Environment news

• Nigeria's Buhari says ordered a heightened military presence in restive Niger Delta

  20-05-2016 23:45
  By Felix Onuah ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said he had ordered a heightened military presence in the restive Niger Delta region to deal with a resurgence of militant attacks on oil and gas facilities. The rise in attacks in the oil-rich southern region in the last few weeks have driven Nigerian oil output to a more than 20-year low. A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers has claimed responsibility for most of them.
  
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• Cooler weather welcomed in Canada's fire-stricken energy heartland

  20-05-2016 23:42
  By Eric M. Johnson and Nia Williams CALGARY (Reuters) - Firefighters battling a massive blaze in Canada's energy heartland were aided on Friday by a second day of light rain and winds that held flames back from oil sands facilities, as producers signalled a gradual increase in operations. It has forced widespread evacuations, destroyed entire neighbourhoods in the Fort McMurray area and triggered a prolonged shutdown that has cut Canadian oil output by a million barrels a day. The fire's growth
  
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• North Yorkshire council faces pleas to reject fracking plan

  20-05-2016 23:13 via theguardian.com
  
  County hall meeting hears objections to project by Third Energy to frack for shale gas near village of Kirby MispertonDozens of people living near a proposed fracking site in North Yorkshire have lined up to tell councillors they do not want to be the first community in the UK to allow the controversial gas extraction technique.A decision will be taken on Monday on whether to allow the UK firm Third Energy to frack for shale gas at its existing drilling site near the village of Kirby Misperton,
  
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• Shell awarded tender to sell Nigerian crude to Uruguay -traders

  20-05-2016 22:04
  HOUSTON (Reuters) - Oil firm Royal Dutch Shell was awarded this week a tender to sell 1 million barrels of Nigerian Bonny Light crude to Uruguay's state-run company ANCAP for delivery July 19-23 at Jose Ignacio port, traders said on Friday. This is the second tender in a row that Shell has won to supply Uruguay with crude. It previously won one with an offer combining Bonny Light and Brazilian Sapinhoa crude for June delivery. The prices agreed were not immediately known. ...
  
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• Timeline - Zika's origin and global spread

  20-05-2016 21:54
  (Reuters) - The following timeline charts the origin and spread of the Zika virus from its discovery nearly 70 years ago: 1947: Scientists researching yellow fever in Uganda's Zika Forest identify the virus in a rhesus monkey 1948: Virus recovered from Aedes africanus mosquito in Zika Forest 1952: First human cases detected in Uganda and Tanzania 1954: Virus found in Nigeria 1960s-80s: Zika detected in mosquitoes and monkeys across equatorial Africa 1969–83: Zika found in equatorial Asia,
  
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• Oil slips; pressured by strong dollar, stubborn glut

  20-05-2016 21:25
  By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Friday as a stronger dollar encouraged investors to cash in on a second week of gains and the market stayed focused on whether unplanned supply outages were reducing a stubborn global glut. A stronger dollar makes greenback-denominated oil futures more expensive for holders of other currencies.
  
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• Canada wildfire moves into Saskatchewan, but little risk to mines, farms

  20-05-2016 20:50
  A Canadian wildfire has moved from oil-rich Alberta into Saskatchewan, but that province's fertile farms and lucrative mines are tucked far away from the blaze's path. The fire in northern Alberta hit the town of Fort McMurray in early May, forcing widespread evacuations and triggering a prolonged energy shutdown. One of the nearest Saskatchewan communities to the fire is impoverished La Loche, population 2,600, but it is partly protected by a nearby lake.
  
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• Libya's Haftar says won't work with unity government until militias disbanded

  20-05-2016 20:29
  It would be "unthinkable" for eastern Libyan forces to join a U.N.-backed unity government until militias aligned to it have been disbanded, General Khalifa Haftar, who heads up troops in the east, said in an interview broadcast on Friday. A December unity deal was meant to end the divide between rival governments in the capital Tripoli and the east who have vied for control over the country and its oil resources since 2014, backed by competing factions, who helped oust Muammar Gaddafi five year
  
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• Gloucester cathedral’s zero-carbon footprint | Letters

  20-05-2016 19:17 via theguardian.com
  
  I note your recent correspondence on church roofs and solar panels (Letters, 19 May). Gloucester cathedral has recently been awarded a substantial grant for Project Pilgrim phase one: the heart of Gloucester from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Project Pilgrim is a £6m restoration and improvement project to help the cathedral to fulfil its role as a dynamic place of spiritual, community and heritage activity.A key part of the proposals fully supports the Church of England’s Shrinking the
  
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• Aggressive spiders cause panic on Canada-bound plane

  20-05-2016 19:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Two tarantulas that likely escaped from a passenger’s bag caused upheaval on an Air Transat flight from Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, to MontrealThe sight of tarantulas scurrying through the cabin on a recent Canada-bound flight left passengers screaming and standing on their seats, as flight attendants warned them to keep their ankles covered.The two hairy spiders were spotted towards the end of an Air Transat flight from Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, to Montreal in Apri
  
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• Why businesses need to take a 'bottom-up' approach to sustainability

  20-05-2016 17:32
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Businesses must adopt a top-down approach to embedding sustainability within the company culture, according to the sustainability director of carpet tile manufacturer Interface.
  
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• Gas pipeline in Niger Delta operated by Nigeria's NNPC attacked - community group

  20-05-2016 17:12
  A gas pipeline in Nigeria's restive Niger Delta region operated by the state energy company was attacked late on Thursday, a spokesman for a local community group and a witness said on Friday. Nigeria has seen a resurgence in militant attacks in the oil-rich southern region in the last few weeks, with strikes on pipelines and oil facilities. A group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers has claimed responsibility for most of them.
  
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• Record temperatures, bees and pizzly bears – green news roundup

  20-05-2016 17:08 via theguardian.com
  
  The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
  
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• Oil company records from 1960s reveal patents to reduce CO2 emissions in cars

  20-05-2016 16:59 via theguardian.com
  
  ExxonMobil and others pursued research into technologies, yet blocked government efforts to fight climate change for more than 50 years, findings showThe forerunners of ExxonMobil patented technologies for electric cars and low emissions vehicles as early as 1963 – even as the oil industry lobby tried to squash government funding for such research, according to a trove of newly discovered records.Patent records reveal oil companies actively pursued research into technologies to cut carbon
  
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• Oil eases as focus returns to oversupply, strong dollar lends support

  20-05-2016 16:43
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Friday as a strong dollar and recent gains incentivised investors to cash in, while focus shifted again to swelling global inventories that have cushioned the impact from unplanned supply outages. "Despite supply disruptions, there is still oversupply and large inventories. Investors have probably shifted focus," said Hans van Cleef, senior energy economist at ABN AMRO in Amsterdam.
  
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• As the UN tightens the net around illegal fishing, now is the time to act

  20-05-2016 16:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Illegal fishing robs the world’s oceans of 26m tons of seafood annually. Now, a new international treaty aims to make it tougher for thievesIn the time it takes you to read this sentence, nearly 10,000 lbs of fish will be stolen from the world’s oceans. Illegal fishing, which accounts for up to 26m tons of seafood annually, robs legitimate fishers and governments of revenue, undermines the accuracy of fisheries’ stock assessments and threatens the stability of coastal communiti
  
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• Union vote to halt production at Total's Normandy refinery - official

  20-05-2016 15:48
  Hardline French oil sector CGT union members have voted on Friday to shut down production at Total's Normandy refinery and to prolong the strike at Grandpuits refinery for 72 hours a union official said. Union members at Total's five refineries in France met on Friday to decide whether to halt production at the refineries toughening their stance in the rolling nationwide strike aimed at forcing the government to withdraw a labour reform law. "In Normandy, 56 percent voted for a complete shutdown
  
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• Satellite spots oil slick that could be from EgyptAir plane - ESA

  20-05-2016 15:30
  A European satellite spotted a potential oil slick in the area of the eastern Mediterranean Sea where an EgyptAir jet disappeared with 66 people on board, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Friday. A second image taken at 0400 GMT on Friday showed that the slick had drifted by about 5 km. The ESA said it had passed on information related to the image to relevant authorities but said there was no guarantee that the slick was from the EgyptAir plane. The Egyptian navy said earlier on Friday i
  
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• Let's give up the climate change charade: Exxon won't change its stripes | Bill McKibben

  20-05-2016 15:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Every year at the shareholders’ annual meeting, there is an attempt to push the company on reducing emissions. It’s time to stop trying and divest insteadIn 1990, a small group of investors offered a resolution at Exxon’s annual shareholder’s meeting asking that it “develop a company-wide plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.” The company opposed the motion, which won 6% of the vote, on the grounds that “the facts today and the projection of future ef
  
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• Milder weather welcomed in Canada's fire-stricken energy heartland

  20-05-2016 15:12
  By Eric M. Johnson and Nia Williams CALGARY (Reuters) - Firefighters battling a massive blaze in Canada's energy heartland could see a second day of rainfall and winds on Friday, expected to beat flames back from key oil sands facilities, as a producer announced a restart in operations. The wildfire in northern Alberta has charred some 505,000 hectares (1,950 square miles) of land, more than six times the size of New York City, since it hit Fort McMurray in early May. It has forced widespread ev
  
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• Hitachi heads up new bid to build nuclear plant in Wales

  20-05-2016 14:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Japanese company and US construction group Bechtel offer rival proposal to French firm EDF’s plans for Hinkley Point C reactor Hitachi has unveiled a construction consortium to build a £10bn nuclear power station in Wales “on time and on budget”, as a rival to the French-backed plans for Hinkley Point C.
  There are no British firms involved but among the partners of the Japanese firm are Bechtel of the US, which has just brought a new atomic power plant online in America,
  
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• Edinburgh launches 'Remakery' to ignite re-use and repair revolution

  20-05-2016 14:41
  
  An Edinburgh social enterprise has set up a unique re-use and repair superstore to encourage second-hand shopping and enable more people to learn key repair skills in the Scottish capital, as a way of driving a circular economy.
  
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• Fiat Chrysler shares hit by squabble with Germany over meeting

  20-05-2016 14:10
  Shares in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles fell on Friday after Germany's transport minister criticised the car maker for not showing up at a meeting on emissions. Fiat Chrysler was due to attend a meeting in Germany on Thursday over possible emissions irregularities of its diesel vehicles but sent a lawyer's letter cancelling the appointment. Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said this was "uncooperative behaviour" and "completely incomprehensible".
  
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• Two birds yield genetic key to crimson

  20-05-2016 13:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Two independent scientific papers identify the same single gene as the cause of red beaks and feathers in birds.
  
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• Volkswagen to unveil 2025 strategy in mid-June - CEO

  20-05-2016 13:35
  German carmaker Volkswagen will announce a new strategy in mid-June, Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said, according to excerpts of a speech seen by Reuters on Friday. Europe's biggest carmaker has been working on a new strategy for its core autos business that it hopes will boost its profitability once it emerges from an emissions test-rigging scandal which plunged the carmaker into a 4.1 billion euro operating loss for 2015. "We want to lead Volkswagen out of the company's most difficult situ
  
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• The Science Museum is free – so what is BP buying?

  20-05-2016 13:05 via theguardian.com
  
  A new report shines a light on the links that BP has developed with leading cultural institutions. Does this limit their ability to speak out on climate change?“I’d prefer the wording not to focus on environmental damage” – those were the words used in an email by the company Shell, as it attempted to muscle in on the Science Museum’s curatorial decision making. In 2014, Shell had been a sponsor of the museum’s climate science exhibition but once that controve
  
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• Britain's green economy worth £46.2bn, new figures reveal

  20-05-2016 13:00
  
  The UK green economy generated £46.2bn turnover through the efforts of 238,500 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers in almost 100,000 low-carbon and renewable energy (LCRE) companies in 2014, a report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed.
  
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• Can America learn to love the big bad wolf? There are signs of change

  20-05-2016 12:30 via theguardian.com
  
  They’ve been called ‘the beast of destruction’ and ‘the abortion issue of wildlife’, but efforts to save the wolf’s population – and perception – are worth celebratingSome species are eliminated through sheer human carelessness, as we clumsily attempt to mould the world in our image. America’s gray wolf, on the other hand, was almost gleefully wiped out, exterminated with a visceral mixture of disgust and fear. Related: Wolf population reache
  
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• Fracking protesters gather in North Yorkshire as crucial planning meeting begins

  20-05-2016 11:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Ryedale residents tell councillors they do not want to be the first place in the UK to allow frackingPeople living close to a proposed fracking operation in North Yorkshire have told councillors they do not want to be the first community in the UK to allow the controversial gas extraction technique.
  A meeting has begun to consider an application by UK firm Third Energy to frack for shale gas at its existing drilling site near the village of Kirby Misperton, between Malton and Pickering, in North
  
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• Oil rises as supply disruptions soften supply glut

  20-05-2016 11:34
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose close to six-month highs on Friday as a series of supply outages in Nigeria, Canada and Libya tightened the global oversupply picture that has gripped the oil market for two years.
  
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• Monsanto weedkiller faces recall from Europe's shops after EU fail to agree deal

  20-05-2016 11:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Leading Monsanto, Dow and Syngenta products could be withdrawn from shops by July after committee fails to agree on whether glyphosate poses a health risk to humansBestselling weedkillers by Monsanto, Dow and Syngenta could be removed from shops across Europe by July, after an EU committee failed for a second time to agree on a new license for its core ingredient, glyphosate.The issue has divided EU nations, academics and the World Health Organisation (WHO) itself. One WHO agency found it to be
  
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• Hubble takes super-snap of Mars

  20-05-2016 10:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Hubble Space Telescope produces another of its stunning portraits of Mars, as the planet lines up with the Earth and the Sun.
  
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• Grocery supply chains worth £300m in food waste war, finds WRAP

  20-05-2016 09:15
  
  Grocery retailers and supply chain operators are missing out on a £300m windfall, and the chance to increase supply-chain redistribution streams four-fold, by failing to tackle food waste issues, new analysis from WRAP has revealed.
  
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• Oil rises as turmoil in Nigeria adds to global supply disruptions

  20-05-2016 09:08
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday as turmoil in Nigeria, shale bankruptcies in the United States and a crisis in Venezuela all contributed to tightening supplies. International Brent crude futures were trading at $49.02 per barrel at 0653 GMT, up 21 cents or 0.43 percent from their last settlement. ANZ bank said that unexpected supply disruptions across the world, excluding output falls in the United States, amounted to around 2.5 million barrels of daily produ
  
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• Protect Myanmar's marine resources from being pillaged to point of no return

  20-05-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Aung San Suu Kyi’s new government must safeguard the ocean from illegal fishing that has depleted stocks by 70-90% and is killing endangered sea turtles and dugongsAs Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) engaged in a historic transfer of power in the Myanmar capital of Naypyidaw in March, my Burmese colleagues and I stood on a deserted beach 170 miles to the southwest, near Gwa on the Rakhine coast. We were speaking to local fishermen about their livelihoods and hea
  
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• Mini-robot perches like an insect

  20-05-2016 07:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Miniature flying robot that can perch and take off could be used in search and rescue, scientists say.
  
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• India records its hottest day ever as temperature hits 51C (that's 123.8F)

  20-05-2016 07:18 via theguardian.com
  
  The previous record of 50.6C stood since 1956 but wilted in the latest summer heatwave to hit the countryA city in northern India has shattered the national heat record, registering a searing 51C – the highest since records began – amid a nationwide heatwave.
  The new record was set in Phalodi, a city in the desert state of Rajasthan, and is the equivalent of 123.8F. Continue reading...
  
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• How circadian rhythms and Roman baths are transforming Australian cities

  20-05-2016 07:08 via theguardian.com
  
  The team behind the next generation of sustainable buildings, including Sydney’s Barangaroo, aim to promote wellness along with preventing environmental harm Hidden beneath Federation Square, the heart of civic Melbourne, is a complex labyrinth of concrete cells.This labyrinth – the world’s largest de-coupled airside thermal storage system –acts like a rechargeable battery. On summer evenings it stores cool night air to use during warm days and, in winter, daytime heat to
  
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• 'I just can't be bothered': why people are greener at home than in the office

  20-05-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Must of us ignore our environmental responsibilities at work, largely because of a lack of control, responsibility or financial interest“I know I should be bothered but I just can’t be”, said a colleague recently as they threw some paper towards the bin, “it’s weird really because at home we’re fastidious about recycling and all that … but at work I just don’t bother.” In one sentence highlighting how hard it can be to encourage employees to
  
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• Gritstone tors, castle to a canny lizard

  20-05-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Kinder Scout, Derbyshire Something metallic, coppery bronze, slinks off, a mercurial blur that is a common lizardIn bright sunshine I find myself on Kinder Scout, toiling up the slope towards the broken tower of Upper Tor, craning my neck at a clever, sinuous, rock climb that takes the leaning crest of its most prominent buttress.This Peak District route was first done in 1936, the creation of Arthur Birtwistle, a stalwart member of that hardy Manchester institution the Rucksack Club whose membe
  
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• Carbon dioxide's 400ppm milestone shows humans are rewriting the planet's history «

  20-05-2016 06:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Levels of CO2 are pushing beyond 400 parts per million in the atmosphere. The last time they were there, 15 million years ago, the world was very differentRound numbers can trigger all sorts of weird and sometimes irrational responses. For example, in about 19 years time when I turn 40 there’ll be some sort of celebration at which I’m told I have reached a milestone. The number can also trigger denial in those afflicted (I honestly wouldn’t know*).Continue reading...
  
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• Carbon dioxide's 400ppm milestone shows humans are re-writing the planet's history

  20-05-2016 06:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Levels of CO2 are pushing beyond 400 parts per million in the atmosphere. The last time they were there, 15 million years ago, the world was very different.Round numbers can trigger all sorts of weird and sometimes irrational responses. For example, in about 19 years time when I turn 40 there’ll be some sort of celebration at which I’m told I have reached a milestone. The number can also trigger denial in those afflicted (I honestly wouldn’t know*).Continue reading...
  
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• Oil Search boosts LNG push in PNG with $2.2 billion InterOil bid

  20-05-2016 05:25
  By Sonali Paul MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's Oil Search Ltd agreed a $2.2 billion (1.5 billion pounds) deal to acquire InterOil Corp on Friday, aiming to pave the way for two rival liquefied natural gas projects led by global majors to work together in Papua New Guinea. Despite weak oil prices, PNG's liquids-rich gas, which offers extra revenue, makes it one of the best locations for LNG projects. The country has the existing PNG LNG project, run by ExxonMobil Corp , and the proposed Papua L
  
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• Open thread: 'redefine nothing' – what are your tips for reducing food waste?

  20-05-2016 03:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Radish tops can be used in soups and pretty much any sad vegetable or fruit can be rescued by pureeing – submit your tips for ‘zero waste’ cookingIn the never-ending string of “days attached to apparent causes”, Friday is Food Revolution Day, pioneered by the high-profile happy chappy Jamie Oliver, friend to all but sugar.Youth Food Movement Australia, which organises volunteer-run food projects across the country, says the amount of food thrown out by one household
  
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• Oil prices rise as turmoil in Nigeria adds to global supply disruptions

  20-05-2016 03:34
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose in early trading on Friday as turmoil in Nigeria, shale bankruptcies in the United States and crisis in Venezuela all contributed to tightening supplies. International Brent crude futures were trading at $49.10 (£34) per barrel at 0128 GMT, up 29 cents or 0.59 percent from their last settlement. ANZ bank said that unexpected supply disruptions across the world, excluding output falls in the United States, amounted to around 2.5 mil
  
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• Brazil's Parente says no political appointments at Petrobras

  20-05-2016 01:23
  BRASILIA (Reuters) - Pedro Parente, newly named chief executive of Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA , said on Thursday there would be no political appointments at the troubled company. Parente said he would resign as chairman of the Brazilian bourse BM&FBovespa SA if there were a conflict of interest, though he would prefer to stay on as the company is in the middle of acquiring rival Cetip SA Mercados Organizados . (Reporting by Lisandra Paragrassu; Writing by Caroline
  
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• Fracking approval under consideration

  20-05-2016 01:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Councillors in North Yorkshire will consider whether to approve fracking in England for the first time since a ban on the technique was lifted in 2012.
  
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• VIDEO: See a robotic insect in action

  20-05-2016 01:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Miniature flying robot that can perch and take off could be used in search and rescue, scientists say.
  
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• Brazil taps ex-Bunge boss Parente as Petrobras CEO, replaces Bendine

  20-05-2016 01:06
  BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazil's interim President Michel Temer named Pedro Parente chief executive officer of state-led oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA on Thursday as his government tries to kick-start a shrinking economy and shore up the debt-laden oil producer. Parente, an engineer, former Bunge Ltd executive and one-time chief of staff to former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, replaces Aldemir Bendine, according to the president's office. Bendine had been running Petrobra
  
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• Oil Search makes $2.2 billion bid for PNG rival InterOil

  20-05-2016 00:53
  Oil Search Ltd has agreed on a takeover offer worth $2.2 billion (£1.5 billion) for its Papua New Guinea rival InterOil Corp and said on Friday it would sell part of InterOil's key asset to French giant Total SA . "The InterOil board has thoroughly considered this transaction and we believe it delivers significant value to all InterOil shareholders," InterOil Chairman Chris Finlayson said in a statement. Oil Search is offering 8.05 of its shares plus a contingent value right for each Inter
  
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