2025-11-19 20:14
Brazil's Lula set to meet key negotiators COP30 host seeking early deal on contentious issues Fresh negotiating texts still not released BELEM, Brazil, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Brazil's president was meeting with key negotiators at the COP30 summit on Wednesday as part of a drive to land an early deal on some of the most divisive issues in the global climate talks, including fossil fuels and climate finance. The two-week U.N. summit in the Amazon city of Belem has brought nearly 200 countries together to try to ratchet up multilateral action to limit climate change, despite the absence of the U.S., the top historic greenhouse gas emitter. Sign up here. But rifts on key issues remain, posing a fresh test of the international will to slow global warming. Host Brazil, hoping to buck the trend in which recent climate summits ran well past deadline, seeks to endorse a package of agreements later on Wednesday, and the outstanding issues on Friday. But it is already facing delays publishing new negotiating texts. FRESH DRAFT EXPECTED ON WEDNESDAY The COP30 presidency had planned to land a fresh draft of the initial deal early on Wednesday, but no announcements had been issued by early afternoon. Negotiators told Reuters tough talks were ongoing. The first version of the deal published on Tuesday had presented a range of options that split opinion. Brazil and around 80 other supportive nations want to agree something that helps spur action on a 2023 agreement made at COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels, the main source of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the idea of creating a roadmap to help guide that transition had so far been rejected by others, Brazil's COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago said on Tuesday. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrived back at the conference on Wednesday, giving renewed political impetus to the talks. He was expected to meet key negotiators as well as U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. 'WE'VE GOT BLOCKERS,' VANUATU SAYS Pacific island nation Vanuatu's climate minister Ralph Regenvanu told Reuters Saudi Arabia was one of those opposed to the fossil fuel plan. Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "I think it's going to be very difficult ... because we've got blockers," Regenvanu said. Other island nations said the issue was vital. "We're going to have to fight tooth and nail. There are many parties who have already said that they do not want that in the text at all," Marshall Islands climate envoy Tina Stege told Reuters. A coalition of 100 organisations, including companies like Volvo and Unilever, sent a letter to the COP30 presidency expressing support for a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuel use, saying it would help countries and businesses plan the shift to cleaner energy. CLIMATE FINANCE Other contentious issues in the package include pinning down how rich countries will provide finance to poorer countries to switch to clean energy, and what must be done about a gap between promised emissions cuts and those needed to stop temperatures rising. Poorer countries already bearing the impacts of global warming are rallying for a strong outcome. "We want ambition on finance. We want ambition on adaptation. We want to see ambition on the transition," Jiwoh Abdulai, Sierra Leone's climate minister, told Reuters. "And we want to ensure that we live here on a path that is sustainable, not just for this generation, but for future generations." Plans to launch a U.N.-backed global market for trading carbon offset credits have hit a snag as governments dispute over the funding to get the market up and running, five sources told Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/brazils-lula-pushes-negotiators-early-climate-deal-cop30-summit-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 19:51
WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would work to help end the war in Sudan after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked him to get involved in the matter. "We've already started working on that," Trump said at a Saudi investment conference a day after he met with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler at the White House. Sign up here. Trump told the gathering, which was attended by bin Salman and his delegation, that his administration began working on the issue half an hour after the crown prince made the request during Tuesday's meeting. The United States will work with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern countries to end atrocities in the region and stabilize Sudan, Trump later said in a social media post. The Sudan conflict erupted in 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule. It has caused ethnically charged bloodletting, widespread destruction and mass displacement, drawing in foreign powers and threatening to split Sudan. The Saudi crown prince believes Trump's direct pressure is needed to break a logjam in talks to end more than two and a half years of war, pointing to his work to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza last month, five people familiar with the matter said. The Saudi ruler appeared to appeal to the U.S. president's view of himself as a peacemaker, according to Trump's account. "He mentioned Sudan yesterday, and he said, 'Sir, you're talking about a lot of wars, but there's a place on Earth called Sudan, and it's horrible what's happening,'" Trump said. For Saudi Arabia, a resolution to the conflict is linked to national security, given hundreds of miles of Sudanese coastline lying opposite the kingdom's Red Sea coast. "Tremendous atrocities are taking place in Sudan," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "It has become the most violent place on Earth and, likewise, the single biggest Humanitarian Crisis. Food, doctors, and everything else are desperately needed." https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/trump-says-he-will-work-sudan-saudis-request-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 19:50
Nov 19 (Reuters) - Kraken, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said on Wednesday it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the U.S., as digital asset companies look to tap the new listings market before the 2026 midterm elections. Companies such as stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL.N) , opens new tab and crypto exchanges Gemini (GEMI.O) , opens new tab and Bullish (BLSH.N) , opens new tab have made strong debuts in the U.S. this year. Sign up here. Kraken's potential listing will fuel competition in a sector where sentiment has turned more upbeat amid support from the Trump administration. President Donald Trump, who has pledged to make America the "crypto capital of the world", signed the Genius Act into law earlier this year, boosting confidence in the digital asset sector. "Kraken's confidential IPO signals one thing, crypto is here to stay and crypto exchanges are not a winner takes all market. The pathway for crypto exchanges in the US is to innovate and expand with more tradable assets and penetrating payments," said Third Bridge analyst Jacob Zuller. Kraken's announcement comes a day after the company said it was valued at $20 billion in its latest capital raise, a 33% increase in under two months. The funding involved participation from Wall Street heavyweights Jane Street and Citadel Securities. The crypto exchange plans to go public in the first quarter of 2026, Reuters had reported last month. The recent fundraise and IPO could allow Kraken to invest in the growth of its products and overseas expansion, Zuller said. With midterm elections less than a year away, analysts expect some urgency from crypto companies in pursuing IPOs to get ahead of any uncertainty. The presidential party tends to lose ground in midterm elections, which could reshape the landscape for the digital asset industry. Crypto-focused asset manager Grayscale and custody startup BitGo are among the companies currently in the IPO pipeline. Kraken, founded in 2011, said the number of shares to be offered and the price range have not yet been determined. Initially focused on crypto, the company has expanded across asset classes in recent months, including equities with the rollout of commission-free trading. Kraken has also been expanding aggressively through acquisitions, buying retail futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion in May and futures exchange Small Exchange from IG Group for $100 million last month. https://www.reuters.com/business/crypto-exchange-kraken-confidentially-files-us-ipo-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 19:45
Nov 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's lavish welcome of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Washington this week, touted by many as rehabilitation of human rights record of Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, has been followed by the kingdom ramping up its planned U.S. investments to $1 trillion. The move marks a remarkable increase from the $600 billion that the world's largest exporter announced during Trump's visit to Riyadh six month ago. Bin Salman is scheduled to meet top U.S. corporate leaders on Wednesday. Sign up here. Here are some of the deals and frameworks announced by U.S. and Saudi Arabia this week: Energy Sector The U.S. and Saudi Arabia signed nuclear cooperation pact, laying groundwork for decades-long partnership and ensuring projects meet strict nonproliferation standards with American firms as preferred partners. Progress on such a nuclear pact, long sought by Bin Salman, has been difficult because the Saudis have resisted a U.S. stipulation that would rule out enriching uranium or reprocessing spent fuel - both potential paths to a bomb. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday the nuclear deal does not allow enrichment. Separately, Saudi Aramco said it has signed 17 memoranda of understanding and agreements with major U.S. companies, carrying a potential value of more than $30 billion , opens new tab. Critical Minerals Washington and Riyadh inked minerals framework, expanding collaboration to diversify supply chains and bolster U.S. resilience, building on similar agreements Trump secured with other allies. Critical minerals have become a key pillar of geopolitical negotiations after the U.S-China trade war exposed the overt reliance of supply chains worldwide on the Asian country. Separately, MP Materials (MP.N) , opens new tab said on Wednesday it would build a rare earths refinery in Saudi Arabia with the U.S. Department of Defense and Saudi Arabian state-owned mining company Maaden to expand Middle Eastern processing of the critical minerals. Artificial Intelligence U.S. and Saudi Arabia signed an AI memorandum of understanding, granting Riyadh access to the American edge in the technology that has become foundational to global equity market gains. Sector bellwether Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab announced on Wednesday it is working with Saudi to build supercomputers. Strategic Defense Agreement Trump and bin Salman signed a strategic defense agreement, strengthening an 80-year partnership, easing U.S. defense firms' operations in Saudi Arabia, securing burden-sharing funds and affirming Riyadh's reliance on Washington as its key strategic ally. The agreement appeared to fall short of the congressionally ratified NATO-style treaty Saudi Arabia initially sought. F-35 Fighter Jets and American Tanks The White House announced Trump had approved future deliveries of F-35 fighter jets and the Saudis had agreed to purchase 300 American tanks. The sale of the stealth fighter jets to the kingdom, which has requested to buy 48 of the advanced aircraft, would mark the first U.S. sale of the advanced fighter jets to Riyadh, a significant policy shift. Until now, Israel has been the only country in the Middle East to have the F-35. Trade and Capital Markets Washington and Riyadh advanced investment opportunities aimed at expanding U.S. exports and lowering trade barriers, delivering direct gains for American manufacturers in global markets. U.S. Treasury and Saudi finance ministry signed accords to boost collaboration on capital markets , opens new tab technology, standards and regulations, while strengthening ties in international financial institutions. Source: White House fact sheet, company press releases https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-secures-1-trillion-saudi-spending-commitments-spanning-nuclear-energy-f-35s-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 19:39
MILAN, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Italy's top court has approved the handover to Germany of a Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, his lawyer Nicola Canestrini said on Wednesday. The suspect, identified only as Serhii K. under German privacy laws, has been fighting attempts to transfer him to Germany since he was detained on a European arrest warrant in the Italian town of Rimini in August. Sign up here. The decision by the Court of Cassation in Rome means the suspect will be transferred to the German authorities in the next few days. "However great the disappointment, I remain confident in an acquittal after the full trial in Germany. Justice is a tortuous path, the result of continuous work and not ... a miracle that fulfils itself," Canestrini said in a statement. Described by both Moscow and the West as an act of sabotage, the mysterious explosions in the Baltic Sea three years ago largely severed Russian gas transit to Europe, squeezing energy supplies on the continent. Serhii K., a former officer in the Ukrainian military, denies any role in the attacks. German prosecutors allege he was part of a group of people who planted devices on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic. He faces charges of collusion to cause an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage and destruction of important structures. He has been held in a high security jail in Italy and at one point staged a hunger strike to protest against prison conditions and what his lawyer said was a failure to provide a suitable diet. Last month a court in Poland ruled against handing over another Ukrainian suspect wanted by Germany in connection with the explosions and ordered his immediate release from detention. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/top-italian-court-approves-handover-ukrainian-nord-stream-suspect-germany-lawyer-2025-11-19/
2025-11-19 19:20
News comes during Saudi crown prince's visit to US MP, US defense department to own 49% of refinery, Maaden 51% MP shares gain 10% on news Nov 19 (Reuters) - MP Materials (MP.N) , opens new tab said on Wednesday it would build a rare earths refinery in Saudi Arabia with the U.S. Department of Defense and state-owned Saudi Arabian mining company Maaden to expand Middle Eastern processing of the critical minerals. The news comes as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is visiting Washington this week for the first time since 2018 as part of a push to underscore economic and security relationships between the countries. Sign up here. Reuters reported in April that Maaden was considering a rare earths processing partnership with MP, operates the only U.S. rare earths mine. COMPLEX REFINING PROCESS Shares of MP, which in July agreed to a Pentagon investment that will make Washington its biggest shareholder and financial backer, rose 10% in afternoon trading. Under the deal, MP and the defense department, through a joint venture, will hold a combined 49% stake in the Saudi refinery, with Maaden holding the remaining 51%. Jefferies analyst Chris LaFemina said the deal reflects minimal financial risk for MP given Washington and Riyadh's involvement and should help the company ink more magnet supply deals in the near future. MP already has deals to supply Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab and General Motors (GM.N) , opens new tab. China dominates global refining of the rare earths and magnets that are vital in several key technologies and has restricted exports during periods of trade tension, prompting Washington to seek alternative supplies. Saudi Arabia's growing mining industry, meanwhile, is a key pillar in bin Salman's Vision 2030 program to diversify the economy beyond oil. The facility will refine rare earths from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere into oxides of so-called heavy and light rare earths, which each have different commercial and military applications. In the United States, MP has struggled to find supplies of dysprosium and terbium, two heavy rare earths used to make magnets for electric vehicles, fighter jets and other products. The refined material will be used in the U.S. and Saudi manufacturing and defense industries and sold to allied nations, according to MP. MP has been working to perfect its rare earths refining process in California since at least 2020. The standard process to refine rare earths can be dirty, expensive and time-consuming, fueling a push by scientists for better methods. Rare earths processors must contend with 17 metals, depending on a deposit's geology, each of which is nearly the same size and atomic weight, making separation complex. Those rare earths must be teased out in a specific order, a logistical challenge that would prevent Maaden and MP from cherry-picking specific elements they may want while processing rare earths inside the kingdom. MP said it was also in discussions to support or collaborate on magnet manufacturing in Saudi Arabia. Separately, an MP executive appeared before a U.S. congressional committee on Wednesday to encourage Washington to broaden its financial support , opens new tab for the minerals and manufacturing industries. U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of Defense to rename itself the Department of War, a change that will require action by Congress. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mp-materials-form-rare-earth-refining-jv-with-saudi-arabian-mining-company-2025-11-19/
