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France joins European push to bring satellite internet to trains
The French state-owned rail company SNCF is launching a tender to add satellite internet in its trains. It will be the latest European rail operator exploring space-based connectivity systems on board. In a Friday statement, SNCF stated that it is pursuing "an innovative approach to strengthening connectivity and resilience", by combining terrestrial network solutions with low-Earth orbit satellite solutions. The company stated that the strategy is designed to guarantee service continuity throughout its entire network including remote sites and better internet access for passengers. SNCF stated that the combination of satellite and 4G/5G would eliminate dead zones, offer stable service with fast speeds, and be able to adapt new services such as video conferencing or streaming. Sources familiar with the situation said that Elon Musk's Starlink, and France's Eutelsat were among the companies under consideration. SNCF refused to discuss whether it is in discussions with specific providers. Eutelsat's spokesperson confirmed that the company is interested in the deal, as it has already been in discussions with SNCF to set up a pilot program as they did in Britain and Kazakhstan. The spokesperson stated that "as the only French LEO (low-Earth orbit) operator currently in service and as the only French player we intend to bid on the contract with our French partner such as Orange Business Services." Starlink has expanded its services beyond consumer markets to include enterprise markets in the transportation and maritime sector. Eutelsat's OneWeb satellite network, which has more than 600 LEOs, offers internet access. Similar initiatives have been taken in Europe. Matteo Salvini, Minister of Infrastructure, said in May that Ferrovie dello Stato, the Italian state railway, conducted a two-week test in June, with two providers including Starlink. ScotRail, a Scottish railway company, also began a Starlink six-week trial in May. In most European trains, internet access is provided by cellular networks. The quality of the connection varies depending on where you are. High speeds also pose technical challenges, as the systems are constantly switching between mobile towers. This causes intermittent service. Satellites offer coverage in remote areas, even where there are few or no cellular towers. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson; Gianluca Nostro)
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Trump and Zelesnkiy talk about weapons and escalating Russian attacks
According to a report by Axios, U.S. president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelenskiy discussed Friday air defence weapons as well as the escalating Russian attacks on Ukraine. The call came a day following Trump's claim that he had an unsatisfactory conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Hours after Trump's meeting with Putin, Russia pounded Kyiv in the capital with the biggest drone attack since the war began. Zelenskiy described the attack as "deliberately mass and cynical." Kyiv warned that Washington's decision to stop some weapons shipments to Ukraine would erode its defenses against airstrikes intensifying and battlefield advances. Germany has said that it is currently in negotiations to buy Patriot air defence systems as a bridge. Spiegel, citing sources in the government, reported that Trump spoke to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Thursday. Spiegel reported Friday that the two leaders had discussed trade and Ukraine's situation, including its air defence. Reporting by Doina chiacu and Tim Gardner, Editing by Louise Heavens & Peter Graff
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The discount on Russian Urals oil sent to India has been the lowest since 2022.
Three traders on the Urals crude oil market reported that discounts for Russian's flagship Urals crude for delivery to Indian ports in August have decreased to their lowest levels since 2022 due to high demand and a shrinking supply. Traders said that the lower supply and narrowing discounts of Russian spot barrels will force Indian refiners into looking for alternatives like United Arab Emirates Murban or U.S. West Texas Intermediate grades. The shrinking discount shows that Moscow has managed to maintain its oil sales despite Western sanctions. However, its discounted oil becomes more expensive, even though it is still cheaper than alternative oil. The traders reported that spot discounts for Urals crude for cargoes arriving to India in August were reduced to an average of $1.70-2 per barrelle to Brent dated on delivery ex ship (DES) basis, down from $2.50 to $2.50 a barrel for Brent dated on DES basis for July. This is the smallest discount on Urals oil cargoes compared to Brent dated in Indian ports, since the Ukraine War broke out in the year 2022. Since April of this year, the Russian oil grade has traded at a price that is largely below the $60 price per barrel cap set by the West. This allows Western companies to offer shipping and insurance services for the barrels. The traders stated that the high demand for Urals oil in India and Turkey - the two biggest buyers of this grade - is supporting the price. LSEG data shows that Turkey's imports from Russia of Urals crude reached their highest level in June since May 2024, due to healthy refinery margins as well as seasonal demand for motor gasolines. In July, the Urals oil loadings will decline from June due to increased refinery production in Russia. The Russian oil supply will also decline in August due to a planned shutdown of the Sakhalin-1 Project, which exports Sokol Oil. India is the biggest buyer of Russian crude oil after Moscow diverted energy away from the European Union which imposed an import ban in late 2022. Sources claim that several Indian refineries, which normally purchase Russian oil at the spot market, will not receive enough Urals oil to deliver in August. India is looking at building three new strategic reserves of oil to increase its emergency stockpile, and improve energy security. The deal signed between India's largest refiner Reliance Industries and Russian oil giant Rosneft in 2013 saw large volumes of Urals oil shipped to India. This has limited the amount of crude oil available on the spot market.
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French air traffic controllers strike for second day disrupts flights
The strike of French air traffic controllers is now in its second day, and many passengers are left stranded as Europe's busy travel season begins. The civil aviation agency DGAC has told airlines that 40% of flights will be cancelled at three of Paris' main airports this Friday due to the strike. Air traffic controllers claim the strike is caused by a lack of staff and outdated equipment. DGAC also said that up to half of the flights at France's airports in other regions, mainly the south, had been affected. Mariano Mignola said, "We are hostages to Paris", an Italian tourist stuck in Orly Airport with his two children. "Today, we had to return home. The first flight available is on July 8." He said, "We have no apartment, hotel, car, train or anything else. We can't even find a place to stay." "We're in a panic. The children are afraid and we don’t know what to say." The strike was deemed unacceptable by the French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot, as well as Ryanair's boss Michael O'Leary who called it "another recreation strike of French air traffic controllers's unions". DGAC also warned that delays and disruptions could affect passengers in addition to cancellations. Airlines for Europe (A4E), a lobby group, announced late Thursday that 1,500 flight cancellations had occurred during the two-day walkout, affecting 300,00 passengers and causing delays. Reporting by Makini Brice, Conor Humphries Inti Landauro and Lucien Libert. Makini Brice, Ingrid Melander and Makini's team wrote the article. David Goodman, Mark Potter and Mark Potter edited the book.
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The June Russian Urals oil supply to SOCAR's STAR Refinery in Turkey reached a record high.
LSEG data and traders reported that Russian Urals oil supplied to Turkey's STAR refining facility, controlled by Azerbaijan SOCAR in June, reached a record high of 800,000 metric tonnes (about 195,000 barallons per day). STAR has a capacity exceeding 200,000 bpd, making it the largest refinery in Turkey. SOCAR and Russia's Lukoil signed a long-term contract in 2023 for oil supplies. Traders said that the STAR refinery receives the majority of its crude oil from Lukoil. SOCAR did not immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. LSEG data shows that Turkey increased its purchases of Urals Oil in June to 1.6 millions tons - the most since May 2024. The rise in prices is due to the return of Turkish refiner Tupras to the Russian market. They had stopped buying Urals earlier in the year because of sanctions but resumed their purchases when Russian oil started to trade below $60 per barrel, the price cap set by Western countries. According to LSEG, the purchases by Tupras refineries in Izmit & Izmir accounted approximately the same volume of the STAR refinery – about 200,000 bpd per month in June. Azerbaijan has accused Moscow of extrajudicial killings, and arrested Russians as a tit-fortat response. Moscow has called on dialogue and diplomatic solutions. In recent years, the cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan on oil and gas has decreased. Azerbaijan halted the transit of its oil through the Russian port of Novorossiysk several years ago. This oil was transported as Siberian Light. Due to sanctions, Lukoil halted its oil transit through the Baku-Tbilisi - Ceyhan oil pipeline by 2022. Mark Potter is responsible for the editing and reporting.
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Operator reports that parts of the Czech grid are affected by outages
Grid operator CEPS reported that a Friday outage affected parts of the Czech National Power Grid. It said that "part of the transmission system was without voltage. The event also affected a greater part of transmission substations," adding that the cause of the incident is being investigated. CEPS confirmed that a high-voltage line in the north and east of the country had been affected by an outage. Czech Television reported the outage had affected several regions in the north and east, as well as some parts of the capital. Some areas were quickly restored to power. The DPP, the transport company in Prague, said that underground trains briefly stopped running in the capital but soon resumed. The right bank of Prague was also affected by the suspension of tram traffic. E.ON, who operates a part of the grid south and south-eastern Czech Republic said that its supply area had not been affected. The CTK news agency reported that the Prague outage was caused by a failure at a substation in Prague. (Reporting and editing by Mark Potter.)
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Asian spot prices drop on weak demand, rising supply
The price of Asian spot LNG (liquefied natural gases) fell this week due to a combination of factors: a weak demand, a rising supply, and an abundance in inventories. Meanwhile, the risk premiums were reduced by reducing the ceasefire between Israel & Iran. Average LNG price for August deliveries into North-east Asia Industry sources estimate that the price per million British Thermal Units (mmBtu) was $12.70, down from $13.10/mmBtu in the previous week. The market was under pressure from a combination of factors, including the rising Pacific supply, the high LNG stocks in China and South Korea and the weak industrial demand throughout China and India. "The Iran-Israel ceasefire has further lowered geopolitical risks premiums", said Kpler analyst Go Katayama. He added that production from Australia, Malaysia, and Nigeria have increased. The bearish outlook continues, as initial LNG Canada exports add to the supply length. Further price drops could encourage restocking in Japan, especially if soft fundamentals continue. The data from the Industry Ministry showed that LNG stocks held by major Japanese utilities had fallen to 2,15 million tons on June 29 due to hotter weather driving cooling demand. The previous week, the stockpiles were 2.27 million tonnes. However, the current level is slightly higher than the average five-year volume of 2.1 millions tons. Katayama added that despite the steady nuclear output of Japan, the rising temperatures outpace non-gas production capacity. This could lead to increased spot purchases if this heatwave continues. S&P Global Commodity Insights, a commodity research firm in Europe, assessed the daily North West Europe (NWM) LNG Marker price benchmark on a basis of ex-ship (DES), for August cargoes at $11.142/mmBtu. This represents a $0.435/mmBtu reduction from the gas price at TTF's hub. Spark Commodities set the price at $11.175/mmBtu for August, while Argus estimated it at $11.119/mmBtu. The lack of a strong demand catalyst on the global LNG market did not result in strong price movements this week. However, the supply picture balanced out due to increased liquefaction by the U.S.A. and Qatar which helped improve supply fundamentals," stated Aly Blakeway. As a result of a closed arbitrage with Asia, and the heatwaves in Europe that drew in LNG waterborne cargos, Europe continues to receive the bulk of LNG cargoes. Xiaoyi Deng is deputy head of LNG prices at Argus. She said that European prices are limited because demand has been weak in other regions, and the European Union storage targets, which have become less strict, have shifted risks from summer to winter. Deng said that the recent increase in winter premiums for prompt deliveries reflects this. According to Spark Commodities analyst Qasim Afghan, the U.S. Arbitrage to Northeast Asia via Cape of Good Hope has been pointing towards Europe for the past five weeks, while the arbitrage through Panama continues to point to Asia. He said that the Atlantic LNG rates have fallen to $42,000/day while Pacific LNG rates are down to $40,000.
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INDIA RUPEE: Rupee little changed at the end of week, but looming deadline for tariffs in focus
The Indian rupee ended the week with little change as traders awaited the outcome of the U.S. India trade talks. A positive result could help the local currency overcome a stubborn resistance level. The rupee ended the day at 85.3225, down by about 0.1% on both a weekly and daily basis. The currency had risen to a one-month peak of 85.25 in the previous session but pared gains on Friday after traders scaled back wagers on rate cuts by the Federal Reserve following a stronger-than-expected U.S. labour market report. A trader from a foreign bank stated that the rupee was impacted by the dollar demand of importers. Market participants avoided aggressive bullish bets on the local currency in order to reduce the risk carried over the weekend. The rupee has been unable to hold above the technical resistance around 85.35-85.40 in recent sessions. However, a favorable trade agreement with the U.S. could help the currency overcome this hurdle. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has announced that Washington will begin sending letters to other countries specifying what tariffs they will be facing on their imports into the United States on Friday. In a note referring to these letters, MUFG stated that "if Trump's remarks prove to be accurate, investors will begin to downgrade their growth expectations and increase their inflation expectations. This will only encourage more dollar selling." Trump announced an agreement with Vietnam earlier this week and the White House hinted at a future deal with India. Talks with Japan, the U.S. closest ally in Asia, have also appeared to be hitting a snag. Analysts have noted that despite the uncertainty, India's rising foreign exchange reserves as well as the central bank's declining forward book is helping to strengthen the rupee.
Air India Express was warned by regulators about the delay in fixing an Airbus engine and falsifying records.
A government memo revealed that India's aviation regulator reprimanded Air India in March after the budget airline failed to change engine parts on an Airbus A320 within the time frame specified by European Union's Aviation Safety Agency, and for falsifying records as proof of compliance.
Air India Express issued a statement in which it admitted the mistake to the Indian watchdog, and took "corrective action and preventive actions".
Air India is under scrutiny after the Boeing Dreamliner crash that occurred in June, which claimed the lives of all but one person on board. Investigations are still ongoing into the world's biggest aviation disaster since a decade.
Air India Express reported the engine problem on March 18 - months before the crash. The regulator also warned Air India's parent company this year for violating rules by flying three Airbus aircraft with unchecked escape slides and in June for "serious violations of pilot duty times".
Air India Express is the subsidiary of Air India which is owned and operated by the Tata Group. The airline has over 115 aircraft, and 500 flights per day to 50 different destinations.
In 2023, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued an airworthiness Directive to address a “potentially unsafe condition” on CFM International LEAP-1A engine, asking for the replacement of certain components, such as seals and rotating pieces, stating that some manufacturing defects had been discovered.
In its directive, the agency stated that "if this condition is not corrected, it could result in failure of the affected parts and possibly high-energy debris release with subsequent damage to, or reduced control of, an aeroplane."
According to a confidential memo sent by the Indian government in March to the airline and seen by., the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) surveillance revealed that the parts modification on an Airbus A320 engine "wasn't complied with" within the "prescribed time limit".
The memo stated that "in order to show the work was carried out within prescribed limits, it appears the AMOS records were altered/forged", referring to software called Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Operating System, which is used by airlines for managing maintenance and airworthiness.
Memo added that the "mandatory modification" was needed on Air India Express VT-ATD aircraft. According to AirNav Radar, this plane flies domestic routes as well as some international destinations like Dubai and Muscat.
It added that the lapse "indicates a manager accountable for quality control has failed to ensure it."
Air India Express' technical team told them that they missed the planned implementation date of parts replacement because records were being migrated on their monitoring software. The problem was quickly fixed.
The memo did not mention dates or address the DGCA's concern about altered records, but it said that "necessary" administrative measures were taken after the March memo. These included removing the Quality Manager from his position and suspending Deputy Continued Airworthiness Manager.
The DGCA, the European Safety Agency and other agencies did not answer any questions.
Airbus and CFM International (a joint venture between General Electric, Safran and Safran) did not reply either.
A source with first-hand knowledge of the incident said that the lapse was flagged by the DGCA during an audit conducted in October 2024. The plane had only made a few flights after the CFM parts were supposed to be replaced.
"Such problems should be resolved immediately. This is a grave error. Vibhuti, a former legal specialist at India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, said that the risk is increased when flying near or over restricted airspace.
In February, the Indian government informed parliament that 23 safety violations were reported by airlines and they were either fined or warned. Air India Express and Air India were involved in three of the cases.
(source: Reuters)