2025-06-29 08:55

CAIRO, June 29 (Reuters) - Egypt has begun shutting down some local wheat collection centres ahead of schedule, signalling that the harvest is nearing its end with purchases falling short of the government's target, according to a supply ministry document seen by Reuters. The shortfall comes as Egypt, often the world's largest wheat importer, seeks to secure affordable supplies for a vast subsidised bread programme that feeds nearly 70 million people, amid high inflation and ongoing economic strains. Sign up here. The government had aimed to procure between 4 and 5 million metric tons of wheat from a local harvest it estimated at around 10 million tons. The season, which started mid-April, officially runs through mid-August. However, as of Saturday, June 28, just over 3.9 million tons had been collected, according to a second, separate official document reviewed by Reuters. In recent days, the supply ministry has started gradually closing some collection points across the country, citing low volumes being delivered by farmers, according to the first document. Centres that remain open will also be closed if they don't receive wheat for 3-5 consecutive days, according to official documents, the document said. The Supply Ministry didn't immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Egypt typically supplements its domestic harvest with about 5 million tons of imports annually to support its strategic reserves and subsidised bread system. But import volumes in the first half of 2025 have also lagged behind those of the previous year, officials said last week. Egypt has strategic reserves of wheat and other commodities sufficient for more than six months, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said earlier this month. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/egypt-winds-down-wheat-collection-purchases-fall-short-target-documents-show-2025-06-29/

2025-06-29 07:44

Koo Yun-cheol named finance minister amid US tariff talks Koo emphasizes proactive response to economic challenges Trade envoy returns from first high-level talks in Washington since Lee took office SEOUL, June 29 (Reuters) - South Korea needs to take measures to support its economy in the short term as it continues tariff talks with the U.S., its likely new finance minister Koo Yun-cheol said on Sunday after being nominated for the role by President Lee Jae Myung. Koo, a former vice finance minister, still needs to go through parliament hearings before being confirmed as finance minister. Other ministerial appointments were also announced by the president's office on Sunday. Sign up here. "We need to take pre-emptive measures and prepare for situations such as the current tariff negotiations with the United States," Koo told a press conference. "Through this process, we plan to actively and proactively respond to the difficulties that the South Korean economy faces in the short term," he said. Trade envoy Yeo Han-koo returned home on Sunday after holding the first high-level tariff talks with his U.S. counterparts since President Lee took office on June 4. South Korea has sought exemptions from U.S. President Donald Trump's high tariffs on imports of automobiles and steel products, as well as a 25% "reciprocal" levy on the U.S. ally that is currently paused for negotiations. Yeo said his trip helped build mutual trust to expedite the negotiations and make friends in Washington. Asked if the July 8 deadline for negotiations over tariffs was still valid, Yeo said every possibility was left open. "In fact, the situation in the United States is very fluid. So, for now, I can say that all possibilities are open," he told reporters. The U.S. has demanded that South Korea improve non-tariff barriers particularly in the agricultural and digital services sectors, according to South Korean officials. MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENTS New finance minister Koo is widely known as a policy expert, having served in different positions across government and has authored books on South Korea's innovation and growth, most recently on artificial intelligence, Lee's chief of staff, Kang Hoon-sik, told a briefing. Among other ministerial positions, Kim Jung-kwan, president of power plant builder Doosan Enerbility and a veteran bureaucrat in economics, energy and public policy, was nominated to be industry minister. Kim fits the role to realise President Lee's "energy mix philosophy", Kang said, referring to the new president's aim to balance nuclear power and renewable energy. The former head of South Korea's disease control agency, Jeong Eun-kyeong, was nominated for health minister. She was highly praised for her response to the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2020. Cabinet nominations in South Korea must be vetted by hearings in parliament. But presidents may appoint their nominees without parliament's approval, and Lee's Democratic Party has a majority in parliament. https://www.reuters.com/en/south-koreas-lee-nominates-new-finance-industry-ministers-2025-06-29/

2025-06-29 02:25

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, June 28 (Reuters) - Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca lashed out after a two-hour weather delay disrupted his team's last-16 Club World Cup victory over Benfica on Saturday, suggesting the United States was not a suitable country for the competition - a year before it is due to host the men's World Cup. Chelsea beat Benfica 4-1 in extra-time to qualify for the quarter-finals after a game that ended four hours and 39 minutes after kicking off, following a two-hour interruption due to a storm warning. Sign up here. It was the sixth time that a game was stopped at the 32-club tournament because of the risk of lightning. "For me personally, it's not football," Maresca told a press conference. "I think it's a joke. It's not football. "I can understand that for security reasons, you have to suspend the game. But if you suspend seven or eight games, that means that probably this is not the right place to do this competition. "It's a fantastic competition. It's the Club World Cup, all the best clubs are here," he added. "But six, seven games suspended? It's not normal. In a World Cup how many have they suspended? Probably zero. In a European (championship), how many games? Zero. There is some problem." FIFA, which organised the tournament, was not immediately available for comment. Chelsea were 1-0 up when the players were asked to leave the pitch and play only resumed almost two hours later. "The game was very good for 85 minutes, then we stopped for two hours, and when we started it was a completely different game. It's not the same game because you break the tempo," Maresca said. https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/chelsea-boss-lashes-out-club-world-cup-organisers-after-yet-another-weather-2025-06-29/

2025-06-29 00:07

June 28 (Reuters) - Tropical Depression Two in Mexico's Bay of Campeche is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm before making landfall along Mexico's Gulf coast on Sunday night, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. "On the following track the depression is expected to make landfall along the Mexico coast on Sunday night and move further inland on Monday," the NHC said in its Saturday evening advisory. Sign up here. The depression, located about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Veracruz, was moving northwest across the Bay of Campeche and a tropical storm warning was in effect for the Gulf coast of Mexico from Boca de Catan southward to Tecolutla. The storm is expected to produce 3-6 inches (76.2-152.4 mm), with maximum totals of 10 inches (254 mm) possible across the states of Veracruz, San Luis Potosi and Tamaulipas, the NHC said. "This rainfall may produce isolated flash and urban flooding," the advisory added. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/nhc-issues-tropical-storm-warning-issued-mexicos-gulf-coast-2025-06-29/

2025-06-28 23:34

WASHINGTON, June 28 (Reuters) - The latest version of the Senate's massive budget bill that the Senate is racing through for a vote as soon as Saturday deals a fatal blow to the use of tax credits in place since 2005 to spur more wind and solar energy and would set a new tax on those projects for the first time, renewable energy proponents said on Saturday. Despite hopes earlier in the week that the Senate would rework the budget megabill's language about the future use of Inflation Reduction Act tax credits to extend their use and make them more usable, the new version of the bill introduced by Senate leadership overnight will effectively repeal the incentives for solar and wind immediately. Sign up here. Instead, it imposes a new tax on wind and solar projects completed after Dec. 31, 2027 if they cannot prove they have not used any Chinese components, while offering a new tax break for coal production. It also accelerates the phase-out of clean energy manufacturing tax credits that have attracted billions in investments throughout the US, especially in Republican states. The clean energy industry and environmental groups decried the last-minute changes to the bill, saying that it will raise household energy costs and deprive the US of new, necessary and fast electricity capacity at a time of massive power demand amid a rush of construction of power-hungry data centers to power AI development. Trump's former advisor and head of DOGE Elon Musk blasted the bill on his social media platform X on Saturday, warning that the bill will "destroy millions of jobs in America" and cause "strategic harm." "It is utterly insane and destructive. It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future," he said. Energy security organization SAFE said in a statement that the bill, as written, would give an advantage to China, which dominates the clean energy and electric vehicle industries and is racing to outpace the US in AI development by taking away financing for energy storage, mineral processing and power projects. "Where the original Senate version was a recipe for energy stagnation, this is outright energy surrender—all but guaranteeing Chinese dominance of critical minerals, industrial supply chains, and AI development," said Avery Ash, head of government affairs for SAFE. Green energy opponents praised the bill for ending support for renewable energy. Trump on Friday evening called for the end of the credits and said they no longer need support. “If, as supporters of the IRA are complaining, repealing these subsidies will ‘kill’ their industry, then maybe it shouldn’t exist in the first place," said Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/senate-bill-hastens-end-wind-solar-tax-credits-imposes-new-tax-2025-06-28/

2025-06-28 20:33

June 28 (Reuters) - Billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday criticized the latest version of President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill released by the U.S. Senate, calling it "utterly insane and destructive," weeks after the world's richest person and its most powerful ended a feud sparked by Musk's opposition to the bill. "The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!" Musk wrote in a post on X. Sign up here. "It gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future." (This story has been refiled to fix the spelling of Musk in paragraph 1) https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/elon-musk-says-senate-bill-would-destroy-jobs-harm-us-2025-06-28/