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Starmer: UK needs closer EU partnerships due to volatile world
Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister of Britain, said that the global instability brought about by the 'war in Iran' means Britain should align itself more closely with the European Union for security and economic reasons. This is after Donald Trump had criticised the United States. Starmer, at a press event aimed to ease public concerns over rising energy costs, said that the impact of war could "define us for a lifetime" and be similar to the rise in energy prices during the 1970s. Starmer, who spoke to reporters, said that the EU and Canada should be "more?ambitious" in their economic, security, and partnership efforts. Trump criticised Europe on Tuesday for refusing to join him in his war against Iran. He specifically mentioned Britain and France as the transatlantic relationship deteriorated due to the conflict which has driven up energy prices. The President warned Britain and other countries to "learn how to fight yourself" as the U.S. would "no longer be there to help you". Starmer stated that it was "clear" that the Brexit deal agreed by the previous Conservative administration in 2020 caused "deep harm to our economy". (Reporting and writing by Sarah Young; editing by Catarina demony).
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Bahrain releases revised UN Hormuz draft but does not enforce it
Bahrain circulated a revised draft U.N. Security Council resolution on protecting commercial ships?in and around Strait of Hormuz. The language was retained, authorising "all necessary measures" but removing a reference to 'binding enforcement. The shipping through this waterway has already been slowed down to a near halt, after Iran attacked vessels during its conflict with Israel and the United States. Bahrain's first draft was seen and supported by other Gulf Arab countries and Washington. It explicitly invoked Chapter VII (of the U.N. Charter) which allows the Security Council authorise measures from sanctions to military power. Diplomats stated that adoption of such a resolution was unlikely as Iran's partners Russia, and China were expected to veto the measure if needed. A Security Council Resolution requires at least 9 votes in favor and no vetoes by its five permanent members, the United States of America, Russia, China and Britain. The revised text, which diplomats say is still being negotiated, does not mention Chapter VII but keeps the language that goes with it. The bill would allow states to use "all necessary means" (either individually or in voluntary coalitions) in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman, as well as the Gulf of Oman, for the purpose of ensuring passage and preventing interference with international navigation. This includes within or near the territorial waters. The draft encourages all states who rely on commercial maritime routes that pass through the Strait of Gibraltar to coordinate their defensive efforts. This includes escorting merchant vessels. Diplomats have said that they hope to vote on the text by Thursday. (Reporting and editing by John Irish)
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Police say that the'system failure" is responsible for the outage of Baidu robotaxi in Wuhan.
Local police reported a "system failure" that caused an outage of robotaxis operated by Baidu Apollo Go in the central Chinese city?Wuhan on Wednesday. This re-ignited safety concerns about?the rapidly-growing service. According to an official announcement, the police received reports late Tuesday night that a number of Apollo Go cars were stuck in the middle and unable to move. The police reported that passengers were able exit their vehicles safely, and no injuries were reported. Investigations are still ongoing to determine the cause of this incident. A traffic police officer told The Paper in a video that at least 100 'Apollo Go' vehicles were affected. Although the doors of the cars could be opened by the officer, he said that some passengers were reluctant to leave their vehicles because of heavy traffic. They called police for help. Video posted by Douyin's Chinese version of TikTok, which was verified and confirmed, shows vehicles stuck on busy roads, obstructing the flow of traffic. Local media reported that passengers trapped in vehicles for almost two hours. Baidu didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment. On Chinese social media, the accident has prompted a resurgence of discussions about robotaxi safety. In August, an Apollo Go robotaxi with a passenger in it fell into a construction pit in Chongqing. And in May, one of the?cars operated by Pony.ai caught on fire in Beijing. In either case, no injuries were reported. Waymo robotaxis stalled and caused traffic jams in San Francisco due to a widespread power outage at the end of last year. Baidu, along with Pony.ai and WeRide, is China's biggest operator of autonomous driving fleets. These companies have launched commercial robotaxi services in major Chinese cities, and expanded their operations to overseas markets including the Middle East. (Reporting and editing by Christian Schmollinger, Kevin Buckland and Qiaoyi Li)
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In March, Russia's gas exports via pipeline to Europe jumped 22% on an annual basis amid the Mideast crisis
Calculations showed that the average daily natural gas supply to Europe by Russian energy giant Gazprom via 'the TurkStream' undersea pipe rose 22% compared to a year ago to 55 million cubic meters in March. The Strait of Hormuz was closed to most shipping because of the Iran War, leaving the energy markets exposed to danger. After Ukraine decided?not extend a five year deal with Moscow, which?expired on January?2025, the Turkey is now the only route to Europe for Russian gas. According to calculations based on data provided by the European Gas Transmission Group Entsog, total Russian gas supplied to Europe via TurkStream reached 1.7 billion cubic meters last month. This is up from 1.4 billion cubic metres in March 2025. The supply of goods was largely stable from February. Exports grew 11% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year, reaching around 5 billion cubic meters. Gazprom has not responded to a comment request since 2023. It is the first time that it hasn't published its own statistics. According to calculations, the company's -gas exports into Europe dropped by 44% last year, to 18 bcm. This is the lowest level since the mid-1970s. In 2018-2019, the Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe reached a peak of around 180 bcm annually. (Reporting and Reporting by Oksana KOBZEVA. Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin. Mark Potter (Editing)
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Germany's Deutsche Bahn gets more investment but must win back public trust
The German Bahn has seen more bookings that 'expected' as Easter approaches, and the fuel price increases are attracting people to train travel. However, it still faces a steep uphill battle in reviving 'its ageing network' and restoring the public trust after a long decline. Inga Nielsen says she has had bad experiences for years. In 2021, the six-hour trip from Amsterdam to Berlin was turned into a long odyssey involving regional trains and buses. Her train broke down two weeks ago and was delayed for two hours. She said that the main reason for using Deutsche Bahn was to avoid flying, which is getting more expensive. However, she also added that it is stressful. Analysts link the decline in Deutsche Bahn with the woes facing the German economy. The German economy has been struggling to regain momentum since the COVID-19 epidemic, due to rising competition from China and high energy prices, as well as a lack of investment. The government has now spent heavily to revive them both. Tim Engartner is a professor at Cologne University and the author of numerous studies about Deutsche Bahn. "Things?are not running smoothly." PASSENGERS WANT TO RELY ON A RAILWAY Last Friday, Deutsche Bahn CEO Evelyn Palla stated at a news conference presenting the financial results for 2025, a loss of 2.3bn euros ($2.66bn), that customers expected a railway on which they could rely. "In the past few years, we've disappointed this trust too many times -- with inadequate quality, through losses, and a lack transparency," she said. She said it would still take ten years and an additional 150 billion euros (162 billion dollars) to finish the planned overhaul of rail networks. To speed up the turnaround, the German government is increasing investment in the state owned operator. The Easter holiday will be a test, as Deutsche Bahn has said that long-distance bookings have been in double-digit percentages above expectations due to the Iran War pushing up fuel prices. 40 PERCENT LONG DISTANCE TRAIN DELAYS Deutsche Bahn reported that 60% of their long-distance train services were on time by 2025. This means 40% weren't. The train is late if the arrival time is six minutes or greater. A crisis in operations has been matched with a churning at the top. The state-owned railway has been struggling to turn things around. Experts claim that despite the increasing rail usage, Deutsche Bahn's troubles are due to decades of underinvestment. They also point out that it is a joint stock company aiming both to make a profit and provide a public service. According to Allianz pro Schiene, Germany has doubled its per capita government investment in rail infrastructure from last year to 198 Euros in 2024. However, it still lags behind Austria, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The structural problem is the lack of state funding for the railway as a public service, said Vera Huwe at Dezernat Zukunft. Gross investment reached a record of 22 billion euro in 2025, and 23 billion euro is planned in 2026. Palla calls this "a super-construction year". The 500 billion euro German infrastructure fund will help. Deutsche Bahn is set to receive 81 Billion Euros between 2025-2029. Katja Diehl, mobility expert and spokesman for the German government, said: "They call this an investment push but it is more about stabilizing the system."
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The outlook for US natural gas in the US is largely dependent on three major shale basins. Maguire
Natural gas is used to fuel power plants, homes and factories, as well as the booming LNG sector. The supply of natural gas needed to fuel all these uses comes from a small, ever-shrinking slice of America's shales patch. The mismatch between an increasing number of consumers and a decreasing supply base could lead to a structural crunch in the U.S. gas market, which would trigger periods of price volatility and supply stress. Gas prices that are too high could harm the U.S. economic system and derail efforts to make America the leader in AI applications and data. Gas producers in the United States are therefore under pressure to ensure that they can meet demand and supply. SCRUTINY SHALE According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, shale gas deposits are responsible for 75% of U.S. natural gas supplies. The growth of the biggest shale deposit has been slowed in recent years due to the maturation of the basins. This is because the pressure on the deposits has decreased and the wells are being impacted by the congested spacing. Gas prices that continue to rise would encourage producers to increase their efforts. After more than a decade, the best gas wells are likely to have been tapped. This means that the majority of production efforts will remain concentrated on the key basins which have provided the lion's portion of new U.S. supplies in the last decade, or so, even if the extraction rates continue decline. THE BIG 3. In terms of production, the top three shale formations are the Marcellus in Pennsylvania and Appalachia, the Haynesville in Louisiana and Texas and the Permian. According to the EIA's estimates, these plays will account for 74% or 22.2 trillion cubic foot of U.S. gas production by 2025. In 2016, the combined production of these same deposits reached 8.5 trillion cubic foot, which means that it increased 161% in a decade. This growth rate is compared to an 17% increase in other notable shale deposits and a 48% increase in the total U.S. Gas supplies during that time period. It clearly shows the impact of these seminal deposits on the U.S. Gas sector. As the old saying goes, "what goes up, must come down", and the combined growth of the Big 3 is now falling fast from previous peaks. Since 2022, the average annual increase in gas production has been slowed down to around 6%. The annual growth rate in dry gas production has been around 3% per year, compared to 5% for the period from 2017 through 2021. Different Strokes The Big 3 are often lumped in together when discussing shale. However, there are important differences between them in terms of their deposit characteristics and growth limitations. Marcellus Shale, a massive deposit in Pennsylvania, produced nearly one-third of the shale gas supplied to the United States last year. It has also consistently provided the lowest cost gas for the past decade. Marcellus's relatively shallow shale depths and thick, consistent formations are ideal for modern gas extraction, while its proximity with large East Coast populations centers makes it profitable to distribute its gas. Even after a decade-long continuous depletion of reserves, exploration firm Kingdom Exploration estimates that between 50 and 70% of technically recoverable natural gas is still left. The Marcellus region is still facing major challenges to its growth. These include limited pipeline connections with new markets, the difficult permitting process for new pipelines and the distances between major LNG export hubs. Haynesville, the deposit that produced 16% of U.S. Shale Gas last year, has much closer ties to LNG exporters who are Haynesville's main customers. Haynesville producers, however, are very sensitive to market price fluctuations and will reduce their activity if prices continue to fall. Haynesville's reserves are also estimated to be huge, but they will cost more to extract, as the easy pockets are emptied. Permian Basin is different from Marcellus and Haynesville because it's primarily an oil reserve with a side of natural gas. Permian oil is the most important product. In 2025, the basin will produce around 6.5 millions barrels of crude oil per day or about half the total U.S. crude production. Gas is often marketed as a byproduct by producers in order to get buyers to buy it. Permian Gas is among the most affordable available. However, limited pipeline connectivity can cause supplies to accumulate in the basin. This will further lower prices. The tightening of rules on flaring, the burning off?of excess gas, means that Permian producers will need to be more disciplined with their offtake and storage flow going forward. The high crude oil prices will also result in additional oil and gas production in the Permian basin by 2026. This could have a greater and more consistent impact on the national?gas market. The interplay between the Big 3 basins is what will determine the direction of the gas market in the future. Increasing the collective production of gas from these basins will increase overall U.S. supplies, ensuring continued growth for power and LNG exports. The idea of U.S. dominance in energy may have to be rethought if gas production from the Big 3 continues to fall. These are the opinions of the columnist, an author for. You like this column? Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X and X. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast daily on Apple, Spotify or the app. Subscribe to the Morning Bid podcast and hear journalists discussing the latest news in finance and markets 7 days a weeks.
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Police say that the'system failure" is responsible for the outage of Baidu robotaxi in Wuhan.
Local police reported that a "system failure" was responsible for a robotaxi service outage in central China's Wuhan. This re-ignited safety concerns over the rapidly-growing service. According to an official announcement, the police received reports late on Tuesday that numerous Apollo Go cars were stuck in the middle roads of Wuhan. The police reported that passengers were able exit their vehicles safely, and no injuries were reported. Investigations are still ongoing to determine the cause of this incident. A traffic police officer told The Paper, a Shanghai-based media outlet, that at least '100 Apollo Go cars were affected. Although the officer said that car doors were easily opened, he added that some passengers were reluctant to leave their cars because of heavy traffic and called for help. Local media reported that passengers trapped in vehicles for almost two hours. Baidu didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. The accident has prompted renewed discussion on Chinese social media regarding robotaxi safety and readiness. In August, an Apollo Go robotaxi with a passenger in it fell into a Chongqing construction pit.?In May, one of the vehicles operated by Pony.ai caught fire on a Beijing road. In either case, no injuries were reported. Waymo robotaxis stalled and caused traffic jams in San Francisco at the end last year due to a widespread power outage. Baidu, Pony.ai and WeRide are China's two largest?autonomous-driving fleet operators. These companies have launched commercial robotaxi services in major Chinese cities, and expanded their operations to overseas markets including the Middle East. (Reporting and editing by Qiaoyi Li, Ryan Woo)
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CCTV reports that Li Xiong, a Chen Zhi associate, was extradited to China from Cambodia.
Chinese broadcaster CCTV, citing officials, reported that an alleged key?member of Chinese businessman Chen Zhi’s online scam & money laundering operation -?Li Xiong - was extradited from Cambodia to China. Chen founded the Prince Group - a Cambodian conglomerate that has fingers in real estate, banking, airlines, and cryptocurrency investment schemes. According to U.S. prosecutors these schemes have allegedly stolen billions of dollars worldwide from their victims. In a press release, the Cambodian government confirmed that he had been extradited to China. CCTV reported that Li was the former chairman of the Huione Group. Huione Group?allegedly laundered?at least $4 billion in illicit proceeds between August 20,21 and January 20,25, according the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Agency. FinCEN determined that Huione Group, out of the $4 billion total, laundered virtual currencies worth at least $37 millions? that were stolen from North Korean cyber-heists and at least $36 from investment scams involving virtual currencies, as well as $300 million in virtual currencies from other cyber scams. Cambodian Government spokesperson?Touch Sokhak said that China sent experts to Cambodia in order to assist with the investigation which led to the arrest. He said: "This shows Cambodia’s willingness to eliminate online?scams, and that Cambodia is not a safe haven for scam criminals."
If the Middle East continues to be at war, Ryanair will see a disruption in jet fuel supply as early as May.
Sky News reported on Wednesday that the Middle East conflict could disrupt jet fuel supplies to Europe if it continues. This could put up to 25% of Ryanair's supply at risk in May and June.
IATA, the International Air Transport Association, estimates that between 25% and 30% of Europe's demand for jet fuel comes from the Persian Gulf. It warns this makes it one of the most vulnerable regions to any impact the U.S.-Israeli conflict may have on the supply.
O'Leary stated that if the Straits of Hormuz are reopened by the middle or end of April and the war is over, there will be no supply risk.
"If the 'war' continues and the disruption of supply continues, there is a reasonable risk that a low level, perhaps 10%, 20% or 25% of our supplies could be at risk throughout May and June."
O'Leary stated that O'Leary, the Irish airline and Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers has not cut flights because it's?fuel supplies are currently secure, but that there is still a risk of "significantly increased" ticket prices through May, April, or?June.
He said in Sunday's Business Post that he expects?summer airfares will rise by more than 3 percent year-on-year because of a combination?of capacity constraints and higher oil costs for less?well?hedged competitors.
Budget carrier announced in January that it had met 80% of its jet-fuel requirements for the fiscal year to the end of march 2027, based on crude oil prices of $67 a barrel. (Written by Padraic HALpin in Dublin, edited by Sarah Young.)
(source: Reuters)