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☆ Ukraine claims gains on southeastern front, fighting rages in east
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"In the direction south of Urozhaine they (Ukrainian troops) had success," military spokesman Andriy Kovaliov said on national television. Kovaliov also reported fierce fighting in the northeastern Kharkiv region, and around an eastern village not far from Bakhmut, the city occupied by Russian forces in May after a bloody months-long struggle. "The enemy conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the area of Senkivka in Kharkiv region and Bohdanivka in Donetsk. "In the Bakhmut direction, defensive forces (Ukraine) continue to conduct offensive actions to the south of Bakhmut." Kyiv says its counter-offensive is progressing slower than it wanted because of vast Russian minefields and heavily-fortified Russian defensive lines.

Persons: Andriy Kovaliov, Urozhaine, Kovaliov, Pavel Polityuk, Tom Balmforth, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Ukrainian, Russian, Kupiansk, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Urozhaine, Donetsk, Azov, Kharkiv, Bakhmut, Senkivka, Bohdanivka, Russia, Lyman, Crimea, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kyiv

☆ Wildfire in Tenerife national park prompts village evacuations
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TENERIFE, Canary Islands, Spain, Aug 16 (Reuters) - A wildfire that broke out in a national park on the Spanish island of Tenerife has spread to 300 hectares, prompting authorities to order the evacuation of five villages and to cut off access to the forest surrounding the Mount Teide volcano. "The fire is powerful and is in a complicated area," Canary Islands regional President Fernando Clavijo told a news conference in Tenerife. [1/5]Flames and smoke rise as wildfire burns on the Canary island of Tenerife, Spain, August 16, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media. During the last week, a heatwave in the Canary Islands has left many areas bone dry and increased the risk of wildfires. This summer, firefighters have extinguished a series of forest fires on the islands of Gran Canaria and La Palma, which form part of the Canary Islands archipelago.

Persons: Fernando Clavijo, Pedro Martinez, Gerardo Ibelli, Rosa Davila, Davila, Corina Pons, Inti Landauro, Angus MacSwan, Charlie Devereux, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Media, Gran Canaria, La, Radio Canarias, Thomson Locations: TENERIFE, Canary Islands, Spain, Tenerife, Arrate, Gran, Spanish

☆ India's Modi says peace returning to strife-torn Manipur
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Rupam Jain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation during Independence Day celebrations at the historic Red Fort in Delhi, India, August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Altaf HussainNEW DELHI, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday peace was returning to the strife-torn northeastern state of Manipur where at least 180 people have been killed and tens of thousands forced from their homes in sectarian clashes since May. The country wants the people of Manipur to hold on to the peace of the last few days and take it forward," Modi said in an Independence Day speech from the ramparts of New Delhi's Red Fort. Manipur state chief minister hoisted India's tri-colour flag in the capital city of Imphal to commemorate Independence Day and there were no immediate reports of violence, officials said. Leaders from Indian opposition parties' alliance called "INDIA" said Modi's Independence Day speech will be his last as his party will be routed in the general elections.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Altaf Hussain, Modi, Kuki, Jairam Ramesh, bluster, Rupam Jain, Robert Birsel, Susan Fenton Organizations: India's, REUTERS, Indian, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Independence, Thomson Locations: Independence, Fort, Delhi, India, Manipur, Myanmar, New, Imphal

CNN —At least 21 people are dead and six others missing after a flash flood and landslide following torrential rains in the outskirts of northwestern China’s Xi’an city, local authorities said Sunday. Parts of China have seen record high temperatures and deadly flooding in recent weeks, with experts linking extreme weather around the world to climate change. Flooding killed at least 29 people in Hebei province and 33 in the capital Beijing, according to local authorities. Another 14 people were reported dead in the city of Shulan in Jilin province, as the rains moved northward, inundating farmlands in the country’s grain-producing area. Seven people were taking shelter from heavy rains at the house when it collapsed, according to China National Radio.

Persons: ” Organizations: CNN, Emergency Management, Xinhua, Restaurants, Authorities, China National Radio Locations: China’s Xi’an, Xi’an, China, Weiziping, Hebei province, Beijing, Shulan, Jilin province, Hebei, Hunan province, Leyu, Hengnan county

☆ When Tragedy Strikes in China, the Government Cracks Down on Grief
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Li Yuan | More About Li Yuan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many innocent lives were lost to tragic events in China in the past month. So far we haven’t learned a single name of any of them from China’s government or its official media. Despite an outpouring of public grief and anger around the country, the government never released their names. Social media posts sharing their names and tributes to their lives were censored. Then there were the people — probably dozens, possibly hundreds — who died in severe flooding in northern and northeastern China in recent weeks.

Persons: — Locations: China, Covid

BEIJING, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The death toll from a mudslide last week in China's northwestern Shaanxi province has risen to four, state radio said on Sunday, as the country grapples with unusually high summer rainfall. TYPHOON WEAKENSMeanwhile, Typhoon Khanun weakened into a tropical depression when it made landfall in China's Liaoning province on Friday night. Overnight rainfall in Liaoning peaked at 52 millimetres (2 inches) per hour, with four reservoirs exceeding flood limits, CCTV said. A video posted by state media People's Daily showed thick swirling clouds hanging low above the ground, darkening the sky. Reporting by Andrew Hayley and Ethan Wang; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Typhoon Khanun, Khanun, Doksuri, Andrew Hayley, Ethan Wang, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Jamie Freed Organizations: China Central Television, Xinhua, Liaoning province's Anshan, Flood, Drought, Ministry of Emergency Management, CCTV, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China's, Shaanxi, Xian, China's Liaoning, Liaoning, Tianjin, Chongqing, China, Xinjiang

☆ Ukraine counteroffensive: 'Partial success' near Robotyne, Russian attacks repelled in Kupiansk area, says Ukraine's Military
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Olga Voitovych Mariya Knight Sophie Tanno | Olga Voitovych | Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukraine has claimed “partial success” at a village along the southern front, as Kyiv’s counteroffensive continues to struggle to make significant progress. Ukraine claimed “partial success” near the village of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region, the General Staff of the Armed Forces said. The Institute for the Study of War [ISW] said even marginal gains by Ukraine in this area are significant. On Thursday, Ukraine claimed “partial success” in gaining positions in the area. Russian forces attempted offensives near Kupiansk which were repelled in a number of settlements in the area, according to the Ukraine General Staff’s daily update.

Persons: ”, Ukraine’s Organizations: CNN, Staff of, Armed Forces, Ukraine, Russian, Staff, Lyman, Eastern Military Group, Strategic Communications, Staff’s Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kupiansk, Kharkiv, Crimea, Donetsk, Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia, Urozhaine, Eastern Ukraine

☆ Floods, mudslides kill two in northwestern China city
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Qinling Mountains in Xian will continue to experience extreme weather conditions, which will lead to soil erosion and possibly further mudslides, the broadcaster said. A man holding a child walks across a damaged bridge after the rains and floods brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, in Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China August 7, 2023. In southwestern Guangxi on Friday, heavy rainfall in the city of Nanning led to urban flooding, forcing rush hour commuters to drive vehicles and motorcycles through waterlogged roads, CCTV said. Local authorities set up cordons to allow drainage work on some roads, while the city dispatched nearly 3,900 police to help. In Huozhou city in the northern province of Shanxi, some low-lying houses faced stagnant water breaches, as floods from heavy rain trapped some residents in their buildings, the broadcaster said.

Persons: Xian, Doksuri, Tingshu Wang, Engen Tham, Miral Organizations: China Central Television, REUTERS, Local, Xinhua News Agency, Thomson Locations: Nanning, Beijing, Harbin SHANGHAI, China, Fujian, Xian, Zhuozhou, Hebei province, Harbin, Guangxi, Jilin, Huozhou, Shanxi, Mongolia

☆ Ukraine is evacuating towns in an area it reclaimed last year, in a sign it could be losing ground to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine announced a mandatory evacuation of towns and villages under its control in the northeast. It's a sign Ukraine may be losing ground there, as Ukraine also reports shelling and a bomb attack. But Ukraine says it's stopping Russian advances in the area, as it continues its counteroffensive. The Kupiansk city military administration announced on Thursday a mandatory evacuation of towns and villages near the combat zone, citing shelling and the security situation in the area. The evacuation applies to almost 12,000 civilians from 37 towns and villages in the Kupiansk district, the Associated Press reported.

Persons: it's, Hanna Maliar, Liudmila Sezonova, Sezonova, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Associated Press, BBC, New York Times, Times, Russian, CNN Locations: Ukraine, It's, Wall, Silicon, Kharkiv, Russia, Kupiansk, Kindrasivka

☆ Rahul Gandhi rips into Indian PM Modi over Manipur violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Rahul Gandhi, a senior leader of India's main opposition Congress party, arrives at the parliament after he was reinstated as a lawmaker, in New Delhi, India, August 7, 2023. "You have killed mother India in Manipur," Gandhi said as opposition lawmakers thumped their desks and their government counterparts booed him. New Delhi has rushed tens of thousands of additional security forces to the state of 3.2 million people but sporadic violence continues. "Our prime minister has not gone to Manipur because for him Manipur is not in India," Gandhi said. Modi was not present in parliament when Gandhi spoke but he is due to address it on Thursday before it is put to vote.

Persons: Rahul Gandhi, India's, Stringer, Modi, Manipur Modi, Narendra Modi's, Gandhi, YP Rajesh, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, MANIPUR Gandhi, YP, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Manipur Gandhi, Manipur, DELHI, United States, MANIPUR, Kuki, Haryana, BJP

☆ Ancient reptile was riddled with parasites, fossilized poop reveals
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Researchers didn’t find the parasites in phytosaur bones or teeth; rather, they retrieved them from a nugget of fossilized feces, known as a coprolite. For example, certain fish with spiraling intestines poop out what eventually become spiral-shaped coprolites, according to Nonsrirach. “Studying the remains of parasites in coprolites is important since it provides us with rare insights into ancient parasite-host relationships,” Qvarnström said. “This event raises interesting questions about how prey animals and parasites interact with each other. It suggests that parasites may have been inside the bodies of prey before they were eaten,” Nonsrirach said.

Persons: didn’t, ”, Thanit Nonsrirach, “, Nonsrirach, Coprolites, Martin Qvarnström, Qvarnström, ” Qvarnström, ” Nonsrirach, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, Mahasarakham, Uppsala University, University of California Museum of Paleontology, Scientific Locations: Thailand, Asia, Kham Riang, Sweden, Berkeley, coprolites

☆ Spain roasts as summer's third heatwave peaks
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] People queue in the sun outside Almudena Cathedral as they wait to enter the Royal Palace during the third heatwave of the summer in Madrid, Spain, August 8, 2023. The mercury could also rise to 40 C in the Basque Country in northeastern Spain, an area less accustomed to such high temperatures, the state weather agency AEMET said. Temperatures in some areas in the southern half of Spain remained above 27 C on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, AEMET spokesperson Ruben del Campo said. As Spain suffocates under high temperatures, ice on its mountains is melting. The melting sped up in 2021 and 2022, which were particularly warm years in Spain.

Persons: Susana Vera MADRID, AEMET, Ruben del Campo, Del Campo, Charlie Devereux, Inti Landauro, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Visitors, Prado, Tourists, Thomson Locations: Almudena, Madrid, Spain, Basque, Southern, sightseers, Europe, Catalonia

A blaze ripped through a vacation rental where 28 travelers were staying in a small idyllic commune in northeastern France on Wednesday morning, killing 11 people, French officials said. Smoke inhalation was the most likely cause of death, Mr. Hauwiller said. One person was hospitalized for smoke inhalation but was not in critical condition, a firefighter told Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne during a televised conversation. The prime minister was visiting the site of the blaze on Wednesday afternoon. The vacationers included people with mental disabilities and people accompanying them on an organized trip, said President Emmanuel Macron of France, who called the blaze a “tragedy” on social media.

Persons: Philippe Hauwiller, Hauwiller, Élisabeth Borne, Emmanuel Macron, Borne, Aurore Bergé Locations: France

REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/file photoMOIRANG/CHURACHANDPUR, India, Aug 8 (Reuters) - In the sectarian violence that has ravaged India's Manipur state, women have been victims of brutal attacks. Kukis say a loosely formed group of Meitei women, known as Meira Paibis, or Women Torchbearers, is responsible for instigating some of the rapes of women of the minority community. India's Supreme Court announced this week that it will monitor investigations into cases of sexual violence in the state. "Meira Paibis does not differentiate between Kuki or Meitei," she said, speaking alongside a group of other Meitei women. WORSE THAN ANARCHYThe women said they had heard of nine Meitei women being raped, but they had no evidence and were not directly aware of any incidents.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Praveen Donthi, Narendra Modi's, Rajiv Singh, Paibis, Moirangthen Thoibi Devi, Ngainekim, Mukul Kesavan, ”, Thoibi Devi, Meira Paibis, Vak, Krishn Kaushik, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Crisis, Security, Police, Kuki Women Organisation, Human Rights, Assam Rifles, Thomson Locations: Kangvai, Churachandpur district, Manipur, India, CHURACHANDPUR, Myanmar, Imphal, Moirang, East Imphal, Kuki

☆ America's foes are teaming up to push the US military out of the Middle East, and it's messing up plans to fight terror
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Russia and Iran are working together with Syria to ultimately push US forces out of the country. US officials and war experts say these efforts are hurting the international fight against ISIS. AP Photo/Baderkhan AhmadBoth Russia and Iran are allied with the brutal Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad. What are Russia, Iran, and Syria doing? In early July, a Russian fighter jet flew 18 close passes near American MQ-9 Reaper drones during a two-hour-long encounter.

Persons: Baderkhan Ahmad, Bashar al, Assad, Qassem Soleimani, Sabrina Singh, Singh Organizations: ISIS, Service, Islamic, Institute for, American Enterprise Institute, Syrian Democratic Forces, AP, Washington, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Force, Ukraine, American, Pentagon Locations: Russia, Iran, Syria, Wall, Silicon, Washington, Deir Ezzor, Moscow, Tehran, Iraq, Russian, Palmyra, Hasakah

☆ Champagne sales are booming. But its taste could soon change forever — thanks to climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

More than 325 million bottles of champagne were shipped from Champagne in 2022, according to Comité Champagne. More than 325 million bottles of champagne were shipped from Champagne in 2022, surpassing 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in sales for the first time, according to champagne trade association Comité Champagne. International brands are aware of the huge impact climate change can have on their businesses. A bar tender pours a bottle of Taittinger Champagne. Matt Hodson Founder of English wine retailer Grape Britannia

Persons: Comité Champagne, Dave Kotinsky, Sandrine Sommer, Moët Hennessy, Matt Hodgson, Francois Nascimbeni, Hodgson, Sommer, Champagne, Claire Sarazin, Tom Hewson Champagne, Sarazin, Tom Hewson, Susy Atkins, who've, Atkins, Taittinger, Pommery, Carlo Paloni, Matt Hodson Organizations: Getty, CNBC, Afp, Bafta Locations: Champagne, United States, Britain, Japan, Ville, Reims, France, Montgueux

One man spent his childhood in the foothills of northeastern Afghanistan dreaming of being a soldier for the U.S.-backed government. The other secretly applied to a military academy — against his parents’ wishes — determined to prove himself on the battlefield. Both went on to have storied careers during the war and fled their country alongside other commandos when the Taliban seized power in August 2021. The two men — Mr. Amir, 33, and Basir Andarabi, 35 — had bonded in exile over a shared resolve to retake their homeland. But the Taliban takeover was so sudden, so shocking, they could not accept defeat; it felt more like a chapter in the war than its epilogue.

Persons: ’, —, “, Akmal Amir, Mr, Amir, Basir Andarabi Organizations: U.S Locations: Afghanistan

☆ Drought in Spain empties reservoirs, forces limits on water use
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Horaci Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Residents enjoy Boadella reservoir, which is 20% of its capacity, as Spain braces for the third heatwave of the summer near the Spanish-French border, in Darnius, Spain, August 6, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho DoceAGULLANA, Spain, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Artur Duran holds his hand out by his waist to show the level of water he remembers two years ago at the Darnius Boadella reservoir in northeastern Spain. Catalonia's authorities last week imposed new water usage restrictions on 22 villages around the reservoir, near the French border, as the aquifer supplying them is also emptying. Several heatwaves recorded in Spain and wider Europe this summer have worsened the drought, lowering reservoirs' levels as water evaporation and consumption increased, said Ruben del Campo, spokesperson for Spain's meteorological agency AEMET. The village of Agullana with 900 residents has been keeping its water usage below the 200-litre cap for several months, but its mayor said further steps will be implemented.

Persons: Doce, Artur Duran, sunbathed, Ruben del Campo, Josep Jovell, Horaci Garcia, Joan Faus, Andrei Khalip, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Authorities, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Spain, Spanish, Darnius, Catalonia, Spain's Andalusia, Europe, Agullana

CNN —Crowds of people accompanied the coffin of soccer player Jesus Lopez Ortiz in Guanacaste, northeastern Costa Rica, last week after his death following a crocodile attack. Lopez Ortiz was killed shortly after jumping into the crocodile-filled Cañas River in Guanacaste on July 29. The National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) said that the crocodile was later shot so that authorities could recover the body of the young man. According to Mendez, there are already communities promoting boat tours to watch crocodiles in several rivers in the area. Last year, a child in another province was fatally attacked by a wild crocodile.

Persons: Jesus Lopez Ortiz, Lopez Ortiz, “, ” Marcos Chavarria, Chavarria, Lopez Ortiz’s, ” Giselle Ortiz Cubillo, Ortiz Cubillo, ”, Mauricio Mendez, Mendez, ” Mendez, SINAC Organizations: CNN, Deportivo Rio Cañas, Facebook, System of Conservation, Rio Locations: Guanacaste, Costa Rica, “

CNN —Days of heavy rain have caused severe flooding in China’s leading grain-producing region in the northeast, killing 14 people and raising concerns about food security as floodwater inundated farmlands. As the storm moved further north, another 14 deaths were reported Sunday in the city of Shulan in Jilin province. Firefighters operate a drainage machine near a village in the city of Mudanjiang in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province on August 5. A cornfield is submerged by floodwater in a village in Hebi city, Henan province on August 5. A flooded farm in Xinxiang city, Henan province on August 5.

Persons: Doksuri, Zhang Tao, floodwater, Typhoon Khanun, Xi Jinping Organizations: CNN, Xinhua, Firefighters, China’s Ministry of Water Resources, Communist Party, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Affairs, National Bureau of Statistics, China Meteorological Administration, Qiushi, Communist Locations: China, Beijing, Hebei, Shulan, Jilin province, Heilongjiang, Mudanjiang, China's Heilongjiang, Jilin, Harbin, Shangzhi, Wuchang, Liaoning, Hebi city, Henan province, Henan, Xinxiang city

☆ Heatwave caused higher than normal death rate in southern Italy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A homeless woman who did not want to give her name takes shade from the sun with an umbrella as she sits near Termini train station during a heatwave across Italy in Rome, Italy July 21, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File photoROME, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The central and southern regions of Italy recorded 7% more deaths than normal in July after a baking heatwave, health ministry data showed, while firefighters on Monday battled fires on Sardinia and hailstones and floods battered the northeast. In its latest monthly data, Italy's ministry of health noted the effects of extreme temperatures on the country's mortality rate in July compared to the average rate recorded in the same period from 2015 to 2019. The increased mortality rate was particularly evident in southern cities such as Bari, Catania, and Reggio Calabria. On the contrary, the mortality rate in cities in the north of the country, which was less exposed to the heatwave, was lower than expected, down 14% on the past trend.

Persons: Guglielmo Mangiapane, Federica, Keith Weir, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Monday, Friuli Venezia Giulia, hailstones, Sunday, Firefighters, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome, ROME, Sardinia, hailstones, Europe, Bari, Catania, Reggio Calabria, Nuoro, Cagliari, Friuli, Slovenia

☆ Airlines seek extension to cuts in minimum flight requirements at New York-area airports
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Major U.S. airlines on Monday asked the Federal Aviation Administration to extend cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports and a Washington airport, citing a lack of adequate air traffic control staffing. Airlines can lose their slots at congested airports if they do not use them at least 80% of the time. In the Airlines for America letter, the group said air traffic control staffing and extreme weather "are unique circumstances beyond our control." In June, a government audit said the FAA faces critical air traffic staffing shortages and "lacks a plan to address them." Last summer there were 41,498 flights from New York airports where air traffic control staffing was a contributing factor in delays.

Persons: John F, Eduardo Munoz, David Shepardson, Leslie Adler, Matthew Lewis, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Kennedy International, REUTERS, Major U.S, Monday, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Washington National Airport, Airlines for America, Reuters, Airlines, Newark Liberty International Airport, New, Philadelphia, America, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Major, Washington, New York, Chicago, Newark

☆ Protesters oppose Petrobras oil exploration plan at mouth of Amazon river
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Brazil's state-run Petrobras oil company is seen on a tank in at Petrobras Paulinia refinery in Paulinia, Brazil July 1, 2017. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File PhotoBELEM, Brazil, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Environmental demonstrators protested on Sunday against plans by Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) to drill for oil at the mouth of the Amazon river. Petrobras has appealed against a decision by Brazil's environmental protection agency, Ibama, to deny it permission to drill an exploratory well at the mouth of the Amazon, saying the request lacked an environmental assessment of the project. It reaches a technical opinion that must be obeyed," said the minister, who has opposed the plan to drill at the mouth of the Amazon. Lula said Guyana's president would like Petrobras to explore for oil off-shore from his country.

Persons: Paulo Whitaker, Luis Barbosa, Marina Silva, Ibama, Silva, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Leonardo Benassatto, Leslie Adler Organizations: Petrobras Paulinia, REUTERS, Environmental, Petrobras, PETR4, Amazon, Thomson Locations: Paulinia, Brazil, BELEM, Amazon, Suriname, Guyana, Amapá

☆ China raises emergency response level for floods in northeast
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Authorities in northeastern China raised their emergency response level on Sunday as tributaries of the Songhua, a major river, rose to dangerous levels after days of heavy rain caused by Typhoon Doksuri. China's Ministry of Water Resources said it raised the response for flooding to Level III at 10 a.m. (0200 GMT) in Inner Mongolia, Jilin and Heilongjiang. China uses a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I the most urgent. China on Sunday allocated an additional 350 million yuan ($48.8 million) to support rescues and house repairs in the flood-hit regions including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Heilongjiang and Jilin, according to a government statement. The government had previously allocated 170 million yuan for rescue and recovery work.

Persons: Doksuri, William Mallard, Tom Hogue Organizations: China's Ministry of Water Resources, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, China's, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei

☆ Three people killed, houses set ablaze in fresh violence in India's Manipur state
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] People take part in a mass rally in Meitei dominated Imphal, amidst the conflict with Kuki tribals in the remote northeastern state of Manipur, India, July 29, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File PhotoGUWAHATI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Three people were killed and houses set ablaze in fresh violence in India's Manipur, police officials said late on Friday, as sporadic violence and killings continue in the remote northeastern state. The three people killed on Thursday night belonged to the majority Metei community in the state's Bishnupur district, a police spokesperson said. A spokesperson for a Kuki civil society group said it did not have an immediate comment on the latest killings. Over 180 people have been killed and thousands have fled their homes, since the violence started in Manipur, a state of 3.2 million that borders Myanmar.

Persons: Stringer, Zarir Hussain, Tom Hogue Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Meitei, Imphal, Kuki, Manipur, India, GUWAHATI, state's Bishnupur, Myanmar

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