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Minister: Hungary's exemption from US sanctions against Russia energy is permanent
Hungary claimed on Saturday that it had received an indefinite waiver of U.S. sanctions for the use of Russian oil and natural gas. However, a White House representative reaffirmed that this exemption was only valid for one year. Last month, U.S. president Donald Trump imposed sanctions related to Ukraine on Russian oil firms Lukoil & Rosneft. These sanctions carried the threat of additional sanctions against entities who buy oil from these firms. Viktor Orban met Trump, a Trump ally for many years, at the White House last Friday in order to push for a reprieve. Hungary heavily relies on Russian energy, and Orban faces an election in close proximity next year. The prime minister was very clear. Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian foreign minister, said on Facebook that he had agreed with President Obama to obtain an exemption from sanctions for all time. There are no sanctions indefinitely on the oil and gas exports to Hungary. In an email sent on Saturday, a White House official reiterated that the exemption was for a year. HUNGARY IS EXPECTED BUY U.S. LNG Officials added that Hungary will also diversify their energy purchases, and have committed to buy U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas with contracts worth around $600 million. Hungary's continued reliance on Russian Energy since the start of the conflict with Ukraine in 2022 has prompted criticism from several European Union allies and NATO members. Orban said that Hungary has received a permanent exemption from energy imports through the TurkStream pipeline and Druzhba pipeline. Orban said that there are no sanctions in place to restrict or increase the cost of supply for Hungary through these routes. Orban stated that this exemption was general and had no time limit. According to figures from the International Monetary Fund, Hungary purchased 74% of gas and 86% oil in 2024 from Russia. The IMF warns that a cutoff of Russian gas across all of Europe could cost Hungary over 4% of GDP. Orban stated that without the agreement energy costs would have soared, hitting the economy as a whole, increasing unemployment, and causing "unbearable price increases" for both households and businesses.
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Delhi Airport operator confirms that all flight operations are back to normal following glitch
Delhi International Airport announced on Saturday that all flight operations are running as usual at the airport, following a technical problem which caused hundreds of delays over the last two days. Delays were caused by a malfunction in the software used to create flight plans. India's airports authorities had announced late Friday night that the system is "up and working" following a technical error. In a press release, the Indian government stated that the system, called Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), was back in automatic mode on Saturday afternoon. The government reported that Ram Mohan Naidu, minister of civil aviation, has instructed officials to prepare for system upgrades including the addition of additional servers or fallbacks to improve air traffic operations.
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Minister: Hungary's exemption from US sanctions against Russia energy is permanent
Hungary announced on Saturday that it has been granted an indefinite exemption from U.S. sanction for its use of Russian oil and natural gas. This is contrary to a White House official, who claimed it was only granted a year-long exemption. Last month, U.S. president Donald Trump imposed sanctions related to Ukraine on Russian oil firms Lukoil & Rosneft. These sanctions carried the threat of additional sanctions against entities who buy oil from these firms. Viktor Orban met with Trump, a longtime ally of Trump, at the White House last Friday in order to push for a reprieve. Hungary heavily relies on Russian energy, and Orban faces a tight election in 2019. The prime minister was very clear. Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian foreign minister, said on Facebook that he had agreed with President Obama to obtain an exemption from sanctions for indefinite time. There are no sanctions indefinitely on the oil and gas exports to Hungary. The White House official noted that in addition to the exemption from sanctions, Hungary had also committed to buy U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas with contracts worth around $600 million. Hungary's continued reliance on Russian Energy since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine 2022 has prompted criticism from several European Union allies and NATO members. Orban said that Hungary has received an exemption indefinitely for energy imports via TurkStream and Druzhba pipelines. Orban said that there are no sanctions in place to restrict or increase the cost of supply for Hungary through these routes. Orban stated that this exemption was general and had no time limit. According to figures from the International Monetary Fund, Hungary purchased 74% of gas and 86% oil in 2024 from Russia. The IMF warns that a cutoff of Russian gas across all of Europe could cost Hungary over 4% of GDP. Orban stated that without the agreement energy costs would have soared, affecting the economy as a whole, increasing unemployment, and causing "unbearable price increases" for both households and businesses.
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Trump calls on lawmakers to give healthcare funds 'directly' to the people
The President Donald Trump floated on Saturday a possible compromise amid the impasse surrounding the U.S. Government shutdown. He urged Republicans to redirect federal funds that are currently going to health insurance companies in accordance with the Affordable Care Act to give them to individuals. Trump said in a post on social media that he recommended to Senate Republicans to send the hundreds of billions of dollars currently going to Insurance Companies to save the poor Healthcare provided by ObamaCare directly to the people so they can purchase their own, much better, healthcare and still have money leftover. He added that the "worst healthcare anywhere in the world, ObamaCare, is the one provided by the BAD, BIG Insurance Companies. Take it from them and give it to people. Trump's remarks on Truth Social were made just hours before the U.S. Senate reconvened at noon (1700 GMT), after rejecting legislation that would have reinstated pay for hundreds of thousands federal workers who had been without pay during the longest U.S. shutdown in history. The two sides are still at odds on how to reopen government. Democrats want to include in a funding measure the healthcare subsidies for 24 million Americans that will expire at the end of this year. Republicans, however, say Congress should first pass a bill with no strings attached to allow government reopening. White House representatives did not respond immediately to a comment request on Trump's tweet. The representatives of U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Senate majority leader John Thune did not respond immediately to a comment request. (Reporting and editing by Alistair Bell, Sergio Non, and Jonathan Landay)
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Tornado in southern Brazil kills six, injures hundreds
The state government reported that a tornado, accompanied by high winds and heavy rainfall, struck Parana in the south of Brazil, killing six. Rio Bonito do Iguacu, the town that was hardest hit, suffered multiple structural failures and roof collapses. The state's civil defence agency reported that more than half of the city area had been affected. The power lines and roads were damaged. The authorities reported that 437 people received treatment for injuries, and approximately 1,000 were forced to relocate. Guarapuava, a nearby city, was also affected. According to the Parana Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring System the winds of the tornado reached speeds between 180 km/h (111mph) and 250 km/h (155mph). Gleisi-Hoffman, the Institutional Relations Minister, said that she will travel to the affected area with Adriano Massuda, acting Minister of Health and other federal officials on Saturday to assist in relief and reconstruction efforts. "We will continue our assistance to the people of Parana, and provide any help that is needed," wrote President Luiz inacio da Silva on X. He also expressed condolences to families of the victims. (Reporting and editing by Alistair Bell; Marcela Ayres)
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US cuts flights for a second day as the shutdown continues
U.S. Airlines and travelers endured a second day on Saturday of flight cancellations across the nation as the shutdown is expected to cause more cancellations over the next few days. Due to the shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration has instructed airlines to reduce 4% of flights at 40 major airports on Saturday. The cut will increase to 6% by Tuesday, and to 10% on November 14. These cuts began at 6 am. About 700 flights were affected by the cuts on Friday morning, 1100 GMT, from American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines. Due to a lower volume of flights, airlines will cancel fewer flights Saturday than they did on Friday. United Airlines will cancel 168 flights on Saturday, down from Friday's 184, and Southwest will cancel a little under 100 flights. The record-breaking 39-day shutdown of the government has forced 13,000 air traffic control operators and 50,000 security screening workers to work without pay. This has led to an increase in absenteeism. On Thursday, many air traffic controllers learned that they wouldn't be paid for the second pay period in the next week. The Trump administration is increasing pressure on Congressional Democrats in order to get them to accept a Republican-led plan to fund federal government and reopen it. One such attempt is to raise the specter dramatic disruptions in air travel. Democrats claim Republicans are responsible for the shutdown, because they refused to negotiate on extending health insurance subsides. Sean Duffy, the U.S. Transportation secretary, said that he might require a 20% cut in air traffic if conditions worsen and more controllers fail to show up. Duffy stated, "I evaluate the data." We're going make decisions based upon what we observe in the airspace. In addition to the cancellations, the FAA was forced by the absence of air traffic control on Friday to delay hundreds flights in 10 airports, including Atlanta, San Francisco Houston, Phoenix, Washington D.C. and Newark. Over 5,600 flights were canceled or delayed on Friday. In a statement earlier this week, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated that 20% to 40% controllers did not show up to work on any particular day.
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UPS grounds its MD-11 fleet after Louisville crash
UPS announced on Friday that it had grounded its fleet McDonnell Douglas MD-11s. This is the type of aircraft involved in the crash of Tuesday in Louisville, Kentucky which resulted in at least 13 deaths. UPS spokesperson stated in an email that "out of an abundance caution and for the sake of safety, we've made the decision to ground temporarily our MD-11 fleet". The spokesperson said that MD-11s make up about 9% the fleet of the company. The grounding takes effect immediately. NBC News was the first to report on this news. On Tuesday evening, a UPS cargo flight bound for Honolulu took off. crashed just after takeoff at Louisville International Airport. U.S. safety inspectors reported that three UPS pilots tried to control the cargo plane as the bell rang in the cockpit on Friday. Todd Inman, National Transportation Safety Board Member, says that UPS flight 2976 began without incident, but a repeated bell could be heard in the cockpit voice recorder 37 seconds after the crew had called for the takeoff thrust. Tell reporters. FedEx and Boeing, who own the MD-11 program following their 1997 merger, both operate MD-11 cargo planes, but did not respond immediately to comments. Reporting by Rishabh J. Jaiswal in Bengaluru and Dheeraj K. Kumar; Editing by William Mallard, Thomas Derpinghaus
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Philippines warns against deadly storm surges when Typhoon Fung Wong approaches super-typhoon strength
The Philippines' weather bureau has warned of potentially life-threatening storm waves of up to 5 metres, and of destructive winds. Typhoon Fung Wong is expected to make landfall in the eastern part of the country on Sunday evening. Benison Estareja, PAGASA's weather forecaster, said that the typhoon has already pounded parts of eastern Philippines, with its massive circulation spanning 1,500 km (932 miles). Estareja stated that "it can cover nearly the entire country." Fung-wong (locally called Uwan) is packing winds up to 170 km/h with gusts as high as 140 kph. As it approaches land, Estareja says, the wind speed could increase to 185 kph. This powerful wind can destroy houses, toppling trees and other structures. As much as 200 mm is expected to fall in eastern Philippine provinces. This includes the Bicol region and parts of Samar. The risk of flooding and landslides are increased. PAGASA warned residents of low-lying coastal and low-lying areas to move to higher ground, stop all marine activities and evacuate. They also warned about violent winds and storm surges which could flood coastal communities. A number of local governments have cancelled classes on Monday and the Philippine flag carrier has canceled some flights ahead of Fung Wong's anticipated landfall. The warning comes only days after the Typhoon Kalmaegi wreaked havoc across the region by tearing through coastal communities and destroying roofs, windows, and trees. Kalmaegi caused the deaths of 204 Filipinos and five Vietnamese, displace hundreds of thousands and knock out power in large areas. Vietnam's disaster agency said that nearly 2,800 houses were damaged and about 500,000 people are still without electricity. In the Philippines, violent floods have destroyed homes and blocked streets with debris. Due to their location along the Pacific typhoon Belt, Vietnam and the Philippines regularly experience damage and fatalities during peak storm season. In Thailand, Kalmaegi’s impact lasted for a long time and caused heavy rainfall and flooding in the northeast and central areas. Scientists warn that global warming is increasing the power of storms like Kalmaegi. (Reporting and editing by Himani Sarkar; Additional reporting in Vietnam by Phuong nguyen, and Chayut setboonsarng from Bangkok.
The US and EU aerospace rivals unite to protect tariff-free aircraft export
The United States and European Union have reached a provisional agreement to exempt planes from tariffs. This will avoid a possible threat to jet production in both regions, and cap months of unusual unity among rival plane makers. Officials in Europe said that the framework agreement, announced on sunday, would see the U.S. impose an import tariff of 15% on most EU products, but protect industries such as aerospace with zero-forzero tariffs for aircraft and parts. After intense lobbying it spares a sector that is often the lightning rod of trade tensions. The World Trade Organization was tested to its limit by a 17 year dispute over Airbus or Boeing subsidies, before a truce came in 2021.
The threat of U.S. Tariffs, which would have compounded the supply chain issues, had led to a potential increase in costs for aircraft, engines, spare parts and components, from landing gear to seat.
There are still questions about the details of the agreement and whether they will include other components such as space.
One European industry official said, "We just wait until we see these written down."
Airbus confirmed that it has taken note of this deal.
It said that "a stable and predictable trading environment is essential for the highly integrated global aerospace industries."
Boeing has not yet commented on the matter.
UNITED CAMPAIGN
The agreement reached on Sunday follows a discrete and unusually united campaign aimed at reverting to the landmark 1979 agreement that mandated duty free trading of civil aircraft between more than 30 nations.
Airbus and Boeing were involved in a trade dispute over subsidies that had splintered the industry only a few short years ago. Now, both sides of Atlantic are working together.
Sources say that two terms in the previous handbook of the industry have been quietly dropped: WTO and multilateral.
The 1979 Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft, which eliminated tariffs on parts and aircraft, is one of the few industry-specific agreements that survived an earlier round when the World Trade Organization was opened in 1995.
U.S. president Donald Trump, who called the WTO the "single worst trade deal ever made," seems to prefer bilateral agreements over broad alliances, from trade to security. "Multilateralism" has been one of the most vehement criticisms of America First's philosophy.
All sides were active in lobbying, but sources within the industry highlighted a discrete but influential role that GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp played.
Culp said in April that he advocated the re-establishment of the tariff-free régime for the aerospace sector during a meeting at the White House with Trump.
He stressed that the administration "understands" the position, and that the zero-duty system had helped the U.S. Aerospace industry achieve a $75 billion trade surplus each year.
Officials from the aerospace industry also claimed that there was a strong interconnection between Boeing and its European rival Airbus. Tariffs in the U.S. would hurt all of us, they said.
GE had no immediate comment to make on the new agreement.
In May, Trump and Britain reached a trading agreement that restored duty-free jet engine trade.
Talking Templates
Aerospace industry officials have urged the White House, following the US-UK deal, to use the template as a guide for future trade negotiations. GE's Culp, and Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian, both referred to the deal as a model.
The agreement does not restore the entire 1979 agreement, but instead focuses on just the largest aerospace markets.
Boeing delivers around 17% of its aircraft to Europe, while Airbus ships about 12% of its jets, with some being assembled locally, to the United States.
According to the French industry lobby Gifas, Europe and the U.S. each have their largest markets for aircraft parts.
The agreement has relieved one major source of pressure. However, Boeing, Airbus, and their suppliers may still find themselves caught in the trade tensions between Washington, D.C., and China as they try to do business with them.
Aerospace companies also await the results of an ongoing U.S. investigation into trade in aerospace.
In May, the U.S. Commerce Department began a national security investigation under "Section 224" into the imports of aircraft, jet engines, and parts for commercial aircraft that could be the basis for tariffs, quotas, or both.
U.S. Airlines who met with the Department say that much of their focus was on China, and the potential disruption of key supplies such as rare earths and magnetic materials.
Embraer's regional jets are the only ones that have alternatives.
Embraer estimates that tariffs of 50% on the importation of these jets could add $9,000,000 per plane to the cost for U.S. carriers. Alaska Air announced last week that it may delay some deliveries. (Writing and editing by Bernadettebaum, Tim Hepher)
(source: Reuters)