2025-06-01 12:46

TAIPEI, June 1 (Reuters) - Taiwan's central bank said on Sunday that U.S. government debt is "sound" and still favoured by investors, and there are no worries about the U.S. dollar's position as the leading international reserve currency. U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff announcement on April 2, which led to a market rout, including in U.S. Treasuries, has cast doubt over the dollar's safe-haven status. Sign up here. Trump's has made complaints about a strong dollar which have also triggered speculation that Washington wants an adjustment lower in the U.S. currency. Taiwan's $582.8 billion in foreign exchange reserves are more than 80% made up of U.S. Treasury bonds, according to the island's central bank. The central bank, responding to what it said were market concerns about U.S. bonds and the U.S. dollar, said on its website there was no cause for alarm. "There are still no concerns about the U.S. dollar's position as the leading international reserve currency," it said. "U.S. public debt is stable and has good liquidity, and its function as a store of value is still favoured by investors." The central bank also called on the media and market commentators not to speculate about the foreign exchange rate, given the Taiwan dollar's surge since last month against the U.S. currency on speculation Washington had asked Taipei to let it strengthen as part of tariff talks. The central bank has repeatedly denied that the United States has made that request. In its Sunday statement, the central bank said its inspection teams had found that some foreign investors, whom it did not name, had transferred large sums into Taiwan dollar deposit accounts ostensibly to invest in Taiwan stocks. But no such investments took place, it said, adding foreign investors must use remitted funds to invest in domestic securities if that is what they have declared the money for "and not use the funds to speculate on the Taiwan dollar's exchange rate". https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-debt-is-sound-no-concerns-about-us-dollars-reserve-role-taiwans-central-bank-2025-06-01/

2025-06-01 12:12

SEOUL, June 1 (Reuters) - The International Air Transport Association said on Sunday it expects the amount of sustainable aviation fuel produced to double in 2025 to reach 2 million tonnes, representing 0.7% of airlines' fuel consumption. Influential industry body IATA has increasingly been warning that airlines will struggle to meet their sustainability goals, and has described the production of SAF - which is more expensive than conventional jet fuel - as disappointingly slow. Sign up here. IATA Director General Willie Walsh said that while the production increase was encouraging, the relatively small amount will add $4.4 billion globally to aviation's fuel bill. "The pace of progress in ramping up production and gaining efficiencies to reduce costs must accelerate," Walsh said in a statement. The broader aviation sector agreed in 2021 to target net-zero emissions in 2050 based mainly on a gradual switch to SAF, which is made from waste oil and biomass. Airlines are at odds with energy companies over scarce supplies of SAF, while also pointing the finger at plane makers Airbus (AIR.PA) , opens new tab and Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab over delays in delivering more fuel-efficient jets. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/iata-expects-sustainable-aviation-fuel-production-double-2025-2025-06-01/

2025-06-01 11:27

IndiGo firms up 30 orders for A350 jets New partnership with U.S. carrier Delta Deal expands network in North America, Europe and Britain NEW DELHI, June 1 (Reuters) - India's largest airline IndiGo (INGL.NS) , opens new tab has entered an agreement with Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) , opens new tab, Virgin Atlantic and Delta (DAL.N) , opens new tab to expand its long-haul services to North America, Europe and Britain, the airlines said on Sunday. IndiGo has an extensive domestic network in India, the world's third-largest air passenger market, and is expanding its international reach. Sign up here. Separately IndiGo also said it would convert 30 out of 70 options for Airbus (AIR.PA) , opens new tab A350 jets into firm orders for new planes. Once the airline partnership is complete, IndiGo will be able to sell flights under its own name on those operated by its partners out of India, and onward travel from Amsterdam and Manchester, UK, on selected flights to Europe and North America. IndiGo will start flying to Amsterdam and Manchester from July. Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic already code-share on IndiGo's domestic flights. The Delta partnership is new. U.S. carrier Delta has not flown to India since the pandemic. CEO Ed Bastian told media at an airline summit in New Delhi that Delta will restart direct services from the United States to India over the next couple of years. "There's not a more important market in aviation at the present time than in India," Bastian said. Delta is planning nonstop flights between Atlanta and Delhi, subject to government approval, a joint statement said. IndiGo is hosting the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) annual meeting in New Delhi from Sunday. IndiGo is aiming to grow its fleet to 600 aircraft by 2030, from more than 400 currently, and has been leasing aircraft to tide it over aircraft delivery delays and expand internationally. It recently said it will lease six Boeing (BA.N) , opens new tab 787 wide-body jets from Norse Atlantic Airways by early next year. India's aviation regulator said last week it would only extend an existing leasing arrangement IndiGo has with Turkish Airlines to the end of August. The arrangement has been publicly criticised in India after Turkey came out in support of Pakistan during the recent conflict between the two South Asian neighbours. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/indigo-expands-network-with-air-france-klm-virgin-atlantic-delta-deal-2025-06-01/

2025-06-01 11:17

BEIJING, June 1 (Reuters) - Heavy rainfall triggering flash floods and mudslides have damaged roads, destroyed buildings and claimed bridges, wreaking havoc in China's southwestern Yunnan province on a long holiday weekend. No casualties were reported but more than 4,800 residents in Gongshan county were affected, with about one-third of them urgently relocated, state news agency Xinhua said. Sign up here. Over 600 tourists visiting rural scenic spots in the area on Saturday found themselves trapped, according to Xinhua, which reported 500 of them had been rescued by Sunday. Road access to mountainous sites popular with hikers such as Bingzhongluo town and Yubeng village in neighbouring Deqin county were cut off, state broadcaster CCTV. The Dulong river saw flood waters swell to record levels, according to historical logs from a hydrological monitoring station. A four-storey building set along the river that had been evacuated collapsed, CCTV reported, showing a video of the structure tipping backwards and disappearing into a cloud of dust. The intense rainfall over a 12-hour period disrupted power supplies. Repair work to roads and power lines was underway, said state media. Local authorities had issued a red alert ahead of the rainstorm on Friday night but downgraded it to a yellow alert by Saturday morning. China uses a four-colour warning system that escalates from blue, yellow, orange to red according to the level of precipitation and anticipated risks. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/chinas-yunnan-hit-with-floods-mudslides-intense-rains-2025-06-01/

2025-06-01 09:18

MOSCOW, June 1 (Reuters) - A railway track on the Unecha-Zhecha section in Russia's Bryansk region was damaged, there were no casualties, Russian Railways said on Sunday. "Today at 10:52 on the Unecha-Zhecha section of the Bryansk region, during an inspection of the infrastructure by special equipment, railway workers discovered damage to the track. No one was injured. The movement of suburban and passenger trains on this section is not carried out," Moscow Railways, an affiliate of Russian Railways, said on Telegram. Sign up here. At least seven people were killed and 69 injured when two bridges were blown up in separate Russian regions bordering Ukraine ahead of planned peace talks aimed at ending the three-year-old war in Ukraine, Russian officials said on Sunday. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/another-railway-track-damaged-russias-bryansk-region-russian-railways-say-2025-06-01/

2025-05-31 23:57

Ukraine attacks Russia's nuclear-capable bombers Seven killed, 69 injured in Bryansk, Russia says Russia launches biggest drone attack of the war Ukraine to attend talks in Istanbul, Zelenskiy says MOSCOW/KYIV, June 1 (Reuters) - On the eve of peace talks, Ukraine and Russia sharply ramped up the war with one of the biggest drone battles of their conflict, a Russian highway bridge blown up over a passenger train and an ambitious attack on nuclear-capable bombers deep in Siberia. After days of uncertainty over whether Ukraine would even attend, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Defence Minister Rustem Umerov would meet Russian officials at the second round of direct peace talks in Istanbul on Monday. Sign up here. The first round of the talks more than a week ago yielded the biggest prisoner exchange of the war - but no sense of any consensus on how to halt the fighting. Amid talk of peace, though, there was much war. At least seven people were killed and 69 injured when a highway bridge in Russia's Bryansk region, neighbouring Ukraine, was blown up over a passenger train heading to Moscow with 388 people on board. No one has claimed responsibility. Ukraine attacked Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers at a military base deep in Siberia on Sunday, a Ukrainian intelligence official said, the first such attack so far from the front lines more than 4,300 km (2,670 miles) away. Ukraine's domestic intelligence service, the SBU, acknowledged it carried out the attack, codenamed "Operation Spider's Web," planned for more than a year and a half. The intelligence official said the operation involved hiding explosive-laden drones inside the roofs of wooden sheds and loading them onto trucks that were driven to the perimeter of the air bases. A total of 41 Russian warplanes were hit, the official said. The SBU estimated the damage at $7 billion and said Russia had lost 34% of its strategic cruise missile carriers at its main airfields. Zelenskiy expressed delight at the "absolutely brilliant outcome," and noted 117 drones had been used in the attack. "And an outcome produced by Ukraine independently," he wrote. "This is our longest-range operation." RUSSIA SAYS AIRCRAFT FIRES PUT OUT A Ukrainian government official told Reuters that Ukraine did not notify the United States of the attack in advance. Russia's Defence Ministry acknowledged on the Telegram messaging app that Ukraine had launched drone strikes against Russian military airfields across five regions on Sunday. Air attacks were repelled in all but two regions — Murmansk in the far north and Irkutsk in Siberia - where "the launch of FPV drones from an area in close proximity to airfields resulted in several aircraft catching fire." The fires were extinguished without casualties. Some individuals involved in the attacks had been detained, the ministry said. Russia launched 472 drones at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's air force said, the highest nightly total of the war. Russia had also launched seven missiles, the air force said. Russia's military reported new drone attacks into Sunday evening, listing 53 attacks intercepted in a period of less than two hours, including 34 over the border Kursk region. Debris from destroyed drones triggered residential fires. Russia said it had advanced deeper into the Sumy region of Ukraine, and open source pro-Ukrainian maps showed Russia took 450 square km of Ukrainian land in May, its fastest monthly advance in at least six months. U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded Russia and Ukraine make peace and he has threatened to walk away if they do not - potentially pushing responsibility for supporting Ukraine onto the shoulders of European powers - which have far less cash and much smaller stocks of weapons than the United States. According to Trump envoy Keith Kellogg, the two sides will in Turkey present their respective documents outlining their ideas for peace terms, though it is clear that after three years of intense war, Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart. Russia's lead negotiator, presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky, was quoted by TASS news agency as saying the Russian side had received a memorandum from Ukraine on a settlement. Zelenskiy has complained for days that Russia had failed to provide a memorandum with its proposals. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on prospects for a settlement and the forthcoming talks in Turkey, Lavrov's ministry said. Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops. The United States says over 1.2 million people have been killed and injured in the war since 2022. In June last year, Putin set out opening terms for an immediate end to the war: Ukraine must drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw its troops from the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed and mostly controlled by Russia. According to a copy of the Ukrainian document seen by Reuters with a proposed roadmap for a lasting peace, there will be no restrictions on Ukraine's military strength after a deal is struck. Nor will there be international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow's forces, and reparations for Ukraine. The document also stated that the current front line will be the starting point for negotiations about territory. https://www.reuters.com/world/bridge-collapses-russias-bryansk-region-that-borders-ukraine-governor-says-2025-05-31/