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☆ Around 48 migrants missing, nine found dead, after boat sinks off Canary Islands
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-29 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Nine people, one of them a child, have been confirmed as dead after their boat sank in the early hours of Saturday morning, emergency and rescue services said. “After what happened yesterday and if the forecast for the arrival of the migrant boats happens, then it will be the biggest humanitarian crisis to happen to the Canary Islands in 30 years,” Candelaria Delgado of the Canary Islands government, told reporters on Sunday. Three of those rescued suffered from hypothermia and dehydration, rescue services said on Sunday. As hopes of finding more survivors diminished, police installed a morgue on El Hierro, authorities said. Three other boats reached the Canary Islands during the night, carrying 208 migrants.

Persons: El, Frontex, ” Candelaria Delgado Organizations: Spain Reuters — Patrol, Rescuers, Spanish coastguard, Reuters, Channel, Canary Locations: El Hierro, Spain, Africa, Canary, Spanish, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, West Africa, Turkey, Greece, Britain, Lanzarote

☆ From abortion to fracking, Harris and Trump tailored their message to Pennsylvania. Why the pivotal swing state matters.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

And for Trump, flipping Pennsylvania — a state he narrowly won in 2016 but lost in 2020 — would give him a broader path to winning back the White House. Trump tried to bring fracking into focusIn 2019, when Harris was running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, she voiced support for a ban on hydraulic fracturing — or fracking. And recognizing the political potency of the issue, Harris on Tuesday sought to distance herself from her past comments by pointing to her record as vice president. From 1992 to 2012, only Democratic presidential nominees carried the state. In the state's Real Clear Politics polling average, Harris and Trump are both currently tied at 47.6% support.

Persons: —, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Harris, Trump, fracking, It's, Joe Biden's, Roe, Wade, Biden, Josh Shapiro, Chip Somodevilla, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden Organizations: Service, Business, Trump, Democratic, US, Pennsylvania, GOP — Democrats, Biden, Democrats, Clear, Pennsylvania Convention Locations: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, United States, fracking, Central, Western Pennsylvania, Philadelphia's, Johnstown

☆ High temperatures scorch China, spiking power demand
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In the east and northwest of China, temperatures as high as 43.9 degree Celsius (111.02 Fahrenheit) have scorched Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Anhui, Xinjiang in recent days, state broadcaster CCTV said. China Meteorological Administration said some localities in Xinjiang's Turpan Basin, southern Anhui, and central and western Zhejiang, temperatures could rise above 40C. The observatory of Zhejiang's capital Hangzhou recorded a 41.9C historical high on Saturday, with 40-42C temperatures forecast till Monday. Jiangsu's observatory issued a red warning for heat on Sunday after high temperatures which had persisted for more than a week further intensified. The national weather forecaster on Monday cautioned of potential fire hazards caused by excessive power consumption and excessive electrical loads.

Organizations: CCTV, China Meteorological Administration, Grid Locations: Nanjing, China, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Anhui, Xinjiang, Turpan, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou

☆ How Does Your State Make Electricity?
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Nadja Popovich | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +58 min

Wind turbines provided just 1 percent of the electricity produced in the state in 2001 and nearly 60 percent last year. How Kentucky made electricity from 2001 to 2023 Percentage of power produced from each energy sourceCoal still generates the majority of the electricity produced in Kentucky, a longtime coal mining state. Since then, virtually all of the electricity produced in the state has come from renewable sources, including hydropower, biomass, wind and solar. It has supplied more than 85 percent of the electricity produced in the state every year for more than two decades. Last year, wind supplied more than a fifth of the electricity produced in the state.

☆ Tropical Storm Beryl expected to become major hurricane by Monday
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-29 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tropical Storm Beryl is expected to strengthen and become a "dangerous major hurricane" by Monday, bringing high winds and strong rain to the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said on Saturday. The storm, which formed on Friday, is forecast to hit the Windward Islands late Sunday. A hurricane watch is in effect for Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadine Islands, and Grenada. Tropical storm watches are in effect for Martinique, Dominica, and Tobago. "Heavy rainfall and localized flooding is expected across the Windward Islands Sunday night and Monday," the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory, projecting rainfall totals of three to six inches.

Persons: Saint Vincent Organizations: National Hurricane Center, NHC Locations: Caribbean, Windward Islands, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Martinique, Dominica, Tobago, Windward

☆ Beryl is first hurricane of 2024 Atlantic season
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Eric Zerkel | Sara Tonks | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Beryl is the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph with stronger gusts, according to a 5 p.m. EST update from the National Hurricane Center. That this formed so early in the season – and in this part of the Atlantic – is a sign of the hyperactive hurricane season to come, according to research from Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane expert and research scientist at Colorado State University. Normally, ocean temperatures aren’t warm enough in this region in June and July to help tropical systems thrive. That’s hardly the case this year, and one of the reasons behind record-high hurricane season forecasts over the past few months. Both have low odds of developing over the next week, but given the unusual early season action and favorable ocean temperatures, they will have to be watched closely.

Persons: Beryl, St Lucia, Vincent, Philip Klotzbach, Phil Klotzbach, “ Beryl, ” Dr, Mike Brennan, CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield, ” Brennan, “, ”, El Niño, Wilfred Abrahams, Saint Vincent, Ralph Gonsalves, ” Gonsalves, Saint Lucia, Philip J, Pierre Organizations: CNN, National Hurricane Center, Lesser, St, Colorado State University, National Oceanic, Hurricane Center, NHC, Home Affairs, National Disaster Management Agency Locations: Barbados, Windward, Caribbean, Islands, St, Grenadines, Grenada, Martinique, Tobago, Mexico Gulf, Lesser, El, Mexico, “ Kingstown, ”, Saint

CNN —The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says at least 22 people were killed in a strike that hit civilians sheltering in southern Gaza on Friday. The strike hit the tents of displaced people in the Palestinian town of Mawasi, parts of which have been identified by the Israeli military as a humanitarian zone. Following the strike, a nearby Red Cross field hospital received 22 bodies and 45 injured, the ICRC said. The Gaza Ministry of Health said that 25 people were killed and 50 wounded in the attack. The Israeli military said the incident was under review but initial inquiries found “no indication” it was behind the strike in Mawasi.

Persons: Cross, Israel, Abed Rahim Khatib, Raed, Nims, “, Khan Younis, ” Mohammed Al, Bashar Taleb, General Antonio Guterres, Guterres, ” Organizations: CNN, International Committee, ICRC, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Gaza Ministry, Health, Anadolu, Israel Defence Forces, Civil Defense, Getty, Ministry of Health, UN Locations: Gaza, Palestinian, Mawasi, Israel, Rafah, Palestine, –, Egypt

Heavy seasonal rains have set off flash floods across Afghanistan, killing at least 50 people in one province, leaving 100 more missing and displacing thousands of others on Friday, officials said. The flood’s toll in the northern province of Baghlan, which appeared to have suffered the worst devastation on Friday, was likely to rise, said Hedayatullah Hamdard, the director of the provincial disaster management department. Flooding on Friday also killed at least one person in Badakhshan, a mountainous eastern province, where it destroyed homes, small dams and bridges and killed 2,000 livestock, the provincial diaster management department said. Floods also occurred in the provinces of Ghor and Herat, in central and western Afghanistan, according to the Taliban government. Doctors were also being deployed in Parwan Province, north of Kabul, said Hekmatullah Shamim, the spokesman for the province’s governor, though details of the flood’s toll there were not immediately available.

Persons: Hedayatullah Hamdard, Hekmatullah Shamim Locations: Afghanistan, Baghlan, Badakhshan, Ghor, Herat, Parwan Province, Kabul

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russians inflict 'massive attack' on Ukraine's energy network, leaving power plants damaged
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Russia used more than 50 missiles and 20 drones to attack Ukraine's infrastructure overnight, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday morning, with the country's energy network suffering a "massive attack." "The enemy does not abandon plans to deprive Ukrainians of light. Again a massive attack on our energy!" Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Facebook Wednesday. Power plants and transmission facilities were attacked in a number of regions, he said, including the southern Zaporizhzhia region and Vinnytsia and Lviv in central and western Ukraine.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German Galushchenko Organizations: Ukraine's Energy, German, Facebook Locations: Russia, Vinnytsia, Lviv, Ukraine

☆ Global arms fairs from Russia to the UAE: Photographer’s take on bizarre world
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Christy Choi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —An arms fair may contain all the trappings of war, but it is nothing like a battlefield. Nikita TeryoshinA shot of the reception at the 2016 MSPO expo, the biggest arms fair in Eastern Europe. “It was the only (arms fair I’d been to) where they were shooting real rockets over 20 kilometers (12 miles) maybe,” said Teroyshin. Fairgoers wait for a shuttle to a live demonstration site during the 2019 Army military expo held in Alabino, Russia. Forever.”) is paired with an image of three women in Islamic veils at an arms fair, one pretending to hold a rifle depicted in the poster in front of her.

Persons: ”, Nikita Teryoshin, “, ” Teryoshin, Nikita Teryoshin “, Teryoshin, Majid, Teroyshin, Lockheed Martin, Nikita Teryoshin Teroyshin, ‘, KAI, Nikita Teryoshin Saudi, Linda Åkerström, eyeshadow, Nikita Teryoshin Åkerström, ” Teroyshin, he’s, Åkerström, you’ll Organizations: CNN, Swedish Bofors, expos, Tiger, Kalashnikov, Lockheed, Manufacturing, ITT, Otis Defence, CTA, Elbit Systems, BAE Systems Locations: Russian, Swedish, Kielce, Poland, Lima , Peru, Belarus, France, Germany, South Korea, China, UAE, Peru, Russia, Vietnam, USA, South Africa, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, “, DEFEXPO, Eastern Europe, Mali, Alabino, Abu Dhabi, Paris, Dortmund, Seoul, IDEX, Central, Western Europe, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia, Ukraine

☆ Russia launches barrage of 99 drones and missiles on Ukraine’s energy system, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Moscow launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure Friday, with a mass barrage of 99 drones and missiles hitting regions across the country, Ukraine's armed forces said. Ukraine's state-owned grid operator, Ukrenergo, said Friday's attack deliberately targeted thermal and hydroelectric power plants across central and western regions. Five people, including a 5-year-old girl, were wounded during the attack in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, said local Gov. He later said that another man had been killed and one more injured in a separate drone attack Friday. Vyacheslav Gladkov later said on social media that one man had died as the result of a separate drone attack which struck an apartment block.

Persons: Ihor Klymenko, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Serhii, Vyacheslav Gladkov Organizations: Kyiv, Gov, Polish Armed Forces, NATO, Russia's Ministry of Defense, Regional Gov Locations: Kharkiv, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Kyiv, Russian, Belgorod, Dnister, Novodnistrovsk, Moldova, Odesa, Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Warsaw, Braila county, Romania

MOSHCHUN, Ukraine (AP) — In the humble backyard of a destroyed house, a 13-year-old chops firewood to get ready for winter. His mother, Tetiana Yarema, has been preparing for months as she remembers last winter’s Russian strikes on the energy infrastructure that plunged Ukraine into darkness. For the Yarema family, like millions of other Ukrainians touched by Russia’s war on Ukraine, winter is an especially challenging time. The strikes impacted almost a half of Ukraine’s energy capacity. After a lull of six months, Ukraine's energy system sustained its first attack of the season on Sept. 21, resulting in damage to facilities in the central and western regions, Ukrenergo said.

Persons: Tetiana Yarema, ”, Yarema, “, Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ” Zelenskyy, Denys Shmyhal, ” Shmyhal, Yurii Musienko, Valentyna Kiriian, DTEK, Maxim Timchenko, ” Timchenko, Andrii Horchynskyi, ” Horchynskyi, ___ Dmytro Zhyhinas Organizations: —, Private Locations: MOSHCHUN, Ukraine, Moshchun, Kyiv, Ukrainian, United States, Private Ukrainian, Maliutianka, russia, ukraine

☆ Florida: Category 3 Hurricane Idalia threatens to hit state as an even stronger storm Wednesday, and conditions are already deteriorating
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Nouran Salahieh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

It could be the first major hurricane at Category 3 or stronger to hit the Big Bend region. ET, with sustained winds 120 mph winds that are projected to grow stronger as it approaches the state, the hurricane center said. Tampa, well south of the projected landfall area, was also bracing for Idalia’s wrath and seeing storm surge beginning to flood streets Tuesday. • Much of Florida under state of emergency: DeSantis has issued an emergency declaration to 49 of 67 Florida counties. “Idalia is likely to still be a hurricane while moving across southern Georgia, and possibly when it reaches the coast of Georgia or southern South Carolina on Wednesday,” the hurricane center said Tuesday evening.

Persons: Idalia, “, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, ” DeSantis, ” Perry, Lee Bercaw, ” Bercaw, Jamie Rhome, Mayor Heath Davis, Levy, •, Florida won’t, “ Idalia Organizations: CNN, National Guard, National Hurricane Center, Fort Myers, National Weather Service, Florida, Florida Gov, Big, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Tampa Police, Mayor, Florida Gulf, • Travel, Tampa International Airport, Pete, Clearwater International, •, Guard, Pasadena Hospital, HCA, HCA Florida Trinity West Hospital, HCA Florida West Tampa Hospital, Tampa General Hospital, Florida Department of Corrections, Carolinas, North Carolina Locations: Florida’s, Big Bend, Bend, Cedar Key , Florida, Madeira Beach, Fort, Fort Myers Beach, Tallahassee, Apalachee, Panhandle, Taylor, Florida, Idalia’s, Perry, Tampa, Florida Gulf Coast, Alachua, Baker, Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Madison , Manatee, Marion, Nassau, Pasco , Pinellas, Putnam, Sarasota, Suwannee, Sumter, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, HCA Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North, North Carolina

☆ Asia, Africa bear brunt of pollution health burden - research
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Despite improvements in China, air pollution across the globe continues to pose the greatest external risk to human health, with countries in Asia and Africa suffering most of the impact, new research showed on Tuesday. PM2.5 in South Asia has risen by nearly 10% since 2013, she said, cutting average life expectancy in the region by around five years. Virtually all of Southeast Asia is also now considered to have "unsafe levels of pollution", with average life expectancy cut by 2-3 years. China's average PM2.5 concentrations stood at 29 micrograms per cubic metre in 2022, but it still remains significantly higher than the WHO recommendation of 5 micrograms. "We haven't turned the corner on air pollution yet, though China's example shows us that the issue is a tractable one," Hasenkopf said.

Persons: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Christa Hasenkopf, haven't, Hasenkopf, David Stanway, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute, EPIC, World Health Organization, WHO, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Asia, Africa, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Indonesia, South Asia, Southeast Asia

☆ Russia launches overnight drone attack on Ukraine - Ukraine's Air Force
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Aug 19 (Reuters) - Russia launched 17 drones overnight attempting to strike Ukraine's northern, central and western regions, Ukraine's Air Force said on Saturday. The Air Force said that 15 of the Russia-launched Iranian-made Shahed drones were shot down. It was not immediately clear what happened to the two drones that were not downed. It was not immediately known what objects and areas Russia targeted in its strikes. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Warsaw; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Lidia Kelly, Sonali Paul Organizations: Ukraine's Air Force, The Air Force, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Warsaw

☆ Russian missile attack kills 7 in northern Ukrainian city as Zelenskyy visits NATO candidate Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A view shows a site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Chernihiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 19, 2023. Sweden abandoned its longstanding policy of military nonalignment to support Ukraine with weapons and other aid in the war against Russia. As Zelenskyy arrived in Sweden, a Russian missile strike killed seven people and wounded 90 others in the city center of Chernihiv, the regional capital of the northern Ukrainian province of the same name, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. A Russian missile hit right in the center of the city, in our Chernihiv," he wrote on Telegram. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin visited top military officials in the city of Rostov-on-Don near the Ukrainian border.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Ihor Klymenko, Vladimir Putin, Don, Putin, Valery Gerasimov, Wagner, group's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Gerasimov, Sergei Shoigu, Prigozhin, Alexander Khodakovsky, Tiurin, Vitalii Bunechko Organizations: Russia, Archer, NATO, Russia's Southern Military District, Russian, Ukraine Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Chernihiv, Sweden, Harpsund, Stockholm, Ukrainian, Russia, Rostov, Urozhaine, Ukraine's, Donetsk, Zhytomyr

☆ Typhoon Lan makes landfall in western Japan, threatens damage
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Approaching from the Pacific Ocean, Typhoon Lan made landfall at the southern tip of Wakayama prefecture, some 400 km (250 miles) southwest of Tokyo. The typhoon, which followed closely on the heels of Typhoon Khanun during Japan's peak Obon holiday season, lashed wide swathes of central and western Japan with heavy rains and powerful winds. Anticipating the dangerous levels of winds and rains a day earlier, high-speed train operators had also planned suspensions of services affecting the area. Typhoon Lan had sustained winds of 150 kph (93 mph) and was moving northwest across the western part of the main island of Honshu as of 0000 GMT. It was forecast to reach the Sea of Japan by early Wednesday and continue north along the sea, according to Japan's weather agency.

Persons: Typhoon Lan, Khanun, Chang, Kim, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Toyota Motor Corp, NHK, Toyota Motor, Thomson Locations: Japan, Wakayama prefecture, Tokyo, Mie, Osaka, Tokai, Typhoon, Honshu

☆ Arrowhead made from meteorite 3,000 years ago found near lake in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A Bronze Age arrowhead unearthed in Switzerland was made from a meteor, a new study has found. The nearly 3,000-year-old artifact was created with iron from a meteorite that landed in Estonia, the study noted. This indicates that meteoritic iron was traded in Europe by 800 BC or earlier, the researchers said, adding how unusual it is to find meteoritic iron used so early in history. “Such evidence of an early use of meteoritic iron is extremely rare,” according to a news release on the discovery. Meteorite originsExperts previously thought the iron used in the arrowhead came from the Twannberg meteorite, which fell to Earth just a few kilometers from the pile-dwelling.

Persons: Thomas Schüpbach, “, Beda Hofmann, Amber, ”, ” Hofmann Organizations: CNN, of Bern, of, “, Archaeological Science Locations: Switzerland, Mörigen, Lake Biel, Estonia, Europe, Turkey, Greece, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Iran, Russia, China, Poland, Bern, Kaalijarv, of Bern, Cornwall, Mesopotamia, Swiss

☆ Poland-Belarus: Tensions high on NATO's border with Belarus after Wagner troops move closer
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Sana Noor Haq Josh Pennington Niamh Kennedy Darya Tarasova Jessie Gretener Yulia Kesaieva | Sana Noor Haq | Josh Pennington | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Belarusian soldiers and Wagner troops attend joint training exercises near the border city of Brest, in Belarus on July 20, 2023 amid increased border tensions between Warsaw and Minsk. Belarus' Defense Ministry/Handout/AP/FileMinsk had informed Warsaw about the exercise, but a border crossing took place in the eastern Bialowieza region at a “very low altitude, making detection by radar systems difficult,” the Polish defense ministry said in a statement. Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak subsequently ordered that more troops and combat helicopters be deployed along the border, the ministry added. “By deploying troops from both the west (Kaliningrad) and the east (Belarus), Russia would be able to effectively cut off the Baltic States from its NATO allies in central and western Europe. Five EU countries, four of whom border Ukraine – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria – lifted sanctions on the import of Ukrainian grain, which they had installed to protect their own agricultural industries.

Persons: Wagner, Alexander Lukashenko, Wagner’s, Mariusz Blaszczak, Mateusz Morawiecki, Paweł Jabłoński, Barbara Yoxon, Putin, “, ” Yoxon, ”, Yoxon, Bulgaria –, Marcin Przydacz, Poland Organizations: CNN, NATO, EU, Belarus ' Defense Ministry, Polish, Belarusian Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Lancaster University, “, Presidential, International, Ukraine, ” Locations: Poland, Belarus, Minsk, Europe, Warsaw, Belarusian, Lithuania, Russian, Moscow, Brest, Polish, EU, Russia, Kaliningrad, Baltic, Grodno, England, Ukraine, Baltic States, Latvia, Estonia, Western, Ukrainian, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Kyiv, Republic of Poland

BEIJING, July 29 (Reuters) - Rain began to soak northern China on Saturday as Doksuri, one of the strongest storms to hit the country in years, rolled toward Beijing after pummelling the Philippines and Taiwan, and lashing China's coast. A broad area encompassing the capital faces medium to high risk of rainstorm disasters over the coming three days, China's national forecaster said. Cumulative rainfall of 100mm (4 inches) or more is forecast over 220,000 square km (85,000 square miles), potentially affecting 130 million people. Doksuri was the most powerful typhoon to hit China this year and the second-strongest to hit the southeastern province of Fujian since Typhoon Meranti in 2016. Before hitting China, Doksuri roared through Taiwan and the northern Philippines, where rain and strong winds that led to the capsize of a ferry in which at least 25 people died.

Persons: Doksuri, Meranti, Liz Lee, Jenny Wang, William Mallard Organizations: China Meteorological Administration, Firefighters, cnsphoto, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Beijing, Philippines, Taiwan, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, Fujian, Quanzhou, Fujian province, Anhui, Shandong, Putian city, Fuzhou, Putian

BEIJING, July 29 (Reuters) - Rain soaked northern China on Saturday as Doksuri, one of the strongest storms to hit the country in years, prompted thousands to evacuate in Beijing after pummelling the Philippines and Taiwan, and lashing China's coast. The city's flood control department said it has mobilised 203,230 rescue personnel and 3,031 people had been evacuated, local media reported. Doksuri is the most powerful typhoon to hit China this year and the second-strongest to hit the southeastern province of Fujian since Typhoon Meranti in 2016. Provincial media reported rescue efforts in the storm's aftermath, of elderly trapped at home and a heavily pregnant woman, who was transferred to hospital on a stretcher in knee-deep waters. ($1 = 7.1488 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Liz Lee, Jenny Wang and Ryan Woo; Editing by William Mallard and Lincoln Feast.

Persons: Doksuri, Meranti, Liz Lee, Jenny Wang, Ryan Woo, William Mallard Organizations: China Meteorological Administration, Firefighters, cnsphoto, Provincial, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Beijing, Philippines, Taiwan, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, Fujian, Anhui, Quanzhou, Fujian province, Shandong, Putian city, Fuzhou, Putian

☆ Russia is 'accepting risks' and dropping its guard against other threats to hold its ground in Ukraine, British military says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Shifting the bulk of its military to Ukraine has made Russia vulnerable elsewhere, experts say. The war has become a nearly all-consuming effort for Russia's military. Units from across Russia are now "bearing the brunt" of the Ukrainian counteroffensive that kicked off in early June, the British Ministry of Defense said in an update published Thursday. "The way Russia is accepting risks across Eurasia highlights how the war has dislocated Russia's established national strategy," the ministry said. "Russia has really made itself vulnerable globally," Dara Massicot, an expert on the Russian military at the Rand Corporation think tank, said in April.

Persons: —, Ukraine's, Ben Wallace, Muhammed Enes Yildirim, Dara Massicot, Adm, Tony Radakin, Radakin, ANATOLII STEPANOV, Christopher Cavoli, Cavoli, we've, Justin Bronk, They'd, Bronk, they're Organizations: Service, British Ministry of Defense, Russian, Eastern Military District, 61st Naval Infantry Brigade, NATO, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Arms Army, Rand Corporation, US European Command, Royal United Services Institute Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia, Belarus, Zaporizhzhia, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Crimea, Velyka, Donetsk Oblast, Bakhmut, Moscow, Russian, Oskol, Ukraine's Kharkiv, AFP, British, Kaliningrad, Finland

☆ Philip Morris to launch new $30 mln production facility in western Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, June 20 (Reuters) - Philip Morris International Inc (PM.N) will launch a new $30 million production facility in the Lviv region in western Ukraine in the first quarter of next year, the company said on Tuesday. "This investment reflects our commitment as Ukraine's long-term economic partner," Maksym Barabash, Chief Executive Officer of Philip Morris Ukraine, said in a statement. Some large multinationals that were active in Ukraine for many years have recently announced investment plans to launch production in the country's central and western regions, far from front lines. Nestlé (NESN.S) started construction in May of a 40-million Swiss franc ($42.7-million) production facility in the west of Ukraine. Philip Morris has invested over $700 million in the Ukrainian economy since the start of its operations in the country in 1994.

Persons: Philip Morris, Barabash, Philip Morris Ukraine, Olena Harmash, Timothy Heritage, Conor Humphries Organizations: Philip Morris International Inc, Gross, Unilever, Thomson Locations: Lviv, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukrainian

☆ Ukraine war spurs record global spending on military, Stockholm think tank says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STOCKHOLM, April 24 (Reuters) - Global military spending rose to a record last year as Russia's war in Ukraine drove the biggest annual increase in expenditure in Europe since the end of the Cold War three decades ago, a leading conflict and armaments think tank said on Monday. World military expenditure rose by 3.7% in real terms in 2022 to $2.24 trillion, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a statement. "As a result, we can reasonably expect military expenditure in Central and Western Europe to keep rising in the years ahead." SIPRI estimated that military aid to Ukraine from the United States accounted for 2.3% of total U.S. military spending in 2022. Though the United States was the world's top spender by far its overall expenditure rose only marginally in real terms.

☆ India likely to get "below normal" monsoon rains in 2023 - Skymet
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, April 10 (Reuters) - India is likely to get "below normal" monsoon rains in 2023 with an increasing likelihood of El-Nino, which typically brings dry weather to Asia, private weather forecasting agency Skymet said on Monday. "Likelihood of El Nino is increasing and its probability to become a dominant category during the monsoon is growing large. El Nino return may presage a weaker monsoon," Jatin Singh, managing director, Skymet said in a statement. Monsoon rains in India are expected to be 94% of the long-term average, said Skymet, retaining its previous view of sub-par monsoon. Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, known as the agriculture bowl of North India, are likely to observe less than normal rains during the 2nd half of the season, the weather forecaster said.

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