Body of last missing worker killed in Baltimore bridge collapse recovered

Officials made announcement Tuesday, as demolition crews prepared to use explosives in continued cleanup effort

The body of the last missing construction worker killed in the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March has been recovered, officials announced Tuesday, as demolition crews prepared to use explosives in the ongoing cleanup effort.

Officials said the crew of the Dali will remain on board the grounded container ship while crews conduct a controlled demolition to break down the largest remaining span of the fallen bridge.

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Body recovered of fifth worker who died in Baltimore bridge collapse

Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez was one of six construction workers killed when a container ship collided with bridge in March

The body of a fifth victim in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, has been recovered.

Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez was identified as the victim, per Unified Command salvage teams. The group, which is a joint effort by police, the coast guard and other government agencies, had reported one of their construction vehicles missing when the bridge collapsed in March and notified the Maryland department of state police, per ABC News.

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Food importers in UK say new Brexit checks could add 60% to costs

Businesses say fees for Dover inspections are much higher than first thought and will push up shop prices

Importers of food from the EU into Britain have said newly introduced post-Brexit checks could increase their costs by up to 60%, pushing up prices for customers and driving some shops out of business.

After five previous delays, the UK government on Tuesday introduced the physical checks on animal and plant products entering from the EU, having revealed at the start of this month that it would be implementing a common user charge (CUC) of up to £145 per consignment.

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‘Russia doesn’t care’: Sweden sounds alarm over unsafe oil fleet

Foreign minister warns of environmental catastrophe in Baltic Sea as he accuses Moscow of using unseaworthy vessels

Russia appears prepared to create “environmental havoc” by sailing unseaworthy oil tankers through the Baltic Sea in breach of all maritime rules, the Swedish foreign minister has said.

Speaking to the Guardian during his first visit to London since Sweden became a Nato member, Tobias Billström called for new rules and enforcement mechanisms to prevent the ageing and uninsured Russian shadow fleet causing an environmental catastrophe. About half of all Russian oil transported by sea passes through the Baltic Sea and Danish waters, often operating under opaque ownership, and using international waters to try to avoid scrutiny.

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Eight dead after South Korean tanker capsizes off Japan

Coastguard says chemical tanker was carrying 980 tonnes of acrylic acid but no leaks reported

Eight people died after a South Korean-flagged tanker capsized in rough seas off Japan, the coastguard said.

“They were confirmed dead at a hospital,” a spokesperson told AFP on Wednesday. One other person was in a non-life-threatening condition while two others remained missing.

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Cross-channel ferry crews must be paid at least £9.95 an hour under French law

New minimum wage law to be brought in two years after P&O Ferries replaced hundreds of workers with low-cost crew

Cross-Channel ferry operators will be required to pay their crew at least £9.95 an hour after France implemented a new minimum wage law aimed at preventing the exploitation of seafarers.

The move comes two years after P&O Ferries caused outrage on both sides of the Channel by sacking almost 800 workers and replacing them with low-cost crew.

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Houthi forces step up Red Sea attacks as US and Denmark shoot down drones

Iran-backed group is attempting to strike ships it claims have links to Israel, in solidarity with Gaza

Houthi forces in Yemen claim to have launched one of their largest attacks on US shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, saying they sent 37 drones to hit US navy war ships and a commercial ship.

The US Central Command said it had stopped the attack, which it attributed to Iranian-backed Houthi forces. The US spoke of only shooting down 15, not 37, drones.

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Sinking of Rubymar in Red Sea poses grave environmental risks, experts warn

Leaking fuel and thousands of tonnes of fertiliser could harm marine ecosystems and affect coastal fishing communities

The sinking of a bulk carrier off the coast of Yemen after a Houthi missile attack poses grave environmental risks as thousands of tonnes of fertiliser threaten to spill into the Red Sea, officials and experts have warned.

Leaking fuel and the chemical pollutant could harm marine life, including coral reefs, and affect coastal communities that rely on fishing for their livelihoods, they said.

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More than half of UK retailers affected by Houthi disruption, survey shows

Costs are escalating amid delays, according to British Chambers of Commerce research that shows UK exporters have also been hit

More than half of UK retailers and exporters have been affected by the disruption to Red Sea trade from Houthi rebel attacks on cargo ships, research by a leading business lobby group suggests.

The price of shipping a container from Asia to Europe has gone up by as much as 300% for some businesses, while logistical delays have added up to three to four weeks to delivery times, according to the survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

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Maritime authorities investigate reported attack on UK-registered cargo ship near Yemen

UK Maritime Trade Operations says military authorities exploring apparent explosion near vessel

The UK is investigating reports that a cargo ship has come under attack off the coast of Yemen, after an apparent explosion close to the vessel on Sunday.

Following the reports of damage to the vessel, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said: “Military authorities are investigating. UKMTO has received a report of an incident 35 NM [nautical miles] south of Al Mukha, Yemen.

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India’s plan for untouched Nicobar isles will be ‘death sentence’ for isolated tribe

Exclusive: $9bn port, airport and military base on Great Nicobar Island will cause ‘genocide’ of isolated Shompen, academics warn

Academics from around the world have urged India to cancel a huge construction project on Great Nicobar Island, warning it would be “a death sentence” for the Shompen hunter-gatherer people who live there.

The $9bn (£7bn) port project, planned to transform the Indian Ocean island of 8,000 inhabitants into what has been called the “Hong Kong of India”, includes the construction of an international shipping terminal, airport, power plant, military base and industrial park. It will also develop tourism.

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UK manufacturers hit by Red Sea disruption and rising shipping costs

Supply chain difficulties have led to job losses and cuts in purchasing and stocks, S&P Global poll shows

Britain’s factories have been hit by disruption caused by Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea that led to shipping delays and contributed to rising costs, as the boss of Adidas warned about “exploding” global freight rates.

UK manufacturers have experienced growing supply chain difficulties, as the Red Sea crisis led to the rerouting of deliveries of raw materials, components and other goods away from the Suez Canal, a survey has shown.

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Red Sea crisis: US launches fourth round of strikes on Houthis in Yemen

US missile strikes came after a bulk carrier was hit by Houthi drones in the Gulf of Aden

The US military has fired another wave of missile strikes against Houthi-controlled sites, marking the fourth time in a week that it has directly targeted the group in Yemen.

The strikes were launched from the Red Sea, hitting more than a dozen sites – the officials told the AP news agency – and came after a drone launched from areas controlled by the Houthis hit a US-owned vessel in the Gulf of Aden.

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Oil prices hit $80 a barrel as fears grow over Red Sea disruption to trade

Experts warn of economic impact of sustained shipping attacks and Middle East tensions

Oil prices have hit $80 (£62.83) as fears grew about the economic impact of disruption to international trade through the Red Sea and escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Raising concerns about a possible inflation shock for the world economy, Brent crude prices jumped by about 4% to a high of $80.75 a barrel on Friday, while US West Texas Intermediate crude also increased after US and UK airstrikes against Houthi rebel sites in Yemen.

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Tesla pauses German production after Red Sea shipping attacks

Delays in delivery of parts result in suspension of manufacturing at factory near Berlin for two weeks

The electric car manufacturer Tesla is to halt most production at its factory near Berlin for two weeks because of delays in deliveries of parts because of attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

Shipping delays in the Red Sea, caused by attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants, has caused Tesla to suspend most production at its German factory from 29 January to 11 February.

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Red Sea crisis: UN security council demands immediate end to Houthi attacks

Resolution calling for cessation of attacks on shipping vessels by Yemen’s Houthis adopted despite abstentions from Russia and China

The UN security council has called for an immediate end to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea, adopting a resolution despite abstentions from Russia and China.

The resolution also called on the Houthis to release the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated vehicle carrier linked to an Israeli businessman that the group commandeered on 19 November, along with its 25 crew.

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Britain ‘considering airstrikes’ on Houthi rebels after Red Sea attacks

Defence secretary says UK would not hesitate to take ‘direct action’ after US sank boats targeting a container ship

Britain is reportedly considering airstrikes on Houthi rebels after the US said its navy sank three boats that had been targeting a container ship in the Red Sea.

Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said the government would not hesitate to take “direct action” to prevent further attacks amid reports the UK and US are preparing a joint statement to issue a final warning to the Yemeni group.

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US says it shot down four drones in southern Red Sea launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen

Drone attack follows the Pentagon openly accusing Iran of directly targeting ships for the first time since the start of Gaza war

The United States shot down four drones headed towards a US destroyer in the southern Red Sea and launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Saturday, US Central Command (Centcom) said.

“These attacks represent the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi militants since Oct. 17,” Centcom said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

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Ikea warns Red Sea attacks could disrupt supplies and deliveries

Firm says it is weighing up options to secure product availability amid Yemeni rebel attacks on shipping

Ikea has warned that the disruption to global trade caused by Yemeni rebel attacks in the Red Sea could delay its deliveries and affect availability of some products.

The world’s largest furniture company said it was “evaluating other supply options to secure the availability of our products” after many big shipping companies stopped sending vessels through the Suez canal in response to the attacks by Houthi militants’ protests against the Israel-Gaza war.

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More than 100 container ships rerouted from Suez canal to avoid Houthi attacks

Cape of Good Hope diversion adds 6,000 nautical miles and three or four weeks to delivery times and has driven up oil prices

More than 100 container ships have been rerouted around southern Africa to avoid the Suez canal, in a sign of the disruption to global trade caused by Houthi rebels attacking vessels on the western coast of Yemen.

The shipping company Kuehne and Nagel said it had identified 103 ships that had already changed course, with more expected to go around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.

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