A $190 million expansion of the Diamond Green Diesel production facility in Norco is on track for a second-quarter 2018 startup.

The project will expand the facility’s annual capacity from 160 million gallons to 275 million gallons of renewable diesel fuel made from recycled animal fat, used cooking oil and other feedstocks.

Diamond Green is a joint venture of Darling Ingredients Inc. and Valero Energy Corp., which has a nearby refinery in St. Charles Parish.

In its latest earnings report, Darling said engineering and construction planning is progressing on the Norco project and that equipment has been ordered that requires a long lead time for manufacturing.

SEOUL: For a year filled with fireworks, when it comes to North Korea news, 2018 is ending on a whimper.

The past month had seen speculation that there would be one more monumental event on the Korean peninsula this year, with Kim Jong Un becoming the first-ever North Korean leader to travel to the South.

But South Korea’s presidential office said in a briefing earlier this month that it would be “difficult” for Kim to make the trip to Seoul before year’s end, as the leaders of the two Koreas had agreed at a summit in September.

Kim had crossed the demilitarised zone into South Korea territory in April but such a trip would have been a fitting cap for a year filled with unprecedented progress between South and North Korea.

As it is, 2018 ends with a stalemate in progress toward denuclearisation and uncertainty over whether the stunning diplomacy between the United States, South and North Korea can continue to move forward.

We may be about to learn that while a lot can change in a year, some important things remain the same.

READ: Kim Jong Un emerges from 2017 stronger, a commentary

FROM THE WINTER OLYMPICS TO THE FIRST INTER-KOREAN SUMMIT IN A WHILE

This year’s diplomatic good times have their origins in that most avowedly non-political of events – the Winter Olympics.

When South Korea hosted the winter games in February, North Korea agreed to send athletes and a group of supporters, and formed a joint women’s ice hockey team with South Korea.

The two sides marched together and cheered each other on, with government officials deeming the experiment a success.

They agreed to harness the momentum created by the games to step up inter-Korean exchange, which had been frozen over the previous several years, amid two consecutive right-wing administrations in South Korea and a string of nuclear and missile provocations by the North.

READ: Winter Olympics reveal the embarrassing gap between North and South Korea, a commentary

Amid the rapprochement mood came chatter that South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim could come together for the first inter-Korean summit since 2007, which ended up being held in April, to rave reviews from both domestic and international media.

The two leaders captured the world’s attention through their friendly interactions. They wrapped up the day’s proceedings with the announcement of a statement outlining a range of exchanges in the areas of culture, military and government meant to keep the good vibes going, and usher in an era of lasting peace.

That was the first of three inter-Korean summits held this year. For historical context, before this year, there had been two, ever.

READ: Kim Jong Un, the modern, strange and brilliant leader of North Korea, a commentary

BRINGING DOWN THE ANTAGONISM TO THE TRUMP-KIM SUMMIT

After that first meeting, the two Koreas quickly began taking steps to bring down the antagonism that has characterised their relations for so long, with Seoul calling off loudspeaker broadcasts of K-pop across the border into the North, and Pyongyang announcing an end to nuclear and missile tests.

North Korea even invited international media to watch as it blow up a nuclear testing site, seeking to send the message that it would no longer seek to upgrade its arsenal of weapons.

The US also agreed to scale down and call off some annual joint military drills with South Korea, which are a perennial source of annoyance for the North.

Another milestone this year was the first ever summit between leaders of North Korea and the US, which was held in Singapore in June between Kim and President Donald Trump. After decades of brinkmanship, and a bitter history of war, they managed to publicly interact as potential partners instead of enemies.

READ: North Korea has been left off the hook since the Singapore Summit, a commentary

A WELCOME CHANGE

As someone who lives on the Korean Peninsula, the past year has brought a welcome change to the tenor of life here.

While South Koreans are famous for remaining calm in the face of threats from North Korea, it is still nice to turn on the news each day and not have the conversation be dominated by talk of “tensions” and the possibility of war.

And the two Koreas are working to realise the goals for cooperation set out in their summit agreements. Just in recent weeks, the two Koreas have dismantled guard posts along their heavily fortified border, and moved ahead with plans to reconnect roads and railways.

Such ground-level developments don’t command a lot of international attention, but demonstrate that the two sides are working to made good on their promises.

As the year winds down, Kim’s no-show in Seoul is not the only sign that the good times may not roll on into next year.

Though US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has voiced hope of another Trump-Kim summit in early 2019, dialogue between the US and North Korea has been stalled in recent months, with Pyongyang bristling over Washington’s refusal to lift any of the sanctions that are stifling Kim’s efforts to improve his country’s economy.

The ongoing lull in communication between them underscores the uncomfortable reality that, for all the headline-grabbing events of the past year, there is no definitive evidence that the world is any closer to North Korea’s denuclearisation, that Pyongyang and Washington have made any real progress toward the impasse that has long divided them – North Korea wanting some kind of reward for moving away from nuclear armament, and US insistence that more tangible steps to denuclearise must come first.

The events of the closing year are unambiguously positive, but it is too early to pronounce 2018 a definitive turning point.

Historians will either look back on this year as when North Korea took its first steps away from rogue state status and toward earnestly joining the international community, or a last gasp of gullibility, a quaint time when there were still credible people who believed the North had any intention of changing.

Steven Borowiec is the politics editor of Korea Expose.

A Hong Kong taxi passenger has sued the ride-hailing giant Uber, saying she was injured in the city’s first fatal crash involving the service nearly three years ago.

Plaintiff Leung Hoi-ni has also named the administrator of the estate of the Uber driver killed in the collision, Rusty Hui Ki-wai, as a defendant alongside Uber Hong Kong, Uber Asia and Rasier Operations BV in her claim for damages filed to the High Court last Friday.

Leung was identified in the filing as the rear-seat passenger of a taxi that was involved in a “head-on collision” with Hui’s private car on April 19, 2018.

But her lawyers did not state the sum of damages sought, except to say that they were for “personal injuries, loss, damage, expense and interest arising out of [Hui’s] negligent driving as an Uber driver”, for which the three companies are “vicariously liable”.

Uber rides in Hong Kong are still unregulated by the government, and the service is considered illegal unless the driver has a hire car permit, as required under the law.

The fatal accident, which also left four injured, was the first in the city to involve a vehicle actively operating for Uber, sparking a debate about whether – and to what extent – the company would compensate those affected in such situations.

The Post previously reported that the crash took place shortly after 9pm on the night in question, when Hui’s black BMW 520i collided with a taxi driving in the opposite direction along Argyle Street in Kowloon City.

Hui, 50, was trapped inside his vehicle and had to be rescued by firefighters.

He was rushed unconscious to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei, where he was certified dead at 9.57pm.

His 39-year-old passenger, along with the 60-year-old taxi driver and 32-year-old Leung, were taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan for treatment.

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Leung was reportedly knocked unconscious in the crash, and was sent to hospital in critical condition.

Another car and a motorcycle travelling behind the taxi also collided with each other as an apparent result of the accident.

The 39-year-old motorbike rider, surnamed Lau, was also injured and transported to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in stable condition.

An initial investigation revealed that Hui, who lived in Tin Shui Wai, did not suffer any serious external injuries, and a police source said it was possible the driver had passed out at the wheel before the car collided with the taxi.

The first hearing in the suit has been scheduled for July 30.

This article was first published in South China Morning Post .

REUTERS: Dave Kitson’s bid to become the players’ union chief has been opposed by former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, while the head of anti-racist campaign group Kick It Out has raised concerns over his past comments about England forward Raheem Sterling.

Ex-player Kitson is aiming to replace Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) chief Gordon Taylor, who has been at the helm since 1981, saying the body’s response to the COVID-19 crisis was “an absolute embarrassment”.

However, Kitson’s anti-racism stance was questioned when a 2018 video resurfaced in which he said that although he did not condone racism, players such as Sterling “make themselves a target” because of how they portray themselves on social media.

“Look at this rubbish. Same person now running to lead the PFA,” former England striker Wright wrote on Twitter https://twitter.com/IanWright0/status/1256124517895884801. “How can the PFA claim to take racism seriously when this is a candidate’s views?

“He’s literally blaming a victim of abuse saying they bring it on themselves,” Wright added in response to another tweet.

Kick It Out head Sanjay Bhandari said Kitson’s remarks did not inspire confidence in dealing with black players.

“Anyone who has aspirations to lead the PFA in the future must have in mind the best interests of all players,” Bhandari told The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/may/01/dave-kitson-faces-backlash-from-black-players-in-bid-to-become-head-of-pfa.

“Given Dave Kitson’s previous remarks, I would be deeply concerned about his ability to represent black players. He needs to win their confidence and I doubt he can do that.”

Kitson responded by telling The Guardian: “My objective is to ensure that the policies of the union reflect the needs and aspirations of all its members.

“Very importantly, that must include a much more effective anti-racism policy,” added the 40-year-old who played as a striker for several clubs including Reading, Stoke City, Portsmouth and Sheffield United.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)

BERLIN: Bayer AG is close to agreeing a settlement worth US$8-10 billion over claims its glyphosate-based Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, German business daily Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday.

The company’s supervisory board was due to discuss and vote on the settlement, which includes a US$2 billion buffer for future claims, in the coming days, paper cited company and negotiating partner sources as saying.

A spokesman for Bayer declined to comment on the report. Perry Weitz of Weitz & Luxenberg, one of the leading plaintiffs’ firms involved in the Roundup litigation, also would not comment.

The drugs and pesticides group, which said in May that talks were progressing, is keen to draw a line under the legal dispute, which it inherited via its US$63 billion takeover of Monsanto in 2018.

In April, Bayer’s management regained shareholder support for its handling of the litigation process.

Bayer’s shares rose 5.7per cent to 72.52 euros at 1045 GMT.

Bayer said in April it has been served with cases in court from 52,500 U.S. plaintiffs who blame Roundup and other glyphosate-based weedkillers for their cancer, up from 48,600 in February.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Madeline Chambers and Patricia Weiss; editing by Thomas Seythal and Louise Heavens)