Damaged Baltic Sea power cable Estlink 2 seen back in operation late June
Fingrid, which last month predicted the cable would be back in operation on July 15, said in a statement repair work was progressing faster than expected.
Finnish authorities in December seized a ship carrying Russian oil in the Baltic Sea on suspicion it caused the outage by dragging its anchor across the power cable as well as four internet lines.
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The Independent
10 hours ago
- The Independent
Councils slammed for charging ‘fat tax' on burials of larger coffins
Grieving families of obese and overweight people may be stumping up a 'fat tax' when they die in the form of additional burial charges, funeral directors have warned. Some local authorities across the UK now demand extra charges to bury larger coffins, known in the industry as "bariatric burials", with additional costs ranging from under £100 to more than a £1,000 in some areas. A survey of its members by the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) found a quarter of funeral directors now say their local authority charges extra for larger coffins. "The majority of respondents (125 out of 165) indicated that their local cemetery and cremation authority does not charge extra for the burial of large or bariatric coffins. However, a significant minority (40 respondents) reported extra charges," the SAIF said. Speaking to The Independent, Ross Hickton, managing director of Hickton Family Funeral directors in the West Midlands, and who is also the national president of SAIF, said the extra charges were discriminatory. He said: "Obviously families have paid council tax, income tax their entire lives, and now to be slammed with another tax if their loved one is overweight or oversized isn't really fair. He added: "I would call it a fat tax because at the end of the day, people are having to pay extra fees due to their size." The survey was commissioned by SAIF when concerns were raised over Wolverhampton council after it suggested it would implement a 20% extra charge on bariatric burials due to a growing demand for larger graves in cemeteries and graveyards. However, the council has since backtracked on that proposal. Matthew Crawley, chief executive at the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management rejected the idea that additional charges were any kind of "tax" and said local authorities largely "take a measured and reasonable approach in charging for additional space required". "Suitable cemetery land is and has been in crisis for over 20 years, therefore burial space is at a premium,' he said. 'Historically graves in a Victorian cemetery may have been 3'5" wide, and this has increased to 4'5"-5' steadily over several years, suggesting that cemeteries are adapting to requirements rather than applying a 'tax' of any kind." Wolverhampton council has also stoked controversy after its councillors reportedly decided to introduce a new dedicated section for larger graves at the city's Danescourt Cemetery in Tettenhall in May this year. Mr Hickton said: "They've indicated they may open a separate section for bariatric and large coffins in cemeteries. It's a separate section which is penalising and stigmatising. It is absolutely nuts." A City of Wolverhampton Council spokesperson told The Independent: 'No formal decision was ever taken on plans to charge more for larger burial plots. 'This is a common practice taken by councils around the country where higher charges cover the costs of providing a larger plot. 'However, while under consideration, we have decided not to proceed with the plans.'
The Independent
13 hours ago
- The Independent
WhatsApp hits back at Russia over latest move
WhatsApp has accused Russia of attempting to block its encrypted messaging service, stating that Moscow 's actions are a direct response to its commitment to secure communication. The Meta-owned platform has vowed to continue making its end-to-end encrypted services available to users in Russia despite these restrictions. Russia has also begun imposing restrictions on certain Telegram and WhatsApp calls, alleging that these foreign-owned platforms have failed to provide law enforcement with information on fraud and terrorism cases. Reports in Russian media earlier this week indicated that users were experiencing disrupted calls on both WhatsApp and Telegram. Both platforms have a history of disputes with Russian authorities, with critics suggesting Russia is expanding its control over the country's internet space.
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Reuters
India's Reliance makes rare fuel oil purchase from HPCL, sources say
SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries ( opens new tab, India's biggest buyer of Russian oil, has in recent weeks made rare fuel oil purchases from state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp, seven industry sources said. The purchases suggest the operator of the world's largest refining complex is diversifying its fuel oil sources as India comes under heavy pressure from Washington over its energy ties with Russia. Reliance and HPCL did not respond to emails seeking comments. Reliance has in recent years snapped up cheap supplies of Russian crude and fuel oil, which have been sold at a discount after Western entities shunned purchases and imposed sanctions against Moscow since the Ukraine war. However U.S. President Donald Trump, who announced 25% import tariffs on Indian goods last month, has threatened further levies if India continues to buy Russian oil. Reliance bought two cargoes of high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) from HPCL via tenders that closed in late July to early August, the sources said. The cargoes, of 33,000 metric tons or 209,550 barrels each, are scheduled for loading on August 23-25 and September 8-10 from Visakhapatnam Port, they added. The sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Reliance typically buys most of its fuel oil from Russia for processing at its coker into higher-value products. This month, Russian fuel oil exports to India are expected to drop below 400,000 tons from above 750,000 tons in July, data from shipping analytics firm Kpler showed. Almost all of the cargoes are imported by Reliance, the data showed. "It's a recent phenomenon (for Reliance) to diversify their slate with cheaper residue barrels," a source familiar with India refinery operations said. Indian state refiners are awaiting clarity from the government on whether to continue importing Russian oil, while Reliance is likely to switch back to Middle Eastern oil if Russian oil is no longer an option, traders have said. Reliance's refining complex at Jamnagar in western India can process about 1.4 million barrels per day of crude.
