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US: 2 Venezuelan military aircraft flew close to US Navy vessel on international waters
The U.S. Department of Defense announced late Thursday that two Venezuelan military aircraft flew close to a U.S. Navy ship in international waters. On Tuesday, the U.S. Military killed 11 people on a Venezuelan vessel in the Caribbean that was allegedly carrying illegal drugs and belonged to a cartel that Donald Trump had designated as a terrorist organization. Legal experts raised questions regarding the attack. In a statement released by the Defense Department on Thursday, Venezuela was "strongly advised" not to continue any effort to obstruct or deter counter-narcotics operations and counter-terrorism carried out by U.S. forces. The statement didn't provide any further details. The Pentagon described the action as a "highly provocation move," which it said "was intended to interfere with our anti-narcoterrorism operations." The New York Times, citing a U.S. Defense official, reported that two Venezuelan F-16 jet fighters flew above the U.S. Navy's guided-missile destroyer Jason Dunham, in the southern Caribbean Sea. Newspaper cites a U.S. official as saying that the U.S. warship didn't engage. The use of military forces in Tuesday's assault was a first. Trump stated in a post on social media that the boat was carrying illegal drugs, and it would be the U.S. Coast Guard's responsibility to intercept them. Legal experts say that if the Coast Guard was fired at while trying to stop the vessel, then the Coast Guard would have been justified in defending itself. Trump, however, posted on social media a video that appeared to show an air strike destroying a boat speeding by. The administration failed to provide any evidence of an imminent attack on the United States, did not indicate that the boat was armed, and did not identify the targets who would be critical in a terrorist attack. Previous presidents had done this when similar attacks occurred. Legal experts say that many people will see the victims of the attack as civilians, and they will view it as extrajudicial.
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Qantas reduces bonuses for executives by 15% in fiscal 2025 due to cyber-hack
Qantas Airways, Australia's largest airline, has reduced short-term bonuses by 15% for its CEO and top executives in fiscal 2025 following a cyber attack that exposed millions of records earlier this year. The company revealed the news on Friday. The country's flag airline said that a hacker targeted its call center in July and gained access to a database with six million names and email addresses as well as phone numbers, dates of birth and frequent flyer numbers. Qantas issued a statement saying that "While we acknowledge that the investigation into this incident will not be completed for some time, it is important that both our executives as well as shareholders deal with the remuneration implications of this incident this year." It added that the bonus adjustment reflects shared responsibility among executives. Vanessa Hudson, Qantas' CEO, received a short-term bonus of A$250,000 (162,450 dollars) for the fiscal year ending June 30. Hudson earned A$6.3million for the year. This is up from A$4.4million a year earlier. Qantas profit increased by nearly one-sixth during fiscal 2025, thanks to a sustained recovery of domestic travel after the pandemic and improved macroeconomic conditions.
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Air Current reports that Alaska Air converted part of its Boeing 787-9 orders to larger 787-10s.
Alaska Air Group will convert a portion of its Boeing 787-9 order to the 787-10 version, according to a report in the aviation industry magazine The Air Current on Thursday. This move is part of the airline's post Hawaii integration strategy, which aims to meet the growing demand for high-traffic routes across the Pacific. According to its website, Alaska Air Group operates four Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners as well as about 243 Boeing 737s of different models. In July, the airline reaffirmed its full-year forecast. It cited stronger bookings, as U.S. West Coast tech firms increased their travel. However, it warned about higher aircraft costs due to proposed tariffs on Brazilian imported goods. Could not verify immediately the report. Boeing declined to comment, while Alaska Air didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. (Reporting and editing by Sherry Phillips in Bengaluru, Alan Barona and Surbhi Misra)
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U.S. Midwest Grid selects 10 projects for expedited review
On Thursday, the U.S. Midwest Grid Operator announced that it had selected 10 initial power plant projects to be fast tracked for review. This is part of a program to quickly add new resources as demand for energy surges. The record U.S. consumption of electricity due to artificial intelligence data centres and the electrification and buildings and transportation in the United States is pushing grids to their limits, which has led some operators to accelerate new resources. MISO is the Midcontinent Independent System Operator that controls electricity flow through transmission lines in 15 U.S. States. In addition to conducting engineering studies, the organization reviews power sources that want to connect to the grid. MISO has selected five projects for rapid review. Three are solar, one is wind, and one is battery. The total installed capacity of the projects is 5.3 gigawatts. The MISO program called Expedited Resource Addition Study (ERAS) reviews projects that are ready to be connected. The selected projects have an in-service date between January 2027 to August 2028. The first 10 projects span all three MISO regions, from Louisiana to Minnesota, said Jennifer Curran. MISO operates the grid that covers 15 states across the middle of the United States. Curran stated that "ERAS can be a valuable tool to help us improve reliability in our efforts to achieve long-term improvements to the interconnection process. Each project must also meet strict standards to ensure only feasible and necessary proposals are approved." Nearly 50 projects totaling 26.5 gigawatts in electricity generation capacity applied for the program. MISO has taken a similar step to the one taken by PJM Interconnection - the largest grid operator in the United States - to accelerate the review of power projects. The projects selected so far have overwhelmingly used natural gas. (Reporting and editing by Nick Zieminski.)
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US FAA proposes changes to speed up certification of new commercial aircrafts
In a Thursday notice, the Trump Administration announced that the Federal Aviation Administration will propose changes in order to accelerate certification of new commercial aircraft. The FAA announced that it will propose changes by December "to modernize certification standards for aircraft and propulsion systems of the transport category." The FAA said that the initiative will be de-regulatory, reducing the number "of exemptions, special conditions and equivalent level safety findings required during certification." Mike Whitaker told reporters in December that the FAA wanted to streamline the aircraft certification process and was working on using "better technologies" to do so. The FAA stated that it hopes the proposal "will reduce certification costs and time for new and changed product certifications, both for industry and FAA, while maintaining or improving the level of security." The FAA plans to harmonize their regulations with international standards. Boeing had hoped that the 737 MAX 7 would be certified by 2022, but has been faced with a number of problems. Boeing retracted its request for an exemption from safety regulations in January to address a de-icing problem with the engine. Southwest Airlines expects the MAX 7 to be certified in the first six months of 2019. This would mean that Southwest Airlines could enter service as early as 2026. Before the FAA can certify MAX 10, the MAX 7 first needs to be certified. United Airlines said earlier that it might not receive the MAX 10 before 2027 or even 2028 due to uncertainty over when the plane would be approved. (Reporting and editing by Leslie Adler, Diane Craft, and David Shepardson)
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Mali files ICJ complaint against Algeria for downing drone near border
The Mali Ministry of Territorial Administration announced on Thursday that the transitional government of Mali has filed a complaint against Algeria before the International Court of Justice accusing it of aggression after its neighbour shot down a Malian reconnaissance drone. Mali claimed that Algeria intentionally shot down its drone near Tinzaouaten, in Mali's Kidal Region, during the night between March 31 and April 1, near their shared desert frontier. The statement said: "This blatant attack, which the Malian government strongly condemns and was intended to hinder the neutralisation by the Malian Armed and Security Forces of armed terrorists, is the culmination a series hostile acts and malicious activities, repeatedly condemned by the Malian Authorities." Mali called the incident a hostile act, and said it violated the principle of non use of force. It added that Mali had repeatedly requested Algerian authorities provide proof of the drone's violation of Algerian airspace. The Algerian foreign ministry was not available for immediate comment. Algeria claimed to have shot down a surveillance drone near its border that was armed. Reporting by Mali Newsroom, Writing by Ayen deng Bior, editing by Nia William
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Brazil's Embraer trails US'milestones' amid trade tensions
Embraer announced on Thursday that it will announce what it called a "milestone," for the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer in Washington, next week. This is the latest indication of aerospace companies trying to strengthen economic ties with America. The announcement on September 10 will coincide with an important gathering of leaders in the aerospace industry. Embraer has been lobbying the Trump administration to remove the 10% tariffs from its jets. It also highlighted the dependence of U.S. Airlines on regional jets. Embraer declined to comment further on the announcement, but sources in the industry said that they expected at least part of it to be focused on increasing U.S. employment and connectivity through its commercial jets. Embraer sells 45% of its commercial aircraft and 70% of executive jets to U.S. customers, which all rely heavily on U.S.-made parts. Embraer does not have immediate plans to introduce a new jet model, according to several industry sources, despite the fact that the manufacturer floated the idea of mounting a challenge to Airbus, Boeing, and a upcoming competitor from China. The announcement was not clear on what else Embraer might have included, claiming that it would be the "first of its kind to be made in the United States". Watchers in the aerospace industry say that there is a trend among companies to make high-profile announcements, such as industrial decisions and plane orders, in Washington. This is to reduce the impact of Trump’s "America First” policies. Embraer, in recent months, has asked Washington to lower its tariffs, citing the company's strong ties to the U.S. and its plans to buy $21 billion of U.S. goods by 2030. Embraer was spared a major blow in July when Trump exempted Brazilian goods from a tariff of 50%, but still faces a duty of 10%. The E175 E1 is a key aircraft for regional routes in the U.S. The United States is also its No. 1 market for business jets. The U.S. is also the No. 1 market for business jets. Embraer has assembly plants for executive jets in Florida. It said last month that it would build a $500 million plant in the U.S. for its C-390 military airlifter if the U.S. decided to buy the jet. Analysts have noted that some of the newly announced initiatives were already underway. Airbus' chief executive, who will be in Washington, next week, could inaugurate an American assembly line as soon as next month. This is ahead of a planned second assembly line to be opened in China at the end of this year. (Reporting and writing by Allison Lampert; David Shepardson and Gabriel Araujo; editing by Susan Fenton, David Gregorio, Tim Hepher)
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Avride, a startup that develops autonomous technology, will ramp up its testing in conjunction with Uber's robotaxi launch
Avride announced on Thursday that it will be increasing the testing of its robotaxis in Dallas as the startup autonomous technology prepares to launch robotaxis with Uber. In order to commercialize robotic deliveries, autonomous technology companies are partnering with startups that offer ride-hailing services and food delivery. Avride announced a wider partnership with Uber last October. In November, its delivery robots launched on the Uber Eats Platform in Austin. Later, they were expanded to Dallas and Jersey City. Avride will bring its autonomous vehicles to Uber's platform by the end of this year as robotaxis. This brings both products from the startup onto the same platform. Uber's Head of Autonomous Mobility & Delivery, Sarfraz Maredia said: "Uber riders will soon have a way to move about the city. This is another step towards making autonomous transportation a part of daily life." The Dallas robotaxi fleet will be based on Hyundai Motors' cutting-edge IONIQ EV platform, which is integrated with Avride’s autonomous driving technologies. Avride and Hyundai partnered to expand their fleet of robotaxis and sign a contract to develop and operate autonomous vehicles together. The startup also collaborated to deploy robots across college campuses in the United States with food delivery service Grubhub. Reporting by Jubybabu in Mexico City, Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri
US media reports that Trump administration may ban transgender people from purchasing guns
According to U.S. news reports, the Justice Department of the United States is examining proposals that would prevent transgender individuals from purchasing guns.
CNN, citing anonymous sources, said that talks were "preliminary" in nature and that they were a result of the shooting last week at a Catholic Church in Minnesota which killed two children and injured 17 others. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Nuem said that the suspect was transgender.
The New York Post reported, citing the same unnamed sources as well, that there were also ongoing talks.
The DOJ is actively evaluating ways to prevent the patterns of violence that we have observed from people with mental health issues and substance abuse disorders. A Justice Department spokesperson responded to a question about media reports by saying that no specific criminal justice proposals had been made at this time.
Talks within the Trump administration will pit the Republican Party, which has long supported gun rights, against the Administration's efforts to limit transgender Americans' rights.
Trump signed an executive order in which he banned transgenders from serving in the military. He also mandated that government issued identification documents be based "on the individual's biological classification, either male or feminine."
Gun Owners of America, a group of gun rights advocates, responded to CNN's article with a post on social media that said: "GOA is opposed to any and all gun bans." Full stop."
The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives citizens the right to bear arms. However, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has made exceptions for those who are deemed mentally "defective" or convicts. (Reporting and editing by Jasper Ward, Sarah N. Lynch)
(source: Reuters)