2025-08-23 12:43

Opposition says nuclear power needed for stable supplies Government raises safety fears on earthquake-prone island President open to nuclear in future, if standards improve TAIPEI, Aug 23 (Reuters) - A referendum to push for the re-opening of Taiwan's last nuclear plant failed on Saturday to reach the legal threshold to be valid, though the president said the island could return to the technology in the future if safety standards improve. The plebiscite, backed by the opposition, asked whether the Maanshan power plant should be re-opened if it was "confirmed" there were no safety issues. The plant was closed in May as the government shifts to renewables and liquefied natural gas. Sign up here. The small Taiwan People's Party (TPP) proposed the referendum earlier this year, and with the backing of the much larger Kuomintang (KMT) passed the legislation for the vote, saying Taiwan needs reliable power supplies and not to be so reliant on imports. Around 4.3 million people voted in favour of the plant's re-opening in the referendum, a clear majority over the 1.5 million who voted against, figures from the Central Election Commission showed. But the motion needed the backing of one quarter of all registered electors - around 5 million people - to get through under electoral law, meaning the plant on Taiwan's southern tip will not re-open. Taiwan's government says there are major safety concerns around generating nuclear power in earthquake-prone Taiwan and handling nuclear waste. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te told reporters on Saturday evening that while the referendum had failed, he understood "society's expectations for diverse energy options". "If in the future, the technology becomes safer, nuclear waste is reduced, and societal acceptance increases, we will not rule out advanced nuclear energy," he added. In a separate vote on Saturday, electors rejected the recall of seven KMT lawmakers. A larger recall vote, to try and oust 24 lawmakers from the same party, also failed last month. Civic groups who had run the recall campaigns, with the backing of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), accused the lawmakers of being too close to China and intentionally trying to snarl government spending and legislation, charges the legislators strongly denied. Lai said Premier Cho Jung-tai had asked many times to resign after the failure of the recall votes in July, but he had asked Cho to stay on. There will be a cabinet reshuffle to make the team more efficient and governance more effective, Lai added. The two opposition parties together form a majority in parliament, though the DPP controls the presidency and hence the government in Taiwan's system. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/taiwan-nuclear-plant-re-opening-vote-fails-approval-threshold-missed-2025-08-23/

2025-08-23 08:44

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Aug 23 (Reuters) - A 7-km (4-mile) lake in northern Pakistan, created by a mountain mudslide, is threatening to burst and unleash potentially "catastrophic" floods downstream, officials warned on Saturday. The mud flow descended into the main Ghizer River channel and blocked it completely on Friday, creating the lake in Gilgit Baltistan province, the National Disaster Management Authority said. Sign up here. The blockage created a "dam-like structure" that poses a significant threat of bursting, it said in a situation report by its provincial office. The new lake "can cause a catastrophic flood", said Zakir Hussain, director general of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority. Four downstream districts - Ghizer, Gilgit, Astore and Diamer - face a serious threat, he told Reuters. Ghizer is north of the mountain districts in northwest Pakistan where floods triggered by the worst of this year's monsoon rains and cloudbursts have killed nearly 400 people since August 15. A video shared by the national authority on a WhatsApp group where it issues statements shows black mud sliding down the mountain before landing in the river. Reuters could not independently verify the video, which an official at the authority said was shot by residents. Similar mud flows landed in the river from different mountainsides, said provincial government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq. A shepherd on higher ground, the first to spot the mud flow crashing down, alerted villagers and local authorities, he said. As a result of the warning, he said, nearly 200 people in dozens of scattered houses tucked in the mountainsides and the river's surroundings were rescued. The lake has started discharging water, meaning the threat of a burst is receding, but flash floods in downstream districts cannot be ruled out until the lake is completely cleared, Faraq said. The communities downstream have been directed to stay on high alert and vacate areas along the river, he said. Floods across Pakistan have killed 785 since the monsoon started in late June, the national authority said, warning of two more rain spells by September 10. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/pakistan-lake-formed-by-mountain-mudslide-threatens-catastrophic-floods-2025-08-23/

2025-08-23 08:21

MUMBAI, Aug 23 (Reuters) - India's foreign minister said on Saturday that trade negotiations with Washington are continuing but there are lines that New Delhi needs to defend, just days before hefty additional U.S. tariffs are due to hit. Indian goods face additional U.S. tariffs of up to 50%, among the highest imposed by Washington, due to its increased purchases of Russian oil. A 25% tariff has already come into effect, while the remaining 25% is set to be enforced from August 27. Sign up here. A planned visit by U.S. trade negotiators to New Delhi from August 25-29 has been called off, dashing hopes that the levies may be lowered or postponed. "We have some redlines in the negotiations, to be maintained and defended," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at an Economic Times forum event in New Delhi, singling out the interests of the country's farmers and small producers. India-U.S. trade talks collapsed earlier this year due to India not agreeing to open its vast agricultural and dairy sectors. Bilateral trade between the world's largest and fifth largest economy is worth over $190 billion. "It is our right to make decisions in our 'national interest'," Jaishankar said. Analysts at Capital Economics said on Friday that if the full U.S. tariffs come into force and stick, the hit to India's economic growth would be 0.8 percentage points both this year and next. "The longer-term harm could be even greater as a high tariff could puncture India’s appeal as a global manufacturing hub." The Indian minister described U.S. President Donald Trump's policy announcements as "unusual". "We have not had a U.S. president who conducts his foreign policy so publicly as the current one and (it) is a departure from the traditional way of conducting business with the world," Jaishankar said. He also said Washington's concern over India's Russian oil purchases was not being applied to other major buyers such as China and European Union. "If the argument is oil, then there are (other) big buyers. If argument is who is trading more (with Russia), than there are bigger traders," he said. Russia-European trade is bigger than India-Russia trade, he added. The minister also said India's purchases of Russian oil had not been raised in earlier trade talks with the U.S. before the public announcement of tariffs. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/india-says-us-trade-negotiations-are-still-going-fresh-tariffs-loom-2025-08-23/

2025-08-23 07:58

LAGOS, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Nigeria LNG Ltd has inked 20-year gas supply contracts with NNPC Ltd and other oil firms for the supply of 1.29 billion standard cubic feet per day to support its liquefaction plants and expansion plans, according to a company statement. The agreements - which include extension options - also involve firms such as Shell Nigeria, Oando Group (OANDO.LG) , opens new tab, Aradel Holdings (ARADEL.LG) , opens new tab, and First E&P, and are expected to mitigate long-standing upstream gas shortfalls while propelling Nigeria’s energy transition and industrialisation efforts. Sign up here. The volumes will be gradually scaled up over time to supply the $10 billion Train-7 gas plant on Bonny Island in Rivers State, now 80% complete. Bayo Ojulari, NNPC Group CEO, said the contracts opened up opportunities for growth, collaboration, and shared prosperity. NLNG Managing Director Philip Mshelbila added that the deals addressed persistent gas supply issues caused by pipeline disruptions, including instances of vandalism and sabotage, and signalled NLNG’s strategy of diversifying its feedgas sources following the divestment of onshore assets by several international oil companies. NLNG is jointly owned by NNPC Ltd (49%), Shell Gas (25.6%), TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab (15%), and Eni (ENI.MI) , opens new tab (10.4%). https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nigeria-lng-inks-long-term-contracts-secure-gas-supply-2025-08-23/

2025-08-23 07:46

Aug 23 (Reuters) - Heavy rain brought a stop-start evening session to a premature end at the Monterrey Open on Friday, with Russian second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova's semi-final against Czech Marie Bouzkova being moved to Saturday. The match was tied at two games apiece in the first set when rains disrupted play, with the delay lasting several hours before the contest was rescheduled. Sign up here. The semi-final will begin at 11:30 am (1830 GMT) on Saturday, with the final to be played later in the evening. The delay is far from ideal for Alexandrova and Bouzkova, who are both scheduled to compete in the first round of the U.S. Open, which begins on Sunday. The winner of the semi-final clash between the two will face Diana Shnaider in the final, after the Russian third seed claimed a 6-3 7-6(8) win over Alycia Parks of the United States. After coasting through the first set, Shnaider was put under some pressure early in the second and was forced to save two break points before going on to edge a tight tiebreaker and reach her first final of the year. World number 12 Shnaider is unbeaten in her last four finals on the WTA Tour, claiming titles in Hong Kong, Budapest, Bad Homburg and Hua Hin last year. https://www.reuters.com/sports/tennis/rain-delays-play-havoc-with-monterrey-open-schedule-2025-08-23/

2025-08-23 07:18

MUMBAI, Aug 23 (Reuters) - India's foreign minister said on Saturday that trade negotiations with U.S. are still going on but there are lines that New Delhi needs to defend. Indian goods face additional U.S. tariffs of up to 50%, among the highest imposed by Washington, due to its increased purchases of Russian oil. A 25% tariff has already come into effect, while the remaining 25% is set to be enforced from August 27. Sign up here. "We have some redlines in the negotiations, to be maintained and defended," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said at an event in New Delhi, singling out the interests of the country's farmers and small producers. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/india-says-trade-negotiations-with-us-are-still-going-2025-08-23/