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☆ Adidas adds risk by tripping over its sneakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Adidas (ADSGn.DE) is having a hard time keeping its feet out of its mouth. On Wednesday, the $28 billion sneaker maker withdrew a trademark objection to Black Lives Matter over its use of three stripes in its logo 48 hours after filing it. The timing of Adidas’s objection looks tin-eared. It could have devised a partnership arrangement with Black Lives Matter that featured both brands. Trying to pick a fight with an organisation popular with young consumers shows that Adidas’s biggest risk is its mouth.

☆ Tin mining is big business in Indonesia. Here's why miners risk their lives for $13 a day.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Ryan Flynn | Olivia Nemec | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Indonesia is the world's biggest exporter of tin, and more than 90% of the country's supply comes from the islands of Bangka and Belitung. But the deposits on land are almost gone, so unlicensed miners risk their lives to search for the precious metal on the seafloor. Makeshift pontoons gather in the Indonesia Sea to form an illegal tin mine. Ibnu Hadi RachmatSource: The Guardian

[1/5] Locals in the Chiradzulu district look at the damage on a road after mudslides and rockfalls in the area caused by the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy in Blantyre, Malawi, March 15, 2023. Most people heeded the warnings, knowing from bitter experience the damage such storms could inflict: 600 people had died in Cyclone Idai in 2019. The storm was far more deadly in neighbouring Malawi, where at least 447 were killed as Freddy tore through the country's southern tip and inundated the main commercial hub of Blantyre. Mozambique and Malawi are among the poorest 8% of countries in the world, according to United Nations data. In the case of Freddy, this extra energy allowed the storm to pick up strength again and circle back to strike again.

[1/3] Branches of trees sway as cyclone Freddy hits, in Quelimane, Zambezia, Mozambique, March 12, 2023, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. It pummelled central Mozambique on Saturday, ripping roofs off buildings and bringing widespread flooding around the port of Quelimane, before moving inland towards Malawi with torrential rains that caused landslides. At least six people died in Mozambique's Quelimane, which was struck hard by the storm, authorities told the public broadcaster on Monday. The total number killed by storm Freddy in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar since it first made landfall last month is now nearing 100. Malawi has been battling the deadliest cholera outbreak in its history, and U.N. agencies have warned the situation could now get worse.

☆ In Peru's Andes, scars of protest deaths cut deep as families seek justice
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Alexander Villegas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Relatives mourn victims during a mass after the deadliest clashes in anti-government protests against Peru's President Dina Boluarte, in Juliaca, Peru February 9, 2023. Brayan died of his wounds three days later on Jan. 12 in hospital after surgeons tried to clear a blockage in the brain. For Peru I'm willing to fight. Boluarte has said there will be no "impunity" when it comes to protest deaths, but families say they've seen little progress. Our dead aren't worth anything," said Dionisio Aroquipa, whose 17-year old daughter, Jhamlith Nataly, died on Jan 9.

☆ Meet the woman who invented a whole new subsection of tech set to be worth $1 trillion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ida Tin wanted to study art at college when she accidentally landed herself a place on a business course – she then became a pioneer of an industry set to be worth more than $1 trillion. "I literally got lost in the hallways and I ended up in some office where they were waiting for a candidate to do [the business course interview]," Tin said as she explained her first steps into the business world. As Clue gained users, Tin realized there wasn't much of a community around women's health services and products, despite more and more coming onto the market. The term now covers all types of technology and innovation designed to address health issues that solely, or disproportionately, impact women's health, from menstrual cycle tracking apps and sexual wellness products to cardiovascular medical devices and mental health therapies. "And I have to say I have been surprised but I really see how it's resonating globally," she added.

☆ Footage shows how Russian tanks and armored vehicles keep driving to their death at an infamous mine-filled crossroads
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russian troops keep driving to their death at an infamous crossroads in eastern Ukraine. Drone footage from Ukraine's military has circulated on social media, appearing to show Russian vehicles being destroyed at the crossing point. Fighting has raged in the eastern Ukrainian town, and its neighboring villages as Russia has made several failed attempts to capture it. Ukraine's unexpected use of mines appears to be helping give it the upper hand in fighting in eastern Ukraine. Along with traditional Soviet mines, Ukraine has also been using US-supplied remote anti-armor mines, which involve firing a shell over an open area that scatters tiny mines widely.

☆ At This Indian Wrestling Academy, Young Women Find Freedom and Hope
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Prarthna Singh | Snigdha Poonam | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the next 20 minutes, they crush raw almonds into a fine paste, straining out a bottle of nut milk. Started in 2017, Yudhveer Akhada is a residential wrestling academy for girls, run by a family of competitive wrestlers in Sonipat, a semi-urban industrial town in Haryana, a province in northern India bordering Delhi. Every student who enters the academy has the same goal: to win an Olympic medal for India. “In India we are surrounded by the stories of violence against women,” said Prarthna Singh, the photographer on this story. “Within those patriarchal constructs, we have these academies where young women are carving out a space for themselves as sportswomen.

☆ LG Chem Buys Stake in North Carolina Lithium Miner
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Yusuf Khan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

South Korea’s LG Chem will take a stake in Piedmont Lithium Inc., boosting its North American presence and banking on incentives to scale up its role in U.S. electric-vehicle supply chain. LG Chem will commit $75 million to Piedmont in return for a 5.7% stake in the miner, whose shares are listed on the Nasdaq and Australian Securities Exchange. PREVIEWThe U.S. is our key market and by preemptively securing raw materials this deal allows LG Chem to provide North American customers with products that satisfy IRA standards, said Mr. Hak-Cheol Shin, Vice Chairman and CEO of LG Chem in a statement. LG Chem is planning to build a $3 billion cathode plant in Clarksville, Tenn., slated to open in 2027. Already, Piedmont has an existing contract to supply Tesla with 50,000 tons annually until 2025, in addition to its new LG Chem supply deal.

☆ Six charged after 18 migrants found dead in truck in Bulgaria
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SOFIA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Bulgarian prosecutors have charged 6 people with human trafficking after 18 Afghan migrants were found dead inside a truck dumped on an dirt road near the capital Sofia on Friday. The truck driver and his companion were also charged over the deaths of the migrants, prosecutors said. The 18 victims died of a combination of lack of oxygen in an enclosed space and difficulty breathing as they had been crammed into the truck "like in a tin can", Sarafov said. The other 34 migrants, who were rushed to hospitals on Friday, remain in stable condition, officials said. Prosecutors said the ring had trafficked migrants from the border with Turkey across Bulgaria to Serbia, from where they continued their journey mainly to Britain, Germany and France.

☆ California’s heavy rains deliver hope of a lifeline for one devastated industry – rice
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Parija Kavilanz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

After years of drought, California has received an epic amount of rain already in 2023. The Sacramento Valley is the hub of California’s rice production. During the seed planting and growing season, which runs from March through August, farmers flood rice fields with up to five inches of water. The way the rice business goes is how the economy goes,” Ponciano said. “After harvest season, the sky over the rice fields would be filled with geese and ducks,” he said.

☆ Why our electronics aren't really conflict-free
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jeniece Pettitt | Katie Brigham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWhy there are still conflict minerals in our electronicsThe minerals tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold are found in most consumer electronics, and are mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which contains an estimated $24 trillion in untapped mineral resources. Yet the DRC remains one of the poorest and most dangerous countries in the world, and mining these metals can help fund armed conflict in the region. Despite international attention and widespread regulations, it's still hard to know exactly where our minerals are coming from.

☆ How conflict minerals make it into our phones
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Katie Brigham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

All of these minerals are found in our electronics and all are considered conflict minerals, due to their potential origin in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In a smartphone, for example, tin is used to solder metal components together, while tantalum is used in capacitors, which store electrical energy. Tungsten is used in the components that make a phone vibrate, and gold is used in circuit board connectors. But consumers still can't be sure if the minerals in their electronics are fully conflict-free, or if the mines where they originated are dangerous, environmentally destructive, or use child labor. So while companies like Apple, Microsoft, Intel and Tesla put out extensive reports on conflict minerals every year, usually stating that there is no reason to believe the minerals they source help to support armed groups, corruption and instability at mine sites means there are no guarantees.

☆ Metals Rally Fueled by China’s Reopening, Tight Supplies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Hardika Singh | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The prices of metals used to make objects such as aircraft and electrical wire have rebounded toward last year’s highs, lifted by China’s pandemic reopening and low global supplies. A basket of industrial metals that trades in London just notched its best January in more than a decade. U.S. copper futures posted their best first month of the year since 2003. Aluminum prices in London have climbed 10% so far this year. Zinc has added 2.4% and tin has gained 11%.

☆ Burt Bacharach, legendary composer of pop songs, dies at 94
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Bacharach was both an innovator and throwback, and his career seemed to run parallel to the rock era. He was an eight-time Grammy winner, a prize-winning Broadway composer for "Promises, Promises" and a three-time Oscar winner. Fellow songwriter Sammy Cahn liked to joke that the smiling, wavy-haired Bacharach was the first composer he ever knew who didn't look like a dentist. Bacharach was essentially a pop composer, but his songs became hits for country artists (Marty Robbins), rhythm and blues performers (Chuck Jackson), soul (Franklin, Luther Vandross) and synth-pop (Naked Eyes). He's everybody's composer ... Burt Bacharach!"

The video game industry also flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic as people increasingly turned to digital entertainment during lockdowns. However, video game music has not always hit all the right notes to be specifically recognized at the Grammys. But game music is breaking ground through technological innovation and new avenues for consumers to experience it. This includes live immersive video game concerts, video game scores across platforms like YouTube,Twitch, TikTok and Fortnite, remixes and collaborations, augmented and virtual reality and even eye-tracking technology. Collaborating with game developers and audio teams informs his ability to write music that can be smoothly integrated into a video game.

Median 2023 price forecasts for all the core LME base metals are lower than both last year's price and current trading levels. The LME copper cash settlement price was $9,075 per tonne on Tuesday, up 10% on the start of January. A median forecast of $8,625 for the full year is 2.1% lower than last year's average of $8,814 per tonne. Aluminium is viewed as more finely balanced, with a median forecast supply surplus of 80,535 tonnes this year and 92,100 tonnes in 2024. That said, last January's median forecast proved surprisingly close to the mark at $34,880 in what was a year of extraordinary volatility.

"Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Stop choking Africa: it is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered," Francis said. [1/9] Pope Francis sits next to Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi as he attends the welcoming ceremony at the Palais de la Nation on the first day of his apostolic journey, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, January 31, 2023. The pope criticised rich countries for ignoring the tragedies unfolding in Congo and elsewhere in Africa. On Wednesday, Francis will celebrate Mass at a Kinshasa airport that is expected to draw more than a million people.

☆ China's reopening could boost global growth — and worsen inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

London CNN —China’s swift reopening after nearly three years of strict coronavirus controls could provide a much-needed boost to global economic growth, but may also stoke inflation just as it has shown signs of falling back. The revival of the world’s second largest economy — and its biggest consumer of commodities — threatens to push up global prices for fuel, industrial metals and food this year. The speed of the reopening, as well as indications that infections may have already peaked, has been surprising, analysts told CNN. Yet, if global food and energy prices start rising again, that could feed through into higher consumer prices. China’s reopening could bump up demand for agricultural goods, while the world is still in the grips of the worst food crisis in modern history.

China's own production of refined tin was flat year-on-year at 165,900 tonnes in 2022, according to Shanghai Metal Market. ShFE tin price, market open interest and stocksSHIFT IN POSITIONINGWhile China has reshaped tin's fundamental picture, the price recovery has forced an equally significant shift in fund positioning. Investment funds turned net short on the LME tin contract in September as the price was imploding. Tin market open interest collapsed from 102,106 to 71,218 contracts in the week before the Lunar New Year holidays, indicating a big clean-out of short positions. GOLDILOCKS PRICEThe tin price is now in the Goldilocks zone, not high enough to frighten off physical users, and not low enough to threaten existing supply.

When it comes to queer books, the loudest headlines may be about bans and censorship, but a quieter truth about the state of LGBTQ books reveals the resilience of their authors and commitment of their readers. The queer titles debuting in 2023 are as full of joy as they are examples of resistance, and those in the industry say LGBTQ writers are only getting more ambitious. And while queer young adult books are often the target of book-banning efforts, these titles drove the highest gains in the category, the report found. When it comes to considering a queer future, and what’s next for queer books, that’s something that’s been on the mind of Suzi F. Garcia, the editor of Lambda Literary, a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ books and authors. She described the book as having a “queer core” and a sense of hope while discussing issues critical to LGBTQ and Black communities.

☆ Exclusive: Glencore copper mine in Peru running at 'restricted' capacity due to protests -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LIMA, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Glencore Plc's (GLEN.L) huge Antapaccay copper mine in Peru is operating at "restricted" capacity due to anti-government protests that saw an attack on the facility last week, a company source told Reuters on Tuesday. "The mine has not yet suspended operations, which overall continue in a restricted manner," the company source said, asking not to be named. Road blockades by protesters were preventing trucks from moving its copper, the source said. Last week, two Antapaccay company vehicles were burned and the area around the workers' housing was attacked. Las Bambas mine, owned by China's MMG Ltd (1208.HK) in the Apurimac region, has also seen transport of copper concentrates impacted by the blockades.

This story is part of Select's New & Notable column, where we highlight our favorite product launches, major sales, what we're buying and some of our latest recommendations and advice. This week, we’ve highlighted Harry’s new razor handle, Parachute’s Spanish-inspired leather chair, Starface’s latest pimple patches, a new towel collection from Onsen and more. Starface, a Select favorite pimple patch brand, launched Micro-Cloud pimple patches. The towels are made from Turkish-grown aegean cotton and come in four sizes: Bath sheet, bath towel, hand towel and face towel. New users who purchase a Fiture mirror between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31 can get a one-year membership for free.

☆ In Peru, thousands march demanding president step down
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

LIMA — Thousands took to the streets of Peru’s capital Lima on Thursday in a peaceful protest against the new government and president, after weeks of bloody clashes triggered by the ousting of former President Pedro Castillo left at least 42 dead. “Why are you turning your back on the people, there are so many deaths, for God’s sake, stop this massacre,” said protester Olga Espejo, calling on President Dina Boluarte, previously Castillo’s vice president, to resign. The march, organized by trade unions and leftist groups, took place without incident. Peru’s top prosecutor’s office on Tuesday launched an inquiry against Boluarte and some top ministers. The same day, Peru’s Congress — which fiercely opposed leftist former leader Castillo — passed a vote of confidence in the new government.

It's the lowest end-year inventory in the system this century and reflects two years of steady withdrawals which have left exchange stocks of metals such as zinc and lead almost depleted. It's no coincidence that all the LME base metals have experienced bouts of extreme tightness over the last couple of years. Zinc stocks were down by 65% and lead stocks down by 59% on December 2021. LME stocks could desperately do with any sort of rebuild, whether seasonal or cyclical. So far, however, significant arrivals remain conspicuous by their absence and until that changes, low visible inventory is going to keep roiling the LME base metals.

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