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Zelenskiy talks to Trump and Europe about a peace agreement as Russia launches missiles at Kyiv
Local authorities said that Russia had launched missiles at Kyiv on Thursday. They urged the residents to seek shelter after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with Donald Trump, U.S. president, and European leaders. Witnesses heard explosions near Kyiv. Authorities in the northeastern Ukrainian town of Sumy reported that one person had been killed by a drone. Air strike alerts were issued across most of Ukraine. The enemy has launched ballistic missiles at the capital. "Stay in safe places until the air-raid alert is over!" Tymur Tkachenko said this in an early Thursday Telegram post. Zelenskiy claimed that he spoke to Macron and Trump in France after meeting with other leaders at a Group of Seven gathering. He called it a "coordinating discussion" to try and end the?more than four-year Russian war on Ukraine. This is the second air strike by Russia in a week. The Russian attack on Monday severely damaged a 1,000-year old monastery, which symbolizes Ukraine's cultural and spiritual heritage. It killed ten people and was condemned by European leaders. Trump claimed on Wednesday that Russia is losing more soldiers than Ukraine. He said this after suggesting that Zelenskiy and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, seemed willing to do something about the conflict. The Kremlin announced this week that Putin did not discuss the possibility of meeting Zelenskiy during his last phone call with Trump. Russia has been saying that Ukraine was the one who lost. Maksim Pukhov, the mayor of Enerhodar in Ukraine, said that Ukrainian strikes had killed and injured one person. Local officials in Russia's border region of Belgorod claim that a Ukrainian drone struck killed a man driving his car. On Wednesday, Moscow accused Ukraine of?attacking? a bus with Belarusian children, an accusation that Kyiv called "false". The reports could not be independently verified. Both Russia and Ukraine have denied that they deliberately targeted civilians during the war which began with Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2020. (Reporting and editing by Nia William and Neil Fullick; Reporting by Jekaterina Glubkova, Ron Popeski)
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KKR invests $1.4 billion in aircraft leasing and targets airlines, Boeing, and Airbus
Private equity firm KKR announced a new $1.4 billion bet on aircraft lease with a partner Altavair on Wednesday, as Airbus and Boeing continue to struggle with a lack of planes. Private equity firms and leasing companies are playing a greater role in financing aircraft purchases. This is because airlines are facing rising costs, recovering travel demand and limited aircraft supply. About half of the world's fleet is now leased, or rented. KKR has invested more than 12 billion dollars in aviation since 2015. Altavair is a company that focuses on the acquisition of new and used aircraft, and then leasing them to passenger and cargo carriers worldwide. A person familiar with the transaction stated that the majority of capital was still available to be allocated. This will take place over the next 4 years. KKR intends to purchase aircraft directly from airlines that are looking to release cash as well as from manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing, and via secondary market transactions. The deals involve leasing aircraft to airlines under long-term contracts. This allows them to continue operating their fleets while raising cash. The company is focused on long-term leasing with established airlines and freight operators, rather than distressed or bankruptcy cases, such as Spirit Airlines which ceased operation in May after failing?to secure support for a government bailout program, according to the source. Since 2018, KKR and Altavair have acquired 188 aircrafts and engines and leased them out to 67 airlines and cargo customers around the world. The person stated that fuel price volatility and geopolitical tensions had a limited impact on these investments in the near term, as leases are typically for 5-10 years, with predictable cash flow. KKR backed previous fleet transactions, including a 2020 deal that saw the company lease Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s back to Etihad Airways as part of its strategy for fleet transition. (Reporting and editing by Stephen Coates; Sabrina Valle)
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Congress will hold an hearing on US airline regulation and competition
The House of Representatives will hold an hearing on June 24 to discuss 'the state of U.S. airlines competition and regulation following the collapse of low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines last month. The?subcommittee of the House Judiciary that oversees antitrust matters will hold an hearing entitled "The 30,000-Foot View: Competition and Regulation in America." Airline Industry." The CEO of Airlines for America, Chris Sununu, is expected to give testimony at the hearing. Republicans will likely use the hearing as an opportunity to claim that the Biden administration failed to protect jobs through its airline competition policies, while Democrats are going to seize the Trump administration's efforts to rollback?aviation consumer-protection measures and to void airline penalties for misconduct issued by Biden. Spirit Airlines collapsed on?May, after President Donald Trump proposed $500 million in order to save Spirit Airlines despite the opposition of some of his closest advisors and many Republicans in Congress. Despite the intense efforts of the Trump?administration, creditors rejected the deal. About 15,000 Spirit employees and contractors lost their jobs as a result of the collapse. Biden officials have rejected this claim. The Trump administration believes that the former administration of Joe Biden blocked a merger between JetBlue Airways in 2024 and Spirit. Spirit had twice filed for bankruptcy in a single year, and it had not turned a profit since the beginning of 2019. USDOT announced this week that it had 'closed its investigation into the July 2024 Delta Air Lines meltdown, which disrupted the travel plans of over 1.3 million passengers. Last year, USDOT waived a $11 million fine against Southwest Airlines for a December 2022 meltdown, during a busy travel season. In May, the Federal Aviation Administration closed its investigation of airlines that failed to comply with required flight reductions at?40 airports major during the '2025 shutdown government without seeking any fines. USDOT retracted a proposal under Biden in November that would have required airlines to compensate passengers with cash when they are responsible for U.S. flights being disrupted.
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Kyiv denies that Russia has attacked a school bus with children on board.
Russia has accused Ukraine of launching a drone strike that killed a Belarusian bus full of schoolchildren, an accusation which the Ukrainian military says is "false". Yegor Kovalchuk is the acting governor of Russia's Bryansk Region, which borders Ukraine. He said that the bus was carrying a Belarusian children's soccer club to southern Russia for a vacation. Kovalchuk wrote on Telegram that he visited the injured and described the incident as "a completely deliberate strike against civilian transport on a busy road". The Russian Foreign Ministry called the attack "another horrific crime" and said that a woman who was with the children died, while eight others, including six children were injured. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, "the Defence Forces of Ukraine have not used unmanned aerial vehicles in Bryansk Oblast during the specified period." I was unable to verify the report. Both sides deny targeting civilians. Alexander Khodzhayev of the Belarusian Ministry of Health, as quoted by Belta (the state news agency), said that two people, an older adult and a young child, are in a serious condition. He stated that Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko issued an order to airlift back all injured Belarusian citizens. Belarus's Foreign Ministry stated that it demanded "complete" explanations from Ukraine about the incident. Kovalchuk posted pictures online of a bus that had some of its windows blown out. Its front right tyre was damaged, and some seats appeared to have blood stains. Investigators in Russia opened a terrorism probe and said that the bus was carrying 44 passengers including 28 children. The bus was traveling from Gomel, Belarus, to Gelendzhik, Russia. Russia has accused Ukraine of a drone attack this month on a bus that it claimed killed eight civilians in eastern Ukraine in an area controlled by Russia. Since the beginning of its 'war in Ukraine', Russia has been regularly attacking Ukrainian cities and towns such as Kyiv. Kyiv has increased drone attacks on Russia over the past few months in an effort to weaken Moscow’s economy and bring an end to a conflict in which thousands have died. (Reporting and editing by Andrew Osborn, Kyiv buro and Ron Popeski)
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Germany's Bosch will pay U.S. $36 million for shipments made to China's Huawei
The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Wednesday that Robert Bosch, a German technology company, had agreed to pay $36 Million in restitution for the shipment of over $70 Million worth of'sensor products' and'software for cell phone sytems?to Huawei. Huawei is listed on a U.S. blacklist of companies that do not allow the sale of certain items produced abroad that use U.S. technology. According to a settlement agreement signed between the Commerce Department, and Bosch, two?non U.S. Bosch subsidiary exported the goods and the software on more than 100 occasions between 2020 and 2024 without a licence. Bosch stated in a statement that the violations were "unintentional". The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to close its investigation into the matter and said it would not prosecute the company that self-reported the misconduct. In a press release, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg stated that "this declination reflects clear benefits to companies who promptly disclose potential violations" and fully cooperate with our investigations. Bosch has agreed to pay the Justice Department profits from transactions in question. Authorities said that the 'company' will receive credit for the Justice Department payment in the $36 Million Commerce Department settlement. Bosch is a global technology and service company headquartered in Stuttgart. It has nearly 500 subsidiaries and will generate approximately $90 billion of revenue annually by 2024. Bosch stated in its statement that it has enhanced its compliance program for future violations. (Reporting and editing by Karen Freifeld)
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Tropical Storm Arthur forms near Texas Coast, with life-threatening floods expected
The U.S. National Hurricane Center announced on Wednesday that Tropical Storm?Arthur?formed off the Texas coast. It is expected to cause life-threatening floods in parts of the Southeastern U.S. The first named system for the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season was about 40 miles east-northeast from Port O'Connor in Texas on Wednesday morning. It produced maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h. Tropical storm warnings are in effect from High Island, Texas to Morgan City, Louisiana. This is an important energy corridor, which includes major refineries, liquefied gas processing facilities, and other key energy infrastructure around Port Arthur and Lake Charles. Earth Science Associates COO Tony Dupont said that an Earth Science Associates model, based on previous storms, predicts that "around 10,000 barrels" of oil may be lost due to shut-ins offshore platforms along the storm's path. In an email response, he explained that "part of the past losses were due to the 'overabundance of caution for personnel, other dangers and the weather forecast model. For the current storm, we haven’t seen these actions so the forecast is more likely to be low." Gulf Coast refinery region, which runs from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Pascagoula in Mississippi, has around half the total U.S. capacity of 18.4 millions barrels per day. According to Motiva Enterprises, the Saudi Aramco owned Port Arthur, Texas plant has a throughput of 730,000 bpd. Exxon Mobil in Beaumont, Texas is another major Gulf Coast refinery that could be in the path of the storm. Cheniere, Venture Global and other LNG giants have also built major?liquefaction plants along the coast. Exxon Mobil Motiva Enterprises Cheniere Venture Global and Cheniere did not respond immediately to requests for comments about storm preparations. Arthur will produce rainfall totals between 5 and 10 inches. The Miami-based NHC stated that isolated higher totals of 20 inches were expected to continue through Friday, from the Mid- and Upper-Texas coast east-northeast, into the southern and central parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, as well as the?western portions Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. Alex DaSilva, AccuWeather's Hurricane Expert, said that "very heavy rain is expected across southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi where there can be life-threatening floods, before spreading northeastward to the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida Panhandle." AccuWeather predicts significant rain to continue through Friday in the Southeast. The zone of highest risk will move from Louisiana and Texas to Georgia on Friday. Reporting by Anjana Anil in Bengaluru and Ashitha Shivprasad; editing by Mark Porter, Nathan Crooks, and Aurora Ellis
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CNBC reports that JetBlue will reduce its Newark and LaGuardia services.
JetBlue Airways will close its 'flight attendant' base in New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport, as well as its 'tech operations' bases at the airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York this fall. CNBC reported. The report said that the move was part of an effort to reduce costs and improve service at Florida's Fort Lauderdale airport. JetBlue is a major carrier in the area, which is a lucrative hub. According to the company's annual report, JetBlue had a 13% market share for airline seats in?five airports of the New York metropolitan area, including Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK. According to CNBC, the airline said that staff would not lose their jobs if operations were stopped; they could instead "bid or move to other bases". JetBlue announced plans earlier this year to reduce?hiring and?cut the capacity of its flights, as well as to raise fares, to help ease the impact of soaring jet fuel prices that threatened to halt the carrier's turnaround efforts. The company said, however, that it would continue to expand?in South Florida by leveraging the?increased availability of gates in this region. (Reporting and editing by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru, Nandan Mandayam)
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US and Europe close to approval of Boeing 737 MAX 7, 10, airplanes
Europe and the U.S. Both Europe and the?U.S. On Wednesday, an aviation official confirmed the news. Chris Rocheleau, Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), said that the FAA is in the final stages certifying both the MAX 7 and the MAX 10, the smaller one. At a recent safety conference, the Executive Director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency Florian Guillermet stated that validating the MAX 10 is the top priority for his agency. Guillermet stated at the forum that "we are making good progress in the final closure?of the last action." "It's great that we can close this?in the next period because then we will be able turn the page, and move forward." He told reporters, "We haven't got many obstacles or major milestones." It's the last step of the process. According to the current schedule, it's "very, very intensive" to process all of the?relevant documentation. Rocheleau, FAA's Rocheleau, told reporters at the event that most of the remaining MAX certification is "crossing t's and dotting i's." The FAA "is making sure there's a level of comfort between our two authorities and our two certification offices - that this is ready for flight." Rocheleau believes that EASA will either validate FAA certification for the MAX planes at the same time or very shortly after. Rocheleau stated that "we're in a great place." FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated last month that he expects the MAX 7 will be certified by the summer, and the MAX 10 before the end the year. The MAX 7 is a shortened version of the MAX 8 and 9 which are already in service. These aircraft have accumulated thousands of flight hours. Boeing has faced delays with the certification of 7 and 10 aircraft due to an engine de-icing problem. The relationship between EASA and FAA deteriorated after the fatal Boeing 737 MAX crash in 2018 and 2019. This was attributed to faulty software and inadequate oversight. Rocheleau stated that the FAA and EASA were working on a data sharing agreement to improve certification and risk management. (Reporting and editing by David Shepardson)
Zelenskiy talks to Trump and Europe about a peace agreement as Russia launches missiles at Kyiv
Local authorities said that Russia had attacked Kyiv on Thursday with'missiles'. They urged residents to seek shelter after President Volodymyrzelenskiy met with Donald Trump, the U.S. president, and European leaders.
Witnesses heard explosions in Kyiv. Authorities in the northeastern Ukrainian town of Sumy reported that one person had been killed in a drone strike. Air strike alerts were also issued for much of Ukraine.
The enemy has launched ballistic missiles at the capital. "Stay in a safe place until the air-raid alert has ended!" Tymur Tkachenko said this in a Telegram message posted early Thursday morning.
Zelenskiy told reporters that he spoke to Macron and Trump in France after meeting with other leaders at a Group of Seven gathering. He called it a "coordinating discussion" to try and?end the over four-year-long war between Russia and Ukraine.
This is the second air strike by Russia in a week. The Russian attack on a 1,000-year old monastery, which represents Ukraine's cultural and spiritual heritage, resulted in the destruction of this symbol.
Trump claimed on Wednesday that Russia is losing more soldiers than Ukraine. He said this after suggesting that Zelenskiy and Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, seemed willing to do something about the conflict.
The Kremlin announced this week that Putin did not discuss the possibility of meeting Zelenskiy during his last phone call with Trump. Russia has been saying that Ukraine was the one who lost.
Maksim Pukhov, the mayor of Enerhodar in Ukraine, where the majority of staff at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant owned by Russia?lives, said on Telegram, that Ukrainian strikes had killed one person and injured four.
Local officials in Russia's border region of Belgorod claim that a Ukrainian drone struck killed a man driving his car. On Wednesday, Moscow accused Ukraine of?attacking? a bus with Belarusian children, a charge that Kyiv called "false".
The reports could not be independently verified.
Both Russia and Ukraine have denied that they deliberately targeted civilians during the war which began with Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2020. (Reporting and editing by Nia William and Neil Fullick; Reporting by Jekaterina Glubkova, Ron Popeski)
(source: Reuters)