2025-09-21 21:19

Sept 21 (Reuters) - Tropical storm Gabrielle has strengthened into a hurricane, becoming the second of the 2025 hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Sunday. Gabrielle is located about 320 miles (515 km) southeast of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph (120 km/h) and higher gusts. Sign up here. To be classified a hurricane, a storm must have sustained winds of at least 74 mph. "The center of Gabrielle is expected to pass east of Bermuda on Monday evening," NHC added in its latest advisory. The NHC forecast Gabrielle would undergo steady to rapid intensification in the coming day, forecasting it to become a major hurricane early next week. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/storm-gabrielle-gains-hurricane-strength-nhc-says-2025-09-21/

2025-09-21 21:05

Commercial feasibility of $350 bln investments main trade obstacle with US, Lee tells Reuters President says talks with North Korea unlikely for now Lee frets tensions between democratic, socialist states Lee to be first South Korean president to chair UN Security Council meeting Lee doesn't think Trump directed Hyundai immigration raid SEOUL, Sept 22 (Reuters) - South Korea's economy could fall into crisis rivalling its 1997 meltdown if the government accepts current U.S. demands in stalled trade talks without safeguards, President Lee Jae Myung told Reuters. Seoul and Washington verbally agreed to a trade deal in July in which the U.S. would lower President Donald Trump's tariffs on South Korean goods in exchange for $350 billion in investment from South Korea, among other measures. Sign up here. They have yet to put the agreement to paper because of disputes over how the investments would be handled, Lee said. "Without a currency swap, if we were to withdraw $350 billion in the manner that the U.S. is demanding and to invest this all in cash in the U.S., South Korea would face a situation as it had in the 1997 financial crisis," he said through a translator. In an interview in his office on Friday, Lee also spoke about a huge U.S. immigration raid that detained hundreds of Koreans, as well as Seoul's relations with rival North Korea, neighbouring giant China and Russia. But trade and defence talks with the U.S., South Korea's military ally and a top economic partner, are overshadowing a trip Lee makes from Monday to New York, where he will address the United Nations General Assembly and be the first South Korean president to chair a meeting of the Security Council. PRAISES TRUMP'S HANDLING OF HYUNDAI RAID Lee, a liberal, took office in a June snap election after his conservative predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, was removed from office and jailed for briefly imposing martial law. Lee has sought to calm the country and its economy and said he plans to use his U.S. visit to tell the world that "democratic Korea is back". Lee met Trump for their first summit in August, saying he had built a strong personal tie with the U.S. leader, despite not agreeing on a joint statement or concrete announcement. This month Trump's administration rocked South Korea with the arrest of more than 300 South Korean workers at a Hyundai Motor battery plant in Georgia, with federal officials accusing them of immigration violations. Lee said South Koreans were naturally angered by the "harsh" treatment of the workers - the Trump administration published images of them in shackles - and has warned it could make companies wary of investing in the United States. But he said the raid would not undermine the bilateral alliance, praising Trump for offering to let the workers stay. Lee said he did not believe it was directed by Trump but was the result of overzealous law enforcement. "I do not believe this was intentional, and the U.S. has apologised for this incident, and we have agreed to seek reasonable measures in this regard and we are working on them," he said. Lee's office says there is no plan for him to meet Trump in New York and that the trade talks are not on the visit's agenda. STUMBLING BLOCK IN TRADE TALKS Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said South Korea should follow Japan's deal with the United States. He said Seoul either needs to accept the deal or pay the tariffs, using the Trump administration's depiction of foreign governments paying the levies, which are instead paid by U.S. importers. Lee, asked if he would walk away from the deal, said: "I believe that between blood allies, we will be able to maintain the minimum amount of rationality." South Korea has proposed a foreign exchange swap line with the U.S. to reduce the shock of the investments on the local market for the won currency. Lee did not address how likely the U.S. was to agree or whether that would be enough for the deal to go forward. He said South Korea is different from Japan, which struck a trade deal with the U.S. in July. Tokyo has more than double South Korea's $410 billion foreign exchange reserves, an international currency in the yen and a swap line with the United States, Lee said. Seoul and Washington have said in writing that any investment projects must be commercially viable, but working out the details is proving difficult, he said. "Reaching detailed agreements that guarantee commercial reasonableness is now the central task - yet it also remains the biggest obstacle," Lee said. Proposals during working level talks provide no assurance of commercial viability, making it hard to bridge the gap, he said. Trump says the investments will be "selected" by him and controlled by the U.S., meaning Washington would have discretion over where the money will be invested. But Lee policy adviser Kim Yong-beom said in July that South Korea had added a safety mechanism to reduce financing risk, including supporting commercially feasible projects rather than providing unconditional financial support. Lee said South Korea and the United States do not disagree on increasing Seoul's contributions toward its own defence, bolstered by 28,500 U.S. troops on the Korean peninsula, but that Washington wants to keep security and trade talks separate. "We should end this unstable situation as soon as possible," he said, when asked whether talks could extend into next year. TENSIONS WITH NORTH KOREA, CHINA, RUSSIA Lee has sought to reduce tensions with nuclear-armed North Korea. Pyongyang has rebuffed the South's overtures, and Lee said he was not optimistic about the prospect of inter-Korean talks for the time being. During their meeting, Lee encouraged Trump to try to meet again with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during Trump's trip next month for an Asia-Pacific summit Lee will host in the South. Lee told Reuters his government does not have detailed information on the status of any talks between Washington and Pyongyang. "It is our judgement that they are not engaging in concrete conversations," he said. He said he shares his predecessor Yoon's view that North Korea's military cooperation with Russia is a significant threat to South Korea's security. But he said it is not enough to respond in a simplistic way to the issue, which must be addressed through dialogue and coordination. The North Korean leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin stood shoulder to shoulder this month in Beijing when Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted them at a massive military parade and summit. Lee said there is increasing confrontation between a socialist camp of countries and a capitalist, democratic camp that includes Seoul, and South Korea's geography threatens to place it on the frontier of any conflict with the other camp. He said there is an escalatory spiral of rivalry and tensions where South Korea, Japan and the United States deepen cooperation and China, Russia, and North Korea work more closely together. "This is a very dangerous situation for Korea, and we must find an exit ramp out of the escalating military tensions," Lee said. "We must find a way for peaceful coexistence." https://www.reuters.com/world/china/south-koreas-president-lee-says-us-investment-demands-would-spark-financial-2025-09-21/

2025-09-21 18:15

DUBLIN, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Jordan Cox marked his return to international cricket in spectacular fashion by blasting a quickfire fifty despite a knee problem to guide England to a six-wicket victory over Ireland and seal a 2-0 series triumph at a sold-out Malahide on Sunday. The 24-year-old, who had not played for England for over a year and was not even named in the original squad, smashed 55 off 35 deliveries at number four to help his side chase down a modest target of 155 with 17 balls to spare. Sign up here. Cox was injured while taking the catch when he seemed to jar his knee in the turf at deep midwicket, forcing him to go off the field for treatment, but that did not stop him from coming out to bat when England needed him at 33-2. His sudden recall to the England setup came after his heroics in The Hundred, where he finished as both the tournament's top scorer and player of the series. England had won the first match by chasing down 197 while the second match was rained out. As they wrapped up the series 2-0, it gave 21-year-old Jacob Bethell a first trophy as the country's youngest captain in any format. "I couldn't have dreamed it any better. The rained out game was unfortunate but to come out 2-0 winners in my first series as captain is a great feeling," Bethell told TNT Sports. "We were nice and aggressive throughout the whole week." Ireland had built a platform through Ross Adair (33) and Harry Tector (28) at the top of the order but they crumbled against England's spin twins Adil Rashid (3-29) and Liam Dawson (2-9). Jamie Overton also picked up two wickets in one over to leave the hosts reeling at 58-4 but Gareth Delany played a cameo in the middle order to finish unbeaten on 48 off 29 balls. England's chase stuttered when Jos Buttler fell for a duck but Phil Salt (29) and Cox stitched together a 57-run partnership before Tom Banton (37 not out) helped the tourists get over the line. "Credit to Ireland, they bowled well defending 150-odd," said Rashid, who was named the player of the match. "You've got to adapt to the ground, wherever you go. I thought as a group we did that really well." https://www.reuters.com/sports/cricket/cox-smashes-comeback-fifty-england-win-t20-series-ireland-2025-09-21/

2025-09-21 17:36

DUBAI, Sept 21 (Reuters) - An Iranian official denied a state media report on Sunday that Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was to meet with officials from Britain, France and Germany in Vienna as sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme loom again. Nournews had reported the talks, without giving a date. Sign up here. But an Iranian Foreign Ministry official told Reuters that was not the case, with Araqchi heading to New York, not Vienna. In a bid to avert the reimposition of sanctions on Tehran, Iranian and European ministers engaged in discussions last week , opens new tab but they did not yield breakthroughs, diplomats said. The three European nations launched a 30-day process at the end of August to reimpose U.N. sanctions. They set conditions for Tehran to meet during September to convince them to delay the so-called "snapback mechanism". The European trio has proposed a conditional delay of up to six months on the reimposition of sanctions on Iran. This is contingent upon Iran granting access to U.N. inspectors, who aim to verify and account for the substantial stockpile of enriched uranium. Additionally, Iran is expected to engage in negotiations with the United States. The status of Iran's enriched uranium reserves has remained uncertain since June, following the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites by Israel and the United States. The West says the advancement of Iran's nuclear programme goes beyond civilian needs, while Tehran says it wants nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iranian-european-officials-meet-vienna-sanctions-reimposition-looms-2025-09-21/

2025-09-21 16:14

JERUSALEM, Sept 21 (Reuters) - El Al Israel Airlines (ELAL.TA) , opens new tab said on Sunday its chief financial officer Yancale Shahar will retire in November after 19 years at the company. Israel's flag carrier said he will be succeeded by Gil Feldman, El Al's deputy CFO and head of economics, budget and business development division, effective December 1. Sign up here. In July, chief executive officer Dina Ben Tal Ganancia said she intends to step down by the end of 2025, after three and a half years in the position. With many foreign carriers halting flights to Tel Aviv since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023, El Al's profit has soared, as flights have been largely full while airfares have risen. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israels-el-al-airlines-cfo-retire-will-be-replaced-by-his-deputy-2025-09-21/

2025-09-21 14:26

Sept 21 (Reuters) - Iraq has increased oil exports following the gradual unwinding of voluntary production cuts under an OPEC+ agreement, the country's state oil marketer SOMO said on Sunday. Earlier this month, eight members of OPEC+ agreed to raise production from October by 137,000 barrels per day. OPEC+ has been increasing production since April after years of cuts to support the oil market. Sign up here. The increase in Iraqi exports is expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenues at current price levels, SOMO's director general Ali Nizar Al-Shatari told the Iraqi state news agency. He did not specify the size of the export rise, but said that an additional 200,000 barrels per day of production would boost government coffers. Iraq's oil exports averaged 3.38 million barrels per day in August, according to the oil ministry. SOMO expects September's average exports to range from 3.4 million to 3.45 million bpd. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said earlier this month that he hoped fellow producers would reconsider its oil export quota to better reflect its production capacity. Iraq, OPEC's biggest overproducer, is under pressure from the group to cut output to compensate for pumping above its agreed quota. Iraq was among countries that submitted plans in April to make further oil output cuts to compensate for pumping above agreed quotas. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iraq-increases-oil-exports-sees-extra-revenues-state-oil-marketer-says-2025-09-21/