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New York Times Business News - August 25,
These are the top stories on the New York Times business pages for August 25, 2018. These stories have not been?verified and we cannot vouch for their accuracy. The Supreme Court, which was divided on Monday, allowed the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump to proceed with its executive order that directed?the U.S. Postal Service will help determine which voters should receive mail-in votes before midterm elections. The Trump administration proposed a steep new fee on Monday for visas granted to foreign skilled workers. This is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to fundamentally revamp the H-1B Visa program. The Trump administration plans to also revoke visas for foreign nationals who have come to the United States "temporarily" for business or tourism but sought to stay longer in the country by applying for asylum. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued subpoenas for banks to provide information on the trading of Situational Awareness, a hedge fund that is based on artificial intelligence. A private arbitrator ordered The Washington Post to hire back?opinion writer Karen Attiah. She was fired in September for her social media posts regarding the assassination conservative activist Charlie Kirk. (Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)
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German investigators discover third drone and explosives after failed airport assault, say media
German investigators have discovered a third drone and suspected explosives linked to the attempted attack on the Leipzig/Halle Airport this month, according to the NDR and WDR radio stations and the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Media reports stated that the drone was discovered on August 14, 10 day after the incident. It was located?towards the west of airport where investigators also?found about 50 grams (1.8oz) of what they suspected as the military explosive hexogen. The office of the?prosecutor general?didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. The reports cite security sources who suspect Russian intelligence involvement. This accusation has been denied by Moscow. A drone containing explosives was found on August 4?near an Antonov cargo plane used for?military?supplies. Investigators suspect that a second drone 'collided' with a DHL cargo plane shortly after the airport was temporarily closed. The airport is used by NATO and Ukraine's Antonov Airlines to supply military supplies. (Written by Friederike?Heine, edited by Clarence Fernandez).
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Lockerbie Bombing Trial postponed days before its start by US Judge
The trial of the man accused by authorities of building the bomb that allegedly blew Pan Am Flight 103 out the sky over Lockerbie in Scotland and killed 270 people in 1988 was postponed on Monday by a federal judge. The jury selection was'scheduled' to begin on Wednesday for the trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi. Prosecutors claim that the Libyan intelligence agent confessed his involvement in the 1988 bombing. U.S. district judge Dabney Friedrich said that the defense attorneys wanted to review new evidence. She said that "the newly-discovered evidence, as well evidence found in other countries", and "the need for the defense determine the best way to defend this case", led her to make the decision. Friedrich didn't schedule a new date for the trial but instead set up a hearing in court on September 1, to discuss next steps. Mas'ud has now reached his mid-70s and has pleaded no contest to two criminal charges relating to the destruction of an aircraft that resulted in death. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The Boeing 747 that exploded in London minutes after takeoff on December 21, 1998 killed all 259 passengers, including 190 Americans and 11 people on ground in Scotland. The bombing turned former Libyan leader Muammar Gadafi - whose government had accepted responsibility for 2003's attack - into an international pariah. Mas'ud denies wrongdoing, and his lawyers question the credibility of evidence collected by prosecutors. This includes Mas'ud's supposed confession to a Libyan Police?Officer in 2012, one year after rebel forces overthrew Gaddafi's regime. The trial of Mas'ud in a 'Washington, D.C. Federal 'court has been delayed for years by legal wrangling about the alleged confession, and other issues, which have revealed the complexities of a U.S. prosecution of a decades-old British attack with key evidence gathered in Libya. Mas'ud was arrested in Libya in 2022 and brought to the U.S. He is accused of constructing a "time-delayed" bomb which was placed into a suitcase and checked luggage in Malta. The suitcase containing explosives eventually found its way to London Heathrow Airport where it was placed in the hold of Pan Am Flight 103.
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US Supreme Court gives Trump a victory over restrictions on mail-in voting
The?U.S. The?U.S. Supreme Court lifted on Monday a judicial ruling that had prevented President Donald Trump from implementing an executive order restricting the use of mail-in votes ahead of the November midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. However, another judicial ruling remains. The Justice Department received an emergency request from the Justice Department to suspend an injunction issued by U.S. judge Indira Talwani in Boston in June, which prevented the Republican President from implementing his directive against a coalition consisting of 23 states, mostly governed by Democrats, and Washington, D.C., who had sued in order to stop him. The court is conservatively majority with a 6 to 3 margin. Three liberal justices were dissidents from the ruling. As the midterm elections approach, the Supreme Court's decision leaves the door open for states to sue again in the future. However, the court didn't act on a second injunction that Talwani issued on August 11, which blocked the U.S. Postal Service across the country is not enforcing stricter voting rules in accordance with the directive. The judge made this order as part of a separate lawsuit brought by voting rights groups. The Justice Department had asked the Supreme Court to clarify that it applied its decision to both of Talwani's?injunctions. However, the justices didn't do this on Monday. Both lawsuits challenged Trump's executive order as being unconstitutional. TRUMP'S MARK EXECUTIVE ORDDER Trump's March executive order directed the Department of Homeland Security?to compile and transmit to each state a list of U.S. Citizens eligible to vote, while the Justice Department prioritized investigating and prosecuting local and state election officials who issued ballots to people deemed "not qualified" to vote at federal elections. The order also mandated that the U.S. Postal Service will only deliver ballots to those voters who are on the approved list of mail-in votes for each state. Postal Service has recently implemented Trump's directive. Trump has promised to stop the use of mail in ballots before the midterm elections. He has also cast doubts on their security, even though evidence of voter fraud has been rare. Republicans want to keep control of Congress during the fiercely contested midterm elections. Republicans would benefit disproportionately from limiting mail-in votes, as Democratic voters are more likely to use them than Republican voters. JUDGE RULED TRUMP lacked authority Talwani ruled in June that the President lacked authority to order any changes in the way states administer federal election, noting that states are responsible for determining 'voter eligibility requirements' under the U.S. Constitution. The judge noted that federal agencies are unable to compile accurate lists of citizens for each state. The Justice Department had said that the lawsuit against Trump's directive was premature, and the states lacked the legal standing to sue at this point. The administration stated that the agencies haven't taken any concrete steps to impact the states, and any harm they claim is speculation. The states claim that their claims are real and that the "rushed effort to change the rules for mail voting just before the midterm elections in November risks disenfranchising substantial numbers of voters." The judge rejected administration arguments. He found that the lawsuit was not filed too "soon" and that states had a legal right to file the suit because they would be subjected to disruption of election administration, compliance costs, and the credible threat of criminal prosecution. Trump's executive orders is part of a larger effort to fundamentally change the U.S. election system. Trump, who has made false claims of widespread fraud in U.S. elections including his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden, has pressed the Republican-controlled Congress to pass a contentious package of voting restrictions called the SAVE America Act. (Reporting from Andrew Chung, New York; Editing done by Will Dunham and Matthew Lewis.)
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WestJet cabin staff approves proposed deal following strike
WestJet's?flight attendants voted on Monday to accept a tentative deal that would?increase wages?"by a?more than 18%?over the next three years?, according to their union. This follows a strike earlier in the month that resulted in hundreds of cancellations. Flight attendants at the airline 'also received duty pay premiums as part of an 'overall shift in North America where cabin crews are challenging compensation structures based primarily on flying time, rather than each?hour worked. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 4,400 WestJet Flight Attendants, sought compensation for the period from when members report to work until their clock-out. The 'tentative agreement' would offer a premium to compensate for time that was previously unpaid. Air Canada, Alaska Air, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and American Airlines have all introduced a pay-for-boarding system or specified ground time. This has increased the pressure on other carriers to recognize more of what attendants do on duty. On August 3, the?union announced that it had tentatively reached a?deal with Canada’s second largest?carrier which is owned by Onex Corp.
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Sources say that the derailment of Rusal in Guinea has stopped alumina exports.
Three sources said that a train owned by Russian aluminium producer?Rusal, derailed over the weekend in Guinea's Dubreka Prefecture, halting exports of alumina and slowing production. Two company officials reported that the train carrying alumina fell off the track near Kagbelen, on Saturday evening. The incident injured four people and forced the suspension of rail traffic. Senior Friguia refinery officials said that alumina production continued at a slower pace after the accident but they could not quantify its impact. Exports are at a standstill. "A team has been dispatched on the site to assess and repair the situation," said the official. They asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak on the subject publicly. Rusal didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Guinean authorities have not yet released an official statement on the cause of the derailment. RUSAL FACE EXPORT DISRUPTIONS Guinea, the world's leading exporter of the bauxite ore that is used to produce aluminium, faces disruptions in its exports. Rusal runs the only alumina refining plant in the country, with a capacity of 600,000.00 metric tons annually. It supplies?alumina for the Russian aluminium smelters. The derailment of the Rusal ship in Guinea is a further challenge to Rusal's exports since the Iran War disrupted shipping lanes. According to a fourth source, the incident has disrupted the supply of key production inputs such as fuel and caustic soda, which are transported by rail between the port refinery. Rusal's second executive and a mining expert?said that the company had already cut alumina production before the derailment due to?fuel supply issues. Guinea's mining industry relies on a number of privately-operated rail corridors that connect bauxite, iron ore and alumina refineries with export terminals. The derailment, according to a senior official in the transport ministry, highlighted a 'chronic'?shortcoming of railway maintenance. According to the refinery's official, Friguia reopened in 2018 after closing in 2012. Since then, it has produced around 450,000 tons alumina per year. (Reporting and editing by Matthew Lewis; Maxwell Akalaare Adombila, Guinea newsroom)
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Putin gives Russia control over infrastructure that is vulnerable to drone attacks
On Monday, President Vladimir Putin 'granted the Russian state authority to seize control of critical infrastructure that is not adequately protected against Ukrainian drone attacks or other threats. A presidential decree outlines the special powers that will allow Ukraine to temporarily take over management of these facilities. This is at a time where drone attacks on oil refineries, retail warehouses and other critical infrastructure have increased. According to the decree, the state can take control of assets such as physical or financial and formal ownership rights when entities in charge of these?facilities fail to do their job to protect them. This applies to fuel, energy, communication, industrial and transport facilities, as well as other items deemed critical for the economic and security stability of both the state and its population. First Deputy Premier Denis Manturov stated that the measure would not be used on a large scale and should not be seen as a prelude to nationalisation. "This is not a nationalisation or change in ownership." Manturov, quoted by Interfax as saying that the decree allows for the state to be involved in managing an entity in order to "address certain?security concerns". Last week, Putin ordered the government launch a program to rebuild damaged or destroyed commercial warehouses caused by Ukraine in recent weeks. Kyiv has destroyed a significant portion of the storage capacity at Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer. Since July 18, Kyiv has targeted more than two dozen warehouses. Russia's second largest online retailer Ozon said on Monday that four of its southern Russian logistics hubs had been attacked by Ukrainian forces. (Reporting by Editing by Andrew Osborn, Alexandra Hudson)
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UK's Burnham: 'Glorifying dangerous driving in social media is repugnant'
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham referred to the promotion of dangerous driving via social media as "truly repugnant" on Monday, while his government called for tech companies to remove videos after a weekend car crash that killed seven people. In the early morning hours of Saturday, a car that was driven in the wrong direction down a major highway crashed into a police vehicle with armed officers in Northeast England. All five passengers and two officers were killed. Police said that four of the five people in the car had prior convictions. The police said that they had arrested 12 people as part of an investigation into organized criminal activity related to the incident. The accident came after two recent head-on crashes near Dublin. One of them killed five people. This prompted Ireland's chief police officer to warn that some young people are driving wrong way on motorways "for social media". The police said that there is no evidence to suggest the events that led up to the accident were filmed for the purpose of appearing on the short-form video platform TikTok. Burnham described the incident as "devastating" but said that he couldn't say more at this point because an investigation is ongoing. He told Kyiv reporters on Monday that anyone who promotes dangerous driving does something truly reprehensible. Since the accident, the government has raised the issue with social media companies of videos of dangerous driving and asked that they be removed. The police said they had received reports of dangerous driving before the crash, including one vehicle seen ramming into a property in Middlesbrough in northeast England. Police said that both vehicles were operating with cloned plates in order to avoid detection. Nine men and three woman, aged between 19 and 60, were arrested by police in the Teesside region after inquiries conducted over the weekend. Police said that the suspects were detained on suspicion of crimes ranging from possessing a firearm to engaging in 'activities of organised crime groups'. In a press release, Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox stated that the investigation was fast-moving with significant connections to serious criminal activity.
Maguire: The hydro-boom in Turkey helps to extend Europe's gas shortage.
Turkey's energy producers have gained an unexpected advantage: water.
Hydroelectric production has soared, allowing utilities to reduce natural gas consumption by over 75% from January to May. This has led to significant reductions in power sector emissions and reduced the reliance on imported fuel.
The shift has been dramatic. According to Ember's data, between January and May, the hydro output increased by nearly 60% compared to a year ago, while gas-fired production dropped more than 40%.
The surge in hydro power generation, along with a record solar and wind output enabled 'clean energy sources' to account for over 60% of Turkey’s electricity mix, for the first time. This marks a significant energy transition milestone for t he fast-growing Turkish economy.
The consequences of the coup extend beyond Turkey's borders.
According to the Energy Institute's report, Turkey is Europe's fourth largest gas consumer. This pullback in demand reinforces a regional trend that sees a decline in gas consumption and reliance on renewable energy.
Turkey's lower use of gas has allowed it to inject more into storage facilities rather than burning it in power stations, helping to limit Europe’s overall gas inventory drawdown in 2026.
HYDRO TAKING CENTER STAGE
This year, the Turkish power system has been dominated by a resurgence in hydropower.
The hydro generation during January-May totaled 46.33 Terawatt Hours (TWh), the highest ever recorded for this period. This is up from 29.03TWh in the same period of 2025. That's a gain?of almost 60% or 17.3TWh.
This increase was almost as much as Turkey's total electricity generated by gas from January to May (17.48TWh). It shows the impact of the surge in hydroelectricity on the Turkish power system.
In the first five months of this year, hydro output was higher than that of coal and natural gas. This makes water the largest power source in Turkey.
Hydro's share in total electricity supplied by utilities grew to 33.2%, up from 20.8% one year ago. This is the highest level since January-May 2020.
The dam operators were able to maximize production despite the increasing demand for electricity, thanks to the favorable weather conditions and high reservoir levels.
The total electricity generated in Turkey from January to May was a record-breaking 142.44 TWh, up from 140.88TWh one year ago. This means that Turkey produced more power while simultaneously reducing fossil fuel use.
GAS SETBACK
Natural gas has been the principal victim of?the hydroboom.
The gas-fired generation dropped to 17.48 TWh from 29.42 a year ago, a 40.6% decline. Gas's share in total generation fell from 20,7% to 11,9%, a record low.
According to Ember data, in absolute terms, the gas generation has fallen by 12?TWh compared to the previous year. This is the biggest year-to date decline for at least seven consecutive years.
The fall was most pronounced in the spring when hydro production soared.
The average gas-fired generation was about 2 TWh per month between March and May, compared to more than 4TWh for several months during the same period in last year.
The coal generators are also being squeezed.
The coal-fired production fell 16.1% on an annual basis to 38.14 TWh. This is the lowest output in over a decade.
CLEAN POWER MILESTONE
Hydro is not acting alone.
Turkey's wind power generation increased from 14.95 to 17.97 TWh between January and May, whereas solar energy production increased from 13.31 to 13.98.
Hydro, wind, and solar combined to produce 86.25 GWh of clean electricity, compared with 65.52 GWh one year ago. Clean sources provided 61.2% all electricity compared to 46.8% in the same period of 2025.
The fossil-fuel production fell more than 25% to 56.19TWh, down from 75.36TWh.
The impact on the environment of the drastic cuts in fossil fuel generation is substantial. The power sector's emissions from fossil fuels have fallen by more than 21% to 47.91 metric tons CO2 equivalent, down from 61.01 metric tons the year before.
Storage BOost
The lower gas consumption has also created another benefit: more fuel for storage.
Turkey is able to store additional gas underground instead of using large amounts of imported gas for power plants.
According to LSEG, the year-to-date injections of storage have reportedly been 18% higher than last year's levels. This is a significant development, especially at a moment when Europe is working hard to replenish its inventories following a strong withdrawal season.
By storing gas in Turkey, Turkey reduced the pressure on the European gas system as a whole and helped to limit the inventory drawsdowns throughout the region.
This could be as significant as the decline of power-sector gas use.
Turkey is a transit and consumption market, so any changes in the gas balance will have a greater impact on regional supply dynamics.
BROADER TREND
The experience of the Turkish people is also part of a larger story that's unfolding in Europe.
Renewables continue to reduce the role of gas in electricity generation across the region whenever weather conditions are favorable.
European policymakers spent years trying reduce exposure to volatile imported gases through increased renewable deployment, efficiency improvements and electrification.
The gas consumption in Europe is still well below the pre-crisis level despite periodic increases tied to weather conditions and electricity demand.
The transformation of Turkey's power sector to hydro-led is one of the most obvious examples of this trend by 2026.
Turkey's gas demand has decreased, but total electricity production?has increased.
This suggests switching fuels rather than demanding destruction.
This is perhaps the most encouraging sign for a continent that still tries to reduce its dependence on imported gas.
These are the opinions of the columnist, who is also an author. This column is great! Check out Open Interest, your new essential source for global financial commentary. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X and X. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast daily on Apple, Spotify or the app. Subscribe to the Morning Bid podcast and hear journalists discussing the latest news in finance and markets 7 days a weeks.
(source: Reuters)