Portugal, Spain have faced days of extreme weather Tornado strikes southern Portugal on Saturday Flooding hits parts of Wales and England LISBON, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Violent weather brought on by Storm Claudia killed three people and injured dozens in Portugal, authorities there said on Saturday, while in Britain rescue workers were organising evacuations due to heavy flooding in Wales and England. Portugal and parts of neighbouring Spain have faced days of extreme conditions brought on by Storm Claudia, which had reached parts of Britain and Ireland by Saturday. Sign up here. Rescue workers found the bodies of an elderly couple inside their flooded home in Fernao Ferro, across the River Tagus from Lisbon, on Thursday. They had apparently been sleeping and were unable to flee as the water rose during the night. On Saturday, a tornado struck Albufeira in southern Portugal, emergency services said. Footage shot from a distance that was posted online showed the tornado damaging and destroying caravans at a camping area, where regional civil protection commander Vitor Vaz Pinto said an 85-year-old British woman was killed. Twenty-eight people were injured at a nearby hotel, he said, adding that two of them were in hospital with serious injuries. In a statement on Saturday, Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expressed "his solidarity with the family of the victim who died" in Albufeira and wished a speedy recovery to those injured. Portuguese weather service IPMA placed the entire Algarve and districts of Beja and Setubal on amber alert, its second-highest alert level. STORM CLAUDIA CAUSES FLOODING IN WALES, ENGLAND In Britain, severe flooding hit the town of Monmouth and surrounding areas in southeastern Wales on Saturday. South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it was conducting rescues, evacuations, and welfare checks. "Storm Claudia has caused significant flooding in parts of Wales overnight, which continues to affect homes, businesses, transport and energy infrastructure," a spokesperson for the Welsh government said. Aerial footage showed widespread flooding in Monmouth, with water inundating the town centre and residential areas after a nearby river burst its banks overnight. Natural Resources Wales has issued 11 flood warnings, four of which are severe, as well as 17 flood alerts. In England, according to the Environment Agency's latest update, there were 49 active flood warnings and 134 flood alerts. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/storm-claudia-kills-three-portugal-causes-flooding-britain-2025-11-15/

BEIJING, Nov 15 (Reuters) - China has begun preparations to send a Shenzhou spacecraft to its permanently inhabited space station ahead of schedule, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Saturday. Shenzhou-22 is being sent without anyone on board to the Tiangong space station six months ahead of its planned launch in order to put China's manned space programme back on track. Sign up here. The Shenzhou missions have run like clockwork since 2021 until ten days ago when Shenzhou-20 was damaged while docked at Tiangong, forcing its three-person crew to stay an extra nine days along with another trio of astronauts. On Friday, the Shenzhou-20 crew boarded the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft and successfully returned to Earth, leaving the newly arrived trio of astronauts who had arrived two weeks ago without a vessel that could take them home in the event of an emergency. Shenzhou-22 is being sent ahead of schedule to plug this security risk and allow the Shenzhou-21 crew to return to Earth around April 2026, once they complete their half-year shift. "Preparations for the Shenzhou-22 mission have commenced. The spacecraft will carry a full cargo load, including astronaut provisions and equipment for the space station," CCTV reported. Tiangong has a maximum capacity of six crew, but this can only be temporarily sustained as the facility is designed to host three astronauts for six months. China has not yet announced what will happen to the damaged Shenzhou-20, which is suspected to have been hit by space debris, slightly cracking the window of the its return capsule. Experts have suggested the vessel could be undocked from Tiangong and deorbited over the Pacific. https://www.reuters.com/science/china-readies-shenzhou-mission-ahead-schedule-after-spacecraft-damage-2025-11-15/

Gazprom Neft and Gazprom hold together majority stake in NIS US gives NIS owners three months to look for a buyer, says minister NIS operations threatened as banks halt payments BELGRADE, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Serbia secured a three-month licence from the U.S. to try to find a buyer for its Russian-owned oil company, NIS, which is under sanctions that threaten fuel supplies ahead of winter, energy minister Dubravka Djedovic-Handanovic said on Saturday. Serbia said this week that Russia's Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM) , opens new tab and Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab - which together hold a controlling stake of 56% in the country's only oil refiner (NIIS.BEL) , opens new tab - had sent a request to the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), stating readiness to cede control of the company to a third party. Sign up here. OFAC initially placed sanctions on Russia's oil sector, including Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab, in January, but for NIS they were postponed several times and finally came into effect on October 8. The U.S. Treasury Department has approved a three-month licence for NIS to give the company's owners time to look for a buyer, Djedovic-Handanovic said on live TV. The company and its oil refinery will not be allowed to operate in the meantime. "An approval for ownership negotiations has been received ... until February 13," she said. Banks have stopped processing NIS payments, and Croatia's JANAF (JANF.ZA) , opens new tab pipeline stopped delivering crude oil, with officials estimating that the refinery can only operate until November 25 without new crude supplies. The U.S. also wants to see the Russian owners entirely leave the company. Belgrade may also seek to take over NIS, she said. "As the energy minister, I believe we have tough decisions to make, whether to take over the company and compensate (Russian owners) for damages. I know the President (Aleksandar) Vucic is against it," she said, adding the government would discuss a potential solution at a session on Sunday. Russia's Gazprom Neft owns 44.9% and Gazprom has a 11.3% stake in NIS. The Serbian government owns 29.9% of the shares, while the remainder belongs to small shareholders and employees. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/serbia-secures-three-month-reprieve-us-sanctioned-oil-firm-nis-says-official-2025-11-15/

Tanker seized in Gulf waters on Friday Incident is first Iranian vessel seizure since April 2024 DUBAI, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Iran confirmed on Saturday that its Revolutionary Guards had seized a tanker in Gulf waters carrying a cargo of petrochemicals bound for Singapore over alleged violations, Iranian state media reported. A U.S. official and maritime security sources had said on Friday that Iranian forces intercepted the oil products tanker and diverted it into Iranian territorial waters. It was the first report of Tehran seizing a tanker since Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran in June. Sign up here. Iranian state-run television read a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stating that "the tanker was in violation for carrying unauthorized cargo". It did not provide further details of the alleged violations. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, the Talara, had been sailing off the United Arab Emirates' coast, maritime sources said, and was carrying a cargo of high-sulphur gasoil through the Indian Ocean en route to Singapore from Sharjah in the UAE. The vessel's manager Columbia Shipmanagement said it lost contact with the Talara Friday morning around 20 nautical miles off the coast of Khor Fakkan, UAE. It added that it was working closely with relevant parties, including maritime security agencies and the vessel's owner, to restore contact. The ship is owned by Cyprus-based Pasha Finance. In a statement, the U.S. military said it was aware of the incident and was actively monitoring the situation. Iran's IRGC has periodically seized commercial vessels in Gulf waters in recent years, often citing maritime violations such as alleged smuggling, technical infractions or legal disputes. However, the U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident was surprising since Iran had not carried out any such operations in recent months. Iran has curbed its military activities in the region since the 12-day Israeli bombing campaign in June, which was joined by the United States. Its last reported seizure of a vessel was in April 2024. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/iran-confirms-seizure-tanker-carrying-petrochemical-cargo-2025-11-15/

JAKARTA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - A landslide after heavy rains in Central Java killed 11 people, Indonesia's disaster management agency said on Saturday, adding that rescuers were searching for a dozen who are still missing. The landslide in the city of Cilacap on Thursday buried a dozen houses in Cibeunying village, Antara previously reported the agency as saying, adding that the rescue was challenging as people were buried 3 to 8 metres (10-25 feet) deep. Sign up here. "Eleven people have been found dead, three yesterday and eight more today. Twelve people are still missing," the agency's spokesperson Abdul Muhari told Reuters. The Southeast Asian country's wet season started in September and will last until April, the weather agency says, bringing a higher risk of floods and extreme rainfall. Another landslide in January triggered by torrential rain in the Central Java city of Pekalongan killed at least 25 people. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/indonesia-landslide-kills-6-central-java-17-missing-state-media-says-2025-11-15/

China's renewable energy dominance boosts climate diplomacy role China fills US void in climate negotiations, aids COP30 agenda agreement COP30 leaders praise China for clean energy leadership BELEM, Brazil, Nov 15 (Reuters) - With the United States absent from the U.N. annual international climate summit for the first time in three decades, China is stepping into the limelight as a leader in the fight against global warming. Its country pavilion dominates the entrance hall of the sprawling COP30 conference grounds in Brazil's Amazon city of Belem, executives from its biggest clean energy companies are presenting their visions for a green future to large audiences in English, and its diplomats are working behind the scenes to ensure constructive talks. Sign up here. Those were Washington's roles, but they now reside with Beijing. "Water flows to where there is space, and diplomacy often does the same," Francesco La Camera, director general at the International Renewable Energy Agency, told Reuters. He said China's dominance in renewable energy and electric vehicles was bolstering its position in climate diplomacy. China’s transformation from a quiet presence at the U.N.’s Conference of the Parties summits to a more central player seeking the world’s attention reflects a shift in the fight against global warming since U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to office. Long a skeptic of climate change, Trump has again pulled the United States - the world's largest historic emitter - from the landmark international Paris Agreement to limit global warming. This year, for the first time ever, he declined to send an official high-level delegation to represent U.S. interests at the summit. "President Trump will not jeopardize our country’s economic and national security to pursue vague climate goals that are killing other countries," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Reuters. But critics warn the U.S. withdrawal from the process cedes valuable ground in the climate negotiations, particularly as China, currently the world's top greenhouse gas emitter, rapidly expands its renewable and EV industries. "China gets it," said California Governor Gavin Newsom during a visit to the conference earlier this week. "America is toast competitively, if we don't wake up to what the hell they're doing in this space, on supply chains, how they're dominating manufacturing, how they’re flooding the zone." BEAUTIFUL WORLD Unlike previous years, when China had a modest pavilion with just a handful of seats available for mostly technical and academic panels, its COP30 pavilion occupies prime space near the entrance next to host country Brazil. Cups of sustainable Chinese single-origin coffee, panda toys and branded swag lure in passers-by who can watch presentations by Chinese officials and executives from the world's biggest renewable energy companies. "Let's honor the legacy and fulfill the Paris vision guided by the vision of shared future," Meng Xiangfeng, vice president of China's CATL, the world's largest battery maker, told an audience on Thursday. "Let's advance climate cooperation and build a clean, beautiful world together." The battery giant already supplies one-third of batteries for EV makers including Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab, Ford (F.N) , opens new tab and Volkswagen (VOWG.DE) , opens new tab. It was CATL's first time hosting an event at a COP, seeking to reach an audience of governments and NGOs. Earlier that afternoon, China's vice minister of ecology Li Gao told a packed audience that China's status as the world's leading producer of renewable energy "brings benefits to countries, particularly in the Global South". China's State Grid, the world's largest electric utility, and solar giants Trina and Longi also made presentations. Chinese electric auto giant BYD introduced a fleet of plug-in hybrid vehicles compatible with biofuel manufactured at its plant in Bahia, Brazil, for use at COP30. Both COP President Andre Correa do Lago and COP30 CEO Ana de Toni have praised China's role as a clean energy technology leader. "China has shown leadership not only by carrying out its own energy revolution, but with China's scale capacity, we can now also buy low-carbon... at competitive prices," de Toni told Reuters. "China is very determined not only to continue to be a very stable leader in the Paris Agreement, strengthening climate governance, but also to take very practical actions to support other countries." BEHIND THE SCENES China is playing a more subtle role behind the scenes in the negotiations by filling a void left by the United States, which was known for rallying governments toward agreement, according to current and former diplomats involved in negotiations. "Little by little, China is acting as a guarantor of the climate regime," said one senior diplomat from an emerging economy. "They invested a lot on the green economy. If there's any kind of involution, they will lose." One Brazilian diplomat said China played a key role in helping reach an agreement over the COP30 agenda before negotiations even began, whereas in previous years its diplomats would not get involved unless there was some key issue for them. Sue Biniaz, who served as U.S. deputy climate envoy under John Kerry and was a key architect of the Paris Agreement, said China had the ability to bring together the wide-ranging interests of the developing world, from major emerging economies like the BRICS to small developing nations. She worked closely with Chinese counterparts on four bilateral climate agreements, including the one that unlocked the Paris deal. "They tend to be very tough, take on tough positions like the U.S. did, but then be pragmatic towards the end," she told Reuters. "They have to come up with an outcome that nobody thinks is bad enough to block." Biniaz said she was not yet convinced that China was playing a leadership role beyond the pavilions. "If they had wanted to, they would have put in a more ambitious emission reduction target," she said, referring to China’s announcement in September that it would cut emissions at least 7% from their peak by 2035. Li Shuo, a veteran observer of China at U.N. climate talks who heads the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute, countered that China's technology position was already a show of political leadership because its companies were making U.N. pledges achievable. "The most powerful country isn’t the one with the loudest microphone at COP," he said, "but the one actually producing and investing in low-carbon technologies." https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/china-finds-bigger-role-us-sidesteps-brazil-climate-summit-2025-11-15/

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Venture Global (VG.N) , opens new tab said on Friday that following Shell’s recent loss in arbitration over liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply claims, an International Chamber of Commerce panel has issued an award ordering Shell to pay its legal fees. "Venture Global looks forward to putting these proceeds toward our coastal restoration efforts along the Gulf of America," a company spokesperson said, referring to the Gulf of Mexico. Sign up here. Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab challenged its defeat in the New York Supreme Court, weeks after rival BP (BP.L) , opens new tab won a similar arbitration worth more than $1 billion. Both cases centered on Venture Global's failure to deliver LNG under long-term contracts while selling cargoes on the spot market as prices surged after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shell-ordered-pay-venture-globals-legal-fees-after-arbitration-loss-2025-11-15/

Tariff rollback includes beef, tomatoes, bananas amid inflation concerns Trade deals with Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador to eliminate tariffs Democrats criticize Trump for inflation linked to tariffs WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday rolled back tariffs on more than 200 food products, including such staples as coffee, beef, bananas and orange juice, in the face of growing angst among American consumers about the high cost of groceries. The new exemptions - which took effect retroactively at midnight on Thursday - mark a sharp reversal for Trump, who has long insisted that the sweeping import duties he imposed earlier this year are not fueling inflation. Sign up here. "They may in some cases" raise prices, Trump said of his tariffs when asked about the move aboard Air Force One on Friday evening. But he insisted that overall, the U.S. has "virtually no inflation." Democrats have won a string of victories in state and local elections in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City, where growing voter concerns about affordability, including high food prices, were a key topic. Trump also told reporters aboard Air Force One that he would move forward with a $2,000 payment to lower- and middle-income Americans that would be funded by tariff revenues next year sometime. "The tariffs allow us to give a dividend if we want to do that. Now we're going to do a dividend and we're also reducing debt," he said. The Trump administration announced framework trade deals on Thursday that, once finalized, will eliminate tariffs on certain foods and other imports from Argentina, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador, with U.S. officials eyeing additional agreements before year's end. Friday's list includes products U.S. consumers routinely purchase to feed their families at home, many of which have seen double-digit year-over-year price increases. It includes over 200 items ranging from oranges, acai berries and paprika to cocoa, chemicals used in food production, fertilizers and even communion wafers. The White House, in a fact sheet on the order, said it came on the heels of "significant progress the President has made in securing more reciprocal terms for our bilateral trade relationships." It said Trump decided certain food items could be exempted since they were not grown or processed in the United States, and given the conclusion of nine framework deals, two final agreements on reciprocal trade, and two investment deals. Ground beef, as of the latest available data for September, was nearly 13% more expensive, according to Consumer Price Index data, and steaks cost almost 17% more than a year ago. Increases for both were the largest in more than three years, dating back to when inflation was nearing its peak under Trump's predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden. Although the U.S. is a major beef producer, a persistent shortage of cattle in recent years has kept beef prices high. Banana prices were about 7% higher, while tomatoes were 1% higher. Overall costs for food consumed at home were up 2.7% in September. The tariff exemptions won praise from many industry groups, while some expressed disappointment that their products were excluded from the exemptions. "Today’s action should help consumers, whose morning cup of coffee will hopefully become more affordable, as well as U.S. manufacturers, which utilize many of these products in their supply chains and production lines," FMI-Food Industry Association president Leslie Sarasin said in a statement. Distilled Spirits Council president Chris Swonger said that excluding spirits from the European Union and Britain "is yet another blow to the U.S. hospitality industry just as the critical holiday season kicks into high gear." "Scotch, Cognac and Irish Whiskey are value-added agricultural products that cannot be produced in the United States," Swonger added. Asked if further changes were planned, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, "I don't think it'll be necessary." "We just did a little bit of a rollback," he said. "The prices of coffee were a little bit high, now they'll be on the low side in a very short period." NEW FOCUS ON AFFORDABILITY Trump has upended the global trading system by imposing a 10% base tariff on imports from every country, plus additional specific duties that vary from state to state. Trump has focused squarely on the issue of affordability in recent weeks, while insisting that any higher costs were triggered by policies enacted by Biden, and not his own tariff policies. Consumers have remained frustrated over high grocery prices, which economists say have been fueled in part by import tariffs and could rise further next year as companies start passing on the full brunt of the import duties. The top Democrat on the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, Richard Neal, said the Trump administration was "putting out a fire that they started and claiming it as progress." "The Trump Administration is finally admitting publicly what we've all known from the start: Trump's Trade War is hiking costs on people," Neal said in a statement. "Since implementing these tariffs, inflation has increased and manufacturing has contracted month after month." https://www.reuters.com/business/trump-cuts-tariffs-beef-coffee-other-foods-inflation-concerns-mount-2025-11-14/

TOKYO, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Japan is considering spending around 17 trillion yen ($110 billion) in new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's first stimulus package, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Saturday, underscoring the administration's focus on expansionary fiscal policy. A supplementary budget to fund the package will likely be sized around 14 trillion yen, exceeding that of the previous year, the paper said, a move that may add to Japan's already huge public debt. Sign up here. Since taking office in October, Takaichi has pledged to compile a sizeable package of spending measures to cushion the economic blow from rising living costs, and boost investment in growth areas such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors. The size of the package, which is being worked out by the Ministry of Finance, could change depending on upcoming negotiations among ruling parties, the Nikkei said. The package will include bigger exemptions on income tax, tax cuts on gasoline, subsidies to slash utility bills and funds appropriated to prefectures for spending on food aid, it said. The government was not immediately available to comment. The administration is expected to finalize the package with approval by the cabinet on November 21. ($1 = 154.53 yen) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-considering-stimulus-package-sized-around-17-trln-yen-nikkei-says-2025-11-14/

MILAN, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Italian gas grid operator Snam (SRG.MI) , opens new tab said on Friday it has scrapped plans to acquire a minority stake in Germany's largest independent gas transmission firm, amid resistance from the German economy ministry. Berlin's concerns over the 920-million-euro ($1.1 billion) transaction stem from the presence of China's State Grid as an indirect investor in Snam, Reuters reported earlier in the day, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Sign up here. The Italian group signed a deal in April to buy a 24.99% stake in Open Grid Europe's (OGE) owner Vier Gas Holding from Abu Dhabi's Infinity Investments, aiming to enter the German gas market, the biggest in Europe. The agreement was terminated after a prolonged foreign direct investment review by Germany, Snam said in a statement, saying its proposed remedies to secure regulatory clearance were found inadequate by the authorities. The company added that the development will not impact its full-year 2025 financial outlook. Germany's economy ministry had been reviewing the deal since it was agreed. Its resistance reflects European governments taking a tougher stance against Chinese investment in Europe due to security concerns. Snam would not pursue the acquisition "come hell or high water" amid the lengthy approval process, CEO Agostino Scornajenchi previously signalled. Germany blocked an attempt by China's State Grid to buy a stake in power grid operator 50Hertz in 2018. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/italys-snam-set-scrap-german-gas-deal-amid-berlins-concern-over-china-sources-2025-11-14/