Latest News
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Marseille Airport closed due to high winds that fan fires in Southern France
Marseille Provence Airport was closed on Tuesday due to a fast-moving fire in southern France. The fire, which is being fanned up by 70 kilometres an hour winds, has impacted travel at the beginning of the French summer holiday period. On X, the local fire service reported that 168 firefighters were deployed to combat the fire of 30 hectares north of Marseille, France’s second-largest town. Also, helicopters and fire engines were used. The Provence-Alpes -Cote d'Azur Prefecture announced on X that "At this time, the population must remain in residential areas." Close shutters and doors. Keep your property free for emergency services. Do not drive on roads. BFM TV, citing interviews of locals, reported that high winds forced evacuations in Les Pennes-Mirabeau. On-air journalists and trees were buffeted by the winds. A spokesperson from Marseille airport confirmed that flights were diverted to Nice and Nimes. The airport's reopening date is not yet known. A resident reported that smoke was covering some parts of Marseille as a result of a fire in the center of the city. Marseille Municipality said that the fire was spreading. Avoid all outdoor activities, and don't block emergency access routes. "Follow instructions and alert messages." A wildfire which started in southwest France near Narbonne on Monday is still active and being fanned with winds of 60 km/h. The local prefecture reported that 2,000 hectares of land have been burned at this point. (Reporting and writing by Sudip K-Gupta, Dominique Vidalon and Ingrid Melander. Editing and revision by Andrew Heavens Richard Lough Mark Porter.
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Italy seizes $51 Million from Rhenus Group Unit in Labour Supply Probe
Documents from the prosecutor's office showed that Italian tax police seized $43.5 million ($51 million) in cash from Rhenus Logistics Group, Rhenus' local unit. This was part of an investigation into allegations of tax fraud and illegal labor practices. Milan prosecutors launched a series formal investigations against Italy's delivery and logistics firms. They targeted the local units for major companies such as FedEx, Amazon, GLS, and DHL. According to a 199 page decree, the investigation accuses Rhenus Logistics Spa, of issuing fake invoices, and bypassing tax and labour laws in order to avoid paying tax and social insurance payments. The allegations span the years 2019 through 2024. The prosecutors are yet to request an indictment. Rhenus Logistics SpA did not respond immediately to A comment. Rhenus Logistics Spa, a member of Rhenus Group (Europe's largest logistics service provider with annual revenues exceeding 8.2 billion Euros), is a company that provides services in the field of logistics. It has 41,000 employees in 1,330 offices around the world. Prosecutors allege that Rhenus Logistics Spa used intermediaries to use "fake contracts for the provision services" with cooperatives, limited liability companies, and other low-cost labour providers, and then filed false tax returns. They wrote that this business model has been used in the sector in Italy for many years, if no more than a decade, and "facilitates exploitation of employees and results in unfair competitiveness." In recent years, the Italian authorities have examined over a dozen logistics and delivery groups for their labor practices. They issued seizure orders worth more than 650 millions euros, including all of the most recent confiscations. Milan's prosecutors stated that based on the data of the National Social Security Institute they were forced to regularise more than 49,900 workers over the past four years. The renewal of the national logistics contract signed in December last year contained new rules to stamp out illegal practices. The prosecutors stated in their decree that "without substantial change to the business policy adopted by key players in the industry, it appears likely that the new rules will be effectively ignored." Reporting by Emilio Parodi, Editing by Joe Bavier. $1 = 0.8528 Euros
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Honeywell will review options for two businesses before 2026 split
Honeywell announced on Tuesday that it will evaluate strategic alternatives for the two businesses that serve the transportation industry and logistics as the industrial giant prepares to split into three. The company has been reorganizing its operations. It is expected that the division of the company into aerospace, automation, and advanced materials will be completed by next year. Honeywell said that its review of its "Productivity Solutions and Service" and "Warehouse and Workflow Solutions" businesses was to simplify its portfolio in advance of the separation. Honeywell says that the two units will generate more than $1 billion in revenue each by 2024. They include products like barcode scanners and printing solutions as well as conveyors, warehouse automation tools, and others. Marc Steinberg, a director at Elliott Investment Management, was added to the Charlotte-based industrial company's board in May ahead of the split. Honeywell Process Automation has also named Jim Masso its president and CEO, effective July 14. (Reporting and editing by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru, Aishwarya Jain from Bengaluru)
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Report reveals the human suffering caused by UK Post Office scandal
A public inquiry into Britain’s Post Office IT Scandal revealed on Tuesday that six postal workers committed suicide, while others fell seriously ill or declared bankrupt. The report also revealed the impact of this scandal on over 1,000 sub-postmasters. State-owned Post Office pursued Branch Managers for losses on their accounts due to flaws in a computer system between 2000 and 2013, leading to about 1,000 of them being found guilty in one of the biggest injustices of the country. ITV's dramatization of the managers' campaign, "Mr Bates Vs. the Post Office", last year sparked outrage and led to legislation exonerating those convicted. Wyn Williams, the chair of the public inquiry, said that he was satisfied Post Office executives were aware, or should have been aware, that Fujitsu's IT system was prone to error, but maintained that it was accurate. In the first volume, he called for immediate action to ensure that all compensation is paid. Williams said that it was difficult to determine the exact number of people affected, but he estimated there were approximately 10,000 eligible claimants under four compensation schemes. Williams outlined 17 first-hand stories, ranging from people who were wrongly held responsible for small amounts to those who fell seriously ill, were driven to despair, or committed suicide. In 2013, Martin Griffiths' contract was terminated due to a shortfall in his account. He deliberately walked into a bus and suffered multiple injuries, which led to his death. The 162-page report said that other people suffered from mental and physical illnesses, bankruptcy, and relationship breakdowns. Williams suggested free legal advice and compensation for family. He also recommended a commitment to "full and just" compensation. (Reporting and editing by Sachin Ravikumar; Reporting by Paul Sandle)
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Bergamo Airport in Italy temporarily closed due to runway failure
The Italian Bergamo Airport, which provides low-cost airline services to and from Milan, was closed temporarily on Tuesday following the death of a man on a runway while preparing for takeoff. The airport announced that flight operations had been suspended between 1020 and 12 local time (820-1000 GMT), "due a problem which occurred on the taxiway", adding that authorities were investigating the incident. A spokesperson confirmed the death of a man, but added that he wasn't a passenger or airport staff member. ANSA reports that the man died after being sucked into the engine of the Volotea plane. The Italian press office of the Spanish low-cost carrier was not available to comment immediately. Bergamo Police also had no immediate comments.
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Source: Top Turkish officials will visit Pakistan on Wednesday
A Turkish diplomatic source confirmed on Tuesday that the Turkish foreign and defense ministers would visit Pakistan on March 13 to meet with Prime Minister Shehbaz Shariff and discuss bilateral relations, regional issues and cooperation in the defence industry. The Turkish government has close ties to Pakistan, and it expressed its solidarity with Pakistan during the conflict between India and Pakistan in May. This angered India. Sources said that Hakan Fidan, Turkey's Foreign Minister, will visit Ankara to express the desire of the country to strengthen ties across all fields and offer Ankara its support for taking steps towards regional peace. Fidan will emphasize the need for countries to "intensify their cooperation in defence industry", the source said. Ankara has also enjoyed cordial relations with India. However, after India's support for Pakistan small Indian grocery stores and major online fashion retailers have boycotted Turkish goods, while New Delhi cancelled the clearance of Celebi, a Turkish aviation service provider, due to "national security" concerns.
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Italy pulls stamps featuring South Tyrol because of missing German text
The Italian government has pulled two stamps that depicted natural landmarks in the bilingual province of South Tyrol, located in the north, due to the lack of German inscriptions. A spokesman from the ministry of industry said that although stamps were to be released on Tuesday, they were pulled before going on sale. In a statement the ministry called it "an anomaly" and ordered both an investigation and a bilingual version. The ministry has also taken down the website that displayed the stamps in question. South Tyrol was a mountainous region bordering Austria, which once belonged the Austro-Hungarian empire. It became part of Italy following World War I. Benito Mussolini's fascist regime "Italianised", or forced the population to become Italian, which sparked local resentment. Separatist sentiments still linger today. The province of Alto Adige, also known as Suedtirol, is fully bilingual and enjoys high levels of autonomy. German is more common than Italian. The stamps were withdrawn because they showed the Catinaccio mountain range, also known as Rosengarten in the Dolomites and the Latemar mountain chain, which was part of a collection dedicated to parks, mountains and lakes throughout Italy. Stamps that have design errors may become collectible. The "Gronchi Rosa" stamp, a 1961 stamp that was withdrawn the day after it was released because the map of South America had the wrong border between Peru and Ecuador. (Reporting and editing by Giulia Segriti and Aidan Lewis.
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The Kremlin is shocked at the tragic death of a former minister who Putin fired
The Kremlin announced on Tuesday it was shocked at the sudden death, which occurred hours after President Vladimir Putin sacked Roman Starovoit as Russia's former Transport Minister. Starovoit, who was found shot to death in his car near Moscow on Monday by state investigators, is believed to have committed suicide. When asked about Starovoit’s death, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded that Putin was briefed and called the news "tragic and tragic". Peskov refused to speculate about the cause of Starovoit’s death citing an ongoing investigation. It can't but shock the average person. Peskov said, "It shocked us as well." "An investigation is underway." This investigation will provide all the answers. The presidential decree issued on Monday did not give any reason for Starovoit's dismissal after only a year at the job. However, political analysts suspect that it is linked to an investigation into corruption in the Kursk Region, where he was once in charge. Could not independently confirm these suggestions. However, a source in the transport industry, who refused to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the issue, stated on Monday that Starovoit’s position has been in doubt for months because of questions regarding the same corruption scandal. This investigation focuses on whether the 19.4 billion roubles (about $246 million) allocated in 2022 to fortify Russia's border in the Kursk area with Ukraine was spent properly or if some of this money was embezzled. (Reporting and writing by Dmitry Antonov; editing by Guy Faulconbridge/Andrew Osborn).
Sources say that the cost of insurance for Israel war-risk ships has risen after Iranian attacks
Industry sources reported on Tuesday that war risk insurance premiums are up to three times more expensive for shipments going to Israel as the conflict between Israel and Iran enters its fifth day.
They said that the cost of a 7-day trip to Israeli ports ranged from 0.7% to 1.00 % of the ship's value, as opposed to around 0.2% last week.
Underwriters may price risks and rates differently. This will result in tens or thousands of dollars extra per day for each voyage.
David Smith, the head of marine at insurance broker McGill and Partners said that rates for calls to Israel depend on a number of factors, including cargo, port, and ownership.
Israel imports most of its goods via sea routes. These include Ashdod in the Mediterranean, near Gaza, Haifa to the north and Eilat on the Red Sea.
Israel's Bazan Group closed its Haifa refinery on 16 June after an Iranian attack damaged its power station.
MarineTraffic's ship tracking data showed that on Tuesday, nearly 30 vessels - many of them general cargo ships - were anchored in Haifa Bay.
An Israeli source in the port industry in Haifa said that all terminals were fully operational and operating normally.
Due to the increased risk, many shipping companies have already decided to avoid sailing to Israel.
Yemen's Iran backed Houthis said they would attack any Israel linked vessels in spite of a ceasefire reached over U.S.-UK-linked ships on the Red Sea.
In response to Israel's continuing conflict in Gaza, the militia announced a "maritime blocade" of Haifa in March. (Reporting and editing by Emelia Sithole Matarise and David Evans).
(source: Reuters)