2025-06-28 10:41
SHANGHAI, June 28 (Reuters) - Heavy rain struck China's southwestern Guizhou province again on Saturday, half-submerging the already flood-stricken riverside city of Rongjiang for a second time this week and prompting the evacuation of residents to higher ground. Located at the confluence of three rivers and home to 300,000 residents, Rongjiang was inundated earlier this week by record downpours that left six dead and forced more than 80,000 people to flee their homes. The amount of rain that fell over 72 hours was double the city's average for June. Sign up here. In response to the new round of flooding, authorities raised the city's flood emergency response level to the highest level on Saturday. The benchmark hydrological station on one of the rivers estimated that the peak water level would hit 253.50 metres (832 ft) at around 5 p.m. (0900 GMT), exceeding the safety threshold by 2 metres, state broadcaster CCTV said. More than 40,000 residents in Rongjiang had been urgently evacuated as of 6 p.m. (1000 GMT) on Saturday, according to the state broadcaster. Earlier this week, the peak water level reached 256.7 metres, the highest since 1954, the Guizhou provincial government said in a statement to Reuters on Friday, blaming "the extreme climate" for the flooding. The floods in southwest China are set to hit local economies. Rongjiang was removed from the national poverty list in 2020. It then saw an unexpected tourism boom after a local soccer league nicknamed "Village Super League" became a social media sensation, attracting thousands of fans and tourists. On Tuesday, the soccer pitch was up to seven metres under water. China has battled with summer floods for millennia, but some scientists say climate change is resulting in heavier and more frequent rain. Massive flooding could set off unforeseen "black swan" events with dire consequences, such as dam collapses, Chinese officials say. In southern China over the past two days, 13 major rivers in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi and Hainan were hit by storms and had risen above their warning levels, CCTV reported, citing the Ministry of Water Resources on Saturday. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/heavy-rain-hits-chinas-flood-stricken-guizhou-second-time-week-2025-06-28/
2025-06-28 04:56
WASHINGTON, June 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans late Friday released a revised tax and budget bill that would end the $7,500 tax credit on new electric vehicle sales and leases on September 30 as well as the $4,000 tax credit for used EVs. The prior version would have ended the credit for new sales 180 days after the bill was signed into law, 90 days for used vehicles and immediately ended the credit for leased vehicles not assembled in North America and meeting other requirements. Sign up here. Republicans have taken aim at EVs on a number of fronts, a reversal from former President Joe Biden's policy that encouraged electric vehicles and renewable energy to fight climate change and reduce emissions. The House of Representatives version would allow the $7,500 new-EV tax credit to continue through the end of 2025, and through the end of 2026 for automakers that have not yet sold 200,000 EVs before killing it. The Senate bill also includes a provision to eliminate fines for failing to meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules in a move aimed at making it easier for automakers to build gas-powered vehicles. The Republican bill exempts interest paid on auto loans from taxes for new cars made in the U.S. through 2028, but phases it out for individual taxpayers making more than $100,000 annually. Senate Republicans dropped a bid to force the U.S. Postal Service to scrap thousands of electric vehicles and charging equipment in the bill following a ruling from the Senate parliamentarian. The U.S. Postal Service has 7,200 electric vehicles, made up of Ford e-Transit (F.N) , opens new tab and specially built Next Generation Delivery Vehicles built by Oshkosh Defense (OSK.N) , opens new tab and warned scrapping its EVs would cost it $1.5 billion. President Donald Trump this month signed a resolution approved by Congress to bar California's landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035, which has been adopted by 11 other states representing a third of the U.S. auto market. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/senate-republicans-seek-end-ev-tax-credit-by-september-30-2025-06-28/
2025-06-28 03:55
BEIJING, June 28 (Reuters) - China has expanded the economic safeguards for segments of its population affected by flood control schemes in times of extreme rainfall, including pledges of direct compensation from the central government and payments for livestock losses. In China, diverting flood-waters to areas next to rivers is a major step in managing downstream flooding. As extreme rainfall grows in frequency, China is increasingly utilising such areas, some of which have been unused until now and have been populated by farms, croplands and even residential buildings, stoking social tensions. Sign up here. According to revised rules on compensation related to flood diversions released late on Friday, the central government will now bear 70% of all compensation funds, with local governments responsible for the rest. Previously, the ratio was to be decided based on actual economic losses and the fiscal situation of local governments. Livestock and poultry that cannot be relocated in time before the arrival of diverted flood-waters will also be included in the compensation scheme for the first time. Previously, only the loss of working animals could be claimed for compensation. In the summer of 2023, almost 1 million people in Hebei, a province on the doorstep of Beijing, were relocated after record rain forced authorities to divert water from swollen rivers to some populated areas for storage, triggering anger over the homes and farms sacrificed to save the Chinese capital. China currently has 98 designated flood diversion areas spanning major river basins including the Yangtze River basin, home to a third of the country's population. During the 2023 Hebei floods, eight flood storage areas were used. Since the start of the East Asia monsoon in early June, precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze has been up to two times higher than usual, officials from the China Meterological Administration told reporters on Friday. In other parts of China, daily rainfall measured by 30 meteorological stations in provinces such as Hubei and Guizhou broke records for the month of June, they said. Guizhou was the focal point of China's flood alleviation efforts this week, with one of its cities hit by flooding on a scale that meteorologists said could only happen once in 50 years, and at a speed that shocked its 300,000 residents. That prompted Beijing to issue pledges on Thursday to move vulnerable populations and industries to low-flood areas and allocate more space for flood diversion. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/flood-hit-china-expands-social-security-net-extreme-rain-takes-toll-2025-06-28/
2025-06-27 23:20
June 27 (Reuters) - Ripple Labs will withdraw its cross appeal against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a prolonged legal battle tied to the sale of its XRP tokens, the crypto firm's CEO said on Friday. "We're closing this chapter once and for all," Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a post on X, adding that the SEC was also expected to drop its appeal. Sign up here. The move could bring the dispute closer to resolution after years of back-and-forth between the company and the regulator over the token's status as a security. The SEC had sued Ripple for allegedly violating securities laws through the sale of its XRP tokens. In 2023, a judge ruled that XRP sales on public exchanges were legal, but the $728 million of sales to institutional investors broke the rules. Both sides appealed, but later agreed to settle if the judge set aside her injunction and approved lowering the $125 million fine she had imposed on Ripple. However, the judge rejected their request on Thursday. The SEC declined to comment. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/ripple-drop-cross-appeal-against-us-sec-crypto-lawsuit-ceo-says-2025-06-27/
2025-06-27 22:18
June 28 (Reuters) - If U.S. President Donald Trump is genuine about wanting a nuclear deal with Iran, he should put aside "the disrespectful and unacceptable tone" towards Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and "stop hurting his millions of heartfelt followers," Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X early on Saturday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trump-should-stop-disrespectful-tone-against-khamenei-if-he-wants-deal-iranian-2025-06-27/
2025-06-27 22:14
Steel dumping from Europe and Asia impacts Canadian competitiveness Canada's steel industry faces potential mass layoffs Finance Ministry defends measures as strategic and comprehensive TORONTO, June 27 (Reuters) - Canadian steel industry representatives told government officials in a meeting this week that their measures to protect the industry from the consequences of U.S. tariffs are insufficient, two of the representatives who attended the meeting told Reuters. On Thursday, steel producers met with Patrick Haley, assistant deputy minister for trade and finance, and other officials from the ministry, telling them the measures announced earlier this month do not protect the industry from steel dumping and could cause mass layoffs, the representatives said. Sign up here. U.S. President Donald Trump increased import duties on steel and aluminum to 50% from 25% earlier this month. Canada is the top seller of metals to the United States. In response, Canada announced a raft of measures, including establishing new tariff-rate quotas of 100% of 2024 levels on imports of steel products from non-free trade agreement partners. Industry representatives at the meeting asked the government to extend tariff quotas to all countries with unfair trade practices, even if they have free trade agreements. Europe and Asia have started diverting their products to Canada to avoid U.S. tariffs, making domestic steel uncompetitive, they said. "We don't think the measures announced meet our needs under this dire time," Catherine Cobden, President and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, told Reuters. Cobden attended the meeting with finance ministry officials on Thursday. The Canadian Steel Producers Association said in a separate statement on Thursday that, in its current form, the tariff-rate quota will do little to support its industry. Canada's steel industry has laid off 1,000 workers since the first U.S. tariffs in March, and more layoffs could be coming, the association said. Keanin Loomis, president of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction, which includes steel manufacturers, fabricators, and constructors, said that Thursday's government meeting was heavily steel producers-focused, noting that finished steel products imported to Canada have no tariff protection. Loomis also attended the meeting. In a text response to Reuters, the Canadian Finance Ministry said that the measures it announced represent a comprehensive and strategic package to defend producers and workers, and were a first step. Prime Minister Mark Carney has threatened to increase counter-tariffs on U.S.-produced steel and aluminum if Canada does not reach a broader trade deal with Trump by July 21. Trump on Friday abruptly cut off trade talks with Canada over its new tax targeting U.S. technology firms. "These are temporary and calibrated measures that could be expanded depending on the outcome of ongoing discussions with the United States. We are prepared to adjust our response as needed," a spokesperson for the finance minister said. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadas-steel-producers-tell-government-its-tariff-protection-measures-arent-2025-06-27/
