Volcano erupts in Indonesia, alert level raised to highest


AFP
Wed, 17 April 2024 

This handout photograph taken and released by the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation on April 17, 2024, shows Mount Ruang spewing hot lava and smoke (Handout)

A volcano erupted several times in Indonesia's outermost region Wednesday, with authorities raising the alert level to its highest point after the dome spewed a column of smoke more than a mile into the sky and forced hundreds to evacuate.

Mount Ruang, a stratovolcano in North Sulawesi Province, first erupted at 9:45 pm on Tuesday (1345 GMT) and four times throughout Wednesday, the country's volcanology agency said.

The alert level for the volcano, which has a peak of 725 metres above sea level, was then raised on Wednesday evening from three to four, the highest possible level in the four-tiered system.


"Based on the result of visual and instrumental observation that showed an increase in volcanic activity, Mount Ruang's level was raised from Level 3 to Level 4," Hendra Gunawan, head of Indonesia's volcanology agency said in a statement late Wednesday.

Authorities also widened a four-kilometre exclusion zone to six kilometres on Wednesday evening around the crater.

There were no reports of deaths or injuries, but more than 800 people were evacuated from two Ruang Island villages to nearby Tagulandang Island, which is located more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of provincial capital Manado, state agency Antara reported.

The volcanology agency said residents of Tagulandang must be evacuated outside the six-kilometre radius by Wednesday evening.

Gunawan also warned local residents to "be on alert for the potential ejection of rocks, hot cloud discharges and tsunami caused by the collapse of the volcano's body into the sea," the statement said.

Ruang's initial eruption late Tuesday pushed an ash column two kilometres (1.2 miles) into the sky, with the second eruption pushing it to 2.5 kilometres, Muhammad Wafid, head of the geological agency said in a statement earlier Wednesday.

The volcanology agency said Tuesday that volcanic activity had increased at Ruang after two earthquakes in recent weeks.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc where tectonic plates collide that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

mrc-jfx/caw

German minister travels to Canada for UN plastic pollution conference

DPA
Tue, April 16, 2024 

German Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection Steffi Lemke sits in her office in the ministry during an interview with the German press agency (dpa). Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa


German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke plans to travel to Ottawa on Saturday for UN talks on a global plastic pollution treaty, her ministry announced in Berlin on Tuesday.

On Sunday, Lemke is to hold talks with her Canadian counterpart Steven Guilbeault ahead of the fourth session of the UN's intergovernmental negotiating committee on the issue. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to open the conference on Monday.

The UN talks are aimed at a fresh attempt at a legally binding international treaty on reducing plastic waste, including in the marine environment, to be agreed by the end of his year.

Binding rules on the entire life cycle of plastic products are planned, including the manufacturing process. Moves towards a circular economy for plastics are also to play a role.

At the third session in Kenya in the autumn, the 170 participating countries failed to reach an agreement.

Lemke is to be at the negotiating table in Canada and will participate in a meeting at the ministerial level.

On Tuesday, Lemke signed a German-Chinese plan of action in Beijing on closer cooperation on curbing waste and conserving resources. On Wednesday, she is to attend an Our Ocean Conference in Athens.

Red Lobster Considers Bankruptcy to Deal With Leases and Labor Costs


Reshmi Basu
Tue, Apr 16, 2024

(Bloomberg) -- Seafood restaurant chain Red Lobster is mulling a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing as it looks to restructure its debt, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Red Lobster has been getting advice from law firm King & Spalding, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. The dining chain is considering a possible Chapter 11 filing to shed some long-term contracts and renegotiate a swath of leases, the people said.

Red Lobster’s cash flows have been weighed down by onerous leases and labor costs, among other issues. Restructuring discussions are ongoing and a final decision hasn’t been made, they said. Filing for bankruptcy would allow the company to keep operating while it works on a debt-cutting plan.

Messages left with Red Lobster and King & Spalding were not returned.

Red Lobster traces its roots to a single restaurant in Lakeland, Florida in 1968, according to its website. The company introduced its popular cheese-flavored biscuits in 1992, and Red Lobster now boasts hundreds of locations across the US and Canada, along with international franchises.

The restaurant chain has gone through multiple owners and management changes in recent years. Thai Union Group Plc, which took control of the company in 2021, this year wrote down its stake in Red Lobster and said the company’s “ongoing financial requirements no longer align with Thai Union’s capital allocation priorities.”

Fortress Investment Group is a key lender to Red Lobster and is among those involved in current debt negotiations, the people said.

A representative with Fortress declined to comment.

Golden Gate Capital took over Orlando, Florida-based Red Lobster from Darden Restaurants through a leveraged buyout in 2014. Thai Union owned 25% of the chain before buying Golden Gate’s stake in 2021.

EU must act quickly to catch up to US, warns report author

AFP
Wed, Apr 17, 2024

European businesses have been hit hard by the fallout from Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine which sent energy prices soaring (Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)

The EU risks lagging further behind the United States unless Brussels makes significant changes to the single market to give it "teeth", warned the author of a report that will be submitted to leaders Thursday.

Enrico Letta, a former Italian prime minister, has criss-crossed Europe and spent months preparing a report for EU leaders on what the 27-nation bloc needs to do to keep pace with other global economies including China.


European businesses have been hit hard by the fallout from Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine which sent energy prices soaring, while facing a double threat from bonanzas of state subsidies and reduced regulation in China and the United States.

"There is a sense of urgency because the gap with the US is growing. We need to intervene fast, there is no time to waste," Letta told reporters.

Growth figures for the EU and US economy illustrate the difference. The bloc grew by a mere 0.5 percent in 2023, compared with 2.5 percent in the United States.

Brussels is especially fearful of being left behind in the technologies needed for the future, including solar panels, batteries, semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

The EU's executive arm says an extra 620 billion euros ($660 billion) each year will be needed to finance the clean energy and digital transitions.

According to Letta, Europe will need to mobilise private funds but European start-ups find it difficult to access larger sums -- often forcing them across the Atlantic.

Creating a true single market for financial services "is the core of the solution of how to finance the transition," he said.

Letta wants a savings and investment union, pointing to how more than 300 billion euros in European savings leave every year to be invested in the American market.

For Letta, the single market that allows the free movement of goods, services, capital and people within the EU is too small.

It should be bigger and include energy, telecoms and finance as well as defence, he argues. Currently these markets are fragmented with different national rules that make it difficult to scale up.

"We need a single market with teeth," he said.

- EU cannot 'cede to others' -

Letta will present his report at an EU leaders' summit on Thursday.

In the document seen by AFP, Letta also warns about the risks to the EU's competitiveness against China.

"EU companies currently lag behind their global counterparts, particularly those in the US and China," the report warns.

"Europe cannot, and should not, cede its role as a manufacturing leader to others," it says.

Among the report's recommendations is an EU-wide contribution mechanism to address deepening anger in the bloc over varying levels of state aid.

The EU's two biggest economies, Germany and France, spend significantly higher amounts on national subsidies compared with the other 25 member states.

Brussels relaxed state aid rules in 2020 in response to the Covid pandemic, and did so again in 2023.

aro-raz/ec/imm

Georgia's parliament votes to approve so-called 'Russian law' targeting media in first reading

Associated Press
Wed, April 17, 2024 

Police block protestors gathered outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, to protest against "the Russian law" similar to a law that Russia uses to stigmatize independent news media and organizations seen as being at odds with the Kremlin. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia's parliament has voted in the first reading to approve a proposed law that would require media and non-commercial organizations to register as being under foreign influence if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.

Opponents say the proposal would obstruct Georgia’s long-sought prospects of joining the European Union. They denounce it as “the Russian law” because Moscow uses similar legislation to stigmatize independent news media and organizations seen as being at odds with the Kremlin.

“If it is adopted, it will bring Georgia in line with Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus and those countries where human rights are trampled. It will destroy Georgia’s European path,” said Giorgi Rukhadze, founder of the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center.


Although Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili would veto the law if it is passed by parliament in the third reading, the ruling party can override the veto by collecting 76 votes. Then the parliament speaker can sign it into law.

The bill is nearly identical to a proposal that the governing party was pressured to withdraw last year after large street protests. Police in the capital, Tbilisi, used tear gas Tuesday to break up a large demonstration outside the parliament.

The only change in wording from the previous draft law says non-commercial organizations and news media that receive 20% or more of their funding from overseas would have to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power.” The previous draft law said “agents of foreign influence.”

Zaza Bibilashvili with the civil society group Chavchavadze Center called the vote on the law an “existential choice."

He suggested it would create an Iron Curtain between Georgia and the EU, calling it a way to keep Georgia “in the Russian sphere of influence and away from Europe.”


Watch: Lawmakers punched, wrestled as Georgia parliament falls into chaos

Associated Press
Mon, April 15, 2024 

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Lawmakers in Georgia’s legislature scuffled on Monday as the parliament debated a divisive new law dubbed the foreign agent bill. Hours later, hundreds of people protested against the legislation outside the parliament in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

The draft — proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party — calls for media and non-commercial organizations to register as being under foreign influence if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.


Space junk that crashed through Florida family’s roof came from ISS, NASA confirms

Opponents of the measure denounce it as “the Russian law” because of similar legislation used by Moscow to stigmatize independent news media and organizations seen as being at odds with the Kremlin.

Video shared online shows the leader of the Georgian Dream lawmakers, Mamuka Mdinaradze, being punched in the face while speaking by an opposition lawmaker who rushed up to the podium. Several other lawmakers from opposing sides then join in the brawl, scuffling and wrestling with each other.

The bill is nearly identical to a proposal that the governing party was pressured to withdraw a year ago after large street protests. On Monday, protesters sang patriotic songs and shouted “slaves” outside the parliament, suggesting the house was bending to pressure from Russia.

Those who oppose the measure say passing the law would obstruct Georgia’s aim of joining the European Union, which last year granted the country long-desired candidate status.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze had a meeting Monday with the American, British and EU ambassadors to discuss the bill, the government said.

Donald Trump roasted by Democrats for appearing to fall asleep in court

The law says non-commercial organizations and news media that receive 20% or more of their funding from overseas would have to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” — the only change in wording from the draft law withdrawn last year, which said that relevant groups must register as “agents of foreign influence.”

Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili would veto the law if it is passed by parliament, her parliamentary representative Girogi Mskhiladze has previously said.

But that veto might not be long-lasting as Zourabichvili’s term ends this year and under Georgia’s constitution changes, the next president will be named by an electoral college that includes all members of parliament.

Georgian police clear protesters against foreign agent bill

 Tue, April 16, 2024 


 





By Felix Light

TBILISI (Reuters) -Riot police in Georgia waded into demonstrators and cleared them from around part of the ex-Soviet state's parliament on Tuesday as lawmakers debated a bill on "foreign agents" that the opposition denounces as authoritarian.

The bill would require organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as being agents of foreign influence. It is likely to pass in a parliament controlled by the ruling Georgian Dream party and its allies.

Opponents say the legislation will damage Georgia's bid to join the European Union.

As many as 10,000 protesters massed outside parliament, a larger gathering than the previous day, to denounce the bill, approved by a parliamentary committee on Monday.

Officers, some carrying shotguns, ordered protesters to disperse and deployed what appeared to be a crowd-control substance like pepper spray while clashing with demonstrators.

Protesters fled the area and within minutes the rear of the building was cleared of demonstrators, though many remained through the evening on other approaches to the parliament.

Those forced out by police regrouped with other protesters massed on Rustaveli Avenue, a city artery.

Georgia's Interior Ministry said one police officer was injured in the fracas. Eleven protesters were detained.

Critics have compared the bill to Russian legislation used by the Kremlin to crack down on dissent - a potent charge in the South Caucasus country, where Russia is unpopular for its support of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia defeated Georgia in a short war in 2008.

Nika Melia, a prominent opposition politician, said the government was "in cahoots" with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the issue was about Georgia's very independence.

"What I can say definitely is that Georgians and the Georgian will cannot be defeated," he told Reuters. "No chance. Georgians will prevail over the Russian interest."

WESTERN CRITICISM

Western countries say the bill is unhelpful in Georgia's EU membership bid.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that although it had not yet been approved, Washington was "deeply concerned about that law" and "supports everyone's right ... to freedom of expression and freedom of speech."

Charles Michel, head of the EU's European Council, said it "will bring Georgia further away from the EU and not closer".

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, a frequent critic of Georgian Dream, wrote on X that drive to pass the bill was a provocation and a Russian strategy of destabilisation.

Protesters shouted slogans against the "Russian law" on Tuesday afternoon as police sealed entrances to the Soviet-built complex.

During the debate on the bill, Archil Talakvadze, a senior MP representing Georgian Dream, said: "This law defends democracy in our country from any foreign interference."

In response, Tina Bokuchava, parliamentary leader of the United National Movement opposition party said: "Recall this law, once and for all! There is no place in Georgia for a Russian law. Europe is the choice of the Georgian people."

The bill must pass three readings in parliament, and will then likely face a fourth vote to override a presidential veto.

Georgia's government, which has faced accusations of authoritarianism and pro-Russian leanings, says the law is needed to promote transparency and combat "pseudo-liberal values" imposed by foreigners.

Georgian Dream unexpectedly reintroduced the bill this month, more than a year after abandoning an earlier attempt to pass the law amid protests.

Protesters told Reuters that they saw Georgia's future membership of the EU, which is overwhelmingly popular in the country of 3.7 million, as being on the line.

"I hope that we will show the power of free people," said Giorgi Bekurashvili, 26. "That we will not give up, and that it will make them decide to take back this unacceptable legislation."

(Reporting by Felix Light, Additional reporting by Simon Lewis in Washington; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Ron Popeski and Stephen Coates)

Clashes and arrests at Georgia protest over so-called 'Russian law' proposals

Euronews
Tue, 16 April 2024 

Clashes and arrests at Georgia protest over so-called 'Russian law' proposals

Georgian police used tear gas on Tuesday to disperse a large protest outside the parliament building against a proposed bill that would require media and non-profit organizations to register as foreign-influenced if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.

Opponents of the proposal argue that it could derail Georgia's ambitions to become a member of the European Union and refer to it as "the Russian law," likening it to similar legislation in Moscow that targets and discredits independent media and organizations viewed as contrary to Kremlin interests.

The parliament debated the bill but put off voting on its first reading until Wednesday.


Several protesters were arrested during the confrontation with police, according to local media, but immediate figures on the number of detainees were not available.

WATCH: Arrests at protest over controversial 'Russian' law in Georgia

The bill closely mirrors a proposal that the ruling party withdrew last year following major street protests.

It requires non-commercial organizations and news media receiving 20% or more of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” - the only change in wording from the draft law withdrawn last year, which said that relevant groups must register as “agents of foreign influence.”

Police officers block protestors as they gather outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 - Zurab Tsertsvadze/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved

Georgia's President Salome Zourabichvili plans to veto the law if it is passed by parliament, according to her parliamentary representative Giorgi Mskhiladze. However, this veto may not hold for long, as Zourabichvili's term is set to expire this year. Under changes to Georgia's constitution, the next president will be appointed by an electoral college consisting of all parliament members.

Georgia lawmakers scuffle over a divisive bill that opponents say mimics Kremlin's repressive law

Protestors with a giant EU flag gather outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, April 15, 2024 to protest against the "the Russian law" as it is similar to a law that Russia uses to stigmatize independent news media and organizations seen as being at odds with the Kremlin. The governing party in the country of Georgia has submitted to parliament a draft law calling for media and non-commercial organizations to register as being under foreign influence if they receive more than 20% of their budget from abroad. 

Protestors gather outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, April 15, 2024, to protest against the "the Russian law" similar to a law that Russia uses to stigmatize independent news media and organizations seen as being at odds with the Kremlin. 

Protestors gather outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, April 15, 2024, to protest against the "the Russian law" similar to a law that Russia uses to stigmatize independent news media and organizations seen as being at odds with the Kremlin.

Protestors gather outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, April 15, 2024, to protest against the "the Russian law" similar to a law that Russia uses to stigmatize independent news media and organizations seen as being at odds with the Kremlin.

Protestors gather outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, April 15, 2024, to protest against the "the Russian law" similar to a law that Russia uses to stigmatize independent news media and organizations seen as being at odds with the Kremlin. 

A man stands in front of protestors with a giant EU flag outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, April 15, 2024 to protest against the "the Russian law" as it is similar to a law that Russia uses to stigmatize independent news media and organizations seen as being at odds with the Kremlin. The governing party in the country of Georgia has submitted to parliament a draft law calling for media and non-commercial organizations to register as being under foreign influence if they receive more than 20% of their budget from abroad. 

Protestors with a giant EU flag gather outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, April 15, 2024 to protest against the "the Russian law" as it is similar to a law that Russia uses to stigmatize independent news media and organizations seen as being at odds with the Kremlin. The governing party in the country of Georgia has submitted to parliament a draft law calling for media and non-commercial organizations to register as being under foreign influence if they receive more than 20% of their budget from abroad.

 (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

SOPHIKO MEGRELIDZE
Updated Mon, 15 April 2024


TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Lawmakers in Georgia's legislature scuffled on Monday as the parliament debated a divisive new law dubbed the foreign agent bill. Hours later, hundreds of people protested against the legislation outside the parliament in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

The draft — proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party — calls for media and non-commercial organizations to register as being under foreign influence if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.

Opponents of the measure denounce it as “the Russian law” because of similar legislation used by Moscow to stigmatize independent news media and organizations seen as being at odds with the Kremlin.

Video shared online shows the leader of the Georgian Dream lawmakers, Mamuka Mdinaradze, being punched in the face while speaking by an opposition lawmaker who rushed up to the podium. Several other lawmakers from opposing sides then join in the brawl, scuffling and wrestling with each other.

The bill is nearly identical to a proposal that the governing party was pressured to withdraw a year ago after large street protests. On Monday, protesters sang patriotic songs and shouted “slaves” outside the parliament, suggesting the house was bending to pressure from Russia.

Those who oppose the measure say passing the law would obstruct Georgia’s aim of joining the European Union, which last year granted the country long-desired candidate status.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze had a meeting Monday with the American, British and EU ambassadors to discuss the bill, the government said.

The law says non-commercial organizations and news media that receive 20% or more of their funding from overseas would have to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” — the only change in wording from the draft law withdrawn last year, which said that relevant groups must register as “agents of foreign influence.”

Georgia's President Salome Zourabichvili would veto the law if it is passed by parliament, her parliamentary representative Girogi Mskhiladze has previously said.

But that veto might not be long-lasting as Zourabichvili’s term ends this year and under Georgia's constitution changes, the next president will be named by an electoral college that includes all members of parliament.

Extreme Heat Shuts Philippine Power Plants and Risks Blackouts


Ditas Lopez
Tue, Apr 16, 2024

(Bloomberg) -- A heat wave in the Philippines forced power plants to shut down on Tuesday, placing the country at risk of blackouts and prompting the government to call on people to reduce consumption.

Nineteen generators are offline, while three others are running on reduced capacity, on the main Luzon Island, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines said in a post on its Facebook page. The grid has been placed on red alert for the first time in almost a year, meaning supply is seen as insufficient to meet demand, it said.

Hotter weather both increases electricity demand for fans and air conditioning and makes it harder for plants to prevent overheating. A dozen facilities are also shut in the Visayas grid, which is on yellow alert, meaning the margin of supply is under a contingency threshold.

The Philippines’ weather agency said in January that 2024 may be one of the warmest years on record for the country, threatening to stretch the nation’s grid. The heat index, which combines air temperature and humidity, will climb as high as 42C (108F) in Central Luzon on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the local weather agency.

Businesses and households are being encouraged to reduce power usage during peak demand hours, the Department of Energy said.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

CLOUDSEEDING

Dubai’s Record Rain Floods Expensive Homes and Halts Flights

TWO YEARS OF RAIN IN 24 HOURS

Verity Ratcliffe and Kateryna Kadabashy
Wed, April 17, 2024 

Dubai’s Record Rain Floods Expensive Homes and Halts Flights


(Bloomberg) -- Dubai flights have been severely disrupted and cars were left stranded on flooded roads after record rainfall over the past day brought the city to a standstill.

The United Arab Emirates experienced its heaviest downpour since records began in 1949, Dubai’s media office said in a statement. It caused chaos for residents as water entered the city’s expensive homes and underground car parks, left some buildings without power and resulted in widespread flooding even a day later.

One person died after being swept away by flash floods in the north of the country, the National newspaper reported. In neighboring Oman, at least 18 people have died in recent days as the heavy rains caused flooding, AP reported, citing a statement from the country’s National Committee for Emergency Management.

Dubai airport, one of the world’s busiest, is suffering from “significant disruption,” it said Wednesday on X. Online departure boards showed most arrivals or departures as canceled or delayed as of 1 p.m. local time. Emirates, the biggest international airline, said it was halting all check-ins for passengers for the day.

The heavy rains across the desert nation came after cloud seeding. The UAE has been carrying out seeding operations since 2002 to address water security issues, but the lack of drainage in many areas can trigger flooding, including in cities such as Dubai that’s a global financial and business center.

The Gulf state’s National Center of Meteorology dispatched at least seven seeding planes from Al Ain airport between Sunday and Monday, the government agency said. That technique involves implanting chemicals and tiny particles — often natural salts such as potassium chloride — into the atmosphere to coax more rain from clouds.

With global warming threatening a surge in heat-related deaths in the UAE, Dubai’s media office on Tuesday dubbed the downpours “rains of goodness,” despite the flooded houses and overflowing swimming pools.

The latest storms followed heavy rains earlier this year that had also caused flooding and traffic snarls. Dubai’s government told its employees to work from home again on Wednesday due to the weather conditions and urged private employers to do the same. Schools have been directed to remain closed.

People took to social media to share updates on the aftermath of the weather. Some videos showed cars being swept off roads, one showed the ceiling of a shop collapsing as water inundated one of Dubai’s most popular malls, while another claimed to have footage of a collapsed road near the eastern city of Al Ain.

There was some rainfall elsewhere in the region as well. Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia saw the heaviest showers in the country in the past 48 hours. Riyadh was hit with sand and wind storms that at one stage led to near-zero visibility but otherwise faced dry conditions on Tuesday.

Saudi’s flagship carrier Saudia and budget airlines Flynas scrapped two dozen flights between them, according to FlightAware. Some early Wednesday flights from Bahrain’s main airport were canceled but departures resumed mid-morning, according to the Bahrain International Airport website. Qatar’s Hamad International Airport was also operating normally.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Photos show Dubai overwhelmed by torrential rain — and may expose the downsides of trying to control the weather

Kelsey Vlamis,Mikhaila Friel
Updated Wed, April 17, 2024 

Photos show Dubai overwhelmed by torrential rain — and may expose the downsides of trying to control the weather


The United Arab Emirates experienced torrential rainfall and flash floods, beginning late Monday.


Videos appear to show planes taxiing down flooded runways at Dubai International Airport.


The flooding could have been worsened by cloud seeding, a practice to address water scarcity.

Torrential rainfall pummeled the United Arab Emirates this week, resulting in flash floods that caused air travel chaos, closed schools, and deluged homes.

The rain began late Monday, flooding the UAE with more than half a foot (6.26 inches) of water in 24 hours, according to the Dubai Meteorological Office and cited by ABC News. That is more than two years' worth of rain in one day, the outlet noted.

There are claims that cloud seeding may have played a role in the flash floods. The practice sees planes inject clouds with chemicals that can increase rainfall.

One fatality was reported by police at the time of writing on Wednesday: A 70-year-old man died in Ras al-Khaimah when his vehicle was swept away in the flooding.

Flooding also occurred in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. In Oman, 19 people died in flash floods, according to local media.

Cars are engulfed in water on a busy road in Dubai.GIUSEPPE CACACE/Getty Images

Dubai International Airport — recently named the most luxurious airport in the world — said planes were diverted. Some services now appear to have restarted.

Unverified videos on social media appeared to show heavily flooded tarmac, with large passenger airplanes creating waves and taxiing through several feet of water.

The airport did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider about the videos.

Vehicles drive on a flooded road during torrential rain in the Gulf Emirate of Dubai on April 16, 2024.GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images

"We advise you NOT to come to the airport, unless absolutely necessary," an airport spokesperson wrote on X on Wednesday.

They added that planes continue to be delayed and diverted.

An unnamed couple told the AP that the situation at the airport is "absolute carnage," with some passengers sleeping there or at the Metro station.

An empty car is pictured among the flooding on April 17, 2024.GIUSEPPE CACACE/Getty Images

Dubai recieved more than 5.6 inches of rain by Tuesday evening, around the amount it typically gets in a year and a half, according to Sky News.

It marks its heaviest rainfall in 75 years, according to a WAM news agency cited by Sky News.

In a post shared on X, the UAE's National Centre of Meteorology showed the regions that have been most affected.

The UAE may have been playing rainmaker by cloud seeding

While images of extreme flooding can show the consequences of the climate crisis, this particular event may have been worsened by a direct attempt to play rainmaker — literally.

To address water scarcity in the typically dry country, the UAE started using a practice referred to as cloud seeding in the 90s and early 2000s.

Cloud seeding is a method designed to increase the amount of water that falls from a cloud. It involves identifying suitable clouds and then using aircraft or ground-based generators to introduce a chemical agent that facilitates the production of snowflakes.

Cloud seeding has been used in countries worldwide, including in western US states dealing with drought, like California, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, and Texas.

Vehicles are stranded on a flooded street following torrential rain in the Gulf Emirate of Dubai on April 16, 2024.GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images

The practice has long been controversial, with critics dismissing it as an attempt to "play God" or being potentially harmful to the environment or public health. Scientists have not documented the harmful impacts of cloud seeding, and recent studies have suggested that the practice works.

Ahmed Habib, a specialist meteorologist, told Bloomberg that the UAE's cloud seeding operations contributed directly to the heavy rainfall that fell this week.

Vehicles on Dubai are trapped by the heavy rainfall.Anadolu/Getty Images

Habib told the outlet that two planes conducted cloud seeding operations on Monday and Tuesday and that seven seeding missions had been carried out in two days.

Flight-tracking data analyzed by the AP suggested that an aircraft affiliated with the UAE's cloud-seeding project flew around the country Sunday.

"For any cloud that's suitable over the UAE you make the operation," Habib told Bloomberg.

A submerged duty machine is seen after heavy rain in the United Arab Emirates on April 16, 2024.Stringer/Anadolu/Getty Images

The UAE's weather bureau said no cloud seeding had taken place during Tuesday's rain, according to the National News. It did not immediately respond to a request by BI for comment.

Chris England, a weather producer at Sky News, said he doesn't believe cloud seeing to be a reason behind the floods as evidence of it working is "pretty slim at best."

Despite warning citizens to remain home during the heavy rain, the UAE government's press office said they were "rains of goodness," as the country has dealt with a rise in heat-related illnesses and deaths that some hope can be alleviated by an increase in rainfall.

Schools across the UAE continued to be closed on Wednesday, and employees are working from home, according to the Sky News report.

Business Insider

Watch: Widespread flooding across Dubai after torrential rain

Our Foreign Staff
Wed, April 17, 2024 

Torrential rain flooded roads, homes and malls and briefly halted operations at Dubai International Airport as storms lashed the Gulf on Tuesday.

Dubai, the Middle East’s financial centre, was paralysed by the heavy storms that caused widespread flooding around the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Flagship shopping centres Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates both suffered flooding, and water was ankle-deep at at least one Dubai Metro station.

Roads and residential communities also suffered heavy flooding in scenes repeated around the oil-rich Emirates, a desert country where rain is an unusual event.

The weather board urged residents to stay away from areas of flooding and water accumulation - BACKGRID

Roads in Dubai were flooded after torrential rain - Atif Bhatti/ESN/AFP via Getty Images

Schools were shut across the UAE and expected to remain closed on Wednesday, when further storms, including hail, are forecast.

Dubai Airport, the world’s busiest international hub measured by passenger traffic, temporarily suspended operations and cancelled more than 50 flights.

Videos on social media showed planes taxiing across an apron flooded with deep water.

“Due to the intense storm, operations were temporarily suspended for 25 minutes this afternoon, but have since re-commenced, and are now in recovery mode,” a Dubai Airports spokesman said.

Some inland areas of the UAE recorded more than 80mm of rain over 24 hours - Atif Bhatti/ESN/AFP via Getty Images


Heavy rain is an unusual event in the desert country - Jules Annan/Backgrid

The Asian Champions League football semi-final between the UAE’s Al Ain and Saudi side Al Hilal, due to be hosted in Al Ain, was postponed for 24 hours because of the weather.

Some inland areas of the UAE recorded more than 80 millimetres of rain over the 24 hours to 8am, approaching the annual average of about 100mm.

The weather board “urged residents to take all the precautions... and to stay away from areas of flooding and water accumulation”.

The storms in the region left at least 18 people dead in Oman.



Is Cloud Seeding to Blame for Floods? What to Know

Koh Ewe

TIME
Wed, April 17, 2024 

A car is left on a flooded street following heavy rains in Dubai early on April 17, 2024. Credit - Giuseppe Cacace—AFP/Getty Images

In a place as dry as the desert city of Dubai, whenever they can get rain, they’ll take it.

United Arab Emirates authorities will often even try to make it rain—as they did earlier this week when the National Center of Meteorology dispatched planes to inject chemicals into the clouds to try to coax some showering.

But this time they got much more than they wanted. Dubai faced torrential downpours on Tuesday, with flooding shutting down much of the city, including schools and its major airport—killing at least one man whose car was swept away as well as at least 18 others in neighboring Oman, including a bus full of schoolchildren.

The UAE government media office said it was the heaviest rainfall recorded in 75 years and called it “an exceptional event.” More than a typical year’s worth of water was dumped on the country in a single day.

Now, many people are pointing a finger at the “cloud seeding” operations preceding the precipitation.

“Do you think the Dubai floods might have something to do with this?” popular social media account Wide Awake Media asked on X, alongside a clip of a news report on the UAE’s weather modification program.

But experts say that while cloud seeding may have enhanced the rainfall, pinning such a devastating downpour on it is misguided.

“It is very unlikely that cloud seeding would cause a flood,” Roslyn Prinsley, the head of disaster solutions at the Australian National University Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions, tells TIME, describing such claims as “conspiracy theories.”

It’s not the first time cloud seeding has been blamed for floods—in Dubai and around the world. In February, social media users charged officials working on a cloud seeding pilot program in California with causing storms that hit the state, despite the technology not even being used before the storms in question. And in Australia in 2022, as the nation down under experienced record rainfall, social media users recirculated an old news clip that questioned if there was a link between cloud seeding and flooding—to which fact-checkers answered: there isn’t.

Here’s what to know about cloud seeding, how and whether it even works, and what scientists say people should actually be worried about.

How does cloud seeding work?

Cloud seeding basically works by artificially recreating the process by which rain and snow naturally occur: In normal clouds, microscopic droplets of water vapor are attracted to atmospheric aerosols like dust or pollen or salt from the sea. When enough water droplets converge around these nuclei, they form ice crystals and fall.

Clouds are seeded, typically by specially equipped aircraft but also by ground-based generators, by implanting particles, commonly silver iodide, in and around selected clouds to act as nuclei and trigger the precipitation process.
Does cloud seeding even work?

Since the futuristic-sounding weather modification technique was introduced in the 1940s, it has been used regularly across the world, from the UAE to China to the United States, for a wide range of intended purposes. Mostly employed by governments grappling with drought, cloud seeding has even found itself a part of some of the biggest events in history, from clearing urban pollution and ensuring blue skies at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, to staving away Moscow-bound radioactive clouds in the wake of a nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, to hampering the movement of U.S. enemies during the war in Vietnam. (Weather modification in warfare has since been banned by the U.N.)

For decades, a rain-scarce UAE has invested heavily in cloud seeding, including granting permanent residency to experts, and funding research programs to better identify the seedability of clouds.

But the science on just how effective cloud seeding is remains inconclusive. In 2003, the U.S. National Research Council concluded that “there still is no convincing scientific proof” of its efficacy at the time. A landmark 2020 study, however, found that cloud seeding does work—but researchers are clear about its limitations.

UAE meteorological officials say that their cloud seeding operations can increase rainfall by 10-30%, while Californian authorities’ estimates for their own program sit at 5-10%. The Desert Research Institute (DRI), the state of Nevada’s research group, says cloud seeding can increase seasonal precipitation by about 10%, while the World Meteorological Organization assessed in 2019 that the impacts of cloud seeding range from next to nothing to 20%. And success in producing rain depends significantly on atmospheric conditions such as wind and cloud temperatures.

That’s why experts agree that cloud seeding tends to get a bad rap from the public. Its impact is often overstated, and while it can enhance rainfall, other natural and unnatural factors play a much greater role in causing floods.
Are there any concerns about cloud seeding?

A number of myths are associated with cloud seeding, such as that it causes what’s known as “chem-trails,” cloud-like streaks of white in the sky. DRI says those are actually “jet contrails, and they are the aviation equivalent of visible plumes of steamy breath on a cold morning.” They have “no connection with cloud-seeding activities.”

But there are other reasons for skepticism about cloud seeding.

Critics argue that seeding clouds in one region may simply deprive another of rain, as the clouds will unleash precipitation before they were meant to. (Iran has for years accused its neighbors of “stealing their rain.”)

Others have expressed health concerns about the chemicals used to seed clouds. Silver iodide, a common substance used, may be toxic to animals, though others insist it is safe.

In a publication for the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Laura Kuhl, a public policy professor at Northeastern University, argues that cloud seeding may do “more harm than good” due to these uncertainties and because, given its limited effectiveness, it promotes a sense of “techno-optimism” that “can obscure deeper structural drivers of vulnerability like unsustainable water use and unequal distribution of access to water.”
What’s to blame for floods?

The severity of the recent flooding in Dubai could be in large part because the perennially dry country hasn’t developed effective drainage infrastructure to deal with intense rainfall. But experts note that a major reason for such extreme weather events is climate change, since warmer air can hold more water, which then leads to heavier rainfall and floods in some areas.

Prinsley says that when it comes to dealing with global warming and increasingly destructive weather phenomenon, people should be more concerned about human activities that “seed” the atmosphere with greenhouse gasses than with cloud seeding.

“Climate change on top of natural weather and climate processes is the cause of much of the extreme weather that we are seeing across the world. Cloud seeding is used to make recalcitrant clouds produce some rain,” she says. “The thunderstorms themselves are much more likely to have caused the extreme flooding in Dubai due to climate change-fuelled intense rainfall—as is happening across the world.”

Death toll from 4 days of rains rises to 63 in Pakistan with more rain on the forecast

RIAZ KHAN
Updated Wed, April 17, 2024



A motorcyclist and car drivers drive through a flooded road caused by heavy rain in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, April 15, 2024. Lightening and heavy rains killed dozens of people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities declared a state of emergency in the country's southwest following an overnight rainfall to avoid any further casualties and damages.

 (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)


PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Lightning and heavy rains led to 14 deaths in Pakistan, officials said Wednesday, bringing the death toll from four days of extreme weather to at least 63, as the heaviest downpour in decades flooded villages on the country's southwestern coast. Flash floods have also killed dozens of people in neighboring Afghanistan.

In Pakistan, most of the deaths were reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in the country's northwest. Collapsing buildings have killed 32 people, including 15 children and five women, said Khursheed Anwar, a spokesman for the Disaster Management Authority. Dozens more were also injured in the region, where 1,370 houses were damaged, Anwar said.

The eastern province of Punjab has reported 21 lighting- and collapse-related deaths, while Baluchistan, in the country's southwest, reported 10 dead as authorities declared a state of emergency following flash floods.


On Wednesday, Baluchistan was bracing for more rains amid ongoing rescue and relief operations, as flash floods inundated villages near the coastal city of Gwadar.

Heavy rains also came down on the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Authorities said a new spell of heavy rain is set to hit many areas, including the capital Karachi.

Pakistan is seeing heavier rain in April due to climate change, said Zaheer Ahmed Babar, a senior official at the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

“This month, so far there has been 353% more rainfall than normal in Baluchistan," Babar told The Associated Press. “Overall, rainfall has been 99% higher than the average across Pakistan, and it shows climate change has already happened in our country.”

Babar said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province witnessed 90% more rain than usual in April, although rainfall in other parts of the country has remained relatively normal. It has been the wettest April in the past 30 years.

In 2022, downpours swelled rivers and at one point flooded a third of Pakistan, killing 1,739 people. The floods also caused $30 billion in damages, from which Pakistan is still trying to rebuild. Baluchistan saw rainfall at 590% above average that year, while Karachi saw 726% more rainfall than usual.

Meanwhile, the death toll in neighboring Afghanistan rose to 70 after 37 more people died from various rain and flash flooding incidents in recent days, according to Abdullah Janan Saiq, the Taliban’s spokesperson for the State Ministry for Natural Disaster Management.

Flash floods have also damaged 2,000 homes, three mosques, four schools and affected thousands of people who will need humanitarian assistance, he said. Floods also damaged agriculture land and 2,500 animals died from the deluges, Saiq said.

___

Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez in Islamabad and Abdul Sattar in Quetta, Pakistan contributed for this story.

Pakistan: Lightning and unusually heavy rain kill dozens

Kelly Ng - BBC News
Tue, April 16, 2024

With more rain expected in the coming days, Pakistani authorities have also warned of landslides and flash floods [EPA]

At least 39 people have been killed in Pakistan after days of unusually heavy rains battered the country's southwest.

Some of those killed were farmers struck by lightning while harvesting wheat, authorities said.

Images online show swathes of farmland engulfed by rainwater. Flash floods have also disrupted power supplies and transportation networks.

Pakistan has experienced an increase in extreme weather events, as it grapples with the impacts of climate change.

In 2022, parts of the country were completely submerged by unprecedented flooding, killing more than 1,700 people and injuring thousands. Millions were left homeless and lacked clean drinking water for months after.

Some of the areas affected by the 2022 floods, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, are being impacted again by the recent storms.

With more rain expected in the coming days, Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority has also warned of landslides and flash floods.

Pakistan floods: 'It's like fighting a war with no end'


Pakistan floods 'likely' made worse by warming

Pakistan's most populated province Punjab has suffered the highest death toll so far, with 21 people killed by lightning between Friday and Sunday, AFP news agency reported.

At least eight were killed in the westernmost Balochistan province according to AFP, where authorities have declared a state of emergency. Schools in the province were ordered to shut on Monday and Tuesday.

Extensive areas of Pasni, a Baloch coastal town, have been covered by rainwater.

"Pasni looks like a big lake at the moment as flash floods entered the human settlements and main commercial areas," Noor Ahmed Kalmati, chairman of the town's municipal committee, told Pakistan newspaper Dawn.

Heavy flooding has also been reported in neighbouring Afghanistan. At least 33 people have been killed and hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed, Afghan authorities said on Sunday.

Scientists have said that global warming is likely to have played a role in the devastating floods that hit Pakistan in 2022. Pakistan is also ranked as the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change, according to the UN's Global Climate Risk Index.


More than 100 killed across Pakistan and Afghanistan as flash floods and heavy rains sweep the region

Sophia Saifi, Asim Khan, Masoud Popalzai, Irene Nasser and Kathleen Magramo, 

CNN

Wed, April 17, 2024 

Unseasonal rainfall has lashed Pakistan and Afghanistan over the past few days, killing more than 100 people across the neighboring countries, authorities said.

In Afghanistan, heavy rain and floods in 23 provinces killed 66 people and wounded 36 others, according to preliminary reports from Mullah Janan Sayeq, a spokesman for the Ministry of Disaster Management.

Sayeq added that 600 animals died, and more than 1,200 houses have either been fully or partially destroyed in the deluge.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan said Tuesday that the heavy rains and floods have affected more than 1,200 families and damaged almost 1,000 houses, according to a statement on X.

More than 63,000 acres of land has been damaged, and the statement added that the UN and its partners are “assessing the impact and related needs and providing assistance.”

People wade through a street flooded by heavy rain in Peshawar, Pakistan on April 15, 2024. - Muhammad Sajjad/AP

Afghanistan has been reeling from years of conflict and natural disasters – last year alone, more than 150 people died from the harsh winter cold wave followed by dozens of deaths due to flash floods. Last October, a deadly 6.3 magnitude earthquake rattled its western Herat province, killing over 2,000 people.

The impoverished country has plunged deeper into an economic and humanitarian crisis ever since the Taliban took over in August 2021, and getting aid into the country has been difficult.

Several major foreign aid groups suspended their operations in the country late 2022 when the hardline Islamist group ordered all local and international non-governmental organizations to stop their female employees from working there.

The ongoing severe rain is also wreaking havoc in bordering Pakistan, where 32 people have died in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to a report released by the provincial disaster management authority.

Houses submerged after heavy rains flood Nowshera district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on April 16, 2024. - Abdul Majeed/AFP/Getty Images

Eight more people died in the southwestern province of Balochistan, according to provincial authorities.

Nearly 170 houses were completely destroyed and more than 1,250 partially damaged, local authorities said, while the country’s meteorological office warned of more rainfall in Balochistan on Wednesday, extending to the rest of Pakistan on Thursday.

The heavy downpours are unusual for the region at this time of the year, as Pakistan typically experiences the monsoon season from June through September.

Pakistan ranks as one of the most climate-vulnerable nations in the world even though it is responsible for less than 1% of the world’s plant-warming emissions.

The South Asian country has faced dramatic climate conditions, including record heatwaves and catastrophic floods that submerged one-third of the country in 2022 – as the climate crisis exacerbates extreme weather events.




Heavy rains, lightning kill 50 people across Pakistan

DPA
Tue, April 16, 2024 

Volunteers from the Alkhidmat Foundation assist people after torrential rain, thunderstorms, and lightning caused havoc nationwide. -/PPI via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa


Pakistani authorities have put rescue services on high alert after heavy rains, thunderstorms and lightning wrought havoc across the country.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has asked emergency services to be vigilant as more severe weather moves in.

The death toll from the heavy rains over the past four days has risen to 50, according to officials from provincial wings of the authority on Tuesday.

At least 21 people, including seven children, were killed when lightning struck in central Punjab province.

Another 21 people were killed in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. At least eight perished in the southern province of Balochistan.

The weather has put the harvesting of wheat crops on hold in Punjab. It is feared that the upcoming spell of rains starting from Thursday will not only further delay the harvesting but will also do damage to the crop.

Heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms and flooding is unusual in the South Asian region, one of the most populous in the world, outside of the monsoon season between July and September.

Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of global carbon emissions, but is among the top 10 most climate-vulnerable nations.

More than 2,000 people were killed by catastrophic floods and subsequent outbreak of diseases in Pakistan in 2022 when a third of the country was submerged, affecting 33 million people.

Seized Ship’s Cargo Reveals Impact of Iran Tensions on Global Trade

Brendan Murray and Alex Tanzi
Wed, Apr 17, 2024


The MSC Aries wasn’t much different from the other 7,000 container ships plying the high seas, until it took an involuntary detour near the Strait of Hormuz into the hands of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Now the floating cog in the world’s industrial economy has become caught up in the tensions wracking the Middle East — and serves as an example of the pain global supply chains will feel if the disruptions worsen.

The fate of the ship and crew remained unclear as of Tuesday, though TankerTrackers.com identified its location as anchored between the Iranian islands of Qeshm and Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Iran said the ship violated maritime regulations, but analysts pointed to its Israeli ownership connection as a motive.

Complicating the diplomacy to free the vessel are the nationalities of the crew, which include sailors from India and Russia – two key trading partners of Iran. The seizure on Saturday came in the run-up to Tehran’s drone and missile attack on Israel, raising the specter of a wider Mideast conflict that would mean more costly shipping detours around the region’s crucial trade lanes.

“It’s a little unclear right now if there’s going to be a disruption of some time, or is it just this one vessel,” said Kyle Henderson, the CEO of Vizion Inc., a tech company that provides visibility of supply chains. “Has Iran said, ‘we’ve made our point, we’re good for now,’ or — as we saw with other disruptions this year — are ocean carriers going to start avoiding that area for a certain period of time.”

Any more trouble in the Strait of Hormuz will cause the most problems for oil tankers, but 15% of the ships passing through are container vessels frequenting ports such as Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. These play a key role in ensuring supplies flow to global manufacturers.

With the capacity to carry nearly 15,000 20-foot containers, the MSC Aries is about 9,000 shy of the biggest built these days. At 1,200 feet (366 meters) long, it’s still huge — longer than New York’s Chrysler building is tall and as wide as the 12-lane stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike.

While most container manifests aren’t visible during a ship’s journey or made public until bills of lading are processed, Silicon Valley-based Vizion produced data shared with Bloomberg News giving a glimpse into the contents of some of the MSC Aries’ freight, where the goods are headed and the companies affected.

Using information from ocean-freight booking platforms used by carriers, shippers and freight forwarders, a tool called TradeView developed by Vizion and Dun & Bradstreet identified more than 1,000 of the ship’s unknown total payload of containers. The goods in that sample are estimated to be worth $174 million.

While the vessel was carrying lots of mundane items for industrial use such as plastic pellets, also on board are containers that can be more dangerous if not properly handled. More than 50 of them are explicitly classified as dangerous, toxic, or a pollutant.

The final destinations for the goods were spread across nearly 60 countries, involving US importers including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Dow Inc. – and scores more with less-recognizable names in Europe, Canada and South America, according to Vizion.

A spokeswoman for Exxon Mobil couldn’t immediately verify whether any of its freight was aboard the MSC Aries, and Dow media representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trade Chokepoint

What stands out is the volume of cargo tracked by Vizion that consists of intermediate goods – chemicals, polypropylene used to make plastic, resins, fertilizers, electronic components, fabric and metals — over the smaller amount of finished consumer products.

The MSC Aries was on a loop between India and Sri Lanka, the Middle East and Europe. Much of the container fleet sailing such routes are bypassing the Mideast altogether and going around Africa given Houthi attacks in the Red Sea haven’t let up.

But others that count on Persian Gulf and Red Sea ports as trans-shipment hubs can’t do the same because of the region’s importance for industrial fluids and components.

“The Strait of Hormuz is more than an energy chokepoint — especially for Gulf economies — and the Aries’ cargo is an example of the complexity of supply chains,” said Gerard DiPippo, a senior geo-economics analyst at Bloomberg Economics. “Iran’s seizure of the ship is another reminder of the vulnerability of maritime chokepoints.”

More than 90 containers on the MSC Aries were headed to the US, but America ranked outside the top 10 destinations, according to Vizion. The largest share of the goods was expected in Turkey, Belgium and Italy.

The ship is chartered by closely held MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA, the world’s largest container line, and its owner is an affiliate of UK-based Zodiac Maritime Ltd., which directed questions about the situation to MSC. Zodiac Maritime is part of Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

On Wednesday, Geneva, Switzerland-based MSC posted a customer advisory saying the 25-member crew is safe and that “discussions with the Iranian authorities are in progress to secure their earliest release.” It also said it will continue “uninterrupted and regular service” along all routes in the region.

The ship’s capture at an unstable crossroads for trade gives industrial importers another reason to understand the routes their goods are taking, insulate their inventories from unexpected shocks and plan their shipments well in advance.

“Shippers are starting to have to think about the freight routes they are booking, and how many vessels they’re going to be changing onto and where those trans-shipments are happening,” Vizion’s Henderson said. “This is a level of complexity that is a new layer for many shippers out there.”

--With assistance from Demetrios Pogkas.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Cocoa Notches Another Record as West African Supply Woes Persist




Ilena Peng and Megan Durisin
Mon, Apr 15, 2024

(Bloomberg) -- Cocoa futures rose as much as 2.7% to a fresh intraday record of $10,760 a ton in New York, with little relief in sight for strained global supplies.

Prices in New York have gained for seven straight sessions, the longest streak since early February as harvests in the heavyweight West African growing region have been slammed by bad weather and crop disease. Cocoa arrivals to ports in top grower Ivory Coast are running at 1.31 million tons so far this season, down 30% from a year earlier, Bloomberg reported Monday.

Volatility in cocoa markets has been exacerbated by rising margin calls and waning open interest, making market swings more extreme. New York futures could rise further to $12,500 a ton in the next three months, Citi Research analysts said in a Friday note. Elevated prices are also raising the risk of bankruptcies over the next six to 12 months, the analysts wrote.

Read More: Traditional German, Swiss Chocolate Makers Feel the Cocoa Crunch

Processing plants being priced out of the market may resolve some demand-side issues, said Cliff Shelton, an economist at AgAmerica, a lender to the agriculture industry. But the supply outlook, which has been hampered by weather and disease, is less clear, he added.

“There’s undoubtedly room for futures prices to push even higher, especially for near-expiring contracts,” Shelton said. “Traders are jumping at opportunities to purchase at spot rates or near-term futures to have more accessibility to supply in hopes of fulfilling commitments to chocolate firms. With early reports of production being lower than expected, the upward price movement will likely continue.”