A 23-year-old man been charged in connection with the deaths of 39 people in a lorry trailer in Essex. Eamon Harrison appeared in court in Dublin after being detained on a European Arrest Warrant and extradition proceedings have been launched. It comes as Essex police made a direct appeal to two other suspects. Officers said they had spoken to one of the men, Ronan Hughes, 40, by phone. He is wanted along with his brother, 34-year-old Christopher Hughes, on suspicion of manslaughter and human trafficking. Image: Ronan Hughes (left) and Christopher Hughes (right) are wanted by police From Armagh in Northern Ireland, they also have links to the Republic of Ireland, and to the road haulage and shipping industries. Advertisement "Today I want to make a direct appeal – Ronan and Christopher, hand yourselves in to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)," said Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Stoten. "We need you both to come forward and assist this investigation." More from Essex Lorry Deaths Image: A lorry cab was seized in Dublin which police believe may have delivered the trailer to Zeebrugge Mr Stoten added: "Although we have already spoken to Ronan Hughes recently by telephone we need to have a conversation with him and his brother in person. "Talking to Ronan and Christopher is crucial to our investigation and the sooner we can make this happen the sooner we can progress and continue with our investigation." Mr Stoten said a lorry believed to be connected to the brothers was stopped and seized by the PSNI on Thursday, but no further arrests were made. He said the Essex force would continue to work with the PSNI and Irish police "until Ronan and Christopher Hughes have come forward or are arrested". The bodies of eight women and 31 men were found in a refrigerated trailer at Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, Essex, in the early hours of 23 October. Read More – Source

Police have handed their completed file of evidence on the death of Harry Dunn to the Crown Prosecution Service. Northamptonshire Police confirmed they had completed the file after interviewing Anne Sacoolas in America. Mrs Sacoolas, the wife of a US diplomat, is believed to have been driving on the wrong side of the road when her car hit Mr Dunn's motorbike outside RAF Croughton on 27 August. The 42-year-old cooperated with police in the aftermath of the crash but then claimed diplomatic immunity and left the UK. Harry's brother: Getting justice will let me go back to being 'normal' Radd Seiger, spokesman for Mr Dunn's family, said: "We are pleased that at long last Northamptonshire Police have been able to complete their investigation and hand the file over to the CPS. Advertisement "On 26 September the family were told they had less than 1% chance of somebody being held accountable for the loss of their son." Mr Seiger said there could have been a different outcome were it not for the "incredible determination of the most courageous and dignified family I have ever met – who have moved heaven and earth to get justice for their son". More from Harry Dunn It was announced last week that Mrs Sacoolas would be interviewed under caution by Northamptonshire Police officers in her home country. Image: Harry's parents went to the US last month and met the president Mr Dunn's mother, Charlotte Charles, previously told Sky News the family felt they were still "left in limbo". She also criticised the decision to fly British police to the US. "We don't even really understand why the police flew to see her as per her request," she said. Chief Constable Nick Adderley said at the time: "The suspect has cooperated fully with police and authorities and requested to bRead More – Source

An 18-month-old boy has died after falling from a block of flats on Tottenham High Road in north London. The boy was found in critical condition at around 11am on Thursday. He was taken to hospital but died shortly after. Police are investigating the death, which is being treated as unexplained, and no arrests have been made. A Met Police spokesman said: "Formal identification and a post-mortem examination will take place in due course." A cordon remains in Read More – Source

WTI $54.18 -88c, Brent (Jan) $59.62 -60c, Diff -$5.44 -11c, NG $2.63 -6c Oil price I feel that yesterday things might have been worse, numbers from major producers, viz Saudi Arabia and the USA showed strong signs of growth. The Saudis to be fair are only back to their pre-Houthi strike numbers of 9.9m b/d in line with quotas bringing OPEC to 29.59m b/d whilst the USA, according to the EIA are now at 12.4m b/d. December Brent expired with the January contract holding up pretty well under the circumstances. Genel Energy A trading and operations update from Genel this morning, net production averaged 36,530 bopd in the first 9 months up 12% y/y and in line with guidance. Q3 was 34,720 due to reasons explained yesterday and 11 wells have been placed on production this year so far with another 5 to come in the remainder of the year. What this means is that cash is pouring in with $287m proceeds received as of 30 September with $120m in Q3. This gives free cash flow of $121 million in the first nine months of 2019, with capital expenditure of $110 million with the 2019 number guided to the top end of the $150-190m range. This means cash of $413m (281) at 30th September with net cash of $115 million at 30 September 2019 (net debt of $16 million at 30 September 2018). The company are paying an interim dividend of 5c a share on 8th Jan 2020 and the company reaffirms its commitment to growing the dividend. Despite this substantial capital expenditure, and a growing dividend that gives the shares a highly attractive yield of c. 7% the company are still able to continually look at opportunities for value accretive additions to the portfolio. Genel, as we saw in the recent visit to Kurdistan is in a very strong position indeed, with the works at Sarta already completed and the CPF cracking on production here is likely to be mid 2020. The company has already announced a rig for Qara Dagh and is continuing to negotiate with the MNR with regards to Bina Bawi. It is difficult to argue with CEO Bill Higgs who comments today rapid payback from our low break-even assets gives us resilience and significant flexibility in regard to future capital allocation. The sustainability of our cash-generation provides opportunities to deliver material shareholder value through investing in growth and increasing returns to shareholders. Genel is uniquely placed with massive and growing cash flows capable of investing in the portfolio, engaging in M&A and paying a substantial dividend, whats not to like? President Energy News from President this morning that they are ready to start deliveries of gas through its own pipeline as well as building a new 16km pipeline to increase capacity. They will then be able to pipe gas from the Estancia Vieja and Las Bases fields and, permitting agreed will also take gas from the recently acquired Angostura block come January. This would be 30,000 m³/day from EV and LB blocks rising to 100,000 m³ in due course. In Louisiana the company report that after floods shut-in production down to 75 boepd remedial work has now tripled production to 275 boepd as the Triche well stages a recovery. Chairman Peter Levine states that the significance of gas from EV and LB should not be understated. Operationally President is doing very well but politically it has been affected by all things Argentine, it really does deserve a break and with this increased production the shares are woefully too cheap. Block EneRead More – Source

redT energy Secures Interim Funding Energy storage company redT energy (LON:RED) has agreed to an interim loan of US$2.5m (£1.9m) from Avalon Battery Corporation to fund ongoing working capital and expenses relating to the potential merger with Avalon, via a monthly drawdown schedule. Funds are being provided by AIM-listed integrated primary vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals Limited (BMN LN) as part of a US$5m (£3.9m) loan to Avalon. The US$5m loan to Avalon will convert into ordinary shares of the merged business upon completion of the deal on the same terms as other investors participating in the targeted US$30m fundraise. Bushveld retains the right to invest further funds into the merged business as part of the fundraise. Bushveld will receive a commitment fee of 20% of the principal amount of the loan as well as interest at 12% per annum, which will both roll-up and convert into ordinary shares on completion of the deal. RED has also granted Bushveld the right of first refusal to supply vanadium to the merged business for two years following the successful completion of the merger, as well as board representation (assuming it maintains its equity stake at specified levels). The deal is expected to complete in Q1 2020. If the deal does not comRead More – Source

SP Angel . Morning View . Friday 01 11 19 Positive Chinese manufacturing PMI lifts industrial metals MiFID II exempt information – see disclaimer below Arc Minerals* (LON:ARCM) STRONG BUY – First commercial sale and shipment of copper concentrate from Kalaba mine in Zambia Bushveld Minerals* (LON:BMN) – Support for RedT – Avalon reverse takeover to gain strategic interest in growing VRFB maunfacturer Firestone Diamonds (LON:FDI) – Resumption of production at Liqhobong 10% of the worlds tailing dams have stability issues (Reuters) Research led by the Church of England and fund managers revealed that at least 166 of 1,635 dams holding mining waste have had safety issues in the past. The inquisition which probed more than 700 resources companies was launched in response to the dam collapse in Brazil that killed hundreds of people. Less than half of the 726 companies contacted responded, with many Chinese and Indian miners yet to provide information. Leading industry names such as BHP, Rio Tinto and Vale disclosed dam sizes, construction methods and safety records. Gold Fund – Old Mutual decides not to close its South African Gold Fund in South Africa (Moneyweb) The Old Mutual Gold Fund is reported to be the best performing unit trust in South Africa returning 80% over the past 12 months A relatively small group of investors had sought to close the trust in a ballot but given the small proportion of respondents Old Mutual has decided after discussions with the FSCA to withdraw the application for closure as so many did not vote for the proposal. The fund has returned 2.8% pa over 10 years, the fourth worst performance of any local unit trust. South African gold miners have been hit by rising costs, productivity and health and safety issues in the deep level gold mines. The closure of many mines and shafts within existing mines combined with a lack of new investment has caused South African gold production to shrink. The rise in popularity of gold ETFs based either on physical gold or on baskets of gold equities has reduced inflows into traditional gold funds effectively removing much equity funding from the sector. Pre-ETFs US, Canadian and European investors bought South African gold miners for their leverage to gold. Now they tend to buy ETFs which carry less country risk, corporate risk and commission cost. The cost of complying with Black Economic Empowerment legislation, the rise of the militant union the AMCU along with significant increases in labour and ESKOM power costs and the need to mine deeper as the mines mature has not helped the sector. A few dedicated gold miners continue to keep the lights on in South Africa through innovation and great technical skill. The nation should cherish the skills inherent in Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold and other gold miners which employee >100,000 workers effectively supporting >1 million South Africans within the community. If South Africa loses the technical ability and corporate infrastructure to run deep level shafts then the gold mines of the Witwatersrand will close for good. Having said that, Sibanye-Stillwater has been cutting costs and may return a dividend next year highlighting the gains to be made from restructuring the South African gold sector. Dow Jones Industrials -0.52% at 27,046 Nikkei 225-0.33% at 22,851 HK Hang Seng +0.72% at 27,101 Shanghai Composite +0.99% at 2,958 FTSE 350 Mining +0.59% at 17,753 AIM Basic Resources +0.06% at 2,152 Economics Eurofer, an EU steel industry lobby group, is forecasting lack of demand to continue through the end of the year and into early 2020. A slowdown in the EU steel demand that already cost local producers a total $50bn in market value and is expected to see local demand down 3.1% in 2019, the most since 2012. Conditions are expected to improve from the second quarter next year and apparent consumption is forecast to increase 1.4% in 2020, mostly due to restocking. US threats to impose tariffs on EU cars and components continue to weigh over the industry, Eurofer said. Steelmakers have been battling with weaker economic growth rates and geopolitical uncertainty as well as low-cost competition from countries like Turkey, Russia and China. US – Equities are trading higher this morning recovering from a short pull back yesterday following negative news on the trade deal outlook. Additionally, Chinese private survey PMIs came in stronger than official data released earlier in the week. Non-farm payroll numbers to be released later today (85k v 136k) that is likely to reflect challenges in the auto industry as 46,000 GM workers went on strike on September 15 for six weeks. This was the longest nationwide walkout in the automakers history since 1970 and has also affected the producers suppliers and contractors. China – Risk sentiment is helped by stronger growth in the manufacturing sector. Both production and new orders sub indices expanded at steeper rates with the latter supported by a pick up in export business. “The gauge of new export orders returned to expansionary territory and reached the highest point since February 2019, due likely to the US move to exempt more than 400 types of Chinese products from additional tariffs,” Caixin-Markit wrote. Overall, positive report with the headline index hitting the strongest level since February 2017. Caixin Manufacturing PMI: 51.7 v 51.4 in September and 51.0 forecast. Japan – Manufacturing sector growth at the weakest in more than three years in October amid a slowdown in global economic conditions as well as domestic challenges including a decision to hike the sales tax and Typhoon Hagibis related disruptions. The sector has been in a contractionary territory for the last six months. “With weak regional growth across Asia and signs of fragility within the domestic economy, it is difficult to see any respite coming in the near-term,” Jibun-Markit wrote. Jibun Manufacturing PMI: 48.4 v 48.5 in September. South Korea – Trade remains a victim to a worldwide economic growth slowdown dampened by national protectionist policies. Both exports and imports posted double digit annual declines in October. Manufacturing sector gauge showed local producers remain under pressure amid weakness in both domestic and external demand, although business confidence picked up in October. “Latest survey data highlight the impact that difficult external conditions, which prompted the Bank of Korea into cutting rates, are having on the South Korean economy… spill over effects into the domestic economy have become increasingly apparent, with many firms indicating that weak domestic economic conditions are weighing on output and demand,” Markit wrote. Exports (%yoy): -14.7 v -11.7 in September and -13.6 forecast. Imports (%yoy): -14.6 v -5.6 in September and -13.7 forecast. Markit Manufacturing PMI: 48..4 v 48.0. South Africa – Moodys is set to release its sovereign credit assessment later today as markets are watching closely if the last agency rating the national debt as investment grade will reconfirm its risk estimate. The Finance Ministry released its updated fiscal outlook earlier this week projecting wider budget deficits for the current 2019/20 fiscal year and the next two years amid weak economic growth, downgrade to forecast revenues and bailouts of struggling state-owned companies. 2019/20 budget deficit is projected at 5.9%, a revision on 4.5% estimated previously and marking the highest level since 2009/10. “Lets see what they say (Moodys), but I really hope they keep the rating the same… but it is not looking good,” Minister Mboweni said. A downgrade risks a sell off in government debt and an increase in borrowing costs. Currencies US$1.1152/eur vs 1.1168/eur yesterday. Yen 108.04/$ vs 108.43/$. SAr 15.112/$ vs 15.156/$. $1.295/gbp vs $1.295/gbp. 0.690/aud vs 0.691/aud. CNY 7.039/$ vs 7.042/$. Commodity News Gold US$1,512/oz vs US$1,503/oz yesterday Gold ETFs 82.2moz vs US$82.2moz yesterday Platinum US$933/oz vs US$927/oz yesterday Palladium US$1,793/oz vs US$1,804/oz yesterday Silver US$18.09/oz vs US$18.03/oz yesterday Base metals: Copper US$ 5,822/t vs US$5,881/t yesterday Aluminium US$ 1,760/t vs US$1,746/t yesterday Nickel US$ 16,775/t vs US$16,710/t yesterday Zinc US$ 2,493/t vs US$2,496/t yesterday – Indias largest zinc miner to ramp up production through $2bn investment (miningweekly.com) Hindustan Zinc (HZL) has lined up a $2bn investment over the next five years. The miner wants to increase production from 800,000tpa to 1.5mtpa. The entire investment will be funded by internal accruals. HZL has 26 mining licenses across the country and is looking to diversify its mining activity entering iron-ore, copper and gold production. Lead US$ 2,164/t vs US$2,197/t yesterday Tin US$ 16,450/t vs US$16,820/t yesterday Energy: Oil US$59.9/bbl vs US$61.1/bbl yesterday Natural Gas US$2.611/mmbtu vs US$2.726/mmbtu yesterday Uranium US$23.85/lb vs US$23.90/lb yesterday Bulk: Iron ore 62% Fe spot (cfr Tianjin) US$80.3/t vs US$83.5/t Chinese steel rebar 25mm US$562.4/t vs US$561.4/t Thermal coal (1st year forward cif ARA) US$64.6/t vs US$64.0/t Coking coal futures Dalian Exchange US$184.1/t vs US$184.0/t Other: Cobalt LME 3m US$36,000/t vs US$36,000/t NdPr Rare Earth Oxide (China) US$41,412/t vs US$41,397/t – Reducing the reliance on Chinese supply is key for long-term rare earth supply (Telegraph) The strategic importance of rare earths, and the overwhelming dominance that China has on supply means that other countries (especially the US) want to improve the security of supply of such minerals. China currently produces 80% of the global supply or are earths, and dominates refining the elements. Furthermore, Beijing has imposed a 25% tariff on rare earths sent to the country for refining into magnets. The US has made it clear that it wants to reduce its reliance on China, and has approached Australia in order to try and assist development and subsequent export to the US of critical minerals. The US has also spoken to both Mkango Resources* and Rainbow Rare Earths who are developing high quality projects outside of China. In addition to mining, building refineries outside of China is also important to reduce reliance on China. Australia-based Peak Resources have selected Teesside as a location to build a rare earth refinery- expected to be operational by 2023. *SP Angel acts as Nomad and broker to Mkango Resources Lithium carbonate 99% (China) US$6,890/t vs US$6,888/t – Recycled lithium batteries market to hit $6bn by 2030 (mining.com) Global uptake of EVs is also increasing the amount of battery waste, as vehicles become spent. China is forecast to generate 500,000t of battery waste per year by 2020, and 1.2mt by 2030, according to Circular Electric Storage (CES). CES believes the second life battery market is worth more than $6bn based on current metals prices. 125,000t of LCE, 35,000t of cobalt and 86,000t of nickel could be recovered by 2030 from waste batteries. The west is lagging behind Chinas willingness to recycle, and the gap is set to widen as American and European companies are likely to struggle to find the volumes of used batteries. Ferro Vanadium 80% FOB (China) US$31.0/kg vs US$32.0/kg Antimony Trioxide 99.5% EU (China) US$5.4/kg vs US$5.4/kg Tungsten APT European US$225-245/mtu vs US$205-215/mtu Graphite flake 94% C, -100 mesh, fob China US$540/t vs US$540/t Graphite spherical 99.95% C, 15 microns, fob China US$2,550/t vs US$2,550/t Company News Arc Minerals* (LON:ARCM LN) 3.1p, Mkt Cap £22m – First commercial sale and shipment of copper concentrate from Kalaba mine in Zambia (The Cheyeza project is 66% owned by Arc Minerals through its holding in Zamsort) STRONG BUY – click for previous pdf Arc Minerals reports the first commercial sale and shipment of copper concentrate from its Kalaba mine in Zambia. Arc sold 15t of copper concentrate to a Zambian-based Chinese customer at close to its equivalent LME spot price. The sale proves the concept of selling concentrates from the Kalaba Commercial Scale Demonstration CSD plant. Cheyeza East: The team are looking into the viability of mining 1-2% copper oxide material from the Cheyeza East pRead More – Source

Boris Johnson has rejected Nigel Farage's offer to form a "Leave alliance". The prime minister told Sky's Sophy Ridge: "I've ruled out a pact with everybody because I don't think it's sensible to do that. "We're proud of our beliefs, we're proud of our One Nation Conservatism." Brexit Party leader Mr Farage vowed on Friday to field a candidate in every seat in Britain if the PM did not drop his EU Withdrawal Agreement and join him in a "non-aggression pact". But Mr Johnson said he would not do a deal with any party leader. Advertisement He said: "To all the leaders of the other parties, alas the only likely consequence of voting for them, rather than for us as Conservatives, is that you are making it more likely that you will get Jeremy Corbyn…with nothing but dither and delay." Mr Johnson also rejected Donald Trump's claim that his EU deal may hinder a future trade deal between the US and UK. More from Politics The prime minister said: "I'm afraid I don't wish to cast any aspersions on the president of the United States, but in that respect he is patently in error, anyone who looks at our deal can see it is a great deal. "What it does is allows us to take back control of our money, our borders and our laws, but also it allows us to have full unfettered control of our tariff schedules in Geneva." Mr Johnson also said he was "sorry" the UK did not leave the EuropeaRead More – Source

Whirlpool has been condemned for using controversial gagging clauses to "silence customers" who had been fire victims of its faulty tumble dryers. MPs said it was "disgraceful" the manufacturer made householders sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and called for it to stop. The report by the Commons business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee noted "the chilling effect such legal devices have" and branded the practice as "dangerous", because watchdogs would be unaware of safety problems. Image: Whirlpool launched a large recall in July The report also found it "astonishing" that there were still up to 800,000 faulty machines in people's homes four years after the Whirlpool revealed they posed a fire hazard. The committee criticised the firm for its slow response in fixing or replacing defective items and also highlighted doubts over the safety of the modification to address the fault. Advertisement MPs said the company's approach to safety was further exposed with its "improbable suggestion" that the Grenfell fire, was caused by a stray cigarette rather than one of its fridges, as the police found. The company finally launched a full recall involving 500,000 dryers in July following a lengthy "safety campaign" that saw 1.7 million products modified. More from Business The recall relates to certain models of Hotpoint, Indesit, Creda, Swan and Proline dryers built between 2004 and 2015. However, Whirlpool admitted to MPs earlier this year that the true number of faulty tumble dryers in homes across the country could be 800,000 and it was working hard to modify those affected. Whirlpool also revealed that, in recent years, it had logged 54 fires in its tumble dryers and admitted that three of those were models which had already been updated. The committee report stated: "It is astonishing that four years after Whirlpool revealed defects in its tumble dryers there could still be up to 800,000 such machines in people's homes. "The programme to modify or replace such machines has been too slow, while doubts have now emerged over the safety of its modification to address this defect. "Rather than dealing with this properly, Whirlpool have used non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to silence customers and have sought to deflect the concerns of safety organisations, customers and this committee." Committee chairwoman RachelRead More – Source

Britain's security services must improve the systems used for ongoing investigations into suspected terrorists, the Chief Coroner's London Bridge attack report has urged. The recommendations, following the inquests into the deaths of eight people in the June 2017 attack, included implementing more robust systems for determining potential attack sites and reviewing those targets regularly. Other recommendations include: Review into protective security equipment and infrastructure which can be installed in response to emerging threats. Improve technical measures to assist in identifying exact location of emergency services personnel and casualties. Consider new offences for crimes including possessing the most serious material which glorifies or encourages terrorism. Improve facilities for translating communications received from foreign security and intelligence services. Enhance first aid capabilities and equipment of either police officers generally or groups of officers (eg firearms officers or officers designated for advanced medical aid training).

A man who went on the run for 12 years after brutally killing his estranged wife and their two young daughters has been found guilty of murder. Mohammed Abdul Shakur, 46, killed Juli Begum and daughters Anika and Thanha Khanum, aged five and six, on New Year's Day 2007. He fled to Bangladesh a few days later, his trial at the Old Bailey heard. While in Bangladesh, he told his sister-in-law: "Don't tell the police I murdered your sister. If you tell the police I will murder you and your children." Ms Begum's other sister raised the alarm and police found the bodies at the family home in East Ham, London, on 10 January 2007. Advertisement Five-year-old Anika was laid across her mother's body and had been strangled with a sock after being "stunned" by a punch of slap to the face. Elder sister Thanha had a fractured skull and the trial heard she had bled out on the carpet after being battered. More from UK Their 4ft 8in mother is believed to have been smothered with a pillow or cushion. Jurors heard how the couple had an arranged marriage in Bangladesh when Ms Begum was 19 but after he moved to London on a spousal visa he became violent and they ended up estranged. They argued over Shakur's immigration status and financial contribution to the household. The trial was told he had grabbed his wife's Read More – Source