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Illinois governor signs measure hiking state's minimum wage to $15

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed a measure gradually hiking the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, the highest in the Midwest.

It was one of the new Democratic governor’s top campaign promises. He signed the six-year plan Tuesday at the Governor’s Mansion.

“For nine long years, there were many forces that were arrayed against giving a raise to the people who work so hard to provide home care for seniors, child care for toddlers, who wash dishes at the diner, and who farm our fields,” Pritzker said, according to the Chicago Tribune. “Today is a victory for the cause of economic justice.”

AMAZON'S $15 MINIMUM WAGE HIKE FOR ALL US EMPLOYEES BEGINS 

Illinois is on track to be the first state in the Midwest to push its base wage to $15. The pay jump increases from $8.25 by $1 on Jan. 1, and jumps to $10 on July 1, 2020. Then, it increases $1 each Jan. 1 until 2025.

Currently there are an estimated 1.4 million Illinois residents making less than $15 an hour.

Business groups opposed the plan. They wanted a longer phase-in and a regionalized approach with lower minimum wage levels for areas outside Chicago.

Pritzker noted there are payroll tax credits in the law to ease the transition for employers.

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The move is also opposed by the state’s Republican Party, which on Tuesday called the minimum wage signing “only the beginning of J.B. Pritzker’s war on taxpayers and small business.”

“This is only the beginning of J.B. Pritzker’s war on taxpayers and small business,” Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider said in a statement. “Nearly doubling the minimum wage will destroy entry-level jobs, raise prices for consumers, and bust budgets at every level of government. Pritzker pledged to govern differently and listen to all parties and stakeholders, but those turned out to meaningless words.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News Politics

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Trump urges General Motors to reopen Ohio plant in tweet

A sign welcomes visitors to the General Motors Lordstown Complex assembly plant in Warren
A sign welcomes visitors to the General Motors Lordstown Complex, assembly plant in Warren, Ohio, U.S., November 26, 2018. REUTERS/Alan Freed

March 16, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump urged General Motors Co <GM.N> to reopen Ohio plant in a tweet on Saturday, ten days after the plant made its last Chevrolet Cruze.

The last Cruze rolled off the assembly line a week ago Wednesday at GM’s plant in Lordstown, Ohio, the first of five plants in North America to end production this year and ending U.S. production of the Cruze.

In a tweet, Trump said “Because the economy is so good, General Motors must get their Lordstown, Ohio, plant open, maybe in a different form or with a new owner, FAST!”

Trump added “Toyota is investing 13.5 $Billion in U.S., others likewise. G.M. MUST ACT QUICKLY. Time is of the essence!”

Over five years Toyota plans to invest nearly $13 billion.

GM did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Saturday.

(Reporting by Mike Stone; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Source: OANN

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Water woes hit henna plant farms in Iraq’s Fao peninsula

Henna for sale is displayed at a market in Basra
Henna for sale is displayed at a market in Basra, Iraq March 9, 2019. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani

March 17, 2019

By Mohamed Atie and Aref Mohammed

FAO, Iraq (Reuters) – In southern Iraq, where the Euphrates and Tigris rivers meet, the Fao peninsula was once known for its swathes of henna plants and palm trees. But the lush greenery of this Basra province district has now turned into a hardscrabble surface.

Walking past dead palm trees on land so dry it cracks, farmer Abbas Abdul Hassan said water shortages and ensuing use of salty water from the polluted Shatt al-Arab river for irrigation had eaten up areas that grew henna plants, whose ground leaves make the dark paste used as a dye.

“This land was packed with henna plants … the salty water tide killed the henna and killed palm trees,” he said.

Once bearing some 425 farms producing 5,000 kilograms (11,023 lb) of henna leaves annually, mainly for export, that number has now fallen to around 50 farms producing around 300 kilograms, Fao farm owner Fadhil Falih Abdulla said.

Decades of conflict in Iraq, once a major date producer before switching its economic focus from agriculture to oil, have devastated farms.

Its second city Basra has suffered destruction from wars, conflict and neglect since the 1980s. Fao, which lies on the bank of the Shatt al-Arab delta near the Gulf, was hit hard due to its location on the frontline of Iraq’s 1980-88 war with Iran.

Abdul Atheem Mohammed of Basra’s agriculture office said some 38,000 palm trees had died in the area since 2008.

“Shortages of water which caused the rise of salty water tides hit agriculture hard in Basra and caused the fall in henna farms in Fao,” he said.

A local government project has been trying to revive the plantations in the last two years by setting up a farm in northern Basra. During the collection season – January to April and then May – leaves are reaped every 45 days and sold at local markets.

At a Basra salon, customer Sara Ibrahim described Fao henna as “a heritage”.

“Iraq used to export the henna of Fao to the Gulf countries,” she said as she got her hands decorated with henna. “But it is difficult to get it nowadays.”

(Reporting by Mohammed Atie and Aref Mohammed; Writing by Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian)

Source: OANN

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Asian shares decline as U.S. jobs data clouds global outlook

A pedestrian holding an umbrella walks past an electronic board showing the graphs of the recent fluctuations of Japan's Nikkei average outside a brokerage in Tokyo
A pedestrian holding an umbrella walks past an electronic board showing the graphs of the recent fluctuations of Japan's Nikkei average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

March 11, 2019

By Hideyuki Sano

TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian shares pulled back on Monday after U.S. employment data raised doubts about the strength of the global economy while investor jitters ahead of crucial Brexit votes in the UK parliament this week weighed on the pound.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed from Friday’s three-week low. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.4 percent in early trade after four consecutive sessions in the red last week.

Wall Street’s main indexes posted their biggest weekly decline since the market tumbled at the end of 2018 last week, falling for the fifth consecutive day on Friday on the shocking payrolls data.

The U.S. economy created only 20,000 jobs in February, the weakest reading since September 2017. As a result, bond yields dropped, with the 10-year Treasuries yield hitting a two-month low of 2.607 percent.

The two-year yield also hit a two-month low of 2.438 percent, edging near the current Fed funds rate around 2.40 percent.

Fed funds futures are pricing in more than 20 percent chance of a rate cut this year.

“The headline reading was so weak that the market could have reacted more aggressively. I would say markets reacted relatively calmly because there were elements that suggest weakness is temporary,” said Tomoaki Shishido, fixed income strategist at Nomura Securities.

While jobs growth was weak, average hourly earnings rose 11 cents, or 0.4 percent, raising the annual increase to 3.4 percent, the biggest gain since April 2009.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday that the central bank will be careful not to shock financial markets as it stabilizes its bond portfolio, saying the it does not see problems in the U.S. economy that warrant an immediate change in its policy.

He also said the new normal for the Fed’s total liabilities may be in the ballpark of 16.5 percent of GDP.

Chinese data released over the weekend was slightly weaker though hopes for more policy support are likely to cushion any blows.

New bank loans in China fell a bit more than expected in February from a record the previous month, while money supply growth also missed forecast.

Following the data, China’s central bank on Sunday pledged to further support the slowing economy by spurring loans and lowering borrowing costs.

In the currency market, the euro stood at $1.12345, keeping some distance from Thursday’s $1.11765 hit after the European Central Bank’s surprisingly dovish stance. It was its lowest since late June 2017.

The dollar was softer at 111.12 yen, having peaked at a 2-1/2-month high of 112.135 last Tuesday.

The British pound was wobbly at $1.2986, having fallen to a three-week low of $1.2945 earlier on Monday on nervousness ahead of a crucial week in the UK’s troubled political debate over EU membership, with parliament expected to reject Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal in a vote on Tuesday.

If that happens, lawmakers will vote the next day on whether to leave without a deal on March 29. If they reject that, then on Thursday they are due to vote on a “limited” delay.

Oil prices steadied after dipping on Friday on concerns about a slower U.S. economic growth and surging U.S. oil supply.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.2 percent to $56.18 per barrel.

(Editing by Sam Holmes)

Source: OANN

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German rail operator halts trains as storm hits west

German train company Deutsche Bahn is halting long-distance and some regional train traffic in the west of the country because of a storm.

The company said Sunday it's stopping trains at stations in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia because several lines have been blocked by trees falling on tracks.

Germany's meteorological agency DWD has issued a storm warning until late Sunday for large parts of the western and central Germany, with gusts of up to 120 kph (75 mph) expected.

A large cargo crane was blown over in Duisburg, partially landing in the Rhine river.

German news agency dpa reported that zoos in Dortmund, Wuppertal and Hamm were also shut as a precaution because of the storm.

Source: Fox News World

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Large illegal immigrant groups crossing US-Mexico border pushing agents to ‘breaking point’

Every day it seems that U.S. border patrol agents are encountering larger and larger groups of mostly Central American families and unaccompanied minors crossing the border from Mexico - straining already busy agents almost to the "breaking point."

Earlier this month, nearly 300 illegal immigrants were apprehended crossing the southern border in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas; this followed the apprehension of nearly 750 illegal immigrants days before in the Yuma sector in Arizona.

Just this weekend, agents in the Tucson Sector of Arizona encountered several large groups totaling nearly 400 people.

U.S border agents continue to see large number of illegal immigrant groups crossing the border.

U.S border agents continue to see large number of illegal immigrant groups crossing the border. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Arizona said the first group of 216 illegal immigrants was spotted Saturday morning by agents along a desolate road that parallels the international boundary fence west of Lukeville.

On Monday, another large group totaling 179 persons – mostly from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador – were apprehended in the same area.

BORDER OFFICIALS GEARING UP FOR RECORD NUMBER OF MIGRANTS TRAVELING AS FAMILIES TRY TO ENTER US

The arrests come just days after Roy Villareal, the new chief in charge of most of Arizona’s international border with Mexico, said the arrival of migrant families in large groups is pushing the agency to a “breaking point.”

Villareal, who was previously the San Diego Sector deputy chief before moving to the Tucson Sector, said the agency is not prepared to deal and handle the arrival of such large numbers of families.

"When you look across the Southwest border, again looking at the system that's in place not being designed to handle this type of migratory flow, it's pushed us to a breaking point," he said, according to AZ Central. "We don't have adequate detention facilities."

SMUGGLER USES GIRLS AS DISTRACTION TO HELP 10 PEOPLE ILLEGALLY CROSS US-MEXICO BORDER, OFFICIALS SAY

Arizona remains one of the busiest drug and human trafficking areas along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to government statistics.

To date, in Fiscal Year 2019, the Tucson Sector in Arizona has seen a 237 percent increase in family unit apprehensions, while only a 1 percent decrease in unaccompanied minor detentions.

In the Yuma Sector of Arizona, agents have seen a 230 percent increase in family unit apprehensions and a 36 present increase in unaccompanied minors when compared to year-to-date numbers last year, CBP revealed earlier this month.

Across the border, 60 percent of apprehensions at the border are family units and unaccompanied minors, the agency said earlier this month. More than 268,000 family units and unaccompanied minors have been apprehended at the United States’ southern border to date in Fiscal Year 2019, CBP said.

PENTAGON AUTHORIZES UP TO $1B TO START 57 MILES OF BORDER WALL CONSTRUCTION

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Fox News in an email Wednesday that the current phenomenon of large groups crossing is “a result of what is a near complete breakdown of border control.”

“The smugglers are so brazen now that they are chartering buses to pick up migrants in southern Mexico and bring them directly to the border area to file across and await discovery by the US Border Patrol, knowing that the migrants will be released in just a few hours to go wherever they want to go in the United States,” she said.

Vaughan added that because the Trump administration is not processing these cases for accelerated deportation or expediting their asylum claims, “these people probably are here to stay.”

“Now is the best possible time to come here illegally, as long as you bring a child,” she said. “We are at the point where the Trump administration needs to take relatively drastic action by leaning on Mexico to help shut down these motorized caravans and to process and send back the migrants who have arrived most recently.  This will send a message that people can no longer get away with this.”

While the Grand Canyon State is one of the most fortified stretches along the U.S.-Mexico border, most of the fortifications are vehicle barriers which do little to stop people from walking across.

Yuma’s border chief, Anthony Porvaznik, told Fox News last week that smugglers are making the existing border obsolete because they dig and cut through the structures to “come right under it.”

The Trump administration has said the border is in a state of crisis, helping justify the president's decision to declare a national emergency last month and free up military funds to erect a border wall.

Late Monday, the Pentagon notified Congress that it authorized the transfer of up to $1 billion to erect 57 miles of “pedestrian fencing” along the southern border in direct support of Trump’s national emergency declaration.

The fencing, which will be 18 feet high, is to be erected in the Yuma and El Paso sectors, the statement read.

Democratic lawmakers fought back on Tuesday, with Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., saying in a statement that Congress had entrusted the Defense Department with the ability to redirect a limited amount of funds "to give them additional flexibility to manage day-to-day operations. DoD’s recent notification of its intent to use that process to reprogram $1 billion without Congressional approval is a violation of that trust."

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The Border Patrol operates 34 permanent checkpoints along the Mexican border — typically brick-and-mortar buildings with canopies over vehicle lanes — and another 103 "tactical" stops, often cones and signs that appear for brief periods, the Government Accountability Office said in a 2017 report.

While checkpoints account for only a sliver of Border Patrol arrests — 2 percent from 2013 to 2016 — they also handled 43 percent of drug busts during that time, according to the GAO.

Fox News' Edmund DeMarche and Samuel Chamberlain, and the Associated Press, contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Trump to visit UK, France in June for D-Day anniversary

President Trump will travel to the U.K. and France in June to mark the anniversary of the D-Day landings, the White House announced Tuesday.

“President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump accepted the invitation of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to visit the United Kingdom from June 3 to 5, 2019,” a statement said. “This state visit will reaffirm the steadfast and special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

DESPITE ANGER IN LONDON, TRUMP FINDS SUPPORT IN ENGLAND'S PRO-BREXIT WORKING-CLASS TOWNS

Trump will also participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May and attend a ceremony in Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, before traveling to France on June 6, to participate in a ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery and meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Trump has visited both countries before, but Trump’s visit to the U.K. will be part of a state visit -- an aspect that was absent when he visited the country last year on a working visit and where he sparked a significant anti-Trump protest in London, as well as a number of smaller pro-Trump rallies.

FRENCH AMBASSADOR BLASTS 'BIG MOUTH' TRUMP, SAYS HE READS 'BASICALLY NOTHING'

Trump has had a somewhat rocky relationship with both May and Macron. While his relationship with May has largely been positive, he has also publicly criticized her handling of Britain’s departure from the European Union.

The relationship with Macron, on the other hand, hit a high last year when the Frenchman visited the White House and was warmly embraced by the president (“He is perfect,” Trump told the press.) But it later soured over issues such as Trump’s criticism of French defense spending, tariffs and Trump’s move to begin withdrawing troops from Syria.

After Macron said in November that Europe may have to build its own army to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America,” Trump called the remarks “very insulting” and pointed to the French surrender to Germany in World War II -- before hitting Macron’s approval ratings.

“He was just trying to get onto another subject,” he said.

Fox News' Kristin Brown contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy near Lyon
Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy in Meyzieu near Lyon, France, April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot

April 26, 2019

By Julien Pretot

MEYZIEU, France (Reuters) – Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas was wringing out his women’s team shirts in the locker room on a rainy London day eight years ago when he decided it was time to take gender equality more seriously.

It was halftime in their Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal at Meadow Park with 507 fans watching and Aulas realized that his players did not have a another kit for the second half.

“Next time, there will be a second set just like for the men, that’s how it’s going to work from now on,” he said.

Lyon have since won five Champions League titles to become the most successful women’s team in Europe and recently claimed a 13th consecutive domestic crown.

They visit Chelsea on Sunday in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, with a fourth straight title in their sights.

At the heart of their achievements is a pervasive ethos that promotes gender equality throughout the club, starting in the youth academy.

In 2013, Aulas appointed former Lyon and France player Sonia Bompastor as head of the Women’s Academy — the female equivalent of one of France’s top youth set-ups that has produced players such as Karim Benzema, Alexandre Lacazette and Hatem Ben Arfa.

At the Youth Academy, girls and boys share the same facilities.

“Pitches, physiotherapy rooms are the same for all,” the 38-year-old Bompastor told Reuters.

As the girls train under the watch of former Lyon and France international Camille Abily, the screams of the boys practicing can be heard nearby.

The boys and girls also benefit from the same psychological support that includes hypnosis sessions and yoga.

“We have a ‘mental ability’ cell and the hypnotist acts on the girls’ subconscious, on their deeply held beliefs after observing them on and off the pitch,” Bompastor added.

SAME TREATMENT

One message the Academy staff are trying to convey is that girls are as good as boys.

“Women’s nature is such that we have low self-esteem. So self-esteem is a big topic for our girls,” said Bompastor.

This is not the case with the boys, she added.

“Some 14, 15-year-old boys still think they would beat our professional players, we tell them this would not be happening. We still need to work on those beliefs,” she said.

Female players also have to face questions that their male counterparts do not, Bompastor explained.

“In France there is a problem with the way women are considered, there are high aesthetic expectations. So we get heavy questions on femininity, intimate questions that men don’t get,” she said.

OL’s Academy has been held up as a shining example for others to follow, even in the U.S., where women’s soccer has a wider audience than in Europe.

“About one third of the (senior women’s) squad comes from the Academy, we have a good balance,” said Bompastor.

“I’m getting tons of requests from American universities and foreign clubs, who want to come and visit our facilities.”

‘ONE CLUB’

The salaries of the senior players is one area where there remains a large discrepancy between Lyon’s men’s and women’s teams.

While the three best-paid women players in the world are at Lyon with Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg earning 400,000 euros ($445,520) a year, this figure is dwarfed by the around 4 million euros earned annually by men’s player Memphis Depay.

There is, however, a level of interaction between the men’s and women’s players that is not present at many other clubs.

“When you talk about OL you talk about women and men, you talk about one club and you feel it when you are here or outside in the city,” Germany defender Carolin Simon told Reuters.

“We see it when we play in the big stadium. It’s not ‘normal’ for women’s football,” the 26-year-old, who joined the club last year, added.

Lyon’s female players also enjoy respect from their male counterparts, Simon said.

“It’s very cool, it’s a big honor to feel that it doesn’t matter if you are a professional man or woman. We talk with the men, there are handshakes, it’s a good atmosphere and it’s also why we are successful,” said Simon.

“The men respect us and it’s not just for the cameras.”

Her team mate, England’s Lucy Bronze, sees the men’s respect as key to improving women’s football.

“We might not be paid the same but they are just normal with us, they see us as footballers the same as they are,” Bronze told Reuters.

“Being at Lyon has really opened my eyes. To improve women’s football, it starts with having the respect of your male counterparts. It’s the biggest thing because they can influence so many people.”

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)

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FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo

April 26, 2019

GENEVA (Reuters) – Yemeni authorities have rounded up about 3,000 irregular migrants, predominantly Ethiopians, in the south of the country, “creating an acute humanitarian situation,” the U.N. migration agency said on Friday.

“IOM is deeply concerned about the conditions in which the migrants are being held and is engaging with the authorities to ensure access to the detained migrants,” the International Organization for Migration said.

The migrants are held in open-air football stadiums and in a military camp, it said in a statement.

The detentions began on Sunday in the city of Aden and the neighboring province of Lahj, which are under the control of the internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran-aligned Houthi rebels control Sanaa, the capital, and other major urban centers.

Both sides are under international diplomatic pressure to implement a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire deal agreed last year in Sweden and to prepare for a wider political dialogue that would end the four-year-old war.

Thousands of migrants arrive in Yemen every year, mostly from the Horn of Africa, driven by drought and unemployment at home and lured by the wages available in the Gulf.

(Writing by Maher Chmaytelli, Editing by William Maclean)

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U.S. President Trump departs for travel to Indianapolis from the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs for travel to Indianapolis, Indiana from the White House in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said trade talks with China are going very well, as the world’s two largest economies seek to end talks with a trade agreement to defuse tensions.

Trump said on Thursday he would soon host China’s President Xi Jinping at the White House.

Earlier this week, the White House said that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would travel to Beijing for more talks on a trade dispute marked by tit-for-tat tariffs between the two countries.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to his audience as he hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments on North Korea this week following the Russian leader’s summit with Pyongyang’s Kim Jong Un.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump also said China was helping with efforts aimed at the denuclearization of North Korea.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Makini Brice; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk
Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk, Belarus April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

April 26, 2019

By Katya Golubkova and Andrei Makhovsky

MOSCOW/MINSK (Reuters) – Russia is confident it can soon resolve a problem of polluted Russian oil contaminating a major pipeline serving Europe and affecting supplies as far west as Germany, a senior official said on Friday at talks with importers about the issue.

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin did not give a precise timeframe but Moscow has previously said it would pump clean oil to the border with Belarus from April 29, seeking to end a crisis hitting the world’s second-largest crude exporter.

Sorokin was speaking at talks with officials from Belarus, Poland and Ukraine in Minsk on the issue. Belarus said the issue had cost it $100 million, while analysts say alternative supply routes for refiners cannot fully fill the gap.

Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia have suspended imports of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Halting those supplies has knock-on effects further along the network.

The problem arose last week when an unidentified Russian producer contaminated oil with high levels of organic chloride used to boost oil output but which must be separated before shipment as it can destroy refining equipment.

Russia’s Energy Ministry said pipeline monopoly Transneft and other Russian companies had a plan to mitigate the effects of the contaminated oil. It did not give details.

Russian officials have said contaminated oil has already been pumped into storage in Russia and Friday’s talks would focus on how to partially withdraw the tainted crude from the Druzhba pipeline running via other countries.

The suspension cuts off a major supply route for Polish refineries owned by Poland’s PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos, as well as plants in Germany owned by Total, Shell, Eni and Rosneft.

Some refiners have outlined plans for alternative supplies, but analysts say other routes cannot meet the shortfall.

OIL PRICES

Ukraine’s Ukrtransnafta suspended the transit of oil through the pipeline on Thursday, closing supplies via Druzhba’s southern route to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The pipeline issue, which has supported global oil prices, lifted Russian Urals crude differentials to an all-time high on Thursday.

With pipeline supplies to Europe shut, Russia faces a challenge of how to divert about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) that was meant to be shipped through the network to other destinations at the time when export capacity is at its limits.

State-run Russian Railways held talks with energy firms on using up to 5,000 rail tankers to transport crude, RIA news agency reported on Friday.

Concerns about the quality of Urals crude also caused delays in loadings at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga, when buyers refused to lift cargoes, resulting in a brief shutdown of the port on Wednesday and Thursday. An Ust-Luga official and traders said on Friday loadings had resumed.

Russian loading plans indicate it aims to boost Urals exports in May before the expiry of a deal on output cuts agreed with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, Reuters calculations and Energy Ministry data show.

The provisional loading plan for Russia’s Baltic Sea ports and Novorossiisk in May show exports rising to 10.7 million tonnes, the highest level in half a decade.

Minsk estimated its loss from lower oil product exports due to contaminated Russian oil at around $100 million, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing Belarusian state oil company Belneftekhim.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, in charge of government energy policy, said this week that those found responsible for contaminating the oil could be fined. He did not provide names.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in WARSAW, Sandor Peto in BUDAPEST, Jason Hovet in PRAGUE, Matthias Williams and Natalia Zinets in KIEV, Katya Golubkova, Olesya Astakhova, Gleb Gorodyankin, Olga Yagova and Maxim Rodionov in MOSCOW, Andrei Makhovsky in MINSK; writing by Katya Golubkova; editing by Michael Perry and Edmund Blair)

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