Latest News
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Cebu Pacific expands holiday flights with Bulgaria Air
Cebu Pacific, the Philippine budget airline, announced a partnership on Friday with Bulgaria Air. The agreement will last until December 2025 or January 2026. Cebu Pacific announced that two Airbus A320ceos will be used on four routes within the Philippines, from Manila to Cebu and Davao. Cebu Pacific is providing the cabin crews. Bulgaria Air will supply the aircraft, pilots and maintenance, while Cebu Pacific provides insurance. Cebu Pacific's CEO Mike Szucs stated at a press briefing that by increasing flight frequency, deploying widebody planes and enhancing our fleet with a damp lease from Bulgaria Air, Cebu Pacific was strategically positioned to capture the peak travel season and sustain its growth momentum through the holiday seasons. From January to September, the airline reported carrying nearly 20 million passengers. This is a 13.9% rise from a year ago. The airline said that its domestic passenger number grew by 12.7%, to 14.9 millions. Meanwhile, the number of international travelers rose 17.7%, to 5.1million. Cebu Pacific announced in May that it would lease to Saudi budget airline flyadeal two Airbus A320 aircraft to generate revenue during low season. (Reporting and editing by Thomas Derpinghaus; Xinghui KOK)
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The death toll from the Vietnam floods has risen to 13 with 11 other missing
As the flood waters began to recede, residents of Hoi An in central Vietnam started cleaning up. In the last few days, floods triggered by unprecedented rainfall levels have inundated a wide swath in central Vietnam. The former imperial capital Hue as well as Hoi An were the hardest hit. Images circulated on state media showing that the floodwaters were still covering much of both locations, with many houses being submerged to their roofs. Vietnam is susceptible to violent storms, which can be deadly. Flooding and storms are also common in Vietnam. This causes widespread damage to property. Floodwaters began to recede in Hoi An on Friday. The ancient town, which is well preserved, was once a busy Southeast Asian trading hub from the 15th century to the 19th century. Tran Van Tien told Hoi An residents that he had seen floods before, but this was the worst he'd ever seen. The majority of tourists have cancelled hotel reservations for Hoi An. Last year, the city received over 4.4 million tourists, including almost 3.6 million tourists from abroad. Nguyen Thuy, hotel manager whose hotel is closed since Monday, said that floodwater rose too rapidly, causing property damage. In a recent report, the government disaster agency stated that 11 people were also missing. The floods inundated over 116,000 homes and 5,000 acres of crops. They also damaged roads and rails, cutting traffic and power to several areas. According to the report, heavy rains are expected to continue throughout central Vietnam. Daily rainfall in some areas will exceed 500 millimetres from early Friday to late Saturday. Thuy stated, "I hope floods don't occur again because we all depend on tourism in this area." Reporting by Thinh Vu and Khanh Vu, Hanoi. Editing by David Stanway.
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The death toll from the Vietnam floods has risen to 13 with 11 other missing
The government announced on Friday that the death toll in the central Vietnam floods has reached 13, and 11 other people are still missing. In the last few days, floods triggered from record rainfall levels have inundated a wide swath of Central Vietnam. The former imperial capital Hue as well as the ancient town Hoi An were the worst affected. Images circulated on state media showing that the floodwaters were still covering much of both locations, with many houses being submerged to their roofs. Vietnam is susceptible to violent storms, which can be deadly. Flooding and storms are also common in Vietnam. This causes widespread damage to property. In a recent report, the government disaster agency stated that floods had also inundated over 116,000 homes and 5,000 acres of crops. They have also damaged roads and rails, causing traffic to be disrupted and electricity to be cut off in many areas. According to a report, heavy rains are expected to continue throughout central Vietnam. Daily rainfall in some areas will exceed 500 millimetres from early Friday to late Saturday.
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Xi will meet with Canadian and Japanese leaders following Trump's trade truce
Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, will be at the forefront of an annual gathering in South Korea of Pacific Rim Leaders on Friday. He will hold talks with his Canadian and Japanese counterparts following a fragile truce reached with U.S. Donald Trump. This agreement, reached just before Trump left South Korea and skipped the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, will suspend any further restrictions on China's rare earth exports, which threatened to clog global supply chains. The APEC meetings in Gyeongju, a historic city, this year focused on strengthening supply chains. The 21-member club's goal is to reduce barriers to trade and investment and encourage cooperation. However, decisions taken at meetings are not binding and consensus has become increasingly difficult. XI MEETS JAPAN'S NEW HAWKISH LEADER Xi is now expected to have his first meeting with Japan's newly-elected leader Sanae Takayichi. Although relations between the two historic rivals are on a better footing, Takaichi’s elevation as Japan’s first female president may strain ties because of her nationalistic views. Her first act since taking office last Monday was to speed up a military buildup aimed at defending Japan's island from a China that is becoming more assertive. Japan is also home to the largest concentration of U.S. forces abroad. The agenda is likely to include sensitive topics such as the detention of Japanese citizens in China, and Beijing's restrictions on Japanese beef and seafood imports. CANADA WANTS TO RESTART CHINA ENGAGEMENT His office announced that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney would meet Xi Jinping on Thursday, April 4, at 4:00 p.m. local (0700 GMT). The meeting is intended to restart a broad engagement with China following years of bad relations. Canada, embroiled in an intense trade war with the United States, its largest trading partner is looking to find new markets and wean itself from this overwhelming dependence. China is Canada's largest trading partner. Canada's security agencies concluded that China had interfered with at least two federal election under the leadership of Justin Trudeau's predecessor, Carney. Xi publicly scolded Trudeau for leaking their conversations to the media. China announced preliminary antidumping duties on Canadian Canola imports, one year after Canada announced it would levy 100% tariffs on the imports of Chinese Electric Vehicles. Both sides' senior officials met earlier this month to discuss these issues, but there was no sign of a breakthrough. BESSENT STANDS UP FOR TRUMP Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, will be acting in place of Trump at the opening session, when South Korean Premier Lee Jae Myung is hosting a discussion about "restoring the desire to cooperate in Asia-Pacific". Cho Hyun, South Korean Foreign Ministry, said that even though negotiations are still ongoing on a statement for the ministerial summit itself he is hopeful that it will be adopted along with a declaration from the leaders when the summit concludes Saturday. He told a press briefing that "we are very close." Two diplomats from APEC members nations privately expressed skepticism about the substance of any statement, given the fractures in world politics. APEC did not adopt a joint statement in 2018 or 2019 during Trump's presidency. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is scheduled to speak this afternoon at a parallel gathering of executives to the APEC Summit. The week has been a whirlwind for Huang, as Nvidia became the first company in the world to reach a valuation of $5 trillion. However, the sale of AI chips by the U.S. chipmaker to China seemed to be left out of the Xi-Trump Summit on Thursday. (Reporting from Jihoon Lee in Gyeongju, Ju-min Park in Seoul and Eduardo Baptista at the Xi-Trump summit; Writing by John Geddie with editing by Michael Perry.)
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JetBlue flight diverted to Tampa after flight problem, reported injuries
JetBlue Airways Flight 93, which was en route to New Jersey from Cancun in Mexico on Thursday, diverted after a flight-control issue. Some passengers were injured, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. JetBlue Flight 1230, an Airbus 320, departed Cancun International Airport and was heading to New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport at the time of its landing around 2:19 p.m. ET at Tampa, Florida. The FAA is conducting an investigation. JetBlue reported that the aircraft dropped in altitude. "Medical personnel evaluated passengers and crew members, and those who needed additional care were taken to a nearby hospital." The airline has not yet revealed how many people have been injured. The airline has announced that it will investigate the incident thoroughly to find out what happened. JetBlue stated that "the safety of our passengers and crew members is our top priority and we will support those involved." (Reporting and editing by Diane Craft, Leslie Adler, and David Shepardson)
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FAA delays flights at Dallas, DC Airports due to air traffic staffing
As the government shutdown enters its 30th day, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has been delaying flights in Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as well as Dallas Fort Worth International Airport because of staffing problems. Staffing problems are expected to cause delays in Orlando. The FAA reported that flight delays at Reagan were on average 91 minutes and at Dallas 21 minutes. The government shutdown has resulted in tens of thousands flights being delayed or cancelled. The FAA issued a groundstop for Reagan Airport earlier on Thursday due to staffing issues. In the northeast of the United States, bad weather also delays flights. Over 13,000 air traffic control officers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration agents are working without pay. Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary, said that air traffic controllers' absences were responsible for 44% of Sunday delays and 24% of Monday delays. This is compared to an average of 5% before the shutdown. Even before the shutdown, many air traffic controllers were working six-day weekends and mandatory overtime. Reporting by David Shepardson, Doina chiacu and Andrea Ricci; editing by Katharine Ricci and Andrea Jackson
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The demand for sanctions is greater than the supply of uranium
The differentials between Brent and Urals crude were unchanged on Thursday, despite a relatively quiet trading session. Western sanctions also weighed heavily on the demand for Russian grades of crude oil. Traders said that buyers of Russian oil from China, India, and Turkey had studied the new restrictions imposed by US, EU, and UK. Traders said that some of them had already looked for alternatives to oil grades on the market. According to traders and a report reviewed on Thursday, Indian Oil, the state-run refiner, is looking to buy more crude oil from Americas. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals has purchased Abu Dhabi crude oil to replace Russian oil. PLATTS WINDOW On Thursday, there were no bids or offers reported for Urals BTC, CPC Blend or Azeri BTC crudes in the Platts window. * Lukoil announced on Thursday that it accepted an offer by global commodity trader Gunvor for its foreign assets. Russia's second largest oil company wants to sell these assets after Washington imposed sanctions against it last week. Reporting by
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Globe and Mail reports that Canadian National Railroad has laid off 400 managers.
The Globe and Mail reported that Canadian National Railway laid off 400 managers from its rail offices in Canada and the United States due to a drop in freight caused by the trade war. In August, Donald Trump announced that he would increase tariffs against Canada by an additional 10%. Sector tariffs of 50 percent on all steel and aluminum imports have hurt the economy in the region. The company did not disclose the number of affected employees. Could not verify immediately the number of affected people. On October 31, the railroad company that connects Canada's Eastern, Western and Gulf coasts to the U.S. Midwest, will report its third-quarter earnings. In its second-quarter forecast, CN retracted its 2024-2026 projection, citing a high level of macroeconomic volatility and uncertainty related to changing trade and tariff policies.
Bloomberg News: Air India wants $1.14 billion from SIA and Tata to survive, reports Bloomberg
Bloomberg News reported that Air India was seeking financial support of at least 100 billion rupees (about $1.14 billion) from its owners, Singapore Airlines and Tata sons. The report cited people who were familiar with the situation.
This follows the deadly Air India crash that claimed more than 240 lives in June, plunging it into its worst crisis. It also complicates its efforts to restore its reputation as well as modernize its fleet.
Reports said that the Tata Group's carrier, Air India, is seeking funds to revamp its systems and services and develop in-house engineering departments and maintenance departments.
Bloomberg stated that any financial support will be proportional to the ownership. The owners can decide whether the funding is an interest-free equity loan or a loan.
Tata Group owns 74.9% of Air India, the airline it bought in 2022. Singapore Airlines holds the remaining 25%.
The report could not be verified immediately. Air India, Singapore Airlines, and Tata Sons have not responded to requests for comment.
Air India's CEO pledged to improve internal practices earlier this week. ($1 = 87.8950 Indian Rupees) (Reporting and editing by Rashmi aich and Alan Barona in Bengaluru)
(source: Reuters)