West Africa

Director general of the Nigerian civil aviation authority said that they are looking at certifying China’s C919 jets for Nigerian carriers. This is because Nigerian airlines have taken on more aircraft, and relations with Beijing are warming up. COMAC, a Chinese planemaker, is currently producing the C919 narrow-body aircraft to compete with the leading Western planemakers Airbus & Boeing and has had several discussions with Nigeria about the aircraft. This month, the Nigerian aviation minister said that Nigeria is open to COMAC to use the country as an access point to the larger African market. COMAC, the state-owned company, faces...

Director general of the Nigerian civil aviation authority said that they are looking at certifying China’s C919 for Nigerian carriers. This is because Nigerian airlines have taken on more aircraft, and relations with Beijing have been warming. COMAC, a Chinese plane manufacturer, is currently producing the C919 narrow-body aircraft to compete with the leading Western planemakers Airbus & Boeing and has had several discussions with Nigeria about the aircraft. COMAC, a state-owned company, is facing challenges in its bid to expand into the African market. The two models of its planes do not have benchmark certifications by Western regulators and...

The Mali Ministry of Territorial Administration announced on Thursday that the transitional government of Mali has filed a complaint against Algeria before the International Court of Justice accusing it of aggression after its neighbour shot down a Malian reconnaissance drone. Mali claimed that Algeria intentionally shot down its drone near Tinzaouaten, in Mali's Kidal Region, during the night between March 31 and April 1, near their shared desert frontier. The statement said: "This blatant attack, which the Malian government strongly condemns and was intended to hinder the neutralisation by the Malian Armed and Security Forces of armed terrorists, is the...

The CEO of Mexican airline Volaris said that he believes a solution to the dispute between the U.S.A. and Mexico in aviation may be reached within the next few days. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued orders on Saturday requiring Mexican Airlines to submit their flight schedules. Threatening to reject requests If the Mexican government does not respond to U.S. concerns about flight changes in Mexico City. Mexico was governed by the previous government. Move cargo flights The main airport in the capital city is being moved to a more distant, newer site. cutting passenger flight slots Enrique Beltranena, CEO...

Sheinbaum pointed out that the United States had not yet informed her government in writing of any possible sanctions against Mexico's aviation sector. She said she did not see a reason why the neighboring nation would take such measures. The comments follow the U.S. Department of Transportation's announcement on Saturday that it would respond to Mexico's decision of cutting flight slots and forcing cargo carriers to move operations to Mexico City. This will affect U.S. Airlines. Sheinbaum stated in her daily press briefing that there was no reason to sanction Mexico for the changes made to its airport system. Sean...

The Trump administration announced Saturday that it will take a number of actions against Mexico in response to the Mexican government's decision to cancel some flight slots for U.S. airlines and to force U.S. freight carriers to relocate their operations to Mexico City. Sean Duffy, the U.S. Transportation secretary, said that if Mexico fails to respond to U.S. concerns about decisions made in 2022 or 2023, the department may disapprove Mexican flight requests. Department of Transportation also proposes to remove antitrust immunity for the joint venture between Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico in order to address issues with the competitive...

On Monday, a group of countries, including France, Kenya and Spain, pledged to tax private jets and premium-class flights in order to raise money for climate action. Despite the fact that many wealthy nations are reducing their official development assistance to developing countries and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, others have looked for new funding sources, such as taxing polluting industry. The announcement made on the first day of the U.N. Development Summit in Seville, Spain was the first from the "Sevilla Platform for Action", which aims to implement the new global financing framework that had been agreed...

On Monday, a group of countries, including France, Kenya and Spain, pledged to tax private jets and premium-class flights in an effort to raise money for climate action. Many richer countries are reducing their official development assistance to developing nations, even though extreme weather events are increasing in frequency. Some of these nations have looked for new sources of funding, such as taxing polluting industry. The "Sevilla Platform for Action", which aims to implement the global financing framework that was agreed upon before the event, made the announcement on the first day of the U.N. Development Summit in Seville, Spain....

Residents and local lawmakers said that at least nine people died in an explosion in a bus parking in northeastern Nigeria. The blast was blamed on the bomb planted by suspected militants, who have intensified attacks in Borno State. Borno is the center of an islamist insurgency that has raged for 16 years. This has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Nigerians, and the displacement of tens or thousands. Abdulkarim Lawan said that villagers from Mairari village, in Borno’s Guzamala District, were waiting for transport on Saturday when a bomb exploded, killing nine people. Lawan, also the speaker of...

Shipping and security sources confirmed on Wednesday that three oil tankers were damaged in separate incidents in the Mediterranean in the past month, but the cause of the explosions was unknown. These are the first incidents in which non-military ships have been damaged by blasts around the central Mediterranean for decades. One of the shipping sources reported that an explosion caused a 1-metre-deep crack below the waterline in the hull on the Greek-operated crude-oil tanker Seajewel in a port located in northern Italy, on Saturday. The same vessel was hit by a second explosion 20 minutes later without further damage....

According to sources familiar with the discussions, two former Barrick Gold executives who have inside information about the Canadian miner's operations in West Africa help drive Mali's demand for a payment from the Canadian company of approximately $200 million. Mamou and Samba Toure were both employed by Randgold in Mali, now part of Barrick, which is a mining firm. Mali's military government, which seized in December three metric tonnes of gold worth approximately $245 million from Barrick, has given miners until Saturday midnight to respond to their demands. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, it wants Barrick...

The U.S. National Transportation Security Board said on Monday it is examining a. United Airlines flight on Friday from Lagos, Nigeria to. Washington D.C., in which a sudden airplane movement caused. injuries of passengers and cabin crew. The NTSB stated the incident on United Flight 613 happened as. the Boeing 787 was flying in Ivory Coast airspace. Air travel authorities in Ivory Coast handed over the investigation to. the NTSB, which will provide a preliminary report within one month,. the company stated. United said the flight to Washington Dulles in Virginia with. 245 passengers, 3 pilots and 8 flight attendants,....

Mali's state media reported late Monday that militants affiliated with the Islamic State have freed four Moroccan truckers kidnapped back in January. This shows the growing intelligence collaboration between Mali and Morocco. A diplomatic source at the time said that in January, three men and their trucks vanished while traveling without escorts from Dori, Burkina Faso, to Tera, Niger. This area is known for its jihadist threat. State media broadcast footage of them with Assimi Goita, the leader of Mali's junta. The report said that they were freed Sunday. Burkina Faso led by the Junta, Niger and Mali battling militants...

Steyr Automotive, Austria's electric truck manufacturer, announced on Tuesday that it has received an order from China's SuperPanther to produce electric trucks in Europe for its sale. Chinese automakers are expanding in Europe. They are betting on their low prices and advanced technology, to penetrate a market that is traditionally dominated only by European and American brands. This expansion has stoked tensions in trade between Brussels and Beijing. There is also a dispute over EU tariffs imposed on EVs made in China to protect European producers. China can avoid tariffs on its models if they are manufactured in Europe. Steyr...

4 Moroccan truck chauffeurs went missing on Saturday as they crossed the restive border area between Burkina Faso and Niger, a source from the Moroccan embassy in Burkina Faso and a Moroccan transportation union stated. Three trucks, one carrying a spare motorist, vanished as they drove without an escort from Dori in Burkina Faso to Tera in Niger, an area understood for Jihadist risks, the diplomatic source said. Junta-led Burkina Faso and Niger are battling Islamist militant groups connected to al Qaeda and Islamic State, whose insurgencies have actually destabilised Sahel states in West Africa over the previous years. The...