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☆ Alberta wildfires hit gas flow out of Canada to US, spiking prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Smoke rises above the southeast perimeter of the Paskwa fire (HWF030) as it burns near Fox Lake, Alberta, Canada May 16, 2023. Alberta Wildfire/Handout via REUTERSOTTAWA, May 18 (Reuters) - Alberta officials on Thursday warned more wildfires could spread in next few hot and dry days, even as firefighters make progress in tackling widespread blazes that have slowed the outflow of natural gas from Canada into the United States, spiking prices. There were about 92 active wildfires and over 10,000 people out of their homes as of Thursday, Alberta officials told a daily briefing. "Firefighters can experience challenging conditions in hot, dry and windy weather, but progress has been made on many active wildfires," said Christie Tucker, information unit manager at Alberta Wildfire. "We are expecting and preparing for more active wildfire behavior today and over the next few days," she said.

☆ No respite for wildfire-hit Alberta as conditions set to worsen
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Leslie Kramer walk her dogs as some 90 wildfires are active in Alberta, with 23 out of control, according to the provincial government, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Record-high temperatures and tinder-dry vegetation have led to an intense, early start to wildfire season in western Canada this year. Alberta has been the worst-hit, with about 91 wildfires burning, including 27 out of control, as of Wednesday. On Wednesday, consultancy firm Rystad Energy said nearly 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of Alberta oil sands production in May is at risk in "very high" or "extreme" wildfire danger rating zones. Of estimated May production volumes, about 60% are subject to extreme wildfire danger levels, with the remaining 40% subject to very high danger, Oslo-based Rystad said.

It is the 10th time she has boarded this first-of-its-kind project, known as the cultural center on wheels. "Its main purpose is to try to decentralize and make access to the arts more reachable", said the project's organizer, Anderson Mauricio. Paula Santos, young students, middle-aged commuters, a homeless man, all boarded the day Reuters visited. It couldn't be more beautiful," Paula Santos said. Reporting by Steven Grattan and Leonardo Benassatto in Sao Paulo; Editing by Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ In-game audio of VAR calls to be released more often next season - Webb
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 16 (Reuters) - Releasing in-game audio recordings of VAR decisions concerning key incidents in Premier League matches is likely to become more common next season, referees' chief Howard Webb has said. In-game audio from key decisions was released for the first time when Webb joined Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher on the Monday Night Football programme to discuss incidents from this season. Webb showed video and audio recordings of interactions between on-field referees and VAR officials discussing in-game situations and explained how the decisions were made. Going forward into next season we will look to do more of the same." VAR was introduced to the Premier League at the start of the 2019-20 season.

☆ With eye on Ukraine, top Chinese general calls for unconventional warfare capabilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, May 16 (Reuters) - Drawing lessons from the Ukraine crisis, a top Chinese general urged greater integration of novel capabilities, including artificial intelligence, with conventional warfare tactics ahead of any confrontation with the West. A new genre of hybrid warfare has emerged from the Ukraine conflict, with the intertwining of "political warfare, financial warfare, technological warfare, cyber warfare, and cognitive warfare," General Wang Haijiang, commander of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Western Theatre Command, wrote in a front-page article in an official newspaper on Monday. The scale and sweep of Chinese military preparations are closely watched not just by the West, but also by China's neighbours and democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own. "At present and in the future, local conflicts and turmoil are frequent, global problems are intensifying, and the world has entered a new period of turmoil and change," Wang wrote in Study Times. The ability to win is needed to maintain national security, Wang wrote.

☆ China's rising clout spotlighted at finance chief meetings before G7 summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

China is among the biggest markets for most G7 countries, particularly for export-reliant economies such as Japan and Germany. In a joint statement on Saturday, the G7 finance chiefs stressed the urgency of addressing debt vulnerabilities in low- and middle-income countries, mentioning Zambia, Ethiopia, Ghana and Sri Lanka. "There were talks about coercion" at the G7 finance leaders' meeting, the Japanese finance ministry official said. The G7 summit will most likely have a special session on China to debate Beijing's "economic coercion" against other countries, according to a Reuters report. "No matter how the G7 want to fence in the Global South, it's not easy," said Atsushi Takeda, chief economist at the Itochu Economic Research Institute.

☆ Belarus PM replaces Lukashenko at ceremony, sparks speculation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lukashenko also did not speak at an event in Minsk marking the anniversary for the first time in his long presidency. According to the opposition news outlet Euroradio, Lukashenko was taken to an elite Minsk clinic on Saturday. Russian media rarely publish stories about the health of the leaders of Russia or its allied neighbours. Belarus' foreign minister Sergei Aleinik is expected on Monday to start this three-day visit to Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry said last week. Reporting by Ron Popeski and Lidia Kelly; Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Leading AI developers, including Anthropic, Google, Hugging Face, NVIDIA Corp (NVDA.O), OpenAI, and Stability AI, will participate in a public evaluation of their AI systems. Shortly after Biden announced his reelection bid, the Republican National Committee produced a video featuring a dystopian future during a second Biden term, which was built entirely with AI imagery. Such political ads are expected to become more common as AI technology proliferates. In February, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to eliminate bias in their AI use. The Biden administration has also released an AI Bill of Rights and a risk management framework.

☆ Japan, South Korea to link radar systems to track N.Korea missiles -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, May 9 (Reuters) - Japanese and South Korean defence authorities are set to agree early next month to link their radars via a U.S. system to share real-time information on North Korea's ballistic missiles, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. With North Korea launching ballistic missiles at an unprecedented pace in the past year, the three countries in November agreed to speed up information-sharing. Japan and South Korea are independently linked to the United States' radar systems but not to each others'. Ties between the United States' Asian allies have warmed in recent months in the face of the North Korean threat. Resuming their "shuttle diplomacy", Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul on Sunday, where they confirmed progress in defence cooperation.

☆ Mystery Chinese spacecraft returns to Earth after 276 days
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, May 8 (Reuters) - An experimental Chinese spacecraft returned to Earth on Monday after staying in orbit for 276 days, China's state media reported, completing a landmark mission to test the country's reusable space technologies. The uncrewed spacecraft returned to the Jiuquan launch centre in northwest China on Monday as scheduled, according to state media. The test marks an "important" breakthrough in China's research into reusable spacecraft technology that will provide a more convenient and inexpensive way to mount future space missions, state media reported. It landed on Earth "horizontally," according to China's main space contractor at the time. The uncrewed and reusable X-37B returned to Earth in November last year in its sixth and latest mission, after more than 900 days in orbit.

Landing of aircraft at night and in bad weather, for instance - crucial to regular offshore carrier operations - remain far from routine, several of the attaches and analysts said. "Carrier operations are a very complicated game, and China's got to figure this out all by itself. A new plane, the KJ-600, designed to perform a similar role to the E-2C/D Hawkeye launched from U.S. carriers, is still in testing, according to the Pentagon's latest annual report on China's military. Several countries operate aircraft carriers but the U.S. remains the most dominant, running 11 carrier battlegroups with global reach. A September editorial published in a magazine run by a PLA weapons manufacturer, titled "Four great advantages the PLA has in attacking Taiwan", did not mention the role of Chinese carriers.

☆ DP World Tour threatens Garcia with action after he fails to pay fine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 5 (Reuters) - The DP World Tour has threatened Spain's Sergio Garcia with "appropriate action" after he failed to pay a 100,000 pound ($126,000) fine imposed by a sports arbitration panel within 30 days for playing in a LIV Golf event. The DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour, last month won its legal battle to be able to suspend and fine LIV Golf players who competed in conflicting events without permission. "The DP World Tour today confirmed that 16 out of 17 players have paid their fines which were imposed for serious breaches of the Tour's Conflicting Tournament Regulation last June," the DP World Tour said in a statement on Thursday. "Sergio Garcia has not paid his £100,000 fine, nor has he given any indication that he intends to. Garcia, the 2017 Masters Champion, along with Poulter, Westwood and Richard Bland resigned their DP World Tour memberships on Wednesday, becoming ineligible for this year's Ryder Cup.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr dismissed criticism during an interview on Thursday that his presidential campaign played down the corruption and extravagance the Marcos family was known for during his father's rule. Marcos told Reuters at the end of a four-day visit to Washington that his country's citizens could not continue to fight decades-old social battles. During his campaign, critics said Marcos' presidential bid tried to whitewash the corruption and authoritarianism associated with his father's 20-year rule. The Marcos family denies wrongdoing. Marcos' Washington visit has been the first by a Philippine president in more than 10 years and included a summit on Monday with U.S. President Joe Biden.

☆ Peloton identifies defect in seat posts after reports of injuries
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 4 (Reuters) - Peloton Interactive Inc (PTON.O) on Thursday said that it had identified a defect involving seat posts in its original stationary bike, with 12 reports of injuries, including one wrist fracture, as of April 30. Out of 2.4 million units sold in the U.S. and Canada as of April 30, there were 35 reports of the bike's seat post breaking during use, Peloton said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company said it had notified the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) about the "potential product safety issue" and is working with the regulator to finalise a corrective action plan. The fitness equipment maker in January agreed to pay a $19 million fine for failing to promptly report a defect with its Tread+ treadmill that could cause serious injury. Peloton on Thursday reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss and warned it expects to sign up fewer members for the year, raising concerns about the fitness equipment maker's growth prospects.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Thursday that granting U.S. access to Philippine military bases was a defensive step that would be "useful" if China attacked Taiwan. Marcos told Reuters the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) reached with the United States in 2014 was originally conceived to improve disaster responses. Marcos said Washington "has not proposed any kind of action for the Philippines in terms of taking part in the defense of Taiwan." Biden said on Monday that the U.S. commitment to the defense of its ally was "ironclad," including in the South China Sea, and that the guidelines issued on Wednesday laid out treaty commitments if either side were attacked in the South China Sea. He said the patrols would help preserve freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where China has a growing military presence.

☆ Chinese troops to hold rare joint military exercise in Laos
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, May 5 (Reuters) - China will hold a rare joint military exercise with its landlocked neighbour Laos this month as Beijing tries to bolster security ties with regional allies to counter an expanding U.S. presence in Southeast Asia. Southern Theater Command, one of the five theatre commands of the People's Liberation Army, will send troops to Laos for the "Friendship Shield 2023" joint exercise, the Chinese defence ministry said on Friday in a brief statement. The drill marks a step up from previous "Peace Train" joint humanitarian medical rescue exercises between Chinese and Laotian militaries in Laos. China's stronger military ties with its Southeast Asian allies coincide with Beijing's diplomatic push to deepen engagement with its southerly neighbours. In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith on a visit to Beijing that the two countries must ensure efforts to "build a shared future between China and Laos."

☆ White House to meet Microsoft, Google CEOs on AI dangers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationWASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - The White House will host CEOs of top artificial intelligence companies, including Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O), on Thursday to discuss risks and safeguards as the technology catches the attention of governments and lawmakers globally. Leading AI developers, including Anthropic, Google, Hugging Face, NVIDIA, OpenAI, and Stability AI, will participate in a public evaluation of their AI systems at the AI Village at DEFCON 31 - one of the largest hacker conventions in the world - and run on a platform created by Scale AI and Microsoft. Such political ads are expected to become more common as AI technology proliferates. In February, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to eliminate bias in their use of AI. The Biden administration has also released an AI Bill of Rights and a risk management framework.

☆ North Carolina House passes 12-week abortion ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

If the state Senate passes the bill on Thursday as expected, Democratic Governor Roy Cooper will almost certainly veto it. Under the North Carolina proposal, elective abortions after the first trimester would be banned except in instances of rape, incest, life-limiting fetal anomalies and medical emergencies. Key to the North Carolina House Republicans' veto-proof majority is former Democratic state Representative Tricia Cotham, who in April changed her party affiliation to Republican. Abortions in North Carolina rose by 37%, more than any other state, in the first two months after the Supreme Court revoked federal abortion rights in June 2022, according to a study by the Society of Family Planning, a nonprofit organization that promotes abortion rights and research. In the six months after the ruling, there were 3,978 monthly abortions on average in North Carolina, up 788 from the average in the two months beforehand, the society said.

☆ Suspect in killings of 5 people in Texas arrested after days-long manhunt -NBC
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 2 (Reuters) - A man who authorities think is the suspect accused of killing five neighbors in Texas over complaints of noise he was making by firing his gun outside at night was arrested near the crime scene on Tuesday, NBC News reported, citing a prosecutor. The report came as the FBI said it was working with law enforcement agencies nationwide and in Mexico in an expanded, four-day-old manhunt for the killer sought since Friday night's violence in Cleveland, Texas, north of Houston. A man thought to be Oropesa was arrested on Tuesday in the town of Cut and Shoot, Texas, roughly 17 miles west of Cleveland, NBC News reported, citing San Jacinto District Attorney Todd Dillon. Law enforcement officials said on Sunday that the suspect's trail had grown cold as they appealed to the public for tips and offered an $80,000 reward for information leading to his capture. Reporting by Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; editing by Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Philadelphia 76ers Embiid wins first MVP award
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 2 (Reuters) - Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award for the first time, the league announced on Tuesday. Embiid was chosen over Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, to whom he lost the award in the past two seasons, and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won back-to-back awards in 2019 and 2020. The Cameroonian big man received 73 first-place votes from a panel of 100 broadcasters and journalists, marking the fifth consecutive win for an international player. The 29-year-old is only the second African player to become MVP after Nigerian-American Hakeem Olajuwon from the Houston Rockets in the 1993-94 season. The MVP trophy was renamed this season after Michael Jordan, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

☆ Factbox: The engine dispute at the heart of Go First's bankruptcy filing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here are some details on the U.S. enginemaker's geared turbofan (GTF) engines, which Go First says are at the heart of the crisis. In 2016, Go First received its first A320neo aircraft powered by GTF engines after placing an order for 72 narrow-body jets from Airbus (AIR.PA). Pratt & Whitney is the exclusive engine supplier for the airline's A320neo aircraft fleet. The issues with the GTF engines grounded several A320neo planes in 2017, a year after the engine was launched. In India alone, IndiGo and Go First, among the biggest customers for the A320neo planes, grounded as many as 12 planes at one point, and cancelled dozens of flights.

☆ 33 Democrats urge ban on investor-state dispute provisions in all US trade deals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-RhoadesWASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday urged the U.S. Trade Representative and State Department to eliminate investor-state dispute settlement provisions from current and future trade deals and to intervene on behalf of Honduras against a U.S. company's nearly $11 billion claim against the country. In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Trade Representative Katherine Tai seen by Reuters, 33 lawmakers said that investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) systems in trade deals constitute a "problematic corporate handout" that violates countries' sovereignty and democracy rights. The Democrats signing the letter said the case could require impoverished Honduras to pay billions of taxpayer dollars to a company that has "weaponized" the dispute settlement provisions. The dispute settlement provisions had been a way to protect U.S. firms from abrupt changes in trading partners' government policies by providing recourse through arbitration. The letter cited Georgetown University research tallying $27.8 billion in ISDS settlement orders against Latin American governments, with Argentina, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico and Ecuador the worst hit.

WASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) - For months, the U.S. crisis over the debt limit has been a political abstraction. That's the length of time in which the House, Senate and the president are all physically in Washington, D.C. in May. There, Biden plans to "stress that Congress must take action to avoid default without conditions," a White House official said. After that ends on May 21, he will attend the May 24 meeting of the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Sydney, Australia, the White House said. Late on Monday, Schumer worked to fast-track a "clean" two-year debt limit suspension, so that it can come more quickly to the Senate floor for a vote.

SYDNEY, May 2 (Reuters) - Australia's biggest landlords and developers played down concerns about inflated commercial property valuations at a conference on Tuesday, while acknowledging economic uncertainty was making investors and renters more cautious. Premium buildings coupled with signs workers were returning to offices should help protect the portfolio, said chief investment officer Ross Du Vernet. "It doesn't really make a lot of sense," Du Vernet said at the Macquarie Australia Conference in Sydney. Du Vernet declined to provide a price guide. That question was making large leases harder to lock in years ahead of time, Du Vernet said.

SYDNEY, May 2 (Reuters) - Australia's flagship carrier, Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN.AX), said on Tuesday that long-serving CEO Alan Joyce would step aside in November, and named Vanessa Hudson as its next chief executive officer. * November 2008 - Irish-born Alan Joyce is appointed as Qantas chief executive. * April 2009 - Joyce cuts 1,750 jobs, the first major cull under his leadership, as the airline feels the full impact of the global financial crisis. * October 2016 - Joyce orchestrates a turnaround and delivers record profits and the first dividend to shareholders since 2009. * February 2023 - The airline swings to a record first-half profit on a strong demand recovery and high ticket prices.

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