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Trump says he may demand Panama hand over canal
P residentelect Donald Trump on Saturday accused Panama of charging extreme rates for use of the Panama Canal and said that if Panama did not manage the canal in an appropriate fashion, he would demand the U.S. ally hand it over. In a night post on Reality Social, Trump likewise cautioned he would not let the canal fall under the incorrect hands, and he appeared to caution of prospective Chinese impact on the passage, composing the canal ought to not be handled by China. The post was an exceedingly unusual example of a U.S. leader saying he could push a sovereign country to turn over area. It also highlights an anticipated shift in U.S. diplomacy under Trump, who has not historically avoided threatening allies and utilizing bellicose rhetoric when handling equivalents. The United States largely developed the canal and supervised area surrounding the passage for decades. However the U.S. government totally handed control of the canal to Panama in 1999 after a period of joint administration. The fees being charged by Panama are absurd, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has actually been bestowed to Panama by the U.S., Trump wrote in his Fact Social post. It was not provided for the advantage of others, but merely as a. token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both. moral and legal, of this generous gesture of giving are not. followed, then we will require that the Panama Canal be returned. to us, in full, and without question. The Panamanian embassy in Washington did not right away. react to a request for comment.
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US military conducts accuracy airstrikes against Houthi targets in Sanaa
The U.S. military on Saturday stated it performed precision airstrikes against a missile storage facility and a commandandcontrol center operated by Iranbacked Houthis in Yemen's capital, Sanaa. In a declaration, the U.S. military's Central Command stated the strikes intended to interfere with and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden. The U.S military also said it struck multiple Houthi one-way attack uncrewed aerial automobiles, or drones, and an anti-ship cruise rocket over the Red Sea. The Iran-backed group in Yemen has actually been attacking business shipping in the Red Sea for more than a year to try to impose a. naval blockade on Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity. with Palestinians in Israel's year-long war in Gaza.
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India's tax panel declines airlines' call to add aviation fuel to GST routine
An Indian government panel has actually turned down an airline market proposition for air travel fuel to be brought under the combined Goods and Services Tax (GST), the financing minister stated after a meeting of the panel on Saturday. Currently, state governments select how to tax aviation turbine fuel (ATF). Airlines have actually been lobbying to include it in the GST program so the levy is the very same nationwide, however state authorities have actually opposed that, fearing they might lose income. States do not desire ATF to be brought under GST much like gas and diesel, federal Financing Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said after Saturday's conference of the Goods and Provider Tax ( GST) Council. The council is chaired by Sitharaman and includes state federal government representatives. The tax panel also decided to enforce 18% GST when all utilized or old cars, consisting of electrical vehicles, are sold by registered sellers. Such lorries offered directly between two people will not bring in tax. It postponed strategies to slash taxes on some life and health insurance coverage premiums, a relocation that was viewed as crucial to getting more Indians to sign up for protection. Sitharaman said the propositions required further discussion.
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Chinese ship linked to Baltic Sea cable television breach resumes voyage
A Chinese bulk carrier that is under investigation following a breach of 2 fibreoptic cables in the Baltic Sea is once again moving after sitting still for more than a month in a close-by Danish shipping lane, The Swedish Coastguard stated on Saturday. China had on Thursday allowed representatives from Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark to board the Yi Peng 3 along with Chinese private investigators, breaking a month-long diplomatic standoff. It has started moving and has said it is going to Port Said in Egypt, a Swedish Coastguard representative told Reuters. We. are tracking the ship and are in close contact with other. concerned authorities, the representative added. No further details were offered and the representative did not. state whether any proof had actually been discovered relating to the cable. breaches. Jonas Backstrand, chair of Sweden's mishap. investigation authority, said on Friday: We are content with. the go to onboard, which was fairly open and transparent and. we had the possibility to see what we wanted to see and to talk. to the team members that we wished to talk with. The Baltic Sea cable televisions, one connecting Finland and Germany and. the other linking Sweden to Lithuania, were harmed on Nov. 17 and 18, triggering German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius to. say he assumed this was caused by sabotage. Private investigators rapidly zeroed in on the Chinese ship, which. left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Nov. 15. A Reuters analysis. of MarineTraffic data showed the vessel's collaborates. represented the time and location of the breaches. Vessels in global waters gain from the liberty of. navigation concept, meaning a state can not interfere with. ships sailing under the flag of another state. Denmark, which helped broker a compromise permitting the. European nations to send representatives on board, on Thursday. said the Yi Peng 3 would be able to resume its journey following. the examination. Sweden's mishap investigation authority stated it had. inspected the vessel alongside a comparable Chinese agency, while. policeman from Finland, Germany, Sweden and Denmark were. present as observers.
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More than 20 dead in bus and truck accident in Brazil
A packed bus hit a truck and burst into flames early on Saturday in Brazil, eliminating at least 22 individuals, the fire department stated. The bus bring 45 guests had a tire blowout and the motorist lost control of the lorry, which crashed into an approaching truck loaded with tiles at 4 a.m. on a significant highway near the town of Teofilo Otoni, in Minas Gerais state. Firemens said they saved 13 passengers from the damaged bus. Three residents of an automobile that likewise clashed and was caught under the truck made it through the mishap. Firefighters have actually recuperated 22 bodies from the bus, and more victims are still to be gotten rid of, firefighter Alonso Vieira Junior said in a video launched by the fire department. He said a crane was needed to gain access to another section of the bus where additional victims are located.
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Two Russian airports briefly stop operations, air travel guard dog states
Russia's Kazan airport has temporarily stopped flight arrivals and departures, Russia's. aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said through the Telegram messaging. app on Saturday, following a Ukrainian drone attack on the city. Russian state news firms reported the drone attack on a. domestic complex in Kazan, a city some 500 miles (800 km). east of Moscow. The TASS firm stated eight drone strikes had. been tape-recorded including six on domestic structures. There were no casualties reported, companies stated, citing. regional authorities. The Baza Telegram channel, which is close to Russia's. security services, released unverified video footage revealing an. aerial things crashing into a skyscraper, producing a. big fireball. Rosaviatsia stated it was also presenting temporary. restrictions at the airport in Izhevsk, a smaller sized city northeast. of Kazan.
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Venture Global, a LNG producer, files an IPO at the NYSE
Venture Global, the United States' largest producer of liquefied gas, filed on Friday for what could become one of the world's largest initial public offering next year. According to the filing, the LNG producer intends to list its Class-A common shares on NYSE under the symbol "VG". In November, it was reported that Arlington, Virginia based company planned to raise approximately $3 billion through its New York IPO. LSEG data shows that the cold storage giant Lineage’s $4.44 billion New York IPO and Hyundai Motor India’s $3.33 trillion Mumbai IPO were the two largest listings in this year. The company intends to use a portion of the proceeds towards general business purposes including funding operations. The company stated in its filing that Venture Global Partners II, LLC, Robert Pender, and Michael Sabel, Venture's co-chairmen and founders, will continue to control more than half of the voting power after the IPO. Sabel is the CEO of the company. According to the filing, Goldman Sachs & Co. J.P. Morgan and BofA Securities are amongst the underwriters of the IPO. Venture Global, founded 11 years ago, has already risen to the top of U.S. Natural Gas exporters. It competes with larger rivals Cheniere Energy Freeport LNG, and Sempra. Venture Global operates two plants in Louisiana. Its second plant at Plaquemines achieved its first LNG production only last week. The company reported revenues for the nine-month period ended September 30, which was down from $6.27 billion a year ago. (Reporting from Ananya Marym Rajesh in Bengaluru, Leroy Leo, and Prakhar Shrivastava; editing by Vijay Kishore).
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United States government shutdown could cost travel sector $1 billion per week, interfere with vacation travel
A partial federal government shutdown could cost the U.S. travel industry $1 billion weekly and cause widespread disturbances for travelers, a trade group representing airline companies, hotels and other travel business stated on Friday. An extended government shutdown threatens holiday travel disturbances that Americans won't endure, stated U.S. Travel Association CEO Geoff Freeman. On Thursday, the head of the Transport Security Administration alerted an extended partial U.S. government shutdown could result in longer wait times at airports. TSA expects to evaluate a record 40 million guests over the vacations after setting records over the Thanksgiving vacation. Fitch Scores said on Friday that a shutdown could also cause non-material functional disruptions at airports with non-essential FAA and TSA worker furloughed. TSA, which manages airport security screening, said about 59,000 of its 62,000 employees are thought about vital and would continue working without pay in case of a shutdown that would begin on Saturday unless the government reaches a. funding deal. Air traffic controllers and TSA officers are amongst the. federal government workers who would be needed to keep working but. would not be paid. It's difficult to see how anybody in Congress wins if they force. TSA employees, air traffic controllers, and other necessary. employees to work without pay during among the busiest travel. durations of the year, stated Freeman of the travel association. whose members include United Airlines, Marriott,. American Airlines and Hertz The group said a study found 60% of Americans would. consider altering their travel plans if a government shutdown. occurs, with many picking to cancel or prevent flights. completely. Without a deal, the Federal Air Travel Administration. estimated it would need to furlough more than 17,000 workers. and halt training of air traffic controllers. In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the variety of. lacks by controllers and TSA officers increased as workers missed out on. paychecks, extending checkpoint wait times at some airports. The. FAA was forced to slow air traffic in New York, putting pressure. on lawmakers to lastly end the standoff.
Secret realities about Canada's most significant rail operators as work blockage starts
Canada is seeing an extraordinary simultaneous blockage at its two primary freight rail operators that might cause billions of dollars worth of financial damage.
The two rail operators, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, are holding different talks with the Teamsters' union, which represents more than 9,000 employees including locomotive engineers, conductors, train and backyard employees and rail traffic controllers. The companies locked out workers on Thursday after stopping working to reach a labor deal.
Here are a couple of crucial facts about the two rail operators:
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
CN Rail's history dates back to the 1830s, however it was just formally incorporated in 1919. Headquartered in Montreal, the business was government-owned up until it was taken public in 1995. Through its acquisitions of Illinois Central Corp and Wisconsin Central in the late 1990s and early 2000s, CN expanded its rail network throughout the Great Lakes area and down to the Gulf of Mexico.
CPKC's history go back to the 1880s. Previously known as CP Rail, it was developed to connect Canada from coast-to-coast. CP Rail was once involved in numerous companies consisting of mining and hospitality, and it developed and owned iconic Canadian homes such as the Banff Springs Hotel, the Royal York in Toronto, and Château Frontenac in Quebec City.
Calgary-headquartered CP Rail spun-out its other businesses in 2001. It bought Kansas City Southern Railway in 2021, and became CPKC, forming the very first single-line rail connecting the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
RAIL NETWORKS
Although some U.S. rail operators do have small branch lines that enter Canada, CN Rail and CPKC hold a duopoly and are the two dominant freight rail operators in the nation. With coast-to-coast networks, the duo represent the vast bulk of all rail transportation industry revenues in the nation, own more than 75% of all tracks, and represent roughly three-quarters of the general tonnage carried by the rail sector in Canada.
For Canada, the 2 operators serve as crucial supply chain links to trade corridors and ports throughout the continent of North America.
CN Rail, which utilizes around 25,000 individuals, has a network that stretches from Vancouver to Halifax in Canada, and all the method down to New Orleans.
CPKC, which has approximately 20,000 employees, has a network that runs from Vancouver to Montreal. It also connects to the ports of Corpus Christi, New Orleans and Gulfport in the Gulf of Mexico, and further south it links to the ports of Tampico and Lázaro Cárdenas on the east and west coasts of Mexico.
INCOME MIX
In 2023, 25% of CN Rail's freight revenue came from grain, fertilizers and coal; metals, minerals and forest items were 24% of its profits mix; and petroleum products, chemicals, vehicles and intermodal container freights represented the rest.
In 2023, 35% of CPKC's freight profits originated from shipments of coal, grain, potash and fertilizers. Forest items, energy, chemicals, metals and automobiles represented 45% of its profits mix, with the rest originating from intermodal container cargo.
PRIOR WORK BLOCKAGES In 2019, about 3,200 unionized employees of CN Rail, consisting of conductors and yardmen, went on an eight-day strike in Canada. That strike led to heating fuel shortages, big backlogs and a. slowdown in commercial output from plants making items ranging. from chemicals to canola oil. In 2018, a day-long strike ended after the Teamsters and CP Rail. struck a four-year agreement. And in 2015, CP Rail and the. Teamsters agreed to look for mediated arbitration, ending another. short-term strike. In 2012, about 4,800 locomotive engineers, conductors and. yardmen of CP Rail went on over a week-long strike that just. ended after the government introduced back-to-work legislation,. at a time when the economy was still recovering from the global. financial crisis and a recession.
(source: Reuters)