Latest news with #18
TimesLIVE
5 days ago
- TimesLIVE
As gold prices surge, West Africa mine operators launch drones to detect wildcat miners
As the afternoon sun beats down on Gold Fields' sprawling Tarkwa gold mine in southwestern Ghana, three men launch a drone into the clear sky, its cameras scanning the lush 210-square-kilometer tract for intruders. The drone spotted something unusual, and within 20 minutes a 15-person team including armed police arrived on the scene. They discovered abandoned clothing, freshly dug trenches, and rudimentary equipment amid pools of mercury and cyanide-contaminated water. The equipment was left behind by so-called wildcat miners, who operate on the outskirts of many of the continent's official mining ventures - putting at risk their own health, the environment and the official mine operator's profits. The team confiscated seven diesel-powered water pumps and a "chanfan" processing unit used to extract gold from riverbeds. The high-tech cat-and-mouse game is playing out with increasing frequency as record gold prices, now sitting above $3,300 (R59,639,18) per ounce, draw more unofficial activity - intensifying sometimes deadly confrontations between corporate concessions and artisanal miners in West Africa, according to dozens of mining executives and industry experts interviewed by Reuters. "Because of the vegetation cover, if you don't have eyes in the air, you won't know something destructive is happening," explains Edwin Asare, Gold Fields Tarkwa Mine's head of protection services. "It's like you first get eyes in the sky to help you put boots on the ground.' Almost 20 illicit miners have been killed in confrontations at major mining operations across the region since late 2024, including at Newmont and AngloGold Ashanti's sites in Ghana and Guinea and Nordgold's Bissa Mine in Burkina Faso. There have been no reports of official mine staff injured. In some cases, clashes at corporate mines caused production halts of up to a month, prompting companies to press governments for more military protection.
Globe and Mail
20-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Enbridge's Dividend Payment: A 30-Year Promise That Keeps Paying
Enbridge Inc. ENB, a leading midstream energy player in North America, has a strong track record of returning capital to shareholders through dividend payments. For 30 consecutive years, the midstream energy giant has increased its dividends to reward shareholders, earning a prestigious position among the few dividend aristocrats in the energy space. Unlike most energy companies, which are susceptible to oil and gas price volatility, Enbridge is consistently rewarding shareholders. This reflects a solid business model with predictable cash flows. This steady income allows ENB, which operates an extensive crude oil and liquids transportation network spanning 18,085 miles, to return a portion of its earnings to shareholders through regular dividend payments, even during volatile market conditions. Underscoring the strength of ENB's midstream operations, its pipelines transport 20% of the total natural gas consumed in the United States. Looking ahead, Enbridge believes it could achieve approximately 5% annual business growth through the end of 2030. This solidifies ENB's strong business outlook, thereby securing incremental cash flows. Thus, long-term shareholders can expect steady and handsome dividends from the midstream major. Are KMI & WMB Also Rewarding Investors Handsomely? Kinder Morgan KMI and Williams WMB are also leading midstream energy players, thereby are less vulnerable to oil and gas price volatility. Despite their stable business models, both KMI and WMB currently reward investors with lower dividend yields than the industry's composite stocks. Kinder Morgan's current dividend yield is 4.24%, lower than the industry's 5.24% yield. Williams' current dividend yield is 3.38%. ENB's Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates Shares of Enbridge have gained 38% over the past year, outpacing the 35.1% rally of the composite stocks belonging to the industry. From a valuation standpoint, ENB trades at a trailing 12-month enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) of 15.04X. This is above the broader industry average of 13.89X. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ENB's 2025 earnings hasn't been revised over the past seven days. ENB currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock It's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom. With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028. See This Stock Now for Free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (WMB): Free Stock Analysis Report Enbridge Inc (ENB): Free Stock Analysis Report Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI): Free Stock Analysis Report
Time of India
05-06-2025
- Time of India
Man found dead inside building under construction
Mangaluru: A man, approximately 35 to 40 years old, was found dead in an under-construction market complex on Market Road in the city on Thursday. He had a minor bleeding wound below the left knee and swelling above the knee. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Near the body were four iron rods about 20ft long with bloodstains in the middle. Additionally, a small piece of a blood-stained bed sheet, seemingly used to bandage the wound, was found. A bed sheet was also spread in a small adjacent room. The man's face was unfamiliar, suggesting he was a stranger. It is suspected that he might have been murdered or died due to other reasons when he entered the building on the night of Wednesday. Based on a complaint from the housekeeping supervisor of the developers, Mangaluru North police registered a case under Section 103 of the BNS, and it is under investigation. Two held with MDMA Kundapur police arrested two individuals and seized 124.7g of MDMA worth approximately Rs 2.5 lakh near Kodi Chakreshwari Temple in Kasaba village on Wednesday. The accused are Mudassir,23, a resident of Subhash Nagar in Kaup, and Aden Lobo,18, from Udyavar in Udupi. Police also seized plastic boxes, nine syringes, bags, a weighing machine, a machete, mobile phones, and Rs 4,540. A case under Sections 8(C), 21(C), 22(C), and 29 of the NDPS Act has been registered.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
When joy turned to horror for Bengaluru fans celebrating team's IPL win
When Shamili left her home in India's Bengaluru city on Wednesday, it wasn't to see her favourite cricket team - she isn't even a fan of the game. But the buzz around the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB's) Indian Premier League victory parade - the home team won the tournament for the first time - had swept through the city like wildfire. Wearing an RCB jersey with "18 Virat" on the back - a nod to Virat Kohli, the city's favourite cricket icon - Shamili joined her sister and friends near the Chinnaswamy Stadium, looking forward to celebrations. What she didn't expect was to get caught in a terrifying crush. The victory parade turned deadly when surging crowds - far beyond what authorities expected - led to a horrific crush that killed 11 people and injured dozens more. Survivors like Shamili are now grappling with trauma, pain and a sense of disbelief after the celebration spiralled into catastrophe. "I kept saying, 'let's go, let's go' - the crowd was getting out of control," Shamili recalled, sitting on a bed at the government-run Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital. "The next thing I knew, I was on the ground. People were walking over me. I thought I was going to die." She is not alone. Many who had come just to soak in the atmosphere - fans, families, curious onlookers - found themselves caught in a tide of bodies as crowds swelled beyond control. Police had expected no more than 100,000 people. In reality, Karnataka's chief minister Siddaramaiah said, the crowd surged to 200,000-300,000. The stadium, with a capacity of 32,000, was overwhelmed long before the team arrived. Videos from before the crush showed people climbing trees and trying to scale the stadium walls. Haneef Mohammed, an engineering student, told BBC Hindi that he had no intention of going inside because he didn't have a pass or ticket. "I was just standing and watching the crowds near the main gate. Suddenly, people started running all around and the police started hitting people with their lathis," he said. Police in India often wield lathis - long bamboo sticks - to try and control crowds. Mr Mohammed got hit on the head with a lathi and started bleeding. He says the police immediately arranged for a vehicle to take him to the hospital. The ages of the 11 victims range from 13 to 43 years. The youngest, Divyanshi, was a Class 9 student who had come to the stadium with her mother and other family members. Other victims include college students and a young tech worker who had come to the stadium with her colleagues. A doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity said that most of them were "brought dead to hospital" due to suffocation or broken ribs. The massive crowds had delayed ambulances getting to the site of the crush. Even as chaos and panic ensued on the roads around the Chinnaswamy stadium, the RCB team went inside the stadium after being felicitated on the footsteps of the Vidhana Soudha - the seat of power in Karnataka - by the governor, chief minister and other ministers. "They went on a victory lap around the stadium. Inside the stadium, there was no sign that anything had happened outside,'' said a young man who spoke on condition of anonymity. IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said he did not know who had planned the event in Bengaluru and that RCB officials inside the stadium were not aware of the crush until they got phone calls. In a statement on X, RCB said it was "deeply anguished by the unfortunate incidents". "Immediately upon being made aware of the situation, we promptly amended our programme and followed the guidance and advice of the local administration," it said. "At a loss for words. Absolutely gutted," star player Kohli wrote on Instagram. But questions still remain over how and why the event was organised. "Normally, the felicitation of a team should be done in a controlled environment. But here, there appeared to be no preparation," a relative of an injured person at the Bowring Hospital said. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced a magisterial enquiry into the incident. "A moment of joy has turned into sorrow," he said on Wednesday. Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
IPL 18: High viewership numbers defy mid-tournament pause
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Mumbai: The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has reaffirmed the tournament's status as one of the most-watched leagues in the world, despite a loss in momentum caused by a week-long suspension that temporarily disrupted the flow of the event, according to industry event concluded on June 3 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) clinching their maiden 18 was a landmark season, with the final match between RCB and Punjab Kings (PBKS) drawing 600 million peak views on digital. JioHotstar, the official streaming partner of the IPL, has been displaying cumulative views for a live match instead of peak concurrent viewers, which was the norm must be noted that unlike peak concurrent users-which indicate the number of unique viewers watching a match at a specific moment-cumulative views reflect duplicated reach, as they count multiple sessions by the same the final match, the tournament attracted an audience of 450 million each on both TV and digital platforms, according to the official broadcaster JioStar-formed after the merger of Star India and Viacom18. The broadcaster was eyeing a cumulative reach of one billion viewers across TV and digital from the full the first time, the season marked a key shift both as TV and digital rights were consolidated under one broadcaster after two years of rivalry between Star and a recent interaction with ET, IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said the tournament's viewership was on course to achieve record numbers despite the blip after the week-long suspension. He also noted that the broadcaster was on course to reach 500 million broadcast audiences. "We are attracting new audiences through regional commentary. There has been a growth in female and kids' viewership for the IPL. We are also finding traction in overseas markets," Dhumal believe that RCB's victory marks a refreshing shift in the league's competitive landscape, breaking the long-standing dominance of Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, and Kolkata Knight Riders, who have collectively won 13 of the previous 18 editions."A notable development this IPL season was the qualification of two long-standing teams, RCB and PBKS, for the final - with RCB securing their first-ever title. However, the momentum of the tournament was somewhat affected by the week-long suspension due to geopolitical tensions, which led to a dip in viewership and a noticeable decline in advertiser presence during the final stages," said Ajimon Francis, MD, Brand Finance BCCI suspended the tournament on May 9 for a week due to the India-Pakistan military conflict. The remainder of the tournament, comprising 17 matches, resumed on May 17 and concluded with the final on June a billion dollars in ad revenue was generated across TV, digital, on-ground, and franchise sponsorships, underscoring its vast business N, managing partner at D and P Advisory, said that despite the temporary suspension, the IPL remains India's leading media property, with robust viewership across both television and digital added that this season contributed to the strengthening of several team brands, driven by improved on-field performance and team cohesion."RCB is likely to see a moderate increase in brand value, supported by prize money and consistent presence among the top franchises. Punjab Kings, having historically remained lower on the brand value charts, may experience a significant uplift following their strong performance. In contrast, established teams like CSK and KKR could see a slight decline in brand value due to early exits and underwhelming campaigns," he also highlighted the rise of uncapped Indian players like Sai Sudharsan and Vaibhav Suryavanshi, which helped reduce franchise dependence on marquee international stars."This shift bodes well for the league's future, as emerging local talent resonates more with younger audiences-an important demographic for long-term growth," he notable trend was the growing preference for Indian captains, even those not currently part of the national team. "Franchises are recognising that local leaders often connect better with regional fans and sponsors than high-profile overseas players," Santosh said.
