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/
2025-08-23 05:56
ADB to lead $2 billion railway network upgrade ADB steps in after decade of Chinese delays Officials say move will not upset China Karachi–Rohri upgrade key for Pakistan's copper-gold mine ISLAMABAD, Aug 22 (Reuters) - The Asian Development Bank will fund upgrades to part of Pakistan's creaking railway system, replacing China, after prolonged delays in securing financing from Beijing threatened to put a strain on a strategic mining project, two sources said on Friday. An extensive revamp of 1,800 km (1,118 miles) of railways has been the centrepiece of a $60 billion Chinese investment programme in Pakistan announced in 2015 as part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative global infrastructure push. Sign up here. A decade of negotiations, however, have yet to produce a finance package for the rail upgrades - the single biggest project under the programme with China. And Pakistan is, meanwhile, struggling to repay Chinese debt owed for other projects. The ADB is in advanced talks to lead the financing of a $2 billion upgrade of a 500-km stretch of the railway line from Karachi to Rohri in the country's south that had previously been part of the Chinese project, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. The upgrade has become urgent, they said, as it is needed to transport copper ore from the Reko Diq mine currently being developed by Canada's Barrick Mining Corp (ABX.TO) , opens new tab. "We will have a crisis. How will you evacuate output from Reko Diq? The exhausted line will come under even more pressure," one of the sources, a senior government official, said. There was no immediate comment from Pakistan's railways ministry. "China and Pakistan are iron friends and all-weather strategic partners," China's foreign ministry said in a response to Reuters. "China is willing to work with the Pakistani side to build the corridor with high quality and create an upgraded version," it said, adding that future cooperation would span industry, agriculture and mining. The ADB would not confirm the finance package, which is being reported for the first time by Reuters. But it said Pakistan's government and the regional lender "have regular discussions on railway sector development". "Any potential ADB assistance would be subject to comprehensive due diligence and consideration under ADB's policies and procedures before any commitment is made," it wrote in a statement to Reuters. The deal, expected to be announced later this month, would see the ADB lead a consortium to finance the project and bring in an international engineering contractor to carry out the work through a competitive bidding process, the sources said. The ADB announced $410 million in financing for the Reko Diq mine itself earlier this week. And its president is due to visit Islamabad next week, the sources said. CHINA AND PAKISTAN: 'IRONCLAD FRIENDS'? The sources said the plan is diplomatically tricky but has been squared with China. "We would never do anything to jeopardise that relationship," the senior Pakistani official said. China rolled out major power and infrastructure projects after the 2015 launch of the investment programme, known locally as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. But momentum has stalled, with the last big project - the Gwadar East Bay Expressway - inaugurated in 2022. Islamabad has fallen behind on payments for electricity generated by Chinese-built power plants. And following a government report looking at the cost of the power stations, Islamabad has for the past year sought to reschedule debt payments for the plants. "China and Pakistan are ironclad friends and all-weather strategic cooperative partners," China's foreign ministry said on August 19, ahead of a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Islamabad this week. In Wang's meeting with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday, both sides said they sought to deepen ties and move on to the next phase of CPEC. PAKISTAN'S MINING AMBITIONS The Reko Diq copper and gold mine - at the heart of the government's strategy to attract investment to Pakistan's mining sector - is due to enter production in 2028 with anticipated annual output of some 200,000 metric ton of copper concentrate. One of the world's largest untapped copper deposits, it is Pakistan's largest foreign investment in recent years. The ADB-financed rail upgrade would modernise the track and bridges from the commercial capital Karachi north to Rohri, close to the city of Sukkur, so that diesel trains can run faster, the sources said. In Rohri, the line will meet a branch coming from the area of the Reko Diq mine and will carry the copper concentrate to port. Tim Cribb, Reko Diq's project director, told Reuters that the government and Barrick would work together on securing financing for the upgrading of the branch coming from the west to Rohri. The mine also faces security concerns, as it lies in the insurgency-hit western province of Balochistan, with militants frequently targeting the rail network. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/adb-back-pakistan-rail-upgrade-china-financing-stalls-sources-say-2025-08-22/
