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Ukraine and Russia accuse one another of deadly attacks on Odesa port
Ukraine and Russia both accused the other of deadly attacks on Sunday. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Moscow had targeted global food security when it struck Odesa's port. Three people were 'killed and wounded 37 times in the eastern Ukrainian city?Kharkiv?where an apartment block of multiple floors was struck, and authorities in Russias Belgorod reported that five people were killed and twenty-five wounded by a Ukrainian aerial attack. Zelenskiy claimed that a strike had damaged Odesa's port. Local authorities reported that dozens of drones, missiles and other weapons struck the southern seaside town injuring about a dozen people. Zelenskiy stated that "Russians are at war against the food security of the world in this manner." Odesa’s "seaports" are the main artery of Ukraine's agricultural exports. He also said that Russia hit nine other Ukrainian areas on Sunday. Russia bombarded Odesa to try and cut Ukraine off from Black Sea. "Everyone in Odesa knows that the most frequent target is the area around the port," said 67 year old?Ihor. His apartment narrowly avoided destruction. Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil tankers, cargo ships and other vessels in the Black Sea to disrupt Russia’s war-waging revenues. It claimed three more such attacks on Sunday. Both sides have launched an escalating campaign to undermine the logistics of the other. E-commerce warehouses and Ukrainian petrol stations were targeted heavily during the summer. Naftogaz, the state-owned oil and gas company of Ukraine, said that attacks on its facilities have increased in recent days. This includes overnight attacks on oil extraction equipment. Ukraine's Energy Ministry said that Russia had attacked power plants in the Odesa area, causing "significant" loss of electricity for residents of Odesa overnight. The company said that 90,000 customers had already regained power. The Russian Defence Ministry has said that it struck fuel storage facilities in Odesa, and Chornomorsk nearby. Pope Leo renewed his call for an end to the four-and-a half year war in the Vatican on Sunday. The pontiff told worshippers at Sunday's Angelus service that "Tragic incidents are multiplying and causing an increasing number of civilian victims including children." (Reporting and editing by Alexander Smith, Barbara Lewis and Max Hunder at the Kyiv and Moscow Bureau)
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Swiss Re warns of heatwave dangers as some parts of Germany relax trucking restrictions
The authorities failed to understand the'scale of risk' heatwaves pose to human life, according to the CEO of Swiss?Re, quoted on Sunday. This was as some German states relaxed trucking restrictions in order to reduce weather-related pressures on shipping. Europe, the continent that is warming up fastest, has seen thousands of deaths due to a record heatwave. Most of these deaths were people over 65 years old. France and Spain experienced particularly high temperatures over the past few weeks. Heat has also decreased water levels in major?rivers which have hampered shipping. This has prompted some German states to temporarily suspend curbs on truck traffic this weekend. Swiss Re CEO Andreas Berger said to the Swiss newspaper?NZZ am Sonntag that the risk of heatwaves, and their associated deaths, was understated. Berger added: "We must raise awareness about the dangers?arising? from this." Berger said that it is too early to determine the impact of excess mortality on the figures for Swiss Re, which was reported by the company in the first half 2026. Robert Koch Institute of Public Health estimated that there were approximately?11900 heat-related death in Germany in this year, mainly due to extreme temperatures late in June. North Rhine-Westphalia - Germany's largest?state - as well as Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate - as well as Saarland - lowered trucking curbs to help ease bottlenecks in transport caused by high water levels along rivers, including the Rhine. Low water levels are straining supply chains. That's why we're taking ?action and creating additional transport options by road at short notice," said Rhineland-Palatinate's state secretary for transport, Markus ?Wolf. Authorities said that the looser curbs for truck traffic on Sundays and Holidays will be in effect until August 31 and may remain in place through September in certain states. (Writing and reporting by Dave Graham, with additional reporting from Holger Hansen at Berlin; editing by Alexander Smith).
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Turkish officials claim that the passage of ships into the Black Sea is proceeding smoothly.
Two Turkish officials said on Sunday that ships are moving'smoothly' through the Turkish Straits to?the Black Sea, despite increased safety concerns. Bloomberg News reported on Saturday that Ankara has restricted commercial ship traffic into the Black Sea after attacks against vessels, including Turkish-owned vessels. The Turkish government has repeatedly warned Moscow and Kyiv about the attacks on ships in the Black Sea. It has urged the warring parties to take steps to ensure navigational security in the region. Hakan Fidan, the Turkish Foreign Minister said that Ankara has urged Moscow and Kyiv to declare a moratorium on attacks in the Black Sea. Officials who spoke under anonymity said that Turkey had taken some temporary measures to ensure its security, as it was very uncomfortable with the situation. However, this passage is clear in terms of the?Montreux Convention. The officials did not provide any further details. The Montreux Convention of 1936 on the Regime of the Straits grants Turkey "control" over the Bosphorus, Dardanelles and the right to regulate the transit of naval warships. The agreement also allows civilian ships to pass freely in peacetime, and restricts passage for vessels not from a Black Sea country. Turkey, with NATO's second largest army, has maintained friendly relations with Kyiv and Moscow ever since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine 2022. It has refused to join Western sanction against Russia while also providing military assistance to Ukraine, including using its own stock. (Reporting and editing by Barbara Lewis; Tuvan Gumrukcu)
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Spain checks 200 Italian arrivals at the border after migration row
On the first day that border controls were reintroduced after a dispute with Italy over 'irregular migration,' Spain checked 200 passengers arriving from Italy at six of the largest airports in the country. Spain's Interior Ministry conducted checks on 199 passengers on 12 flights departing from Italy and arriving at airports in Madrid (Barcelona), Seville (Bilbao), Alicante, Valencia, and Alicante, the ministry said late on Saturday. Spain announced on Friday that border controls would continue to be in place for Italian flights and ships until September 7, after Rome implemented its own measures. Rome said the measures were motivated by a mass migration rush of 72,000 people into Spain's North African enclave, Ceuta. Italy suspended Schengen's borderless Schengen agreement with Spain on August 1, and has said that it will maintain border control until at least August 15 Rome stated that the measure will not affect Spanish or other EU nationals travelling to Italy, but instead would involve targeted checks of?non EU nationals arriving by sea or air from Spain. In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera published on Sunday, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said: "We hope to be able?to lift the suspension as soon as?there is no longer any risk." Schengen Area allows passport free?travel between 29 European?countries. However, member states may temporarily reinstate border controls for security or public order reasons.
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Russian authorities claim that three people were killed in a drone attack by Ukraine on Belgorod.
Local authorities reported on Sunday that three people were killed and 25 others injured in a drone attack by the Ukrainians overnight against Belgorod. Alexander Shuvayev said that the incident sparked two fires which were later put out by emergency services. He said that a number of residential buildings and non-residential ones were damaged. The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that it had?destroyed?more 150 Ukrainian drones in the European part of Russia, as well as the Black Sea, Crimea and the Sea of Azov. Alexander Kravchenko, the mayor of Novorossiysk - a major Russian port located on 'the Black Sea' - said that drone debris had fallen?onto two?facilities. He did not identify these sites. According to the state-run RIA news agency, local emergency services reported that a 'Ukrainian drone' struck a building in construction and a crane at Ufa. (Reporting and editing by Alexander Smith; Maxim Rodionov)
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Australia investigates the near-miss collision between two planes at Sydney Airport
The Australian 'Transport Safety Bureau' was informed that a Jetstar A320 and a 'Qatar Airways Boeing 777' narrowly avoided colliding on the tarmac of Sydney airport on Sunday. The regulator reported that the Jetstar flight crew was taxiing to take off for Gold Coast in Queensland when they saw an aircraft tug towing a Qatar Airways plane very close by on a cross-taxiway. The Transport Safety Bureau said that "both aircraft were abruptly stopped" in a press release. The regulator reported that a cabin crew member of the Jetstar aircraft was injured and that the connection between the nose gear of the Qatar Airways plane and the aircraft tug had been damaged. Jetstar, Australia's budget airline, also said that it was looking into the incident. In a press release, a Jetstar spokesperson stated that "our?aircraft?was following Air Traffic Control's instructions when the pilots had to?brake strongly after another aircraft approached in close proximity." Qatar Airways didn't immediately respond to an?ask for comment. Airservices Australia, the government agency responsible for Sydney Airport, had implemented "departure spacing" because of a roster problem with air traffic controllers. Airservices Australia didn't immediately respond to our request for a comment.
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German Minister wants to tie bonuses for Deutsche Bahn to targets
The new German transport minister has said he wants to tie bonuses to the struggling national 'rail operator' meeting government targets. In an interview with 'newspaper Bild am Sonntag published on Sunday, Steffen Bielger said: "It would have a tangible impact on bonuses paid to managers at Deutsche Bahn if the government targets are not met." Transport experts believe that the problems of Deutsche Bahn are due to decades of 'underinvestment' in infrastructure despite an increase in rail usage, as well as 'its status as a JSC aiming to make a profit while providing a public service. Bilger, who was appointed last month and is now in charge of the network, has said that he wants to improve punctuality. He said, "The figures so far are totally inadequate." It will take some time. According to the current agreement, the long-distance train punctuality is supposed to reach 70% by 2029. This is up from around 60% during the first half this year. He said, "There won't be 100% in the near future." "I don’t believe it exists in any other country in Europe." (Written by Dave Graham, edited by Andrea Ricci).
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Turkish Minister: NATO Article 5 is the same as NATO Article 4 in Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia defense pact
Hakan Fidan, Turkish Foreign Ministry, said that the Article 5 Mutual Defence Agreement of NATO is the same as a defence pact between Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The accord does not target Iran, he added. Fidan said that Turkish President Tayyip Erdoan wanted the alliance to expand and that Egypt, among other countries, was a possible candidate for membership. The regional powers have signed the "Mecca Joint Defence Agreement", bringing together Sunni Muslim U.S. Allies who are alarmed by a regional conflagration which has seen Iranian missiles fire on Gulf oil exporters. In a statement released jointly, the parties said that the agreement was intended to increase 'collective deterrence' against any acts of aggression. It also stipulates that any armed attack on any of the three countries would be considered an attack on them all. Fidan told the Anadolu News Agency that the new alliance wasn't aimed at Iran or other countries, but was rather "a general pledge" to support the security of the three allies. Fidan said that in consultations, the allies will decide what level, format, and form of support they want to receive in the event that an attack occurs. However, he added that no country is considered a threat if a member state has not been attacked. The Turkish army is the second largest in NATO. It has stated that it was open to expanding to other countries of the region and not to replace existing alliances. "NATO is an alliance of 32 nations. "We have?started as three countries, and we must take very modest but concrete steps," said he. He added that efforts to finalise this pact have been underway for the past two years and eight months. He said that an alliance would include a similar committee of ministers to NATO, as well as a Saudi Arabia-based general secretariat. However, operational details will be decided at the first meeting of the committee. "Our President's Vision is that we do not remain limited to just three countries. We grow and bring all (regional countries)?under one roof," he added, adding Egypt may join the pact after certain technical issues are resolved. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, as well as?Egypt, have formed a group in recent months to discuss regional issues, including the war against Iran. Turkey said that the group, dubbed R4, aims to strengthen its partnership by using concrete mechanisms. Fidan said that Turkey should also be part of an international coalition in order to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks, because Ankara's interest is shipping safety. Tuvan Gumrukcu, Susan Fenton, and Topra Chopra edited the article.
Fuel costs are increasing, so airlines are reducing their prices and cutting back on their outlook.
The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, which has pushed up jet fuel prices, has shook the aviation industry around the world. Airlines have been forced to increase fares and re-evaluate their financial forecasts.
In recent weeks, jet fuel prices have increased from $85-$90 per barrel up to $150-$200 per barrel. This is a major financial blow to an industry that relies on fuel for up to 25% of its operating costs.
Here is an alphabetical list of the ways airlines are responding to climate change.
AEGEAN AIRLINES
The Greek airline anticipates that the suspension of Middle East flights, as well as a spike in fuel costs, will have "significant impact" on their first-quarter earnings.
AIRASIA X
Malaysian Airlines executives claimed that the company has?cut 10 percent of flights in the group and imposed a fuel surcharge of around 20 percent.
AIR CANADA
The Canadian largest airline plans to reduce four of its daily flights to New York to 38 due to rising fuel prices. From June 1,?2026, the four flights to JFK International Airport are being cut.
AIR FRANCE-KLM
The airline group announced that it would increase the price of long-haul tickets to offset rising fuel costs. Cabin fares are expected to increase by 59 euros (50 euros) per round-trip.
KLM, the Dutch arm of the group, announced on April 16 that it would cancel 160 flights across Europe in the next month due to higher fuel prices.
AIR INDIA
The Indian airline said that it will change its fuel surcharge system from a flat surcharge for domestic flights to one based on distance. The Indian carrier said that surcharges for international routes do not compensate the steep rise in fuel costs.
AIR NEW ZEALAND
On April 7, the airline announced that it would cut flights in May and June, and raise fares. It was one of the first airlines to announce a large increase in ticket prices after the conflict broke. The airline also suspended its earnings forecast for the full year due to volatility in the fuel markets.
AIR TRANSAT
The Canadian airline announced that it would reduce its planned capacity by 6 percent from May to October of this year. Cuts are expected to be made on routes to Europe, the Caribbean and Cuba.
AKASA AIR
Akasa Airlines, based in India, announced that it would be introducing fuel surcharges ranging from 199 to 1,300 Indian Rupees ($2 - $14) for domestic and international flights.
ALASKA AIR
The airline retracted its profit forecast for the full year and warned that margins would be severely impacted by the sharp increase in fuel prices. It has also reduced capacity in certain markets.
AMERICAN AIRLINES
The U.S. airline slashed their 2026 profit projection, pushing lower expectations to a lose, and stated that it expects its jet fuel bills to rise by more than 4 billion dollars this year.
The government has increased the fees for checked bags on domestic flights and short-haul international flight by $50 for the third bag and $10 for each of the first two bags. It also reduced certain benefits to economy passengers.
ASIANA AIRLINES
Newsis reported that the South Korean airline would cut 22 flights from April to July because of fuel price increases.
CEBU AIR
The Philippines-based carrier said that the sharp increase in fuel prices is a major concern. It will continue to review pricing and network strategies and try to minimize the impact.
CHINA - EASTERN AIRLINES
Air China said that it would increase fuel surcharges on domestic flights starting April 5. Flights of less than 800 km will be charged a surcharge of 60 yuan, and flights above 800 km will be charged a surcharge 120 yuan.
DELTA AIR LINES
Delta announced that it would reduce capacity by 3.5 percent from its original plan, and increase fees for checked baggage in order to offset the rising costs of jet fuel. The increase will be $10 for first and second bags, and $50 on third bags.
The U.S. carrier pulled all planned growth in capacity for the current quarter, and forecast profits below Wall Street expectations.
EASYJET
EasyJet has warned that it will suffer a larger half-year loss before tax of between 540 and 560 millions pounds ($732 and $759million), including an extra 25 million pounds of fuel costs in march.
FRONTIER Airlines According to The Wall Street Journal, a group of U.S. airlines including Frontier have pitched a $2.5 Billion relief plan to the U.S. Government. The report stated that the figure was based on the amount of jet fuel the group expected to spend this year in comparison to previous forecasts.
Fuel prices have increased dramatically since the carrier's forecast, and it has stated that it will be reviewing it.
GREATER BAY Airlines
The Hong Kong-based firm said that it will increase fuel surcharges for most routes on April 1, but keep them the same on routes to mainland China and Japan.
HONG KONG Airlines
The airline announced that it would increase fuel surcharges up to 35% starting March 12. The biggest increases would be on flights between Hong Kong, the Maldives and Bangladesh, and?Nepal where the charges would go from HK$284 to HK$384.
British Airways' owner IAG announced it would increase ticket prices in order to reflect the higher costs of jet fuel. Despite its fuel hedges it is "not immune" from the wider fallout caused by fuel price volatility.
INDIGO
India's largest airline announced that it will introduce fuel charges for domestic and international flights starting March 14. The charge for flights into the Middle East is 900 rupees and for flights into Europe, 2,300 rupees.
JETBLUE AERWAYS
Joanna Geraghty is the CEO of the low-cost airline based in the United States. She told her employees, via a memo, that she would not be considering bankruptcy this year despite the fact that rising jet fuel prices threaten the financial recovery. According to an SEC filing, the company has entered into a debt financing agreement worth $500 million.
Sources with knowledge on the subject have confirmed that KOREAN will be entering emergency management mode in April as oil prices continue to rise.
LUFTHANSA
The German airline group announced a new low-cost "Economy Basic", which limits free carry-on luggage to a "laptop or small backpack".
Previously, the group said that 20,000 short-haul flight would be removed from their schedule by October. This is equivalent to about 40 metric tons jet fuel.
PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES
Fuel surcharges are cited as the reason for raising domestic flight prices by $20, and international flights by up to $100.
QANTAS AIRWAYS
Qantas, an Australian airline, said that it has delayed a planned A$150-million ($108-million) buyback. It also increased its fuel estimate for the second half 2026 from A$2.5 billion to A$3.1 billion or A$3.3 billion.
Scandinavian Airlines announced that it would cancel 1,00 flights in April due to high jet fuel and oil prices. In March, the airline had cancelled "couples of hundred" flights.
SPIRIT AIRLINES
Air Current reported that people familiar with the situation said the U.S. low cost carrier requested hundreds of millions in emergency funding from the Trump administration to offset the rising fuel prices and prevent a potential liquidation.
SPRING AIRLINES
Budget Chinese airline announced that it will increase fuel surcharges for domestic flights starting April 5. Details to be announced in due course.
SOUTHWEST Airlines The U.S. airline forecast its second-quarter profits below the market's expectations. Its CEO also warned that the price spike in jet fuel would be a "billion-dollar headwind" for the airline during the quarter.
The previous increase in the cost of checked bags was $10.
The Portuguese airline claimed that its price increases would partially offset the impact of fuel prices changes on its revenues.
THAI AIRWAYS
The Thailand-based airline said it would increase fares between 10% and 15% in order to combat rising fuel prices.
The European airline and tour operator reduced its full-year profit forecast and suspended revenue guidance. It said it had incurred extra costs of about 40 million euro due to the March war, including repatriation and operational disruptions.
TURKISH AIRLINES LUFTHANSA
SunExpress is a joint venture of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa. It announced that it would charge a temporary fuel fee of 10 euros for each passenger on routes connecting Turkey with mainland Europe. The fuel surcharge will be applied to all bookings made after April 1, for departures after May 1.
Turkish Airlines announced on April 10 that it would not be distributing any dividends from its net profit for 2025, instead choosing to keep earnings and preserve cash.
T'WAY AIR
As part of the measures taken to combat the effects of war, the South Korean low-cost airline said that it would furlough cabin crew in May and/or June without pay.
UNITED AIRLINES
Scott Kirby, the CEO of the U.S. airline, said that ticket prices could rise up to 15%-20% to compensate for a spike in jet fuel costs. The company has already implemented five fares increases in the last quarter of this year, as well as higher baggage fees. This, it says, have helped offset the rising fuel prices.
The carrier forecasted second-quarter profits and full-year profit below Wall Street expectations. It said that it would recover only 40-50% through fares and revenue measures during the second quarter. This figure will improve to 70-80% in the third, and up to 85-100% in the fourth.
VIETJET
Due to possible fuel shortages, the Vietnamese budget airline has 'adjusted' flight frequencies on certain routes.
VIETNAM Airline
Vietnam's aviation authority announced that the carrier will cancel 23 flights per day on domestic routes starting in April after it requested assistance from the government to remove an environment tax on jet fuel.
VIRGIN ATLANTIC
Corneel Kster, the CEO of the airline, told The Financial Times that despite adding fuel surcharges on fares this year it will struggle to achieve profitability.
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA
Virgin Australia has said that it expects an increase of jet fuel costs of between A$30 and A$40 million in the second half of the fiscal year. It also anticipates a 1% decrease in capacity for the fourth quarter.
VOLOTEA
The Spanish low cost airline has introduced a new pricing strategy that links ticket prices with fuel costs. This could add an additional surcharge after purchase of up to fourteen euros per passenger per flight.
WESTJET
Globe and Mail reports that the Canadian airline has reduced seat capacity in June. The Canadian Press reported previously that the airline would add C$60 ($44.50) to certain bookings, and combine flights due to rising costs.
(source: Reuters)