2025-12-13 09:46

Farmers protest against government's culling policy Vaccination aims to protect farmers and cattle exports, minister says Protests block A64 motorway south of Toulouse since Friday PARIS, Dec 13 (Reuters) - France will vaccinate 1 million head of cattle in coming weeks against lumpy skin disease, Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard said on Saturday, as farmers blocked highways and dumped manure near public buildings to protest against culls of herds. Several outbreaks of the highly contagious disease prompted authorities to order large-scale culls, sparking demonstrations by farmers who consider the measure excessive. Sign up here. A new outbreak was detected in the Haute-Garonne department, bordering Spain, Genevard confirmed on Saturday. Lumpy skin disease is a virus spread by insects that affects cattle and buffalo, causing blisters and reducing milk production. While not harmful to humans, it often results in trade restrictions and severe economic losses. "We will vaccinate nearly one million animals in the coming weeks and protect farmers. I want to reiterate that the state will stand by affected farmers, their losses will be compensated as well as their operating losses," Genevard told local radio network ICI. France says that total culling of infected herds, alongside vaccination and movement restrictions, is necessary to contain the disease and allow cattle exports. If the disease continues to spread in livestock farms, it could kill "at the very least, 1.5 million cattle", Genevard told Le Parisien daily in a previous interview. Farmers stepped up protests on Saturday, blocking several toll entrances and exits on the A64 motorway in the southwestern departement Hautes-Pyrenees, local authorities said. Protesters have also dumped manure near government buildings in Tarbes, the department’s administrative capital, disrupting the work of officials implementing the vaccination campaign, they said. The government, backed by the main FNSEA farming union, maintains that total culling of infected herds is necessary to prevent the disease from spreading and triggering export bans that would devastate the sector. But the Coordination Rurale, a rival union, opposes the systematic culling approach, calling instead for targeted measures and quarantine protocols. "There is no question of culling animals in the Pyrenees that are not sick and are healthy, simply because they belong to a herd from which a supposedly sick animal came,” said Leon Thierry, co-president of CR in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques. Genevard said vaccination would be mandatory, and complete culling remains necessary in some cases because the disease can be asymptomatic and undetectable. France detected 110 outbreaks across nine departments and culled about 3,000 animals, according to the Agriculture Ministry. It has paid nearly six million euros to farmers since the first outbreak on June 29. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/france-vaccinate-cattle-lumpy-skin-disease-farmers-protest-against-cull-2025-12-13/

2025-12-13 09:35

Dec 13 (Reuters) - Iran raised the price of its subsidized gasoline for most users on Saturday, a government spokesperson said, as the OPEC member seeks to control rising fuel demand without triggering public anger. The increase in Iran's gasoline price, which is among the lowest in the world, had long been postponed amid concerns it could spark a repeat of widespread protests seen in 2019 that were crushed by the state. Sign up here. Starting on Saturday, most vehicles except ambulances must purchase fuel at a higher rate of 50,000 rials per litre (4 U.S. cents under the free-market rate), government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said on state TV. The higher rate will target consumers requiring more than 160 litres per month, state television reported on Friday. Other drivers can still buy up to 60 litres at 15,000 rials per litre and an additional 100 litres at 30,000 rials per litre. Mohajerani said the increase aims to control fuel consumption and combat smuggling. Taxi quotas remain unchanged, said Mohajerani. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iran-raises-fuel-prices-heavy-users-curb-consumption-smuggling-2025-12-13/

2025-12-13 07:54

Dec 13 (Reuters) - Iranian authorities detained 18 crew members of a foreign tanker seized in the Gulf of Oman on Friday that they said was carrying 6 million litres of smuggled fuel, Iranian media reported on Saturday, citing the Hormozgan province judiciary. It said those detained under the ongoing investigation include the captain of the tanker. The semi-official news agency Fars said the crew were from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Sign up here. The authorities said the tanker had committed multiple violations, including "ignoring stop orders, attempting to flee, (and) lacking navigation and cargo documentation". Iran, which has some of the world's lowest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the plunge in the value of its national currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighbouring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-detains-18-crew-members-foreign-tanker-seized-gulf-oman-2025-12-13/

2025-12-13 05:17

SpaceX to buy $2.56 billion worth of shares at $421 apiece Company preparing for a possible IPO in 2026, CFO says IPO would be one of the largest global listings Dec 13 (Reuters) - SpaceX is preparing to go public next year and has opened a secondary share sale that would value the company at $800 billion, according to a letter to shareholders sent by the company's CFO Bret Johnsen and reviewed by Reuters. The Elon Musk-led company's move towards a public listing, which could rank among the largest global initial public offerings, has been largely driven by the rapid expansion of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet business, including plans for direct-to-mobile service and progress in its Starship rocket program for missions to the moon and Mars. Sign up here. In the letter dated December 12, Johnsen said SpaceX has approved an arrangement where new and existing investors and the company will buy up to $2.56 billion of shares from eligible shareholders at $421 a share. "We are preparing the company for a possible IPO in 2026. Whether it actually happens, when it happens, and at what valuation are still highly uncertain, but the thinking is that if we execute brilliantly and the markets cooperate, a public offering could raise a significant amount of capital," Johnsen said. SpaceX aims to use the capital to ramp Starship's flight rate, deploy artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in space, build Moonbase Alpha and send uncrewed and crewed missions to Mars, Johnsen said. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bloomberg News and The New York Times reported the share sale on Friday. Musk hinted at a possible SpaceX IPO in a post on social media platform X earlier this week. Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a source familiar with the matter, the rocket and satellite company is looking to raise over $25 billion in an IPO that could come as early as June. Investors have welcomed reports that SpaceX was mulling a potential IPO that would fund Musk's Mars ambitions and value the rocket and satellite company at more than $1 trillion. SpaceX ranks as the world's second-most valuable private startup after ChatGPT maker OpenAI, according to data from Crunchbase. Talks over a listing plan are unfolding against the backdrop of a resurgence in the IPO market in 2025 after a three-year dry spell. https://www.reuters.com/business/spacex-sets-800-billion-valuation-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-12-13/

2025-12-13 03:16

New York must address immigrant truck driver concerns in 30 days or lose funding New York DMV denies non-compliance, calls Duffy's actions a stunt Similar funding threats made to Minnesota, Chicago, and California WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department on Friday threatened to pull $73 million in funding from New York state over commercial driver licenses improperly issued to non-U.S. citizens, the latest in a series of Trump administration threats aimed at Democratic-run states. The department said New York must take actions to address concerns about immigrant truck drivers within 30 days or possibly lose federal highway funding after a federal audit. Sign up here. The agency in September issued an emergency regulation to drastically restrict commercial driver licenses to immigrants or non-U.S. citizens after a fatal crash in Florida and a government audit. In August, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was immediately pausing the issuance of all worker visas for commercial truck drivers. "If we're going to have drivers on American roadways, they need to be the best trained, the best skilled, because if operated incorrectly or inappropriately these are lethal weapons on American roadways," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Friday. The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles rejected Duffy's contention, saying New York will continue to comply with federal rules, adding every license "is subject to verification of an applicant's lawful status through federally-issued documents reviewed in accordance with federal regulations. This is just another stunt from Secretary Duffy, and it does nothing to keep our roads safer." On December 1, Duffy's department said it could withhold up to $30.4 million in federal highway funding from Minnesota over commercial driver licenses issued improperly to non-U.S. residents. Separately, the Transportation Department removed nearly 3,000 commercial drivers license training providers from a government registry for failing to properly equip trainees earlier this month and said that another 4,000 were on notice for potential noncompliance. On Tuesday, the department threatened to withhold transit funding for Chicago trains and buses, and demanded more police protection, citing an incident in which a 26-year-old woman passenger was attacked and set on fire last month. The department previously sent similar letters over concerns about transit issues in New York City and Boston. Chicago, like the other two cities, is heavily Democratic. President Donald Trump has regularly threatened funding for large cities run by Democrats, including for major infrastructure projects in Chicago and New York. In October, the U.S. Transportation Department threatened to pull $160 million in federal funds from California over the issue. In November, California agreed to revoke 17,000 commercial driver licenses held by foreigners that the government said were improperly issued, the department said. The department in October separately withheld $40.6 million in federal transportation funding from California for failing to comply with truck driver English proficiency rules. It said in 2023 that about 16% of U.S. truck drivers were born outside the country. Late on Friday, California sued the Trump administration to return at least $33 million, saying the federal government made an "arbitrary" decision to withhold that funding. The state is seeking a court order to rescind all actions terminating the funding and preventing the Transportation Department from redistributing the grants. It was unclear what accounted for the discrepancy between the $40.6 million and the $33 million figure cited by California's lawsuit. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-threatens-new-york-funding-over-truck-driver-licenses-issued-immigrants-2025-12-12/

2025-12-13 02:43

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. government carried out its seizure of the M/T Skipper off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday just as a judge-signed warrant was set to expire, according to the document which was unsealed on Friday. The warrant, which was signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui on November 26, gave the Trump administration until December 10, 2025 to seize the vessel. The seizure is the first of a Venezuelan oil cargo amid U.S. sanctions that have been in force since 2019. Sign up here. The Skipper left Venezuela's main oil port of Jose between December 4 and 5 after loading some 1.8 million barrels of Venezuela's Merey heavy crude. The Trump administration has said the M/T Skipper was used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. "The seizure of this vessel highlights our successful efforts to impose costs on the governments of Venezuela and Iran," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement on Friday. Sources have told Reuters that the U.S. is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil. Despite the unsealing of the warrant, the accompanying affidavit remained redacted. Faruqui said other documents in the case will remain under seal temporarily. This week's seizure, which was condemned by the Venezuelan government, of the vessel was the latest escalation in growing tensions between Washington and Caracas. In recent months, the U.S. had carried out several strikes against suspected drug vessels in the region - a move which has been condemned by U.S. lawmakers and legal experts. President Donald Trump has repeatedly floated the possibility of a U.S. military intervention in Venezuela as the U.S. continues to build up its military forces in and around the Southern Caribbean. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-seized-tanker-near-venezuela-just-warrant-was-set-expire-court-document-shows-2025-12-13/