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Families of passengers on flight MH370 urge Malaysia to extend its search
Families of those onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 urged the Malaysian Government to extend a contract signed with Ocean Infinity, a deep-sea research firm, to continue the search for 'the aircraft that vanished a year ago. The Boeing 777 was carrying 227 passengers, 12 crew members and was en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014. Its disappearance became one of the most enduring aviation mysteries in history. Since then, multiple search operations have been conducted to find the plane in the southern Indian Ocean but have all proved unsuccessful. Malaysia agreed in March of last year to allow Ocean Infinity?resume their hunt on the basis that if they failed to find the wreckage, the firm would not be charged. The company was only to receive $70 million if it found the wreckage. Malaysia's Air Accident Investigation Bureau announced on Sunday that the two phases of search, which spanned 28 days, and covered 7,571 square kilometers (2,923 square miles) seabed, had so far not yielded any results. The AAIB reported that weather and sea conditions periodically interrupted operations, with the second stage ending on January 23. The government said that it will continue to update families as necessary. Voice370, which represents families of those aboard, stated that it was unlikely Ocean Infinity would resume the search until its contract expires in June due to the upcoming winter months in the southern hemisphere, and the deteriorating conditions at sea. The government was urged to grant any request by Ocean Infinity for an extension of its agreement and to expand the same terms on to other interested exploration companies. It said that a simple?addendum would extend the contract term without changing the core terms of the agreement, allowing the search to proceed without delay. Ocean Infinity conducted previous searches for the plane, but did not find any substantial wreckage. In a report published in 2018, Malaysian investigators did not reach a conclusion on what had happened, but they didn't rule out that the plane could have been intentionally taken off course.
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ADNOC manages offshore output and onshore operations continue
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company announced on Saturday that it was 'actively managing offshore production levels to meet storage requirements amidst the U.S. -Isaeli war on Iran', and its onshore operations are continuing. ADNOC stated in a press release that "this approach will preserve operational flexibility and enable the company resume normal operations with no prolonged delay." Eight-day war has now blocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz - the vital waterway that supplies 20% of the world's oil and LNG. Analysts predicted that the UAE and Saudi Arabia would soon be forced to reduce production as their oil reserves fill up. ADNOC stated that its operations were 'continuing' and that it was using export capacity which?bypasses strait, as well as international storage facilities to guarantee supply continuity to global market. The UAE can bypass this strait by using the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (also known as the Habshan Fujairah Pipeline). The pipeline transports oil directly from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah, on the Gulf of Oman. It has a daily capacity of between 1.5 million and 1.8 million barrels. "Business units ?are assessing the situation on a product-by-product and transaction-by-transaction basis, considering the ongoing disruption that is ?affecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz," it ?said. ADNOC said it has activated protocols that are well-established and works closely with authorities to safeguard its people, assets and operations. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation cut oil production on Saturday, declaring force majeure. This was in addition to the earlier reductions of oil and gas from Iraq and Qatar. Yousef SABA, Timothy Heritage and Jan Harvey edited the report.
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Trump aggressively launches Latin America cartel alliance
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, welcomed Latin American leaders to Florida on Saturday, to launch a coalition against drug cartels. He also struck a dismissive note toward the region by telling officials that their countries had allowed gangs seize territory, and joked about not having time to learn their language. Trump described the effort as "an aggressive campaign to combat drug cartels", citing them as the primary reason for increasing U.S. involvement Latin America. This included a pressure campaign on Venezuela, which culminated in January with the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. Trump said at one point that the United States would use missiles to take out cartel leaders, if their partners asked for it. He said that Mexico was the hub of cartel activity, and predicted a major political shift in Cuba. The country is "very close to the end," he said. He repeated previous statements about Cuban officials negotiating with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and him. A dozen leaders of Central America, South America and the Caribbean attended the "Shield of the Americas", where Trump signed the proclamation that launched the coalition. Trump stated that "leaders in this area have allowed large swaths to land in the Western Hemisphere come under the control of transnational gangs and they have run parts of your country." "We won't let that happen." In a speech lasting more than 30 mins, Trump touched on many other topics besides drug cartels. These included Iran, Ukraine?Pakistan, India, political endorsements by former president Jimmy Carter and Dominican sugar. He also spoke about building battleships and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s "soothing personality". Trump made jokes about the language differences between him and the majority Spanish-speaking leaders. He said, "I am not going to learn your language." "I don't want to." Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who spoke briefly in both English and Spanish later, echoed Trump’s position. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also spoke. Hegseth joked, "I only speak American." Trump joked that Kamla Persad Bisssar's name sounded similar to the former U.S. vice president Kamala Harris. Trump has worked to create a regional coalition to fight organized crime and drug cartels more aggressively. The event on Saturday gave him the opportunity to show his strength at home, as the war against Iran escalates. This could push global oil and gas costs higher. Trump had earlier in the day said that Iran would be "hit hard" on Sunday and that he considered expanding the areas and people targeted. He did not provide any details. Allies of the Right Attend SUMMIT Among the attendees were Argentine president Javier Milei and Chile's newly-elected President Jose Antonio Kast, as well as Salvadoran President 'Nayib' Bukele. His gang crackdown has been criticized by rights groups but is now a model of sorts for some parts of Latin America. Politicians from the region toured Bukele’s sprawling "mega prison", where the United States deported over 200 Venezuelans last year without trial. The Honduran president Nasry Asfura was also in attendance. He narrowly won an disputed 'election' with Trump's support. And Ecuador's president Daniel Noboa who has echoed some of Trump's agenda on the economy and who recently announced joint military operations with the U.S. to 'crackdown' on drug trafficking. Many of these?leaders are in agreement with Trump's hardline views on crime and immigration, preferring crackdowns to deeper social fixes, and private enterprise over the state. Their rise is a reflection of a wider rightward shift in Latin America, at a moment when the region finds itself caught between Washington and Beijing. CHALLENGING CHINA'S GROWING RELATIONAL INFLUENCE Trump didn't mention China directly, but warned the United States that it would not allow "hostile influence" in the Western Hemisphere to take root, including at the Panama Canal - a major global freight route. Washington, while not explicitly saying so, increasingly views Latin America as a strategic rivalry with Beijing. According to Ryan Berg, of the Center for Stratégic and International Studies, China's trade in the Western Hemisphere will reach $518 billion by 2024. Beijing has also extended loans worth more than $120 million to government officials in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. has been concerned about China's increasing footprint, from satellite tracking in Argentina to the Chinese-backed Peruvian port and its economic support for Venezuela. The Trump administration has responded by urging governments in the region to curtail Beijing's involvement in strategic infrastructure, such as ports, energy projects, and other strategic infrastructure. (Reporting from Nandita BOSE in Miami, Florida; David Brunnstrom, Washington, and Sarah Morland, Mexico City. Additional reporting by Simon Lewis, Washington, and Natalia Siniawski, Mexico City. Editing by Sergio Non and Himani Sarkar.
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Sweden claims ship confiscated in Baltic Sea was falsely flagged, and one crew member has been notified of the crime
The Swedish police announced on Saturday that a ship taken by 'Sweden' in the Baltic Sea was sailing under a false flag and had been suspected of 'violating maritime law and the national ship-safety act due to its lack of seaworthiness. Johan Andersson said at a press briefing that one crew member had been notified of the suspected violation of national and international laws. The police and coast guard took control on Friday of the Guinea-flagged Caffa off southern Sweden. They said it was unclear about its flag status, and therefore suspected of being a stateless vessel. Andersson said on Saturday that "our investigation has confirmed our suspicions, and we are of the opinion that this ship is a sea vessel with extensive safety deficiencies." He said that he had also received information that the ship would be on the Ukraine sanctions list. Andersson stated that the majority of the 11 crew on the?Caffa ship, which, according to?ship-tracking service MarineTraffic, is a 96 meter general cargo vessel, are Russian.
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Floods in Nairobi kill 23 and disrupt flights at a major airport
Authorities said that aid workers pulled bodies from the floodwaters in Nairobi after flash floods began over night. The floods killed 23 people and swept away cars, disrupting flights at East Africa’s largest airport. William Ruto, Kenyan president, said that he has deployed a team to coordinate rescue efforts. This includes soldiers. He also offered condolences for the communities affected. In a statement on social media, he added: "I've also ordered that food relief from our?national strategically reserves be released immediately and distributed to the families affected by floods." John Lomayan (34), a security guard in the industrial area of Grogan, saw the body of a man trapped under a car washed away when the Nairobi River burst its banks. He pointed up the road and said: "I saw him getting carried by the water up there." "We didn’t know where he was. We only just now see him underneath the car. John Mwai, a bus driver in Kenya, described how he converted his bus to a rescue vehicle so that he could move people up to higher ground. Kenya Airways reported that rains disrupted some flights to Nairobi, forcing them to divert. Scientists claim that global warming is causing droughts and floods to worsen in East Africa, by concentrating rain into short bursts of 'intense rainfall. A 2024 World Weather Attribution Study found that climate change made the likelihood of devastating rains twice as high as it was before. The reporter saw three bodies pulled from underneath cars. A reporter saw three dead bodies being pulled out from under cars. Some of the dead were electrocuted due to damaged power lines. Kenya Power, the national provider of electricity, said that water had damaged equipment in a substation. It listed 14 affected neighbourhoods. "I don't even know how many cars there are, or what all the stuff is. All washed away. "All of the water came from that river," said Cedric Mwanza, an astonished resident, referring the Nairobi River. Humphrey Malalo contributed additional reporting from Nairobi. Tim Cocks is the writer. Mark Potter (editing)
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Ten people killed by flash floods in Nairobi, disrupting flights at a major airport
Authorities said that aid workers pulled bodies out of floodwaters in Nairobi after overnight flash flooding killed at least ten people and swept away dozens cars. Flights at East Africa's largest airport were also disrupted. John Lomayan (34), a security guard in the industrial area of Grogan, saw the body of an elderly man that he recognized - a roadside seller. The car had been washed out by the Nairobi River. He pointed up the road and said: "I saw him being carried by water up there." "We didn't even know where he was. We only just now see him underneath the car. Three bodies were pulled out from under cars by a reporter. The police said that 10 people have been confirmed dead so far. Scientists claim that global warming worsens floods and dry spells in East Africa because it concentrates?rainfalls into shorter, intense bursts. The 2024 World Weather Attribution Study found that climate change made the likelihood of devastating rains twice as high in the region. Kenya?Airways reported that the rains disrupted?flights into Nairobi, forcing some to divert their flights to Mombasa. "I don't even know how many cars there are, or what all the stuff is. All of it was (washed away). "All of the water came from that river," said Cedric Mwanza, a shocked resident. (Written by Tim Cocks. Mark Potter edited the text.
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Shipper MSC introduces emergency fuel surcharge
Shipping company MSC announced on Saturday that it would implement a fuel surcharge for all cargo from the Mediterranean (including West Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea, East Mediterranean and Greece) and Black Sea, to the Indian Subcontinent, the Red Sea and East Africa. This will be effective March 16, 2019. The surcharge was set at $30 per twenty-foot equivalent unit for dry containers and $50 per TEU refrigerated containers from the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Red Sea. The world's largest ocean container carrier said that dry containers traveling from the Mediterranean, Black Sea, and East Africa would be charged at $60 per TEU. Refrigerated containers, however, will be charged at $90. MSC will also charge a surcharge for dry containers of $40 per TEU from the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, to the Indian subcontinent. For refrigerated containers the surcharge is $60 per TEU. (Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru. Mark Potter edited the article.
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At least seven people were killed in Kharkiv by Russian drones and missiles.
Russian officials reported that overnight on Saturday, Russia fired a barrage of drones and missiles into Ukraine, killing at least seven people, including two children, in Kharkiv. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said that Russia had launched 480 drones as well as 29 missiles against the energy sector and rail infrastructure in the country. "Partners should respond to these brutal attacks against life," Zelenskiy said on Telegram. "Russia is not giving up its efforts to destroy Ukraine's critical infrastructure and residential areas, so?support should continue," Zelenskiy said. He urged partners to continue their air defence and weapon supplies. Oleh Syniehubov said, Kharkiv Regional Governor, that seven people were killed, including two kids, after a Russian missile struck a five-storey building. He said that rescue workers are still clearing rubble from the site. According to?Syniehubov, the Russians attacked Kharkiv and damaged seven residential apartment buildings, 'commercial and administrative' buildings, electricity distribution lines and cars. Officials in Ukraine said that Russia attacked four railway stations in central Ukraine and other rail infrastructure, as well as port infrastructure in the southern Odesa area. They also claimed that containers containing vegetable oil were set on fire and a grain storage facility was damaged. Reporting by Olena Hartmash. Tom Hogue, Mark Potter and Tom Hogue edited the article.
China is the main route for foreign cars to enter Russia, avoiding Ukraine's war sanctions
According to five people who are involved in the trade, registration data and interviews revealed that tens of thousands cars were being exported to Russia from China under gray-market schemes. These schemes often bypass Western and Asian government sanctions and the commitments made by automakers to leave the Russian market.
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in?2022, the sanctions and pledges were made. The trade of these cars, from Toyotas to Mazdas and German luxury models, continues to thrive partly because informal networks allow Russian dealers to order the vehicles through Chinese intermediaries. This is shown by interviews and data collected by Russian research firm Autostat.
According to data and sources, the majority of vehicles are either made in China (where many international brands work with local partners) or they are shipped through China after being manufactured somewhere else. The number of zero-mileage used vehicles is increasing. These are new cars that dealers and traders register as "sold in China" before reclassifying them as used. This practice was highlighted last year as a sign of China's hypercompetitive and highly subsidised car market. It allows automakers and dealers inflate their sales figures, collect subsidies, and export surplus cars. Zhang Ai Jun is a former car trader in Sichuan who said that traders moving European, Japanese, and South Korean brands from China to Russia would classify the cars as "used" to avoid having to obtain automaker approval to sell them to Russia. She said, "This is a way to export more easily." In China, zero-mileage cars are heavily discounted. In Russia, however, these cars are sold at prices that are similar to those of never-registered brand new vehicles, according to documents and dealer quotes.
It is the first news outlet to report on the Autostat data. This includes China becoming the main conduit for foreign cars to enter Russia, and automakers avoiding Russia sales restrictions by classifying their new vehicles as used. Dmitry Zazulin is the sales director of Panavto-Zapad in Moscow. He said that many customers are interested in buying and driving cars from Western brands such as Mercedes. "At the moment, however, we are only able to bring them into the country through parallel channels," said Dmitry Zazulin, sales director at Panavto-Zapad in Moscow.
Mercedes-Benz said it prohibits sales to Russia. BMW, Volkswagen, and other automakers in regions that impose sanctions also stated they are working to prevent unauthorised exports. This includes through dealer training and contractual clauses. Mercedes, BMW and other automakers from regions imposing sanctions said they prohibit sales to Russia and are doing their best to prevent unauthorized exports. This includes through training and contractual clauses with dealers.
BMW has instructed its China retail operation "to oppose any possible vehicle exports to Russia." It added that if cars do enter Russia, they will be gray-market imports and "this is outside of our spheres of influence – as well as against our wishes."
The Russian dealer who only wanted to be identified as Vladimir said that his Vladivostok dealership does not stock restricted foreign vehicles, but instead buys them from Chinese traders one by one in order to fulfill customer orders. He said that there are many middlemen. This dealer knows this one, that dealer knows that other one and so on.
DATA REVEALS SCALE of TRADE
Autostat's data shows that sales are in the thousands. Autostat's data shows that imports from China are increasing in number and represent a larger share of vehicles imported from Western or Japanese brands registered in Russia.
Data shows that the number of these vehicles produced in China has doubled since 2023. Autostat reports that they now make up nearly half of all the vehicles made in countries that impose sanctions and sold in Russia by 2025. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 more than 700,000.000 vehicles have been sold in Russia by all these foreign brands.
Autostat data shows that Russians purchased more Toyotas than any other foreign brand, except for Chinese. The automaker, however, said that it would stop sending new cars to Russia in 2022. "Toyota doesn't export new vehicles into Russia," said the company without addressing Autostat figures. Mazda, who also had a significant number of sales, made the same statement and said that any Mazdas that were sold in Russia, "were resold by third parties outside Mazda's control."
Sebastiaan Bennink is a sanctions specialist at the European law firm Bennink Dunin-Wasowicz. He said that restricted products often find their way into Russia, even though industry players try to stop them.
Bennink says that there are so many ways of skirting sanctions, it is "almost impossible" to stop certain cars from reaching Russia.
Autostat's statistics, which show that China is the major route for vehicles to reach Russia, could not determine the other routes.
According to the German economy ministry, customs authorities investigate violations of sanctions regularly and work with counterparts from other EU countries in order to implement measures.
The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has said that automakers and exporters are bound to its sanctions rules. However, it declined to comment on trade of Japanese vehicles between China and Russia.
The South Korean trade ministry stated that it has taken steps to stop the circumvention of export control and has cracked down on indirect car exports to Russia. China's Commerce Ministry and Russia's Industry and Trade ministry did not respond to requests for comments. Both countries have stated that they oppose unilateral sanction and consider them illegal.
RUSSIA SALE OF FOREIGN BRAND, CHINA MADE CARS SOAR
All of the major automotive sanctioning bodies, including the European Union, United States, South Korea, and Japan, have imposed similar sanctions. The sanctions generally prohibit the sale of cars above a certain cost or with larger engines in Russia, as well as?all EVs' and hybrids. These automakers also committed to ending or severely restricting their Russia business.
Autostat data show that these efforts have reduced the Russian sales of vehicles in regions subject to sanctions from over one million in 2020 to just one-eighth.
The data show that sales of German and Japanese-made cars made in China are on the rise. Some industry analysts attribute this trend to an increase in exports for zero-mileage cars.
Some industry data sets do not include these vehicles; GlobalData, for example, did not report any official new-car purchases of German brands this year in Russia. Autostat's data captures the sales, because it is based on registrations of new cars in Russia. Imported vehicles with zero miles are treated as new, regardless of whether or not they were registered in China.
Autostat's data shows that in Russia, nearly 30,000 Toyotas were bought last year. Nearly 24,000 were manufactured in China. Mazda sold nearly 7,000 cars during the same time period, with almost all of them being made in China. According to two China auto-retailers, Toyota hybrids are the most popular Japanese brands in Russia.
GERMAN LUXURY SUVS SLIP THROUGH GRAY-MARKET CHANNELS
German cars are also highly prized. Autostat data showed that nearly 47,000 new BMWs, Mercedes, Volkswagen Group vehicles including Audi, Porsche, and Skoda were registered in Russia during the last year.
The data shows that more than 20,000 vehicles were made in China. According to industry analysts and a person involved in the importation of vehicles into Russia, many passed through China en route to Russia. Vladimir, a Russian car dealer, stated that most foreign cars are imported via China, regardless of their origin.
According to Felipe Munoz of the Car Industry Analysis platform, the Mercedes G-class is a popular model among Russian elites. This boxy off-road car can be purchased for 120,000 Euros, which is about $142,700. It's only made in Austria.
The shipping documents of dozens of German luxury SUVs imported from China to Russia, including the Mercedes GLC 300 or the BMW X1 xDrive25 were also reviewed.
Munoz stated that "given the growth in trade between Russia, China and Germany in recent years, it's obvious to conclude many of these cars imported from Germany end in Russia."
(source: Reuters)