African Nations Seek $703 Million for Zambezi Climate Resilience
A body representing eight southern African nations in the Zambezi River Basin, a critical water source for more than 50 million people, is seeking $703 million to strengthen climate resilience.
The Zambezi Watercourse Commission made its pitch on Friday to the Washington-based Climate Investment Funds, which works through multilateral development lenders including the World Bank.
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Rights group says global brands are at risk of links to forced labor in China's minerals industry
LONDON -- Several global brands are among dozens of companies at risk of using forced labor through their Chinese supply chains because they use critical minerals or buy minerals-based products sourced from China's far-western Xinjiang region, an international rights group said Wednesday. The report by the Netherlands-based Global Rights Compliance says companies including Avon, Walmart, Nescafe, Coca-Cola and paint supplier Sherwin-Williams may be linked to titanium sourced from Xinjiang, where rights groups allege the Chinese government runs coercive labor practices targeting predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities. The report comes as China and the United States, the world's two largest economies, continue talks aimed at easing their trade dispute. The report found 77 Chinese suppliers in the titanium, lithium, beryllium and magnesium industries operating in Xinjiang. It said the suppliers are at risk of participating in the Chinese government's 'labor transfer programs," in which Uyghurs are forced to work in factories as part of a longstanding campaign of assimilation and mass detention. Commercial paints, thermos cups and components for the aerospace, auto and defense industries are among products sold internationally that can trace their supply chains to minerals from Xinjiang, the report said. It said companies must review their supply chains. 'Mineral mining and processing in (Xinjiang) rely in part on the state's forced labor programs for Uyghurs and other Turkic people in the region,' the report said. The named companies did not immediately comment on the report. A 2022 United Nations report found China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, where more than 1 million Uyghurs are estimated to have been arbitrarily detained as part of measures the Chinese government said were intended to target terrorism and separatism. The Chinese government has rejected the U.N. claims and defended its actions in Xinjiang as fighting terror and ensuring stability. In 2021, former U.S. President Joe Biden signed a law to block imports from the Xinjiang region unless businesses can prove the items were made without forced labor. The law initially targeted solar products, tomatoes, cotton and apparel, but the U.S. government recently added new sectors for enforcement, including aluminum and seafood. A recent report by the International Energy Agency said the world's sources of critical minerals are increasingly concentrated in a few countries, notably China, which is also a leading refining and processing base for lithium, cobalt, graphite and other minerals. Many of China's major minerals corporations have invested in the exploration and mining of lithium, a key component for electric vehicle batteries, in Xinjiang, Global Rights Compliance said. Xinjiang is also China's top source of beryllium, a mineral used for aerospace, defense and telecommunications, its report said.
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Home Depot holding opening ceremony Wednesday at South Hill store
Jun. 10—Officials from Home Depot will host a grand opening Wednesday at the hardware giant's new store on the South Hill. The 134,000-square foot store was built following the demolition of the 100,000-square-foot Shopko building at 4515 S. Regal St. The new store is located directly across the street from Ruggiero's Ace Hardware, owned by Austin and Josh Ruggiero, the third generation of the family to own the business. To commemorate the opening of Home Depot, company officials will host a community night celebration that starts at 4:30 on Wednesday. It will feature remarks from Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown, City Council President Betsy Wilkerson and Alisha Benson, CEO of Greater Spokane Incorporated. Following the event, the store will open for business at 6 a.m. on Thursday. Home Depot purchased the 13-acre property in May for $10 million, according to county property records. Building plans submitted to the city show about 28,000 square feet of the new building will include a garden center, and another 100,000 square feet will consist of retail space. A lumber canopy also is slated for the location. The store could eventually employ 175 workers, according to the project description submitted to the city. Josh Ruggiero said last year that his hardware store could suffer from the new Home Depot. "I fear we will no longer exist if this Home Depot goes in across the street," he said. But two weeks ago, the Ruggieros announced plans to highlight the differences that their store offers customers. The plan to hold a neighborhood party on Saturday at the Ace Hardware store at 44th and Regal which will include in-store promotions and family activities. "While this change presents challenges for our family-owned business, we are embracing the moment with optimism and a renewed commitment to our neighbors," Ruggiero said in a news release.
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34 minutes ago
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Trump Tariffs Can Stay in Effect Longer, Appeals Court Says
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump can continue to enforce his global tariffs for now, a federal appeals court held in a win for the president on one of his signature economic policies. Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NY Long Island Rail Service Resumes After Grand Central Fire NYC Mayoral Candidates All Agree on Building More Housing. But Where? Senator Calls for Closing Troubled ICE Detention Facility in New Mexico California Pitches Emergency Loans for LA, Local Transit Systems The order Tuesday by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit extends an earlier, short-term reprieve for the administration as it presses a challenge to a lower court ruling last month that blocked the tariffs. The Justice Department had argued that US officials' concerns about ongoing trade negotiations outweighed the economic harm claimed by the small businesses that sued. The Washington-based court put the case on an expedited track, citing the 'issues of exceptional importance' at stake, and scheduled arguments for July 31. The court didn't offer a detailed reason for siding with the administration at this stage, indicating in the order that the government had met its burden for showing that keeping the lower court's injunction on hold was 'warranted.' No judge noted a dissent. The ruling comes as negotiators for the US and China reached a preliminary agreement to de-escalate trade tensions. Representatives of the world's two largest economies announced the accord in the second day of talks in London over exports of key tech and industrial goods. Trump has portrayed tariffs as critical to leveling the playing field for American businesses and workers amid chronic trade deficits. Trade Court The Trump administration asked the appeals court to step in after the US Court of International Trade last month ruled that Trump had misused an emergency law to implement the tariffs. Unless the challengers request swift intervention by the US Supreme Court, the levies will stay in place for at least another month, if not longer, as the rest of the legal fight plays out before the Washington-based appellate court. Whoever loses the next round of the case before the Federal Circuit could then ask the high court justices to weigh in. Tuesday's order comes a month before Trump's own 90-day pause on most of his sweeping 'reciprocal' tariffs is set to expire. On July 9, US tariff rates are set to increase drastically for many nations, absent trade deals or a further extension. Goods from the European Union, for instance, are facing a 50% levy. Companies led by New York wine importer V.O.S. Selections Inc. claimed that letting the tariffs go into effect would lead to much higher costs and lower sales, with some of them likely to end up in bankruptcy. The administration argued that blocking the tariffs would disrupt US diplomacy and intrude upon the president's power to conduct foreign affairs. A dozen Democratic-led states also sued the administration over the tariffs. Is Trump's Use of Emergency Law for Tariffs Legal?: QuickTake Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel and director of litigation at the Liberty Justice Center, which represents the private plaintiffs, said in a statement that they were disappointed but glad the Federal Circuit set a fast schedule and would have the full court hear the fight over Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. 'It's important to note that every court to rule on the merits so far has found these tariffs unlawful, and we have faith that this court will likewise see what is plain as day: that IEEPA does not allow the president to impose whatever tax he wants whenever he wants,' Schwab said. A White House spokesperson and a representative of the Oregon attorney general's office, which led the state coalition that sued, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 'Liberation Day' Tariffs covered by the trade court ruling include Trump's global 10% levy, his April 2 'Liberation Day' tariffs and measures targeting China, Canada and Mexico over fentanyl trafficking. The president claimed authority to impose those tariffs under the 1977 emergency economic powers law. A three-judge panel of the trade court ruled last month that law didn't give the president unbridled tariff power. The court also took issue with Trump's claims of 'emergencies' over trade deficits and drug-trafficking. In their decision, the judges said government lawyers actually undercut that position by arguing that tariffs were needed as negotiating tools. 'The government's 'pressure' argument effectively concedes that the direct effect of the country-specific tariffs is simply to burden the countries they target,' wrote the panel, which includes judges appointed by Trump, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan. Trump's tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles were imposed under a different law, so were not affected by the trade court ruling. Administration officials have often publicly downplayed the impact of the May 28 decision by claiming that most of its tariffs can be imposed by other means. Global markets have fluctuated wildly since Trump announced the so-called reciprocal levies in a sweeping executive order on April 2. Since then, trillions of dollars in market value have been shed and regained amid weeks of delays, reversals and announcements about potential trade deals, particularly with China. The case is V.O.S. Selections v. Trump, 25-1812, US Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit. (Updated with additional context in the fourth paragraph and comment from a plaintiffs' lawyer starting in the ninth paragraph.) New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Wants to Donate His Billions—and Walk Again The SEC Pinned Its Hack on a Few Hapless Day Traders. The Full Story Is Far More Troubling ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
