Environment news

• Oil down slightly on inventory rise; market wary on U.S. vote

  08-11-2016 23:38
  By Scott DiSavino and Ethan Lou NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices ended little changed on Tuesday and edged lower after hours when an industry group reported a bigger-than-expected build in U.S. crude inventories that pressured prices along with large draws in refined products that lent support. Investors were cautious ahead of the results of the U.S. presidential election Tuesday night, and that staved off large price fluctuations. U.S. crude stockpiles rose 4.4 million barrels in the week to Nov
  
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• Study: Carbon-Hungry Plants Impede Growth Rate of Atmospheric CO2

  08-11-2016 22:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  New findings suggest the rate at which CO2 is accumulating in the atmosphere has plateaued in recent years because Earth’s vegetation is grabbing more carbon from the air than in previous decades.That’s the conclusion of a multi-institutional study led by a scientist from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). It’s based on extensive ground and atmospheric observations of CO2, satellite measurements of vegetation, and compute
  
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• Shark nets to be trialled at five beaches after surge in northern NSW attacks

  08-11-2016 20:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Legislation to be trialled at Lighthouse beach, Sharpes beach and Shelly beach at Ballina, Seven Mile beach at Lennox Head and Evans Head beachFive New South Wales beaches will soon be trialling mesh shark nets under legislation to be fast-tracked into parliament.The legislation will be tabled by the NSW primary industries minister, Niall Blair, on Wednesday. Continue reading...
  
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• The Guardian view on air pollution: the next generation carries the burden of our inaction | Editorial

  08-11-2016 20:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Adults who grew up in less polluted days can cope with pollution. But when a child’s lungs are damaged, they are damaged for lifeOn Sunday, the capital city of one of the world’s fastest growing economies was effectively shut down in an emergency act. The reason was not terrorism, but air pollution. The threat to citizens from smog in Delhi was judged so great that traffic was ratioined, coal-fired power stations closed and diesel generators suspended. This was a brave and sane
  
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• Oil prices edge higher with Wall Street as the U.S. votes

  08-11-2016 20:04
  By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday after trading either side of unchanged all morning, keeping crude in line with a small increase in U.S. stock markets as voters headed to the polls to elect the next president of the United States. The most recent polls have put Democrat Hillary Clinton ahead of Republican rival Donald Trump in Tuesday's election. Most investors believe a Clinton victory would result in greater certainty and stability in financial markets.
  
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• Cars don’t just choke our children – they tear a hole in our communities | George Monbiot

  08-11-2016 19:50 via theguardian.com
  
  A chance has emerged to press the UK government into action over deadly pollution – and I don’t mean just the fumes from diesel engines. We must take itThe government’s defeat in the high court last week was devastating – but I’m not talking about the Brexit judgment. The environmental lawyers ClientEarth sued it over air pollution for the second time, and for the second time they won. After trying every trick in the book to continue poisoning the British popul
  
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• OMV sells UK business in retreat from costly exploration

  08-11-2016 19:47
  OMV said it is selling its UK business to Siccar Point Energy for up to $1 billion, putting an end to the Austrian oil and gas group's exploration activities in Britain as it seeks to escape high costs in areas such as the North Sea. The firm's Chief Executive Rainer Seele is unwinding a strategy set by his predecessor, who bought North Sea assets in 2013 for $2.65 billion, by shifting OMV's focus from output growth to cutting costs and cash generation. The transaction, which is pending regulato
  
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• World's first forest bond beats expectations

  08-11-2016 19:39
  By Barbara Lewis and Karin Strohecker LONDON (Reuters) - A green investment that for the first time channels private money into protecting forests has raised twice as much planned, its issuers said on Tuesday. A branch of the World Bank and miner BHP Billiton are backing the bond, which is also a first in allowing investors to opt to be paid in carbon credits rather than cash. Three years in the making, the forest bond has raised $152 million from institutional investors, such as pension funds,
  
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• Exclusive - Rosneft state owner may help Rosneft with funds for buyback: sources

  08-11-2016 19:12
  By Katya Golubkova, Oksana Kobzeva and Olesya Astakhova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Rosneftegaz [ROSNG.UL], the state holding company that controls Russian oil major Rosneft , is considering helping Rosneft finance the buyback of some of its shares in Rosneft, three sources with knowledge of the discussions said. The Russian state is preparing to sell a 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft, the biggest Russian oil producer and one of the largest in the world, as part of a privatisation scheme intended to plug h
  
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• France could face winter power cuts, hit by nuclear dependence

  08-11-2016 19:07
  By Bate Felix and Geert De Clercq PARIS (Reuters) - France could impose power cuts this winter due to an electricity shortage, an unprecedented step in the wealthy nation which would expose the vulnerabilities of its dependence on nuclear power. The warning was issued on Tuesday by grid operator RTE, which said power supply had been hit by the closure of around a third of the country's ageing nuclear reactors for safety checks. France relies on nuclear for three-quarters of its power, more than
  
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• Rise in atmospheric CO2 slowed by green vegetation

  08-11-2016 18:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The growth in CO2 in the atmosphere has been slowed by the increased ability of plants to soak up the gas.
  
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• Natural gas lobby plans campaign to convince Australians of 'long-term necessity'

  08-11-2016 18:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Groups also plan to undermine government attempts to regulate parts of industry identified by the competition watchdog for price gougingA coalition of natural gas lobby groups are planning a coordinated campaign to convince Australians gas is “a long-term necessity”, top industry lobbyists have revealed.They also disclosed plans to undermine government attempts to regulate sections of the industry that have been identified by the competition watchdog for price gouging by offering the
  
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• Exclusive - Rosneft's state shareholder might help finance buyback of its shares: sources

  08-11-2016 18:25
  By Katya Golubkova, Oksana Kobzeva and Olesya Astakhova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Rosneftegaz [ROSNG.UL], the state holding company that controls Russian oil major Rosneft , is considering helping Rosneft finance the buyback of some of its shares in Rosneft, three sources with knowledge of the discussions said. The Russian state is preparing to sell a 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft, the biggest Russian oil producer and one of the largest in the world, as part of a privatisation scheme intended to plug h
  
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• Oil holds steady with Wall St. as the U.S. votes

  08-11-2016 17:36
  By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday, paring earlier gains in line with U.S. stock markets as voters head to the polls to elect the next president of the United States. In a swell of investor risk appetite, U.S. stocks racked up their biggest one-day gain since March on Monday, but this boost, which lifted oil, copper and European equities earlier on Tuesday faded. The most recent polls have put Democrat Hillary Clinton ahead of Republican rival Donald
  
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• EU drops plans to make toasters more energy efficient over 'intrusion' fears

  08-11-2016 17:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Proposal to cut emissions controversially emits several appliances on the grounds that economic benefits would not be worth the negative publicityThe EU has dropped plans to force toaster-makers to improve the energy efficiency of their products over fears of the political costs of being seen to be intruding in people’s daily lives, it has emerged.But while a new EU plan to cut emissions controversially emits several appliances, the manufacturers of electric kettles, refrigerators and hand
  
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• WMO: Five hottest years on record have occurred since 2011

  08-11-2016 17:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) says that the five years from 2011 to 2015 were the warmest on record.
  
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• COP22: The first 48 hours

  08-11-2016 17:06
  
  The COP22 climate conference kicked off in the Moroccan capital of Marrakesh on Monday (7 November), with several opening discussions and programme launches emphasising the crucial role of business in delivering a low-carbon economy.
  
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• Global 'greening' has slowed rise of CO2 in the atmosphere, study finds

  08-11-2016 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Increased growth of plants fertilised by higher CO2 levels is only partly offsetting emissions and will not halt dangerous warming, scientists concludeA global “greening” of the planet has significantly slowed the rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since the start of the century, according to new research.More plants have been growing due to higher CO2 levels in the air and warming temperatures that cut the CO2 emitted by plants via respiration. The effects led the proportion o
  
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• Fast and flat

  08-11-2016 16:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Land Speed Record holder Andy Green has been celebrating the work done in Northern Cape, South Africa, to prepare the fastest ever race car track.
  
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• Blast hits oil pipeline feeding Forcados terminal in Nigeria's Delta

  08-11-2016 16:52
  By Tife Owolabi and Alexis Akwagyiram LAGOS (Reuters) - A blast on Tuesday rocked a pipeline operated by Nigeria's state-run oil firm that feeds the Forcados terminal in the southern Niger Delta energy hub, a spokesman for Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC) said. The explosion occurred while the pipeline was being repaired following an attack last week, NNPC spokesman Garba Deen Muhammad said. A week ago, community leaders from the restive region, the source of most of Nigeria's oil, met th
  
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• Wind turbines 'could supply most of UK's electricity'

  08-11-2016 16:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Dong Energy chief executive hails ‘inflection point’ as he confirms plan to sell company’s oil and gas divisionWind turbines could soon supply most of the UK’s electricity, the boss of the country’s largest wind farm operator has said, as he confirmed plans to sell its oil and gas division.Dong Energy said the sale would underpin its plan to become a “global leader in renewables”, 44 years after the company was set up to exploit Denmark’s North Sea
  
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• Exclusive - Leniency deal for Brazil's Odebrecht may be world's largest

  08-11-2016 16:47
  By Brad Brooks SAO PAULO (Reuters) - U.S. and Swiss investigators are working with Brazilian counterparts to complete negotiations with Odebrecht, the construction company at the center of a massive political kickback scandal, in what is likely to be the world's largest leniency deal, people involved in the talks said. Upwards of 80 Odebrecht employees are negotiating plea bargains and a leniency deal for the company. In return, they must testify about the conglomerate's central role in a scheme
  
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• Major advance in solar cells made from cheap, easy-to-use perovskite

  08-11-2016 16:38 via feedproxy.google.com
  Solar cells made from an inexpensive and increasingly popular material called perovskite can more efficiently turn sunlight into electricity using a new technique to sandwich two types of perovskite into a single photovoltaic cell.Perovskite solar cells are made of a mix of organic molecules and inorganic elements that together capture light and convert it into electricity, just like today’s more common silicon-based solar cells. Perovskite photovoltaic devices, however, can be made more e
  
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• The biggest city sinkholes around the world – in pictures

  08-11-2016 16:20 via theguardian.com
  
  As a huge crater opened up in the Japanese city of Fukuoka this morning, we take a look at the largest urban sinkholes – from Guangzhou to Guatemala City Continue reading...
  
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• UK and India to strengthen clean energy and smart cities partnership

  08-11-2016 16:06
  
  The UK and Indian Government have confirmed a continued partnership towards strengthening clean energy, climate change and smart city initiatives post-Brexit.
  
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• Oil retreats with rattled stocks as voting starts in U.S. polls

  08-11-2016 16:00
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Tuesday, paring earlier gains as voting in the U.S. presidential election got under way, in line with a retreat in U.S. stock index futures and a pickup in the dollar. In a swell of investor risk appetite, U.S. stocks racked up their biggest one-day gain since March on Monday, but this boost, which lifted oil, copper and European equities earlier on Tuesday faded. The most recent polls have put Democrat Hillary Clinton ahead of Republican r
  
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• Water at England's beaches is cleanest on record

  08-11-2016 15:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Dry summer, tighter regulations and more spending by water companies sees 98.5% of beaches monitored by the Environment Agency meet EU standardsEngland’s bathing waters are the cleanest ever recorded thanks to a dry summer, tighter EU regulations and increased spending by water companies.
  Of the 413 beaches monitored up to 20 times a year by the Environment Agency for their pollution, 98.5% passed the minimum EU limit. Of these, 69% were rated “excellent” and 27% “good&rd
  
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• The iguana v snakes chase gives Planet Earth II its first breakout moment

  08-11-2016 14:32 via theguardian.com
  
  The nailbiting showdown between the racer snakes and baby iguana of Fernandina island on the BBC nature show was already impressive – but then the internet got hold of it …I’m guessing that in the great battle of racer snakes v marine iguana, you were on the side of the iguana. It’s hard to find people who were cheering on the snakes of Fernandina island during Sunday night’s episode of Planet Earth II. In the standout scene of the show, one baby iguana, just hatch
  
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• The battle against climate change is becoming a social movement, says Climate-KIC

  08-11-2016 14:21
  
  The 200 years that it took to industrialise the world and seep damaging carbon into the atmosphere can be mitigated within the next three decades, but only if funds are made available to kick-start a rapid decarbonisation process that revolves around social awareness.
  
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• Oil retreats with rattled stocks as U.S. voting gets underway

  08-11-2016 14:20
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Tuesday, paring earlier gains as voting in the U.S. presidential election got underway, in line with a retreat in U.S. stock index futures and a pickup in the dollar. In a swell of investor risk appetite, U.S. stocks racked up their biggest one-day gain since March on Monday, but this boost, which lifted oil, copper and European equities earlier on Tuesday faded. The most recent polls have put Democrat Hillary Clinton ahead of Republican ri
  
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• This is mankind's 'great urbanisation' era. We must act now, or the planet will pay

  08-11-2016 14:18 via theguardian.com
  
  The world will never again build cities as rapidly as it does this century. If we are serious about limiting global warming, tackling air pollution and promoting innovative, resource-efficient growth, there is a narrow window of opportunityAlmost as staggering as the current enormous influx into cities across the globe is the dramatic slowdown in urbanisation that will follow it. The world is literally going to town on urbanisation – but it is a project that is both immense and historicall
  
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• UK committed to moving away from coal-fired power plants - minister

  08-11-2016 13:44
  Britain remains committed to switching from coal-fired power plants to clean energy, a minister told parliament on Tuesday when asked whether the government was considering backtracking on a plan to close coal-burning stations by 2025. "The government is committed to the transition from coal to clean energy," Nick Hurd, a junior minister in the business department, said in response to a question on whether the government was reconsidering its position. In November 2015, the government agreed to
  
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• Russia's Lukoil says not interested in Rosneft privatisation

  08-11-2016 13:32
  Russia's No.2 oil producer Lukoil is not interested in buying shares in its larger peer Rosneft , Lukoil's vice president Leonid Fedun said on Tuesday. The shares will be bought by Rosneftegaz," Fedun said, referring to the state-controlled holding which controls Rosneft. Last week, Russian business daily Vedomosti cited a source as saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Lukoil's Chief Executive Officer Vagit Alekperov the opportunity to take part in Rosneft's privatisation.
  
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• Sir David King: Businesses must ensure infrastructure investment is fit for purpose

  08-11-2016 13:31
  
  EXCLUSIVE: The UK's Special Representative for Climate Change Sir David King has stressed the "critical" importance that the private sector matches the Government's climate obligations by investing in infrastructure "fit for purpose" in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
  
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• Blast rocks pipeline feeding Forcados terminal in Nigeria's Delta

  08-11-2016 13:17
  By Tife Owolabi and Alexis Akwagyiram LAGOS (Reuters) - A blast rocked a pipeline operated by Nigeria's state-run oil firm NNPC that feeds the Forcados terminal in the southern Niger Delta energy hub, a community leader and security source said on Tuesday. The explosion occurred while the pipeline was being repaired following an attack last week, they said. A week ago, community leaders from the restive region, the source of most of Nigeria's oil, met the president and asked him to pull the army
  
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• Has Jeremy the 'lefty' snail found love?

  08-11-2016 12:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A public appeal to find a second rare left-coiled snail succeeds
  
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• Total signs first post-sanctions Western energy deal with Iran

  08-11-2016 12:04
  By Andrew Callus PARIS (Reuters) - France's Total has signed a deal with Iran to further develop its part of the world's largest gas field, becoming the first western energy company to sign a major deal with Tehran since the lifting of international sanctions earlier this year. Total confirmed on Tuesday it had signed a heads of agreement with National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for the Phase 11 development of South Pars in the Gulf, which extends into Qatari waters where it is known as the Nort
  
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• New Philippine ambassador says China is complying with arbitration ruling

  08-11-2016 11:53
  By Manuel Mogato MANILA (Reuters) - By letting Philippine fishermen return to the disputed Scarborough Shoal, China is complying with an international arbitral ruling, just without acknowledging it, Manila's incoming ambassador to Beijing said on Tuesday. Jose Santiago Santa Romana, an academic and political appointee of President Rodrigo Duterte, said Beijing's end to its blockade of the South China Sea shoal meant that it was essentially following the July award by the tribunal in The Hague -
  
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• Oil rises as investor confidence over U.S. polls boosts risk assets

  08-11-2016 11:20
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday, ahead of the U.S. presidential election, as investors unwound some of their recent bets against economically sensitive assets such as crude and equities. In a swell of investor risk appetite, U.S. stocks racked up their biggest one-day gain since March on Monday, which fed into an easing in the dollar that underpinned more risk-linked assets such as oil, copper and European equities on Tuesday. The most recent polls have put Democra
  
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• Standing Rock protesters sit out the election: 'I'm ashamed of them both'

  08-11-2016 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Activists at the North Dakota pipeline site say they have little faith in either presidential candidate to bring about the kind of change they hope for
  Support our fearless, independent journalism by making a contribution or becoming a member
  Frank Archambault is not going to vote for president today. In mid-July, the 45-year-old member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe packed up all of his belongs and his family – five children and a grandson – to travel from Little Eagle, South Dako
  
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• Iran optimistic about implementation of OPEC output freeze - SHANA

  08-11-2016 10:50
  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Tuesday that he was still optimistic about implementation of a deal among oil producers to freeze output levels which was reached in Algeria in September, the ministry's news agency SHANA reported. Asked if the freeze deal would be implemented, Zanganeh told reporters in Tehran: "We should wait, I am optimistic." He denied reports that Egypt seeks to buy crude oil from Iran, the semi-official news agency Fars reported. Saudi Arabia s
  
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• Government can draw public towards electric cars, says Hyundai chief

  08-11-2016 10:30
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Hyundai's UK chief executive Tony Whitehorn believes the Government can ignite a surge of public interest in electric and low-carbon vehicles by developing more infrastructure and implementing effective policy incentives that spark widespread behaviour change.
  
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• Denmark's DONG Energy to get out of oil and gas business

  08-11-2016 10:24
  Danish energy group DONG Energy plans to quit the oil and gas business to focus solely on offshore wind power, adding to billions of dollars of North Sea oil and gas assets already up for sale. DONG said last month it would sharpen its focus on wind power and could shed its oil and gas business, having hired JP Morgan to review the assets. DONG's decision follows similar steps by European utilities E.ON and RWE , which have both divested their oil and gas business to try to become simpler struct
  
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• Total confirms deal with Iran on South Pars gas field

  08-11-2016 10:13
  French oil major Total confirmed on Tuesday a preliminary deal with Iran whereby Total would develop the phase 11 part of the South Pars gas field along with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). Total said it would operate the SP11 project with a 50.1 percent stake in it. Petropars, a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company, would have a 19.9 percent stake while Chinese state-owned oil and gas company CNPC would have a 30 percent stake.
  
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• French regulator targets power price speculation with new ARENH rules

  08-11-2016 10:09
  French energy markets regulator CRE proposed on Tuesday tighter rules under which alternative energy providers buy power from nuclear power station managed by state-controlled utility EDF . The move is aimed at curbing potential speculation in the French power market after spot and forward electricity prices surged to record highs over the past weeks due to tight nuclear supply concerns in France. CRE said its proposal would tighten the conditions under which EDF's smaller rivals terminate their
  
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• Turkey says expects first unit of Akkuyu nuclear power plant online by end-2023

  08-11-2016 09:02
  Turkey expects the first unit of its planned $20 billion (16 billion pound) Akkuyu nuclear power plant to be online by the end of 2023, according to the text of a presentation by energy minister Berat Albayrak on Tuesday. Turkey also plans to drill a deep water oil well in the western part of the Black Sea in 2018, Albayrak said, according to a presentation to parliament's planning and budgetary commission, the text of which was obtained by Reuters. Work on the Akkuyu plant, expected to be Turke
  
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• OPEC sees rival oil supply down, but not out

  08-11-2016 08:15
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Global demand for OPEC's crude oil will rise in the next three years, the group forecast, suggesting its 2014 decision to let prices fall to curb costlier rival supplies such as U.S. shale is delivering higher market share. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which in 2014 refused to cut supply despite a glut, said in its 2016 World Oil Outlook that demand for its crude would reach 33.70 million barrels per day in 2019, up 1 million bpd from 2
  
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• Japan ratifies Paris Agreement after the pact enters into force

  08-11-2016 07:53
  Japan on Tuesday ratified the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement to cut emissions and prevent climate change, four days after the global pact officially entered into force. The agreement seeks to wean the world economy off fossil fuels in the second half of the century, limiting the rise in average world temperatures to "well below" 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above preindustrial times. The delay in ratification could limit Japan's ability to influence negotiations on the finer details
  
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• Oil prices steady ahead of U.S. election, weak China data weighs

  08-11-2016 07:15
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices were stable on Tuesday as financial investors and traders were cautiously positioning themselves for a win by Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential elections. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $44.97 at 0610 GMT, virtually flat from their previous settlement. International Brent crude prices were up 8 cents at $46.23 per barrel.
  
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• In a blur of blue, the kingfisher catches its minnow

  08-11-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Waltham Brooks, West Sussex The bird bobs its squat body up and down, then launches low across the water, the light catching its shimmering backThe still pool reflects the blue sky. The kingfisher sits in the low willow branch. It flicks its tail up and down, up and down, like a switch, while it looks down, transfixed by something in the water below. It suddenly blurs into movement, there’s a splash, and the colourful missile returns to its perch with a tiny silver fish in its bill. It bas
  
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