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Zelenskiy meets with Trump at the White House
U.S. president Donald Trump announced on Monday that if a deal is reached to end Russia's conflict in Ukraine, the United States will "help" Europe provide security for Ukraine. This was as he began a hastily-arranged White House discussion to discuss a way to peace. Trump, who was seated next to Zelenskiy in the Oval Office, expressed his hope that the summit on Monday could lead to a meeting trilateral with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also said that he believed Putin wanted the war to be over. Zelenskiy, along with a group European leaders, arrived in Washington under increased pressure by Trump to find a solution to end the conflict on terms that are more favorable to Moscow after Trump and Putin had met for almost three hours in Alaska last Friday. Zelenskiy said to reporters: "We must stop this war. We need to stop Russia. And we need your support, American and European partners." Trump welcomed Zelenskiy in front of the White House. He shook his hand, and expressed delight at Zelenskiy’s black suit. It was a departure for his usual military clothing. Trump replied twice to a reporter who asked him what message he wanted to send the Ukrainian people. Zelenskiy thanked Trump, who then placed his hand on Zelenskiy’s back as a sign of affection. The two men then went into the Oval Office where their previous meeting, in February, ended in disaster when Trump humiliated Zelenskiy in front of the television cameras. The leaders of Britain and Germany, France, Italy and Finland, as well as the European Union, NATO and the European Union joined Zelenskiy this time to show solidarity with Ukraine and demand strong security guarantees for any settlement after the war. Trump wants to end Europe's deadliest conflict in 80 years as soon as possible. Kyiv, along with its allies, are worried that he may try to force an accord on Russia's terms, after the President in Alaska on Friday rolled out a red carpet for Putin. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes. According to the White House, the European leaders will then meet Trump in the White House East Room at 3 pm EDT (1900 GMT) following the meeting. It is unprecedented for such a high-level meeting to take place at the White House so quickly. At least 10 people were killed in Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities overnight, which Zelenskiy described as a "cynical effort" to undermine the talks. Trump rejected the accusations that the Alaska Summit was a victory for Putin. Putin has been in diplomatic isolation ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Trump posted on Twitter: "I don't need advice from people who've been involved in all these conflicts for years and haven't been able to stop them." Trump's team said that both sides will need to make compromises to end the conflict. Zelenskiy has been given the responsibility to end the conflict by the president, who said that Ukraine must give up its hopes of regaining Crimea (annexed in 2014 by Russia) or joining NATO. Zelenskiy can "end the war with Russia immediately, if that is what he wants, or continue to fight," Trump stated on social media. PUTIN'S PROPOSALS Zelenskiy had already rejected the outline of Putin’s proposals at the Alaska meeting. These include the handing over of the remaining quarter in its eastern Donetsk Region, which is controlled by Russia. Ukrainian forces have dug deep into the area, and its towns and hills are a vital defensive zone that thwarts Russian attacks. A referendum would be required to approve any concessions of Ukrainian territory. Zelenskiy also wants an immediate ceasefire in order to hold deeper peace talks. His European allies also support this position. Trump had previously supported that idea, but changed his mind after the Putin summit. He now supports Russia's desire to negotiate an overall deal as long as fighting continues. Some developments have given Ukraine and its allies hope, such as Trump's apparent willingness of to provide security guarantees for Ukraine after the settlement. On Monday, a spokesperson for the German government said that European leaders will seek further details in Washington. Analysts estimate that the war began in February 2022 with an invasion of Russia. Since then, more than one million people have been killed or injured on both sides. This includes thousands of mostly Ukrainian civilians. It has also destroyed large areas of the country. Russia is slowly gaining ground on the battlefield by utilizing its superiority in terms of men and firepower. Putin has said he will continue to fight until his military goals are achieved. Ukraine officials said that a drone attack in Kharkiv, a northern city in Ukraine, killed at least seven individuals. This included a toddler as well as her 16-year old brother. Three people were killed in strikes on the city of Zaporizhzhia, located in Ukraine's southeast. The Defense Ministry's Daily Report did not mention any attack on Kharkiv. Olena Yakusheva, a local resident, said that the attack occurred in an apartment building where many families lived. She said, "There were no offices or anything else here. We lived peacefully here in our homes." Ukraine's military announced on Monday that drones struck a pumping station for oil in Russia's Tambov Region, causing the Druzhba Pipeline to be suspended.
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Air Canada union boss prefers prison to being forced to end cabin staff strike
The union leaders who are on strike against Air Canada announced on Monday that they would rather risk jail than have the cabin crews ordered back to work by the federal labor board. This is raising the stakes for a fight which has caused hundreds of thousands of passengers to miss flights during the summer tourist season. Even after the Canada Industrial Relations Board declared the strike illegal, the Canadian Union of Public Employees stated that the strike will continue until the carrier negotiates wages and unpaid hours. If it means that people like me go to prison, so be it. The union can be fined if that is what it takes. Mark Hancock, CUPE's national president, said at a recent press conference that they were looking for a way to resolve the situation. Mark Carney, Canadian Prime Minister, earlier in the day, pleaded for resolution. This comes at a time when the Canadian economy faces tariff pressures from its largest trade partner, the United States. Carney told Ottawa reporters that "we are in a situation in which literally hundreds of thousands Canadians and tourists to our country are disrupted" by the action. "I urge the two parties to resolve this issue as soon as possible." Air Canada suspended its guidance for the third quarter and full year 2025 after a third day of strike by over 10,000 flight attendants. Shares fell about 1%. Air Canada, which flies 130,000 passengers daily and is a member of the Star Alliance, was planning to ramp up operations Sunday night after CIRB had ordered the union to resume work and begin binding arbitration. Air Canada's executive sent a message on Sunday to its cabin crew, telling them that if they did not obey the board and return to work, they would be held accountable. Andrew Yiu is vice president of in-flight services for Air Canada's mainline service and the low-cost Rouge service. He said that your union did not explain that you are personally responsible for this decision if you do not return to work. The strike continues despite the fact that there is no lockout. Flight attendants are on strike for a contract that is negotiated. They are also demanding wages comparable to those of the cabin crew at Canadian airline Air Transat and full payment for all work done on the ground such as boarding passenger. Michael Lynk is a professor emeritus at Western University, London, Ontario. He said that the Canada Labour Code contains provisions which give the court and the board the authority to impose fines and sanctions on the union or individual workers. UNPAID WORK The majority of crew are paid only when the planes are in motion, which has sparked demands from unions to change this model. Social media users have also expressed support for the new model. Some passengers are becoming weary of uncertainty, even though they have expressed their support for flight attendants. Danna Wu, 35 said that she and her husband would have to drive to Vancouver from Winnipeg if the strike continues for a visa interview. The University of Manitoba student, who is a master's candidate, said that while she thinks Air Canada should pay their attendants more money, it's "not responsible" to strike, and leave thousands of passengers stranded. American Airlines and Alaska Airlines have signed new labor agreements that legally mandate the carriers start paying flight attendants as soon as passengers board. To force the end of the strike, the government can ask the courts to enforce an order to return to working and seek an expedited hearing. The minority government, which is on break until 15 September, could also pass legislation that requires the approval of both houses of Parliament. The government will not be able to take a heavy hand because the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled governments must be careful when taking away the right to strike even from public sector employees who may be considered essential, said Dionne Pohler. She is a professor at Cornell University and specializes in dispute resolution. Pohler suggested that another option would be to encourage bargaining. Last year, the previous Canadian government intervened to stop rail and dock strike that threatened to cripple Canada's economy. However, it is very rare for a union defy a CIRB Order. Reporting by Allison Lampert, in Montreal; Promit Mukherjee, in Ottawa; Ryan Patrick Jones, in Toronto; and Rajesh K. Singh, in Chicago. Gertrude Chavez Drefuss, Doyinsola Oladipo, Kyaw-Soe Oo, Aishwarya Jains in Bengaluru, and Doyinsola oladipo, in New York; writing by Peter Henderson, editing by Frank McGuinty, Margueritachoy, Arun K. Koyyur and Rod Nickel.
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Gupta lawyers do not appear at Trafigura fraud hearing
A London court heard that lawyers representing Indian businessman Prateek gupta failed to attend a hearing Monday due to funding problems in a longstanding fraud case brought by commodity traders Trafigura regarding nickel cargoes. Trafigura of Geneva, a major industrial metals trader and oil company, sued Gupta for $60 million in fraud in February 2023. It claimed that it was the victim in a $600-million nickel cargo scam masterminded by Gupta. Gupta said that Trafigura employees designed the scheme in the middle of the case, which substituted low-grade materials like scrap with high-grade Nickel. Trafigura, its employees and the company itself deny any knowledge of fraud. Preston Turnbull, Gupta’s lawyer, informed Trafigura on Friday and the court that they would be unable to attend Monday’s hearing about the use of documents for a separate arbitration. Edward Ho, Trafigura's lawyer, said that the Gupta defendants have repeatedly used this excuse throughout the proceedings whenever it suited them. It is without merit. Preston Turnbull has not responded to a comment request. Gupta's lawyers told a court in March 2024 that he was out of money to pay his legal fees. In June last year, Gupta switched to Preston Turnbull, a former Mishcon de Reya lawyer. Ho continued, "The court found previously, and I agree with it, that the Gupta defendants have access to sources of funding." "Alleged financial issues have been a repeated theme...to justify their failures to meet court deadlines or to comply with court order." Gupta has been granted several delays to comply with deadlines to disclose documents relevant to his case. The trial is scheduled to begin in November. Judge Robin Knowles granted Trafigura’s request on Monday to use nine documents revealed by Gupta during the current fraud case for a separate arbitration hearing scheduled to take place next month. Trafigura is involved in the arbitration case with Axiom Ltd, a Hong Kong-based company, because Trafigura sold a cargo provided by Gupta, but it was later found to not contain nickel. (Additional reporting and editing by Jan Harvey; Sam Tobin)
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Gas demand at the two largest US LNG plants is declining
According to data provided by financial firm LSEG, two of the United States’ largest liquefied gas export plants experienced a major drop in natural gas demand on Monday. This suggests that parts of these facilities may be down. According to LSEG, Cheniere's Sabine Pass facility in Texas that uses up to 4.5 billion cubic feet of natural gases per day was down to 3.7 bcf. Sempra Cameron LNG in Louisiana which processes 2 bcfd was down 1.3 bcf. Cheniere declined comment while Sempra didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. Cameron is the United States fourth-largest LNG plant, while Sabine Pass has the largest. Together, they have kept the U.S. the largest LNG exporter in the world since 2023. According to LSEG, Monday's decline in demand from these two facilities brought the day's consumption down to 14,7 bcf - the lowest level for two months. U.S. Natural Gas Futures dropped about 1% Monday morning. Front-month gas contracts for September delivery at the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 2 cents, to $2.90 per 1 million British Thermal Units. Curtis Williams, Houston (reporting) and Jan Harvey (editing).
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Former New Hampshire Governor heads US airline lobbying group
The group announced Monday that former New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu will be the new leader of the trade group Airlines for America. Sununu passed up the chance to run for U.S. Senate 2026. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are among the members of this influential airline lobbying organization. Sununu will replace Nick Calio on September 9th, who has been the leader of the group since 2011 and was a senior adviser to George W. Bush. Airlines have aggressively lobby Congress this year to spend billions to modernize America's aging air traffic system. They warn that it "fails Americans." Since years, the Federal Aviation Administration has had problems with staffing and technology. Public alarm was sparked by a series of high-profile incidents, close calls and the deadly crash in January involving an American Airlines Regional Jet that killed 67 near Reagan Washington National Airport. Congress approved $12.5 billion to reform air traffic control, but the airlines and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy are asking for another $19 billion. FAA announced this month that it will extend flight reductions at Newark Airport, one of three major airports in the New York City region, until October 2026, as the FAA continues to struggle with air traffic controller shortages and congestion. The airlines have been fighting against a proposal that would lower fees charged by Visa or Mastercard. They claim that it could force the airlines to stop providing rewards credit cards which give frequent flyer miles when consumers make transactions. The airlines also succeeded in lobbying Congress to provide $54 billion for COVID-19 bailout money. (Reporting and Editing by Rod Nickel.)
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Caspian Pipeline suspends one mooring for maintenance for 3 weeks
Caspian Pipeline Consortium announced on Monday that it halted operation at SMP-3 on August 15, for maintenance which could take up to 3 weeks. It added that loadings were carried out via SMP-1 and SMP-2. CPC uses two moorings at the Black Sea Terminal, with one holding back as a backup. Three sources in the trade told us last week that Black Sea CPC blend crude oil exports would be just under 1.6 million barrels a day (bpd). This is a significant drop from the 1.66 million bpd that was scheduled to be loaded in August. The CPC pipeline, which connects Kazakhstan oilfields to export markets via the Russian Black Sea Port of Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka in Novorossiisk near Novorossiisk handles more than 80% all of the oil exported by Kazakhstan. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson, David Goodman, and Vladimir Soldatkin)
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BlackRock's GIP will take a stake in Eni’s carbon capture business
The infrastructure fund of U.S. asset management company BlackRock, GIP, has agreed to purchase a 49.99% share in Eni’s carbon capture-and-storage business (CCUS), said the Italian firm on Monday. The proposed deal forms part of Eni’s strategy to fund its growth by selling minority stakes in satellite operations. Eni CCUS Holding consists of the HyNet and Bacton project in Britain, and L10 in The Netherlands. Eni and Snam, the Italian gas grid company, have launched a carbon capture project together in Ravenna. Claudio Descalzi, Eni's Chief Executive, said that the decision to consolidate Eni's CCUS portfolio into a single entity and to add GIP as a partner will enhance Eni’s ability to provide large-scale decarbonisation solutions. GIP and Eni have announced a partnership to share the costs of developing the business. Bayo Ogunlesi, GIP's Chairman and CEO, said that the combination of Eni's industrial and technical capabilities with GIP's midstream infrastructure expertise will accelerate the deployment and adoption of CCUS at a meaningful scale. The CCUS technology captures CO2 at the point of emissions and stores it underground. International Energy Agency (IEA) says that the technology could play a crucial role in meeting global climate goals. Critics have questioned the technology's commercial viability, and have warned that it may prolong fossil fuel use. (Reporting and editing by Francesca Landini)
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TSX slips past Canada inflation data at Fed conference
Canada's main index of stocks fell on Monday, as investors stayed away from big bets in anticipation of the domestic inflation data that is due on Tuesday. Also, a U.S. Central Bank Conference starting on Friday will have a major impact on markets. At 9:55 am ET (1355 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 0.17% at 27,858.27 points. The S&P/TSX Composite Index of the Toronto Stock Exchange was down 0.17% to 27,858.27 at 1355 GMT. Investors will be watching the annual U.S. Federal Reserve economic policy symposium, which begins in Jackson Hole on Friday. Shiraz Ahmed is the founder and CEO of Sartorial Wealth Inc. Many investors are in a waiting-and-see mode at the moment. CME Group's FedWatch tool shows that traders have priced in an 85.1% probability of a September rate cut. Investors are also watching the Canadian inflation data on Tuesday for July. According to a poll of economists, the rate is expected to have dropped to 1.8% in July. The Bank of Canada could cut rates if the rate of inflation in Canada falls. At its last policy gathering, the central bank indicated that it would cut rates if inflation remained contained and the economy weakened. Later that day, U.S. president Donald Trump will After Trump's Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to result in a peace accord, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with European leaders. The TSX energy index, which fell 0.8% on Monday due to lower crude oil prices in advance of the Trump-Zelenskiy summit, led the losses. Materials dropped 0.6%. Communications and consumer staples, which are capped, have capped the overall losses. They gained 0.9% and 0.5% respectively. Air Canada's stock fell by 2.6% following the suspension of its third-quarter and year-end profit forecasts. Its planes were still grounded as striking flight attendants refused to obey a return-to work order. (Reporting and editing by Nikhil Singh; Sahal Muhammad)
Tesla's robotaxi service expands as Alphabet Waymo gains speed
Alphabet’s Waymo roboticaxis have driven over 100 million miles with no human driver, double the mileage in six months. The company is accelerating deployment in U.S. city amid increasing competition.
Tesla, a rival company, is expanding its self driving taxi service following a trial last month with a few Model Y SUVs.
Waymo's service has been growing slowly for years, despite Elon Musk's statement that Tesla would launch the service in multiple U.S. Cities by 2025. It is currently available in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin.
Saswat Pantigrahi, Waymo’s chief product office, said: "Achieving 100 million fully automated miles represents years' worth of methodical progress that is now accelerating to rapid, responsible scale-up."
As we continue to expand our service, we will face new challenges.
Waymo had driven 71 million autonomous kilometers (114.3 millions miles) by March. This is up from 50,000,000 miles at the end 2024, and 25,000,000 miles until July 2024. It completed its first mile in January 2023.
D.A. Gil Luria, Davidson analyst.
The commercialization of autonomous vehicles is more difficult than expected. High costs, strict regulations, and federal investigations have forced many to close down, including General Motors Cruise. Amazon's Zoox is one of the few remaining competitors. It is testing a vehicle that does not have manual controls, such as a pedal or steering wheel, and is planning to launch its commercial services in Las Vegas in this year.
Waymo, the U.S. company that operated driverless taxis for paying passengers before Tesla launched its robotaxi last month was the only one.
After collisions, federal agencies have launched investigations into Waymo and Tesla as well as recalling Zoox and other vehicles.
Musk, despite multiple traffic problems and driving errors as Tesla teetered into the robotaxi industry after years of broken promises, expanded the service area to Austin and announced last week that it will roll out its services in the San Francisco Bay Area in two months.
Waymo announced in March that it plans to launch fully automated ride-hailing services in Washington, D.C., next year. It also applied for a New York permit to operate autonomous cars, with a specialist driving the vehicle in Manhattan. Last month, it said it would start manually driving the vehicles until the permit is granted.
Robotaxis, which began as a small Google project for self-driving cars in 2009, and were spun off seven years later, cover over two million miles per wk autonomously.
By May, the company had completed 10 million autonomous trips compared to 5 million trips by the end of 2024.
(source: Reuters)