2025-06-14 11:31
BEIRUT, June 14 (Reuters) - Lebanon will aim to keep its airspace open, a minister said on Saturday, hours after officials said the airspace would be shut down in the evening amid Iran-Israel conflict. "The airport will remain open unless something emerges beyond our control," Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport Fayez Rasamny said while touring in Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport. Sign up here. The Middle East Airlines (MEA), Lebanese national carrier, will increase its flights to compensate the delayed flights, Rasamny said. Earlier, state news agency NNA cited the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority as saying the country would temporarily reopen its airspace on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. (0700 GMT), and it would be shut down again from 10:30 p.m. till 6:00 a.m. on Sunday. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/lebanon-will-keep-its-airspace-open-minister-says-2025-06-14/
2025-06-14 10:15
Canada-India relations strained over murder accusations Canadian Sikh community faces safety concerns Carney highlights India's importance in supply chains TORONTO, June 14 (Reuters) - Members of Canada's Sikh community who were warned by police that their lives were at risk and allege the Indian government is responsible for the threat are incensed by Ottawa's invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in Alberta. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney invited Modi, although India is not a G7 member, to attend the summit that starts on Sunday as a guest. It will be Modi's first visit to Canada in a decade and a diplomatic test for Carney, a political neophyte. Sign up here. Canada's relationship with India has been tense since former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2023 accused India's government of involvement in the June 18, 2023, murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader in Canada. Modi's government has denied involvement in Nijjar's killing and has accused Canada of providing a safe haven for Sikh separatists. "'Outrage' is the kind of term that I've heard from people," Sikh activist Moninder Singh, a friend of Nijjar, said of the invitation. He and other Sikh leaders plan to hold a protest in Ottawa on Saturday. Carney, locked in a trade war with the United States, is trying to shore up alliances elsewhere and diversify Canada's exports. Carney told reporters he invited India due to its importance in global supply chains. India's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a Thursday press briefing that a meeting between Modi and Carney "will offer an important opportunity for them to exchange views on bilateral and global issues and explore pathways to set or reset the relationship." SIKHS FACE THREATS That rationale rings hollow for Singh, who lives in British Columbia. He has received multiple warnings from police that his life was at risk. One such warning forced him from his home for months in 2023 for his children's safety. "On a personal level, and on a community level, as well, it was deeply insulting ... Sikh lives aren't as important as the fifth-largest economy in the world that needs to be at the table," he said. A spokesperson for Carney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in October they had communicated more than a dozen threats to people like Singh who are advocating for the creation of a Sikh homeland carved out of India. In October, under Trudeau, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats, linking them to Nijjar's murder and alleging a broader government effort to target Indian dissidents in Canada through killings, extortion, use of organized crime and clandestine information-gathering. India retaliated by ordering the expulsion of six Canadian diplomats and called the allegations preposterous and politically motivated. Canada has said it does not have evidence linking Modi to the threats. The tension has thrust Canada's Sikh community - the largest outside India's Sikh-majority Punjab state - into the spotlight. Singh said there should have been conditions on Modi's invitation. "Any meetings with them should have been under the conditions that Mr. Modi and his government would take responsibility for what has been uncovered and cooperate, but none of that happened." Carney told reporters Modi had agreed to "law enforcement dialogue." Jaiswal said Indian and Canadian law enforcement agencies will continue to cooperate in some ways. Some activists and politicians in Canada have accused Carney of putting economic issues ahead of human rights concerns. But Sanjay Ruparelia, a Toronto Metropolitan University politics professor, said the prime minister is simply being practical. "(Carney's) watchword since he's come to office is pragmatism. And this is very much a pragmatic, realpolitik decision." https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canadas-sikhs-voice-outrage-over-modi-g7-invitation-2025-06-14/
2025-06-14 09:32
June 14 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank's inflation target of 2% is in reach, ECB President Christine Lagarde was quoted as saying in an interview published on Saturday. In the interview with China's Xinhua news agency earlier this week which was released on the ECB website, Lagarde said financial stability was a prerequisite for price stability. Sign up here. "We are within reach of the 2% medium-term inflation target that we have defined as price stability," she said. Earlier this month, the ECB lowered its inflation forecasts for this year and next in the 20-nation euro zone, projecting inflation of 2.0% in 2025 and 1.6% in the coming year. Lagarde also noted that the ECB's efforts to create a digital currency were getting to the point where, if lawmakers support the proposal, it should be ready to move forward. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ecbs-lagarde-says-2-inflation-target-reach-2025-06-14/
2025-06-14 07:07
Rosatom and CNNC to build Kazakhstan's first nuclear plants Kazakhstan seeks 2.4 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2035 Kazakhstan voted for nuclear power plant last year ASTANA, June 14 (Reuters) - Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom and state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation have been tapped to lead separate consortiums to build the first nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan, the country's atomic energy agency said on Saturday. The oil- and gas-rich nation of 20 million has not had any nuclear power generation capacity since 1999, when the BN-350 reactor on the shores of the Caspian Sea was decommissioned. Sign up here. Kazakhstan is one of the world's biggest uranium producers but currently relies mostly on coal-powered plants for its electricity, supplemented by some hydroelectric plants and the growing renewable energy sector. In October, Kazakhstan voted in a referendum, backed by its president, in favour of constructing nuclear power plants. The country says it plans to have 2.4 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2035. In a statement on Saturday, the Kazakh atomic energy agency, created this March, called Rosatom's proposal "the most optimal and advantageous", and said work has begun to attract state export financing from Russia. Rosatom's chief executive officer Alexei Likhachev welcomed the news, saying that Rosatom's plant will be "based on the most advance and efficient design in the world." The two-reactor plant will be built in the village of Ulken, about 250 miles (400 km) northwest of Almaty, the commercial capital. Likhachev said the plant would employ VVER-1200 Generation 3+ reactors, a Russian technology used both domestically and abroad. Almasadam Satqaliev, the Kazakh agency's chairman, said Kazakhstan would sign a separate agreement with China's CNNC for a second nuclear plant. "China is definitely one of the countries that has all the necessary technologies and the entire industrial base, and our next main priority is cooperation with China," Satqaliev said in a statement. CNNC did not immediately reply to a request for comment outside of working hours. It was not immediately clear which other companies would participate in the two consortiums, nor the cost and timeline of the proposals. French and South Korean companies had also submitted proposals to Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is boosting energy ties with both Russia and China. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Kazakhstan in November to discuss energy and industry cooperation. The Central Asian country exports most of its oil through neighbour Russia, but is exploring alternatives. China's top energy firm, China National Petroleum Corp, agreed in February with Kazakhstan's national gas company to take more gas for 2024-2025. It also signed a crude oil purchase and sales agreement with Tengizchevroil, a consortium producing oil in Kazakhstan. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russias-rosatom-lead-consortium-build-first-nuclear-power-plant-kazakhstan-2025-06-14/
2025-06-14 04:41
Trump orders ICE to pause raids on farms, hotels, restaurants Directive allows investigations into serious crimes like human trafficking Farm industry groups skeptical directive will protect immigrant workers WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has directed immigration officials to largely pause raids on farms, hotels, restaurants and meatpacking plants, according to an internal email reviewed by Reuters, a senior Trump official, and a person familiar with the matter. The order to scale back U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids came from Trump himself, the person familiar with the matter said, and appears to rein in a late-May demand by top White House aide Stephen Miller for more aggressive sweeps. Sign up here. Trump was not aware of the extent of the enforcement push and "once it hit him, he pulled it back," the person said. The new directive, issued on Thursday, still allows for investigations into serious crimes such as human trafficking. The New York Times first reported , opens new tab the guidance. Trump took office in January pledging to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally. While Trump framed the effort around removing serious criminals, thousands of suspected immigration offenders with no criminal records have been swept up in recent months. ICE's more aggressive tactics - including raids in Los Angeles - have sparked protests and pushback from Democrats. Some Republican lawmakers have called on the administration to focus on criminal offenders. Trump said on Thursday that he would issue an order soon to address the effects of his immigration crackdown on the country's farm and hotel industries, which rely heavily on immigrant labor. “We will follow the president’s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets," U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement when asked about the new ICE guidance. The White House pointed to a Trump social media post on Thursday where he said farms and hospitality businesses were concerned the administration's far-reaching immigration enforcement was taking away "very good, long time workers" and promising changes. U.S. farm industry groups have long wanted Trump to spare their sector from mass deportations, which could upend a food supply chain dependent on immigrants. The United Farm Workers union said on Friday that it was skeptical the new directive would help workers without legal status. The group said it had calls from members about immigration arrests even after the new directive was issued. "As long as Border Patrol and ICE are allowed to sweep through farm worker communities making chaotic arrests...they are still hunting down farm workers," the union said in a statement. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-immigration-officials-told-largely-pause-raids-farms-hotels-nyt-reports-2025-06-14/
2025-06-14 00:48
Disclosures show assets worth at least $1.6 billion Trump reports $57.35 million from token sales at World Liberty Mar-a-Lago, other Florida golf clubs generated at least $217.7 million in income President reports millions in fees from licensing fees, other deals WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - Donald Trump reported more than $600 million in income from crypto, golf clubs, licensing and other ventures in a public financial disclosure report released on Friday that provided a glimpse of the vast business holdings of America’s billionaire president. The annual financial disclosure form, which appeared to cover the 2024 calendar year, shows the president's push into crypto added substantially to his wealth but he also reported large fees from developments and revenues from his other businesses. Overall, the president reported assets worth at least $1.6 billion, a Reuters calculation shows. Sign up here. While Trump has said he has put his businesses into a trust managed by his children, the disclosures show how income from those sources still ultimately accrue to the president - something that has opened him to accusations of conflicts of interest. Some of his businesses in areas such as crypto, for example, benefit from U.S. policy shifts under him and have become a source of criticism. “President Trump, Vice President Vance, and senior White House staff have completed required ethics briefings and financial reporting obligations," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an emailed statement to Reuters. "The Trump Administration is committed to transparency and accessibility for the American people." The financial disclosure was signed on June 13 and did not state the time period it covered. The details of the cryptocurrency listings, as well as other information in the disclosure, suggest it was through the end of December 2024, which would exclude most of the money raised by the family's cryptocurrency ventures. Given the speed at which the Trump family has made deals during his ascent to the presidency, the filing is already a time capsule of sorts, capturing a period when the family was just starting to get into crypto but was largely still in the world of real estate deals and golf clubs. A meme coin released earlier this year by the president - $TRUMP - alone has earned an estimated $320 million in fees, although it’s not publicly known how that amount has been divided between a Trump-controlled entity and its partners. In addition to the meme coin fees, the Trump family has raked in more than $400 million from World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance company. The Trump family is involved, also, with a bitcoin mining operation and digital asset exchange-traded funds. In the disclosures, Trump reported $57.35 million from token sales at World Liberty. He also reported holding 15.75 billion governance tokens in the venture. TRUMP MEDIA The wealth of the Republican businessman-turned-politician ranges from crypto to real estate, and a large part on paper is tied up in his stake in Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT.O) , opens new tab, owner of social media platform Truth Social. Besides assets and revenues from his business ventures, the president reported at least $12 million in income, including through interest and dividends, from passive investments totaling at least $211 million, a Reuters calculation shows. His biggest investments were in alternative fund manager Blue Owl Capital Corp (OBDC.N) , opens new tab and in government bond funds managed by Charles Schwab (SCHW.N) , opens new tab and Invesco (IVZ.N) , opens new tab. The disclosure often only gave ranges for the value of his assets and income; Reuters used the lower amount listed, meaning the total value of his assets and income was almost certainly higher. The disclosure showed income from various assets including Trump's properties in Florida. Trump's three golf-focused resorts in the state - Jupiter, Doral and West Palm Beach - plus his nearby private members' club at Mar-a-Lago generated at least $217.7 million in income, according to the filing. Trump National Doral, the expansive Miami-area golf hub known for its Blue Monster course, was the family's single largest income source at $110.4 million. The income figures provided are essentially revenues, not net profits after subtracting costs. The disclosure underlined the global nature of the Trump family business, listing income of $5 million in license fees from a development in Vietnam, $10 million in development fees from a project in India and almost $16 million in licensing fees for a Dubai project. Trump collected royalty money, also, from a variety of deals - $1.3 million from the Greenwood Bible (its website describes it as "the only Bible officially endorsed by Lee Greenwood and President Trump"); $2.8 million from Trump Watches, and $2.5 million from Trump Sneakers and Fragrances. Trump listed $1.16 million in income from his NFTs - digital trading cards in his likeness - while First Lady Melania Trump earned around $216,700 from license fees on her own NFT collection. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-reports-tens-millions-income-crypto-ventures-2025-06-14/
