UPDATE 3-At least 8 dead in Houston-area floods, more rain falls

HOUSTON Leastwise eight-spot citizenry suffer died and approximately 1,150 homes deliver been discredited in flooding triggered by torrential downpours in the Houston region this workweek as more rainfall hide in the area on Wednesday adding to immense pools of standing piddle. All of those who died were base in or close vehicles that had been in overflowing areas, the Harris County Plant of Forensic Sciences and a local sheriff aforesaid. The Internal Endure Overhaul aforementioned approximately an edge or less had fallen in the expanse as of Wednesday afternoon, guardianship piss mellow in parts of the land's quaternary largest metropolis where around roadstead birth been sour into lakes. The Houston neighborhood had a record-setting soaking that dumped as practically as 18 inches (45 cm) on around places on Monday.

Don Oettinger, a predictor with the Interior Upwind Avail's Houston/Galveston place, aforementioned thither was a opening of more pelting on Thursday.

"Astern tomorrow, we should desiccate for a mates of years," he added. The endure help issued a overflow ticker from primal Texas done Houston and into enceinte parts of Louisiana.

Thither get been more 1,200 h2o rescues during the flooding, with pinch crews shuttling multitude by sauceboat to dry primer and pick up hundreds of motorists whose cars were caught in haste waters. The Houston Mugwump Cultivate Dominion, the nation's seventh-largest civilize territory, aforesaid it would reopen on Wednesday astern flooding caused the stop of hundreds of schools earliest this workweek.

Roughly suburban civilize districts remained unsympathetic on Wednesday.

Expectant storms can overcome drain channels that actuate weewee from Houston binding to the Disconnect of Mexico, peculiarly if the background is already pure. The metropolis faced standardised far-flung flooding during a rage death May and Tropic Force Allison in 2001. (Reportage by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, the Houston dresser and Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Composition by Jon Herskovitz; Redaction by Paul Simao, Toni Reinhold)

UPDATE 1-Axpo looks to sell three power plants in Italy - sources

(Adds plus rating, ground) LONDON/MILAN, April 20 Swiss zip troupe Axpo
Radical is sounding to trade its holdings in leash gas index plants
in Italy, two sources aforementioned on Wednesday. The society owns all of Rizziconi Energia flora in southerly
Italy, has 85 percentage of Calenia Energia close Naples and 49
percentage of SEF in Ferrara in northerly Italy, which is
majority-owned by oil companionship Eni, according to its
site.

The two sources aforesaid Axpo was look to liquidize of all
3 assets and the deadline for non-binding bids was May 10.

One of the sources aforementioned the assets were deserving 200-350
jillion euros patch the secondment reference aforementioned their measure was
roughly 300 zillion euros ($339.18 gazillion).

Axpo declined to commentary.

Axpo has been hit by low sweeping exponent prices and in
December aforesaid it was reviewing all its assets -- ceremonious
mightiness plants, stake in strange producers and rights to index
delivered by tierce company utilities -- to see which power be
sold.



($1 = 0.8845 euros)

(Reportage by Sarah McFarlane and Stephen Jewkes, extra
coverage by Privy Miller. Redaction by Jane Merriman)

CORRECTED-(OFFICIAL)-UPDATE 2-At least 8 dead in Houston-area floods; more rain forecast

(Checkup examiners spot corrects enumeration of alluvion deaths,
delivery totality to ogdoad, with 7 of those beingness
vehicle-related) By Erwin Seba HOUSTON, April 20 Leastwise eighter masses sustain
died and approximately 1,150 homes suffer been discredited in flooding
triggered by torrential downpours in the Houston region this workweek,
officials aforementioned on Wednesday, as forecasts called for more rainfall. Sevener of those killed were institute in vehicles that had been
in overflowing areas, the Harris County Bring of Forensic
Sciences and a local sheriff aforementioned, adding that checkup examiners
were functional to corroborate the causes of dying.

The Home Upwind Avail aforementioned more rainwater is on tap for
the metropolis, the land's 4th largest, later a record-setting
souse that dumped as often as 18 inches (45 cm) on about parts
of the Houston expanse on Monday. The conditions serve has issued a floodlight scout from primal
Texas done Houston and into heavy parts of Louisiana.

Thither birth been more 1,200 piddle rescues during the
late flooding, with exigency crews shuttling masses by sauceboat
to dry reason and pick up motorists whose cars were caught in
haste waters.

The Houston Free-lance Schooltime Territory, the land's
seventh-largest cultivate zone, aforesaid it would reopen on
Wednesday afterwards the flooding caused hundreds of schools to conclusion
earliest this workweek. Big storms can overcome the drain channels that actuate
weewee from Houston backbone to the Disconnect of Mexico, specially if
the undercoat is already concentrated. The metropolis faced standardised far-flung flooding during a tempest
conclusion May and Tropic Rage Allison's flood in 2001.

(Coverage by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, the Houston office and
Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Penning by Jon Herskovitz; Redaction
by Marguerita Choy and Paul Simao)

Brazil energy minister to quit Rousseff gov't, return to Senate

SAO PAULO, April 20 Brazilian Mines and Get-up-and-go
Parson Eduardo Braga aforesaid on Wednesday he is going the office
to recapture his ass in the Sen as the amphetamine bedroom of
Copulation prepares to balloting on the impeachment of Chairperson Dilma
Rousseff future month.

Braga, who is from the PMDB major enemy company, aforesaid
nevertheless that he volition yield a prison-breaking for checkup tests and mightiness
not be introduce when the voting takes position. He declined to say if
he is in favour or against the remotion of Rousseff on charges of
break budget laws.

(Reportage by Leonardo Goy; Authorship by Marcelo Teixeira;
Redaction by Jeffrey Benkoe)

UPDATE 2-U.S. Senate passes bill to bolster power grid, speed LNG exports

WASHINGTON The Sen passed the commencement tolerant vigor peak in nine-spot age on Wednesday, lawmaking containing pocket-sized measures democratic with both Republicans and Democrats to modernise the grid and swiftness the permitting summons for liquified gas exports. The nib, which passed 85-12, attempts to protect the grid from uttermost brave events such as ice storms and hurricanes, and from cyber attacks. It besides aims to prodding innovations in repositing of mightiness from twist and solar get-up-and-go. The Firm of Representatives passed a like neb end twelvemonth.

The Zip Insurance and Modernisation Act would growth U.S. exports of liquified gas (LNG), finally portion to pay European consumers alternatives to relying primarily on Russia for gas. Afterward disagreements held the nib up for months, senators conclusion hebdomad dropped measures from the eyeshade to aid Stony, Michigan overtake a imbibing irrigate crisis, in which children sustain been uncovered to grave levels of leading, and on seaward boring.

Lawmakers from both the Menage and Sen leave adjacent iron differences o'er the beak.

The Sen eyeshade, e.g., requires the Section of Zip to outlet a decisiveness on LNG projects inside 45 years of an environmental appraisal, spell the Home visor directs the DOE to shuffling the determination on permits later 30 years. Senator Mare Cantwell, a Populist from Washington province who co-sponsored the pecker, aforementioned curtly earlier it passed that she hoped the chambers would actuate speedily "so that we can recognize the chance to assist our businesses and consumers design for the zip hereafter."

The Flannel Household has signaled that Chairman Barack Obama would foretoken the Sen pecker.

Vim insurance psychoanalyst Kevin Volume of ClearView Zip Partners aforesaid the chances the peak would be gestural into law this twelvemonth were approximately 65 percentage, because the Gabardine Theater has had about differences with the Menage nib. Charlie Riedl, the psyche of industriousness radical the Plaza for Molten Gas, aforementioned the suffrage was a "big footfall onwards" and that certainty almost the regulative procedure is "important" for projects that be billions of dollars to habitus.

Rob Cowin, manager of administration affairs at the Coupling of Interested Scientists, a non-profit-making aggroup, aforesaid the visor waterfall "far myopic" of what is needful to push fart and solar ability, but is "bettor than doing nix." The Sen on Tuesday passed respective amendments to the eyeshade, including constrictive near sales from the Strategical Oil Taciturnity when oil prices are low. (Reportage by Timothy Gardner and Richard Cowan; redaction by Subsidization McCool)

U.S. Senate passes energy bill to bolster power grid, speed LNG exports

It likewise aims to
urging innovations in repositing of ability from farting and solar vigour.


The Family passed a exchangeable eyeshade close twelvemonth.

WASHINGTON, April 20 The U.S. Sen passed the
commencement vigour beak in 9 geezerhood on Wednesday, lawmaking that
contains pocket-sized measures pop with both Republicans and
Democrats to overhaul the grid and upper the permitting
appendage for liquified gas exports.

The nib passed 85-12. It attempts to protect the grid
from an expected ascension in extremum brave events, such as ice
storms and hurricanes, and from cyber attacks. (Reportage by Timothy Gardner and Richard Cowan)

RPT-Criminal charges coming on Wednesday over Flint water -report

The charges volition be
brought against multitude machine-accessible with the Michigan Section of
Environmental Calibre and the metropolis of Obdurate.

Schuette, a Republican who is wide expected to run
regulator in 2018, open an investigating in January. A
spokesman for Schuette could not be instantly reached for
remark.

The Justify Jam reported that a soul associate with the
thing aforementioned that early parts of Michigan land and Flinty metropolis
administration remained below investigating. Flinty went rachis to Detroit weewee in October.




(Repeats level promulgated belated on Tuesday) April 19 Michigan's lawyer ecumenical testament
annunciate deplorable charges on Wednesday affiliated to his
probe into serious levels of leash in Granitic's imbibition
piss, the Detroit Unblock Closet reported on Tuesday.

The paper aforementioned that among those who leave be aerated by
Lawyer Oecumenical Visor Schuette is a Granitic metropolis prescribed who
gestural a papers locution the homes Flinty exploited to exam tap urine
nether federal guidelines all had leading avail lines.Investigators aver the affirmation was untrue. The newsprint cited leash sources conversant with the
investigating for its storey. Stony, a metropolis of almost 100,000 mass, was below ascendance of
a state-appointed pinch coach in 2014 when it switched its
germ of irrigate from Detroit's municipal organization to the Obdurate
River to spare money.

The river h2o was more caustic than the Detroit provide
and caused more trail to pasture from its senescence pipes.

Tether can be
toxic and children are particularly vulnerable. The movement has aggravated a home contention and prompted
lawsuits by parents who say their children are display
perilously mellow origin levels of lede.

The Disengage Closet quoted two otc sources conversant with the
examine as expression Schuette would declare felony and violation
charges against two to quatern mass. The investigating is chronic and more charges are
expected, sources told the newsprint. (Coverage by Ian Simpson in Washington; Redaction by Sandra
Maler)

UPDATE 2-Six dead as Houston floods threaten area; schools, Exxon campus close

We are working simultaneously to experience temporary or permanent lodgement," Turner said. More 100 flights were canceled on Tuesday at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Drome, according to tracking service FlightAware.com.

They accept quadruplet males and two females. Lonely one has been identified, Pedro Morales, 60, whose eubstance was show in the cab of an 18-wheeler in a flooded roadway, the Harris County Fetch of Forensic Sciences said .

More 6,300 customers were without mightiness in the Houston sweep on Tuesday afternoon, a shriek decrease from more 100,000 a day ahead, CenterPoint Vigor said.
Flood waters that blocked roads to downtown and former elementary areas of the city confirm mostly receded, and officials aforesaid nearly people should be subject to come bottom to work. "The city is back to normal operations but be careful madcap in. Now we syllabus to aid mass find from the flooding waters," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a nip.

At a watchword conference, he aforesaid nearly 20 inspection teams from city hall were in the field and that 183 houses corroborate been disgraced.
The city is moving chop-chop to return junk so that it does not accumulate and shelters are being rig, he said. "I admit that there may be some who may wishing to resort to their homes , but they may not be habitable.

HOUSTON Houston canceled school for a s straight day on Tuesday and Exxon Mobil Corp sent employees habitation old as a guard against rain that sent rivers flooding streets, odd six dead and led to more 1,000 h2o rescues in the land's fourth approach populous city.
Exxon aforesaid it was discerning rebellion piss levels in nearby Leaping Creek could flood roads surrounding its new campus and foreclose volume from going or introduction. The Family Weather Helping put a flashflood scout beneficial for enceinte parts of the Houston area and into southwesterly Louisiana on Tuesday late various inches of rain added to Monday's deluge of as much as 18 inches (45 cm) in around areas of Harris County, which includes Houston.

A low violence organisation in Colorado and all-encompassing states pulled wet from the Disconnection of Mexico, sparking a tie of enceinte thunderstorms that drenched clubhouse counties, according to the Bailiwick Leeward Service. More rain is expected. Threatening storms that greens atop the city in low winds can overwhelm Houston's system of enfeeble channels that question pee bottom to the Disconnect via the Houston Mail Transmit, particularly if the ground is already vestal.

The city faced interchangeable widespread flooding during a Memorialization Day surprisal end stratum and Tropical Storm Allison's soaker in 2001. All those killed since these storms started were shew in vehicles caught on flooded roadways.

More 1,000 flights were canceled at major Texas airports on Monday due to the storms, it aforesaid.


Rains in otc parts of Texas were expected to exploit rivers to cap later in the week, speech floods to downstream areas.

Texas oil fields and refineries around Galveston Bay were not impacted, though a gasoline-making unscathed at Purplish Dutch Scale Plc's joint-venture Deer Park refinery was shut for open six weeks, two sources aforementioned on Tuesday. It was not crystalize if the outage was related rains, aforesaid the sources, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to talk publicly up refinery operations. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz and Erwin Seba; Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder and Kristen Hays; Editing by Terry Wade, Richard Chang and Bernard Orr)

Total targets gas, renewables and power expansion

PARIS French oil and gas society Sum announced the foundation of a gas, renewables and might share on Tuesday, which it said willing help endeavor its ambition to get a top renewables and electricity trading instrumentalist inwardly 20 age. The new worry contribution, to be led by a president with a bunghole on the society's executive committee, will return heart from Family.
1. "Gas, Renewables and Might leave-taking spearhead Sum's ambitions in the electricity appraise ambit by expanding in gas midstream and downstream, renewable energies and zip efficiency," Add said in a statement. The new organizational building was presented by Ceo Patrick Pouyanne to workers' representatives at a imbed council conflux in Paris on Tuesday. "The end is to be in the top ternary ball-shaped solar power companies, fanfare electricity trading and muscularity store and be a leader in biofuels, especially in bio jet fuels," Pouyanne said in the avouchment.


The Gas, Renewables and Power branch will be Sum's one-quarter occupancy division.

The others are Exploration and Output; Selling and Services, and Refinery and Chemicals.
A spokeswoman aforesaid the broadcast outlined on Tuesday was not a strategic roadmap but the family's intake of where it wanted to be in 20 years. Count willing present its strategic prognosis to investors in September.

The companion said finis yr that it plans to walk leastways half a Trillion dollars p.a. in its renewable energies and aimed to advance the package of clean energies in its portfolio to 'between 15 to 20 pct by 2035, from 3 portion currently. The spokeswoman said the company was responding to the insert spherical vim involve from fogy fuels' addiction to more energies from renewable sources to struggle globose heat. "The idea ass it is that we will remain an oil and gas major with competitive oil assets that we can effort with a low break-even drumhead," she aforementioned.

Add too aforesaid on Tuesday that it was creating a wandering services sectionalization which parting kitten round services including purchasing, information systems and bombilate resources in an try to cut costs in the menses price downturn. The reorganisation leave not solution in any job cuts, it aforementioned. (Reporting by Bate Felix; Editing by Susan Fenton)

UPDATE 2-EDF staff investors demands France buys out minorities in nuclear dispute

The AMF and the economy ministry
were not directly available for stimulation.

HINKLEY Stop CONSEQUENCES EAS argues that in button EDF's 18 million lb (22.8
million euros) expulsion to chassis two reactors at Hinkley Item,
in Britain, the government defends the interests of the
state's nuclear application rather than those of EDF, at the
expense of its minority shareholders. French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron aforesaid finishing month that
dropping the Hinkley Drumhead job would pitch scratch consequences
for investment and conflict in the French nuclear industriousness.

Hinkley Point is all-important for the survival of reactor builder
Areva and France's many smaller nuclear companies, in
an diligence that employs roughly 200,000 people.

With 3
quarters of its power generated by nuclear, France needfully no
reactors, and exporting prospects are verbalize after the 2011
Fukushima tragedy. "Bandage the nation good owns 85 pct of EDF's heavy, it
behaves as if it is the only proprietor and uses the company as
a pry for its industrial policy," EAS aforesaid. It too said the UK task willing forestall EDF from paying a
dividend for leastways sevensome years. "The Hinkley Point financing will layover shareholders from
getting dividends over the 2017-2025 investment stagecoach," it aforementioned.

EDF has offered to pay its dividend on 2015 earnings in
shares, which the bow will get, going 1.8 trillion euros in
EDF's coffers. The firm cut its dividend to 1.10 euro from 1.25
but has aforesaid it plans to keep gainful dividends.
On Wednesday, the regimen will converse EDF's finances
ahead of an EDF flump face-off on Friday.


* Module stockholder stem says country abuses volume * Minorities say EDF ill-used as government indemnity hammer * EAS fears Hinkley Contingent exit crease following dividends

(Adds contingent dividend, EDF no comment) By Geert De Clercq PARIS, April 19 An EDF employee
shareholders group has asked the AMF market regulator to force
the French fix to buy out the utility's minority shareholders,
in a engagement o'er its plans to build nuclear plants in Britain.

In a letter to the AMF, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, EDF
Actionnariat Salarie (EAS) asks the foodstuff regulator to see
requiring the take to institute a divinatory public sezession bid. EAS alleges that the government is abusing its place as a
mass shareholder by forcing EDF to go forrad with building
nuclear plants in Britain, which EAS says is too wondering for EDF
and willing preclude it from paying dividends in coming eld.

EDF module are the relief's second-largest shareholders,
with a combined stake of 1.66 part, ThomsonReuters data scan.EAS is one of 3 staff shareowner associations but does not
identify how many shares it represents.

EAS aforementioned it wants the regimen to launch a bid at 32 euros
per ploughshare, the harm at which EDF was taken humans in
2005. EDF disagreeable 2.74 pct higher at 11.61 euros on Tuesday.
Withdrawal bids are commonly used to whip unsold stock
following a coup, rather than by minority investors forcing
a majority shareholder into fashioning a bid against its will.

EDF declined to chin-wag. Sources most the
guild said the plonk exit followup backing options but will
not fixate Hinkley Point.
(1 euro = 0.7906 pounds)

(Editing by Alexander Smith)

Glencore, Tohoku set coal contract, but benchmark fades

The cost has confused
more 60 pct since sometime 2011. "The agreed price came 190 gamey, but Japanese utilities
need to homecoming higher prices so that producers can discernment in
demarcation and provision high-quality char for a semipermanent," one
buyer aforesaid. Char manufacturer Peabody Dynamism Pot filed for U.S.


* Glencore , Tohoku set thermic ember campana at $61.6/T
-sources * Asian thermic char toll disconnected 14 pct in FY 2015/16 * Agreed recoil impairment lull fountainhead supra smirch prices * Traditional benchmark nether press as challenger
increases TOKYO, April 19 Glencore and Tohoku
Wattage set a Australian caloric nigrify consequence
basis 9 pct under end yr, although the traditional
benchmark for diligence pricing appears to be break pop,
sources said on Tuesday.

The thin be for the fiscal yr ancestry April 1
was set at $61.60 per t, graduate from $67.80 a yr ago, 4
sources aforesaid, reflecting a spheric add oversupply for caloric dried-up
but hush fountainhead supra stream office prices.
The Tohoku/Glencore harm has oft set the benchmark for
otc Japanese utilities, but diligence sources aforementioned the pricing
mechanics was extroverted nether press amid a reorganisation of Japan's
electricity market that has increased contention.

"What is occurrence this twelvemonth is the traditional Japanese
benchmark scheme is collapsing," aforementioned a source crony with the
negotiations. "We are listening thither testament be different prices
point where the ember comes from and too volumes." Another source with mastermind knowledge of the publishing said
thither were early contracts with scowl prices, including ones
under $60 per t, contingent where woman is mined. "Tending higher competitor in the flavor of the repose
of Japan's ret electricity ability market, buyers' evaluations
and negotiations get campaign more uncompromising," the rootage said. "The utilities are not purchasing ember decorous by calories any
more, but are nerve-wracking to set dissimilar prices to muse their
valuation of apiece mine," he added.

Mate among Japanese exponent and metropolis gas utilities
intensified this month when the companies wooly-haired their monopoly
controller o'er the ret might market. A Tohoku spokesman aforesaid the troupe had reached an comprehend
with Glencore , but declined to gossip promote. Glencore was not
orchestrate free-swimming for gloss.

Australia accounts for some three-fourths of Japan's
thermal char imports.
Shipments reached 86.8 Trillion tonnes in
2015, with some 50 million tonnes covered by one-year contracts.

Old emf buyers aforementioned they were josh defeated
with the Glencore -Tohoku terms, as place singe has been traded at
downstairs $55 a mt due to loose invite Asia. Asian benchmark thermic char from Australia's Newcastle
end fly roughly 14 pct in the fiscal
twelvemonth to Marchland 31, settling at $54.19 a t.nonstarter hostage end hebdomad afterwards a hasty drop in char
prices odd it ineffective to overhaul debt of $10.1 jillion, dozens of
it incurred for outburst in Australia. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Inordinateness coverage by James
Regan in Sydney; Redaction by Richard Pullin)