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Libya's eastern government may declare force majeure in oil fields and ports
Libya's eastern government announced on Wednesday that it could declare a state of force majeure for oil fields and ports due to "repeated attacks against the National Oil Corporation" (NOC). Khalifa haftar, the eastern Libyan military commander, controls most of the oilfields that are located in this major oil-producing country. The government also said that it could temporarily move the headquarters of the National Oil Corporation to one of "safe cities" such as Ras Lanuf or Brega. Both are controlled by the government based in the east. The NOC is currently located in Tripoli under the control of the internationally-recongized Government of National Unity (GNU). In an earlier statement, the NOC denied that its corporate headquarters had been stormed. It called it "completely false". The statement also said that the system is "operating normally" and continues to carry out its vital functions without interruption. Hussain Safar, the acting head of NOC, said that the incident was "nothing more than a small personal dispute which occurred in the reception area. It was immediately contained by the administrative security personnel without any impact on its workflow or safety of employees." The GNU media office has posted video footage taken from the NOC's headquarters. It shows "stable weather conditions with no sign of storming or disturbances in security." Libya's oil production has been interrupted repeatedly over the past decade of chaos since 2014. The country was divided into two rival authorities, one in the west and the other in the east after the NATO-backed revolt that ousted Muammar Gadhafi in 2011. In August, Libya lost over half its oil production - about 700,000 barrels per day - and exports at several ports were halted as a standoff erupted between rival political groups over the central banking system, which threatened to bring an end to four years of relative calm. The shutdowns continued for more than a month, with production slowly returning from early October. According to the NOC, the crude oil production of the country in North Africa reached 1.3 millions barrels per day over the past 24 hours. (Reporting and editing by Jaidaa THA, Ahmed Tolba, and Ahmed Elumami)
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US Judge bars Trump from ending New York Congestion Program
The Trump administration is trying to end Manhattan's congestion pricing scheme. A judge blocked the U.S. Transportation Department on Wednesday from withholding funding. U.S. District judge Lewis Liman issued a preliminary order preventing the federal government to withhold approval or funding for New York project. He had earlier issued a temporary injunction. Liman wrote in his 109 page opinion that the Transportation Department "challenged Plaintiffs" to a "game of chicken," saying New York had the option to either stop the program, or "be prepared to face the consequences and suffer the impact" of government measures of compliance. During peak hours, the program charges $9 for most passenger vehicles to enter Manhattan south from 60th Street. On February 19, the Trump administration revoked federal approval for a program that was designed to reduce traffic, raise funds to upgrade subway and bus systems and to improve safety. U.S. Transportation secretary Sean Duffy told New York Governor Kathy Hochul in April that the U.S. Transportation Department could withhold environmental approvals and project funding beginning on May 28, if the State did not stop congestion pricing by the end of last week. The state declined to do so. Liman wrote: "The federal government cannot force states to obey its directives by threatening destructive punishment, only to claim it was just bluffing once compliance has been achieved." New York City and New York State sued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to stop the move shortly after the Trump Administration revoked its approval. The judge will complete the briefing for motions for summary judgement by early fall, and issue a decision on the merits by the end December. New York launched the first congestion pricing program of the nation in January. The program, they say, has drastically reduced congestion. There were about 5,8 million less cars in the congestion zone than expected between January and march, or an 8% to 13% reduction. Hochul said the funds raised through this program would be used to finance $15 billion of debt for capital improvements in critical mass transit. (Reporting and editing by Leslie Adler, Lisa Shumaker and Leslie Shepardson)
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US agrees to stop using race and gender in highway and transit contracts
The Trump Administration announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to stop the U.S. Transportation Department from considering race or gender in awarding federal highway and transportation project funding for small businesses. In September, a judge in Kentucky ruled a federal program enacted by the U.S. government in 1983 that treated businesses owned and operated by racial and ethnic minorities as presumptively disadvantaged in order to qualify for funding was in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. In a court document, the Transportation department stated that "the program's use of presumptions based on race and gender is unconstitutional." The Department previously defended its policy by claiming that it sought to rectify past discrimination. However, they have reevaluated their position after considering factors such as the Supreme Court decision in 2023 on an affirmative-action case. U.S. District judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, an appointee by former Republican President George W. Bush in Frankfort (Kentucky), said that the federal government could not classify people as a way to violate the U.S. Constitution's equal protection principles. He relied on a The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that the U.S. The law effectively banned affirmative action policies that were used to increase the number of Blacks, Hispanics and other minorities on American campuses. In 2021, the program was reauthorized by then Democratic President Joe Biden The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is the signature legislation of the, which has set aside over $37 billion to this purpose. (Reporting and editing by Chris Sanders in Albany, New York. David Shepardson is based in Albany).
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Sources say that Chevron will terminate contracts but keep its staff in Venezuela.
Sources close to the decision said that Chevron had terminated its oil production, service, and procurement contracts in Venezuela. It has delegated its joint venture governance to PDVSA. However, it intends to retain the direct staff it employs in Venezuela. The U.S. government of President Donald Trump revoked a key license that Chevron needed to operate in Venezuela in March. A two-month window granted for the winding down of transactions ended this week and the license was officially canceled, according to the company. In recent days, the U.S. manufacturer received a limited authorization from the Trump Administration allowing it preserve assets, including its joint venture stakes, and retain staff that it had expanded over the past few years. The guidelines are similar in terms to a U.S. licence Chevron held between 2020 and 2022, before the administration of President Joe Biden broadened it so that the company could expand into Venezuela and resume crude oil exports to America. Chevron, along with several European firms, had Requested Trump's policy of restriction towards the country has led to the U.S. issuing permits for assets to remain in South America. It was unclear if any other companies had received similar instructions. Sources said that Chevron executives met this week with top Venezuelan officials, including Delcy Rodrguez, oil minister, to inform them about the next steps. Chevron is prohibited from operating oilfields, exporting its oil, or expanding its activities in Venezuela under the new authorization. This is because Chevron wants to avoid paying any payments to President Nicolas Maduro and his administration. PDVSA and the U.S. Treasury Department did not respond to requests for comments. Chevron says it is in full compliance with all laws and regulations applicable, including those imposed by the U.S. Venezuela cancelled cargoes to Chevron in April, citing payment uncertainty related to U.S. Sanctions. This shortened a deadline of May 27 to close transactions. Chevron exported as much as 290,000. barrels of Venezuelan crude oil per day before the sanctions. Three sources indicated that the extra compensation bonuses Chevron implemented for its joint venture workers may be suspended. PDVSA is also taking over the sales of crude oil produced by these ventures. This could result in a new accumulation owed to their partner. The state-owned firm began exporting A heavy crude produced jointly. Trump accuses Maduro that he has not made progress in the return of migrants and on electoral reforms. Maduro rejects sanctions imposed by the U.S., and other countries. He says they are an economic war. (Reporting and editing by Staff; Chris Reese, Nick Zieminski).
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Sources say NATO will ask Berlin for seven additional brigades to be deployed under new targets
Three sources have confirmed that NATO will request Germany to provide an additional seven brigades or 40,000 troops to the alliance as part of new targets for weaponry and troop numbers which its defence ministers are expected to agree upon next week. The alliance has dramatically increased its military targets, as it sees Russia as a greater threat after its full-scale invasion in Ukraine 2022. As the information is classified, it's difficult to confirm exact figures about NATO's target countries or overall. According to a senior military official, who like other sources, spoke anonymously, the number of brigades NATO allies will have to provide in the future is expected to be increased to 120 to 130. The source stated that this would be a 50% increase from the current goal of 80 brigades. According to a government source, the goal for NATO is 130 brigades. A spokesperson from the Berlin defence ministry said that he couldn't preempt the decisions taken by NATO defence leaders and ministers at their summit at the end June. He added that the force planning and capability target of NATO is classified for security reasons. NATO described its new capability targets as ambitious, but did not quantify their numbers. A NATO official responded to a question about the plans, saying that they were based on what forces and resources NATO needed for defence and deterrence. Germany committed to providing 10 brigades by 2030 - usually units of around 5,000 soldiers - to NATO. The country currently has eight brigades, and is constructing a ninth one in Lithuania for 2027. Berlin will face a major challenge in providing 40,000 additional active troops. According to data from the defence ministry, the Bundeswehr is still short of 20,000 regular soldiers and hasn't yet reached its 2018 target of 203,000. According to a report from last year, NATO will need between 35 and 50 additional brigades in order to implement its new plans for defense against an attack by Russia. Germany alone will have to quadruple their air defence capability. Sources said that the new NATO targets did not include any plans for a reduction of U.S. forces in Europe. This prospect has alarmed Europeans, as NATO's defense plans heavily rely on U.S. assets. Washington announced that it would begin discussing its reduction plans later this year with allies. The administration of U.S. president Donald Trump has informed Europeans that they can no longer focus on European security. During the Cold War Germany had 500,000 soldiers and 800,000. NATO has tasked Germany, along with Poland, to provide the majority of the ground forces which would be the first responders in the event that Russia attacks the eastern flank of the alliance. Spending Increases NATO members have increased their defence spending massively since Russia invaded Ukraine on a full scale in February 2022. Trump has threatened to not defend countries that are lagging behind when it comes to defence spending. Mark Rutte, head of the alliance, will ask national leaders at a summit next month in The Hague to agree to double their current budget target. This would be from 2% to 5%. 3.5% to go to defence and 1.5% to security. Germany has recently made a historic change by loosing its constitutional debt brake to allow it to increase defence spending. It also backed Rutte’s 5% target. Carsten Breuer, the German chief of defence, has ordered that his country's military forces be fully equipped by 2020. By then, NATO expects Moscow will have sufficiently reconstituted their military forces to attack NATO territory. (Reporting and editing by Andrew Gray, Hugh Lawson, and Sabine Siebold)
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Airlines suspend flights to Israel again
Global Airlines has again suspended flights to and out of Tel Aviv following a missile fired from Yemen by the Houthi rebels on Israel's main airport in May. Israel is continuing to strike the Gaza Strip. After a ceasefire agreement with the militant Palestinian group Hamas in January, they had started to resume their flights. Israel re-started military operations in the enclave, and intensified them in May. The following airlines have cancelled flights in the last few months: AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, has announced that it will cancel flights to and from Tel Aviv up until June 2. AIR FRANCE-KLM KLM, the Dutch subsidiary of the group, has suspended flights from and to Tel Aviv till May 30. AIR INDIA The Indian flag carrier has suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv till June 19. British Airways, owned by IAG, has suspended flights from Tel Aviv to June 14. Iberia Express is IAG's low cost airline. It has canceled flights to Tel Aviv up until May 31. ITA AIRWAYS Italian Airlines has suspended all flights to and out of Tel Aviv through June 15. Polish Airlines has suspended its flights to Tel Aviv till May 31. LUFTHANSA GROUP The German airline group has temporarily suspended flights from and to Tel Aviv until June 15. RYANAIR The biggest budget airline in Europe has cancelled all flights to and out of Tel Aviv up until July 31. UNITED AIRLINES Chicago-based airline, United Airlines, said that its flights from and to Tel Aviv could be affected between May 4 and 6. (Reporting and editing by Elaine Hardcastle in Gdansk, Milla Nissi Prussak, Sharon Singleton and Tiago brandao from Gdansk)
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US-authorized buyers Venezuelan oil complete transaction as licenses expire
Shipping data and documents viewed on Wednesday show that buyers of Venezuelan crude oil who were granted licenses or authorizations by Washington have finished loading and departed their vessels as the period given to Washington for winding down transactions ended this week. As part of Trump's tougher stance against Venezuela, the U.S. Treasury Department and State Department have given companies like Chevron and Repsol until the 27th of May to receive cargoes from Venezuelan crude oil, fuel, and byproducts. Authorizations granted over the past few years were revoked back in March. The data revealed that a recent large swap between Venezuelan state company PDVSA and M&P, and commodities firm Vitol, was completed. Naphtha supplies were discharged at PDVSA’s Jose port, and vessels carrying Venezuelan crude oil set sail for the U.S. In recent days, other customers have also received their final cargoes before the deadline. PDVSA canceled in April cargoes that were scheduled to be delivered to one of its major joint-venture partners Chevron. The company cited payment uncertainty related to U.S. sanction, which shortened the deadline for completing these transactions. The company confirmed that Chevron’s license to operate in Venezuela expired on Tuesday. Sources say that the U.S. oil producer was given guidelines by the Trump administration to allow it to maintain its stakes, assets, and staff in Venezuela. PDVSA Vitol M&P Chevron and PDVSA did not respond to comments immediately. The data and documents show that as buyers completed and ended deals, crude sales to U.S. authorized companies have decreased since last month. This has been partially offset by a rise in fuel and oil deliveries to lesser-known intermediaries who distribute Venezuelan cargoes to Asia. Analysts predict that without the licenses Venezuelan oil production and exports will decline by 15-30% at the end of the year. This is after a slow recovery which had brought the average crude production to 1 million barrels per daily (bpd). The government of Nicolas Maduro has rejected the sanctions. Officials claim that they are an "economic warfare." Reporting by Staff; Editing by Alistair Bell
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Sources say NATO will ask Berlin for seven additional brigades to be deployed under new targets
Three sources have confirmed that NATO will request Germany to provide an additional seven brigades or 40,000 troops to the alliance as part of new targets for weaponry and troop numbers which its defence ministers will be agreeing on next week. The alliance has dramatically increased its military targets, as it sees Russia as a greater threat after its full-scale invasion in Ukraine 2022. As the information is classified, it's difficult to confirm exact figures about NATO's target countries or overall. According to a senior military official, who like other sources, spoke anonymously, the number of brigades NATO allies will have to provide for future years is expected to be between 120 and 130. The source stated that this would be a 50% increase from the current goal of 80 brigades. According to a government source, the goal for NATO is 130 brigades. A spokesperson from the Berlin defence ministry said that he couldn't preempt the decisions taken by NATO defence leaders and ministers at their summit next week. He added that the force planning and capability target of NATO is classified for security reasons. NATO has not responded to all requests for comment immediately. Germany committed to providing 10 brigades (units that usually consist of around 5,000 soldiers) for NATO by the year 2030. The country currently has eight brigades, and is building a ninth one in Lithuania for 2027. Berlin will face a major challenge in providing 40,000 additional active troops. According to data from the defence ministry, the Bundeswehr is still short of 20,000 regular soldiers and hasn't yet reached its 2018 target of 203 000 troops. According to a report from last year, NATO will need between 35 and 50 additional brigades in order to implement its new plans for defense against an attack by Russia. Germany alone would be required to quadruple their air defence capability. Sources said that the new NATO targets did not include any plans for a reduction of U.S. forces in Europe. This prospect has alarmed Europeans, as NATO's defense plans heavily rely on U.S. assets. Washington announced that it would begin discussing its reduction plans later this year with allies. The administration of U.S. president Donald Trump has informed Europeans that they can no longer focus on European security. During the Cold War Germany had 500,000 soldiers and 800,000. NATO has tasked Germany, along with Poland, to provide the majority of the ground forces which would be the first responders in the event that Russia attacks the eastern flank of the alliance. Spending Increases NATO members have increased their defence spending massively since Russia invaded Ukraine on a full scale in February 2022. Trump has threatened to not defend countries that are lagging behind when it comes to defence spending. Mark Rutte, head of the alliance, will ask national leaders at a summit next month in The Hague to agree to double their current budget target. This would be from 2% to 5%. 3.5% to go to defence and 1.5% to security. Germany has recently made a historic change by loosing its constitutional debt brake to allow it to increase defence spending. It also backed Rutte’s 5% target. Carsten Breuer, the German chief of defence, has ordered that his country's military forces be fully equipped by 2020. By then, NATO expects Moscow will have sufficiently reconstituted their military forces to attack NATO territory. (Reporting and editing by Andrew Gray, Hugh Lawson, and Sabine Siebold)
SpaceX Starship launches on ninth test after two previous flights blew up
Starship, Elon Musk's futuristic SpaceX rocket, which is aimed at multi-planet travel, was launched from Texas Tuesday for its ninth test flight without crew. The mission was to achieve a successful launch after two previous attempts had ended in an explosive failure.
The SpaceX Super Heavy rocket booster atop the Starship vessel, which is a two-stage spacecraft consisting of a Starship vessel, was launched at approximately 7:36 pm EDT (2330 GMT) from Starbase, the launch site of the company on the Gulf Coast of Texas, near Brownsville.
SpaceX's live webcast showed the rocketship rising into the evening sky from the launch tower as its cluster of powerful Raptor engine roared to life, accompanied by a ball or flames and clouds of exhaust gas and water vapor.
SpaceX has launched its Starship system using a Super Heavy booster that had previously been flown. The goal was to demonstrate the reusability of the booster. The first-stage booster, measuring 232 feet (71 meters), will not return to the launch pad. Instead, it will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico.
SpaceX received a license from federal regulators for Starship’s latest flight attempt only four days ago. This capped an investigation into a mishap that grounded Starship for almost two months.
The vehicle's ascent caused it to break apart, causing debris to rain down over the Caribbean region and disrupting commercial flights.
The Federal Aviation Administration has expanded debris hazards zones around the launch path of Tuesday's launch. This is the ninth full-scale test flight in the Starship campaign.
SpaceX has suffered a series of failures in the early stages of test flights, which it had previously achieved with ease. This is a major setback for Musk, the billionaire who founded SpaceX in 2002 and had hoped to accelerate the program this year.
Musk, the wealthiest person in the world and a major supporter of U.S. president Donald Trump, is eager to see his SpaceX venture succeed after pledging recently to focus his attention back on his business, especially following his turbulent forays into national politics and attempts to cut government bureaucracy.
Musk expects Starship to help him achieve his goal to produce a large multipurpose spacecraft that can carry people and cargo on the moon in this decade, and eventually fly to Mars.
Musk sees Starship eventually replacing SpaceX Falcon 9 as the main workhorse of its commercial launch business. The company already launches most of the world’s satellites into low-Earth orbit.
Musk was to give an update on his ambitions for space exploration in a Starbase speech following the test flight. The speech would be streamed live under the slogan "The Road to Making Life Multiplanetary."
He was expected by many to announce new timelines and plans for the voyages of Starship to Mars. Mars is a future destination that's tantalizing, but far away. It poses a number of technical challenges for SpaceX and NASA.
The speech may also provide clues as to the future of NASA's strategy for human spaceflight. Musk is known for making overly optimistic projections regarding SpaceX's timelines. However, he now has a much greater influence over the Trump administration’s space agenda.
Musk has a vision of launching humans to Mars on the 400-foot (122-meter) tall Starship rocket. This system will also expand SpaceX's global leadership in the satellite launch industry, which it gained with the reusable Falcon 9 rocket.
Starship, which NASA selected in 2021 to be the vehicle that will return humans to the surface of the moon this decade for more than 50 years - is expected to play a bigger role in U.S. Space Program. Trump has promoted Musk's Mars vision and attended a Starship launch test in November.
Musk and SpaceX continue to have a significant influence on U.S. Space Policy despite recent signals of reducing political spending and his shift away from the government.
Trump's pick to lead NASA is Jared Isaacman. A billionaire astronaut and SpaceX client for whom Musk advocated in April, Isaacman testified before an U.S. Senate Committee but hasn't advanced through the confirmation process. Meanwhile, significant changes are looming at the U.S. Space Agency.
The White House budget plan released earlier this year proposed $6 billion of cuts to NASA. This would have strengthened the agency's focus on Mars and threatened programs that Musk, Isaacman and others had criticized.
Musk, who was born in South Africa, was one of the cabinet members Trump had present at a May 22 event that drew tension between him and the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa. The U.S. President pointed Musk out as he stood among the Trump officials.
Trump stated that "he actually came here to discuss a different topic: sending rockets on Mars." "He prefers this subject." Steve Gorman, Los Angeles, wrote and reported on the story, with additional reporting from Joe Skipper in Starbase, Texas; Joe Brock, Matthew Lewis, and Cynthia Osterday edited it.
(source: Reuters)