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☆ Low dissolved oxygen levels behind mass fish death in Australian river
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Thousands of dead fish have been found this week in the Darling River near the town of Menindee, around 1,000km (620 miles) west of the state capital Sydney. The NSW Department of Planning and Environment's water division said on Twitter that "dissolved oxygen levels remain a concern for fish health" in the area. "There is a large number of fish deaths (predominantly Bony Herring) in the Darling River between Lake Wetherell and Menindee township," the agency said on Friday. Footage posted to Twitter by SBS showed a boat navigating through thousands of dead fish blanketing the entire surface of the river. The state planning and environment agency warned river oxygen levels could fall futher this weekend as temperatures rise, before cooler conditions return next week.

☆ U.N. aviation council votes to hear MH17 case against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Allison Lampert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MONTREAL, March 17 (Reuters) - The United Nations aviation council on Friday voted to hear a case against Russia over the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, the foreign ministers of Australia and the Netherlands said. Australia and the Netherlands initiated the action over MH17 last year at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The ICAO upheld its jurisdiction to hear the matter during a session on Friday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a written statement. Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra called the decision to hear the case "an important step towards establishing the truth, justice and accountability". In October, Russia failed to win enough votes at ICAO's triennial assembly to keep its council seat.

☆ 'The weakest links are cracking': Investors consider possible Credit Suisse contagion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"But I would very strongly recommend sticking to high-quality companies — that means strong management, strong balance sheets, strong value proposition. Even before the shock collapse of two U.S. banks last week, Credit Suisse has been beset with problems in recent years, including money laundering charges and spying allegations. Credit Suisse management said Wednesday, however, that its latest step to secure a sizable funding deal showed "decisive action" to strengthen the business. Analysts at UBS, meanwhile, said market participants were "grappling with three interrelated but different issues: bank solvency, bank liquidity, and bank profitability." "In short, we think bank solvency fears are overdone, and most banks retain strong liquidity positions," they added.

Commuters cycle past a Credit Suisse Group AG bank branch in Basel, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022. Credit Suisse will present its third quarter earnings and strategy review on Oct. 27. Shares of Credit Suisse on Wednesday hit another all-time low for a second consecutive day, dropping by more than 24% at one point during the session. Credit Suisse's largest investor, Saudi National Bank, said it could not provide the Swiss bank with any further financial assistance, according to a Reuters report, sparking the latest leg lower. It's a regulatory issue," Saudi National Bank Chairman Ammar Al Khudairy told Reuters Wednesday. However, he added that the SNB is happy with Credit Suisse's transformation plan and suggested the bank was unlikely to need extra money.

☆ Russia's oil revenues fall sharply as the West's price cap starts to bite, IEA says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Russia announced that it would cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day in March after the West slapped price caps on Russian oil and oil products. The International Energy Agency on Wednesday said Russia's oil export revenues fell sharply in February, prompted by bans and price caps designed to curtail President Vladimir Putin's ability to finance the war in Ukraine. The IEA said Russia's estimated oil export revenues fell to $11.6 billion last month, down $2.7 billion from January when volumes were significantly higher. Revenues are already dwindling," the group said in its latest oil market report. The latest figures come shortly after the IEA said in mid-February that the West's oil war against Russia appeared to be having the "intended effect" despite surprisingly resilient production and exports in recent months.

☆ South Australia to be 'big beneficiary' of AUKUS: Australian PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 11 (Reuters) - Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday that South Australia state would be a "big beneficiary" of the landmark AUKUS defence pact, which is expected to see Australia buy up to five U.S. Virginia class nuclear powered submarines. Albanese's federal government has indicated construction would be in South Australia's capital Adelaide, but state premier Peter Malinauskas said this week he was unclear about the number of orders. On Saturday, Albanese, when asked how many submarines would be built in Australia as part of AUKUS, said an announcement would be made on Monday. "When you talk about the issue of manufacturing submarines in Australia, that's an absolute priority for us," Albanese added. AUKUS is expected to be Australia's largest-ever defence project and offers the prospect of jobs in all three countries.

☆ Heavy rain in Australia triggers flood evacuations in Queensland
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 11 (Reuters) - Emergency services in Australia's Queensland state evacuated residents to higher ground on Saturday, as record-breaking floods sparked by heavy rain lashed the region's northwest. Fifty three residents of the isolated Gulf Country town of Burketown, about 2,115 km (1,314 miles) northwest of state capital Brisbane, had been evacuated since heavy rain triggered floods earlier this week, police said Saturday. At Burketown, the flood topped the March 2011 record of 6.87 metres after up to 293 mm of rain fell on Thursday and Friday, the Bureau of Meteorology previously said. Police were co-ordinating the evacuation via helicopter to the mining town of Mount Isa, about 425 km (264 miles) south. Flood alerts were current on Saturday for large swaths of Queensland, and there were also warnings for severe storms, heavy rainfall, and potential flash flooding in many parts, including the Gulf Country.

☆ UK's Sunak meets France's Macron in scramble to mend relations after Boris Johnson missteps
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak prior to the 36th Franco-British Summit at the Elysee Palace on March 10, 2023 in Paris, France. Sunak and Macron greeted each other at the Élysée Palace in Paris Friday morning. "The destinies of the United Kingdom and France are linked," Macron said via Twitter, as he welcomed Sunak to Paris. It is thought that Macron and Sunak will hold a press briefing shortly after the conclusion of the talks. Sunak and Macron have billed the summit as an opportunity to reset the strained cross-Channel relationship.

☆ A growing plastic smog is choking the world's oceans — and it shows no signs of slowing down
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.N. member states are scheduled to meet this spring with the aim of developing a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. More than 170 trillion plastic particles weighing roughly 2 million metric tons are afloat in the world's oceans, according to new research, and that number could nearly triple by 2040 if no action is taken. The authors of the peer-reviewed research paper, published Wednesday in the PLOS ONE journal, warn that "cleanup is futile," if plastic continues to be produced at the current rate. They say this may reflect an exponential uptick in plastic production, fragmentation of existing plastic pollution or changes to terrestrial waste generation and management. The rate of plastic entering the world's oceans, without immediate action to reverse the current trend, was expected to increase roughly 2.6-fold from 2016 to 2040.

☆ China's energy transition sees 'staggering' progress on renewables — and a coal power boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

'A hot, still summer evening is the worry'The International Energy Agency said earlier this month that, while still rising, global carbon emissions may at least be reaching a plateau. Energy-related carbon emissions added less than 1% in 2022 to a new high of more than 36.8 billion tons. Comparatively, global emissions from energy gained by 6% in 2021. "Getting China's emissions to peak has an indispensable role in peaking and declining global emissions — and the success of the overall global effort," said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at CREA. In 2020, China's Xi announced plans for the world's second-largest economy to strive for peak carbon emissions in 2030 and for carbon neutrality by 2060.watch now

☆ Oil chief leading COP28 climate summit urges energy industry to 'up its game' to reduce emissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"Alongside all industries, the oil and gas sector needs to up its game, do more and do it faster," Abu Dhabi National Oil Company CEO Sultan al-Jaber said during a keynote speech at CERAWeek. The chief executive of one of the world's biggest oil companies, who will lead talks at the COP28 climate summit later this year, called on the energy industry to "up its game" to reduce emissions. The head of the United Arab Emirates' state oil company was seen as a controversial choice to lead the COP28 climate talks in Dubai later this year. The UAE, the third largest producer of the OPEC oil alliance, will host the U.N.-brokered climate talks from Nov. 30 through to Dec. 12. The COP28 summit will see the first global stocktake since the 2015 Paris Agreement.

☆ NHL roundup: Knights edge Devils in shootout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Mar 3, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (13) skates against Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27) during an overtime period at T-Mobile Arena. Adin Hill, playing in his 100th career NHL game, made a career-high 47 saves and stopped all four shootout attempts for the Golden Knights, who broke a tie for first place in the Pacific Division with the idle Los Angeles Kings. Kraken 4, Blue Jackets 2Jared McCann and Alex Wennberg each had a goal and an assist as Seattle defeated host Columbus. Leon Draisaitl and Kailer Yamamoto each had two goals and an assist, and Connor McDavid, whose five-game goal streak ended, had three assists for the Oilers. Lawson Crouse scored his 20th goal of the season for the Coyotes, who have lost four of their past five games.

To offset inflation, the deli has added a 50-cent surcharge to credit card purchases and increased prices on many items in the store, including cartons of eggs. The avian flu virus can be spread by wild birds mingling with poultry flocks, but also through contaminated clothing and equipment. But the loss of flocks, as well as increased operational costs, including labor and fuel for transportation, have eaten into the increased revenue. "Corn and soy are the key ingredients in producing an egg, because that is the feedstuff that egg layers eat." As of mid-February 2023, wholesale eggs prices have fallen by more than 50% since December.

☆ British chip giant Arm chooses New York listing in a blow to London
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

City workers in Paternoster Square, where the headquarters of the London Stock Exchange is based, in the City of London, UK, on Thursday, March 2, 2023. British chip designer Arm, owned by Japan's SoftBank, and building materials group CRH intend to shun London and pursue stock market listings in the U.S., dealing a blow to the U.K.'s post-Brexit vision. Arm said in a statement Friday that it was seeking to pursue a U.S.-only listing this year. It comes shortly after CRH, one of the FTSE 100 's biggest companies, said it plans to move its primary stock market listing to New York. The news is likely to bolster fears that the U.K. stock market is losing out to international rivals.

☆ Denmark to abolish springtime public holiday to help meet NATO spending goal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Denmark's 179-seat parliament voted by 95 to 68 to approve the government's proposal to scrap Great Prayer Day, a religious holiday that falls on the fourth Friday after Easter. Danish lawmakers voted to abolish a springtime public holiday from the national calendar and plan to use the savings to boost military spending. Denmark's 179-seat Parliament on Tuesday voted by 95 to 68 to approve the centrist coalition government's proposal to scrap Store Bededag, or Great Prayer Day, from next year. Great Prayer Day is a religious holiday that falls on the fourth Friday after Easter. The newly formed government said the cancellation of the public holiday would provide an additional 3 billion Danish krone (roughly $430 million).

☆ BP CEO defends spending plans as climate protesters block entrance to London energy conference
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Holding banners reading "Climate Criminals Enter Here" and "No New Oil," activists from climate action group Fossil Free London gathered outside the luxury hotel to protest BP's continued fossil fuel investment. "An energy system that works is one that provides energy that is secure and affordable as well as lower carbon — what's known as the energy trilemma," Looney said. "To solve it, action is clearly needed to accelerate the energy transition and at the same time, that transition has got to be orderly. We need to invest in the energy transition and — not or — we need to invest in today's energy system, which is predominantly an oil and gas system." The extraordinary scale of the oil and gas industry's earnings has renewed criticism and sparked calls for higher taxes.

☆ Telecom giant Ericsson says Europe’s industry structure is ‘probably unsustainable’
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ericsson recently announced it is planning to cut 8,500 jobs as part of its cost-cutting measures. The chief executive of Swedish telecom company Ericsson on Monday warned Europe's industry structure is likely unsustainable, calling for consolidation across the region to boost competitiveness. The comments come shortly after the company, which is one of the world's biggest providers of 5G mobile networks, announced it is planning to cut 8,500 jobs as part of its cost-cutting measures. Asked how the region can address this issue, Ekholm replied, "You know my view on this, I do believe Europe needs to consolidate." Ekholm said in countries such as the U.S., China and India, consolidation had meant there were now just two or three operators nationwide.

☆ Australia's treasurer says curbing inflation remains economic 'main game'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Australia's Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Sunday that stubbornly-high inflation in the country has likely peaked, but conceded it remains a big economic challenge. Inflation is running at a 32-year high of 7.8% is only expected to slow to the top of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)'s target range of 2-3% by mid-2025. "Everybody here is trying to navigate that narrow and perilous path, we do have a big inflation problem in the global economy and in our own economy," Chalmers told Sky News television, according to a government transcript. Inflation was the "defining challenge" in the Australian and global economy, said Chalmers, who warned against complacency. "At some future point, the focus will shift from inflation to growth, but for the time being inflation is the main game.

☆ NHL roundup: Roope Hintz's SO goal lifts Stars past Knights
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Rookie Wyatt Johnston also scored a goal and Jamie Benn added two assists for the Stars. Eichel and Michael Amadio both scored goals for Vegas, which saw its five-game home winning streak snapped. Patrik Laine had a goal with two assists and Kirill Marchenko scored twice for the Blue Jackets, who swept the two-game season series from Edmonton. It was Oshie's first career game with a goal, assist and a fight, known as a Gordie Howe hat trick. Tyler Toffoli scored, Jacob Markstrom turned away 18 shots and Nazem Kadri had an assist in his return to Colorado.

☆ Australian professor among three hostages released in Papua New Guinea - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Feb 26 (Reuters) - An Australian professor, held for a week by armed men in a remote part of Papua New Guinea, has been released along with two local colleagues, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Sunday. A group of archaeology researchers, including the professor working for an Australian university, two Papua New Guinean university graduates and a programme coordinator were taken hostage by last Sunday by men demanding a cash ransom, officials have said. Release of the three would end days of negotiations and a security operation involving Papua New Guinea police and defence personnel, in consultation with the Australian and New Zealand governments, according to the ABC. The professor is an Australian resident and New Zealand citizen. At that time, Papua New Guinea police said they were working for a "peaceful resolution" to the situation.

☆ New Zealand police still looking for 8 people missing after Cyclone Gabrielle
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The number of people still missing after Cyclone Gabrielle that struck New Zealand two weeks ago has dropped to eight, authorities said on Sunday, amid warnings of more wild weather for the nation's North Island. "The remaining number of people includes those who, for a variety of reasons, do not engage with authorities," New Zealand police said early Sunday. Severe weather again hit the North Island on Friday, with heavy rain prompting more evacuations in Hawke's Bay, one of the regions hardest-hit by Gabrielle. On Sunday, New Zealand weather forecaster MetService warned storms were possible later in the day, especially across the North Island and the top of the South Island. The forecaster on Saturday said it was closely monitoring a tropical low near Fiji that could turn into a tropical cyclone next week.

☆ Thirteen still missing after Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Homes in the Esk Valley locality had "been unoccupied since the cyclone, but an additional 26 households evacuated yesterday", the agency said. New Zealand weather forecaster MetService said some of the heaviest rain was recorded in Auckland, with 155mm (6.1 inches) recorded there in the past 24 hours. The forecaster had a heavy rain warning in place on Saturday for large swaths of the North Island's east coast, including Hawke's Bay. "Heavy rain may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. It said it was also "closely monitoring" a tropical low near Fiji that could turn into a tropical cyclone next week.

☆ NHL roundup: Ryan O’Reilly's hat trick leads Leafs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

O'Reilly's goals -- his first since joining Toronto in a trade with St. Louis last Friday -- marked his fourth career hat trick. John Tavares added a goal and three assists, William Nylander had a goal and an assist, and Michael Bunting also scored for Toronto. 700, has collected nine points (five goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak. The Canucks scored goals just 51 seconds apart late in the third period to tie it 4-4. Tampa Bay stretched its franchise-record home point streak to 15 games (14-0-1).

☆ One year on, Russia's war in Ukraine ramps up fears over Europe's next security 'soft spot'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, North Macedonia President Stevo Pendarovski said that, aside from Kyiv, he believed that the Western Balkan region was the "soft spot" of Europe's security architecture. For sure, the Western Balkans is a second battleground for Russia in terms of foreign interference and information manipulation. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesĆerimagić said Russia's war in Ukraine provides Europe with a clear opportunity to cement stability in the Western Balkans. "For sure, the Western Balkans is a second battleground for Russia in terms of foreign interference and information manipulation. watch nowNorth Macedonia's Pendarovski last month described the U.S. as a "key player" in supporting Western Balkan countries through Russia's war in Ukraine.

☆ Cyclone death toll in New Zealand rises to 11 as recovery continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The death toll from Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand climbed to 11 on Sunday as thousands of people remained missing a week after the storm struck the country's North Island. The cyclone hit the North Island's uppermost region on Feb. 12 and tracked down the east coast, inflicting widespread devastation. On Sunday, police said two more people had died in the hard-hit Hawke's Bay area in circumstances related to the cyclone, raising the death toll to 11. Of those, almost 40,000 were in Hawke's Bay, out of a population of about 170,000. Police have sent an extra 100 officers to Hawke's Bay and nearby Tairawhiti, including to isolated areas, and the New Zealand Herald reported roadblocks around a rural Hawke’s Bay village to deter looters.

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