Swiss announce new defence minister, Singapore cooperation deal
ZURICH, March 14 (Reuters) - The Swiss government said on Friday Martin Pfister will be the country's new defence minister when Viola Amherd steps down at the end of the month.
Separately, the government said it had approved a memorandum of understanding to step up defence cooperation with Singapore which would allow the two to deepen collaboration on research, development, innovation and defence procurement.
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US Senate bill's clean energy cuts draw backlash from labor, business
WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate's proposed cuts to clean energy subsidies in its version of President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill have drawn searing criticism from business and labor groups since they were unveiled over the weekend, with some arguing the moves will raise power prices and kill jobs. The pushback, which includes a swipe from Trump ally and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, comes as senators started voting on a potentially long list of amendments to the bill on Monday morning, giving renewable energy advocates on both sides of the political spectrum a last window to push for changes. "Taxing energy production is never good policy, whether oil & gas or, in this case, renewables," said Neil Bradley, policy director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a post on X over the weekend. "Electricity demand is set to see enormous growth & this tax will increase prices. It should be removed." "This would be incredibly destructive to America!" Musk posted on X, saying the cuts could endanger the development of energy-hungry artificial intelligence technology, among other things. Trump has said he intends to maximize U.S. energy production, with a focus on fossil fuels, in part to ensure the power industry can supply the AI industry's growth. But he has also promised to wipe out subsidies for renewables. The Senate bill would roll back incentives for wind, solar, batteries and other clean energy technologies created by President Joe Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, and add a new tax on these projects if they cannot prove their products are made without Chinese parts. Those provisions were harsher on the credits than the previous Senate version and even the House version. Sean McGarvey, president of the North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU), which represents over 3 million construction workers, blasted the bill's impact on jobs. "If enacted, this stands to be the biggest job-killing bill in the history of this country. Simply put, it is the equivalent of terminating more than 1,000 Keystone XL pipeline projects," he said in a statement, referring to an oil pipeline project blocked by Biden's administration. Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, one of two Republicans who voted against advancing the bill, also blasted the bill on the Senate floor overnight and warned that it will cause power shortages by hamstringing renewable energy and battery storage. Tillis drew ire from Trump for voting against the motion to advance the bill and has since said he does not plan to run for re-election. "What you have done is create a blip in power service, because there isn't going to be a gas-fired generator anytime soon," he said on the floor. Tillis had worked as a consultant covering the utility industry and said the bill ignores the reality of the soaring demand for power by data centers. Brian Schatz, a Democratic Senator from Hawaii, also railed against the bill's impact. "This bill will increase prices. The 500-GW less energy in the next decade is pretty much exactly the amount we will need to meet rising demand," he said. "You don't have to love clean energy or be an environmentalist to understand that this is a basic question of supply and demand," he said.
Reuters
10 minutes ago
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Seven killed during Togo protests, civil society groups say
LOME, June 30 (Reuters) - Seven people were killed during anti-government protests in Togo last week, said human rights activists, who accused security forces of using "shocking violence" against protesters. The protests calling for the resignation of longtime leader Faure Gnassingbe amid what government critics describe as a cost of living crisis began last Thursday. Reuters witnesses saw soldiers use tear gas and batons to disperse them. A joint statement by 12 Togolese civil society and human rights groups also accused security forces of carrying out arbitrary arrests, beating civilians with batons and ropes and stealing and destroying private property. The groups said three bodies, two of them minors, were found on Friday in Be lagoon, east of the capital Lome. They said the bodies of two brothers were found on the same day in a lake in Lome's Akodessewa district. And they said two more bodies were discovered on Saturday in Nyekonakpoe, also in Lome. A government statement dated Sunday acknowledged bodies were recovered from Be lagoon and the Akodessewa lake but said the deaths were due to drowning. "The government expresses its sympathy to bereaved families and reminds all residents near water bodies to observe safety rules around water areas, especially during this rainy season," the statement said. The protests were part of persistent political strife in Togo, where in May Gnassingbe took the powerful new role of President of the Council of Ministers that has no fixed term limit. Civil society groups say the new title for Gnassingbe, whose family has ruled Togo since 1967, is another indication of democratic backsliding in West Africa, a region known for coups and leaders entrenching themselves in power for generations. Hodabalo Awate, Togo's minister of territorial administration, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the handling of the protests. Sunday's government statement commended the security forces' response and said there had been "several" arrests. Togolese authorities arrested dozens of people on June 5-6 during protests against Gnassingbe's new role in what Amnesty International described as a crackdown on dissent. Many were quickly released, the rights group said.
Reuters
22 minutes ago
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Mali completes takeover of gold mines abandoned by foreign companies
BAMAKO, June 30 (Reuters) - Mali has completed its takeover of the Yatela and Morila gold mines abandoned by their previous owners, the government announced at the weekend, but questions remain over how any untapped value can be released. The takeovers and failure to disclose how the operations will be funded highlight the complex challenges facing Mali as it seeks to regain control of its natural resources and leverage high commodity prices to boost the economy, mirroring moves by other West African states including Burkina Faso and Niger. Mali's military leaders, who took power after coups in 2020 and 2021, announced their intentions to nationalise the mines last year. Since taking power the military government has pressured foreign mining companies through increased taxes, revised contracts, regulatory crackdowns and a general pivot from Western investors to Russian interests. Mali produces about 65 tons of gold annually, making it Africa's second-largest producer. Gold prices, meanwhile, have remained strong this year, spurred largely by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff impositions and wider geopolitical uncertainty. However, making a success of Mali's gold assets has previously proved difficult. The Yatela mine in Mali's western Kayes region was abandoned in 2016 after Sadiola Exploration Company - a joint venture of South Africa's AngloGold Ashanti (AU.N), opens new tab and Canada's IAMGOLD ( opens new tab - determined that low prices made operations uneconomical despite unexploited reserves. The Morila mine in the southern Sikaso region was similarly abandoned in 2022 by Australia's Firefinch ( opens new tab, which had acquired stakes from mining giants Barrick Mining ( opens new tab and AngloGold Ashanti, leaving what the government's weekend statement described as "significant environmental and financial liabilities". The mines will be revived by the newly established Society for Research and Exploitation of Mineral Resources of Mali (SEMOS), the government's statement said without specifying how they would be run and financed. However, extracting value from Yatela and Morila will clearly be no easy task while the government attempts to reopen Barrick's mine complex. The Canadian company's Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex was placed under state control this month in a major escalation of a protracted dispute over taxes and ownership.
