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Air France opens internal probe after airplane flew over Iraq throughout Iranian attack on Israel
Air France stated on Wednesday it had actually opened an internal examination after one of its planes flew over Iraq on Oct. 1 during an Iranian missile attack on Israel. The business said flight AF662 from Paris to Dubai was travelling at the time of the attack through a special corridor used by all airlines in southern Iraq and fifteen minutes later it left the nation's air area, which was not near airplane traffic up until 1756 GMT. Without waiting on instructions from the Iraqi authorities, Air France has chosen to suspend overflight of the nation's airspace by its aircraft from 1700 GMT, the airline company stated. An internal investigation has actually been released into this occasion, it added. Air France likewise stated that another flight returned to Paris, while a third, from Singapore to Paris, made an additional stop in Delhi to get more fuel to take a longer route. The story was initially reported by TV channel TF1 Information.
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Russia's Novak states ball remains in Ukraine's and EU's court on gas transit deal
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that there are proposals from European Union partners to continue Russian gas purchases after completion of this year, however that the ball remains in the court of Ukraine and the EU. Despite the war, Russia continues to deliver gas by pipeline throughout Ukraine to other European nations. But Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated this week that Kyiv will not extend the gas transit contract with Russia after it ends at the end of 2024. Novak, Russia's point male for energy, said Russia was happy to continue supplying gas after the agreement expires. We have actually consistently revealed our position that the ball is on the side of, let's say, our buying partners and, appropriately, our associates from Ukraine, through which transit is brought out, Novak informed reporters. We have gas, we will supply it, he added. Russian gas deliveries to Europe via Ukraine have actually slowed dramatically given that the start of the war, which prompted the EU to cut its dependence on Russian energy. However nations like Slovakia, Austria and the Czech Republic continue to get Russian gas. Asked if buyers in the EU had actually approached Russia about renewing the offer, Novak said: There specify proposals of willingness, however there is no such information about it being translated into legal actions or files. The EU and Ukraine have actually asked Azerbaijan to help with discussions with Russia regarding the gas transit offer, an Azerbaijani presidential advisor informed Reuters in June. Novak said on Wednesday that there were no conversations on swap handle Azerbaijan for gas transit.
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More Kazakh farming exporters complain of concerns with transit to Russia
Some Kazakh rice and corn exporters are not able to deliver their products to Russia, Kazakhstan's Grain Union said on Wednesday, in what appeared to be an expansion of a Russian block on grain transit from Kazakhstan after Moscow implicated Astana of breaching plant health regulations. Russia is a key transit nation for major Kazakh exports such as oil and uranium, and trade tensions might make market players worried about the stable supply of those commodities. The Russian state agricultural guard dog, Rosselkhoznadzor, said last week it would block the issuance of phytosanitary certificates for grain, grain products, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, and peppers from Kazakhstan. The Kazakh federal government stated it asked for proof of the purported violations from Russia, and the Kazakh state railway business said grain exports via Russia would continue and even boost this month. But market gamers state Russia's choice has actually affected deliveries. The scenario has actually not been dealt with, as far as I. understand, Yevgeny Karabanov, the head of analytics at the. grain union stated. ( Grain) transit continues through paths where freights do not. require to be unloaded from one methods of transportation and loaded. onto another one. For example, to the Baltic nations,. Azerbaijan, Belarus. However Kazakh grain cargoes are no longer delivered via Russian. ports, Karabanov stated. In addition, there are complaints from business that. supply rice and corn - which were not discussed in the. Rosselkhoznadzor letter - from Kazakhstan to Russia, he stated. Trucks loaded with those items are being turned away at. the border. A Russian market source, speaking on the condition of. privacy because they were not authorised to comment openly,. confirmed that there were problems with Kazakh transit and shared. a document listing items that were banned for import if they. had Kazakh phytosanitary certificates. The list includes not only all major grains, but also wheat. flour, corn, rice, soy beans, lentils, some nuts and melons. Kazakhstan's farming and trade ministries and. Rosselkhoznadzor in Russia did not immediately react to a. ask for comment.
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Pakistan to curb motion of Chinese nationals throughout SCO conference, state sources
Pakistani authorities are looking for to curb motions of Chinese people during the Shanghai Cooperation Company conference next week because of a. security danger from militant groups targeting them, according to. 3 security authorities and an internal security note. The decision has come after the killing of 2 Chinese. engineers in a bombing near Pakistan's Karachi global. airport on Sunday declared by separatist militant group Baloch. Liberation Army (BLA). The meeting of the SCO, which makes up nine full members,. including China, India, Iran and Russia, is scheduled for Oct. 15 and 16 in Islamabad. Chinese Premier Li Qiang is anticipated to. get here in the city prior to the conference. Orders have been gotten from concerned authority that. Chinese relocation of all types including intra-city/ inter-city/. airport etc to be stopped from 14 to 17 Oct 24 in connection with. SCO summit and various delegations go to, the alert, shared. with several Pakistani security agencies and seen ,. said. Three top security authorities who got the alert said it. had actually likewise been conveyed to Chinese authorities. All concerned to ensure that Chinese are conveyed it in. advance so that crucial moves are changed before that. No. violations will be accepted during this period, the alert stated. The Chinese embassy in Islamabad and Pakistan's interior. ministry did not respond to a Reuters ask for remark. The bombing was the current in a string of attacks versus. Chinese nationals in Pakistan over the last four years,. including a March suicide bombing that eliminated five Chinese. engineers dealing with a hydropower project. Beijing contacted Islamabad to carry out more strict. security measures. BLA, the biggest of a number of ethnic insurgent groups that has. combated the federal government for decades, targets Chinese. interests - consisting of the tactical port of Gwadar on the. Arabian Sea - as it implicates Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit. regional resources. It has actually formerly eliminated Chinese citizens and. attacked China's consulate in Karachi. The security officials state the latest attack in an extremely. safe location was a total security failure which all senior. staff accountable for Chinese security in Karachi had been. removed from service. Pakistan's interior ministry is mainly responsible for. the security of Chinese nationals and their interests.
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More airlines fly over Afghanistan in last week as Middle East tensions rise
Airline companies have actually diverted more flights over Afghanistan over the past week to prevent Iranian airspace, information shows, contributing to journey times and fuel expenses in the current disruption for routes between Asia and Europe as tensions in the Middle East escalate. Flights over Afghanistan were already growing in recent months, but expectations of an Israeli action to an Iranian ballistic rocket attack on Israel recently have enhanced that trend, information from flight tracker FlightRadar24 programs. EASA recently released a caution for airline companies to avoid Iranian airspace. FlightRadar24 showed 132 overflights of Afghanistan on Sept. 29. On Oct. 2, the day after Iran assaulted Israel, the number of Afghan overflights rose to 176. On Oct. 6, the everyday number had gradually increased to 222. Taliban authorities stated the variety of overflights were even greater in current days than the FlightRadar24 information showed. Specifically, over the previous five or six days, there have been about 350 transit flights in 24 hours, compared to around 100 transit flights (a year ago) formerly, said Imamudden Ahmadi, the representative for the Taliban-run Ministry of Transport and Aviation. FlightRadar24 on Tuesday revealed British Airways and Singapore Airlines flights using Afghanistan's. airspace. The data did disappoint a breakdown of which airlines were. using Afghan airspace more in the last week. British Airways and. Singapore Airlines did not instantly respond to a Reuters. request for remark. Many airline companies had actually started routing through Iran and the. Middle East after Russian and Ukrainian skies were closed to. most Western providers when the Ukraine war started in 2022. The brand-new rerouting reveals the hard calculus airline companies are. required to make as the security of the airspace throughout the Middle. East becomes more precarious and fears of a local war rise a. year after the start of the Israel-Hamas war. What was currently a really minimal set of route alternatives is now. down to the last few options that there are - for this reason Afghanistan. seeing more traffic, stated Mark Zee, the creator of flight-risk. details sharing organization OPSGROUP. Air traffic control service for carriers flying over Afghanistan has. not been available considering that the Taliban took over three years ago -. leaving airlines to count on standards from regulators. I anticipate that this avoidance of Iran, and perhaps Iraq,. will continue for numerous weeks a minimum of, till either Israel. makes a relocation, or the circumstance soothes, Zee said.
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Portugal consults TAP suitors on plans for airline company
The Portuguese government is settling consultations with airlines thinking about flag carrier TAP to develop their objectives before coming up with a privatisation strategy, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro stated. He told broadcaster SIC late on Tuesday that the government doesn't want to carry out a privatisation without understanding what the market gamers likewise have as their objectives, to ensure the privatisation plan lines up with market sentiment. There are lots of business interested ... we are currently concluding assessments with all interested celebrations who, over time, have revealed interest in the acquisition of TAP's. capital, he said. At least three major airline company operators - Lufthansa. , British Airways owner IAG, and Air. France-KLM - have actually said they have an interest in. state-owned TAP. A month earlier, sources told Reuters that Lufthansa CEO Carsten. Spohr met with the federal government to formally indicate his business's. interest in the privatisation. Among the sources said Lufthansa was eyeing a 19.9%?? stake. in TAP, listed below the 20% threshold that would require approval from. the European Commission. We are studying the best model to be effective and value. the company as much as we can, Montenegro said, explaining. that Portuguese taxpayers paid 3.2 billion euros ($ 3.5 billion). to rescue TAP during the COVID-19 pandemic. I always argued that preferably we could achieve an overall. privatisation, as long as we protect the paths that are. strategic for us and the Lisbon center ... (however) I'm not stating that. the design should be to go from 0% (personal stake) to 100%.
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Finland's president to fulfill Xi on state check out to China
Finland's President Alexander Stubb will go on a state visit to China from Oct. 2831 for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior government officials, the Finnish government stated on Wednesday. Stubb will go over bilateral relations in addition to the war in between Russia and Ukraine and other security concerns, his office stated in a declaration. Finland and China have been taken part in delicate diplomacy since October of last year over the possible role of a Hong Kong-registered cargo vessel in the damage triggered to the Balticconnector gas pipeline. Finnish cops in a still-ongoing examination have concluded the pipeline was most likely ripped apart by an anchor dragged across it, injuring Finland's energy security and leading to a pricey six-month repair . Stubb's predecessor Sauli Niinisto stated at the time of his retirement in March this year that the diplomatic handling of the event had gone through subtle yet identified work of all individuals.
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Algerian wheat purchase in tender is between 510,000 and 570,000 T, traders claim
European traders reported on Wednesday that Algeria's state grain agency OAIC purchased between 510,000 and 570,000 metric tonnes of milling wheat during an international auction which ended on Tuesday. The traders had estimated a range of 500,000-550,000 tons on Tuesday evening. They reported that the prices on Wednesday were around $262.50 per ton, including freight. The same price was reported Tuesday evening. The traders believed that the majority of the wheat was sourced in the Black Sea Region, even though technically, the grain could be sourced anywhere. According to trader reports, eight companies sold their products but there were no French trading firms among them. The market continued to talk about the impact of diplomatic tensions between Algeria and France on the tender. Traders did not expect French wheat. The reports reflect the opinions of traders, and it is possible to estimate prices and volume later. Two periods were set aside for the shipment of wheat in 2024 from major supply regions, including Europe: November 1-15 and November 16-30. The shipment date is one month sooner if the wheat comes from South America or Australia. Algeria is an important customer of wheat imported from the European Union and France. However, Russian exporters as well as those from other Black Sea regions have seen a strong expansion in the Algerian marketplace. Reporting by Michael Hogan from Hamburg and Gus Trompiz from Paris
Airlines suspend flights as Middle East stress increase
Issues over a larger dispute in the Middle East have actually prompted global airlines to suspend flights to the region or to prevent affected air space.
Below are some of the airlines that have actually changed services to and from the area:
AEGEAN AIRLINES The Greek airline company cancelled flights to and from Beirut until Oct. 31 and to and from Tel Aviv until Oct. 21.
AIR ALGERIE The Algerian airline company suspended flights to and from Lebanon until further observe.
AIRBALTIC. Latvia's airBaltic cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv until. Oct. 31.
AIR EUROPA. The Spanish airline cancelled flights to Tel Aviv till Oct. 14.
AIR FRANCE-KLM. Air France extended its suspension of Paris-Tel Aviv flights. until Oct. 15 and Paris-Beirut flights till Oct. 26. KLM extended the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv until the end. of this year at least. The Franco-Dutch group's affordable system Transavia cancelled. flights to and from Tel Aviv till March 31, 2025, and flights. to Amman and Beirut till Nov. 3.
AIR INDIA. The Indian flag provider suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv. until further notice.
BULGARIA AIR. The Bulgarian provider cancelled flights to and from Israel up until. Oct. 31.
CATHAY PACIFIC. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific cancelled flights to Tel Aviv. up until March 27, 2025.
DELTA AIR LINES. The U.S. provider stopped briefly flights between New york city and Tel Aviv. through Dec. 31.
EASYJET. The UK budget airline stopped flying to and from Tel Aviv in. April and will resume flights on March 30, 2025.
EMIRATES. UAE's state-owned airline company cancelled flights to Beirut through. Oct. 15 and flights to and from Iraq and Iran until Oct. 16.
ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES
The Ethiopian carrier suspended flights to Beirut up until. even more notice, it said in a Facebook post on Oct. 4.
FLYDUBAI. The Emirati airline suspended Dubai-Beirut flights until Oct. 31, a flydubai representative stated.
IAG. IAG-owned British Airways cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv. through Oct. 26.
IAG's low-priced airline Iberia Express cancelled flights to. Tel Aviv up until Oct. 31, while Vueling cancelled operations to. Tel Aviv until Jan. 12, 2025, and to Amman until more notification.
IRAN AIR. The Iranian airline company cancelled Beirut flights up until more. notice.
IRAQI AIRWAYS. The Iraqi nationwide carrier suspended flights to Beirut up until. further see.
ITA AIRWAYS. Italy's ITA Airways extended the suspension of Tel Aviv flights. through Oct. 31.
LOT. The Polish flag provider cancelled flights to Tel Aviv till Oct. 26, while its first set up flight to Beirut is prepared for. April 1, 2025.
LUFTHANSA GROUP. The German airline company group suspended flights to Tel Aviv until. Oct. 31, to Tehran till Oct. 26 and to Beirut until Nov. 30.
It will not use Iranian and Iraqi airspace till even more. notice, aside from a passage utilized for flights to and from Erbil. in Iraqi Kurdistan. Israeli airspace will not be used till Oct. 31.
SunExpress, a joint endeavor between Lufthansa and Turkish. Airlines, suspended flights to Beirut through Dec. 17.
PEGASUS. The Turkish airline company cancelled flights to Beirut until Oct. 28.
RYANAIR. Europe's biggest budget plan airline cancelled flights to and from. Tel Aviv till Oct. 26.
QATAR AIRWAYS. The Qatari airline temporarily suspended flights to and from. Iraq, Iran and Lebanon.
SUNDAIR. The German airline cancelled flights from Berlin, Bremen and. Muenster/Osnabrueck to Beirut until Dec. 8.
UNITED AIRLINES. The Chicago-based airline company suspended flights to Tel Aviv for the. foreseeable future.
VIRGIN ATLANTIC. The UK carrier extended suspension of Tel Aviv flights up until. end-March 2025.
WIZZ AIR. The Hungary-based airline suspended flights to and from Israel. and Jordan through Oct. 13.
(source: Reuters)