Latest News
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Davos trip continues after Trump's plane safely lands following a'minor electric issue'
Air Force One, the presidential aircraft of Donald Trump, landed safely at Joint Base Andrews in Washington on Tuesday night to switch aircraft after his crew had identified "a minor electrical issue" shortly before takeoff. White House Press Secretary KarolineLeavitt confirmed that the trip would continue with a new aircraft. Trump will 'join other world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland. Rare, but not unheard of, are air safety incidents that involve the U.S. President or Vice president. In 2011, the Air Force 'One' plane aborted landing in Connecticut due to bad weather, while transporting?President Barack Obama? to an event. Air Force 'Two' plane, carrying Vice President Joe Biden, was hit by birds in California in 2012 before landing without incident.
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Zipline's drone delivery bets are valued at $7.6 billion by Zipline
Zipline announced on Tuesday that the company has raised $600m in its most recent funding round, valuing it at $7.6billion. Investor interest in autonomous last-mile delivery is growing. The company reported that the round included 'participation' from several existing and new investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company (Fidelity), Baillie Gifford (Valor Equity Partners), and Tiger Global. The United States' venture capital funding has been resilient. Artificial intelligence continues to be the leading source of funding, while hardware startups have seen a steady increase in funding. "Automated Logistics has matured for more than 10 years, and it has become unmistakably obvious that demand grows exponentially when deliveries are made faster, cleaner, cheaper and safer," said Keller Cliffton. Global venture funding in 2025 increased by 38% from the previous year to $97 billion. This is a slight increase compared to the $92 billion that was raised in the second quarter. Zipline, a drone delivery company that uses AI and robotics, is expanding rapidly in the United States. It delivers food, retail, and healthcare products to the homes of customers. The San Francisco-based firm said that its U.S. delivery has grown by?about 15 percent week-on-week in the last seven months. Zipline, for example, says that last-mile delivery by air can reduce the risk of human delivery and delays due to weather or accidents. As governments and companies looked for new ways to reach the communities, drone deliveries of vaccines and medical supplies increased during the COVID-19 Lockdown. Zipline competes against Alphabet’s Wing, Amazon’s Prime Air, and other startups such as Matternet and Flytrex, in the rapidly growing drone delivery market. This includes medical logistics, and direct-to consumer deliveries.
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Commuter train derails near Barcelona, driver dead, 20 injured
According to a Catalonia Regional Government source and several local media outlets, the commuter train derailment occurred on Tuesday after a containment?wall?fell onto the track due to heavy 'rain near the Spanish City of Barcelona. The driver was killed, while around 20 other people were injured. The accident occurred just two days after the high-speed collision and derailment that killed 42 people near Adamuz, in southern Cordoba Province. Emergency services officials said that twenty ambulances and 38 firefighter units were dispatched along with the site in Gelida, on the outskirts Barcelona. The suburban train derailed in a region that has been plagued with underfunded rail services, and many incidents. Spanish rail operator Adif reported on X that a train axle came off the track in a separate incident on Tuesday night. (Reporting from Joan Faus and Sergio Goncalves, Editing by Aislinn laing and Jamie Freed).
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United Airlines is optimistic about the strong demand for premium travel
United Airlines released a positive outlook on Tuesday for the current quarter as well as the entire year. This was boosted by a strong demand from high-income travelers and corporate travelers. Moreover, the Chicago-based airline also exceeded expectations in terms of profit for the quarter ending December. After-hours, its shares rose by about 4.3%. United's earnings reports highlights how U.S. Airlines are increasingly relying upon premium cabins, business travel, and loyalty programs to grow profits, even though competition and price-sensitive travelers continue to pressure economy class fares. This shift has allowed carriers to stabilize their revenue, offset rising costs and justify continuing investment in aircraft and upgrades of the cabins aimed at higher-yielding passengers. In a?statement, United CEO Scott Kirby stated that "our results are built upon winning more and brand-loyal consumers." United reported that premium revenue rose by 9% from the previous year's December quarter, while loyalty revenue grew by 10%. Delta Air Lines, the rival airline, announced 'last week that revenue from premium cabins surpassed revenue from main cabins for the first quarter. Growth in higher-end seats'more than offset the declines in economy seating. Atlanta-based airline Delta Air Lines has stated that nearly all its seat growth in the near future will come from premium cabins. Low-cost and ultra low-cost carriers that rely on price-sensitive tourists have been struggling with poor profitability and excess capacity. This has led to consolidation and retrenchment. Allegiant announced plans to purchase Sun Country Airlines. Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy. UNITED RECORDS RECORD REVENUE United Airlines said that, despite a $250 million drop in pre-tax earnings for the December quarter it had still achieved its highest revenue quarter ever and earned more per seat than any other quarter in the year. The airline said that this momentum will continue into 2026. It reported that the week ending on January 4, 2019 saw the highest revenue in the history of the airline from tickets flown, and a record-breaking week for ticket sales and bookings. United predicted a first-quarter adjusted income of $1 to $1.50 a share. According to LSEG, the midpoint of this range, $1.25 is higher than analysts' average estimates of $1.13. United's 2026 adjusted earnings are projected to be between $12 and $14 per share. This compares with the analysts' average estimate, which is $13.16. The adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter was $3.10, exceeding analysts' estimates of $2.94. Total revenue increased 4.8% to $15.4 Billion. The company will hold a conference call on Wednesday morning with analysts and investors to discuss its financial performance. (Reporting and editing by Rod Nickel, Jamie Freed and Rajesh Kumar Singh)
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The US military has seized another Venezuelan-linked tanker off the Caribbean coast
The U.S. Military said that it had seized an?oil tanker linked to Venezuela on Tuesday in Caribbean. This is the seventh apprehension of this kind since the start of U.S. president Donald Trump's campaign for a month to control Venezuelan oil flows. In a statement, the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees nearly a dozen ships and thousands of soldiers in the Caribbean, stated that it had apprehended Motor Vessel Sagitta without incident. The statement said: "The arrest of another tanker that was operating defying President Trump's quarantine established for?sanctioned ships in the Caribbean shows our determination to ensure that only oil leaving Venezuela is oil that has been?coordinated correctly and lawfully." Trump's foreign policy in Latin America has been focused on Venezuela. He initially wanted to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Trump, after failing to find a diplomatic resolution, ordered U.S. forces to fly into Venezuela to capture him and his spouse in a daring overnight raid on January 3, 2019. Trump said that the U.S. planned to control Venezuela's resources for oil indefinitely, as part of a $100 billion plan to rebuild Venezuela's decrepit oil industry. The vessels that have been intercepted previously were either under U.S. sanctions or were part of a shadow fleet of ships which disguised their origins in order to transport oil from major sanctioned producer -- Iran, Russia or Venezuela.
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Petrobras, Brazil's gas company, to purchase five tankers and multiple vessels worth $521 million
Petrobras, the state-owned oil company in Brazil, and its logistics subsidiary Transpetro signed contracts on Tuesday with shipyards to build 'five gas carriers, 18 barges, and 18 pushers for a total of 2.8 billion reals ($521million). At an event held in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, the companies officially sealed their deal. The ceremony was attended by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, who is committed to boosting Brazil's shipbuilding industry. Petrobras said that a shipyard in Rio do Grande do 'Sul would build five tankers worth 2.2 billion reals to transport liquefied gas (also known as cooking gas) and derivatives. The tankers have a total capacity of 14000 cubic meters. The?state-run company added that the first gas tanker will be delivered in 33 months from when construction starts, and new deliveries will occur every six months thereafter. Transpetro, a Brazilian company, will operate the remaining barges and shovels. Shipyards from two other Brazilian states are expected to build the rest. In a statement, Magda Chambriard, Petrobras' Chief Executive Officer said: "With these contracts we are preparing Petrobras to grow?our production over the next few years and boost the recovery of?the national shipbuilding industry." ($1 = 5,3761 reais). (Reporting and writing by Fernando Cardoso, Sao Paulo. Editing by Lisa Shumaker.)
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US Postal Service bids for last-mile delivery to increase revenue
The U.S. The U.S. Postal Service announced on Tuesday that it will launch an online platform for 'proposals to access its last-mile network. This would allow a wider range of customers to raise funds by opening up more than '18,000 destination delivery units nationwide and local processing centres to a broader audience. USPS had warned that it would run out of money as early as 2027. U.S. postmaster general David Steiner said last month he hoped Amazon.com, and other major retailers, would bid in the auction. Steiner stated that this could add millions of dollars to USPS's revenue. Amazon didn't immediately respond to a comment request on Tuesday. The US Postal Service delivers to over 170 million U.S. address six days a weeks, and the last mile is the most expensive part. The last mile can be very expensive for other companies such as FedEx, UPS, and Amazon. "We definitely?have a?precarious cash situation. Steiner stated in December that we would be out of money within 12-24 months. USPS currently sells about 1.7 billion capacity units from its last mile distribution. However, it has the capacity to deliver 3.5 to 4 billion. These deliveries generate $5.5 to $6 billion annually in revenue. Donald Trump, the Republican president, called USPS "a tremendous loser for our country" in February last year. He said that he would consider merging USPS with the U.S. Commerce Department. Democrats claimed this move would violate federal law. Steiner, the new postal chief who was appointed by the White House in July, said last month that privatizing USPS would be "never feasible." "There is no private company that would be interested in the Postal Service...? The delivery of mail is an unbelievably expensive endeavor." He said that the idea of merging USPS and Commerce "never really made sense from a commercial point of view." Government Accountability Office said USPS has lost $118 billion in net profits since 2007. First-class mail, its most profitable product, is at its lowest level since 1967. In 2022, the U.S. Congress approved legislation that would provide USPS with financial relief of about $57 billion. Reporting by David Shepardson, Washington; Abhinav Paramar, Bengaluru. Editing by Matthew Lewis.
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Huawei criticises EU's plan to phase out high-risk technology
According to a draft proposal published by Brussels on February 2, the EU intends to phase out equipment and components from high-risk providers in critical sectors. This move has been criticised by China’s Huawei which will be one of those companies affected. The European Commission's revisions of the EU Cybersecurity Act are a response to a growing number of cyber-attacks and ransomware, as well as concerns about foreign interference, espionage, and Europe's dependence on non EU technology suppliers. The executive arm of the 27-nation bloc, the Commission, has not named any companies or nations. Europe, on the other hand, has been increasing its scrutiny of Chinese technology. Germany appointed an expert committee to reassess its trade policy towards Beijing. It has also banned the use Chinese components in future telecoms networks. The U.S. has banned the approval of new telecoms gear from Huawei and its Chinese rival,?ZTE, in 2022. It has also urged European allies follow suit. NEW MEASURES CREATE MORE SAFETY, TECH SOVEREIGNTY, EU SAYS Henna Vikkunen, EU's tech chief, said in a press release that "with the new Cybersecurity package we will have the means to better protect and combat cyber attacks." Huawei has echoed criticisms made by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Huawei's spokesperson stated that "a legislative proposal to restrict or exclude non EU suppliers based on their country of origin, instead of factual evidence and technological standards, violates EU basic legal principles such as fairness, nondiscrimination and proportionality as well as WTO obligations." She said, "We will closely follow the development of the legislative processes and reserve all our rights to protect our legitimate interests." New measures will be applied to 18 sectors that were identified by the Commission. These include detection equipment, connected vehicles and automated systems, energy storage and supply systems, water delivery systems, drones, and counter-drones systems. Cloud services, medical devices, surveillance equipment and space services are also classified as crucial. In 2020, the EU will adopt a "5G security toolbox" to reduce the use of vendors perceived as high-risk such as Huawei due to concerns over sabotage or espionage. Some countries are still using this equipment because of its high cost. According to the proposals made on Tuesday, mobile operators have 36 months after the publication of a list of high-risk suppliers to phase out certain components. The phase-out period for fixed networks including fibre-optic cables and submarine cables as well as satellite network will be announced later. "This is a significant step towards securing European technological sovereignty, and ensuring greater'safety for everyone," Virkkunen stated. Restrictions on suppliers from countries that are deemed to be cybersecurity risks will only take effect after a formal assessment of risk initiated by the Commission, or at least three EU member countries. All measures will be based upon market analyses and impact assessments. Connect Europe, a lobby group for the telecoms industry, warned that these proposals would add to the burden of the industry and result in additional regulatory costs ranging into the billions. Before it can become law, the updated Cybersecurity Act will need to be negotiated in the next few months with EU governments and European Parliament. (Reporting and editing by Joe Bavier, Mark Potter, and Foo Yunchee)
RPT-Airlines fly over Afghanistan as Middle East ends up being the higher risk
Singapore Airlines, British Airways and Lufthansa have actually increased their flights over Afghanistan after years of mostly preventing it now the Middle East conflict has actually made it seem a relatively safe alternative.
The providers mainly stopped transiting Afghanistan, which lies on major routes in between Asia and Europe, 3 years ago when the Taliban took control of and air traffic control services stopped.
Those services have yet to resume, however airline companies significantly think about the skies between Iran and Israel are riskier than Afghan airspace. Numerous had actually begun routing through Iran and the Middle East after Russian skies were closed to most western carriers when the Ukraine war began in 2022.
As disputes have evolved, the calculus of which airspace to utilize has actually altered. Airlines are looking for to reduce danger as much as possible and they see overflying Afghanistan as the more secure option offered the current stress in between Iran and Israel, Ian Petchenik, a spokesperson for flight tracking organisation Flightradar24, stated.
There were more than seven times the variety of flights over Afghanistan in the 2nd week of August than throughout the same period a year earlier, according to a Reuters analysis of FlightRadar24 information.
The shift began in mid-April during reciprocal rocket and drone attacks in between Iran and Israel. Flight tracking data from the time shows Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, British Airways and others started to send out a few flights a day over Afghanistan. But the main growth has been given that the killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah in late July raised issues of a major escalation.
Some pilots are concerned.
You're depending upon the analysis of your airline. Every time I fly out there, I do not like the sensation of flying over a. dispute location where you do not know, in fact, what is. happening, said Otjan de Bruin, an industrial pilot and head of. the European Cockpit Association.
It's always safe enough, until tested otherwise.
Lufthansa Group told Reuters it decided to resume overflying. Afghan airspace from early July.
Other providers that have actually increased overflights considering that April. include Turkish Airline companies, Thai Airways and. the Air France-KLM group, data programs.
Based on actual security details, KLM and other. airlines presently safely overfly Afghanistan just on particular. routes and just at high elevations, KLM told Reuters.
British Airways, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and. Singapore Airlines did not react to requests for comment.
Taiwan's EVA Air began from late July, flight. tracking data programs. EVA informed Reuters it selects routes based upon. safety, the current worldwide situation and flight. advisories.
POLICY'S ROLE
The path changes have been assisted in by aviation. regulators relieving guidance on Afghanistan.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in early July. stated airplanes could fly at a lower elevation over a sliver of. north-eastern Afghanistan, the Wakhan Passage, which is used to. cross from Tajikistan to Pakistan - opening that course to more. kinds of flights.
A year previously, the FAA raised its restriction on overflights for. the entire nation, however said planes need to remain above 32,000 feet. ( 9,753.6 m) where surface-to-air weapons are thought about less. reliable.
But couple of started utilizing Afghanistan till April.
Although more traffic has actually been using the airspace without. occurrence, there is no warranty of crew or passenger security if a. airplane has to land, flight security group OPSGROUP said in July.
In the absence of air traffic control, pilots crossing. Afghanistan speak to nearby airplanes over radio according to a. protocol prepared by U.N. aviation body ICAO and Afghanistan's. Civil Air Travel Authority.
European aviation safety regulator EASA said in a. conflict-zone details bulletin re-issued in July that. extremist non-state star groups stay active and might. sporadically target air travel centers in multiple ways.
The industry is haunted by the memory of Malaysian Airline companies. Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, which was shot down. over eastern Ukraine in 2014, as battling raged in between. pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.
EXPENSE AND LIMITED OPTION
Airlines are under pressure to save money after the loss. considering that 2022 of lots of much shorter paths through Russian airspace, and. as they re-build from the pandemic.
There are few global guidelines that determine which areas. of airspace are safe and airline safety choices are left. mostly to the discretion of individual providers.
If an airline company can not fly through Russia, Ukraine or Iran,. central Afghanistan offers a more direct route into southern. Asia from Europe.
This route conserved us a fair portion of time and fuel,. OPSGROUP reported from a pilot in July who flew from Amsterdam. to Kuala Lumpur across central Afghanistan.
(source: Reuters)