Latest News
-
Saudi shares drop after drone attacks target key oil pipeline
Saudi Arabian stocks fell in the early trading on Sunday as a result of 'the market's reaction to drone attacks' on the Kingdom's East-West crude oil pipeline. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell?1.0%. This was due to a 0.8% decline in Al Rajhi Bank, and a 2.4% drop in Saudi Arabian Mining Company. Saudi Aramco, the oil giant, fell 1.1%. Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company plummeted 7.3% and was the worst performer of this session. The sale 'followed an emergency shutdown of the East West pipeline on Thursday after aerial strikes 'hit installations in the Riyadh region and Medina, causing multiple injuries. Riyadh as well as?Baghdad both traced the attack back to Iraqi territory where Iran-backed militias are active, leading the Iraqi Government to dismiss a senior military leader on Saturday. Saudi Arabia did not immediately retaliate militarily after an appeal from Iraq's Prime Minister, but Riyadh defended its right to protect its sovereignty and vital infrastructure. The U.S. president Donald Trump blamed Iran on Saturday for the attacks on the conduit. This is the primary alternative that the Kingdom uses to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. According to the International Energy Agency, previous attacks on Saudi energy facilities had reduced crude production by 2.3 million barrels per day to a low of 6 millions bpd for three decades. Qatar's benchmark Index, which is a measure of the petrochemical industry, rose 0.2%, bucking the regional trend. The Financial Times reported that Gulf foreign ministers will meet with their Iranian counterparts in an effort to reach an interim agreement on traffic management through the Strait of Hormuz.
-
Authorities say it could take several months to identify the victims of the Philippine ferry fire.
On Sunday, authorities in the Philippines warned that it may take several weeks or months to identify victims of a ferry fire in which 76 people died. As forensic experts collect and compare DNA samples taken from the charred remains, investigators are determining what caused the worst maritime disaster in recent history in the Philippines. Richard Allan Mangalip, a forensic expert with the Philippine National Police said that some remains were clustered in certain areas of the vessel. Others were spread out across the ship. The vessel was carrying over 130 people, and it was nearing its destination at the time of the fire. The ferry headed southwest from Manila, to Coron in the province of Palawan, a journey that usually takes around 20 hours. Mangalip, at a recent press conference, said that "most of them are already charred." He added that authorities could not give a timeline for identification due to the large number of specimens which must be examined. It could take a few weeks or even longer. This assessment was made a day after the rescuers found 41 more remains on the ferry. The death toll now stands at 76, and 13 people are still missing. Officials stated that more remains may still be discovered because investigators haven't yet thoroughly searched the flooded sections of vessel. On Friday, firefighters entered the ferry after putting out the blaze a day and a half after it started. The Coast Guard released images showing the extent of the damage inside the ship, including rows of bed frames that were twisted and covered with ash by intense heat. Investigators have not yet determined where the fire began and are still working to gain access to key areas of the vessel including the flooded lower decks, the engine room and other sections where evidence may help determine the cause. According to a statement by the Maritime Industry Authority based on survivor 'accounts', two explosions could be heard within the vessel just before the fire started. A representative from shipowner Atienza inter-Island ferry said at the same press conference that the 'company is cooperating fully with the investigators and will continue to assist affected families. The fire is just the latest in a series of maritime accidents that have killed people in the Philippines. This archipelago has more than 7,600 island, and millions of people rely on small boats and ferries to travel.
-
The PM's Office says that one person has died and more than 30 people are missing after a Vanuatu Ferry sinks.
In a statement, the office of Prime Minister Jotham napat said that at least one person had been confirmed dead on Sunday and that more than 30 others were still missing after a boat sank off Vanuatu. The statement on Facebook stated that search and rescue operations are continuing in the Pacific Island Nation located approximately 1,750 km (1.090 miles east of Australia) after the MV Matui, with its crew and passengers, went down. It added that 15 of them were alive. RNZ, the New Zealand public broadcaster, reported that search efforts had begun since Friday's inter-island boat sank due to bad weather between the islands of Ambae & Santo. The Napat office stated that the search in open waters was being lowered, while efforts were shifted?towards a search of?the south east coast where currents could have carried survivors. The statement stated that "this loss appears to have been caused by strong winds, failure to heed marine warnings and possible negligence such as overloading the vessel." We pray for the?strength of those who survived and their recovery. Please know that we are with the families of the missing and the ones who have died in this time. Matai Seremaiah is the representative for the Luganville region in Vanuatu’s parliament. He said that rescue efforts began after a crew member of the MV Matui swam to shore and raised the alarm. Seremaiah told RNZ that he alerted them to the fact that the ship had capsized. They went on a search. Vanuatu 'police, Vanuatu Maritime Safety Authority, and the ferry operator, Tui Shipping Agency did not respond immediately to requests for comments.
-
Agency reports that 243 passengers from an Indonesian passenger ship have been reported missing at sea.
The Indonesian search and rescue agency reported that a passenger ship carrying 243 passengers was reported as'missing' after it lost contact in the Java Sea during bad weather early Sunday morning. The 'Virgo Transport 8' ship left the East Java town of Surabaya on Saturday for the South Kalimantan City of Banjarmasin, but lost contact. The agency stated that "at the time of this statement, it is not possible to contact the ship and its location is unknown." The agency said that rescuers had launched a search and sent a team to its last-known position. Indonesia is an archipelago consisting of over 17,000 islands. It relies heavily on ferries for transportation. Sea routes are more affordable and accessible than air travel. Safety?standards may not be?always strictly enforced, leading to a high accident rate.
-
The PM's Office says that one person has died and more than 30 people are missing after a Vanuatu Ferry sinks.
In a statement, the office of Prime Minister Jotham Napat said that at least one person had been confirmed dead and more than 30 others were missing after a boat sank near Vanuatu. The statement on Facebook said that search and rescue operations are continuing in the Pacific Island Nation located approximately 1,750 km (1.090 miles east of Australia) after the MV Matui with its crew and passengers went down. It added that 15 of them were alive. RNZ, the public broadcaster of New Zealand, reported that search efforts had begun since Friday's inter-island?ferry sank between the islands Ambae and Santo in bad weather. The Napat office stated that the search was "being eased while efforts are being moved towards a search along South-East coast where currents could have carried survivors". The statement said that "this loss appears to be the result of not heeding marine warnings and strong winds, as well as possible negligence including overloading the vessel." "We pray for the strength and recovery of those who survived." "Please know that we stand with the families of the'missing' and those who have died," it added. The Vanuatu Police, the Vanuatu Maritime Safety Authority, and the 'ferry operator Tui Shipping Agency did not respond immediately to comments.
-
Hyundai Motor will roll out a driver-assist technology in-house in 2029
Hyundai Motor Group plans to launch its driver-assistance technology in late 2029. This is two years later than originally planned. Hyundai executives said that the South Korean automaker would 'partner with U.S. Chipmaker to 'roll out advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in 2028. These are known as ADAS Level 2+ or Level 2++. This shift highlights the difficulties Hyundai faces in developing its own automated driving software, originally scheduled for a debut in late-2027, and raises concerns about its growing reliance on Nvidia. This delay has fueled fears that Tesla and Chinese competitors could catch up to the automaker in the race for commercialising vehicle autonomy. Park Min-woo said at a press briefing that the partnership between Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia does not mean "leaving our fate entirely in their hand". Park?said Hyundai would co-design the tech with Nvidia, and use data from the system for training and refining its own software?platform dubbed Atria. Park, an ex-Nvidia executive, joined Hyundai in January and has spearheaded the automaker’s deeper ties with the chipmaker. His strategy is a departure from his predecessor Song Chang-hyeon's, who concentrated heavily on internal software before his abrupt December departure. Park stated that Hyundai vehicles powered by Nvidia’s Hyperion 10 will initially forgo expensive lidar sensor in favor of cameras, ultrasonic and radar sensors. Hyundai, however, is looking at lidar to be used with its Level 3 automated driving systems that allow for hands-free driving in certain conditions. Park did not provide a timeframe for commercialisation of Level?3. Park stated that Hyundai and its?affiliate Kia Corp., which are the third largest automakers in the world with sales of more than 7 million cars annually, will use their global fleet to collect data for training their autonomous driving technology. Hyundai expects to surpass its competitors in terms of accumulated driving data before 2033. Hyundai Motor Group has deepened its collaboration with Nvidia in autonomous driving, artificial Intelligence?datacenters and humanoid robotics developed by Hyundai owned Boston Dynamics. Level 2+ systems are more capable on the highway, while "Level 2++ systems can handle more complicated urban driving, similar Tesla's Full Self Driving system. Both require driver supervision.
-
Nine Russians are killed and dozens injured in Ukraine by Russian attacks. Moscow claims it hit ships, plants
Officials have confirmed that Russian air strikes on Saturday in various Ukrainian regions killed nine people and injured dozens. They also damaged residential buildings and infrastructure throughout the country. In the last two months, civilian deaths in Ukraine have risen dramatically as Russia intensifies its attacks on power stations and other infrastructure. Ukraine has attacked energy facilities and storage warehouses in remote parts of Russia, and both sides have targeted shipping. According to the city council of Kramatorsk, a Ukrainian "fortress city" on Ukraine's frontline that Russia is trying to capture, Russian forces have attacked and killed three private cars in three separate incidents in a 90 minute period. Four people were injured. The council stated that "these are not military targets." The council said, "They are just ordinary civilian cars." "People were going about their businesses." Vitaliy Bunechko is the governor of Ukraine's Zhytomyr Region west of Kyiv. He said that a Russian attack on an grocery store in Zvyahel killed two people. He said that two petrol stations and an "unidentified enterprise with foreign investment" were also attacked. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, had earlier reported that attacks were taking place in Zaporizhzhia (a city located in the south-east) and his hometown of Kryvyi Rih. Ivan Fedorov is the governor of Zaporizhzhia Region. He said that two people died and eleven were injured in "assaults" on Zaporizhzhia. Oleksandr Vikul, the head of Kryvyi Rih’s military administration, confirmed that two people were killed overnight in attacks by drones and rockets on the city. The Russian military claimed that its forces had attacked Ukrainian steelmaker Zaporizhstal, located in Zaporizhzhia. They also said they hit an Interpipe Steel facility in Dnipro, and several plants at Kryvyi Rih including the Northern Iron Ore Benefit Works Complex. It was impossible to independently verify the accounts of either side. Oleh Kiper, the Governor of Odesa Region said that 37 people including an infant had been injured during a series overnight attacks. Two people are missing. RUSSIAN STRikes on UKRAINIAN Port The Russian Defence Ministry stated that Moscow's forces have continued their strikes against Ukrainian ports. It said that a cargo vessel in Odesa was being used to transport military goods. The ministry announced earlier in the day that its forces had?struck two cargo ships?overnight at the Black Sea Port of Chornomorsk. Ukraine's military claimed it had caused a fire at one of Russia's biggest synthetic rubber producers, Togliatti, in the Samara area. It said that the?Togliattikauchuk factory specialised in producing synthetic rubbers and fuel add-ons used in fuel for Russian missiles. Interfax reported that Russian regional governor Vyacheslav Federishchev claimed that Ukrainian drones had attacked industrial facilities in the Samara region, but did not specify which ones or if they had been damaged. Ilya Sukhikh said that several residential buildings had been damaged, and one person injured. Svetlana Kambulova, the local mayor, told TASS that four commercial properties in Taganrog, in the Rostov Region, were also set ablaze.
-
Brussels airport traffic disrupted on Friday evening following drone sighting
The traffic at Brussels Airport was disrupted on Friday night for a half-hour after a drone was spotted. Kurt Verwilgen, a spokesperson for the airport, said that the 'drone procedure' was initiated, and includes an interruption of traffic on the runway up to 30 minutes after the last sighting. He refused to "give any details" on the type of drone or how many flights it diverted. He added that the drone vanished after the sightings. After a series of?attacks on civilian airports, military bases, and a nuclear plant, the Belgian authorities purchased defensive kamikazes in November. Belgian officials said at the time that the incursions "bore the hallmark of" Russian interference while acknowledging they had no proof. Russia denied any involvement.
There are some flights to the Middle East that have resumed but there is still disruption.
The Middle East is gradually getting back some of its flights as regional carriers rebuild their schedules following war-related disruptions, but the conflict continues to disrupt wider traffic flows. Middle Eastern airlines are adding capacity following the severe disruption caused by the Iran War, while many carriers outside of the Gulf continue to divert Europe-Asia flight to avoid the Middle East.
The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically:
AEGEAN AIRLINES
Thessaloniki-Tel?Aviv flights were cancelled by Greece's biggest carrier until June 26. Dubai flights are cancelled up until August 31. Erbil, Baghdad and Erbil flights will be cancelled until July 2.
AIRBALTIC
AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai until the 28th of June.
AIR CANADA
The Canadian carrier has canceled flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai and Abu Dhabi until September 7.
AIR EUROPA
Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv up until the 28th of June.
AIR FRANCE-KLM
Air France has suspended flights from Tel Aviv until June 14 and those to Beirut and Dubai till June 17. Air France suspended flights to Riyadh until June 2. Tickets for the first flight, scheduled for June 6, are available on their website.
KLM has suspended flights from Dubai to Riyadh until July 12, and until August 2 to Dammam and Riyadh.
CATHAY PACIFIC
Hong Kong Airlines has suspended its flights to Dubai and Riyadh through August 31.
The U.S. carrier suspended service for the Atlanta-Tel Aviv routes through December 18, 2018. The airline plans to resume New York JFK-Tel Aviv flights starting September 6. It has delayed the launch of the Boston-Tel Aviv flight, which was planned for late October.
FINNAIR
It has cancelled all flights to Doha until October 2 and continues to avoid the airspaces of Iraq, Iran Syria, and Israel. The airline will resume its Dubai flights in October, which are only operated during the winter.
IAG-owned, British Airways has 'delayed the return of flights to Doha and Riyadh to August 8th. Flights from Amman, Bahrain, Amman, Dubai, Tel Aviv and Dubai are suspended until the end of summer. They are expected to resume on October 25, 2010. When the flights resume, it plans to reduce service to Dubai, Doha and Riyadh to just one flight per day, while dropping Jeddah from its list of destinations.
JAPAN AIRLINES
Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled Tokyo-Doha and Doha-Tokyo flight until August 1, as well as Doha-Tokyo until July 31.
Polish Airlines has cancelled all flights to Riyadh and Beirut until 30 June. LOT will begin operating its winter route from Dubai in October.
LUFTHANSA GROUP
Lufthansa has announced that it will resume Tel Aviv flights as soon as July 1, whereas ITA Airways has confirmed they will resume them as of July 1. SWISS delayed the return of flights to August, and Brussels Airlines suspended operations until October 24.
The suspension of Dubai flights by Lufthansa SWISS and ITA Airways continues until September 13th.
Until October 24, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS have suspended their flights to Abu Dhabi and other destinations, including Amman, Beirut and Dammam as well as Riyadh. Erbil, Muscat, Tehran and Riyadh are also affected.
Eurowings, a low-cost carrier, has suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Beirut and Erbil until June 22, and to Dubai and Abu Dhabi until October 24.
ITA Airways?also has extended the suspension of their?flights from Riyadh to June 30.
MALAYSIA AIRLINES
From July 2, the Malaysian airline will resume limited service to Doha.
NORWEGIAN AIR
The low-cost carrier has delayed the launch of Tel Aviv and Beirut flights until June 15.
QANTAS
Australia's national carrier has added flights to Rome, Paris and London to meet the increased demand for European routes. The number of flights to Paris is increasing to five return flights per week, up from three. Perth-Singapore will also increase from daily service to 10 flights each week. A new schedule will be implemented gradually for flights starting in mid-April. It will run through late July.
ROYAL MAROC
Moroccan airline said that flights to Doha have been cancelled until 30 June.
SINGAPORE Airlines
In response to increased demand, the carrier has extended?its Singapore - Dubai flight suspension until August 2 and added services on the Singapore - London Gatwick?and Singapore - Melbourne routes from late march until October 24.
TURKISH AIRLINES
SunExpress, Turkish Airlines joint venture with Lufthansa has cancelled flights until June 30, including to Dubai, Bahrain and Erbil.
WIZZ AIR
Low-cost airlines have suspended flights from Europe to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman until mid-September. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed. Elviira Louma, Tiago Branao, Agnieszka Olesnska, Bernadette HOG, Boleslaw LaSocki, Romolo Tosiani, and Bernadette Hogg. Matt Scuffham and Alexander Smith edited by Milla Nissi, Susan Fenton, Jonathan Ananda, Milla Nissi-Prussak, and Jonathan Ananda.
(source: Reuters)