2025-09-01 23:51
Sept 2 (Reuters) - At least 1,000 were killed in a landslide that destroyed a village in the Marra Mountains area of western Sudan, leaving only one survivor, The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army said on Monday. The landslide struck on August 31 after days of heavy rainfall, the group led by Abdelwahid Mohamed Nour said in a statement. Sign up here. The movement, which controls the area located in Darfur region, appealed to the United Nations and international aid agencies to help recover the bodies of victims, including men, women and children. The village "has now been completely levelled to the ground," the movement added. Fleeing the raging war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in North Darfur state, residents sought shelter in the Marra Mountains area where food and medication are insufficient. The two-year civil war has left more than half the population facing crisis levels of hunger and driven millions from their homes with the capital of North Darfur state, Al-Fashir, being under fire. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/over-1000-killed-landslide-western-sudan-village-sudan-liberation-movementarmy-2025-09-01/
2025-09-01 21:19
Israel destroyed Deir al-Zor site in eastern Syria in 2007 UN nuclear watchdog says it was probably a nuclear reactor If so, it was built in secret, should have been declared IAEA has long tried to come to a definitive conclusion VIENNA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog has found traces of uranium in Syria in its investigation into a building Israel destroyed in 2007 that the agency has long believed was probably an undeclared nuclear reactor, it said in a report to member states on Monday. The government of now-deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad said the Deir al-Zor site that included the building was a conventional military base. Sign up here. The International Atomic Energy Agency concluded in 2011 the building was "very likely" to have been a reactor built in secret that Damascus should have declared to it. The agency has been trying since then to come to a definitive conclusion, and under a renewed push last year it was able to take environmental samples at three unnamed locations "that were allegedly functionally related" to Deir al-Zor, it said in the confidential report seen by Reuters. The agency found "a significant number of natural uranium particles in samples taken at one of the three locations. The analysis of these particles indicated that the uranium is of anthropogenic origin, i.e. that it was produced as a result of chemical processing," the report said. The term "natural" indicates the uranium was not enriched. The report did not come to a conclusion as to what the traces found mean. "The current Syrian authorities indicated that they had no information that might explain the presence of such uranium particles," the report said, adding that the Islamist-led government had granted the IAEA access to the site concerned again in June this year to take more environmental samples. At a meeting the same month between IAEA chief Rafael Grossi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, "Syria agreed to cooperate with the Agency, through full transparency, to address Syria's past nuclear activities", the report said. At that meeting, Grossi asked for Syria's help in returning to Deir al-Zor itself "in the next few months in order to conduct further analysis, access relevant documentation and to talk to those involved in Syria's past nuclear activities". The report said the IAEA was still planning to visit Deir al-Zor and would evaluate the results of the environmental samples taken at the other site. "Once this process has been completed and the results evaluated, there will be an opportunity to clarify and resolve the outstanding safeguards issues related to Syria's past nuclear activities and to bring the matter to a close," it said. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iaea-finds-uranium-traces-syria-linked-site-bombed-by-israel-2025-09-01/
2025-09-01 21:13
BOGOTA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Colombia's government presented a tax reform bill to Congress on Monday that aims to raise 26.3 trillion pesos ($6.54 billion) in 2026 to finance next year's budget and shore up the nation's deteriorating finances. The ambitious proposal faces an uphill battle in Congress, where President Gustavo Petro's administration has limited support, particularly with legislative and presidential elections looming next year. Sign up here. "We are structuring a proposal that guarantees not only that we finance 2026, but that we are providing medium-term macroeconomic stability," Finance Minister German Avila told journalists, adding that the measures "will be of use to the next government." The plan seeks to raise an additional 28.2 trillion pesos in 2027, with the figure rising annually to 37 trillion pesos by 2030. The bill proposes a wide range of new levies, including a higher value-added tax (VAT) on petroleum derivatives and a new 1% tax on the first sale or export of crude oil and coal. It also seeks to raise taxes on tobacco, alcohol, online betting, dividends and high-income earners and wealth. In a significant shift, the reform would also impose taxes on churches, which are currently exempt, and add a surcharge on the financial sector. The government also hopes to raise 3.5 trillion pesos next year through improved tax collection and processing by its DIAN tax agency. Analysts are skeptical of the bill's prospects. "I see a low chance of it being approved because while a fiscal reform is being proposed, we are not seeing any proposal for better conduct in public spending," said Jackeline Pirajan, chief economist for Scotiabank in Colombia. The proposal comes after the government suspended the country's fiscal rule in June amid falling revenues. The suspension forced the finance ministry to raise its 2025 fiscal deficit target to 7.1% of GDP, from a previous 5.1%. The deficit target for 2026 is set at 6.2%. In response, both S&P and Moody's downgraded Colombia's debt rating. President Petro warned in July that if Congress does not approve the reform, the government will finance its budget with more debt. Last week, Colombia's independent Autonomous Fiscal Rule Committee (CARF) said a budget adjustment of 45 trillion pesos - far greater than the government's proposal - is needed to meet the 2026 deficit target. ($1 = 4,018.41 pesos) https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/cash-strapped-colombia-proposes-65-billion-long-shot-tax-reform-2025-09-01/
2025-09-01 20:57
ARLINGTON, Virginia, Sept 1 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration plans new measures to tackle the high cost of housing in the coming weeks, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters in an interview on Monday. Emphasizing the urgency of the situation, Bessent described it as an "all hands on deck" challenge. Sign up here. Bessent told the Washington Examiner in a separate interview that Trump may declare a national housing emergency this fall to address rising prices and dwindling supply. The housing market has been hardest hit by the U.S. central bank's tight monetary policy stance and high housing costs are a top concern for many Americans. The Treasury secretary told Reuters rents were now dropping, which was important for Americans who do not own their homes. He said he was expecting an increase in real estate transactions and home sales once interest rates began falling, which could encourage people who were locked into low mortgages to put their existing homes on the market. Bessent said the Trump administration was also exploring ways to simplify permitting and encourage standardization to boost construction, which would boost housing supply and help to bring high costs down. Affordability would be a big focus for the administration, Bessent said, noting Trump's push to drive down prescription prices. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bessent-says-trump-administration-will-tackle-high-housing-costs-with-new-2025-09-01/
2025-09-01 19:30
NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The digital tokens backing the Trump family's cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, fell in value on Monday in their first day of trading. The World Liberty tokens, known as $WLFI, were sold to investors after the Trump family and its business partners last year launched the venture, a decentralized finance platform that has also issued a stablecoin. Sign up here. Investors in the tokens voted in July to make them tradable, paving the way for their sale and purchase - and potentially boosting the value of the president's holdings of them. Early investors can sell up to 20% of their holdings, World Liberty has said. The tokens initially traded above $0.30 in their Monday debut but later fell in price. They were down about 12% at $0.246 as of 1840 GMT, according to CoinGecko data. That gave the token a total market capitalisation of just below $7 billion, making WLFI the 31st largest crypto token in circulation, CoinGecko data showed. Several of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, OKX and Bybit, are offering the tokens on their platforms. Since World Liberty's launch last year, the Trump family has made around $500 million from the project, according to Reuters calculations based on the company's terms and conditions, transactions traced by crypto analysis firms, and publicly disclosed deals. The tokens were not made tradable at their initial sale. Instead, they gave holders the right to vote on some changes to the business, such as its underlying code. Early investors have said the primary draw of $WLFI was the connection to Trump and their expectations that the tokens would grow in value due to his backing. Making the tokens tradable allows investors to determine their price, enabling speculation, earning trading fees for exchanges that list them, and likely stoking interest from a wider swath of crypto investors. World Liberty and Trump's other crypto businesses have faced criticism from Democratic lawmakers and government ethics experts who say the Trump family's forays into the cryptocurrency businesses, at the same time as the president reshapes the regulatory framework that governs digital currencies, represent profound conflicts of interest. The White House has said repeatedly that Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children and that there are no conflicts of interest. https://www.reuters.com/business/trumps-world-liberty-token-falls-first-day-trading-2025-09-01/
2025-09-01 19:05
JOHANNESBURG, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Glencore (GLEN.L) , opens new tab said on Monday that a retrenchment process has been initiated at its joint-venture Rustenburg ferrochrome smelter and vanadium operations in South Africa as significant economic pressures continue to impact the businesses. South Africa holds approximately 80% of the world's known chrome ore reserves, according to Glencore, positioning the country as a key player in global ferrochrome production. Sign up here. However, problems with power cuts, rising electricity prices and economic pressures forced the miners to suspend production at the venture's ferrochrome Boshoek, Wonderkop and Lion smelters in May. The smelters are operated by the Glencore and Merafe Resources (MRFJ.J) , opens new tab joint-venture. "The (retrenchment) consultation process is as a result of the continuing economic pressures facing the South African ferrochrome industry and the lack of sustainable industry solutions that could alleviate the pressures in the near to medium term," Merafe said in a separate statement. The process will affect the Boshoek and Wonderkop smelters in Rustenburg. In addition, the Lion smelter is currently being evaluated and may potentially see a reduction to half of its operating capacity, Glencore said in a statement. The London-listed miner also said its Rhovan vanadium operations in the North West province and its carbon division in Emalahleni, will also be affected. As part of this process, Glencore will also proceed with further streamlining and restructuring of support functions within the mining division at Rustenburg and Lydenburg smelters, head office and shared services functions as anticipated, it added. "It is important to note that the process is not a forgone conclusion. A notice has been sent to all recognised unions, affected employees and other stakeholders," Glencore said without saying how many jobs are affected. Willie Venter, deputy general secretary of Solidarity union, said Glencore has already been hit hard with 10 of its 22 furnaces permanently or temporarily closed. He warned that if the remaining furnaces are also forced to shut down, some 2,425 direct jobs and more than 17,000 indirect jobs will be affected. https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/glencore-plans-job-cuts-south-african-ferrochrome-vanadium-operations-2025-09-01/
