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Emirates orders 777X but rejects A350-1000 at Dubai Airshow
Emirates Airline's President Tim Clark stated on Tuesday that he is confident in the case for Boeing to make a larger version of its 777X Wide-body Jet, but acknowledged the U.S. aircraft manufacturer was focused on certifying their current model. Clark said that there are no further plans to order aircraft at the Dubai Airshow, after his airline purchased 65 additional 777X jets Monday. He denied that an Airbus A350 1000 plane order was ever in the works. He praised the A350-900, calling it a "peach" of an airplane and said that Emirates will order more in due course. Clark reiterated his faith in the 777X, despite numerous development delays. "I believe that the 777X will work out in the end. (Reporting and writing by Tim Hepher, Ahmed Elimam, Jamie Freed).
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Cnergyico and Vitol deliver the largest single shipment of marine fuel to Pakistan
The global trading company said that the largest single shipment of low-sulfur fuel oil in Pakistan was delivered to ship refueling by Vitol Cnergyico. This will allow large vessels to refuel in Pakistan to sail longer routes, from east to western without stopping anywhere else. It will also give Pakistan a better local supply of marine fuel that is environmentally friendly. The shipment was the first batch of Cnergyico fuel to meet low-sulphur standards set by the International Maritime Organization. After importing the first U.S. crude cargoes, in August and Septembre, Cnergyico began to produce it. Vitol delivered VLSFO at Port Qasim to a vessel operated and owned by shipping giant MSC, using the bunker barge Marine Ista of Singapore. This barge has the capability to deliver 6,800 metric tonnes of marine fuel during a single delivery. The first barge that loaded fuel directly at the Oil Pier of the Karachi Port Trust, rather than by truck delivery. Vitol reports that Cnergyico continues to provide Vitol this cleaner marine fuel. Aumar Abbassciy is the director of Cnergyico Pk Limited. He said, "This initiative will enhance Pakistan's ability to provide sustainable fuel solutions for global shipping industries." According to Ammar Hussaini, Vitol’s bunker trading manager and marketing director, the new locations for Vitol bunkers in Pakistan include Karachi Port (Port Qasim), Karachi Anchorage and Port Qasim.
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Five Minutes from Autocracy: Georgia's U-turn from its Western Path
Four of the eight main opposition coalitions won seats in Georgia's Parliament just over a month ago. All but one of the eight leaders are either in prison, exiled or facing criminal charges. The ruling party wants to outright ban the main opposition groups. Many in the tiny South Caucasus nation of 3.7 millions have been shocked by the slide towards one-party rule. Georgia was a democratic country that appeared to be on the rise in the years after the fall of the Soviet Union. It seemed poised to join the EU, and escape Russia's influence. Brussels' assessment, however, says that it is now further away from the West today than ever before in its post-Soviet past. It describes its democratic institutions and courts as being under the thumb of state. In a report published this month, the EU stated that Georgia is now a candidate to join "in name only". The EU ambassador to Tbilisi stated that Georgia is no longer a candidate for membership in the EU. Senior Georgian politicians and diplomats who were interviewed about recent events said that it appeared as though Georgia was close to a point beyond which it would be difficult for democracy to recover. "We are five minutes from a one-party dictatorship," Sergi Kapanadze said, a former vice foreign minister and deputy speaker of the parliamentary until 2020. "DEMOCRATISATION MEANS YOU WILL LOSE THE POWER AT SOME POINT" Natalie Sabanadze said that despite decades of sometimes caustic internal political disputes, there was always a political consensus in Georgia that it belongs to the West. This has now been lost. She said that the Georgian Dream Party, the ruling party, knows that democratisation - which the EU requires - means accepting the fact that you will eventually lose power. "They don’t want that. They are building an authoritarian system. Georgian Dream claims it protects the country against opposition figures that are attempting to seize control and incite a war with Russia. The fear became tangible after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. This evoked memories of Russian tanks rolling through the suburbs in Tbilisi, in an embarrassing defeat by Moscow during a short war in 2008. Nino Tsilosani is a lawmaker from the ruling party who serves as deputy speaker of parliament. He said, "Georgia has a unique peace within a geopolitical area that's very challenging." "What businesses and investors need is stability." She accused opposition politicians in jail of plotting a coup. The opposition parties deny these accusations as fabrications to justify a crackdown. Bidzina ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of Georgian Dream, is portrayed by opponents as the cause of the shift to authoritarianism. Some accuse him to be in league with Russia where he made his fortune in 1990s. Gia Khukhashvili who was Ivanishvili’s top advisor and helped launch the party before parting ways with him in 2013 said that it is wrong to see his former boss as being subservient towards Moscow. Ivanishvili, however, sees only a "coincidence" of interests between the two countries. "He knows that he will need an older brother in this ocean full of sharks. Who is the elder brother? "It can only be Russia," Khukhashvili replied. ECONOMY TAKES A TURN TOWARDS RUSSIA AND CHINA Georgia, strategically located on the Black Sea, is a region that's crossed by oil and natural gas pipelines. In theory, this could play a key role in the West’s plan to divert energy and trade away from Russia. Georgia's rapid growth was fueled by its investor-friendly policies and political shift towards the West. This openness is now rapidly reversing, with foreign direct investments falling in the last two years to levels not seen since the early 2000s. The economy has remained stable, thanks to a flood of Russian IT workers and businesses into Georgia following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. The World Bank predicts that Georgia's GDP will grow by 7% in this year after growing 9.4% in last year. Construction of a deep water port on the Black Sea, a key transit hub between Asia and Europe, has been largely stalled after a Western-led group was kicked out of the project. Since then, a Chinese company won the contract. However, progress in building the port is minimal. Georgia imports 45% of the oil it uses from Russia. This is up from 8% in 2012. Tbilisi has no diplomatic relations with Moscow. Former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly said that the West could have done much more to strengthen ties with Tbilisi. He said, "We're blowing this." "Georgia opened the door to Russia and China." SPEED CHESS Georgian Dream, in recent weeks has taken a number of measures to eliminate any remaining political dissension. The Constitutional Court is preparing to ban three of the main opposition parties. Meanwhile, new criminal charges brought against nine opposition figures, including the jailed former president Mikheil Saakashvili, will keep potential opponents behind bars for many years. Recently, criminal charges have been filed against former Georgian Dream founder Ivanishvili and senior government ministers. The government is moving so fast that Kapanadze (the former deputy speaker) compared the situation to a game of "speed chess", where the opposition is trying to avoid checkmate and hoping that the government will make tactical mistakes. The arrests of political activists at the nightly protests against the government outside parliament keeps them in a state of fear, despair and resignation. Dozens of people are in prison or have been fined after blocking the road. "Georgia is gone, not only from the European table but also from the world stage," said Grigol Gegelia, a member of the Lelo Party, which faces a ban. "We are losing the country." Reporting by Lucy Papachristou, Editing by Peter Graff
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Alaska Airlines ex-pilot avoids extra jail time after mid-flight sabotage.
A U.S. Judge ruled Monday that an Alaska Airlines pilot, who attempted to disable the engine of a passenger plane mid-flight when riding off duty in the cockpit, will not be sentenced to additional prison time. Joseph David Emerson (46), was sentenced to three years of supervision and time served by U.S. district judge Amy Baggio, in Portland, Oregon. The federal prosecutors sought an one-year sentence, but Emerson's lawyers argued in favor of probation, citing the penalties already imposed by a state court. The incident took place on October 22, 2023 aboard Horizon Air Flight 2059. This Embraer 175 was operated by Alaska Airlines and flew from Everett in Washington to San Francisco. According to federal prosecutors, Emerson was sitting in the cockpit jump-seat when he reached up and grabbed two red fire suppression handles. He then began to pull them down. This would have stopped fuel from reaching the plane's engine. The pilots on duty successfully restrained the man, and a safe landing was made in Portland with 84 passengers on board. In court documents, Emerson claimed that he hadn't slept in 48 hours and had taken psychedelic mushroom two days before. He believed he dreamed and was trying to wake up. He said that he was also grieving the death of a friend and going through a mental crisis. According to court documents and prosecutors, Emerson entered a guilty plea to a federal charge for interfering with the flight crew in September. He also entered a no contest plea to charges brought by the state of endangering a plane and 83 counts reckless endangerment. Before Monday's sentence, Emerson's lawyer told the court that he spent 46 days in pre-trial detention. The lawyer said that Emerson's 46-day jail sentence was "impactful, cathartic and punishing." "He will not be able expunge the conviction." A state court sentenced him also to five years of probation, 664 community service hours, and approximately $60,000 in restitution. The majority was to Alaska Air Group. The case has increased scrutiny over cockpit access regulations and renewed calls for better mental health support for Pilots. The Federal Aviation Administration’s mental health panel released 24 recommendations in response to these concerns last year. These included non-punitive disclosure paths, revised reporting requirements and improved return-to work processes. The U.S. House of Representatives adopted legislation in September 2025 requiring that the FAA adopt these measures and overhaul its rules for medical certification. (Reporting and editing by Edwina G. Gibbs; Rajesh Kumar Singh)
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Google's Indian Ocean data hub spurs renewable energy on tiny Christmas Island
Christmas Island, Australia's isolated Indian Ocean outpost, has enough electricity to support a Google data centre, without depriving the locals. However, its arrival could lead to a push towards renewable energy, said the island's largest employer and the technology giant. Alphabet’s Google confirmed a report on Monday that it would build a data center on the tiny, uninhabited island situated 350 km south of Indonesia. The company said that it would build a subsea data cable connecting Christmas Island with the Maldives, Oman and two new hubs in order to "deepen resilience of the internet infrastructure within the Indian Ocean Region". Nicholas Gan, chief executive of Phosphate Resources, has said that there is enough power for the moment to supply the needs of the locals, phosphate mine, and data centre. The phosphate firm, which employs about half of the 1,600 people on the island, imports diesel for a generator that powers the mine, and also meets the needs of the Australian Defence Force. Gan stated that the power grid could easily supply Google's and our needs. He said that reopening the detention centre on the island for asylum seekers, or a closed resort, would strain the capacity. Google's arrival, he added, would support the argument for switching to renewable energies, which are cheaper than diesel imports. Australia's Infrastructure Department is in talks with Google to make sure that its energy needs are met, without affecting the supply of Christmas Island residents and businesses. BOOM BUST CYCLE REMOTE ISLAND Previous reports have indicated that two more Google subsea cable projects, which will stretch eastward from Christmas Island, will land close to key Australian military bases. According to military experts, such a facility would be useful for AI drones monitoring Chinese submarine activity. Google announced that the data centre on the island would be smaller than other Google data centers, and would share its digital technology with local users. Google said that the power needed for a hub of connectivity can be quite high in some locations. In these cases, Google will use its power consumption to help accelerate local investments in renewable energy. Gan, a member of the island’s economic future group, said that Google’s project would bring economic activity to a 1,600 km island from Australia’s mainland, which has exhibited boom-and-bust cycles in its history, and was facing "the last mining era". Australian Parliament records reveal that Australia and Russia had planned to build on Christmas Island a commercial spaceport about 23 years ago. However, the project was halted by Indonesia due to concerns and never opened. Records show that a casino which opened in 1993 and attracted high rollers from Jakarta arriving on private jets, but closed five year later due to the Asian economic recession. The island was dominated by a detention center for asylum seekers who tried to reach Australia via boat for 20 years, until Australia's new immigration policy led to its largely emptying in 2023. (Reporting and editing by SonaliPaul in Sydney, Kirsty needham from Sydney)
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BP restores a part of Olympic Pipeline following Washington leak
BP responded to a leak of refined products in the Olympic Pipeline System, east of Everett Washington, by partially restoring part of the system. After the Sunday discharge, Olympic, a BP-owned company, shut down its pipelines. Two pipelines are part of the system. The company reported that the segment of the pipeline system not affected by the problem was restored Sunday. This allowed the product to be delivered on this line. BP stated that the incident was still being investigated. Olympic Pipeline, a 400-mile system of pipelines that transports fuels between northern Washington and Oregon. The pipeline transports refined petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel, and supplies jet fuel at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. A spokesperson for Sea-Tac said that the incident did not affect the operations at the airport and that the airport was well-stocked with fuel to handle the situation. (Reporting and editing by Lincoln Feast in New York, Nicole Jao reported from New York)
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Venture Global plans to double the capacity of Plaquemines LNG plant
Venture Global announced on Monday that it has asked the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to allow the company to more than double its Plaquemines liquefied gas export facility, which is currently under construction in Louisiana. The company is looking to increase the LNG capacity by 30 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa), in addition to the 28 mtpa previously approved. Plaquemines, the second largest LNG facility in the U.S., was responsible last month for 22% total exports out of the country. Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel stated in a press release that "our decision to increase the project's allowed capacity significantly reflects the strong demand we continue see on the market and this expansion will be vital in meeting that need." The company's proposed expansion will allow it to produce more than 100 million mtpa and compete with QatarEnergy, Cheniere and other LNG exporters around the world. Venture Global, a startup just three years earlier, quickly became the U.S.'s second largest LNG exporter. Its business model allows it to export cargoes even while construction and commissioning are underway. This strategy allowed the company profit from higher spot prices before it began supplying customers on a longer-term basis. However, the practice also led to arbitration cases and lawsuits by customers including some of the largest energy companies in the world. The company stated that the expansion of Plaquemines will be constructed in three phases, and comprise 32 modular liquefaction train. Venture Global said it has also submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Energy requesting export authorizations for the planned additional capacity. Curtis Williams reported from Houston, and Nathan Crooks edited the story.
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Archer Aviation will supply electric powertrain for Anduril and EDGE drones
Archer Aviation announced on Monday that it would supply the electric powertrain of the Omen autonomous aircraft, which is being developed by U.S. Defense Technology firm Anduril Industries in collaboration with UAE-based EDGE Group. Archer has signed its first agreement with a third party to use its powertrain. This is currently used on its Midnight eVTOL (electric vertical take-off-and-landing) aircraft. The deal also introduces a revenue stream for Archer. United Arab Emirates has committed to buy 50 units of Omen, an autonomous hover-to-cruise aircraft. Archer's Powertrain, including a proprietary battery system and electric engine, is produced at its U.S.-based facilities. Companies in the air taxi sector are exploring the defense and logistical applications to diversify commercial opportunities. Adam Goldstein, CEO of Archer and founder of the Midnight eVTOL, said: "While many see Midnight as an aircraft or a vehicle, we see it as a platform for a variety new and exciting technologies in aerospace that will be used far beyond our aircraft." He said that the Anduril partnership is expected to be just the beginning of many partnerships. The announcement of the deal on the sidelines the Dubai Air Show follows a series of international partnerships that Archer has made, including agreements with South Korea and Japan for the deployment of its Midnight aircraft to urban air mobility programs. (Reporting and editing by Vijay Kishore in Bengaluru, with Shivansh Tiwary from Bengaluru)
Maguire: China's battery exports are at new heights.
China's exports have reached a new record for 2025. They are up 24% compared to the previous year in the first nine month of the year.
Ember, an energy think tank, shows that batteries have been China's top clean energy export since mid-2022. This year, they have generated export revenues of about $60 billion for the country.
This is a significant increase in exports of electric vehicles, grid components and renewable energy infrastructure.
China is a global leader in the manufacturing and export of battery technology. It is also benefiting from a boom in worldwide demand for batteries that are used in EVs or power networks.
Here is a list of top markets for China’s battery exports. These are expected to continue growing in most major markets by 2026.
WIDE SPAN
In 2025, 23 different countries have purchased batteries made in China worth $500 million or higher. This shows the reach and profitability of the battery export market.
Germany has been the largest market for China's battery sales so far in 2025. Sales of $10.5 billion have been recorded in just September.
The top battery customers in Germany include the leading car manufacturers, such as Volkswagen and BMW, as well as grid operators who are expanding Germany's BESS network.
Vietnam ($3.6 billion) and the United States ($9.3 billion) are the two next biggest markets for China's battery products.
Germany also saw the biggest annual increase in the purchase of China's battery this year. Receipts were up by $2.5 Billion compared to 2024.
The Netherlands, Australia, and India all saw steep increases in their imports year over year. Each country has spent more than $1 billion in 2025 as compared to the previous year.
RAPID GROWTH
Europe has been the number one destination for China's batteries exports in recent years, accounting for 42 percent of total China battery exports.
Asia has the second largest market with 26% of all sales in 2025. North America is next (with 17%).
The Middle East and Latin America, however, have seen the highest growth rates in 2025. They posted 107% and 99% increases respectively compared to last year.
Battery exports from Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's biggest battery buyer, are nearly fourfold higher than in 2024. Meanwhile, Chile is Latin America's number one buyer and has seen a 320% increase in imports since 2024.
Oceania, primarily driven by Australia, and Africa, mainly driven by Nigeria, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo, have both seen rapid growth in 2025.
CRITICAL MASS
China's battery exporters are enjoying rapid growth in a number of countries outside of those noted above. These markets will continue to be a lucrative market for battery sellers.
Spain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Pakistan, Mexico, and The Philippines are all countries with ambitious plans for solar energy generation and electric vehicles, which heavily depend on batteries.
China's extensive distribution and services networks in these countries will ensure that further sales are possible.
Greece, Egypt and Italy are also fast-growing markets. Each of these countries has seen its sales exceed $100 million this year. They look set to continue being promising destinations for the growth of EVs and energy batteries systems.
The United States is one of the few countries that has seen a decline in China battery imports in 2018. It is involved in a trade dispute with China and has reduced federal support for EVs.
In total, 114 countries and territories have bought Chinese batteries worth $10 million or higher in 2025. This has given China a significant sales outlet to distribute its leading battery sector.
China is likely to remain the main supplier of EV and BESS battery for many years.
These are the opinions of the columnist, an author for.
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(source: Reuters)