
-
Seeking something new, Airbnb CEO promises 'perfect concierge'
-
Pedersen takes third stage win of Giro d'Italia
-
'Assassin's Creed' no saviour for struggling Ubisoft
-
Tottenham's Kulusevski to miss Europa League final after surgery
-
Huge drop in US overdose deaths, marking progress in opioid crisis
-
De Niro says Hollywood worried about 'wrath of Trump'
-
Pedersen takes third stage win in Giro d'Italia
-
Uruguay bids farewell to popular ex-leader "Pepe" Mujica
-
Trump admin drops limits on several 'forever chemicals' in drinking water
-
Gaza rescuers say 80 killed in Israeli strikes amid hostage release talks
-
Ancient reptile tracks rewrite when animals conquered land
-
Turkey eyes legal steps after Kurdish militant group PKK disbands
-
Alcaraz sweeps past Draper and into Italian Open semis
-
Europe Ryder Cup captain Donald has given players no assurances
-
Trump drug price plan could nix investment, warns Roche
-
Tom Cruise unleashes 'Mission: Impossible' at Cannes
-
Trump admin weakens limits on 'forever chemicals' in drinking water
-
Paris to allow swimming in Seine from July in Olympic legacy
-
Germany's Merz urges Europe-US unity on Ukraine war
-
Tom Cruise nearly met his end on 'The Final Reckoning'
-
No new burdens for McIlroy, living the dream after career Slam
-
Sean Combs's ex Cassie to face defense grilling at second day in court
-
Ageless beauty contest: South African grannies strut the catwalk
-
Trump says 'possibility' of meeting Putin for Ukraine talks in Turkey
-
Gauff sees off Andreeva to reach Italian Open semis
-
Merz vows to rev up German economic 'growth engine'
-
Strikes kill 29 in Gaza, amid hostage release talks
-
Tennis champ Sinner meets Pope Leo, offers quick rally
-
England sees driest spring since 1956: government agency
-
Trump presses Syria leader on Israel ties after lifting sanctions
-
Rare blue diamond fetches $21.5 mn at auction in Geneva
-
Stock markets fluctuate as China-US trade euphoria fades
-
Ousted Myanmar envoy charged with trespass in London residence row
-
Russia jails prominent vote monitor for five years
-
Umbro owner in joint bid for Le Coq Sportif
-
Tom Cruise has world guessing as he unleashes 'Mission: Impossible' at Cannes
-
China's Tencent posts forecast-beating Q1 revenue on gaming growth
-
Trump presses Syria leader on Israel relations after lifting sanctions
-
FA appoint former Man Utd sporting director Dan Ashworth as chief football officer
-
Stop holding opponents incommunicado, UN experts tell Venezuela
-
Indonesian filmmakers aim to impress at Cannes
-
Trump presses Syria leader on Israel after lifting sanctions
-
French PM to testify on child abuse scandal
-
Players stuck in middle with IPL, national teams on collision course
-
Peru PM quits ahead of no-confidence vote
-
Strikes kill 29 in Gaza as hostage release talks ongoing
-
Court raps Brussels for lack of transparency on von der Leyen vaccine texts
-
France summons cryptocurrency businesses after kidnappings
-
Pakistan returns Indian border guard captured after Kashmir attack
-
Baidu plans self-driving taxi tests in Europe this year
BCC | -1.46% | 92.36 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.27% | 22.33 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.59% | 21.93 | $ | |
RIO | -0.3% | 62.081 | $ | |
GSK | -0.12% | 36.305 | $ | |
SCS | -1.47% | 10.555 | $ | |
BCE | -3.39% | 21.26 | $ | |
NGG | 0.01% | 67.54 | $ | |
BTI | -0.62% | 40.44 | $ | |
RBGPF | 1.27% | 63.81 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.19% | 10.68 | $ | |
BP | -0.54% | 30.395 | $ | |
JRI | -0.78% | 12.78 | $ | |
VOD | -0.28% | 9.035 | $ | |
AZN | -1.8% | 66.52 | $ | |
RELX | 1.36% | 53.12 | $ |

Norway greenlights deep-sea mining exploration
Norway's parliament on Tuesday adopted a government plan to open up parts of its seabed to mining exploration, despite protests from activists and scientists' warnings about the uncertain environmental impact.
The proposal to gradually open up a 280,000-square-kilometre (108,100 square mile) area, mostly in the Arctic, was approved by the Storting, with 80 votes in favour and 20 against.
A small group of protesters had gathered outside the parliament in Oslo, displaying banners reading "Stop deep sea mining" and "Norway protect our oceans".
"They are opening a very new, vulnerable and enormous area that has been under-explored by scientists," Haldis Tjeldflaat Helle of Greenpeace Norway told AFP.
Already Western Europe's largest oil and gas producer, the Scandinavian nation is now set to become one of the first countries to explore the ocean floor for minerals crucial for renewable energy technology, potentially making it a major mineral producer.
At the same time, deep-sea mining is controversial due to its potential impact on vulnerable marine ecosystems.
In early 2023, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate published a report concluding that "substantial resources are in place on the seabed" including minerals such as copper, zinc and cobalt.
The Labour-led coalition minority government then in June proposed allowing mining of the country's seabed in the Arctic region.
In December it announced that it had reached a deal with opposition parties to secure parliamentary support to move forward.
"We need minerals because we want to lead a green transition in the form of fuel cells and solar panels, of electric cars and mobile phones," Labour member of parliament Marianne Sivertsen Naess told a press conference at the time.
- Knowledge gaps -
NGOs and scientists have meanwhile warned that deep-sea mining could damage habitats and harm species that are little understood, but are potentially important to the food chain.
In addition, they point to the risk of disrupting the ocean's capacity to absorb carbon emitted by human activities, and the noise that could disturb species such as whales.
"We are very worried about what this will mean for both ecosystems in the Arctic. What it will mean for the fisheries of both Norway and other countries, and also Norwegians and Norway's international reputation as a country that is supposed to take climate and nature seriously," Tjeldflaat Helle said.
The environmental activist added that they were also worried that Norway "chooses this time to send the signal that they will push forward on deep sea mining when the rest of the world is discussing a moratorium or a precautionary pause on this industry."
Several countries, including France and the UK, have called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining.
The Norwegian plan stresses that "environmental considerations" will be taken into account in all stages of the process and "extraction will only be authorised if the licensee's extraction plan demonstrates that extraction can take place in a sustainable and responsible manner."
Among others, Norway's Institute of Marine Research and the Norwegian Polar Institute have warned that there is a severe lack of knowledge necessary to assess what the environmental impact of deep-sea mining would be.
Currently there is no time schedule for when exploration and later potential mining could begin.
In the proposal, the government stressed that "the fact that the state opens an area for mineral extraction does not mean that extraction activities are initiated immediately."
Instead it means that licensing authorities can began the process of granting licenses, while the state can "continue the mapping of Norwegian seabed minerals."
L.Durand--AMWN