GENEVA (Reuters) – China sent the World Trade Organization 50 questions about U.S. subsidy programs on Friday, asking for more information on federal and state support for new energy vehicles, industrial energy efficiency, agriculture and in other areas. The WTO has strict rules on subsidies and every member has to declare how their subsidy programs

HANOI (Reuters) – At least 54 people died and 39 went missing as destructive floods battered northern and central Vietnam this week, the disaster prevention agency said on Friday. Vietnam is prone to destructive storms and flooding due to its long coastline. A typhoon wrecked havoc across central provinces just last month. The floods that

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A new package of U.S. disaster assistance sailed through the House of Representatives on Thursday, despite President Donald Trump expressing impatience with having to devote federal resources for hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico’s recovery. The Republican-controlled House voted 353-69 to approve $36.5 billion in emergency relief for Puerto Rico and other areas hit by

LONDON (Reuters) – The university city of Oxford has unveiled plans to ban petrol and diesel cars from its center as part of the most radical set of proposals so far in Britain to curb pollution. Whilst London is rolling out an “ultra low emission zone”, which will see the most gas-guzzling vehicles pay daily

PARIS (Reuters) – Paris authorities plan to banish all petrol- and diesel-fueled cars from the world’s most visited city by 2030, Paris City Hall said on Thursday. The move marks an acceleration in plans to wean the country off gas-guzzlers and switch to electric vehicles in a city often obliged to impose temporary bans due

SONOMA, Calif. (Reuters) – Firefighters facing a resurgence of high winds on Wednesday struggled to halt wildfires that have killed at least 21 people, destroyed 3,500 structures and left hundreds missing in chaotic evacuations across northern California’s wine country. Nearly two dozen blazes spanning eight counties have charred around 170,000 acres (68,797 hectares). Flames erupted

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee has approved $36.5 billion in emergency funding for relief and recovery from the recent devastating hurricanes and wildfires, a spokeswoman for the committee’s chairman said late on Tuesday. The bill includes $7 billion more than the White House had sought last week and nearly $6

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican mogul Carlos Slim’s foundation will donate more than $105 million (1.978 billion pesos) to help the country recover from two large earthquakes in September, Slim announced on Tuesday. The Carlos Slim Foundation also collected more than $21 million dollars (395.6 million pesos) from outside donors, raising the total contribution to

TRUJILLO ALTO, Puerto Rico (Reuters) – In the lowlands of Trujillo Alto, a sprawling suburb of San Juan, clean water once again flows in the homes of most residents. But in the mountainous part of the city, which is largely poor and semi-rural, finding clean water remains a daily struggle. Across Puerto Rico, officials say,

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (Reuters) – Firefighters battling 15 wildfires that have killed at least 11 people and destroyed hundreds of buildings in California’s wine country welcomed a drop in winds and an expected layer of cool, moist fog rolling in on Tuesday. Officials said about 1,500 homes and commercial buildings had been destroyed as tens

TOKYO (Reuters) – A district court in Fukushima prefecture on Tuesday ruled that Tokyo Electric Power and the Japanese government were liable for damages totaling about 500 million yen ($4.44 million) in the largest class action lawsuit brought over the 2011 nuclear disaster, Kyodo news agency said. A group of about 3,800 people, mostly in

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (Reuters) – A spate of wildfires fanned by strong winds swept through northern California’s wine country on Monday, leaving at least 10 people dead, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and chasing some 20,000 people from their dwellings. Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties,

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Monday he would sign a proposed rule on Tuesday to begin withdrawing from the Clean Power Plan, former President Barack Obama’s centerpiece regulation to fight climate change. “Here’s the president’s message: The war on coal is over,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told

BILOXI, Miss. (Reuters) – Hurricane Nate weakened to a tropical depression on Sunday after coming ashore in Mississippi, flooding roads and buildings but sparing the state from catastrophic damages. Maximum sustained winds from Nate, the fourth major storm to hit the United States in less than two months, dropped to 35 miles (55 km per

BILOXI, Miss. (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Nate rapidly weakened to become a tropical depression over Alabama on Sunday, although the fast-moving former hurricane left roads and buildings flooded in Mississippi after coming ashore there. Nate’s maximum sustained winds dropped to 35 miles (55 km) per hour as it moved northeast into Alabama, prompting the National