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France considers sending Eutelsat terminals in Iran during internet blackout
France may send Eutelsat satellite terminals in Iran to assist?citizens, after Iranian authorities imposed an internet blackout in an attempt to quell Iran's most violent internal unrest in years. The French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot responded to a question from a member of the Lower House on Wednesday, saying that he was exploring all options. Eutelsat, owned by the French and British governments, is the only constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites (or group) that exists besides Elon Musk’s Starlink. Satellites beam broadband internet to consumers, businesses, governments and underserved regions. In recent days, Iranian authorities have launched a "deadly" crackdown which has killed thousands of people during protests against the clerical regime. They also imposed an almost complete shutdown of internet services. Three people in the country have confirmed that some Iranians are still able to connect to Starlink satellite Internet service. Alp Toker of NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, said this week that even Starlink appears to have been reduced. Eutelsat refused to comment on Barrot's remarks or its activities in Iran when asked by. Starlink has more than 9,000 satellites, which allows for faster speeds than Eutelsat’s fleet of over 600. Its terminals that connect users to the network also cost less and are easier to install. Eutelsat provides internet access for Ukraine's military. Starlink has been used to maintain battlefield connectivity throughout the war against Russia. OneWeb terminals, according to Carlos?Placido, an independent satellite communications advisor, are larger and more difficult to jam than Starlink terminals. Placido explained that the sheer size of the Starlink constellation made jamming more difficult, but not impossible. OneWeb makes it easier to predict the satellites that will be online at any given time and location. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson; Inti Lo Nostro and Gianluca L. Nostro)
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Ukraine will not limit gas supplies to consumers in spite of Russian attacks
The head of the?state energy firm Naftogaz stated on Wednesday that Ukraine would not limit gas supplies to its citizens and businesses, despite Russian attacks which have 'damaged Ukrainian infrastructure and curtailed their production. Since last year, Russia has been?attacking? Ukraine's energy industry almost every day. It targets electricity producers and transmission networks as well as gas transportation and production facilities. Sergii Koretskyi, Naftogaz's boss, wrote on Facebook: "All gas consumers are supplied despite the systematic attacks of the enemy against?gas infrastructure. Then energy minister Svitlana Hrynchuk stated that her team was already working on scenarios and preparing restrictions on gas supplies to the industry and population for the first since Russia's invasion in 2022 sparked the war. Koretskyi responded to information that was circulating in the Telegram messaging application, which suggested that these restrictions had now been implemented. "There are not any restrictions" "This is totally false," he wrote. He added that there was no plan to reduce gas supplies. Ukraine has cut its electricity supply to the people and businesses. Many regions are without power for almost half the day. Ukraine was able to meet its gas requirements almost entirely through its own production before the Russian attack on the sector. After the attacks, Ukraine increased its gas imports from both the EU and the United States. Denys Shmyhal, the former prime minister of Ukraine, was appointed as new energy Minister by Ukraine's Parliament on Wednesday. He stated that his primary task is to "resume domestic production". He told the parliament that "we need to rebuild damaged distribution stations and pipelines of gas, restore backup supply schemes for consumers who are critical, and improve reliability of gas storage facility." (Reporting and editing by Joe Bavier; Pavel Polityuk)
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Freeport LNG Export Plant in Texas will take in more natgas Wednesday after a reduction on Tuesday - LSEG Data
Freeport LNG’s export plant in Texas is on track to 'take in more natural gases on Wednesday, after flow?declined? on Tuesday. This was a sign that the?plant _was _recovering from some disruption earlier this week. The U.S. facility is one of the U.S. exporting liquefied gas facilities that are closely monitored in the world. Operational changes could cause price swings on global gas markets. Gas prices in the U.S. are usually lower due to a decrease in demand from the export plant. Prices in Europe are usually higher due to the reduced LNG supply available on global markets. The U.S. futures market fell by about 5% on Wednesday, mainly due to the uncertainty surrounding the possible reduction of gas supplies to Freeport. Prices in Europe were also up about 4%, reaching a new three-month high. This was mainly due to the colder weather forecasts for Europe but in part due to the reduced gas flow to U.S. export LNG plants, such as Freeport. Freeport officials did not comment on Wednesday. LSEG stated that gas flows to Freeport are on track to increase to 1.4 billion cubic foot per day (bcfd), up from 0.7 bcfd Tuesday. This compares to an average of 1.9 bcfd for the previous seven days. Three liquefaction plants at Freeport can?convert about 2.4 billion cubic feet of gas per day into LNG. A billion cubic feet of natural gas can supply 5 million U.S. households for one day. Reporting by Scott DiSavino Editing Mark Potter and Bernadettebaum
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Ryanair reduces capacity between Brussels Charleroi and Charleroi due to the passenger tax
Ryanair will operate 10% fewer flights from Brussels Charleroi Airport, due to the new 3-euro ($3.50), passenger tax that takes effect in April. Michael O'Leary, the Group Chief Executive of Irish Airlines, told reporters that the airline would reduce its annual seat total from 10.5 million to 1.1 million. He said: "We will continue to cut until the Belgian government... abolishes all these stupid taxes." New aircraft are being sent to Sweden and Albania, while some aircraft will be moved to other locations. This year, we'll be adding four new aircraft at Stockholm. O'Leary stated that in Albania there are no taxes and we're opening four aircraft bases. "We're thinking this winter we're going to move four or even five of these aircraft out of Charleroi. "They'll be going to Slovakia, Italy, and Sweden. That's what these taxes do," added he. He said that the EU must do more to maintain European aviation's competitiveness, including by including non-European flights in its Emissions Trading Scheme. The scheme gives airlines an allowance for emissions and requires them to 'buy carbon credits' in order to make up any excess emissions. The EU originally limited the scope for ETS to airlines in 'the European Economic Area. This decision has been extended multiple times. The European Commission is required to review this limit by July, before it expires at the beginning of 2027. Either we force non-Europeans to pay ETS, or we lower the ETS rates for Europeans. O'Leary stated that aviation is one of few industries in which Europe is more competitive than the United States. Ryanair, he said, has decided not to add Elon Musk's Starlink Internet to its aircraft due to the additional fuel costs and flight duration.
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UK jury: Captain attempted to change course prior to fatal tanker accident
A London court heard on Wednesday that the captain of a container vessel which smashed into a U.S. oil tanker last year off Britain's East Coast tried to alter course in order to avoid a fatal collision. Vladimir Motin's lawyer stated that the Russian captain of the Solong, who hit the Stena Immaculate tanker anchored in March 2025 and tried to turn off the autopilot but failed, shortly before the crash. Motin is facing trial at the Old Bailey, accused of gross negligence manslaughter. Mark Pernia is a 38-year-old crew member whose body was never found, but is presumed to be dead. Motin has not pleaded guilty. James Leonard, his lawyer, said that Motin was responsible for avoiding the collision and that "there is no doubt that this collision led to the sad death of Mr Pernia". Leonard continued, "On the basis of the defendant's failure to avoid a collision involving the Stena Immaculate there is no question that he was at fault." He told the jury that they had to decide whether Motin's fault was the cause of the accident and whether it was "grossly negligence as compared with anything less than that". CAPTAIN SAYS: HE TRYED TO CHANGE THE COURSE Leonard stated that Motin saw the Stena Immaculate on the radar of the Solong from "at least 9 nautical miles (16,7 kilometers) away", while the Solong was controlled by the autopilot. Motin said that when the Solong was about one nautical mile away from the Stena Immaculate he tried to manually change the course of the Solong. Leonard stated that there would have been a collision if he had changed his course the way he wanted to. He said that the jury would need to decide whether it was reasonable that Motin had waited until the Solong was a nautical mile away before he acted. Tom Little, the prosecutor, said that Motin did "absolutely" nothing to prevent the accident. Motin has pleaded guilty to gross negligent manslaughter. The trial should conclude by the end of next month. (Reporting and editing by Sam Tobin, Mark Heinrich)
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Construction-related accidents are on the rise in Thailand
A crane fell onto a train moving in the northeastern part of Thailand on Wednesday, killing dozens of people. This is just the latest in a string of construction accidents that have occurred in recent years. Other fatal construction accidents in Thailand March 28, 2025: A?partially constructed 30-storey Bangkok tower collapsed in a 7.7-magnitude quake which struck central Myanmar. At least 89 people were killed. Construction was carried out by Italian Thai Development PCL - a large construction company that was also involved in building the rail line at the time of Wednesday's accident. In?August, the president of ITD and 21 other suspects were charged with violating construction regulations as well as causing death by negligence. The case is still pending, and he initially denied the charges. On March 15, 2025, a bridge under construction on the Rama III - Dao Khanong expressway Project collapsed in Bangkok. At least five people died and?27 were injured. ITD was also a part of the joint venture for the?highway. The authorities launched an investigation, and the contractors offered compensation to the victims. In August, the incident led to the government introducing a system of "contractor reports cards" to improve oversight over companies involved in public infrastructure projects. August 24, 2024: Three workers were killed in a tunnel collapse in Nakhon ratchasima Province in northeastern Thailand. The same project that caused the incident on Wednesday was involved. The collapse took place during heavy rains in the'region. In an accident that occurred on November 29, 2024, four Myanmar workers and two Thai workers died in Samut Sakhon Province, south of?capital Bangkok. The accident happened at the construction site of a?elevated autobahn. A concrete segment and a crane fell during the construction of the elevated highway, causing six injuries. March 29, 2024: Seven people died and many were injured, including a person who lost a leg, when a crane collapsed on a construction site at a Chinese steel factory in Rayong Province in eastern Thailand. (Compiled by PanuWongcha-um, DevjyotGhoshal and Sharon Singleton; Editing by Sharon Singleton).
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After the Black Sea tanker attack, Kazakhstan calls on US and Europe to assist in securing oil transport
Kazakhstan called on Europe and the U.S. to secure oil transport after drone attacks on tankers headed to a Black Sea Terminal on the Russian coast that handles 1% of the global supply. Unidentified drones attacked at least two oil tankers in Tuesday's Black Sea, including a tanker chartered by U.S. major Chevron. They were sailing toward a terminal along the Russian coast that would load oil from Kazakhstan. In a press release, Kazakhstan's foreign ministry said that three tankers had been hit on their way to the Black Sea marine terminal for the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Drones attacked CPC’s exporting equipment on November 29. This resulted in a drop in oil exports through the outlet. The ministry stated that "the increasing frequency of these incidents highlights the growing risk to the functioning international energy infrastructure". "We call on our partners to work closely together to develop joint actions aimed at preventing such incidents in the future," added the report. The Russian Defence Ministry said that on Wednesday, the Matilda Tanker, which was sailing under the Maltese Flag, was attacked by two Ukrainian strike drones. This attack took place at a distance between 100 km (62 miles) and the city of Anapa, located in the Krasnodar Region of Russia. Ukraine has not commented on the incident. CPC's 1,500 km (930 miles) pipeline is owned by KazMunayGas (Kazakhstan's state-owned oil company), Lukoil (Russia), and Chevron/ExxonMobil units. Russian terminals in the Black Sea process more than 2% global crude. The waters of the Black Sea, which are shared with Bulgaria, Georgia and Romania, Turkey and Russia, are crucial for grain shipping. CPC is responsible for the majority of Kazakhstan's oil exports. (Reporting and Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva, Vladimir Soldatkin. Editing by Mark Potter/Guy Faulconbridge).
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Report: Greek airspace blackout caused by old systems and not cyberattack
Investigators say that an eight-hour radio blackout at Greek airports last week, which forced authorities to clear airspace, was partially due to outdated communication systems. The issue revealed infrastructure gaps in this key tourist destination. A high-ranking government official resigned after the report of the investigative panel on Wednesday. On January 4, air traffic controllers lost touch with the majority of planes, which included dozens headed for Greek airports. Radio frequencies were also replaced by static. Experts in aviation said that the incident was unprecedented for a country in southern Europe. The key Telecom Infrastructure Based on Outdated Technology The report of the five-member investigation committee said that the cause of the outage is still unclear. Multiple systems went out of sync, leading to a scramble of communications between the airport towers and the planes. In response, a transport ministry official stated that Greece's system was in line with EU Standards. However, the ministry has implemented an upgrade plan which is expected to be complete in 2028. The unions have called for upgrades since years and say that the system is unsafe, particularly in light of the tourism boom, with millions of tourists flying to Greece each year. They said that the report vindicated their concerns on Wednesday. The AVIATION AUTHORITY'S GOVERNOR RETIRES In a statement released by the Greek transport ministry, George Saounatsos resigned as governor of Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday. The current deputy governor George Vagenas will fill in until a replacement is appointed. The report stated that, while the incident was a "low-risk" one in terms of safety for flights, the Civil Aviation Authority’s voice communication system and the critical supporting telecom infrastructure are based on outdated technology. The report was submitted to the Transport Ministry and published late Tuesday. It stated that the infrastructure no longer has the support of manufacturers and is not operationally guaranteed. The report stated that the Greek telecom provider OTE has been warning the civil aviation authority since 2019 about the need for new circuits in its systems. It also recommended upgrading transceivers, among other changes. The report also recommended the creation of a crisis response mechanism between OTE and the Civil Aviation Authority. Reporting by Renee Maltezou, Editing by Sharon Singleton & Bernadette Baum
Mussels attack Swiss lakes, finish fishing webs and threatening wildlife
Angler Claude Delley rattles the metal frame of his web versus the side of his boat on Switzerland's Lake Neuchatel, trying to get rid of dozens of tiny, brown mussels.
Some plop back into the water however most sit tight. The sharp shells of the creatures - a fast-spreading, invasive species originally from the Black Sea - work away at the netting, suggesting he needs to change it twice as often as before.
There is no option, he said. As quickly as the mussel clings to the web, it stays there.
It is not just the webs. The Quagga mussels have actually blocked undersea pipelines. Stéphan Jacquet, one of a group of researchers studying the species, stated he had actually seen Swiss local crayfish, whose population remains in decline, encrusted in the animals, threatening suffocation.
The mussels also consume substantial amounts of microscopic plants called phytoplankton, leaving less for other lake animals to eat.
Potentially all biological classifications and significant links in the food cycle can be impacted, Jacquet, who operates at the INRAE CARRTEL lab even more south in Thonon-les-Bains, said.
The mussels were very first identified in Switzerland in the River Rhine near Basel in 2014. Ever since they have spread to colonise at least six Swiss lakes consisting of Lake Geneva.
The population, which has few predators, is poised to increase approximately 20 times in Switzerland in the next two decades, according to a 2023 study by marine research institute Eawag and Swiss universities based upon trends seen in the Fantastic Lakes of the United States considering that the 1980s.
The mussels are currently present in France and Germany.
It is not understood precisely how each lake was invaded, however mussel larvae can spread on rivers or currents and be introduced into brand-new bodies of water when boats or devices are moved.
As soon as in, the species multiplies quickly with one individual capable of producing numerous countless larvae.
When we look undersea, we can see that it has an rapid colonisation, really considerable, as these communities are now completely covered, from the surface to the depths, Jacquet said.
Some Swiss lakes have actually been spared, consisting of Lake Zurich and Lake Lucerne. In some locations, authorities are now thinking about new rules for cleansing and shipping boats to stop the spread.
(source: Reuters)