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Qatar Airways CEO: All passengers diverted from flights will be rebooked on new flights in 24 hours.
Qatar Airways announced on Wednesday that it had rebooked all 20,000 passengers on flights diverted Monday night because Iran fired missiles at a U.S. base in the Gulf Country. launched A missile attack was launched on Al Udeid Air Base, Doha, after the U.S. joined Israel in its attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. This was a threat to escalate tensions in the region before an announcement of a ceasefire by Israel and Iran. Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain were forced to temporarily close their airspace while Dubai's airports in the United Arab Emirates also briefly stopped operations. Closures are a great way to create a streamlined look. Backlog Thousands of passengers queued up for hours at Doha's Hamad International Airport, with long delays and cancellations. In an open letter published on X, Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammad Al-Meer stated that "all passengers from diverted flight -- about 20,000 total -- have been cleared within 24 hour." "More that 11,000 passengers resumed their travels in the morning on the 24th, and the rest left through the evening wave or morning bank on the 25th. There are no stranded passengers on diverted flights as of today. According to a eyewitness, the traffic at the airport was normal on Wednesday with minimal delays. Al-Meer stated that over 90 Qatar Airways flights headed to Doha were "forced to divert instantly" at the time of attack. More than 10,000 passengers had already been in transit through Doha's Airport. In response to the chaos following the attacks, the airline activated its Business Continuity Plans, increasing capacity at destinations that had a high volume of displaced passengers. Federico Maccioni, Andrew Mills, Jaidaa Ahmed and Mark Heinrich contributed to the reporting; Leslie Adler and Mark Heinrich edited.
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Nikkei reports that Foxconn is close to a deal with Mitsubishi Fuso to supply electric buses
Foxconn has reached an agreement to supply electric busses to Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus of Japan, the Nikkei reported on Thursday. The report was based on a source from Foxconn. The report stated that Mitsubishi Fuso owned by Daimler Truck plans to sell both the Model T bus (developed by Foxconn) and Model U microbus (developed by Foxconn) under its own label. According to a report, Foxconn and Mitsubishi Fuso are planning to form a new company that will oversee buses. In an April briefing, the Taiwanese chipset maker said it plans to launch Model T and Model U busses in Japan by 2027. Foxconn didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. Daimler Truck has declined to comment.
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US letter allows for ethane to ship to China but not be unloaded
According to a copy of a letter and a source familiar with the issue, the U.S. informed Enterprise Products and Energy Transfer that they could load ethane onto vessels bound for China but not unload it at a Chinese port without permission. The U.S. Department of Commerce sent the letters after notifying the companies of the requirement for a license on exports of Ethane to China. A person with knowledge of the situation said that it is unlikely that the companies would risk sending the vessels on their way after loading ethane onto them. The companies may have to pay penalties up to double the value of ethane if the vessel reaches China. The letter stated that Enterprise Products was authorized to load vessels with Ethane and transport them in foreign ports. This authorization included a party in China. Enterprise Products is not allowed to complete the export...to a Chinese party...without BIS approval. Enterprise Products and Energy Transfer has not responded to comments immediately. Likewise, the U.S. Department of Commerce did not respond immediately to a comment request. It would be possible to relieve congestion in ports near Houston where ships have been unable to move due to restrictions on shipments of the product to China.
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REFILE - Maersk may sue MSC Group over the $1 billion Brazil port auction.
The Brazilian courts are seeking to overturn the competition rules that prevent global shipping groups from taking part in the first round bidding for a new major container terminal to be built at Latin America's biggest port. This is due to happen later this year. According to a document obtained by, the Danish shipping company Maersk sued Brazil's marine transportation authority (Antaq) and its general manager on Monday in Sao Paulo. The lawsuit demanded "procedural corrections to ensure a fair procedure" for the assignment of the Tecon 10 Terminal at the Port of Santos. The Brazilian federal audit court, TCU, is reviewing the Antaq bidding rules. MSC Group, a privately-held company, is also looking for changes to the rules. Patricio Jr, Regional Investment Director at MSC's Terminal Investment Limited subsidiary, said TIL was considering filing a lawsuit in the event that the TCU did not change the process. The rules of the auction would prevent Maersk and MSC, as well as other operators who already operate container terminals in Santos, from participating in the first round for the construction and operation of the new megaterminal. This is expected to cost 5.6 billion reais (about $1 billion). This could open the door to Asian competitors or local players such as JBS Terminais. JBS Terminais is the new port-operating unit of Brazilian meatpacker JBS. It took over the container terminal in Itajai (southern Brazil) last year. JBS declined comment. Antaq has said that its bidding rules were designed to encourage competition. Tecon 10 was billed as the largest port auction in Brazilian history. The agency stated that it was not officially informed about the lawsuit, and reiterated the fact that the TCU is handling the case. Antaq has said that if no proposals are received during the first round of the auction, operators of Santos' existing container terminals may bid at subsequent rounds - provided they sell their other interests in the port complex. Maersk declined comment on the lawsuit but called for more transparency to ensure fair competition. Maersk stated in a press release that "excluding companies with extensive international experience who manage some of the most efficient port management systems globally without supporting studies would significantly reduce the project's capacity at Latin America's biggest port." Tecon 10 has been a source of concern for some heavy users of Santos' port infrastructure. Eduardo Heron is the technical director for the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council. He said that the group advocates "wide and unrestricted" participation.
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US Senate Committee confirms Trump's nominee for FAA head
Senate Commerce Committee voted on Wednesday 15 to 13 in favor of the nomination of Bryan Bedford, CEO at Republic Airways to lead the Federal Aviation Administration. However, the committee did not increase proposed funding for overhauling air traffic control. All Republicans voted for the nomination, but Democrats voted against it after citing Bedford's refusal of to adhere to the 1,500 hour training rule for copilots. Bedford has promised to maintain strict oversight of Boeing. The National Transportation Safety Board criticized Boeing Tuesday for an emergency mid-air involving a 737 MAX 9, which was missing four bolts. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz proposed $12.5 billion in funding for air traffic management on June 5, but Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has since urged lawmakers to fund the program. He added billions to the total and stated that he was in support At least $20 billion. After a midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army chopper on January 29, near Washington Reagan National Airport, the Trump administration is looking to overhaul the FAA air traffic control system. The 67 passengers on the plane died. Cruz published revised text on Wednesday regarding the massive tax bill and budget that keeps the $12.5 billion in air traffic control the same. Duffy is seeking funding for the purchase of new radios and networks, to replace 618 radars, to install anti-collision technology on 200 airports, and to build six new air-traffic control centers. He also wants to fund airport equipment for preventing near-misses and introduce new incentives to increase air traffic controller retention and hiring. Major aerospace companies have asked for funding of at least $11 billion to repair the FAA's crumbling radar and air traffic control systems, construct new towers, and improve runway safety. It has taken years for the FAA to develop a network that is able to control air traffic. But a series of high-profile incidents, near misses, and the January crash have sparked public concern and led to new calls for actions. David Shepardson is the reporter.
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Stellantis CEO says that the company has begun reviewing its long-term strategic plan.
In his first public speech since taking office as CEO of the world's number 4 automaker, Antonio Filosa, told Stellantis' employees on Wednesday that they had begun to review their long-term strategy plan. 4 automaker. Filosa, in a video from Turin, Italy, said, "We've already begun looking at our long term strategic plan. We will share it when we are ready." The company shared the video with journalists. The "Dare Forward 2030" long-term Plan, which was presented in March 2022 former CEO Carlos Tavares The goal was to double the net sales by the year 2020 and maintain operating margins of double digits. Stellantis faces major challenges Commercial and operational difficulties In the United States and Europe, it was forced to abandon its annual target, and ultimately led to Tavares' departure In addition, the current plan aims to have 100% of sales in Europe and in the United States come from electric cars. Sales in new markets outside these regions will also increase to over 25% of total group sales.
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Energy Transfer extends its Lake Charles LNG supply agreement with Chevron
Energy Transfer, a pipeline operator, announced on Wednesday that it would supply U.S. oil giant Chevron an additional 1,000,000 tonnes of liquefied gas per year (mtpa), from its Lake Charles LNG Export Facility. After the 2 mtpa contract signed last year, the 20-year deal brings the total volume contracted for LNG by Chevron up to 3 mtpa. After President Donald Trump, commercial activity in the LNG sector has increased in the U.S. Lifting a moratorium After taking office in January, the new administration will begin issuing LNG export permits. The Lake Charles project is one of the first to be affected by the Biden administration's refusal to extend Energy Transfer's license for export to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the U.S. The company is now Close to getting the go ahead Lake Charles Facility Energy Transfer has said that it will provide the super-chilled natural gas to Chevron free-onboard. The purchase price will be made up of a fixed charge for liquefaction and a component for gas supply indexed to Henry Hub benchmark. Energy Transfer must reach a final positive decision on the Lake Charles Project before signing this agreement. When approaching banks to obtain loans for the development of production facilities, LNG developers often use sales and purchase contracts. The Chevron deal builds on Energy Transfer’s efforts to secure long-term contracts at the Lake Charles facility. In May, the pipeline operator signed a contract with Japan's Kyushu Electric Power to supply 1 mtpa LNG. It entered into a non-binding agreement in April with MidOcean Energy to supply 5 mtpa. The shares of Energy Transfer and Chevron both rose slightly in premarket trading. Reporting by Vallari Shrivastava, Bengaluru. Editing by Shreya biswas
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Grid monitor: Japan could face a power shortage in 2050
In a long-term projection, Japan's power transmission operators warned that the country could be facing a major power shortage in 2050 due to a surge in demand and if aging thermal plants and older nuclear power plants were not replaced. Japan has been predicting a decline in electricity demand for years due to the shrinking population. However, it recently updated this forecast to include new demand from chip factories and data centres. According to the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators' scenarios, Japan's electric demand will rise by 8-42% in 2050 compared to 2019 before the COVID outbreak. The scenario that highlights the 89-gigawatt shortage if the demand reaches 1,25 terawatt hours, the upper limit of its demand forecast in 2050, is one of the scenarios. This is the first longer-term forecast that has been produced by this group. Shinpei Konishi, the general manager of Its, told reporters that the forecast was released to "improve predictability for power companies and other stakeholders planning investment." These scenarios include input from experts from three organisations, as well as comments from groups and companies in the energy industry. They also include a kilowatt hour gap analysis to estimate how much thermal power is needed to meet reserve margins. Konishi stated that the outlook is based on expected growth due to expanding data centres, network, semiconductor production and vehicle electrification. The current predictions of the power industry experts vary widely, and they are divided over how much the AI boom is expected to increase electricity demand. The largest projected shortfall, 89 GW, is found in a scenario that assumes no replacement for aging thermal plants and the decommissioning nuclear plants older than 60 years. Under the same conditions of demand, even with a full replacement thermal and nuclear capacity there is still a shortfall of 23 GW. A low-demand scenario involving plant replacements results in a surplus 12 GW. Each model is based on a nighttime summer scenario when solar output drops, and cooling demand peaks. This represents the worst conditions. The group predicts that renewable energy capacity will increase between 170 GW to 260 GW by 2050. The latest Japanese energy plan predicts that power generation will grow from levels in 2023 to 1,100-1200 TWh by 2040. Grid group forecasts that demand will reach 900-1100 TWh in 2040. The report noted that the scenarios were not in line with the energy plan of government, since they served different purposes.
Ancora Holdings and ISS proxy advisors support each other in the fight against Forward Air
Institutional Shareholder Services has lent their support to Ancora Holdings in its campaign to remove three long-serving Forward Air directors. The proxy advisory firm has urged investors to refrain from voting on the reappointment of the trio.
Ancora's activist investor campaign, which has lasted for nearly a year, to sell Forward Air, is given a major boost by the recommendation of a report issued by ISS. This will influence how money managers, such as BlackRock, Vanguard, and others, vote at Forward Air’s annual shareholder meeting on June 11.
The ISS report reviewed by Sunday comes less than a month after Ancora (which owns approximately 4% of Forward Air) launched a campaign to "withhold votes" to force Chairman George Mayes out and two other for their roles in a unpopular acquisition and accelerate a sales.
This month, eleven directors will be voting.
ISS advised shareholders to vote for the other nominees of the company and not Mayes (Javier Polit) and Tucker (Laurie).
A company policy may require a director's resignation if he or she receives less than 50% support from shareholders in a vote.
Forward Air's representative did not respond immediately to a comment request.
Ancora targets the trio because they supported Forward Air's purchase of Omni Logistics by Forward Air in January 2024. This acquisition was made without shareholder consent.
The ISS report stated that "in light of the urgent need for a well run strategic review process coupled with governance failures relating to the value-destructive Omni purchase, there is a strong case for change." Withholding votes "should send a clear message to the board about the expectations of shareholders for a timely and thorough process".
Ancora, Irenic Capital, and Alta Fox Capital Management investors have all urged Forward Air conduct a review of its strategic direction and to consider selling to a strategic buyer. The freight forwarder announced in January 2025 that it would be conducting a strategic review.
In a joint statement, Ancora CEO Fred DiSanto, and Ancora Alternatives president James Chadwick stated that the ISS report should "serve as a warning to the Board" about the importance of completing a thorough yet expeditious process to maximize the value of a sale to any one or more interested parties in acquiring Forward Air.
Forward Air's stock price has fallen from $121 at the end of 2021, to $16.78 today, largely due to the Omni purchase bringing with it increased debt and no promised cost savings, as well as investor loss of confidence. (Reporting and editing by Christopher Cushing; Svea Herbst Bayliss)
(source: Reuters)