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The Obama administration is likely to partly backtrack on proposed steep cuts to renewable fuel targets for 2014 when it finalizes a rule due out in June, industry sources said. Biofuel groups expect the Environmental Protection Agency to send the final proposed targets to the White House as soon as Friday. The EPA shocked biofuel supporters in November with a draft rule that slashed federal requirements for biofuel use in gasoline and diesel. The agency argued that U.S. energy class="mandelbrot_refrag"> markets could not absorb the levels of class="mandelbrot_refrag"> renewable fuels that would be required by a 2007 law.   true       Since then, though, rising projections for gasoline consumption give the agency leeway to raise its corn ethanol target from November's proposal of about 13 billion gallons to about 13.6 billion, a biofuel industry source said. The more gasoline consumed, the more ethanol that can be absorbed before hitting the &quo

class="mandelbrot_refrag"> India will impose anti-dumping duties on solar panels imported from the United States, class="mandelbrot_refrag"> China , Taiwan and Malaysia to protect domestic solar manufacturers, according to a government statement seen by Reuters on Friday. The order, almost certain to anger India's trading partners, sets duties of between 11 and 81 U.S. cents per watt and comes after a investigation which started in 2011. The ruling by a quasi-judicial body has to be published by the class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Finance Ministry before it takes effect. The decision adds to India's growing trade disputes just before Narendra Modi takes office as prime minister on Monday.   true       "Imposition of anti-dumping measures would remove the unfair advantages gained by dumping practices," said India's Anti-Dumping Authority in its order released on Thursday. Local manufacturers have long complained that U.

A Chinese woman climbed Mount Everest on Friday, a government official said, the first person to go up from the Nepali side since an April avalanche killed 16 guides and forced hundreds of foreigners to abandon attempts on the world’s highest mountain. The deadliest accident in the history of Mount Everest triggered a dispute between Sherpa guides who wanted a climbing ban in honor of their colleagues for this season ending this month and the government that refused to close the mountain. Tourism Ministry official Dipendra Poudel said 40-year-old Wang Jing reached the 8,850 meters (29,035 feet) summit on Friday afternoon in good weather. She climbed with five Sherpa guides along the Southeast Ridge route pioneered by Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.   true       Tourism including mountain climbing contributes four percent to Nepal’s GDP. More than 4,000 people have climbed Mount Everest since it was first scaled in 1953 while more than 250 have died on the sl

Crews fighting a major wind-swept wildfire that has threatened hundreds of Arizona homes in a scenic area could look to the skies with optimism on Friday, buoyed by forecasts of improved weather conditions, a top fire official said.     About 900 firefighters took to the fire lines amid higher moisture and favorable winds as they continued efforts to hold off a 7,500-acre blaze that threatens 300 homes and businesses in Oak Creek Canyon, a popular class="mandelbrot_refrag"> recreation spot about 120 miles (190 km) north of Phoenix. The so-called Slide Fire, which has not destroyed any homes or caused any major injuries, remained at 5 percent containment on Friday, officials said.   true       "It looks like the weather is going to cooperate for the next couple of days," Incident Commander Tony Sciacca told a news conference. "One of the promising things ... is that our relative humidity is on the rise and will continue to be.” But he also cautioned t

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of northern class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Greece on Saturday, some 77 km (48 miles) south-southwest of Alexandroupolis, the U.S. Geological Survey said. _0"> The USGS said the quake's depth was 10 km (six miles). There were no immediate reports of casualties or serious damage. Residents in Istanbul in neighboring class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Turkey felt a small tremor that lasted around 10 seconds. No further details were immediately available.   true       (Reporting by Karolina Tagaris, Editing by Alison Williams/Mark Heinrich)

Hurricane Amanda, the first named big storm of the Pacific hurricane season, formed off the west coast of Mexico on Saturday morning and churned north, where it was projected to gain strength but stay far out at sea. _0"> Amanda was located 645 miles (1,035 km) southwest of the Mexican port of Manzanillo with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and the storm was moving west-northwest at 5 miles per hour (7 km/h), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The Miami-based center said the storm could become a major hurricane by Sunday, but that there were no coastal watches in effect. class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Mexico has no significant oil installations on its Pacific coast.   true       (Reporting by Michael O'Boyle; editing by Gunna Dickson)

Hurricane Amanda rapidly gained strength far off the west coast of Mexico on Saturday evening and churned farther out to sea. _0"> Amanda reached category 3 strength after becoming the first named hurricane of the Pacific season earlier on Saturday. It was located 665 miles (1,075 km) southwest of the Mexican port of Manzanillo, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The Miami-based center said the storm could still gain more power as it turns to the north-northwest on Sunday and then begins to weaken Monday. There were no coastal watches in effect and class="mandelbrot_refrag"> Mexico has no significant oil installations on its Pacific coast.   true       (Reporting by Michael O'Boyle; Editing by Gunna Dickson & Kim Coghill)