Oil prices stayed broadly steady on Wednesday after Russia cut gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland, although lingering concerns about China’s coronavirus lockdowns weighing on economic growth and oil demand kept a lid on gains.
After dipping into negative territory, Brent crude futures, which typically predict prices ahead of market opening, rose 26 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $105.25 a barrel by 08:23 GMT.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 10 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $101.80 a barrel.
Oil prices shrugged off the dollar rising to its highest in two years, making oil purchases more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Wednesday it halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland in a major escalation of Russia’s broader row with the West over its actions in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “military operation”.
The dispute sent ultra-low-sulfur diesel futures up more than nine percent on Tuesday to $4.47 a gallon, a record close.
China’s central bank said on Tuesday it would step up monetary policy support as Beijing races to stamp out a nascent COVID-19 outbreak in the capital and avert the same type of debilitating city-wide lockdown Shanghai has been under for a month. Any stimulus would boost oil demand.
“This bearish narrative is not expected to last,” PVM analyst Stephen Brennock said of global economic slowdown fears on the back of Chinese lockdowns.
“The fact is that the impact of lower Russian production has yet to be felt in full, and when it does, it could send oil prices soaring.”
Sign up for Al Jazeera
Weekly Newsletter
The latest news from around the world.Timely. Accurate. Fair.Sign up
These key building blocks of life were found in space rocks, scientists confirm.
In this conceptual image of meteoroids delivering nucleobases to ancient Earth, the nucleobases are represented by structural diagrams with hydrogen atoms as white spheres, carbon as black, nitrogen as blue and oxygen as red. (Image credit: NASA Goddard/CI Lab/Dan Gallagher)
Key building blocks of DNA that previous research mysteriously failed to discover in meteorites have now been discovered in space rocks, suggesting that cosmic impacts might once have helped deliver these vital ingredients of life to ancient Earth.
DNA is made of four main building blocks — nucleobases called adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C) and guanine (G). DNA’s sister molecule, RNA, also uses A, C and G, but swaps out thymine for uracil (U). Scientists wondering whether meteorites might have helped deliver these compounds to Earth have previously looked for nucleobases in space rocks, but until now, scientists had only detected A and G in space rocks, and not T, C or U.
Nucleobases come in two flavors, known as purines and pyramidines. The nucleobases previously seen in meteorites are both purines, which are each made of a hexagonal molecule fused with a pentagonal molecule. The ones missing in space rocks until now are pyramidines, which are smaller structures each made of just a hexagonal molecule.
A spring heat wave is scorching parts of India and Pakistan, with record-breaking April temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit forecast along the border of the two countries in the coming days. The extreme heat threatens the health of millions of people as well as the harvest of wheat at a time when climate change and the war in Ukraine have sparked a global food crisis.
The Indian Meteorological Department warned this week that a heat dome, similar to the one that sent temperatures soaring over the Pacific Northwest last year, had formed over the region. Millions of people in the areas of India and Pakistan where temperatures have remained in the triple digits are now at risk of illness and death from the heat.
“It’s become impossible to work after 10 o’clock in the morning,” Sunil Das…
A Kewaunee County factory farm is suing the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources over recent changes to its wastewater permit that require the operation to limit its herd size and begin monitoring groundwater in an area known for widespread nitrate contamination.
Kinnard Farms filed a petition in Kewaunee County Circuit Court asking that the DNR’s permit terms be altered and contending the business will be harmed if it is not allowed to grow its herd size and by the requirement to pay for a groundwater monitoring system.
Kinnard Farms is one of Wisconsin’s largest dairy farms. Kewaunee County, in northeastern Wisconsin, is home to 16 industrial farms and has been struggling with agricultural pollution for years after testing showed levels of contaminants in residents’ private drinking water wells. The farms are known as CAFOs, concentrated animal feeding operations.
The permit, issued by the DNR at the end of March, said Kinnard Farms could not exceed 11,369 animal units, equating to about 8,000 cows, which is the number the farm currently houses.
“An unreasonably low animal unit maximum of 11,369 animal units will prohibit Kinnard from expanding or even temporarily maintaining its herd size beyond its current level, with a loss of competitive flexibility,” the petition says. “If Kinnard is restricted from increasing its herd size, Kinnard may lose revenue associated with the sale of milk from additional dairy cows.”
The farm also contended fluctuations in herd size are a normal occurrence and without a higher animal unit maximum, the farm will “incur higher costs.”
The permit also requires the farm to monitor at least two sites where it applies manure to the land as fertilizer, with at least three wells per site. The sites selected must have a shallow depth to the bedrock, where the groundwater resides.
Your stories live here.
Fuel your hometown passion and plug into the stories that define it.
The farm said that the monitoring system required in the permit will cost tens of thousands of dollars initially, plus the fees indefinitely paid to experts to sample, analyze and interpret data from the wells.
The petition was filed on behalf of owner Lee Kinnard by Taylor Fritsch and Jordan Hemaiden, Madison-based attorneys with the law firm Michael Best & Friedrich.
“Each round of sampling typically costs thousands of dollars for the sampling, laboratory analysis and expert data analysis and reporting,” the petition says. “As the system ages, wells will need to be maintained or replaced due to wear and tear.”
In a statement Tuesday, the Kinnard family said it remains committed to regenerative agriculture practices and sustainability.
“On-farm practices such as planting cover crops, limited soil tillage (known as no-till), sand and water recycling and more demonstrate our dedication to protecting groundwater in our community,” the family said. “We continue to invest in cutting-edge innovation to protect our environment.”
Residents in the area disagree.
“Why they think they can continue to drag out a Supreme Court decision and a scientifically founded permit terms is incomprehensible,” said Kewaunee County resident Jodi Parins. “This further proves they have no real interest in regenerative farming, just regenerative profiteering.”
Permit requirements seen as win for locals
The new permit was seen as a huge win for residents, who said they felt like it was the first time the DNR had listened to their concerns about their water in public hearings and submitted testimony throughout the review process.
Under the newly issued permit, Kinnard Farms was required to submit a plan for monitoring the groundwater by May 25. After the plan is approved, the farm would be responsible for installing the wells and monitoring the water for contaminants such as nitrogen, ammonia, nitrates, potassium and E. coli.
The wells will also have to be equipped with technology that will monitor the changes in the groundwater levels from day to day and season to season.
The groundwater monitoring was meant to help the farm and the DNR learn more about how contamination is getting into the groundwater in Kewaukee County.
The pollution issues stem from the land application of manure during the spring, summer and fall, which then soaks into the ground and is able to leach into groundwater. Because the topsoil is a relatively short distance from the groundwater in the area, due to its unique hydrogeology, there have been more issues for those drinking water not from a treated municipal system.
Residents have sometimes experienced brown, foul-smelling water coming out of their taps and testing has shown elevated levels of ammonia and phosphorus in drinking water, both indicators of manure.
The newly issued permit, which expires in January 2023, was influenced by a July 2021 state Supreme Court ruling that strengthened the DNR’s hand in permitting decisions.
In the ruling, a majority concluded the DNR has the authority to put conditions on the wastewater permits for the dairy farm.
The decision also found that the DNR could limit the number of animal units at the dairy farm and require groundwater monitoring because of the agency’s responsibility to limit the release of manure into waterways.
But while worries exist about the future of the permit measures, others remain confident in the Supreme Court’s ruling and the DNR’s terms.
“Kewaunee County residents have been suffering from groundwater contamination, caused by massive amounts of cow manure, for many years. Given Kinnard Farms’ track record, we are not surprised they would challenge basic measures that are necessary to protect their neighbors’ drinking water,” said Peg Sheaffer, the director of communication and development for Midwest Environmental Advocates. “We are confident that these reasonable permit conditions will be upheld.”
A young lion saved from Kharkiv Ecopark waits in a cage to be transferred to its new home. Photograph: Javier Fergo
Organisations and volunteers are coordinating daily rescues to transport thousands of animals to EU countries, despite the lack of safe evacuation routes. Photojournalist Javier Fergo looks at how they are doing it
More than 5 million people have fled Ukraine and millions more have been internally displaced since the start of the Russian invasion. But volunteers have also been coordinating daily rescue missions to save thousands of the country’s non-human population too – pets, farm animals and zoo animals.
Dogs follow a volunteer at Korchuvate shelter, Kyiv
Organisations such as the Polish Centaurus Foundation, the Ukrainian Equestrian Federation, or the Lviv animal shelter are trying to save animals from the war on a daily basis.
A view of Borodianka, a town north-west of Kyiv, destroyed by Russian fire.
Advertisement
They have a large and valuable army of volunteers, as well as funding through online crowdfunding and private donations.
It is impossible to determine how many animals have been moved or made it out of the country since the start of the war. What is certain is that there are numerous daily departures to EU countries in public transport, vans, trucks, and private cars.
Patrick, a driver with Centaurus Foundation, came to Ukraine as a volunteer to fight alongside the Ukrainian army but was rejected. He did not want to return home and has been helping animals and people between Ukraine and Poland for about a month.Left: a dog stretches its paw in an attempt to catch people’s attention; a volunteer carries a dog, both inside a makeshift shelterat Kyiv hippodrome.
I joined a convoy run by Polish Centaurus Foundation of seven vehicles, made up of people of four different nationalities. It was delivering food and veterinary surgical supplies in Kyiv. The mission was the extraction of the surviving dogs from a shelter in Borodianka, a town north-east of Kyiv that came under severe bombardment.
A young lion from Kharkiv Ecopark, saved from euthanasia, is transferred to its new home in a wildlife sanctuary.Nataliya Popova from UAnimals, and her partner, look pleased as they unload food and veterinary medicines for the wildlife centre.
Advertisement
Another animal organisation that works tirelessly in the rescue, care and extraction of animals is UAnimals, a Ukrainian organisation that since the beginning of the war has coordinated volunteers. One volunteer, Nataliya Popova, after seeing how animals from zoos and reserves were abandoned to starve or were euthanised, turned her equine centre on the outskirts of Kyiv into a wildlife refuge. More than 100 animals from there have been evacuated to zoos and reserves in Romania or Poland since the beginning of the war. Among them were seven bears, four tigers and three lions from the bombed Ecopark in Kharkiv.
A wild deer at the makeshift wildlife shelter near Kyiv; a monkey taken from a circus in Lviv.
Numerous other animals have been found wandering around the various villages recaptured from invading forces; some were starving, eating anything they could find, others were wounded or frightened and confused by the sounds of the explosions. Many were hiding in their homes, where there was no one left.
Zenia, a three-year-old cat whose owner had to flee the village of Andriivka, near Bucha. She survived burns and starvation. Ken Dillon, a former paramedic from the US Marines, provided first aid to Zenia, who was later reunited with her human family.
Advertisement
To the west, the city of Lviv has become a centre of animal rescue and evacuation operations, mainly due to the fact it is the closest city to the border with Poland.
A dog in a cage rests at Lviv animal sanctuary.
Located far from the frontline, Lviv has become a safe place for people displaced by the conflict. And so too for animals, such as the bears from the White Rock sanctuary in Kyiv, where there was a reserve for them, many taken from circuses, which have now been transferred to a shelter near Lviv. Or the dogs, cats and wild animals that stop for a few days at the animal shelter in Lviv, where they are cared for by volunteers who look after them, feed them, walk them and give them affection, while in their offices the necessary bureaucratic steps are taken for their transfer out the country.
DUFFIELD, Va. (WJHL) – Three people are recovering after a hunting accident that occurred near Duffield Saturday morning.
One of the victims told News Channel 11 that he and two friends were out hunting near Robinette Valley Road for the Spring turkey season at around 8:40 a.m. when they were struck by someone else’s shot.Man in his 20s killed in Bell Road crash; Investigation underway
All three sustained injuries to either their head or face and were transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance. All three have since been released from the hospital.
Voice Your Support for H.R. 7398 ~ the Prohibit Wildlife Killing Contests Act of 2022 Dear Friend of Wildlife,Every year, our country’s bobcats, coyotes, foxes and other cherished wildlife are targeted in cruel and senseless wildlife killing contests, in which participants compete to kill the most, the largest or even the smallest animals solely for cash and prizes. Hundreds of animals may fall victim over one or two days and are typically discarded like trash after the prizes are awarded. Thanks to U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D – Tenn.) and 14 of his colleagues, we have an unprecedented opportunity to ban wildlife killing contests on federal public lands with H.R. 7398, the Prohibit Wildlife Killing Contests Act of 2022.Federal legislation is a long process and an uphill battle. Your sustained support is essential to success! Ending contests on federally owned lands across the U.S. would stop one of the most…
The current avian flu strain, H5N1, has spread throughout Asia, Africa and Europe since 2021. Scientists warn it poses a potential pandemic risk if the spread is not curbed.
Hundreds of dead Dalmatian pelicans killed by the bird flu were recovered last month in northern Greece. (Image by 4931604 from Pixabay via Courthouse News)
(CN) — The ongoing global bird flu outbreak has spread to the U.S. and Canada and has the potential to significantly handicap poultry production in North America, scientists warned Tuesday.
In an article published in Science Tuesday, researchers advised bird flu outbreaks are a global concern, which must be mitigated before the virus adapts to transmit between humans efficiently.
The H5N1 strain of the highly infectious avian influenza virus has already caused millions of deaths of wild birds and…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there is a “serious” risk of World War 3, as he accusedNATOof waging a proxy conflict with Moscow.
In a TV interview with Russia’s Channel One, Lavrov invoked the possibility of the Ukraine war escalating into a nuclear conflict, despite the repeated insistence by the Kremlin that it would only use conventional weapons.
Kyiv dismissed Lavrov’s comments as an attempt to “scare the world off” from backing Ukraine.
In the preamble to the first question Lavrov faced on “Bolshaya Igra” (Big Game), anchor Dmitry Simes referred to PresidentJoe Biden‘s…
Russia’s top diplomat said the West was engaged in a proxy war with his country that could escalate into a world war with nuclear weapons, as Western nations elevated their commitment to defending Ukraine.
“The risk is serious, real. It should not be underestimated,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a Russian state-television interview broadcast Monday night. “Under no circumstances should a third world war be allowed to happen,” he said, adding that “there can be no winners in a nuclear war.”
