2025-07-20 11:20

CAIRO, July 20 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday the planned establishment of a new national low-cost airline with a fleet of 45 planes to be ready by 2030, state media reported. The United Arab Emirates's carrier Air Arabia was among an alliance of three companies that won a bid to operate the new airline, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation said. Sign up here. The new carrier would operate domestic and international flights from and to King Fahd international airport in Dammam, the authority added. The airline will serve 24 domestic destinations and 57 international destinations, with the aim of transporting 10 million passengers annually, state media said. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-announces-new-low-cost-airline-with-fleet-45-planes-2025-07-20/

2025-07-20 10:39

DHAKA, July 20 (Reuters) - Bangladesh signed a deal on Sunday to import 700,000 tonnes of wheat annually from the United States over the next five years, in a move aimed at securing tariff relief from the Trump administration amid growing trade tensions, officials said. The agreement — formalised through a memorandum of understanding inked in Dhaka between the Ministry of Food and trade group U.S. Wheat Associates — comes at a critical moment, with Washington set to impose a 35% tariff on Bangladeshi exports from August 1. Sign up here. Officials in Dhaka hope the pact will help narrow Bangladesh’s $6 billion trade deficit with the U.S. and pave the way for more-favourable treatment of key export items, particularly garments, which dominate shipments to the United States. Bangladesh's de facto food minister, Ali Imam Majumder, said at the signing ceremony that the agreement would not only ensure a steady supply of high-quality wheat at competitive prices but also strengthen trade ties between the two nations. “This step reflects our willingness to build mutual trust and deepen economic cooperation with the United States,” he said. The U.S. tariff hike has rattled Bangladesh’s export sector, especially the ready-made garments industry, which fears losing competitiveness in one of its largest markets. The wheat initiative is widely seen as part of a broader diplomatic and trade strategy to soften Washington’s stance and open the door for further negotiations. Officials from the Ministry of Commerce said talks are ongoing with U.S. counterparts in an effort to lower the duty, arguing that such high tariffs could significantly undermine Bangladesh’s competitiveness in the American market. Bangladesh imports around 7 million tonnes of wheat each year, with the bulk sourced from the Black Sea region due to its lower cost. Smaller volumes of higher-quality wheat, including some from the United States, are also imported for blending. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/bangladesh-signs-us-wheat-import-deal-bid-curb-tariff-pressure-2025-07-20/

2025-07-20 09:49

HONG KONG, July 20 (Reuters) - Rain pounded Hong Kong on Sunday as Typhoon Wipha skirted southwards, packing winds exceeding 167 kph (103 mph), disrupting 400 flights and public transport, felling hundreds of trees, and damaging a construction site. Just after 4 p.m. on Sunday, weather authorities lowered the typhoon signal in the Asian financial hub to 8 from the maximum of 10, which had been hoisted for nearly seven hours, while more than 110 mm (4 inches) of rain fell within three hours. Sign up here. Much of the rain concentrated on the northern region neighbouring the mainland, the city's observatory said, warning of more to come. In a statement, the government said 26 people sought treatment in public hospitals, while 253 flocked to its shelters, and 471 fallen trees were reported. In North Point near the city's harbour, large swathes of scaffolding were swept off a residential building and onto the road. As Wipha tracks westward across the South China Sea it is expected to make landfall later on Sunday between Zhuhai and Zhanjiang in the southern province of Guangdong, state-run broadcaster CCTV said. Authorities in neighbouring Macau, the world's biggest gambling hub, also downgraded the typhoon signal to 8 from 10, warning of flooding in its inner harbour area and urging residents to stay safe, public broadcaster TDM said. Hong Kong's airport authority said 80,000 travellers were hit by the rescheduling of 400 flights forced by the typhoon. Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK) , opens new tab cancelled all flights with Hong Kong airport between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday. It waived ticket change fees and arranged for rebooking. Most public transport in Hong Kong was suspended, including ferries amid high sea swells. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/rains-typhoon-wipha-batter-hong-kong-it-heads-mainland-china-2025-07-20/

2025-07-20 09:12

DUBAI, July 20 (Reuters) - Iran, Britain, France and Germany will hold nuclear talks in Istanbul on Friday, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said early on Monday, following warnings by the three European countries that failure to resume negotiations would lead to international sanctions being reimposed on Iran. "The meeting between Iran, Britain, France and Germany will take place at the deputy foreign minister level," Esmaeil Baghaei was quoted by Iranian state media as saying. Sign up here. The talks scheduled for Friday come after foreign ministers of the E3 nations, as those European countries are known, as well as the European Union's foreign policy chief, held their first call on Thursday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi since Israel and the U.S. attacked Iranian nuclear facilities a month ago. The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal reached with Iran - from which the United States withdrew in 2018 - that lifted sanctions on the Middle Eastern country in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. The E3 have said they would restore U.N. sanctions on Tehran via the "snapback mechanism" by the end of August if nuclear talks that were ongoing between Iran and the U.S. before the Israel-Iran air war do not resume or fail to produce concrete results. "If EU/E3 want to have a role, they should act responsibly, and put aside the worn-out policies of threat and pressure, including the 'snap-back' for which they lack absolutely [any] moral and legal ground," Araqchi said earlier in the week. The snapback mechanism can be used to restore U.N. sanctions before the U.N. Security Council resolution enshrining the deal expires on October 18. Prior to the Israel-Iran war, Tehran and Washington held five rounds of nuclear talks mediated by Oman but faced major stumbling blocks such as uranium enrichment in Iran, which Western powers want to bring down to zero to minimise any risk of weaponisation. Tehran maintains its nuclear programme is solely meant for civilian purposes. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-hold-nuclear-talks-with-european-powers-friday-2025-07-20/

2025-07-20 07:36

BEIJING, July 20 (Reuters) - China's exports of rare earth magnets to the United States in June soared to more than seven times their May level, marking a sharp recovery in the flow of critical minerals used in electric vehicles and wind turbines after a Sino-U.S. trade deal. Outbound shipments to the United States from the world's largest producer of rare earth magnets surged to 353 metric tons in June, up 660% from May, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Sunday. Sign up here. That came after pacts reached in June to resolve issues around shipments of rare earth minerals and magnets to the United States. Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab plans to resume sales of its H20 AI chips to China as part of the agreement. China, which provides more than 90% of the global supply of rare earth magnets, decided in early April to add several rare earth items to its export restriction list in retaliation for U.S. tariffs. The subsequent sharp fall in shipments in April and May, due to the lengthy time required to secure export licences, had upset the global supply chain, forcing some automakers outside China to halt partial production due to a rare earths shortage. In total, China exported 3,188 tons of rare earth permanent magnets globally last month, up 157.5% from 1,238 tons in May, although the June volume was still 38.1% lower than the corresponding month in 2024. Shipments of magnets are likely to recover further in July as more exporters obtained licences in June, analysts said. During the first half of 2025, exports of rare earth magnets fell 18.9% on the year to 22,319 tons. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-exports-rare-earth-magnets-us-surge-june-2025-07-20/

2025-07-20 06:59

BEIJING, July 20 (Reuters) - Hong Kong issued its highest storm warning on Sunday as Typhoon Wipha, packing winds of more than 167 kilometres (103 miles) per hour, brought heavy rain and wind across the territory, forcing the cancellation of more than 200 flights. The city's weather observatory raised its storm signal to No. 10 at 9:20 a.m. (0120 GMT) and said it expected it to remain at that level "for some time". Sign up here. Wipha will skirt around 50 km to the south of the observatory, the warning showed. Hurricane-force wind is affecting the southern part of Hong Kong, the observatory said. Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK) , opens new tab cancelled all of its flights arriving or departing Hong Kong airport between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday. It waived ticket change fees and made arrangements for customers to re-book. Most public transport was suspended on Sunday, including ferries amid high sea swells. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/hong-kong-issues-highest-storm-warning-typhoon-wipha-approaches-2025-07-20/