Hello, Welcome back to the newsletter rounding up all the latest climate, corporate and social governance developments around the world. This week is off to a somber start as deadly floods from a cyclone hit Indonesia and Sri Lanka, while an earthquake shook northeastern Japan. Let's start with the floods in Indonesia, which mainly affected the region around Aceh Tamiang, where residents grappled with worsening diseases and a lack of medical care as workers struggled to help dozens of residents at the lone hospital in the area. The death toll from the cyclone-induced floods and landslides reached 950 as of Monday, with 274 people still missing, according to official data. The storms also killed about 200 people in southern Thailand and Malaysia. Indonesia's Sumatra Island will require 51.82 trillion rupiah ($3.11 billion) in reconstruction and recovery funds following a series of deadly floods, senior government officials said. Also on my radar today: |
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Resident Abdul Ghani cries while looking for his wife Marsoni, who is missing following the deadly flood in Agam regency, West Sumatra, Indonesia. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan |
Over in Sri Lanka, residents of Kithulbadde village in the nation's central region say they have been left in the lurch after the deadly cyclone and many are stuck in relief centers as damaged infrastructure has made them wary of returning home. With the cyclone leaving deep fissures on the earth and cracked walls in homes, many of those in relief facilities are staying put. "People are scared to go home, they don't feel safe," said Madullegedera Chandralatha, 57, a resident of Kithulbadde. But as residents in Sri Lanka lost their homes to pools of mud and debris, diseases got worse in Indonesia. Symptoms including diarrhea, fever or myalgia spread because the "environment and places of stay have not recovered post-disaster," Indonesia's health ministry said last week. At the only hospital in Aceh Tamiang, a patient and medical workers told Reuters of worsening diseases there. Reuters' witnesses said medical equipment was covered with mud, syringes were scattered on the floor and floods swept medicines away. |
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Elsewhere, a powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Japan's northeast region late on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and orders for residents to evacuate. The earthquake injured at least 30 people and forced about 90,000 residents to evacuate their homes. By the early hours of Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) downgraded the warnings to advisories and later lifted all advisories. There were no reports of major damage. Sign up here to keep up with all the latest extreme weather-related developments around the world with a Reuters subscription. For now, check out today's corporate governance 'Talking Points' covering everything from the Warner Brothers/Paramount/Netflix drama to a fascinating scoop from the land of ice cream as Magnum seeks to oust the Ben & Jerry's chair. Scroll on to find out why. |
Fire trucks gather in front of Wang Fuk Court housing complex to tackle the fire from multiple residential blocks in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu |
- Hong Kong fires: Residents at the apartment complex that was destroyed in one of Hong Kong's deadliest fires were incorrectly told that the contractor, Prestige Construction & Engineering Co, had a clean safety record, when it was actually penalized by the city's safety regulator more than a dozen times in the seven years before it was hired, according to documents viewed by Reuters. Click here for the in-depth Reuters report.
- EU Big Tech crackdown: The European Union is forging ahead with its crackdown on Big Tech. The European Commission imposed a 120 million euro ($140 million) penalty on Elon Musk's X for breaching EU online content rules as the bloc looks to open new investigations on breaches of its digital laws, which force big online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content.
- Streaming wars and unions: The Hollywood Teamsters, the Writers Guild and other unions raised concerns over job cuts, wage reductions, higher prices for consumers and worsening conditions for entertainment workers if Netflix's proposed $72 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery goes through. Questions remained over whether the unions still hold the same views regarding Paramount Skydance's hostile bid worth $108.4 billion for Warner Bros.
- A dish best served cold: The chair of Ben & Jerry's independent board, Anuradha Mittal, is facing mounting pressure to resign from its parent Unilever, ahead of the public spinoff of its Magnum ice cream division. Magnum accused Mittal of no longer meeting the criteria to serve. Magnum is inheriting a deepening corporate feud between Unilever and Ben & Jerry's, stemming from the politically progressive brand's stance on the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. Click here for the full story.
- Aussie teen socials ban: Australia is set to become the first country to implement a minimum age for social media use as platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube will block more than a million accounts. The law received harsh criticism from major tech firms and free speech advocates but was praised by parents and child advocates. Governments from Denmark to Malaysia – and even some states in the U.S. – say they plan similar steps.
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"Buy European": In keeping with the topic of governance, today's ESG Lens focuses on the changing priorities of the European Union as nine countries – the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Sweden and Slovakia – urged the bloc to be extremely cautious over supporting its industry with "Buy European" plans. In a paper seen by Reuters, the countries urged the Commission to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the policy's impact on prices, supply chains and competition first. The Commission is set to make proposals next month to bolster EU industry while cutting CO2 emissions and boosting clean-tech production. |
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Sustainable Switch was edited by Susan Fenton. |
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