Latest News
-
Rare light aircraft crash in Beijing kills pilot, injures 13 people
The local government reported that a light aircraft crashed into Beijing's tallest building, killing the pilot, and injuring?13 other people not on board. This was an unusual accident, especially for Beijing, where the airspace is severely restricted. In a statement released on Saturday, the district government of Chaoyang said that those injured were receiving medical attention and that authorities were investigating the incident. A single-engined, two-seater light sport aircraft collided into a highrise building near the East third ring road of Chaoyang at 5:55 pm (0955 GMT), according to a statement posted on social media. The statement did not give any further details about the cause of the crash. The damage to the skyscraper's facade appeared to be limited by a hole created by the loss two large glass panels. As of Saturday, the gap was temporarily boarded. The crash of the 528 metre high building known as CITIC Tower, or China Zun in Beijing's Central Business District was reported on?Friday. It is located about 6km (3.7miles) from the Forbidden city, which attracts thousands of tourists every day. The compound Zhongnanhai is home to the top Chinese political leaders' offices. Beijing has banned drones from being bought, rented or flown without prior authorization since May, citing public safety concerns. The 'last aircraft crash' in Beijing occurred in 2022 when a tourist helicopter crashed on a flight between Changping and Fangshan, killing both pilots. (Reporting and editing by Jacqueline Wong, Alexander Smith, and Ryan Woo)
-
Norway oil service lockout comes into effect and disrupts offshore drilling
Around 1,000 Norwegian oil workers were 'locked out' on Saturday morning, in an escalation of a labour dispute. This is expected to disrupt drilling on the Norwegian continental shelf and some production. Offshore Norway, a group of industry representatives, announced on Friday that the lockout was declared in response to a strike by hundreds of members of Safe. The lockout will affect SLB, Halliburton and Subsea 7, DOF Subsea and Weatherford. Offshore Norway, a group representing the oil and gas industry in Norway, said that due to the strike and lockout next week, oil and natural gas production could fall by 12,000 barrels equivalent per day (boepd). Offshore Norway reported that around 1,000 members of the Safe?union covered by well service agreements would be forced to stop work due to the lockout at 0700?CET (0500 GMT), Saturday morning, out of the 1,770 members covered under the wage agreement. The lockout excludes about 500 people in safety-critical positions. Safe said, however, that it would withdraw an additional 63 members of the 500 remaining members on July 1 in addition to the 378 members who are already on strike. Offshore Norway, a group that represents employers, said Friday that four mobile rigs and five fixed installations, as well as one intervention vessel, have completely stopped drilling operations and well operations because of the strike. If the strike continues after mid-July, the impact could be significant, with production losses exceeding 120,000 boepd. Norway is Europe's top pipeline gas supplier, and it produces about 2% global oil or 4 million boepd of total oil and gas. Safe began its strike on 15 June after failing to reach a wage deal, while Styrke accepted the offer. If it believes that a strike or lockout is detrimental to the vital economic interests of the country, then government intervention can be taken. "The threshold of intervention is high." Kjersti Stenseng, Labour Minister, said on Tuesday that compulsory wage arbitration should be a last option. (Reporting and editing by Louise Rasmussen, Jacqueline Wong, and Nerijus Adomiaitis)
-
Saks Global emerges with a new name and lower debt
After nearly five months, luxury retailer Saks Global emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday. It now has a new ownership structure and corporate name as well as a smaller footprint of stores and less debt. After a restructuring that took place in the last few months, Saks has closed down most of its low-priced locations. The new company, Exemplar Luxury Group will be focusing on luxury retail. The reconstituted ELG board will consist of two representatives from each investment firm Pentwater Capital Management or Bracebridge Capital that worked with Saks in the restructuring process. Saks, which had been struggling with poor sales for over a year and accumulating debt, defaulted on vendor payments and filed for bankruptcy in January, sought protection from the courts. ELG announced on Friday that its debt was reduced by 75% in the restructuring. Richard Baker, a real estate tycoon, orchestrated the December 2024 merger of Neiman 'Marcus with the company. This caused inventory problems and cash shortages at?its stores. It also strained its relationship with key vendors like Chanel, LVMH, and Kering. Saks Global, with a $3.4 billion debt, filed for bankruptcy just a little over a year after its merger.
-
Tanker seized from the shadow fleet near Marseille
Local authorities reported that an oil tanker believed to be part of Russia's shadow fleet was taken into the waters near Marseille, France, on Friday, just a day after it had been seized by France near Sicily. The Deliver is one of nine vessels that have been confiscated across Europe since the start of 2026. All are believed to have been used by Russia to evade Western sanction on its oil trade. The?Bouches du Rhone Prefecture reported that the boat was taken to Fos Gulf. It added that "it will be anchored at the disposal of the Marseille public prosecutor in order to investigate the alleged crime of sailing under false flag." According to TASS, the Russian embassy in France referred to the seizure as "another instance of piracy", and that it was "illegal and unacceptable" from the perspective of international law. According to a military source, the vessel was still flying under the 'Cameroonian flag' despite being formally removed from Cameroon registry weeks before. This meant that it was navigating without nationality, and in violation of 'international maritime law. The source claimed that this allowed France to board the ship and hold it. (Reporting and editing by Andrew Heavens; Dominique Vidalon)
-
UN agency works to restart Hormuz Evacuations after Ship Attack
A top U.N. official announced on Friday that the United Nations was working with countries to resume the evacuating of hundreds of vessels and thousands of stranded seafarers in the Strait of Hormuz, after this effort had been halted earlier in the week. The U.N. International Maritime Organization announced on Thursday that it had "temporarily paused' its evacuation initiative following the attack on a container vessel operated by Taiwan-based Evergreen. IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez said that 115 ships and around 2,500 seafarers were able to navigate through the strait, before evacuations ceased. Dominguez stated that he is working "vigilantly", and has been in contact with various parties, including Oman, Iran, the United States of America, "to find these assurances that were given at the beginning that vessels would not be targeted". He said that as soon as he received confirmation, they would be ready to resume the evacuation process. However, he did not specify a timeline for a restart. IMO CHIEF: EVACUATIONS TO COMPLETE WILL TAKE WEEKS Tehran reasserted on Friday its right to control the shipping in this critical waterway, and warned its Gulf neighbors against siding with Washington. Dominguez stated that his main contact in Iran is with the maritime authority and foreign minister. He said: "I must maintain the positive attitude that there is progress in this conflict, and at least ships are sailing safely through." He said that the IMO is investigating "the motives and reasons" of the attack. The evacuation plan included two "channels" for leaving the strait: either through Iranian waters to the north, or Omani waters to the south. The Traffic Separation Scheme adopted by the IMO in 1968 established routes through Iranian and Omani water?in this strait. The central section is not currently usable because of the presence, according to Dominguez, of around 80 explosive mines. He said that it would take "a few weeks" to evacuate the?just over 500 vessels still needing to be evacuated. The sooner we resume operations, the faster we can increase the number of people until the evacuation is completed. (Reporting and editing by Joe Bavier; Jonathan Saul)
-
Iraq asks for a review of quotas as OPEC restores production allocations
Iraq's Oil -Ministry announced on Friday that OPEC had 'begun slowly restoring Iraq’s prewar production allocations'. This'move', it claimed, would'strengthen Iraq's output 'capacity' and support the recovery of its oil industry. Baghdad, according to a state-run news agency, supports a reevaluation of OPEC's production quotas in order to reflect the conditions of member?states, including Iraqi economic and security circumstances. The statement said that Iraq's Prime minister Ali?Faleh Al-Zaidi has not spoken about the possibility of Iraq quitting OPEC. Sources with knowledge said that Iraq, OPEC’s second largest producer - after Saudi Arabia - and one of the five founding'members', had considered 'leaving the group if it did not allow Baghdad a significant increase in oil production. This would be a major blow to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which was already hit by the departure of the United Arab Emirates less than two months earlier. Oil is the main source of income for the country, but this has decreased since the Iran war effectively stopped exports through the Strait of Hormuz. Iraq's Oil Ministry?said later on Thursday that reports suggesting Baghdad might consider?ending its membership to OPEC didn't reflect the official position of the Iraqi Government. The quota set by Iraq for July is 4.38 million barrels per day, but the current production is well below that due to the disruption caused by Hormuz. Reporting by Muayad Haeed, Writing and Editing by Muhammad Al Gebaly
-
After the earthquakes in Venezuela, power outages have slowed down operations at key ports and plants
Sources said that an outage this week on a power transmission line in Venezuela's Central Region is slowing down efforts to restore?full services at a port, refinery, and petrochemical complex following earthquakes. Residents and sources said that many roads have reopened, and electricity has been restored to areas affected by the earthquakes. The death toll is now at almost 600, but residents and sources say the area closest to the epicenter, in the central region, remains largely without power. Sources said that the lack of electricity is preventing injured people from being transported, hospitals from operating, goods imported at ports discharged, aid distributed, fuel and petrochemicals produced, and fuel and petrochemicals manufactured. The 146,000-barrel-per-day ?El Palito refinery on Friday remained almost completely out of service due to lack of power, while the restart of ?the Moron Petrochemical Complex, the country's second-largest, was progressing slowly for the same reason, ?workers from those facilities said. They added that the?Planta Centro' and Termocentro' power plants located in central region were unable to restore the entire number of units in operation before the earthquakes. Separate sources reported that due to insufficient electricity, only partial operations were possible at Puerto Cabello on Friday. This left a queue of trucks waiting to receive and deliver imported goods. The La Guaira Port, where the Government used to receive an important portion of?imports remained closed. The authorities have given little information about the state of ports and industrial plants, but on Thursday they said that some power plants as well as the Moron Complex were trying to restart. Requests for comments from the oil and information Ministries and?utility Corpoelec were not immediately answered. The large infrastructure damage reported by social media and sources at Maiquetia airport has not yet been confirmed. However, some airlines have temporarily suspended flights or re-organized them to other airports around the country. According to a source close to the preparations, the government hopes to reopen Maiquetia in early July with limited services. Reporting by Tibisay Roma, Mircely Guianipa Mariela Nava Marianna Pararaga. Editing by Julia Symmes Cobb & Chris Reese.
-
Norway's oil and gas production could drop by 12,000 boepd due to lockout, strike next week
The ongoing strike of oil service workers, and the lockout announced on Friday could cause Norway's oil and?gas?production to fall by about 12,000 barrels (of oil equivalent) per day next week. The industry group that represents employers said that four mobile rigs, 5 fixed installations, and?one intervening vessel had already stopped drilling and well operations due to the strike. A lockout that occurred on Saturday morning would force around 1,000 Safe 'union members who are covered by the 'well service agreement' to stop work. Safe had announced earlier on Friday that it would withdraw 63 more workers from the 500 employees employers wanted to retain 'due to safety-critical roles. Offshore Norway said that if the strike continued, the impact could be significant, with production losses reaching?120,000 Boepd by mid-July. It added that the strike would also impact Norway's ability to deliver new wells in 2026 and maintain production plans. Reporting by Nerijus Adomiaitis and editing by Louise Rasmussen
US Safety Agency Ends Power Steering Probe into 376,000 Tesla Electric Vehicles
U.S. safety officials said that they have 'closed' their investigation into Tesla vehicles over power steering problems, due to a re-call carried out by the company 'last year.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the investigation was a technical analysis and covered 376 241 Model 3 or Model Y cars from the model year 2023.
NHTSA opened a preliminary evaluation of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y reports on loss of steering control in July 2023 after some owners complained about an inability to move the steering wheel, or an increased effort required. The investigation was upgraded to an engineering analysis in early 2024 to investigate further the alleged defect. Tesla recalled 376,000 vehicles in the U.S. early in 2025 due to the failure of the power-steering assist feature. This could make vehicles 'harder to handle, especially at low speeds and increase the risk of a collision.
It said that the recall did not follow up on an investigation by NHTSA, which was still pending at the time.
The recall stated that Tesla released a software update over the air to prevent overvoltage and overstress on motor drive components of the printed circuit boards, which caused an increase in steering effort.
The NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation announced that it would close its engineering analysis in light of Tesla's recall. (Reporting and editing by Alexander Smith in Bengaluru, Disha Mishra)
(source: Reuters)