Latest News
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US Transport chief on California high speed rail: "We have to stop it"
U.S. Transportation secretary Sean Duffy is confident that the administration will win any lawsuits challenging the department's decisions to rescind the $4 billion of U.S. Government funding for California's High-Speed Rail Project. "I wish that it had gone to California. We supported the California project but it will cost more than $130 billion, and there is no funding plan or timeline for completion. Duffy told reporters in front of the department's HQ that "we have to pull out the plug". California High-Speed Rail System (California High-Speed Rail System) is a two-phase 800-mile (1,287-km) system that will connect San Francisco with Los Angeles and Anaheim. In the second phase it will extend north to Sacramento, and south to San Diego. Officials in California called the action illegal. The latest clash between the Republican Administration of President Donald Trump and California has been over the transgender athletes' rights, electric vehicle regulations, and the use of National Guard soldiers during protests in Los Angeles. Last month, the Federal Railroad Administration released a 315 page report citing missed timelines, budget shortages and questionable projections of ridership. The San Francisco to Los Angeles project, originally estimated to cost $33 billion by 2020, has now increased from $89 billion up to $128 billion. California High-Speed Rail Authority stated that it is "fast approaching the track-laying stage, with 171 mile under active construction and designing, 15,500 new jobs created, as well as more than 50 major structural structures completed." In 2008, voters approved $10 billion for this project. Former President Joe Biden's Transportation Department awarded the project approximately $4 billion. Biden, in 2021 restored the $929 million grant that Trump had revoked for California's high speed rail system.
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New US Postal Chief confident that agency will be able preserve independence
David Steiner, the new U.S. Postmaster-General, told his employees that he was confident in the Postal Service's ability to operate as an independent agency. Steiner, who began his new tenure on Tuesday, said: "I'm convinced that the strength of the Postal Service is our structure as an independent self-financing entity of the Executive Branch. We operate much like a company but with a mission of public service." He added that he hoped to maintain the Postal Service's independence "far into future." President Barack Obama will be inaugurated in February. Donald Trump USPS is a "tremendous loser for this country," He said that he would consider merging the Postal Service and the U.S. Commerce Department Democrats claimed that this would be a violation of federal law. Former Postmaster general Louis DeJoy Resignation in March . DeJoy was responsible for the restructuring of USPS, which lost money over a period of five years. Steiner said to employees that the Postal Service must be on a realistic course to match revenues to costs on a long-term, consistent basis. Steiner, former CEO of Waste Management and FedEx Board member for May After he was named the new Postal Service chief, postal unions have expressed grave concerns about his connections to a competitor. DeJoy led a dramatic restructuring of the USPS. This included cutting the forecasted cumulative losses over the next decade from $160 billion to $80 billion, even though mail volumes dropped to their lowest level since 1968. First-class stamps have increased in price by From 73 cents to 78 cents On Sunday. Stamp prices have increased by 46% from early 2019, when they cost 50 cents. USPS, a 635,000-strong agency that lost $9.5billion last year, has reduced its workforce earlier this year by 10,000 employees through a voluntary pension program. In May, the USPS reported a net loss of $3.3 billion for the three-month period ending March 31,
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Baghdad claims KRG agreed to resume oil exports to a state-owned oil marketer despite drone attacks
Iraqi Kurdistan's oil exports will resume through a pipeline in Turkey following a two-year stop, the Iraqi federal government announced on Thursday. This was despite drone attacks which have resulted in a shutdown of half of region's production for a fourth consecutive day. Baghdad, Erbil and the semi-autonomous region have been in talks since late February about ending a standoff that had stopped the flow of goods from the north to Turkey's Mediterranean Port of Ceyhan. Baghdad announced that the Kurdistan Regional Government will begin immediately supplying at least 230,000 barrels of oil per day to the state oil marketer SOMO, for export. This is in accordance with a new contract approved by the federal Cabinet. On Thursday, drone attacks continued against Iraqi Kurdistan’s oilfields. Officials pointed to Iran-backed militias for the attacks. The attacks are the first of their kind in the area and coincide with the first attack in seven months by Houthi militants, who are aligned to Iran, on ships in the Red Sea. The region's anti-terrorism service reported that the strike on Thursday was against an oilfield operated in Tawke by Norway's DNO. This was the second strike of the week on a DNO site, which operates Tawke and Peshkabour in the Zakho region bordering Turkey. Security officials said that the drones were coming from areas controlled Iran-backed militias, but no group has claimed responsibility. Two energy officials reported that no casualties were reported but the oil production in the region was reduced by 140,000 to 150,000 barrels per day. Awaiting financial details In a statement, KRG Prime Minster Masrour Bazani stated that the government has approved a joint agreement with the federal government. It is awaiting the financial details. In the past, similar agreements failed to bring about a revival of exports. It is unclear whether this agreement will be successful. Requests for comments from oil producers in Kurdistan including DNO Energy, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, Shamaran Petroleum and Genel Energy did not receive a response immediately. The previous demand was that the production-sharing contract should be left unchanged, and the debt of almost $1 billion settled. Before the pipeline's closure in March 2023, the KRG produced about 435,000 bpd. Both sides have been under pressure from the United States to come to an agreement to resume exports. Iran supports militant groups in Iraq that are a part of the Islamic Resistance, which is a group of ten hardline Shi'ite armed militias with about 50,000 fighters. Since the Gaza War erupted, they have claimed responsibility of dozens missile and drone strikes on Israel and U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria. Hunt Oil, a US-based company, operates the Ain Sifni Oilfield in Dohuk Region. It was attacked Wednesday. Hunt Oil reported that no employees were injured, but the company had to close down its facilities in order to assess damage.
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The US will give higher reviews to solar and wind energy projects
The Trump administration announced on Thursday that the Office of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will review decisions related to solar energy and wind energy installations on federal lands to stop what they claim has been preferential treatments for renewable energy sources. This increased scrutiny aligns with the pledge of President Donald Trump to reverse the climate change and clean energy policies of his predecessor Joe Biden. The Interior Department stated that the additional reviews will apply to leases, rights-of way, construction and operation plans, and other project permits. The majority of solar and wind power plants are built on private property. Adam Suess, Acting Assistant Secretary of Lands and Minerals Management said in a press release that today's actions "further deliver on President Trump’s promise to tackle Green New Scam and safeguard the American taxpayers’ dollars." "American Energy Dominance" is a result of the U.S. production of reliable baseload electricity, and not by regulatory favoritism for unreliable projects that are dependent solely on taxpayer subsidies or foreign-sourced equipment. (Reporting from Nichola Groom).
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US Auto Safety Agency to shed more than 25% of its employees
According to data seen by Congress, the Trump administration is offering financial incentives to leave the government to more than 25 percent of the U.S. Auto Safety Agency's employees. Under the program, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (part of the Transportation Department) is down from 772 to 555 employees by May 31. Federal Highway Administration (FHA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) are both losing over 25% of their employees. Rick Larsen expressed concern about the cuts. He questioned how USDOT could "accelerate project delivery and improve safety" with a "decimated workforce." USDOT loses just under 4,100 employees, dropping from 57,000 to 52.862. The Federal Aviation Administration sheds 2,137, falling from 46.250 to 44.208. Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary, said on Wednesday that the Department has not reduced any safety-critical staff and is actively looking to hire air traffic controllers. USDOT and NHTSA didn't immediately comment. The Transportation Department has not yet confirmed if it will still conduct a layoff programme in addition to the early retirements. NHTSA is currently conducting investigations into self-driving cars and advanced driver assistance systems involving Tesla, Alphabet Waymo, and other companies. Consumer advocacy groups urged lawmakers on Thursday to abandon proposed budget cuts to NHTSA, including cutting the operations and research account of over $10 million, "harming agency's capability to conduct rulemaking and enforcement actions, as well as research and analysis". The law would also reduce nearly $78 millions of supplemental funding from the $1 billion infrastructure law for 2021. The groups said that they were "especially concerned" about the possibility of further forced retirements or firings. These have decimated NHTSA. Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Chizu nomiyama and Aurora Ellis
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Waymo extends coverage to Austin, Texas as the robotaxi competition heats-up
Alphabet Waymo, the company's self driving unit, announced on Thursday that it was expanding its service area in Austin, Texas to 90 square mile from 37 square mile earlier. The software giant is trying to protect its position as the top provider in the city against rivals like Tesla. The company announced that Waymo will cover Crestview, Windsor Park Sunset Valley, Franklin Park and other neighborhoods in Austin. Waymo, which has been slowly expanding its self driving taxi service across the U.S. over the past few years, is now widely regarded as the leader in this space. It has around 1,500 vehicles in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Atlanta, among other cities. Tesla, the rival automaker, is trying to catch up. Last month it conducted a trial of about a dozen Model Y SUVs on a restricted area in Austin. Tesla faces an uphill battle to commercialize the technology at a large-scale and overcome regulatory obstacles. It also relies solely on artificial intelligence and cameras, and does not use sensors like radar or lidar as do Waymo and many of its competitors. Shweta Shwevastava is the senior director of Waymo's product management. She said, "Austin continues to be one of the most rapidly growing cities in America, and we do our part to keep up with that growth." Waymo vehicles reached a 100-million-mile milestone this week. They have doubled their mileage in just six months.
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BlackRock to invest $10 billion in Aramco Jafurah Infrastructure Deal
Two people familiar with the matter said that Saudi Aramco was close to signing a deal for the group BlackRock to invest around $10 billion in Aramco’s Jafurah Gas Project infrastructure. This agreement is the latest in a long line of financial arrangements that are similar to borrowing and allow Gulf oil-producing countries to raise funds to diversify their economy while offering investors a steady revenue stream. Two people confirmed that the new transaction would be similar to the two infrastructure deals Aramco signed in 2021. This included one where BlackRock invested into Aramco’s gas pipeline network, allowing it to generate funds. Aramco controlled the infrastructure, while investors received tariffs for using the pipelines. The talks were private, so both sources requested anonymity. The sources did not specify a date for the finalisation of the deal. Aramco declined to comment. The $100 billion Jafurah Project, which is potentially the largest shale-gas project outside of the United States, will be central to Aramco’s ambitions to become the world's leading natural gas company and to increase its production capacity from 2021 to 2030 by 60%. One source said that the assets of Jafurah underpinning this deal included gas pipelines as well as a gas treatment plant. Aramco is the largest source of revenue for the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is trying to diversify its economic base as the oil price has come under pressure due to global economic uncertainty. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Saudi Arabia and aiming to increase market share, has also increased production. Aramco is reportedly looking to sell five gas-fired plants in order to raise money. Previous Deals BlackRock and EIG, two investor groups, took stakes in 2021 in companies leasing usage rights for Aramco's oil and gas pipeline networks. In two separate deals, the groups leased back these rights to Aramco over a period of 20 years. This helped raise $28 billion for Aramco. Robin Mills is the chief executive officer of Qamar Energy, a consultancy. He said that these transactions were described by Aramco as lease-and-leaseback transactions at the time. They were structured in a way to borrow money. Mills stated that "the pipeline deals were essentially a securitisation", and not a sales of the asset. Ownership remained with Aramco. Aramco holds 51% of the shares in Aramco Oil Pipelines & Aramco Gas Pipelines. Aramco pays a tariff to the subsidiaries for crude oil and natural gas flows, with minimum commitments. The deal followed similar transactions in the region including Abu Dhabi ADNOC's sale of minority stakes to companies that own the leasing rights for its oil and natural gas pipelines. Reporting by Sarah McFarlane, Hadeel al Sayegh, and Federico Maccioni, in Dubai. Additional reporting by Anirban Saba and Yousef Sabah, and editing by Anousha Takoui and Barbara Lewis.
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United Airlines shares rise on signs of travel recovery
United Airlines shares rose by 4% after the U.S. airline projected an improved demand since July's start, a positive tone following the fallout from President Donald Trump’s budget cuts and tensions in trade. In early Thursday trading, shares of Delta Air and American Airlines gained 3% each. The Chicago-based airline projected Wednesday that overall travel demand would rise by six percentage points in third quarter. Business travel bookings also saw a double-digit increase. In a Wednesday statement, United CEO Scott Kirby stated that the world was less uncertain than it had been during the first half of 2025. This gives him confidence for a successful year's end. The demand for premium products is strong, and carriers with a wide range of offerings benefit from it. However, the main cabin revenue suffers as a result of the slowdown in travel. Cost-conscious travelers are rethinking the plans they had made. Citi analysts wrote that despite macroeconomic uncertainty and Newark’s short-term problems, "United is well on its path to its long-term goals." Budget cuts and trade tensions in the U.S. had alerted the aviation industry, causing most carriers to withdraw 2025 profit projections and prepare for a wider travel slowdown. Since then, industry executives signaled that the travel demand has stabilised. Booking trends improved last week, which led Delta Air Lines to reaffirm its profit forecast for the full year. United, like Delta also said that it expected the industry to reduce unprofitable flight in the next few months to stabilize airfares, and to protect margins. As we look at the end June, we can see both a shift in demand and supply. In mid-August this year, the airline industry will see a large number of seats leave the industry. This is going to benefit us, Kirby told CNBC in a Thursday interview.
Israel's parliamentary panel wants compensation from the state for Israelis who were stranded in Iran during the war
The head of a parliamentary committee in Israel told the Finance Ministry Thursday that if the Finance Ministry did not come up with an adequate compensation plan for Israelis who were stranded overseas during the war with Iran last month, the panel will impose it.
Israel's airspace, which was mostly closed because of daily rocket attacks from Iran, prevented tens of thousands of Israelis from returning to their country during the 12-day conflict.
Flights to Tel Aviv were halted by both Israeli and foreign carriers. Many travellers were forced to pay heavy fees despite receiving a refund for their cancelled flights, or a place on an Israeli airline's so-called rescue plane.
The Economic Affairs Committee is debating this issue since a week, and Israel's carriers have reported that they are receiving an increasing number of compensation claims.
A representative of the Finance Ministry told the committee the ministry was analyzing data in order to develop a compensation structure.
David Bitan is the head of the Economic Committee and a Likud Party member. He said that if the Finance Ministry does not complete its review by the end of this month, the committee would issue a ruling which, in the case of third party claims, could be used as a basis to hold the government liable.
"I'm able to make this decision, but I need a compromise."
Uri Sirkis of Israeli carrier Israir expressed concern that airlines will not be compensated under the final framework.
"We have suffered millions of damages." It wasn't an accident or a commercial mistake, and we don't have to suffer alone," he said to the panel. He was referring to Israel's war with Iran.
Oz Berlowitz is the CEO of Arkia Airlines a rival airline to Israir. He also accuses the state of abdicating its responsibility and leaving airlines without support.
He said that hundreds of passenger claims were being received and would have to be passed on to the government as a 'third party' if they are to receive compensation. The claims totaled millions of dollars. (Reporting and editing by Frances Kerry.)
(source: Reuters)