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Officials say that the death toll in the Bangladesh Air Force jet crash has risen to 27.
Officials said that at least 27 people died after a Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) training jet crashed in a Dhaka campus of a school and college. 88 other people, including some children, were treated in hospitals. The F-7 BGI aircraft, which was on a routine mission to train in the capital at the time of the crash, crashed shortly after taking off from Kurmitola airbase on Monday afternoon. The military claimed that the plane suffered a mechanical malfunction. Sayedur Rahman is the special assistant of the chief advisor on health. He told reporters that 27 deaths had occurred and 88 people were hospitalized with burn injuries. The government declared a national day of mourning with all flags at half mast and special prayers in all places of worship. The military confirmed that the pilot was one of those who died in the accident, and said a committee would be formed to investigate the events. According to Jane's Information Group, the F-7?BGI aircraft is the most advanced and final variant of China's Chengdu J-7/F-7 family. Bangladesh signed a deal for 16 aircrafts in 2011, and the deliveries were completed in 2013. This crash follows the worst aviation disaster of the past decade, when an Air India flight crashed into a medical school hostel in Ahmedabad. The plane killed 241 people and 19 more on the ground. (Reporting and writing by RumaPaul; editing by Christopher Cushing, Kate Mayberry).
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As Tropical Storm Wipha approaches the northern coast of Vietnam, heavy rains are expected
The state weather agency predicted that up to 50cm (20 inches) could fall, causing flooding and mudslides. According to the National Weather Forecast Agency, as of 0600 hrs, Wipha was located 60 km off of the coast of Haiphong City, with winds speeds up to 102kph. The agency stated that after making landfall on Hung Yen province and Ninh Binh Province, Wipha will weaken into a low pressure event by Tuesday night. So far, no casualties or damages have been reported. The wind and rain in Haiphong - an industrial base with important ports - were moderate Tuesday morning, according to witnesses. A resident of Cat Ba Island, Haiphong said: "We can go outside this morning because the wind isn't too strong." Pham Minh Chinh, the Prime Minister, declared an emergency on Sunday for coastal provinces in Wipha because it could lead to flooding and landslides. Airlines have cancelled or rescheduled hundreds of flights. Some airport, train and port services have also been suspended. Vietnam's long coastline, which faces the South China Sea is susceptible to deadly typhoons. Typhoon Yagi caused damage of $3.3 billion and killed 300 people last year. (Reporting and editing by John Mair; Khanh Vu)
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Sources say that BNSF Railway has hired Goldman Sachs to acquire railroads.
Two sources with knowledge of the situation said on Monday that the Berkshire Hathaway owned BNSF Railway was working with Goldman Sachs in order to investigate the acquisition of a competitor railroad. The deal would be the latest in a series of M&As that have taken place in the rail sector. This is due to rival Union Pacific possibly acquiring Norfolk Southern for $200 billion to create a coast-to-coast railway network. The merger of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern will create the U.S.'s first single-line West-to East freight railroad, changing the competitive landscape in the industry for competitors like BNSF. BNSF didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Semafor, the first to report the news, said that it was not clear whether BNSF intended to target Norfolk or CSX (the other East Coast carrier). In extended trading, shares of Norfolk Southern rose 2.4%. (Reporting and editing by Anil D’Silva, AnshumanTripathy and ArsheeyaBajwa from Bengaluru and Sabrina Valle from New York.
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Urals oil prices steady as traders assess impact of new European sanctions
The differential between Urals crude and Brent dated remained unchanged on Monday as traders awaited the impact of European sanctions on Russian oil supplies. The UK imposed new sanctions Monday on Russia's "shadow fleet" that includes 135 oil tanks, as well as two Russian companies: shipping company Intershipping Services LLC, and oil trader Litasco Middle East DMCC. The EU approved Friday its 18th package against Russia which includes sanctions against Russia-backed Indian refiner Nayara Energy. Nayara Energy condemned Monday the European Union sanctions against it and said that it was exploring its legal options to combat the latest "restrictive actions." After the latest round sanctions, Indian private refiners who have used cheap Russian crude as a way to boost their margins will need to find ways to work around it and rely on traders more to find new markets. PLATTS WINDOW On Monday, there were no bids or offers made on Urals, Azri BTC Blend or CPC blend in the Platts Window. China's crude oil imports from Russia dropped 1% from a year ago to 8,35 million metric tonnes or 2,03 million barrels per a day, according to data released by the Chinese Customs on Sunday. * Russia's biggest oil producer Rosneft announced on Monday that the former Qatari Energy Minister Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada was re-elected to be company chairman. Mark Porter (Reporting)
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FAA investigates SkyWest Jet's near-miss with B52 bomber above North Dakota
Federal Aviation Administration announced on Monday that it is investigating the near-miss between a SkyWest Airlines plane and a U.S. Air Force aircraft over North Dakota, last week. SkyWest Flight 3788 was an Embraer ERJ-175 that operated as a Delta Connection from Minneapolis to Minot in North Dakota. The flight landed safely at Minot last Friday after performing a turn-around on its landing approach because another plane appeared in its flight path. The Air Force confirmed that a B52 aircraft from Minot Air Force Base flew over the North Dakota State Fair last Friday. The Air Force confirmed that they are investigating the matter. According to a passenger's video posted on social media, the SkyWest pilot said that he was taken by surprise by the incident, which prompted him to take aggressive action to avoid a collision. SkyWest has not yet commented on the video, or confirmed its accuracy. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and FAA are investigating a close call that occurred on March 28, involving a Delta Jet and a group Air Force jets in the vicinity of Reagan Washington National Airport. A Delta Airbus A319 jet, involved in the incident, received a cockpit warning that another aircraft was near. Controllers then issued corrective instructions for the Delta jet and the military jet. Four Air Force T-38 Talon aircraft were performing a flyover at Arlington National Cemetery when the Delta plane was cleared to leave. In a preliminary report, the NTSB stated that there was confusion over when traffic controllers should have halted during the flyover. Since the January 29 collision between an American Airlines regional plane and an Army helicopter near Reagan National that killed 67 people, there has been a focus on military traffic near civil aircraft. Early May, the FAA Army helicopter flights banned Around the Pentagon After Another way to say it is: Near miss (Reporting and editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Paul Simao, and David Shepardson)
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Alaska Airlines warns that more flight delays are likely after IT outage
Alaska Airlines warned Monday of further flight disruptions after an unexpected failure in a crucial piece of hardware caused it to stop all flights for three hours late Sunday. As of 10:45 am, the Seattle-based carrier had cancelled 66, or 7%, of their scheduled flights. 110 flights, or 12% of them, were delayed. FlightAware data shows that the ET time zone is currently GMT. Horizon Air, a subsidiary of the company, was also experiencing flight delays. The airline has cancelled more than 150 flights since Sunday night. It was prompted to request an all-system ground stop on Alaska and Horizon Air at 8 p.m. Pacific Time. Around 11 p.m. PT, its operations were resumed. Alaska Airlines said that additional flight disruptions were likely due to the repositioning of aircraft and crews across its network. The IT outage has nothing to do with any current events and is not a cyber event. A critical piece of hardware in its data centers was unexpectedly faulty. It was manufactured by a third party. Alaska said that the failure affected several of their key systems and required a ground-stop to maintain aircraft position. It said that it was working with its vendor to replace hardware at the data centre, but did not specify the location. Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh and David Shepardson in Chicago; editing by Aurora Ellis
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Four companies compete for Croatia's biggest railway project
Four companies have submitted bids to rebuild an 83 km railway in central Croatia and build a new track. This is the largest rail project the country has ever undertaken, estimated at 620 million euro ($725m), according to a state infrastructure company. HZ Infrastruktura announced on its website that the reconstruction of Dugo Selo - Novska will be financed by funds from the European Union. HZ Infrastruktura reported that a consortium consisting of Ashoka Buildcon Ltd., Serneke International Group AB, and Konkan Railway Corp Ltd. offered to complete the work at a cost of 780 million Euros. Afcons Infrastructure Ltd submitted a bid of 677 million euros, while Turkish companies Dogus Insaat ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi (also known as Dogus Insaat ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi) and Cengiz Insaat Sanavi ve Ticaret A.S. bid 990 and 873 millions euros respectively. HZ Infrastruktura stated that the bids would be evaluated within the time limit set by law, and a contract would only be signed once the most economically advantageous offer was selected. The estimated duration of the project is six years. ($1 = 0.8592 euros)
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Mexico does not see any reason why the US should impose sanctions against airlines
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 Duffy, the U.S. Transportation secretary, said in a Saturday statement that the department could reject new flight requests by Mexican carriers if it is not addressed concerns about airport decisions made in 2020 and 2022. According to a statement, the department will propose that Delta Air Lines withdraw its antitrust immunity for its joint venture Aeromexico in order to address concerns about competition.
Sources say BNSF has hired Goldman Sachs, CSX is looking for bankers, and Union Pacific has sparked a rail M&A competition.
Sources said that BNSF Railway hired Goldman Sachs while CSX Corp was in discussions to hire financial advisers. Union Pacific's interest of acquiring Norfolk Southern sparked a deal wave in preparations for a potential reshaping of the U.S. rail freight industry.
The move by BNSF and Jacksonville's CSX, both owned by Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway respectively, comes after Union Pacific started exploring a possible acquisition of Norfolk Southern. This could create a 200 billion dollar coast-tocoast rail network, marking the largest consolidation in this sector for decades.
Any deal will be subject to intense regulatory scrutiny, and is still far from certain.
Goldman and CSX refused to comment. BNSF didn't immediately respond to a comment request.
In extended trading, shares of Norfolk Southern rose 2.4%.
Berkshire purchased BNSF in 2010 for $26.5 billion, paying the remaining 77.4% that it did not already own.
In 2023, Canadian Pacific acquired Kansas City Southern and formed the first rail network that spans Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. This deal came after a failed bid from Canadian National. It shows how quickly the competitive pressures in this sector can escalate.
Union Pacific, BNSF and CSX followed closely behind with revenues of $24.3 billion, followed by Canadian National Norfolk, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, BNSF and CSX.
The people who spoke to us said that the talks between Union Pacific Norfolk Southern are in their early stages. Surface Transportation Board approval is required for any merger, and this could take two years.
David O'Hara said that CSX is a better match for Union Pacific than Norfolk Southern.
O'Hara stated that Union Pacific would buy anyone in the East who wanted to be available. "Whoever is left in the cold will eventually be bought by Burlington Northern, that will almost certainly happen." (Reporting from Sabrina Valle, New York; additional reporting from Jonathan Stemple, New York; AnshumanTripathy and ArsheeyaBajwa, Bengaluru. Editing by Anil d'Silva, Lincoln Feast.
(source: Reuters)