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The Washington Post reported that Trump secretly flew from Turkey to Iran due to the threat.
The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump, prompted by a threat from Iran, took a secret military flight out of Turkey last month, when the White House claimed he was on Air Force One. Trump had taken the newly renovated?Qatari-donated jet for the NATO summit in Ankara, but when he left the country he used an older Air Force One. This move raised questions about the security of the newer aircraft. The first international trip for the new aircraft was to NATO, and it took place at a time when hostilities with Iran, which borders Turkey, were intensifying. The Post cited a U.S. official familiar with the operation and another person familiar with the?president's travel. Officials familiar with the operation, as well as another person who is familiar with?presidential travel, were consulted. The Post reported that the C-32A arrived in Britain at 10:20 pm, with Air Force One arriving a few minutes later. Trump stated on Truth Social that the older blue Air Force One would be used "for old times sake" for the flight from Ankara, Turkey to RAF Mildenhall in Britain. The new aircraft would stop at the same base to allow U.S. military personnel stationed there to tour the aircraft. The White House responded to a question about a secret flight in a third plane with a statement by Communications Director Steve Cheung. He said the jet, which was donated by Qatar, had been equipped with high-level security protocols that ensured the safety of President Obama and his staff. Cheung stated, "As President Obama has recently said, there are many Americans who have their eyes on him. We use every tool available to us to address these threats." The same statement was given to the Post. The Pentagon did no respond immediately to a comment request. (Reporting and editing by Caitlin Weber; Humeyra Pauk, Christian Martinez)
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Two oil tanks seized by the US after Venezuelan raid are sold for scrap.
Lloyd's List reported on Monday that the U.S. Government has sold two sanctioned tankers for scrap. They were seized days after Washington's raid in?Venezuela. According to the report, Global Marketing Systems, a Dubai-based vessel recycling firm, purchased the tankers for an undisclosed amount last month. Reports stated that the sale included Era, which was previously known as Marinera or Bella 1, as well as Lileo. These vessels were previously known as Galileo or Veronica. The tankers are to be 'demolished at scrap yards in India. Anil Sharma, CEO of GMS, told Lloyd's List that the U.S. Government sold the ships to them and a court ordered the sale. However, there were complexities. Not least, we didn't know who owned the ships before. GMS didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. The U.S. Coast Guard, along with military special forces, seized the Russian flagged Era in the waters south of Iceland in January. This ended a 'week-long pursuit across Atlantic. The vessel had slipped past a U.S. Blockade in the Caribbean, which was intended to stop oil exports from Venezuela. Washington said then that the Era was used to transport oil sanctioned from Venezuela and Iran. The?U.S. In January, the?U.S. The tanker was under?U.S. sanctions. The sanctions were aimed at Russia. After its military action in Venezuela, the?U.S. The?U.S. Sanctioned ships often change their names to avoid detection. (Reporting and editing by Tom Hogue; Lisa Baertlein)
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Libya's NOC threatens to shut down Zawiya Refinery if drones continue to attack
After reporting the third drone attack on oil assets in the city, Libya's National Oil Corporation said it would declare force majeure and stop operations at the Zawiya Refinery if the attacks continued. NOC reported that the drone's latest attack targeted an oil mixing and filling facility operated by Zawiya Oil Refining Company. It fell near the main oil tank of the company and the pipeline network which is used to produce "oils" for the domestic market. There were no reported injuries or damage to property. Authorities did not immediately claim responsibility for the attacks and have not revealed who they believe was behind them. Zawiya, located around 40 km west of Tripoli and connected to the country's 300 000 bpd Sharara oilfield, has a daily capacity of 120,000 barrels. Ras Lanuf is not in operation, making it Libya's biggest refinery. NOC reported that the latest 'attack' was the third to target oil assets in Zawiya on Sunday and Monday. Brega Oil Marketing Company reported that a fire with heavy smoke broke out Monday in an oil tank at a Zawiya Refinery depot after it was hit. The Libyan oil ministry said that on Tuesday, the tank, which was owned by Brega, and contained approximately 4.5 million litres gasoline, had caught fire and fallen. The report said that a series drone attacks were aimed at the Zawiya refinery and oil complex, as well as the desalination facility. NOC had said in a separate statement that Monday the tank was "directly targetted" and declared an extreme state of emergency in the region, calling on authorities to act immediately and investigate this incident. Online footage that was not verified showed thick black smoke and huge flames billowing above Zawiya. On Monday, two engineers at the refinery said that operations continued as usual. A drone crashed early on Saturday morning into an untreated naphtha storage tank at the Zawiya Refinery. The staff were able to contain the leak. Reporting by Ayman Al-Warfalli and Ahmed Elumami; Writing by Muhammad Al Gebaly. Editing by Chris Reese and Nick Zieminski.
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Washington Airport to stop flights to support Freedom 250 Grand Prix
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announced?on Monday?that it expects to?temporarily suspend flight operations at Washington Reagan National Airport between 10:15 am (1415 GMT), and 1:15 pm on August 23, to support the 'Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar Race. IndyCar will be racing through Washington's streets from August 22 to 23 in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. The general admission tickets are free. However, spectators may pay to join the "Champions Club," which offers an "exclusive experience" during the race weekend. A two-day package costs $5,000 per person. In recent months, the FAA has shut down airspace over Washington's Reagan?Airport several times for anniversary celebrations. On July '4, the FAA shut down the airport to accommodate Independence Day events in the nation’s capital. This forced hundreds of flights to be cancelled. The airport ceased?operations in June '14 to accommodate U.S. president Donald Trump's Army Anniversary Parade. Courtney Rozen, Andrea Ricci and Courtney Rozen contributed to this report.
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Trump narrows scope of Jones Act waiver, extends it for 90 days
The White House announced that President Donald Trump has extended for 90-days a waiver that allows foreign-flagged ships to transport 'oil and other goods' between U.S. ports, but also imposed new limitations after shipbuilders, their allies and Congress complained about the policy undermining domestic maritime industries. The war with Iran has disrupted?global crude oil flows and increased fuel prices, increasing the pressure on the administration to find ways to ease transport bottlenecks and prevent gasoline and other energy prices from further rising. Taylor Rogers, White House spokesperson on Monday, said that the 90-day extension will ensure that key industries and the U.S. Military have uninterrupted access to vital resources. Rogers wrote in a social media post that "data shows?the waiver is driving a significant rise in domestic deliveries of products like gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel." A White House official confirmed that the administration had narrowed the scope of the relief by requiring each voyage to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, rather than allowing for blanket exemptions from the Jones Act. The Jones Act requires that cargo transported between U.S. port be carried by ships owned by U.S. firms and crewed with American workers. This waiver is intended to reduce gas prices by increasing the flexibility of shipping and reducing bottlenecks in?transport. Without the extension, the waiver was due to expire on 16 August. This is the longest suspension in the history of the law.
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Airbus will assist Air India with altitude loss investigation
Airbus, a European planemaker, announced on Monday that it would'send specialists to help aide in the investigation of a sudden loss of altitude by an 'Air India - Airbus aircraft during a flight last Thursday. Air India A320?VT-EXO operating flight AI2379, from Phuket to Delhi, lost a sudden 300 feet during cruise. The aircraft then stabilized and safely landed in Delhi. On the same day, the Indian government launched an investigation into the incident. They also said that they had obtained the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder of the aircraft for analysis. Eight passengers and four crew members were injured due to the loss of altitude. India's civil Aviation Ministry?said on Sunday that the captain of an?Air India flight had returned a positive initial screening result for psychoactive substances, prompting?laboratory testing. (Reporting and editing by Abhijith G. Bhat, Sathvi. G. Bhat)
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Archer buys Boeing's Wisk and two other units at a nearly 20% equity stake
Archer Aviation announced?on a Monday that it will acquire Boeing's electric plane firm?Wisk Aero, and two other companies in a deal which?will give a planemaker a?nearly 20% stake in the air?taxi manufacturer. Archer can now access Boeing's autonomous flight technology through the acquisitions of Insitu, a drone manufacturer, and SkyGrid, a provider of airspace services. This could help it to strengthen its position in commercial and defense logistics. Archer's shares rose 17% during morning trading. Boeing is also attempting to'streamline its portfolio, sharpen its focus and step back from its air taxi ambitions. Air taxis have yet to be proven to be certified and built to a scale that is affordable to the average consumer. Companies have increasingly looked to the military, cargo, and government markets as a source of funding and revenue in the near term, since commercial rollouts took longer than expected. Wisk is developing a self-flying electric passenger aircraft. Archer last month unveiled an autonomous vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft platform, co-developed with defense technology company Anduril, at the Farnborough Airshow, targeting both commercial and military uses. The deal will allow Boeing to use Wisk's autonomous-flight core technology in both its current and future commercial aircraft and defense programs. Archer has not yet been able to generate significant revenue from its core business. Insitu is a lucrative defense company that generates over $200 million in annual revenues. Boeing will receive Archer's Class A shares, representing 19.75% of the outstanding stock in the air-taxi firm at the closing. It also gains the right to nominate a director?to the board. The deal will also include two warrants that allow the planemaker to purchase up to $200,000,000 of Archer shares over a period between one and four years following the closing. Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary, Bengaluru. Editing by Maju Sam, Shakesh Kuber, and Leroy Leo.
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Maguire: ROI-Mapping America’s mammoth Power Machine
The U.S. energy system is ultimately about geography, despite all the talk of gigawatts and emissions, as well as investments, policies, and investments. The distribution of power plants, fuel, transmission lines, and new electricity consumers is not uniform across the country. Clusters of power plants, fuel supplies, transmission lines and emerging electricity users are not evenly distributed across the country. OpenGridWorks.com's map of America's energy assets reveals a system that is in transition. The spread of new technologies is rapid, but the networks that have been built over decades are still being updated. This is a result of multiple energy systems that overlap. These geographies can explain a wide range of issues, from reliability and power prices to transmission bottlenecks and decarbonization. COMPLEX BY DESIGNE As a whole the U.S. energy system looks like an intricate web of lines, nodes, and generator assets that stretch across the continent. What at first appears chaotic is actually the result of decades of investments aimed at connecting power plants, fuel supplies, transmission networks, and consumers. The map shows the incredible scale and complexity required to maintain electricity flow every second, every day. It also highlights why modernizing grids has become a central challenge of the energy transformation. Natural Gas: The Backbone Fuel Gas plants, pipelines, and production basins are the best way to illustrate the size of the current energy system. Natural gas is still deeply embedded in power generation, even with the rapid expansion of renewables. It provides a large portion of the dispatchable electricity needed to balance supply and demand. COAL: The Legacy Fleet The coal industry has declined, but the impact of the fuel is still visible in the industrial Midwest, Appalachia, and the Southeast. These historical decisions continue shaping regional power systems, even though coal's importance is steadily declining. The New Growth Engine: SOLAR AND STORAGE Solar power is concentrated in the Sun Belt. This includes California, Texas and the Southwest where there are abundant sunspots. Battery storage systems are increasingly being used in conjunction with solar projects. This allows excess generation during the day to be stored, and then dispatched at night. This pattern shows that the industry has evolved from simply generating electricity to managing it 24/7. WIND POWER :?Follow the resource The wind farms are located in Texas, Oklahoma Kansas, Iowa, and the neighboring Plains States. The region is America's renewable energy powerhouse because of its strong and consistent wind, large open spaces, and low land costs. Transmission is also important, since many of the best wind resources are located far away from the major population centers. HYDRO POWER : A NATURAL ADVANTAGE Hydropower is concentrated in areas where the geography allows, notably in the Pacific Northwest and western mountain states. Hydropower cannot be installed anywhere, unlike solar or gas. The map highlights the importance of pumped storage facilities. These are among the most efficient and largest forms of grid scale energy storage. Built Near Demand: Nuclear Power The existing American nuclear fleet is largely concentrated in the eastern part of the country. During the second half 20th century, most reactors were constructed near large population centers and industrial areas. A relatively small number facilities still provide a large share of the nation’s carbon-free electric power. TRANSMISSION: A CRITICAL NETWORK A vast transmission network links generators and consumers. The map of the national grid reveals how complex the infrastructure is to keep electricity flowing in a continent's-sized economy. Access to the grid is essential for any additions to the power system. The Shortage of Electricity Highways in America Only a small portion of the nation's transmission infrastructure consists of ultra high-voltage lines that can transport large amounts of power over long distances. Transmission expansion is a major obstacle to the deployment of new energy sources because it has a limited footprint. EV CHARGING: ELECTRIFICATION EXPANDS The map of the EV charging network shows how electricity is becoming more prevalent in transportation. The stations are clustered around major metropolitan areas and interstate roads, reflecting the?highest EV ownership. While the network's scope is expanding, there are still significant regional gaps. DATA CENTERS - A NEW FRONTIER OF DEMAND Data centers are one of the fastest growing sources of electricity consumption. The clusters that surrounded Northern Virginia have now been joined by hubs in Texas and the Midwest. These facilities create new demand centers which increasingly influence utility planning decisions and power investment. The maps together show that the next phase of America's energy transformation is not just about building more generators. The country is dotted with wind farms, solar arrays in the Sun Belt, water-based hydropower stations, nuclear reactors that serve demand centers, and natural gas pipelines running through almost every region. Data centers and electric vehicles (EVs) are creating new demand sources that were barely noticed a decade ago. The challenge facing the United States does not lie in replacing one energy map by another. It's about stitching a new energy economy on top of an old one. This will ensure that power can be produced, transported, stored, and delivered in an increasingly complex landscape. 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.
The Washington Post reported that Trump secretly flew from Turkey to Iran due to the threat.
The Washington Post reported that U.S. president Donald Trump took a secret military flight out of Turkey last month, when the White House announced he would be flying on Air Force One. This was an extraordinary move, prompted by an Iranian threat to assassinate him.
Trump used the older Air Force One to leave the country after he had flown the newly renovated Qatari-donated jet. This raised questions about its security.
It was the first time the plane had flown internationally. The rapid upgrades raised questions about its security and cost, as well as the escalating hostilities with Iran.
Trump announced on Truth Social, that he was using an older baby-blue Air Force One to RAF Mildenhall (Britain) "for old times sake", while the new aircraft stayed at the same base for U.S. military personnel stationed there to tour the aircraft.
The Post cited a U.S. Official familiar with the operation as well as corroborating materials it reviewed.
The Post reported that the deception operation had been triggered by an actual credible threat against Trump. In 2000, President Bill Clinton had used an unmarked executive plane to fly into Pakistan and sent a dummy Air Force One.
In?this instance, journalists who believed they were traveling on Air Force One with Trump, an older model that was used to fool them, reported being told to keep the window shades closed in the press cabin. The Post reported that in addition to reporters, White House staff believed the president was aboard.
Later, when reporters asked why they kept their shades closed during the flight Trump replied that they were "probably" on a dangerous plane. He continued: "But if you go, I'll go." Right?"
The Post reported that the C-32A with Trump on board flew to Britain and arrived at 10:20 pm. Air Force One, along with media, arrived minutes later. The paper reported that it was not clear how Trump had been moved from the C-32A to the older Air Force?One.
The traveling press pool of Trump?reported that he descended the steps of the older Air Force One around 10:56 pm local time. He did not approach the press to speak with them, but he gave a peace signal. Then he spent time with servicemen before stepping onto the plane donated by Qatar.
The White House responded to a question about a secret flight in a third aircraft with a statement by Communications Director Steve Cheung. He said the Qatari jet had been "fitted with high level security protocols" that ensured the "safety of President Obama and his staff."
Cheung stated, "As President Obama has recently said, there are many enemies who are looking to him and we use all the tools at our disposal in order to counter these threats." The same statement was given to the Post.
The Pentagon did no respond immediately to a comment request. (Reporting and editing by Caitlin Weber; Humeyra Pauk, Christian Martinez)
(source: Reuters)