2025-07-07 06:03
Town of Kerrville, on flooded river, accounts for most fatalities Death toll likely to rise with dozens still listed as missing Fatalities include 27 campers and counselors from girls' retreat Search helicopter collides with unauthorized drone over flood area KERRVILLE, Texas, July 7 (Reuters) - Search teams plodded through muddy riverbanks and flew aircraft over a flood-ravaged central Texas landscape on Monday as hopes dimmed for finding more survivors among dozens still missing from a disaster that has claimed at least 96 lives, many of them children. Three days after a torrential predawn downpour transformed the Guadalupe River into a raging, killer torrent, a Christian girls' summer camp devastated by the flash flood confirmed that 27 campers and counselors were among those who had perished. Sign up here. Ten girls and a camp counselor were still unaccounted for, officials said on Monday, as search-and-rescue personnel faced the potential of more heavy rains and thunderstorms while clawing through tons of muck-laden debris. The bulk of the death toll from Friday's flooding was concentrated in and around the riverfront Hill Country town of Kerrville, including the ill-fated grounds of Camp Mystic. By Monday afternoon, the bodies of 84 flood victims - 56 adults and 28 children - were recovered in Kerr County, most of them in the county seat of Kerrville, according to the local sheriff. As of midday Sunday, state and local officials said 12 other flood-related fatalities had been confirmed across five neighboring south-central Texas counties, and that 41 other people were still listed as missing outside Kerr County. The New York Times, one of numerous news media outlets publishing varying death tolls on Monday, reported that at least 104 people had been killed across the entire flood zone. 'ROUGH WEEK' AHEAD While authorities continued to hold out hope that some of the missing would turn up alive, the likelihood of finding more survivors diminished as time passed. "This will be a rough week," Mayor Joe Herring Jr said at a briefing on Monday morning. Camp Mystic, a nearly century-old Christian girls' retreat on the banks of the Guadalupe was at the epicenter of the disaster. "Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy," the camp said in a statement on Monday. Richard "Dick" Eastland, 70, Mystic's co-owner and director, died trying to save children at his camp from the flood, multiple media, including the Austin American-Statesman reported. He and his wife, Tweety Eastland, have owned the camp since 1974, according to its website. "If he wasn't going to die of natural causes, this was the only other way, saving the girls that he so loved and cared for," Eastland's grandson, George Eastland, wrote on Instagram. MISHAP IN THE SKY Authorities lost one of their aviation assets on Monday when a privately operated drone collided in restricted airspace over the Kerr County flood zone with a search helicopter, forcing the chopper to make an emergency landing. No injuries were reported, but the aircraft was put out of commission, according to the Kerr County Sheriff's Office. National Weather Service forecasts on Monday predicted that up to 4 more inches of rain could douse Texas Hill Country, with isolated areas possibly receiving as much as 10 inches (25 cm). Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the NWS Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said the potential for renewed flooding was particularly heightened by the saturated condition of the soil and mounds of debris already strewn around the river channel. A flood watch was posted until 7 p.m. State emergency management officials had warned on Thursday, ahead of the July Fourth holiday, that parts of central Texas faced the possibility of flash floods based on National Weather Service forecasts. But twice as much rain as was predicted ended up falling over two branches of the Guadalupe just upstream of the fork where they converge, sending all of that water racing into the single river channel where it slices through Kerrville, City Manager Dalton Rice said. Rice said the outcome, the result of an unpredictable combination of circumstances, was unforeseen and unfolded in a matter of two hours. "Why didn't we evacuate? Well, evacuation is a delicate balance," he said in response to reporters' questions on Monday. "If you evacuate too late, you then risk putting buses, or cars, or vehicles or campers on roads into low-water areas, trying to get them out, which then can make it even more challenging." "It's very tough to make those calls, because what we also don't want to do is cry wolf." The chief meteorologist for commercial forecaster AccuWeather, Jonathan Porter, said authorities had ample time to move people to higher ground before the flood struck. Rice and other public officials, including Governor Greg Abbott, said the circumstances of the flooding, and the adequacy of weather forecasts and warning systems, would be scrutinized once the immediate situation was brought under control. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday asked a government watchdog to investigate whether budget cuts imposed by the Trump administration contributed to any delays or inaccuracy in forecasting the floods. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, said there would be time to examine whether more could have been done to prevent the loss of life but that now was not the time for "partisan finger-pointing." https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/search-teams-scour-texas-flood-zone-dozens-missing-78-confirmed-dead-2025-07-07/
2025-07-07 06:00
MUMBAI, July 7 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee weakened on Monday, tracking losses in its regional peers on the back of uncertainty about U.S. tariff policies. Dollar bids from a large local private bank and few foreign lenders also pressured the rupee , which declined 0.4% to 85.72 per U.S. dollar as of 10:25 a.m. IST. Sign up here. The price action appears to be "flow-driven," a trader at a Mumbai-based bank said. India's benchmark equity indexes, the BSE Sensex (.BSESN) , opens new tab and Nifty 50 (.NSEI) , opens new tab, were both down 0.1%, tracking losses in regional equities sparked by confusion over U.S. tariff policies. The United States is close to finalising several trade agreements in the coming days and will notify other countries of higher tariff rates by July 9, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, with the higher rates to take effect on August 1. Trump also threatened an additional 10% tariff on any countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies" of the BRICS group of developing nations, whose leaders kicked off a major summit in Brazil on Sunday. Trump did not clarify or expand on the "Anti-American policies" reference. India is among the founding members of the BRICS group and it wasn't immediately clear if the tariff threat would impact the country's ongoing trade negotiations with the U.S. There is a high probability that the rupee may decline below 86-86.20 levels in the near-term, said Amit Pabari, managing director at FX advisory firm CR Forex. The dollar index was up 0.1% at 97.1 while Asian currencies declined by 0.1% to 0.5%. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/rupee-weighed-down-by-weak-asia-fx-interbank-dollar-bids-2025-07-07/
2025-07-07 05:59
July 7 (Reuters) - The European Union is holding back on signing a joint climate action pledge with China at a summit this month to mark a half-century of diplomatic ties, a top climate official told the Financial Times in remarks published on Monday. The EU's climate targets are among the world's most ambitious, but they have been based entirely on domestic emissions cuts. Now it faces a mid-September deadline to submit a new 2035 climate target to the United Nations. Sign up here. Brussels has refused Beijing's repeated requests for a mutual climate commitment after the summit of the world's second- and third-largest economies, unless China promises to do more to cut greenhouse gas emissions, EU officials said. "There is only merit in having a declaration from our perspective if there are also content nuts to be cracked and ambition to be displayed," Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told the paper. China, which has been struggling to strike a balance between fostering economic growth and reaching environmental goals, is expected to miss a five-year goal for an 18% cut in carbon intensity by the end of this year. Reuters could not immediately verify the report, and the European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/eu-holds-back-signing-climate-action-pledge-with-china-ft-says-2025-07-07/
2025-07-07 05:32
HANOI, July 7 (Reuters) - Vietnam has imposed an anti-dumping levy of up to 27.83% on some hot-rolled coil steel products originating from China after a similar temporary tariff expired, the trade ministry said on Monday. The tariff took effect from July 6 and will be in place for five years, the ministry said in a statement. Sign up here. In March, the ministry imposed a similar temporary anti-dumping levy that lasted for 120 days. Among the companies hit by the 27.83% duties are Baoshan Iron & Steel (600019.SS) , opens new tab and Maanshan Iron & Steel (600808.SS) , opens new tab. Guangxi Liuzhou Iron and Steel Group will also face duties of 23.1%, higher than the 19.38% rate imposed in March, according to the statement. "Domestic production suffered significant damage," itsaid. "There is a correlation between the dumped imports from China and damage to the domestic sector." Vietnam launched an anti-dumping investigation last July following complaints from Vietnamese producers. The government had said that in the January-September period of last year Vietnam imported nearly 8.8 million tons of hot-rolled steel, 72% of which originated from China. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/vietnam-imposes-anti-dumping-tariff-hot-rolled-steel-china-2025-07-07/
2025-07-07 05:20
JAKARTA, July 7 (Reuters) - Indonesia's Internal Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian on Monday said he has asked the country's mining ministry to ease a copper concentrate export ban for Amman Mineral International (AMMN.JK) , opens new tab, citing its effect on the local economy. Tito said the economy of Nusa Tenggara Barat province, where Amman operates, contracted by 1.47% annually in the first quarter, and was impacted by the company's inability to export its concentrate output. Sign up here. Amman said in February that it had around 200,000 metric tons of concentrate inventory available for export. "I have asked the energy and mineral resources minister whether there is a possibility to allow exports while we are waiting for the smelter to be completed," Tito told a weekly government meeting without disclosing the response. Indonesia has banned exports of copper concentrates and other raw minerals to encourage metal processing at home. It was imposed from mid-2023, but Amman was allowed to export till December 2024 by when it was expected to commission a smelter to process concentrates into copper cathodes, a material used to manufacture wires, cables and electronics. Officials at the mining ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters seeking comment. In March, Amman's new smelter produced its first copper cathode. However, the smelter, which has an annual capacity to produce 220,000 metric tons of copper cathode, is yet to reach full capacity due to a number of technical constraints that needed to be addressed first, Amman spokesperson Kartika Octaviana said on Monday. She said the company has reported the issues to the government. "Government's discernment and policy flexibility, especially regarding copper concentrate sales, will greatly assist the company in maintaining financial strength while seeking to optimise the smelter," she said. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/indonesian-minister-seeks-support-allow-amman-export-copper-concentrate-2025-07-07/
2025-07-07 04:32
July 7 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. Well, that's as clear as mud. Apparently August 1 is now the U.S. deadline for when higher tariffs will be imposed on some countries if no trade deals are done, or under way. It's not really certain which countries that covers, or which deals. Sign up here. "President Trump's going to be sending letters to some of our trading partners saying that, if you don't move things along, then on August 1, you will boomerang back to your April 2 tariff level," Treasury Secretary Bessent told CNN. The "letters" are going out to 10 or 12 countries today, presumably the same letters that were supposed to go last Friday. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters that the higher tariffs would take effect on August 1, but Trump was "setting the rates and the deals right now". Announcing trade policy changes in TV interviews does not make for clarity, and now it's uncertain if the original July 9 deadline matters, and for whom. India and the U.S., for instance, reportedly could make a mini-deal today or tomorrow, but then continue talks after July 9. According to Bessent, it also seems many countries didn't bother to contact the U.S. for talks - and will likely be getting stiff letters in return. Trump added to the confusion by mentioning that some tariffs could reach 60% or 70%, higher even than the 50% set on China. He also threatened an extra 10% tariff on countries aligning themselves with the "anti-American policies" of the BRICS, a group the U.S. itself is in tariff talks with. Investors have reacted with bemusement and nudged Wall St futures down 0.4% or so. Asian share indices are mostly lower on Monday, though not by much, while Treasury yields are down a basis point and the dollar stuck near four-year lows. Oil has been the big mover, losing around 1% after OPEC+ surprised by increasing production by much more than first expected, and flagging a similar increase for September. Analysts largely see this as Saudi Arabia putting the squeeze on higher-cost producers to capture market share, with low-margin U.S. shale output under particular pressure. It's OPEC's answer to "Drill, baby, drill". Key developments that could influence markets on Monday: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-view-europe-2025-07-07/
