Latest News
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UN agency halts Hormuz Ship Evacuation Initiative after Vessel Attack
After a vessel was struck in the Gulf of Oman, the?United Nations Shipping Agency halted an evacuation effort on Thursday, aimed at getting hundreds of stranded vessels and tens of thousands of seafarers through 'the Strait of Hormuz. "I was informed of a ship that had passed through the Strait of?Hormuz today being attacked in the Gulf of Oman. The vessel was not evacuated under the IMO framework", Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary General of?the U.N. International Maritime Organization said in a press release. "I've decided to temporarily pause the implementation of this plan in order to confirm that all the necessary safety measures are still in place for the ships listed on our list and those in the region." The initiative was launched Tuesday and was an option that ships and crews could choose to use. One route would take them through Iranian waters and the other, via Omani waters under U.S. supervision. Initial IMO data revealed earlier Thursday that 57 ships with an estimated 1,100 seafarers transited through the Strait of Hormuz during the 'evacuation plan' from June 23 to the morning of 'June 25. The IMO did not provide any details about the vessel that was attacked. UKMTO, the British?navy agency, reported earlier that a container?ship had reported a suspected incident as it attempted to pass through strait near the coast of Oman. A?maritime source stated that a drone was probably responsible for the attack, but it is not yet known who was behind it. (Reporting and Editing by William Maclean, Edmund Klamann and Jonathan Saul)
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SpaceX will build the 'Starpipe’ natural gas pipeline for Starship rockets
SpaceX is planning to start building a 13-km (8-mile) natural gas pipeline, called "Starpipe", to its Texas launch sites next month, according to county filings. Elon Musk's firm wants to increase launches of its next-generation Starship rocket. Starpipe is expected to be in service by the 26th of January, according to documents filed with the Texas Railroad Commission last month by SpaceX affiliate Lone Star Mineral Development. Rio Grande Valley Business Journal reported the pipeline plan earlier this year. It signals Musk's intention to accelerate Starship development and lay down the foundation for a higher flight rate. The 40-story rocket will be a key part of SpaceX's efforts to expand the Starlink broadband network and deploy AI data center satellites in orbit. It could also eventually transport astronauts to Mars and the Moon. Starship, which is designed to be fully recyclable, uses approximately 630,000 gallons (2,4?million liters), of liquid methane, per launch. This amount of liquid gas must currently be delivered by hundreds tanker trucks, a process that takes hours and is incompatible with Musk’s plans for expansion. Starship has successfully completed 12 tests since?2023, and Musk hopes to increase the number of launches to hundreds, if not thousands per year. SpaceX has not responded to a comment request. SPACEX's BIG GAS PLANS According to Cameron County land records, it's unusual for a space company to build their own natural gas pipeline to fuel launchpads. However, Starpipe could be just the first step in a much longer-term strategy for SpaceX. The company has been exploring its drilling operations for years near Starbase as well as?all over Texas. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said to CNBC, on June 12, the day the company went public:?that SpaceX planned to build pipelines, process its own propellant and look into drilling natural gas. Stan Lindsey is an oil and natural gas consultant from Texas. He said that extracting natural gas could be challenging for a new company without any oil and gas expertise. Lindsey added, "I don't say it's impossible... they could have a very nice prospect." He added that if the drilling plans fail, they have a "fallback position" in Starpipe. Land records indicate that SpaceX has signed more than 100 oil and gas leases in Texas with property owners who have paid up since 2023. Starpipe will begin on an 83 acre (34 hectare) parcel of land in the Port of Brownsville, which SpaceX has been in negotiations to lease for 50 years. A port official confirmed this, but only on the condition of anonymity, as the negotiations were private. SpaceX's engineering plans, which were included in an?public notification issued last August by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), show that the company wants to build a Starbase liquefaction plant to convert the natural gas piped into liquid?methane. William Farrar is a geoscientist and oil and gas lawyer who has been practicing in Texas for many years. Lindsey stated that the company could take advantage of Enbridge's Valley Crossing Pipeline Expansion Project, which would run near Starpipe's starting point. Enbridge didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. SPACEX WANT TO OWN SUPPLY CHAINS SpaceX's entry into the gas infrastructure market, which is usually the domain of energy and pipeline companies, highlights its long-standing strategy to control as much of the supply chain as it can. This capital-intensive strategy has allowed the company to outpace its rivals in rockets and spacecraft design. Musk's ambitious goal of using lunar material to produce AI-focused satellites is a big challenge. The 16-inch (406 mm) diameter of the pipeline suggests that fuel demand is greater than what Starship will require to launch 25 times per year, which is the current Federal Aviation Administration approved cadence. According to the prospectus for its initial public offer, SpaceX aims to eventually deploy thousands of AI-focused, solar-powered satellites, whose combined output could be as much as one-fifth the U.S. electricity grid. (Reporting and editing by Joey Roulette, Rod Nickel and Joe Brock)
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UN agency says it has paused its initiative to evacuate ships from the Hormuz Strait after vessel attack
After a vessel in the Gulf of Oman was attacked, the United Nations' shipping agency paused an evacuation effort on Thursday to move hundreds of stranded vessels?and thousands of seafarers through the Strait of Hormuz. "I was informed of an attack on a vessel that passed through the Strait of Hormuz today, in the Gulf of Oman." The vessel was not evacuated under the IMO framework," Arsenio?Dominguez, Secretary General of?the U.N. International Maritime Organizatio (IMO), stated in a press release. "I've decided to temporarily pause the implementation of this plan in order to confirm that the necessary safety measures continue to be in place for all ships in the area and those on our list of evacuation." The initiative was launched on Tuesday and offered ships and crews the option to leave the Gulf via two different routes - via Iranian waters and Omani waters - under U.S. supervision. (Reporting and Editing by William Maclean, Jonathan Saul)
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Healthcare stocks lead the rally in European shares.
European shares closed at a record-high on Thursday. Leading the charge were 'healthcare stocks,' while a resurgent AI rallies triggered by strong "forecasts" from Micron and Qualcomm provided early support. The pan-European STOXX 600 ended the session 0.8% higher, at a new record close of 640.21. It had previously reached an intraday record of 642.09 during the session. This was the largest one-day increase in nearly two weeks. The index was boosted by 1.5% in healthcare stocks. Bayer topped the STOXX600 after a court ruling in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that thousands of lawsuits were dismissed accusing the pharma company of failing to warn users of the cancer-causing active ingredient in Roundup weedkiller. A rally in tech stocks pushed the STOXX to an intraday high but faded later in the day. Sector closed 0.8% higher after reaching a high of 2.5% during the session. Investors were calmed by the strong forecasts of Micron and Qualcomm, which allayed fears that the rally in AI-related stocks around world had gone too far. ASML, a supplier of semiconductor equipment, grew 2.6%, while chipmakers Infineon, STMicroelectronics, and STMicroelectronics climbed?3,1% and 5.1% respectively. Siemens Energy, a maker of AI equipment, rose by 2.3%. Martin Frandsen is a portfolio manager with Principal Asset Management. He said that while Europe lacks tech leaders, there are still companies who can benefit from the situation. The U.S. and Israel conflict with Iran pushed up energy prices in May. This allowed the Federal Reserve to consider an interest rate hike this year. The data released today reminds us that inflation is still well above the target level and that growth is solid. The 'Fed will be on hold until conditions permit a reduction, said Ellen Zentner of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, the chief economist. After a report that Tehran intended to earn billions of dollars in fees by reopening Strait of Hormuz, oil prices reversed their declines and gained. According to LSEG data, traders continue to price in a Federal Reserve rate?hike and an European Central Bank interest rate?hike for the end of the year. 3i Group, among other stocks rose 11.4% following the like-forlike sales growth of its portfolio company,?Action. EasyJet's shares jumped 6.4% after the British budget airline rejected a fourth offer from a U.S. investment firm Castlelake. Volkswagen, the German automaker, gained 1.3% following its agreement to sell Everllence's diesel engine unit to Bain Capital. The deal generated proceeds of approximately EUR7.4billion ($8.4billion). Reporting by Utkarsh hathi, Johann M Cherian, and Purvi agarwal in Bengaluru. Editing by Sonia Cheema and Niveditarjee.
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Cargo ship reports possible attack on crossing Hormuz
The British Navy agency UKMTO reported that a cargo ship had reported a suspected attack as it attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz near the coast of Oman. The UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO) is helping ships to escape the Gulf. Hundreds of them have been stranded in that area since the Iran war began on February 28th. UKMTO reported that the ship had been struck by a projectile on its starboard-side 7.5 nautical mile southeast of Oman's Dahit port. Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced?on Thursday? that only routes that Iran has designated will allow vessels to pass through the strait safely. They also said that they would take action if vessels did not comply. According to British maritime risk management group Vanguard, and three maritime security sources, the vessel that was hit is the Singapore-flagged container ship Ever Lovely. Ambrey, a British maritime security company, said that the incident was classified as an attack on initial assessments. The UKMTO reported that the strike damaged the bridge of the ship, but did not cause any injuries or damage to the environment. Authorities are investigating and have advised vessels to "transit with caution". Evergreen of Taiwan, the ship's owner could not be reached immediately for comment.
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US drops brake pedal requirement for self-driving cars
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed Thursday that the government should 'end its requirement for self-driving vehicles to have manual brake pedals. This would make it easier to deploy such vehicles on U.S. highways. The proposal does not apply to cars with a human driver. NHTSA has also stated that it will not abandon braking requirements for self-driving cars, such as strict standards on stopping distance. The?agency has proposed a number changes to help facilitate the introduction of self-driving cars. NHTSA has begun developing "safety performance" tests for self driving vehicles, as part of an independent standard. Automakers have expressed frustration with the slow pace of the agency's review of autonomous cars. According to the law, self-driving cars do not require NHTSA approval?if they are equipped with human controls like steering wheels or brake pedals, or?mirrors. NHTSA is authorized to grant petitions to allow up 2,500 vehicles per year to be operated on U.S. roadways without the need for human controls. However, it has spent many years reviewing petitions and has not taken any action. The NHTSA announced last year that it would streamline the review of these exemption requests. NHTSA asked for public comments in March on Amazon's self driving unit Zoox, which will deploy up to 2,500 specially-built robotaxis that do not require steering wheels. In 2018, GM petitioned NHTSA for approval to deploy up 2,500 cars without brake pedals or steering wheels on U.S. highways, but then withdrawn the petition in 2020. Detroit's automaker asked NHTSA for approval in 2022 to deploy vehicles without human controls, but this petition was withdrawn in October 2024. Separately on Thursday, NHTSA retracted a proposal from the Biden era to adopt a national voluntary framework?for evaluation and oversight?of?self driving vehicles. Automakers expressed concern that the requirements were too strict, and some safety advocates argued it would not give NHTSA sufficient oversight to ensure a level of safety appropriate.
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There are some flights to the Middle East that have resumed but there is still disruption.
Some airlines have resumed flights to certain parts of the Middle East, as diplomatic efforts intensify to resolve the conflict that erupted after the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. However, many carriers continue to suspend flights, causing global travel disruptions. The following is a list of the current status of flights by alphabetical order. AEGEAN AIRLINES Thessaloniki-Tel Aviv flights were cancelled by Greece's largest airline until June 26. Erbil, Baghdad and Dubai flights are all cancelled until September 30. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, has canceled flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai until the 28th of June. AIR CANADA Canadian Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai and Abu Dhabi until October 24. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has canceled flights to Tel Aviv from June 28 until now. Air France-KLM has suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Dubai until June 30, and flights between Beirut and Beirut up until July 5. KLM has suspended flights from Riyadh to Dammam, Dubai and Dammam until August 9. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has suspended its flights to Dubai and Riyadh through August 31. The U.S. carrier suspended service for the Atlanta-Tel Aviv routes until December 18. The airline plans to resume New York JFK-Tel Aviv flights in September, while Boston-Tel Aviv flights, scheduled for late October launch, have been postponed until further notice. FINNAIR Finnair has cancelled all Doha flights up until October 2 and continues to avoid the airspace over Iraq, Iran Syria, and Israel. In October, it will resume Dubai flights that are only operated during the winter. British Airways, owned by IAG, delayed the resume of flights to Doha and Riyadh to August 8th. Flights from Amman, Dubai, Tel Aviv and Bahrain will be paused for the rest of the summer until October 25. It plans to reduce the number of flights to Dubai, Doha and Riyadh to just one per day when it resumes, while dropping Jeddah from its list of destinations. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled Tokyo-Doha and Doha-Tokyo flight until August 31, and Doha-Tokyo until September 1. Polish Airlines has canceled flights to Riyadh and Beirut until 30 June. LOT will begin operating its winter route from Dubai in October. LUFTHANSA GROUP Lufthansa has announced that it will resume Tel Aviv flights as soon as July 1. ITA Airways also confirmed they would resume Tel Aviv flights as of July 1. SWISS delayed the return of flights until August, while Brussels Airlines suspended its operations until October 24. The suspension of Dubai flights by SWISS and Lufthansa will continue until September 13th. Airline companies including Lufthansa and SWISS have suspended flights from Abu Dhabi to Amman, Beirut Dammam, Riyadh Erbil Muscat and Tehran. Eurowings, a low-cost airline, has suspended flights from Tel Aviv to July 9, Beirut to June 30, Erbil to June 30, and Dubai to Abu 'Dhabi until October 24. ITA Airways also extended its suspension of flights to Riyadh and Dubai until July 31. MALAYSIA AIRLINES From July 2, the Malaysian airline will resume limited service to Doha. NORWEGIAN AIR Low-cost carrier has delayed its planned launch of Tel Aviv and Beirut indefinitely and no new dates have been determined. ROYAL MAROC Moroccan airline announced that flights to Doha have been cancelled until 30 June. SINGAPORE Airlines In response to increased demand, the carrier has extended its Singapore-Dubai suspension flight until August 2. It also added services for Singapore-London Gatwick (late March) and Singapore-Melbourne (late March-October 24). TURKISH AIRLINES SunExpress, Turkish Airlines joint venture with Lufthansa has cancelled flights to Dubai until June 30, and to Bahrain, Beirut, and Erbil up until July 14. WIZZ AIR Low-cost airlines have suspended flights from Europe to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman until mid-September. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed. Elviira Olenska, Tiago Branao, Agnieszka Oleskna, Bernadette HOG, Alexander Klyve Gudbrandsen, Romolo TOSIANI, and Bernadette Hogg. Matt Scuffham and Alexander Smith edited by Milla Nissi - Prussak, Jonathan Ananda and Louise Heavens, and Sanjeev Miklani.
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German rail operator targets 80% on-time performance for long distances by 2035
The German state-owned rail company Deutsche Bahn aims to achieve 80% punctuality for 'long-distance' traffic by 2035. This is when the company hopes to complete a years-long reorganization and network overhaul. Evelyn Palla, the chief executive of the company, presented this goal to its supervisory board Wednesday as part a 10-year plan. Palla stated that the group would abandon earlier, growth-driven plans and focus on "realistic facts" instead. Germany's rail champion has become a symbol of national frustration. Deutsche Bahn has stated that in?2025 only a little over 60% of its long-distance train services will be on time. Deutsche Bahn compensated for delays in?2025 with more than EUR155 millions ($176.33 Million). The lack of investment over the years has worn down tracks, switches, and signal boxes. In 2026, the government and Deutsche Bahn plan to invest more than EUR23 billion in rail infrastructure, with 28,000 construction sites expected. Deutsche Bahn announced that the new strategy would result in a'slimmed-down holding, greater autonomy for business units and annual cost'savings of more than EUR500 million from 2028, as well as an operating profit of EUR1.7billion by 2030. Reporting by Kirsti Knlle Editing Madeline Chambers
The US FCC tightens rules on submarine cable communication
The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to tighten the oversight of submarine cables that carry?99% international internet traffic. They proposed rules that would make it more difficult for Chinese companies to supply equipment, and to 'fast-track' approvals for trusted U.S. technology firms.
The 'FCC' said it planned to require licenses to operate submarine line terminal equipment. This equipment performs the most important function of a subsea cable system, connecting with U.S. terrestial facilities.
U.S. firms such as Facebook parent Meta, and Alphabet's Google unit will benefit from the approval process for additional?undersea cables systems to handle increasing internet traffic.
Brendan Carr, FCC chairperson, said: "We will presumptively exclude cable applications from lengthy and intensive reviews if they can demonstrate that they adhere to strict security standards and accept ongoing monitoring and oversight." The message is "simple": adopt national security standards and enjoy a smooth path to approval.
Fast-track means that companies operating cables must be vigilant against espionage and other security incidents, and monitor compliance with national and data security. Operators will also have to agree to not use foreign equipment which could pose security threats.
The FCC banned the use of undersea cable equipment and services from companies that it had listed as being a threat to U.S. National Security.
The companies that were banned included Huawei, ZTE, China Telecom, and China Mobile. But the new rules will likely expand the ban to include equipment from China, or any other country the U.S. considers to be a foreign enemy, in its submarine cable systems.
Since more than a decade, the?U.S. Officials have expressed concern over the network of 400 subsea cable that 'handles nearly all international internet traffic,' claiming that China and Russia pose a threat.
The Justice Department stated that in 2021 it would be necessary to enter into national security agreements with Google and Meta on submarine cables, given China's "sustained attempts" to obtain the sensitive data of millions of U.S. persons."
China has said that the U.S. must treat Chinese firms fairly.
In a?statement in June, the Commerce Ministry said that China was "strongly dissatisfied" and firmly opposed?this. "China urges the U.S. immediately to stop their erroneous practice, withdraw the relevant measures, and return to the right track in building a constructive and stable China-U.S. relationship." relationship."
The Chinese Embassy did not respond immediately to a comment request.
(source: Reuters)