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India pledges $680 Million in Economic Support for Mauritius
India has agreed to provide $680 million to Mauritius in economic aid for projects in healthcare, infrastructure, and maritime security, as New Delhi competes with China to gain more influence in this Indian Ocean nation. This assistance includes grants and credit lines to support the development and surveillance of a marine protected area in the Chagos Archipelago that houses a U.S. and British air base on Diego Garcia. In May, Britain ceded sovereignty over the Chagos islands to Mauritius. However, it retained control of its military base through a 99-year leasing agreement. India has always supported Mauritius in its claims to the islands, and it has supported U.S. presence on the Indian Ocean as a way to counter the growing influence of China which has strong trade ties with Mauritius. The marine protected area is the largest in the world, with an area of over a quarter million square miles, larger than California, the U.S. State. In a joint announcement made during the visit to India by Mauritian Prime Minster Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM, the economic assistance was announced. Support is also provided for other projects, such as the construction of a new port, a new hospital and a redevelopment of the existing port. It includes helicopters, budgetary support of $25 million and a grant of 25 million dollars in this current financial year. (Reporting and editing by Alex Richardson; Shivam Patel)
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Belarus opposition leader: US sanctions against Belarusian airline may help Russia
Sviatlana khanouskaya, an exiled Belarusian leader of the opposition, said that a easing of U.S. restrictions on Belarusian airline Belavia would also be beneficial to Russia. Tsikhanouskaya's comments were made in a press release released by her chief advisor after the U.S. announced that sanctions would be relaxed following the release by the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko of 52 prisoners. "We appreciate the humanitarian goal -- to release people. "We welcome their release but, in essence, it is a trade of human lives - people who shouldn't have been imprisoned to begin with," Tsikhanouskaya stated. She said that the move to impose sanctions was important for Lukashenko, as it would allow Belarus to buy spare parts for its state airline. She said, "But they could also create a loophole that would allow Russia to obtain parts via Belavia." She claimed that the release only covered 4% of those who were designated as political prisoner and that it did not represent a real change in policy from Lukashenko.
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Delta Air Lines confirms its annual profit forecast based on sustained travel demand
Delta Air Lines reaffirmed Thursday its full-year earnings forecasts and current-quarter earning predictions, betting on sustained demand for travel in the U.S. The carrier has also increased the lower end its revenue forecast for the third quarter to September. It now expects growth of 2%-4% from its previous projection of 0%-4% growth. This buoyant mood is in stark contrast with earlier this year when many U.S. airlines issued gloomy predictions as President Donald Trump’s tariffs, budget cuts and other measures weighed on demand. In July, major airline executives expressed confidence that the industry would be able to increase airfares by the end of the year. According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data, airfares increased by 4% in July. During the holiday season, more Americans took advantage of the travel discounts and deals to fly within the United States or abroad. Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru and Utkarsh Setti; editing by Pooja Deai
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Redeia: Solar plant mismanagement left Spain's grid vulnerable to blackouts on blackout days
According to Redeia's chair, the owner of grid operator REE, the mismanagement of a large plant of solar panels in southwest Spain left the power system of the country more vulnerable when a major blackout struck the Iberian Peninsula on April 28. The power outage in Spain and Portugal paralyzed many areas for several hours. This prompted numerous investigations by the government, energy watchdogs, and the grid and power companies. Beatriz Corredor, who spoke at a Senate hearing Thursday, said: "We have evidence that shows that the extraordinary oscillation which began at 12.00 was caused by the poor management and control of a high-capacity photovoltaic power plant in the province Badajoz." She was referring to the first oscillation, recorded just before the blackout. She said that the plant "behaved inappropriately and as a consequence made the system more vulnerable," without disclosing its name, owner, or exact location. The same plant had experienced a similar failure the year before, and those in charge of that plant said that they were conducting an experiment to see how best to manage this plant. Corredor, as it has done in the past, blamed some coal, nuclear and gas plants for not maintaining an adequate voltage. The Spanish utilities blamed grid operator's incompetence for the blackout. (Reporting and editing by Tomaszjanowski)
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Zelenskiy calls on allies to reconsider air defence following the Poland drone attack
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, urged Kyiv’s allies to reconsider their air defence capabilities on Thursday after drones were spotted infiltrating Polish airspace. Warsaw claimed that these drones were Russian. Zelenskiy, who spoke in Kyiv alongside visiting Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that Ukraine is "open and willing" to support its allies. Since Russia's war against its neighbour began, Ukraine has successfully repelled many airstrikes using a variety of Ukrainian and foreign weapons from old machine guns up to advanced missiles. Zelenskiy stated that countries like Poland should explore similar multilayered approaches, as missile systems made in the U.S.A. such as Patriot are too expensive to be used against cheaper drones by Russia. Zelenskiy stated that "no one has enough missiles in the entire world to destroy all types of drones." Poland, with the support of its NATO allies, shot down drones Wednesday that had entered its airspace. The Polish president claimed this was a Russian provocation to test Poland's and NATO's response. Zelenskiy stated that Ukraine is in a good position to guide its allies, as it relies heavily on Western long range air defence systems, but has also developed sophisticated internal approaches to repel Russian attacks. He said that the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has already agreed to send military personnel to Ukraine to discuss this issue. A source familiar with this matter confirmed on Thursday that the Polish military representatives would be trained to shoot down drones. (Reporting and writing by Max Hunder, Yuliia Dysa and Dan Peleschuk. Editing and proofreading by Aidan Lewis, Timothy Heritage and Timothy Heritage.
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Ryanair may not return in Israel
Michael O'Leary, the Group Chief executive of Ryanair, said that the airline may not return to Israel once the violence associated with the Gaza War recedes. He also claimed that airport authorities in Israel "muck around" with the airline. O'Leary, speaking to journalists in Dublin, said: "I believe there's a very real possibility we will not bother going back... once the current violence recedes." The airline announced earlier this summer that it would not be returning to Israel before October 25, at the latest. O'Leary stated that Ryanair is unhappy that Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport charges a higher rate to use the main terminal, when the lower-cost terminal has been closed due to security concerns. He said, "Until the Israelis get their act together, and stop messing with us, frankly, there is more growth in Europe." (Written by Conor Humphries, edited by Sharon Singleton & Emelia Sithole Matarise).
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Maguire: China's rare reduction in power pollution is offset by increased US emissions
Some people have said that it's pointless for other countries to reduce their pollution, while China continues to build new coal plants and raise its own emissions. The Chinese power sector has so far managed to achieve a rare reduction in pollution due to the use of fossil-fuels. This bodes well for those who track climate change and hope that China's massive pollution trends will soon peak. The cuts in China were more than offset by the sharply increased emissions from power plants in America, where coal-fired electric generation in 2025 has reached a three-year-high. Even if China's emissions drop, global pollution in the power sector will continue to rise this year due to the higher pollution load coming from America. The U.S. offset for pollution also negates the argument it's pointless to reduce pollution when China's emissions are increasing, and shows that other countries could be closer to capping the power sector discharge of the world if they follow China's example. COAL CUTS Data from the energy think tank Ember show that between January and July 2024, China's carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels used in power generation fell by 30 million metric tonnes. This emission reduction represents a 1% drop from the previous year and follows two years of pollution increases in China between January and July. China's fossil fuel power emissions have grown for nine years in a row. A modest reduction in emissions in 2025 will be a milestone in China’s efforts to reduce pollution. The total power emissions due to fossil fuels were 3,24 billion tons CO2 from January to July 2024, down from 3,27 billion tons from January to July 2024. The first reduction in coal-fired electricity generation since 2022 has played a key role in the drop in emissions. This has also been made possible by an increase of 14% in clean electricity production year-over-year. The total clean electricity produced during the window of January to July was 2,445 Terawatt Hours (TWh), approximately 303 TWh higher than the amount generated in the same months last. The electricity generated by coal-fired plants, which remain China's primary power source, was 3,277 tWh from January to July. This is a decrease of around 30 tWh or about 1% compared with the same months in 2020. The generation of electricity in China from gas-fired power plants was also down around 1% compared to a year earlier. US POWERING UPS While China's power sector reduced coal consumption this year, U.S. energy firms increased it. Coal-fired electricity supply grew by 16% between January and July 2024 compared to the same period in 2019. The total coal-fired electric supply in the United States was 435 TWh from January to July. This is up from 375 tWh one year earlier and represents the highest level since 2022. The increase in CO2 emissions from the spike in coal consumption was 37 million tons more than in the same months of last year. The total U.S. emissions of fossil fuels from the power sector during January-July were 978 millions tons of CO2, compared to 941 millions tons in 2024. The increase in the coal share in the U.S. generation mix, from under 15% to almost 17% in 2025. This increase in coal consumption was driven primarily by the rise in natural gas prices during the first months of the new year. Gas prices are expected to be 65% higher in the first half of 2025 than they were in the same period last year. In order to compensate for lower gas supplies, the power companies burned coal, which was cheaper, but had higher emissions. This caused the pollution surge. CLEANING UP In addition to the higher output of coal, U.S. utilities generated 30% more solar power from January to July than a year ago, as well as 3% more hydro and wind-powered energy. The total U.S. generation of clean electricity from January to July increased by 6%, reaching a record high of 1,155 TWh. The share of clean power in the U.S. electric generation mix increased to a record 44 % from January to July. This is up from a little under 43 % the previous year. U.S. utilities still rely heavily on fossil fuels to produce the majority of their electricity, despite the fact that total electricity demand is at its highest level in decades. Many utilities will continue to use coal in their generation mix to reduce costs, as thermal coal is still around 20% cheaper than natural gas. It is possible that U.S. emission levels will continue to rise, pushing global pollution to new heights even if China can manage to limit its fossil fuel consumption for the remainder of the year. These are the opinions of the columnist, an author for. You like this article? Check it out Open Interest The new global financial commentary source (ROI) is your go-to for all the latest news and information. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on You can find us on LinkedIn.
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Bousso: Europe is at risk of falling victim to US "energy dominance"
It might seem audacious to the world's biggest natural gas producer that it demands its largest market stop purchasing from a rival. This is exactly what happened this week in Milan at the annual meeting of the global gas industry. U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum delivered a clear message at the beginning of the Gastech Conference. Doug Burgum, the Interior Secretary of the United States, delivered a message that was clear: Europe should cease purchasing gas from Russia. The United States will gladly replace it. Burgum said that American energy dominance is a key part of Donald Trump's agenda in his second term. It aims to bring peace and prosperity around the world. Burgum, the former governor of North Dakota's oil-rich state, said: "We can achieve peace around the globe by selling our energy to friends and allies so they don't need to purchase from our enemies." Washington has been increasing pressure on Europe to stop buying Russian oil and gas in order to squeeze the Kremlin war economy. It also wants to put pressure on Vladimir Putin, President of Ukraine to accept a ceasefire. "ENERGY DOMINANCE" Europe has drastically reduced its Russian gas imports since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022. It aims to completely phase out Russian gas purchases by 2027 if not sooner. Despite this, the region continues to import Russian gas via the Turkstream pipeline. Importantly, Europe may have just swapped one dependence for another. Most of the Russian pipeline volumes in the region have been replaced with LNG imports, and most of these have come from the United States. The first half of 2025 will see Europe's imports of LNG increase by 25% over the previous year to a record high of 92 bcm. Over 55% of these imports were accounted for by the United States, with Russia coming in second at 14%. In light of this new reality, Europe is forced to accept the energy agenda of the Trump administration. Ditte Jorgensen, Director General of Energy at the European Commission, told a conference that the EU will continue to enhance its energy partnership with America. She said that the U.S. energy dominance policy is complementary to her strategy of replacing Russian oil in her system. These words are already being translated into action. On Monday, Italy's energy company Edison and Shell signed a deal to increase LNG purchases, among other things, as part of a commitment to strengthen their energy relations. On Wednesday, Italy's Edison energy company signed a contract with Shell for the purchase of around 0.7 millions tonnes per year in U.S. gas starting in 2028. The deal could last up to 15-years. Some EU countries, namely Hungary and Slovakia, are opposed to this U.S. pivot. Both countries rely heavily on Russian gas and oil, and so both voted against the ban on imports earlier this year. Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's foreign minister, said that Hungary "cannot walk out of Russian gas" due to geographical and infrastructure limitations. Actions speak louder than mere words. MVM CEEnergy, a Hungarian wholesaler of natural gas, signed a 10-year contract with Shell on February 2nd. Shell will supply 200 million cubic meters (mcms) of gas per year starting in January 2026. This deal is aimed at reducing the country's dependence on Russia. Overall, Europe seems to be doing exactly what Burgum asks for. EXTREME DEPENDENCE The energy dependency of Europe is expected to be at its highest level ever in the near future. By replacing Russian LNG with U.S. LNG, America's share in EU LNG imports would rise to about 70%. The share could be increased to more than 80% if the 16 bcm additional gas imported via the Turkstream pipe is also replaced. Calculations show that this would be equivalent to 23% of the total imports when you include pipeline imports from Norway and Azerbaijan, as well as North Africa. By comparison, Russia supplied around 40% of Europe’s total gas imports by 2022. Although reliance on U.S. Energy carries less risk politically, this extreme dependency exposes Europe nonetheless to potentially serious disruptions. For example, a sudden drop of exports from U.S. Gulf Coast because of hurricanes or heatwaves. Washington's chaotic policymaking since January has shown that there can be political risk among allies. Burgum stated that the U.S. policy of energy dominance is aligned fully with Europe's desire to stop its dependence on Russia. This seems to be the case for now. Who knows how long the energy and security objectives of these allies will be in harmony. The EU should hope that it will be a long time as its over-reliance on energy will leave little room for manoeuvre. You like this column? Open Interest (ROI) is your essential source for global commentary on financial markets. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X.
Poland announces that the UN Security Council will convene to discuss drone incursions
Poland announced on Thursday that the U.N. Security Council would hold an emergency session to discuss drone incursions in its airspace, which its President characterized as an attempt by Russia test Warsaw's and NATO's reaction.
After shooting down a Russian drone that it claimed violated its airspace, Poland has also banned drone flight along its eastern border with Belarus and Ukraine and restricted small air traffic in the area.
Poland's NATO allies supported it in its efforts to shoot down the drones. This was the first time that a member state of the alliance had fired a shot during Russia's conflict in Ukraine.
Russia has said that it did not intend to strike any targets in Poland and will make no further comments about the incident. Senior NATO commanders said that it is not known if the drone intrusion was intentional.
The incident has sparked concerns about NATO's readiness to respond to drone attacks. It has also fueled tensions with Russia, prompted Western leaders to call for new sanctions to be imposed against Moscow, and led some to question the commitment of Moscow to peace efforts in Ukraine.
The Polish President Karol Nawarocki addressed soldiers on Thursday. "This Russian provocation, as our generals and soldiers are well aware of, was nothing but an attempt to test (our) capabilities, our capability to respond in Poland."
It was an attempt to provoke a response, test the mechanisms of action within North Atlantic Alliance, and our readiness to react.
The Polish Foreign Ministry said that the United Nations Security Council will meet upon Warsaw's request but did not specify when.
Diplomats reported on Wednesday that the UN didn't immediately comment on this, but Slovenian, Danish, Greece, France, and Britain had asked for a meeting of the Security Council on Friday.
Radoslaw Skorski, Foreign Minister, said: "We (are) drawing world attention to this unprecedented Russian attack on a NATO, EU and UN member."
Officials said that on Tuesday and Wednesday night, F-16s from Poland, F-35s from the Netherlands, Italian AWACS surveillance aircraft, and NATO mid-air refuelling planes were scrambled to take down drones flying in Polish airspace.
SOME AIR TRAFFIC IS RESTRICTED
On Wednesday, the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that it was "the nearest we have come to an open conflict since World War Two." He also stated that he has "no reason" to believe we are on the verge of war.
Tusk described the incident as a "large scale provocation" and claimed he activated Article 4 in NATO's Treaty, which allows alliance members to demand consultations with allies.
The U.S. president Donald Trump spoke with Nawrocki Wednesday and both leaders expressed their unity.
The incident, which occurred in Ukraine, has prompted a collective reaction from European leaders who are trying to convince Trump to tighten sanctions against Russia.
Poland and NATO have not yet provided a complete account of the suspected actions of the drones.
Polish air traffic officials said that the restrictions on air traffic along Poland's borders with Ukraine and Belarus came into effect Wednesday at 2200 GMT and will last until December 9.
General aviation, which includes small recreational aircraft, and helicopters, can fly during the day if they are equipped with a transponder and radio, but not at night.
It said that flights will only be allowed up to about 3 km (1.86 mile) above the ground. Commercial flights typically fly over 3 km.
Drones and other unmanned civil aircraft are prohibited. Only identifiable civilian aircraft and military flights following a flight schedule are permitted.
Nawrocki, who had just visited a Polish military base, was scheduled to meet with the National Security Council of Poland, which provides him with advice on threats to security.
Tusk said to the air force pilots stationed at the base, "We will ensure that our allies fulfill the allied obligations, which we consider so important today." Tusk told the Polish air force pilots at the base: "We will do everything to ensure that our allies fulfill their allied commitments, which are so important from our point of view today."
(source: Reuters)