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Air India is looking for a new CEO to replace Campbell Wilson.
Air India is looking for a new CEO to replace Campbell Wilson. Two?sources? familiar with this matter said that the airline was still under intense scrutiny following a fatal crash in June. Air India's crash in June, which killed 260, has prompted a greater scrutiny of the airline. Regulators have flagged lapses that range from not checking emergency equipment to delays in replacing engine parts and crew fatigue. Wilson became Air India's CEO and managing Director in July 2022 after a career of 26 years at Singapore Airlines. He held various senior roles across the flagship carrier as well as its wholly-owned low-cost subsidiary Scoot. Wilson's tenure at Air India will end?in 2027. The Tata Group, Singapore Airlines' Air India and Wilson have not responded to requests for comment. (Reporting and writing by Aditya?Group and Abhijith?Ganapavaram; editing by Mrigank?Dhaniwala).
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Officials say that the attack on Berlin's power grid was caused by "extreme leftists".
Officials said that a fire in southwest Berlin, which has left tens?thousands without electricity in the German capital, was likely the result of an?extremist attack on the far-left. The grid company Stromnetz Berlin reported on Saturday that up to 45,000 homes could be without electricity until January 8 due to the suspected arson. It said that efforts were still being made to restore power, and around 35,000 homes and 1,900 commercial entities are still affected. Local media reported a letter purporting to be?from an activist group of the far-left called the Volcano Group? that claimed responsibility for the incident and said its actions were directed towards the fossil fuel based energy industries. Iris Sprenger, Berlin's Minister of Interior Affairs, wrote on x that "the letter claiming to be responsible has been classified by the security agencies as authentic." "I strongly condemn this inhumane attack against Berliners and tourists to Berlin." The investigation continues." A?suspected?arson attack on two?pylons in Berlin left 50,000 homes without electricity in September. Local media compared this to Volcano Group’s high-profile attack in 2024 on Tesla's gigafactory at Gruenheide. (Reporting and editing by Christina Fincher.)
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Sources say that Venezuela's PDVSA has asked some joint ventures for a reduction in oil production.
Three sources familiar with the decision told reporters that Venezuela's PDVSA, the state-owned oil company, is asking joint ventures to reduce crude production due to an "export paralysis". This will add pressure to an interim government struggling to hold on to power. These include?shutting down oilfields and well clusters, as the stocks onshore increase. The company also runs out of diluents needed to mix Venezuela's heavy crude before shipping. Caracas is currently in a political crisis, under an interim government. This comes after U.S. troops rescued President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday. Oil exports from the OPEC nation, which are its'main source of income, have come to a halt following a U.S. sanctions-imposed blockade of tankers and the seizure of 2 oil cargoes in December. Chevron cargoes heading to the U.S. were an exception. They continued to move?because Washington has granted the company a license for its operations. Shipping data on Sunday showed that since Thursday, all of these have stopped. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that an "oil boycott" was in force on Venezuela as part of the announcement of Maduro’s detention, and the U.S. overseeing the transition. Sources said that PDVSA asked joint ventures such as Petrolera Sinovensa of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Petropiar from Chevron, and Petroboscan, Petromonagas and Petroboscan to reduce production. Petromangas is now solely operated by PDVSA. Previously, it was jointly run by PDVSA, Roszarubezhneft and the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). PDVSA and CNPC didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Chevron stated on Sunday that it continues to operate in "full compliance with all relevant laws, regulations and standards," without giving any details. One source said that workers at Sinovensa were preparing to disconnect up to ten well clusters on Sunday due to a PDVSA demand after "an excess accumulation of extra-heavy crude and diluents". The person said that the wells can be quickly reconnected if necessary in the future. Chevron, on the other hand, hasn't cut back yet, as it still has plenty of room to store products, especially at Petropiar. Tankers are also still loading. Although its vessels haven't left the country in recent days, and storage capacity at Petroboscan is limited, it could still lead to cuts. Delcy Rodriguez (now Venezuela's interim President), Venezuela's former oil minister, stated last month that the country will continue to produce and export oil despite U.S. sanctions.
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Officials say that at least 25 people are dead and 14 others missing after a boating accident in Nigeria.
Officials said that at least 25 people were killed and 14 more are still missing after a boat capsized with dozens of passengers in Yobe State, north-eastern Nigeria. Accident?occurred? just before 8 pm local time on Saturday, 1900 GMT, when the large canoe that had left Adiyani in northwestern Jigawa State overturned while en route from Garbi to Yobe State. According to Mohammed Goje of the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency, the vessel carried 52 passengers. "So far, 13 passengers were rescued alive while 25 bodies were recovered. Goje stated that search and rescue operations were ongoing for the 14 missing people. He added that local volunteers, security agencies and emergency teams had been present at the scene. The police in the state of?Jigawa confirmed the incident, and stated that the canoe capsized because it was leaking. It was a day of trading and the victims were heading home. "If the driver survives, then he will face criminal charges for negligence," Lawan Adam, a spokesperson for the state police, said. He noted that safety laws prohibiting night trips and overloading had been ignored. Babagana Shettima is a resident of Adiyani and said that the casualties came from his village as well as Yobe. "When the boat's arrival was late, relatives raised alarm. Later, it was discovered that the canoe?capsized half way. Divers recovered a few bodies," he said to?. In Nigeria, boating accidents can be deadly. Many vessels operate without safety precautions. In September, 60 people were killed when a boat that was overloaded sank in central Nigeria after colliding with a stump of a tree.
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Radio frequency failures cause flight cancellations in Greece, leaving thousands stranded
Flights in Greece were grounded Sunday after a 'collapse of radio frequency crippled the air traffic communication. This left thousands of travellers stranded and brought airport operations to an end. The cause of the disruption was not clear. It began early on Sunday morning and rapidly escalated. The civil aviation authority of Greece said that some overflights in Greek and regional airspace are still being serviced. However, airport operations have been restricted for safety purposes. Dozens were affected. Panagiotis Psarros of the Association of Greek Air Traffic Controllers told ERT that "for some reason, all frequencies were suddenly gone.. we couldn't communicate with aircraft in flight." He stated that the problem appeared to be the 'collapse of the central radio frequency systems? at the Athens-Macedonia area control system, the largest aircontrol facility in the nation based in Athens. It monitors Athens Flight Information Region - a vast area of airspace controlled by Greek authorities. Flight tracking showed that the Greek airspace is largely empty. ERT reported that airport 'arrivals and departs' were suspended at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT) local time, reporting from a departures hall at Athens Eleftherios Venizelos Airport?crowded with travelers. "We've not been told the cause of the problem... the equipment we have is almost ancient." Psarros stated that they had raised the issue many times before. An official from the Transport Ministry told us that some aircraft headed north or east were allowed to depart. An official reported that more than 75 flights had been delayed. A spokesperson for the Israel Airports Authority said that Greek airspace was closed until 4:00 pm local time (1400 GMT). The spokesperson warned travellers to expect delays on arrivals and departures. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson, Ros Russell and Hugh Lawson; Additional reporting in Israel by Steven Scheer and Renee Maltezou;
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President says Serbia's NIS Refinery will be operational on Jan. 17 or 18.
Aleksandar Vucic, President of Serbia, said that the Russian-owned NIS refinery in Serbia, sanctioned by the United States, would be operational as early as 'January 17 or 18, after it received a temporary license. The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department granted NIS on Wednesday a temporary operating license until January 23. This will allow it to resume its production after a 36 day?break. The US has given NIS - which owns Serbia’s only oil refinery - until 24 March to negotiate the sale of its Russian shareholders' stake. Vucic, speaking to reporters in Belgrade, said: "I expect the first 85,000 tonnes of crude oil to be delivered by January 15th... and that 'the refinery will start operating on either January 17th or 18th... and that 'we can begin producing oil derivatives as early as January 25th and 26th." Gazprom, the Russian oil company, owns 11.3% of NIS while its sanctioned oil subsidiary Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM), holds 44.9%. The Serbian Government holds 29.9% of the shares, while small shareholders and employees hold the rest. The Serbian government has said that it supports the ongoing talks between NIS and its?Russian owners, MOL. After granting several waivers since the start of last year, the US sanctioned NIS in October as part of wider measures against Russia's Energy Sector. The sanctions had halted the crude supply via Croatia's JANAF pipeline (JANF.ZA), shutting down the NIS refinery located in Pancevo, a northern town. This week, JANAF announced that it also received a license allowing it export crude oil to NIS. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson, Christina Fincher and Aleksandar Vaovic)
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Overnight, Bergamo Airport in Italy halted flights leaving thousands stranded
Due to technical problems with the landing guidance system, and poor visibility at Bergamo Orio-al-Serio airport in Italy, flights were halted on Saturday evening. This left thousands of passengers stranded over night. SACBO, which operates the airport, stated in a press release that the technical issue was resolved around midnight. However, a warning posted on the website of the 'airport' warned "flights could be delayed or canceled". Local media reported that the incident led to 26 flights being cancelled, 6 being diverted to other airports, and 7 being rescheduled for Sunday. Images show people sleeping on the ground and luggage check-in belts. The Bergamo edition of the Corriere della sera?daily?online said that first flights had been halted around 1700 GMT?Saturday. The airport's website showed real-time information on flights, including a list of many Ryanair flights that were delayed. However, several had departed as early as Sunday morning. A 0605 GMT Ryanair flight from Cagliari was delayed until 0850 GMT and a 0620 GMT Neos Flight to Sharm-el-Sheikh was delayed until 0855 GMT. (Reporting and editing by Elaine Hardcastle; Reporting by Valentina Z.)
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US airlines cancel flights following Caribbean airspace closure
Major U.S. Airlines canceled hundreds?of flights on Saturday following a military action in Venezuela which resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and JetBlue Airways all cancelled flights on Saturday in accordance with the Federal Aviation Administration's Caribbean airspace closures. In a letter to airmen, the FAA said that it had closed the airspace for U.S. carriers due to "risks to flight safety associated with ongoing military activity." According to the notice, this closure does not apply to non-U.S. carriers and operators. The FAA refused to comment on this further. Sean Duffy, the U.S. Transportation secretary, said on X in a blog post that "when appropriate" airspace restrictions will be lifted. Customers affected by the closure of the airspace were able to change their flight dates and avoid change fees. JetBlue Airways announced in an advisory that it would waive cancellation fees and fare difference for customers travelling from Saturday, January 3 to Sunday, January 4 2026. Donald Trump, the president of the United States, said that on Saturday night, the 'United States' attacked Venezuela, capturing its long-serving leader Nicolas Maduro, and promised to take control of Venezuela for now, including by using U.S. troops if needed. Air Canada has said that its operations in the Caribbean and South America continue "normally" as per Transport Canada's instructions. The airline stated that it would continue to closely monitor the situation and provide updates if necessary. FlightRadar24 flight records indicate that commercial air traffic in Venezuelan airspace stopped after the attack. Reporting by Dan Catchpole, Seattle; Preetika Parshuraman, Bengaluru. Editing by Chris Reese.
Maguire: Using the Dirty Dozen as a tool to monitor global energy emission potential
Climate watchers must look beyond China in order to get a complete picture of global trends related to energy extraction and production.
China is the largest emitter of energy-related gases in the world.
While China has led the way in energy emission trends this century, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam will also play a major role in determining future trends.
This means that any attempt to estimate the trajectory of potential global energy emissions should include discharge patterns from a wider group of nations than China.
THE DIRTY DOZEN
China, as the largest consumer of energy and producer of power in the world, must play a key role in efforts to measure and predict global emission trends.
But, given the steadily increasing pollution caused by energy in these countries, they deserve to be included in this effort.
In fact, 11 other countries stand out as major current and future drivers of global energy emission trends due to their record of increasing pollution linked to energy production and usage.
According to the Energy Institute, between 2019 and 2024 12 countries increased their annual emissions of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) by at least five million metric tonnes per year.
These nations are listed in descending order by annual emission growth between 2019 and 2024: China, India Indonesia, Russia Iran, Vietnam United Arab Emirates Malaysia Turkey Uzbekistan Philippines Bangladesh.
This Dirty Dozen collectively increased their total energy emission to record levels in nine of the last 10 years. The exception was in 2020, when COVID-19 locksdowns severely stifled the global energy production and use.
In 2024 the Dirty Dozen nations released a total of 19,06 billion tons CO2 through energy extraction and production. This compares with a global discharge of 16,4 billion tons CO2 by the rest of world.
The Dirty Dozen discharge total represented a record 54% all energy-related emission in 2024. This figure is expected to increase in the coming years due to the heavy reliance of several member countries on high-polluting fossil fuels.
KEY COUNTRIES
The Dirty Dozen countries increased their energy-related emissions by an average of 3 percent per year between 2019 and 2024.
Energy emissions outside of the Dirty Dozen decreased by 1.4% on average per year.
The divergence in emissions between the Dirty Dozen group and the rest highlights their impact on global energy pollution trends and why climate trackers should be monitoring them.
China has consistently emitted CO2 from its energy sector in the window between 2019 and 2024, with an average of around 10,5 billion tons per year.
China has the highest average annual increase in CO2 emissions among all countries.
The rate of increase in China's discharge has been among the lowest among the Dirty Dozen nations since 2019. This indicates that other countries have been increasing their pollution trends at the same time as China is reducing it.
India is ranked second in the Dirty Dozen for annual energy emissions. These average 2.6 billion tonnes a year from 2019 to 2024.
Russia ranked third, with energy emissions of around 1.6 billion tonnes per year. Iran was next with 680 million tons.
FAST GROWTH
Indonesia is the leader in terms of percentage annual growth since 2019 with an average of 7%.
Vietnam (6% per year) and Bangladesh (5%) have both experienced strong growth over the last five years, while India (4%), Uzbekistan (4%), United Arab Emirates (4%), and the Philippines (4%) all had annual growth rates around 3%.
China's annual emission growth has been 2.6% per year since 2019. This means that the other members of the Dirty Dozen could drive the collective discharge higher, even if China is able to reduce pollution in the next few years.
India, Indonesia and Vietnam, as well as the Philippines, have a high pollution potential due to their current power system's dependence on coal.
Russia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, and Uzbekistan all rely on natural gas to power their systems. They are unlikely to reduce their fossil fuel dependency for energy production any time soon.
All of this means that the global emissions from energy production and extraction will continue to rise in the years ahead, even if China is able to change course and begin a steady reduction path for emissions later in the decade.
Climate trackers that focus too narrowly on China to represent global emissions trajectory risk missing this important trend. They should also keep in mind the Dirty Dozen.
These are the opinions of a columnist who writes for.
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(source: Reuters)