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French high-speed trains collide with military trucks, killing the train driver
Separate statements from the local railway operator and prefecture said that a 'high-speed' train in France collided with a truck transporting military equipment near Calais on Tuesday morning, killing the driver. The?prefecture also reported that 16 people were injured, and two of them were in a critical condition. The?prefecture said that more than 200 passengers were aboard the train at the moment of the accident. Around 7 a.m. (0500 GMT), near the town Bully-les-Mines in northern France, a high-speed rail travelling from Dunkirk towards Paris collided with a truck that was?carrying a military vehicle, according to a statement released by railway operator SNCF. SNCF'said that traffic was 'interrupted and disruption is expected until the end of the day. Reporting by Inti Landauro, Sophie Louet and Tomaszjanowski; editing by Sudipkar-Gupta & Tomaszjanowski
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ICE arrests more than 800 after receiving tips from the US Airport Security Agency
Internal ICE data reviewed by?by shows that U.S. Immigration & Customs 'Enforcement' arrested more than 800 individuals following tips from federal airport security officials between the beginning of Donald Trump’s?presidency and February 2026. This figure is far higher than what was previously publicly known. Data showed that the leads were provided by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which had given ICE records of more than 31,000 passengers for possible immigration enforcement. The TSA tips are primarily useful for determining the time of travel. ICE and TSA belong to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The agencies had shared information on national security threats in the past, but began to focus more on immigration arrests as part of Trump’s mass deportation efforts last year. TSA PROGRAM WAS INTENDED TO COUNTER Terrorism. The 31,000 records of travelers were collected by TSA’s Secure Flight Program. This program was established?in 2007, to allow the agency review passenger information to determine if anyone is on U.S. Government watchlists. According to the regulation defining its purpose, the program was designed as a counterterrorism measure and not to track down immigration offenders. DHS didn't respond to questions regarding TSA sharing passenger information with ICE. However, they did say that TSA is "pursuing solutions to improve resiliency and security across our entire system" under Trump. TSA did not have the data on arrests or traveler records it shared with ICE prior to Trump's term. Since mid-February, U.S. immigration enforcement and airports have been the focus of a partisan funding battle. Democrats refused to provide additional funds for the Republican President's immigration crackdown unless reforms were made to reduce aggressive tactics. This standoff prevented the passage of DHS funding, and TSA security agents missed at least two paychecks. Trump sent ICE officers in March after some TSA employees who were not paid began to call in sick. Democrats have criticised the deployment of ICE officers and asked the Trump administration remove them. More than 40 Democrats from the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter last week to newly appointed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, stating that ICE agents "will cause confusion" if they are allowed to remain at airports. Reports of unexpected airport arrests Several cases involving ICE officers 'arresting travellers in U.S. Airports' have sparked a backlash. ICE officers arrested a mother who was sobbing at San Francisco International Airport on the day before Trump began his airport deployment. They also detained a student from Boston traveling to Texas for Thanksgiving. DHS has defended the arrests, saying that they are subject to final removal orders. Three immigration lawyers said that they are familiar with the cases of people being arrested at airports without the proper immigration status. Christina Canty said that one of the cases involved an Irish couple, who had lived in the U.S. more than 20 years, and were detained by immigration officials in front of their kids last summer when they tried to fly from Florida back to New York following a vacation. Canty stated that the parents, who had applied for permanent residence, were deported, leaving their two young children, aged 7 and 10, in the care of adult siblings living in America. One of the lawyers said that ICE detained a Chinese woman who had a final removal order and was en route from Atlanta to Philadelphia last year. (Reporting from Ted Hesson, Washington; Kristina Coooke, San Francisco; editing by Rod Nickel.)
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Aviators' group: Airline pilots should have the final say about flying in war zones
The International?Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations said that pilots should be allowed to make a "final, non-negotiable decision" about whether or not they will fly over conflict zones. The IFALPA position paper was released on Monday. This comes at a time when the six-week long Iran war has reshaped the airspace in the Middle East, and increased disruptions of flights due to missile and drone attacks and interceptions. The Montreal-based IFALPA says airlines should be aware of how mental and emotional stress can arise in cockpits when operating in conflict zones. The?paper stated that the decision of the?Commander regarding the conduct or rerouting a flight must be final, non-negotiable, and unaffected by any other factors. This decision should not be influenced in any way by commercial pressures, financial incentives or penalties or career consequences. Flightradar24 reports that while many airlines have cancelled?services for affected destinations, Dubai's Emirates operates at 69% of normal capacity, and Qatar Airways is at 26%. This translates to hundreds of flights per day that are being targeted by Iranian drones and missiles. United Arab Emirates has established "safe corridors", with specific flight routes, but planes are still routinely held in holding patterns when attacks occur. In some cases, they have been diverted or turned back to other destinations if airspace is temporarily closed. Qatar Airways stated that "the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew remain paramount", and that all flights from and to Doha are being operated on dedicated flight corridors, established in close cooperation with the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority. Emirates, who has said that safety is a priority, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the IFALPA document, airlines should provide pilots in conflict zones with mitigation methods such as post-flight recovery time and confidential assistance. It said that if rerouting delays, hold-ups, increased workloads, complexity of diversion, or sector uncertainty are frequent and predictable, they should be included in scheduling assumptions, fatigue control, and roster buffers, with "additional safety" margins, such as augmented crew rostering. Separately, on Monday, the United Nations Aviation Agency said that its governing council had condemned Iran for?illegal airspace violations? against Gulf neighbors such as the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, affecting civil aviation safety. The International Civil Aviation Organization issued a statement in which it said that the council "deplored Iran's use of unmanned air systems for military purposes over the territory of the affected member countries." A source familiar with this matter says that the council's decision was based on a paper presented by several Arab countries?concerning Iran's use weaponized drones to attack its neighbors. The source did not know the specifics, but said that Iran had submitted a separate document regarding its territory. It will be discussed at a future session of the council. (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed in Montreal, Allison Lampert)
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Wall Street Journal, April 7, 2019
These are the top stories from?Wall Street Journal. The?Wall Street Journal has not?verified?these stories, and does not vouch?for their accuracy. Anthropic plans to invest $200m in a new venture that will?sell AI to portfolio companies. - Broadcom will develop ?and supply custom artificial-intelligence ?chips for Google ?and additional computing capacity to Anthropic in an expansion of the strategic collaboration between the three companies. Amazon and the U.S. Postal Service has reached a new agreement to handle packages, which will?reduce Amazon's volume of packages by 20%. The 'Trump Administration' will increase payments to Medicare insurers next year by a staggering 2.48%. This is a dramatic rise after an initial proposal that held a line on.payments was met with fierce criticism from the industry. It also sank the shares of some of the biggest companies.
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Australian stocks rise as banks and miners rally; Middle East is in focus
Australian shares rose more than 2.5% Tuesday, supported by banks and miners, as investors waited for clarity about the prospects of a?resolution? to the Middle East war. As of 1252 GMT the S&P/ASX 200 was up 2.6% to 8,800 points after losing 1.1% the previous day, Thursday, before Easter. President Donald Trump has maintained that despite the rhetoric, there is still hope for a quick resolution. Investors cautiously returned to risk assets after the U.S. military did not escalate. This helped global equity markets edge higher. U.S. equity indices closed modestly higher on Monday. Japan's Nikkei average futures rose 0.7% early in the day. Investors are watching the developments in Iran as Trump sets a deadline of Tuesday for Tehran to reopen Strait of Hormuz. Trump said Iran would be "taken" if it did not comply. Tehran, however, rejected the temporary ceasefire and opted for a permanent solution to the conflict. Gold stocks in Sydney rose by 2.8% as a result of higher bullion. Shares of Northern Star Resources rose 3.9%, while Evolution Mining gained 1.4%. Since the start of the war, the sector has lost more than 22 %. This is due to a weaker dollar and lower bullion. The mining index as a whole rose 3%. Rio Tinto, BHP and other heavyweights all saw gains of more than 2%. Australian banks rebounded by 2.4% after a recent slump in the sector. The sector is down over 5% since the end of February. Lenders' margins could be supported by the expectation that interest rates will remain high for longer. NEXTDC jumped by 10% after launching a wholesale A$1 billion offer of subordinated hybrid'securities' with a 100-year maturity to fund growth. This lifted the Australian technology indices 6%. Real estate grew by 1.7%, and consumer discretionary stock jumped 2.6%. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 rose by 1.3% to 13,068.22. Investors are now focusing on the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's rate announcement scheduled for Wednesday. In a poll of 32 economists, the central bank is expected to keep rates at their current level as it balances inflation risk against weak growth. Reporting by Shruti Aggarwal, Bengaluru. Editing by Sherry Phillips.
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Brazilian government blacklists Chinese automobile manufacturer BYD due to labor violations
According to a document obtained by on Monday, the Brazilian Labor Ministry added BYD to its list of employers who allegedly subjected workers to conditions that were similar to slavery. The document shows that the world's biggest electric vehicle manufacturer has been added to a list of employers who have allegedly subjected workers to conditions similar slavery. This was in a case from December 2024, when Brazilian authorities discovered around?163 Chinese employees in "slavery-like' conditions while building an auto factory in Brazil's northeastern Bahia State. BYD didn't immediately respond to a?request for comment made outside normal working hours. It has denied the claims of the government in previous years. The "dirty" list of Brazil is only created after the appeals process has been exhausted. The list is not only a source of serious reputational risk, but also a barrier to certain types loans by Brazilian banks. However, the companies can still continue to operate. If a court decides to remove a company from the list, then it will remain on the list for two years. Signing a deal with the government and committing to change your practices, as well as compensating workers who have been abused by employers can help you avoid being included. BYD has signed a pact?with labor authorities over the?issue, but not with government. The plant was inaugurated on October. Reporting by Fabio Téixeira, Editing by Christopher Cushing & Lincoln Feast
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Source: Iran stops two Qatar LNG tankers that it had previously approved to transit Strait of Hormuz.
On Monday morning, Iran's Revolutionary Guards stopped two Qatari liquefied natural gas tankers heading towards the Strait of Hormuz and instructed them to remain in position without any explanation. The source, who spoke under condition of anonymity and had been briefed about the agreement, confirmed that Iran had allowed the vessels to pass through the strait as part of an agreement with the United States reached last week by Pakistani mediation. The source stated that "this was part of an agreement negotiated in the context of talks led by Pakistan last Thursday." Ship-tracking data revealed that both ships were located off the coast of the United Arab Emirates Monday evening, and they had not passed through Hormuz. If the vessels had successfully crossed the strait they would have been the first LNG cargoes to transit the waterway after the U.S./Israeli war against Iran began on February 28, The conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran has caused thousands of deaths, as well as a rise in oil prices, which have hurt economies. The fighting and retaliatory strikes have effectively shut down tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. This route carries around a fifth of global oil and LNG flows. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that Iran agreed to allow 10 oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz on March 26, as an apparent gesture of goodwill in negotiations. Trump said: "They said to show that we are real and solid, and we're here, we're letting you have eight boats, or eight big boats, of oil." "I think they were right and they were real. I believe they were Pakistani flagged." The final count was 10 boats. The data from Kpler and LSEG shows that the two Qatari vessels Al Daayen & Rasheeda?loaded their goods in late February. The LNG was loaded from Ras Laffan in Qatar. Ship-tracking data revealed that they had been heading eastwards towards the strait, but turned back on Monday morning. On?Monday, the two vessels switched course signals. The Al Daayen changed its course to Ras Laffan after previously signaling Pakistan as the destination. Meanwhile, the Rasheeda signaled "for orders" (a generic placeholder) from Port Qasim in Pakistan. The data indicated that the Al Daayen was signaling for China earlier on Monday. Kpler data indicated that both tankers were controlled by QatarEnergy. QatarEnergy didn't immediately respond to an inquiry about the Revolutionary Guards of Iran stopping the ships. Mitsui O.S.K., Mitsui's joint owner, reported that a Japanese LNG tanker named Sohar LNG had successfully crossed the Strait. Lines announced on Friday. A company spokesperson refused to reveal when or if any negotiations took place. The tanker was, however, empty. Qatar is the second largest LNG exporter in the world, and most of its shipments are sent to Asia. The Iranian attacks have knocked down 17% of Qatar’s LNG export capability. Repairs are expected to take three to five more years to restore the fuel.
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Asian airlines cut schedules, carry more fuel in tight supply conditions
As the Middle East conflict reduces jet fuel supplies in some countries, airlines across Asia have cut flights, added refuelling stations, and carried extra fuel from their home airports. This is adding pressure to an industry that has already been hit by a "sharp increase" in fuel prices. According to Kpler, European carriers should prepare for a similar disruption after Iran's closing of the Strait of Hormuz halted nearly 21% of the global supply of?seaborne?jet fuel. Oil shocks in the past primarily increased prices. This one, however, is also limiting physical supply and forcing governments, airports, and airlines to consider rationing. Shukor Yusof is the founder of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics. "They are concerned about the future because they don't know what will happen with the war and when we will know the supply chain or the feedstock will be coming from the Gulf region," he said. Analysts say that Asia, Europe, and Africa are the most vulnerable regions, as U.S. supplies are abundant. In Asia, the most affected markets are those with lower incomes, which depend on imports, such as Vietnam and Myanmar. Bo Lingam, the CEO of AirAsia X, told reporters that they now load extra fuel before flying into Vietnamese airports. He said that Vietnam limits the amount of gasoline they provide. JET FUEL RATIONING In the past, airports have experienced temporary jet fuel shortages caused by shipment disruptions or contamination. This has usually resulted in rationing and not complete outages. The airlines have responded by adding refuelling stations on longer routes, or by carrying less cargo. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, who expressed concern that the Middle Eastern conflict might not end in this month, said last week that cutting flights could be a solution to a prolonged crisis. He told reporters that if there is a 10% or 20% risk in the fuel supply for June, July or August then we will be forced to cancel some flights or reduce capacity. Asia, with a smaller supply cushion and a greater dependence on the Hormuz flow, was 'hit faster. According to the aviation authority of Vietnam, Vietnam Airlines has reduced 23 flights domestically per week in order to save fuel. Cirium, a provider of aviation data, reports that some airlines in Myanmar have cut back on capacity for April due to fuel shortages. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Air India will refuel in Kolkata when returning from Yangon to Delhi because fuel is short at Yangon Airport. A notice sent to pilots reveals that due to the Middle East crisis, Tahiti International Airport in the South Pacific has limited refueling for international flights to only the quantities necessary for flight operations. Pilots in Pakistan are advised to bring the maximum amount of fuel from abroad. This practice is expensive because it increases fuel consumption by carrying more fuel. Brendan Sobie is an independent aviation analyst based in Singapore. He said that some countries were better off than others. Some countries may limit (fuel) for foreign airlines which leads to tankering. Some countries may be doing this because they fear running out. DEMAND DESTRUCTION Some airlines have cut their capacity due to the more than doubled price of jet fuel since the beginning of the Iran War, while others have raised fares and added fuel surcharges. Batik Air Malaysia, for example, has reduced its domestic capacity by 36 percent. CEO Chandran Rama Muthy described the cuts as necessary and proactive in response to the "crisis mode" environment. He said that if we continued to operate without making any adjustments, the company would be exposed to more operational and financial risks. Due to the conflict, Gulf carriers like Emirates and Qatar Airways are operating at a much lower capacity than normal. Other global airlines have also reduced flights because fuel cost increases deter travellers. Analysts said that even with flight reductions, the airline demand does not fall fast enough to match a drop in jet fuel supply. Since the start of the crisis, 'calculations' show that at least 400,000 barrels of jet fuel per day that is normally produced in Asia-Pacific via crude that passes through the Strait of Hormuz has been affected. Alex Yap is a senior oil products analyst with Energy Aspects. He said that there was no easy way to replace the lost volumes. According to industry sources, flight cancellations have only reduced the demand for oil in Asia by 50,000-100,000 barrels per day. This suggests that deeper cuts are needed. Ellis Taylor, Cirium Asia's Asia Editor, said: "We are only at the beginning of this cycle (of flight reductions) because demand seems to be resilient. However, I believe any oil-spike-induced economic slowdown will hit demand in second half of year."
Iraq invites international oil companies to Kurdistan for discussions
Iraq's Ministry of Oil announced on Saturday that it had invited international companies under the umbrella of the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan, (APIKUR), as well as firms contracted by the Kurdistan Regional Government to a Baghdad meeting on March 4.
The ministry stated that the talks will address existing contract issues and look for agreements aligned with international best practices in oilfield development, while protecting national interests.
Discussions are also expected to be held with the Kurdistan Region Ministry of Natural Resources, as part of ongoing efforts to streamline oil activities between Baghdad & Erbil.
Baghdad had announced that oil exports would resume through Turkey's Ceyhan soon. However, eight international oil companies operating in Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdistan said on Friday they will not do so.
The government announced on Friday that it would announce the resumption of exports in the next few hours. An initial amount 185,000 barrels per daily (bpd), exported via state oil marketer SOMO, and this quantity gradually increasing.
APIKUR, which represents 60 percent of the production in the region said that no formal contact was made to clarify commercial agreements or guarantee payment for past and future sales. Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly, Writing by Tala RAMADAN; Editing by David Evans
(source: Reuters)