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Time of India
16-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
BHP flags high costs as hurdle to Australia's green iron ambitions despite China pact
Major miner BHP has said it is too costly for Australia to build a " green iron " industry after the country and China agreed this week to jointly work to decarbonise the steel supply chain , responsible for nearly a tenth of global emissions. BHP Australia chief Geraldine Slattery, who attended business round tables with Australian and Chinese industry leaders in China this week, said that costs to produce the low carbon steel product "simply do not stack up". "Even with generous policy support, the cost of production (in Australia) would be double that of the Middle East and China - and customers many thousands of kilometres away," Slattery said in a social media post late on Tuesday. Slattery and other CEOs of mining companies accompanied Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on a visit to China this week, where he said the two countries should cooperate more closely on green steel . The lack of enthusiasm from the world's biggest miner, which said its strategy was "not to produce green iron ore or steel ourselves", in the wake of the talks came as a reality check for Australia's ambitions. Australia supplies about 60% of China's iron ore needs but its supply is too low-grade to be directly processed into steel with renewable energy, so it needs an additional processing step. When this step is undertaken with hydrogen made from renewable energy or with biomass instead of coal, the resulting product is called green iron, a low-carbon base for making green steel. Such processes are not expected to become widely commercial until next decade. Australia has been striving to develop a minerals processing industry to diversify from its raw material exports that bring in around A$370 billion ($242 billion) a year, but it has been hamstrung by high power prices and labour costs. In February the government allocated A$1 billion to support the manufacture of green iron and its supply chains. BHP, Rio Tinto and Bluescope Steel agreed in December to work on developing a pilot plant to produce low-carbon iron using renewable power and direct reduced iron technology in an electric smelting furnace (ESF), with a potential start date of 2028. Fortescue also has a green iron project underway, and is set to produce green iron from a pilot plant this year.
Euronews
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Socialists back von der Leyen in return for pledge on social budget
Ursula von der Leyen appeared to secure more votes protecting her from Thursday's motion of censure, as Socialists pledged their support for the Commission President in exchange for assurances on the EU budget, including the European Social Fund. The far-right-led motion of no-confidence will go to a roll call vote around midday on Thursday, with von der Leyen's and the entire Commission's future put to the test in the confidence vote. The motion, spearheaded by the Patriots for Europe, Europe of Sovereign Nations, and a fraction of the European Conservatives and Reformists, has gathered significant support but would need a two-thirds majority for the vote of no-confidence to be successful. With the European People's Party (EPP) firmly opposed and many in the centre-left and liberal groups rejecting the motion on principle, the opposition will likely fall short. The Socialists & Democrats (S&D), the second-largest group in the European Parliament, came out firmly against the motion on Wednesday after receiving reassurances from von der Leyen that the European Social Fund (ESF) will remain a cornerstone of the next EU budget. For the S&D, this was a non-negotiable demand and a key reason behind their decision to stand by the Commission, despite some internal dissent. A few MEPs from the group might still abstain, but overall, the vote will lean in favour of the Commission's survival. Tensions and doubts that group lines will be strictly followed The Renew Europe group has also voiced opposition to the censure motion, with members claiming that the far-right's tactics must not be allowed to succeed. However, internal tensions remain. Some MEPs, particularly from Fianna Fáil in Ireland, were reluctant to fully back von der Leyen, with a few choosing to abstain, including MEP Barry Andrews. The Greens/EFA group, while mostly aligned in rejecting the motion, has also seen some splits within its ranks. Italian and Spanish Green MEPs are planning to abstain by not participating in the vote, stating their opposition to von der Leyen's policies but unwilling to back a far-right motion aimed at her removal. The Left group, which has been vocal in its criticism of the Commission, remains divided. While most will abstain to protest von der Leyen's leadership, parties like Sinn Féin and Italy's Five Star Movement are expected to vote in favour of the motion, signalling their dissatisfaction with the current direction of the EU. Proponents of the censure motion will struggle today to find the votes for it to pass, but support for von der Leyen is likely to fall well below the 370 that originally approved her Commission in 2024. As reported, the motion itself is seen as having weakened her position, and today's vote marks another chapter in the growing political fractures within the European Parliament, signalling a tough road ahead for the Commission's leadership. Shona Murray contributed reporting from Brussels.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Eugene woman dies after rescue from Willamette River on July 3
A Eugene woman who was hospitalized on July 3 after nearly drowning in the Willamette River has died. According to the Eugene Springfield Fire department, firefighters received reports around 6:30 p.m. of a person who had lost their floatie and was struggling to keep their head above water downstream from the Knickerbocker Bicycle Bridge. Eugene resident Amy Hastie was identified by her family as the person who was rescued. According to the GoFundMe set up by Stacy Boatright, Hastie's sister, Hastie was tubing with her friends on the Willamette River but was separated by the river's current. When an ESF water rescue crew arrived on scene, they found an unhoused person performing CPR on Hastie on a shallow gravel bar in the middle of the river. Firefighters transferred Hastie to a boat, where they continued resuscitation efforts. ESF said she had been submerged for about 10 minutes. Paramedics took Hastie to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in critical condition. According to Boatright, Hastie died shortly after. The Eugene Springfield Fire department is looking for the person who intervened at their own risk to rescue Hastie so they can be recognized for their efforts. Boatright has set up a GoFundMe and said funds raised will be put toward Hastie's cremation and memorial service, and moving Hastie's 4-year-old daughter and belongings from Eugene to Klamath Falls, where Boatright lives. This was one of two water rescues ESF responded to over the holiday weekend. ESF water rescue crews also responded to a call just above Bellinger boat landing on the McKenzie River the evening of July 5. ESF said the call came in just before 6 p.m. and five people were rescued, three in a drift boat that got swamped, and two bystanders who tried to help. The captain on Boat 5 jumped in to rescue one person whose arm was stuck with their head barely above water. ESF said "crews were surprised how dangerous of a situation the individuals were in because it was never relayed to dispatch or crews until they got out on the water" but ultimately there were no injuries. Fire officials warned that inexpensive tubes or rafts are not designed for activities other than a pool. "Not only do these choices put your life at risk, they deplete several fire crews during the same time of day that fire risk is highest," officials said. Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached over email at atorres@ or on X @alanfryetorres. Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at HKochanski@ This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Eugene woman Amy Hastie dies after near drowning in Willamette River
South China Morning Post
07-07-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Top-scoring IB students from Hong Kong's ESF school group share success insights
Fifteen students from Hong Kong's largest international group, who achieved high scores in the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme, have shared their aspirations and preparation insights, with 11 planning to study medicine in the city. Another five students from the German Swiss International School in The Peak achieved top marks in the IB programme, on par with Victoria Shanghai Academy, adding to the number of the city's top scorers to 37. English Schools Foundation (ESF), the city's largest international group, on Monday revealed its students' IB results, with its Sha Tin College having the highest number of six top scorers among all schools offering the IB diploma programme in Hong Kong. Out of 15 best performers, 10 students planned to study medicine programmes in Hong Kong, two would pursue computer science in the United States, and the rest were either aiming to study in the US or were undecided. Most of the top students felt excited and relieved after learning about their grades. 'Getting 45 is a goal I've dedicated my past 17 years to reach. I just feel really honoured after reaching it,' Kristie Lo Ji-kiu, 18, one of the top scorers who wants to become a doctor, said.
RTHK
07-07-2025
- Science
- RTHK
15 ESF students crowned top scorers in IB exam
15 ESF students crowned top scorers in IB exam Some top scorers from ESF told RTHK that they did not expect to attain full marks in the IB exam. Photo: RTHK Fifteen students at the English Schools Foundation's six schools have scored top marks in the International Baccalaureate diploma exam. Some students said on Monday they were not expecting to attain the full mark of 45 even though their predicted score was just that. Yashasvini Agarwal described the moment when she found about the results. "I was so nervous," she said. "We were actually recording the results. We opened them subject by subject. "And after each subject, we just screamed for a solid minute. So we had lots of screaming." It was a dream come true for Kristie Lo. "Getting 45 [marks] was kind of my childhood goal since year seven," she said. "So for me, for the past seven years, I feel like I've been trying to work towards this goal. "Honestly, I was just hoping for the best. "The moment I saw my result, I was really relieved that all my hard work did not go to waste and I could finally achieve the goal I had since the start of secondary school." Another best scorer, Kush Zingade, told RTHK that he did not have just the pressure of exams to deal with. "It's become a tradition where I become sick before every single exam or test," he said. "I was really stressed for my first exam, which was physics, because I was sick and coughing and my mind wasn't in the right head space. "Physics was a great struggle for me in that regard because I was dealing with health [issues] and also the pressure of exams." Unlike a majority of top scorers who hope to become a doctor, Zingade plans to study computer science at Boston University in the United States. "I think when we look around, especially in Hong Kong, being sort of a technological hub in Asia, there is technology, computers, they're everywhere," he said. "And I just really want to try and enable myself to be able to interact with them." The ESF's director of strategy and communications, Rob Shorthouse, was pleased with the results. "I think the results that we are seeing today are absolutely incredible," he said. "To achieve top scorer in IB is such an extraordinary achievement that students have to work so hard in order to achieve what they have today. "And we just couldn't be more proud of them. It's an exceptional set of results." Shorthouse added that the average score of ESF students was 36.1 this year, compared to the global average of 30.3 last year.
