOUT ERA The largest unions CGTP & UGT called the action, which is the first one-day general strike in Portugal since June 2013. At that time, Portugal was under austerity measures imposed by a bailout international that reduced wages and raised taxes. The reforms envisage easing the just-cause dismissals for small and medium-sized businesses, and lifting limitations on outsourcing. The cap on flexible work rights for nursing mothers is another controversial measure. The government is not backing down, and insists that the changes will benefit all Portuguese. Luis Montenegro, the Prime Minister of Portugal, pledged Wednesday that his administration "will never give up being reformist and transformational". Some people who went to work Thursday still said that they had no choice, even if they sympathised the strike. "I do not have a contract that is permanent." Joao Silva, a 32-year old stationery store employee told the reporter that he could not go on strike. "They want older people fired so that they can hire younger employees...with lower wages...Why do (labor changes) always need to be in favor of company profits?" He said. (Reporting and writing by Sergio Goncalves, editing by Charlie Devereux & Ros Russell; Andrei Khalip)
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Sources say that oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline fell 12% m/m in November.
Two industry sources reported on Thursday that oil exports by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which ships 'oil from Kazakhstan through a pipeline and then to a Russian Black Sea terminal, had declined 12% from October. CPC, the company that handles around 80% Kazakhstan's oil exports, was severely damaged by a Ukrainian drone in November. Since then, SPM-2 has been?damaged, and SPM-3 is under maintenance. Sources said that exports fell last month from 1.52 millions barrels per day to 5.088 metric tons or 1.34million barrels per day. CPC exports increased by 15% between January and November to 66.541 millions tons. CPC doesn't comment on its operational activity. Kazakhstan announced earlier on Thursday that it would be adjusting its 2026 oil production plan due to maintenance expected at major oilfields, and major damage to CPC Black Sea Terminal (Reporting & Editing by Kirsten Doovan).
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Trafigura and Gupta attorneys trade blame as the trial ends
Commodity traders Trafigura and Prateek Gupta, both Indian businessmen, told London's High Court that they had failed to prove their employees knew about or participated in a $600,000,000 metals fraud. This was as lawyers made final arguments in the long-running case. Gupta’s lawyers countered that?unusual trade practices indicated Trafigura employees devised the scheme underlying the dispute. This involved substituting low-value metals or nickel for cheap ones. Trafigura of Geneva, which sued Gupta in court more than two year ago, has insisted that no employees were aware of the fraud before cargo inspections, scheduled for November 2022, Gupta alleged that Trafigura employees fabricated a series of complex transactions in order to "inflate" the group's position in nickel trading. He?tried remotely from Dubai, where he lives. In written closing arguments, Gupta’s lawyers stated that Mr Oikonomou & Mr Bhatia continued to trade despite uncommercial practices & red flags. This led them to conclude that they were participants in the fraudulent arrangement. Sokratis Bhatia was a trader based in India who worked for Trafigura. Harshdeep Oikonomou, the head nickel trader, also left Trafigura. Both are no longer employed by the company, and they have both submitted affidavits stating that they were not aware of the fraud or participated in it. Gupta claimed that staff at his company and Trafigura had worked together in order to prolong the credit period offered by Citi, and to reduce the chance of cargo inspections which would reveal the true contents. Citi declined to comment about the case. Gupta’s team provided emails and chats with Trafigura employees, which included discussions about "red flags", that they claimed proved he wasn't acting alone. Trafigura claimed during the trial Gupta was a fraudster with a long history and that he had taken money from the 'alleged scheme' to help his struggling business. Trafigura's lawyers stated in their written closing arguments that Mr Gupta’s evidence was "implausible", inconsistent, both internally and with previous accounts, incoherent and simply unbelievable. This approach... doesn't begin to fill in the evidence void that (alleged arrangement was ever agreed upon). Gupta's assets have been frozen since February 2023. He unsuccessfully tried to lift the order in December of that year. Reporting by Eric Onstad. Mark Potter (Editing)
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PCK refinery in Germany says leakage of pipeline has no impact
PCK, Germany's PCK, said Thursday that it was operating normally. It also stated that they were drawing from "internal stock" a day following a crude spillage in a pipeline feeding the re-finery via the port of Rostock. PCK reported that the incident occurred at a valve-station near Gramzow. There were no injuries or dangers for residents in the area. There are no immediate effects on the refinery's operations. PCK has enough stocks to cover short-term interruptions in supply," said a PCK spokesperson. According to the current information, "there is no damage in the pipeline." A restart can therefore be planned and prepared simultaneously. PCK estimated that the oil spill was 200 cubic metres (7,500 cubic feet) in volume and spread over a 2 hectare (5-acre) area. The environmental damage to water and soil is being assessed. According to the report, the outside influence could not be blamed for the incident. The spill was most likely caused by the planned preparations for a safety test. PCK is one of Germany's largest refineries with a processing capacity of 11,5?million tons per year. Petrolchemisches Kombinat Schwedt was the name of the refinery in Communist East Germany. Since September 2022 and following Russia's invasion in Ukraine, the German government has held PCK Schwedt in trust along with other German subsidiaries of Rosneft. Vera Eckert is reporting, and Alexander Smith is editing.
Alpine skiing's Olympic champion Gisin will undergo neck surgery following a training accident
Olympic ski champion Michelle Gisin is to undergo neck surgery following a 'heavy fall in downhill training at St Moritz, Switzerland on Thursday. This will be another major setback ahead of the Milano Cortina Games for the Swiss Alpine team.
After immediate medical treatment on the slope, the 32-year old, who won both the combined event at the Winter Olympics in 2018 and 2022, was flown from Zurich to Zurich.
Swiss Ski said Gisin had injuries to her cervical spine, left knee, and right wrist after she crashed into a safety net.
She was able to move her arms and legs normally, and will undergo surgery for the spinal injury on Thursday.
Swiss Ski said that further examinations will be conducted of the wrists and?knees after the cervical spine has been stabilised.
Gisin is the third Olympic gold medalist in the Swiss women’s team who has suffered serious training accidents.
Gut-Behrami was the two-time World Cup champion and reigning Olympic Super-G champ. She was ruled out last month after she tore her cruciate ligament while?training in Colorado.
Olympic downhill champ Corinne Suter tore muscle in her left leg during training in St Moritz earlier this month. She will be sidelined for a month.
The Milano Cortina Games begin on 6 February. Individual combined events are no longer scheduled and have been replaced by men's and women's team events with a slalom and downhill skier on each team.
Gisin, who was 17th in the?training on Thursday -- one spot ahead of American legend Lindsey Vonn whose run had been halted -- was the first to start.
Vonn, who hopes to medal at Cortina in his age of 41 was the fastest on Wednesday. (Reporting from Tommy Lund in Gdansk/Alan Baldwin, London Editing Christian Radnedge.)
(source: Reuters)