2025-08-20 00:14

Troop pullback, border delimitation discussed in latest talks India's Modi says stable ties will contribute to global peace China's Wang says both countries should enhance mutual trust Beijing promises to address rare earths needs, source says NEW DELHI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - India and China agreed on Tuesday to resume direct flights and step up trade and investment flows as the neighbours rebuild ties damaged by a 2020 border clash. The Asian giants are cautiously strengthening ties against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump's unpredictable foreign policy, staging a series of high-level bilateral visits. Sign up here. The two countries would resume direct flights and boost trade and investment, including reopening border trade at three designated points, and facilitate in visas, the Indian foreign ministry said. Direct flights have been suspended since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. No date was given for their resumption. The latest statements came at the end of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to New Delhi for the 24th round of talks with Indian National Security (NSA) Advisor Ajit Doval to resolve their decades old border dispute. The border talks covered issues related to pulling back troops both countries have amassed on their Himalayan border, delimitation of borders and boundary affairs, the Indian ministry said. Both countries have agreed to set up a working group to consult and coordinate on border affairs to advance demarcation negotiations, a Chinese foreign ministry statement released on Wednesday showed. It said the mechanism will extend talks to cover the eastern and middle sections of the border. Meanwhile another round of talks on the western section will be held as soon as possible, the ministry said. Beijing also said both countries agreed to meet again in China in 2026. "Stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity," Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X after meeting Wang. Modi is scheduled to travel to China at the end of this month to take part in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation - his first visit to the country in more than seven years. TIBET DAM A readout from the Chinese foreign ministry said Wang told Doval that "the stable and healthy development of China-India relations is in the fundamental interests of the two countries' people". The two sides "should enhance mutual trust through dialogues and expand cooperation," Wang said, and should aim for consensus in areas such as border control and demarcation negotiations. India said Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had underlined in his talks with Wang India's concerns with regard to the mega dam China is building on the Yarlung  Zangbo river in Tibet. Yarlung  Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra as it flows into India and Bangladesh, a lifeline for millions. The dam would have implications for lower riparian states and the need for "utmost transparency" was strongly underlined, New Delhi said. To that, China agreed to share with India emergency hydrological information on relevant rivers on humanitarian principles, China's foreign ministry said. Both sides agreed to engage an expert-level mechanism on cross-border rivers, and maintain communication to renew flood reporting arrangements, the ministry said. Chinese officials had previously said hydropower projects in Tibet will not have a major impact on the environment or on downstream water supplies, but India and Bangladesh have nevertheless raised concerns. Earlier on Tuesday, an Indian source said Wang had assured Jaishankar that Beijing was addressing three key Indian concerns - the need for fertilisers, rare earths and tunnel boring machines. The Indian foreign and mines ministries and China's commerce ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/india-china-agree-resume-direct-flights-boost-business-links-2025-08-19/

2025-08-19 23:01

CAIRO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Iraq signed an agreement in principle with U.S. oil producer Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab for the Nassiriya project that consists of four exploration blocks in addition to the development of other producing oil fields, Iraq's prime minister said on Tuesday. Iraq in the past two years has signed agreements with other oil majors, reversing a long period during which they retreated from the country. Improved contract terms have lured both France's TotalEnergies(TTEF.PA) , opens new tab and UK oil major BP BP.L to sign new deals, with a combined investment of over $50 billion. Sign up here. "We are confident that Chevron, with its proven track record and expertise in successfully developing oil and gas projects, has the resources, experience, and technology to support Iraq to further develop new energy resources," said Frank Mount, Chevron's vice president of corporate business development, in a statement. In 2021, Iraq authorised National Oil Company (NOC) to negotiate with Chevron over the development of oilfields in Nassiriya, in the Iraqi southern province of Dhi Qar. The ministry at the time said its plan in the province included the completion of a group of giant projects in the oil and gas and water injection sectors, with a targeted initial capacity of 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day within seven years of starting work. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the government adopted a new approach in dealing with major international oil companies and their investments in Iraq, especially U.S. companies, his office said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iraq-signs-agreement-with-chevron-oil-exploration-projects-prime-minister-says-2025-08-19/

2025-08-19 22:59

HONG KONG, Aug 19 (Reuters) - China's industry ministry said on Tuesday it held a meeting with solar industry representatives, the second in two months, as it urged the sector to strengthen regulations, curb overcapacity and reduce extreme competition among firms. Representatives at the meeting were told to "jointly promote the healthy and sustainable development of the industry", the ministry said in a statement. Sign up here. It said parties must "curb low-price disorderly competition", referring to overcapacity in the sector. The discussion followed a meeting in July where the ministry said that authorities should "promote the orderly exit of outdated production capacity", heightening expectations for the government to tighten the reins on the bloated sector. A late July meeting of the Politburo, which usually sets China's economic direction for the year, further raised hopes that the government would start a long-awaited campaign against deflation. China's biggest solar firms shed nearly one-third of their workforces in 2024, company filings showed, as losses in the manufacturing value chain reached $40 billion last year. An ambitious plan led by the largest producers of polysilicon, a solar panel building block, to buy up and shut down around one-third of the industry's capacity will face challenges in getting smaller producers and local governments on board, analysts say. Compounding the challenges are pricing reforms that have led to uneven demand this year, with power producers rushing to build most of their new solar plants in the first half of the year before new policies came into effect in June. That has led domestic demand to drop off sharply in the second half, although - evened out over the year 2025 - it is still expected to set a record high for installations. With China able to produce roughly twice the amount of solar panels the world will buy this year, analysts say that as much as 20-30% or more of manufacturing needs to go to bring the industry back to profitability. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/china-says-solar-sector-needs-curb-overcapacity-2025-08-19/

2025-08-19 22:57

NEW YORK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L) , opens new tab said on Tuesday operations at its 440,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Whiting, Indiana, were affected due to flooding caused by a severe thunderstorm overnight. BP did not say which units at the refinery, the largest in the U.S .Midwest, were impacted and whether production was affected. Sign up here. "The Whiting refinery's operations were impacted by the significant thunderstorms overnight in Northwest Indiana that led to flooding and severe conditions in the surrounding neighborhoods," the company said. "Materials are being burned in the flares to maintain safe operations." Multiple units at the Whiting refinery were shut early on Tuesday morning due to flooding, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Tuesday. The units affected include the 115,000-bpd and the 80,000-bpd fluid catalytic cracker unit, the 115,000-bpd and the 70,000-bpd crude distillation unit, the 60,325-bpd vacuum distillation unit, the 24,300-bpd hydrotreater, the 55,500-bpd diesel hydrotreater, the 100,000-bpd cat feed hydrotreater, and the 85,000-bpd naphtha hydrotreater. Response and operations crews were on-site to manage impacts from the storms, BP said. The Whiting refinery produces a wide range of liquid fuels, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Chicago-market CBOB gasoline traded 4 cents per gallon below the gasoline futures benchmark on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday, traders said, compared with a 9-cent discount in the previous session. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bp-says-whiting-refinery-operations-hit-by-flooding-2025-08-19/

2025-08-19 22:06

WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday it is hiking steel and aluminum tariffs on more than 400 products including wind turbines, mobile cranes, appliances, bulldozers and other heavy equipment, along with railcars, motorcycles, marine engines, furniture and hundreds of other products. The department said 407 product categories are being added to the list of “derivative” steel and aluminum products covered by sectoral tariffs, with a 50% tariff on any steel and aluminum content of these products plus the country rate on the non-steel and non-aluminum content. Sign up here. Evercore ISI said in a research note the move covers more than 400 product codes representing over $200 billion in imports last year and estimates it will raise the overall effective tariff rate by around 1 percentage point. The department is also adding imported parts for automotive exhaust systems and electrical steel needed for electric vehicles to the new tariffs as well as components for buses, air conditioners as well as appliances including refrigerators, freezers and dryers. A group of foreign automakers had urged the department not to add the parts, saying the U.S. does not have the domestic capacity to handle current demand. Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab unsuccessfully asked Commerce to reject a request to add steel products used in electric vehicle motors and wind turbines, saying there was no available U.S. capacity to produce steel for use in the drive unit of EVs. The new tariffs take effect immediately and also cover compressors and pumps and the metal in imported cosmetics and other personal care packaging like aerosol cans. "Today’s action expands the reach of the steel and aluminum tariffs and shuts down avenues for circumvention – supporting the continued revitalization of the American steel and aluminum industries," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler. Steelmakers including Cleveland Cliffs (CLF.N) , opens new tab, Nucor (NUE.N) , opens new tab and others had petitioned the administration to expand the tariffs to include additional steel and aluminum auto parts. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-hikes-steel-aluminum-tariffs-imported-appliances-railcars-ev-parts-2025-08-19/

2025-08-19 21:50

Aug 19 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian drone attack late on Tuesday knocked out power to areas of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region under Russian control, the Moscow-installed governor said. Russian forces hold well over half of Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine's southeast. But Kyiv maintains control of the region's main administrative centre and its attacks have periodically knocked out electricity in Russian-held areas. Sign up here. Russia in 2022 annexed the Zaporizhzhia region, along with neighbouring Kherson as well as Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine's east, about seven months after invading its smaller neighbour. "The reason for the power cuts in Zaporizhzhia region is yet another enemy terrorist drone attack on high-voltage equipment," Moscow-appointed Governor Yevgeny Balitsky wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Balitsky said repair crews were restoring power and switching affected areas to reserve lines. He said the work was made more difficult "by the danger of repeat strikes and by darkness". Ukrainian shelling and drone attacks knocked out power in June for more than 24 hours to at least 700,000 residents across the area. That attack appeared to be the largest of its kind on Russian-held territory since the war began. The Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe's largest with six reactors, was operating as normal, unaffected by the power cuts, the plant's director of communications, Yevgenia Yashina, told Russia's RIA news agency. The plant produces no electricity but needs power for cooling and monitoring systems to maintain safety. Ukraine and Russia regularly accuse each other of staging attacks on the plant, seized by Russian forces in the first weeks of the February 2022 invasion. In the part of Kherson region under Ukrainian control, Governor Vyacheslav Prokudin said in a Telegram post that Russian shelling killed a resident of a small town north of the regional capital. And the governor of Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, to the north, Serhiy Lysak, also said on Telegram that Russian shelling killed a resident of Nikopol, a frequent target of Moscow's attacks on the north bank of the Dnipro River. https://www.reuters.com/world/ukrainian-attack-cuts-power-russia-controlled-zaporizhzhia-2025-08-19/