European Power Surges on Fresh Fears of French Reactor Corrosion
Power prices across Europe jumped as nuclear giant Electricite de France SA reported signs of 'stress corrosion' at a reactor, renewing fears that generation may be curtailed once again.
The French utility in 2022 and 2023 was forced to halt part of its atomic fleet, the backbone of western Europe's electricity market, to fix cracked pipes. That sent energy prices soaring as the repairs coincided with dwindling Russian gas supplies to the continent.
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News24
35 minutes ago
- News24
Ukraine's Zelensky hopes to push Trump on US Russia sanctions at G7
Ukrainian President Zelensky plans to urge US President Donald Trump at the G7 summit to intensify sanctions on Russia as peace talks falter. Trump's potential withdrawal of US support for Ukraine has caused European countries to scramble for alternatives, with Germany pledging €1.9 billion in military aid but refusing to supply long-range Taurus missiles. Amid escalating drone strikes and civilian casualties on both sides, Ukraine and Russia conducted a significant prisoner exchange, releasing over 1 000 soldiers, many of whom are severely wounded or ill. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday he hoped to press his US counterpart Donald Trump at the G7 summit this weekend to step up sanctions against Russia, as peace talks between the warring sides stall. In two rounds of negotiations in Istanbul, Moscow and Kyiv have so far only agreed large-scale prisoner exchanges, with Russia rejecting calls to halt its three-year invasion. Trump has urged both sides to strike a peace deal and shown increasing frustration with both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin for not having found a way to end the war. He has at times threatened new sanctions on Russia, which has ramped up its aerial attacks during the talks, but has so far failed to follow through. "I count on having a conversation" with Trump at the G7, Zelensky said at a press conference in Kyiv. "This sanctions package is very important... the final decision is still in the White House, it depends on the President of the United States," he added. US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, is pushing what he calls a bipartisan "bone-breaking" bill to introduce a 500-percent tariff on countries buying Russian oil and gas, mostly targeting China and India. 'Appeasement' Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia invaded in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes as towns and cities across eastern Ukraine have been flattened by heavy bombardments. Trump's return to the White House has upended the West's vital aid for Kyiv. Europe has been left scrambling to see how it could fill any gap if he decides to pull US military, financial and intelligence support. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius appeared to deliver a blow to those plans during a visit to Kyiv on Thursday. Speaking alongside Zelensky, he said Berlin was not planning to deliver Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine. "Asked whether we are considering this, my answer is no," he told a reporter of the possibility of sending the missiles, which could allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory. Instead, Pistorius announced 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in additional military aid. The setback came just after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga told a security conference in Rome that the "diplomacy of appeasement does not work with Russia" -- a veiled reference to Trump's soft approach towards Putin. "We want to end this war this year," he said. Russia has been advancing on the battlefield for months and launched record drone strikes at Ukraine in recent days. Two civilians were killed in the frontline Donetsk region in a drone strike on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said. Kyiv has responded to Russian bombardments with its own wave of drone strikes. In Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, a two-year-old child was killed following one such attack, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. POW swap The warring sides completed the latest stage of a prisoner swap on Thursday, freeing wounded soldiers in line with a deal struck at talks in Istanbul. "Today, warriors of our Armed Forces, National Guard, and Border Guard Service are back home," Zelensky said on social media. The two sides agreed to each free more than 1 000 prisoners of war -- all wounded or under the age of 25 -- and return the bodies of killed soldiers. Zelensky published pictures of the Ukrainian servicemen, all with freshly shaved heads, draped in national flags and smiling as they made phone calls and hugged people welcoming them at the border. "They all require medical treatment," as they were "severely wounded and seriously ill", Zelensky added. At the exchange, AFP reporters saw dozens of people -- mostly women -- waiting with pictures of their captured or missing relatives, hoping the freed soldiers could offer news about them. Russian state media showed Moscow's returned troops in uniforms chanting "Russia, Russia" with national flags around their shoulders. Russia later accused Ukraine of not being "ready to conduct exchanges" on a daily basis, as it said the two sides had agreed at the Istanbul talks. Kyiv said further swaps would take place in the coming days.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Pod Point valued at £10.6m as EDF set to takeover
Struggling Pod Point is to be taken over by France's EDF in a deal that values the company at just £10.6m. The London-listed chargepoint provider had a market capitalisation of £352m when it began trading on the stock exchange in 2021. EDF will take full control of the group via the transaction, having previously held a 53 per cent controlling stake. The value of the offer represents a premium of approximately 24 per cent to Pod Point's closing price on 23 April – the last trading day before the offer period. Shareholders in the group will be entitled to receive 6.5p in cash per share under the terms of the deal. Pod Point has endured a torrid time since its IPO amid a slower-than-expected uptake in private electric vehicle (EV) demand and higher interest rates. Shares tanked in April as it warned annual pre-tax earnings would be significantly worse than expected and said it had uncovered bad debts. 'After much careful deliberation and active engagement with EDF, the board has determined that this offer represents the best value for all Pod Point shareholders, employees and other stakeholders,' Andy Palmer, chair of Pod Point and a former chief executive of Aston Martin, said in a statement. 'As a good strategic fit within the EDF Group, we believe it puts Pod Point on the road to a long-term, sustainable future, to the wider benefit of all its stakeholders.' Philippe Commaret, managing director of EDF, said: 'EDF has a long-standing commitment to electric vehicles and a strong customer offering with one of the most competitive EV tariffs in the market. 'We aim to strengthen our leading position in EV charging, including through Pod Point. Our offer for Pod Point will allow it to benefit from long-term stability and enhanced operational support providing greater certainty for its customers.'
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Huge coin collection found hidden in house's walls sells for nearly $3.5 million
A huge collection of historic gold coins, recovered from the wall of a house in France after their owner passed away, has been sold for millions of euros at auction. Auction house Beaussant Lefèvre and Associates told CNN on Thursday that all of the coins had sold in Paris this week, fetching more than 3 million euros ($3.48 million) in total. The coins were collected by Paul Narce, who lived in a small village in south-west France until his death in 2024, according to Beaussant Lefèvre and Associates. 'Narce, who lived a modest life and didn't see a lot of the world, spent all of his money on his collection,' said coin expert Thierry Parsy in a statement previewing the sale. Over the years, he built up a collection of gold coins 'exceptional both in number, with more than 1,000 pieces, as well as the rarities it contains,' said Parsy. Many of the coins date back centuries, according to Parsy. Among them are ancient coins from the Kingdom of Macedonia, dating to 336-323 BC, as well as almost complete series of coins used during the reigns of French Kings Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI. Narce had no direct descendants and only a few people knew of his hobby. However, no one knew where he kept his collection, which 'could have remained undiscovered forever,' said Parsy, were it not for a notary who set out to find the coins in the house, which had been empty since Narce moved into a care home a year before he died. The notary eventually found the coins in a small space in the wall, hidden behind a painting in a store room. In addition to the carefully labelled collection, the notary also found 10 packages, each containing 172 gold 20 franc coins, equivalent to an ingot of gold. The final sale far exceeded the pre-auction estimate of 2 million euros ($2.43 million).
