
India to receive average monsoon rainfall in August, says weather bureau
The country is likely to receive above-average rainfall equating to more than 106% of the 50-year average in September, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told a virtual news conference.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Four dead as flash flood causes mudslide in Indian town of Dharali
A flash flood driving a torrent of mud has smashed into a town in India's Himalayan region, tearing down a mountain valley before demolishing buildings and killing at least four people. Videos broadcast on Indian media showed a terrifying surge of muddy water sweeping away apartment blocks in the tourist region of Dharali in Uttarakhand state. Several people could be seen running before being engulfed by the dark waves of debris that uprooted entire buildings. Uttarakhand state chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said rescue teams had been deployed 'on a war footing'. Senior local official Prashant Arya said four people had been killed, with other officials warning that the number could rise. India's army said 150 troops had reached the town, helping to rescue about 20 people who had survived the wall of freezing sludge. 'A massive mudslide struck Dharali … triggering a sudden flow of debris and water through the settlement,' the army said. Images released by the army, taken from the site after the main torrent had passed, showed a river of slow-moving mud. A wide swathe of the town was swamped by deep debris. In places, the mud lapped at the rooftops of houses. 'Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, with all available resources being deployed to locate and evacuate any remaining stranded persons,' army spokesperson Suneel Bartwal said. Prime minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences in a statement, and said that 'no stone is being left unturned in providing assistance'. Dhami said the flood was caused by a sudden and intense 'cloudburst', calling the destruction 'extremely sad and distressing'. The India Meteorological Department issued a red alert warning for the area, saying it had recorded 'extremely heavy' rainfall of about 21cm (8in) in isolated parts of Uttarakhand. Deadly floods and landslides are common during the monsoon season from June to September, but experts say climate change, coupled with urbanisation, is increasing their frequency and severity. The UN's World Meteorological Organization said last year that increasingly intense floods and droughts are a 'distress signal' for what is to come as climate change makes the planet's water cycle ever more unpredictable.


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Oil prices fall as OPEC+ output hikes counter Russia disruption concerns
NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday as rising OPEC+ supply and worries of weaker global demand countered concern about U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to India over its Russian oil purchases. Brent crude futures were down 58 cents, or 0.84%, to $68.18 a barrel at 12:17 p.m. EDT (1617 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 59 cents, or 0.89%, to $65.7. Both contracts fell by more than 1% on Monday to settle at their lowest levels in a week. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, a move that will end its most recent output cut earlier than planned. "The significant increase in OPEC supplies is weighing on the market," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. "The market now is going to see if India and China agree to substantially reduce the purchases of Russian crude oil, thereby looking for alternative supplies elsewhere." Trump on Tuesday again threatened higher tariffs on Indian goods over the country's Russian oil purchases over the next 24 hours. Trump also said declining energy prices could pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the war in Ukraine. New Delhi called Trump's threat "unjustified" and vowed to protect its economic interests, deepening a trade rift between the two countries. Oil's move since Trump's threat indicates that traders are sceptical of a supply disruption happening, John Evans of oil broker PVM said in a report. He questioned whether Trump would risk higher oil prices. "I'd call it a stable market for oil," said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS. "Assume this likely continues until we figure out what the U.S. president announces in respect to Russia later this week and how those buyers would react." India is the biggest buyer of seaborne crude from Russia, importing about 1.75 million bpd from January to June this year, up 1% from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by trade sources. There are renewed concerns about global oil demand, with some analysts expecting faltering economic growth in the second half of this year.

Finextra
2 hours ago
- Finextra
TransferMate secures in-principle approval from MAS to add payment services
TransferMate, the world's leading provider of embedded B2B payments infrastructure as a service (IaaS), today announced TransferMate Pte. Ltd. has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to add account issuance, domestic money transfers and e-money issuance to its Major Payment Institution (MPI) license. 0 This milestone further deepens TransferMate's regulatory footprint in APAC, enabling it to expand its local services and deliver even greater value to partners and customers operating in and out of Singapore. This license expands TransferMate's existing suite of products in Singapore, to now include the ability to store funds in a local dedicated Global Account. By unlocking these capabilities, TransferMate's Global Accounts solution becomes even more powerful for clients with operations in Asia, making it easier to move money into and out of the region, convert currencies, and run payroll or supplier payments - all from one platform. 'Singapore is fast becoming the financial heartbeat of Asia, and securing in-principle approval from MAS marks a major step forward in our commitment to the region,' said Gary Conroy, CEO of TransferMate. 'With this license, we'll be able to offer our customers even more flexibility and control over how they manage and move their money across APAC - whether it's holding funds long-term or receiving funds in their own name.' TransferMate owns the largest fintech payment infrastructure in the world, empowering businesses to make, receive, and hold payments in over 140 currencies across 200+ countries and territories. Its latest announcement comes as it continues on its trajectory towards securing 100+ licenses globally. With Singapore as a strategic APAC hub, TransferMate is well-positioned to help businesses simplify financial operations, reduce costs, and scale globally with confidence.