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China summons giants of state-owned construction companies over safety violations
China's National Safety Regulators summoned China Communications Construction Company, and Power Construction Corporation of China on Wednesday for what they alleged were safety failures related to two major accidents. The emergency management ministry said that negligence, falsifications and illegal subcontracting as well as cutting corners, and failures in safety management at two companies and their subsidiaries led to a road collapse in May 2024 in southern China, which killed 52 people, and a partial collapse in November 2025 of a newly built?bridge in southwest China. The statement said that "the same types of accidents hazards were found repeatedly during inspections but violated repeatedly... the lessons learned are painful." It was not possible to reach the companies for comment after regular office hours. According to a statement, regulators from the State Council, Emergency Management Ministry, Transportation?Ministry, Housing Ministry?and State-owned Asset Administrator?have said that companies must take "concrete" and forceful measures in order to "resolutely avoid and curb the occurrences of'major and extraordinarily severe disaster accidents.
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FAA: red obstruction lights needed for Trump Arch in Washington
The U.S. agency said that the proposed '250-foot (76m) tall Independence Arch of President Donald Trump would require red safety lights, but it 'would not have any impact on safety at Reagan Washington National Airport. Federal Aviation Administration will conduct an aeronautical study next in coordination with National Park Service. According to the preliminary review, Washington's arch would require red obstruction lights. The arch would be 3,000 feet from Reagan National Airport and in the main departure and approach corridor. The FAA requires that buildings over 200 feet from airports have red blinking warning lights to alert?pilots during the night. This includes the nearby Washington Monument, which is 555 feet tall. Trump wants to build the Arch in Washington, across the Potomac River near the Arlington National Cemetery. The Arch is similar to the Arc de Triomphe, but it's much bigger. It is estimated that the height of the arch with Lady Liberty and eagles on top will be 250 feet. This is higher than Lincoln Memorial, and not too far from the size of U.S. Capitol which can be seen in Washington. The Arc de Triomphe is 164 feet tall in Paris. The National Capital Planning Commission approved the project on 4 June, while asking for more information about the impact of the structure on flight paths. A lawsuit was filed to stop the project. The suit claims that allowing construction to continue would cause irreversible damage?to an historic landscape protected in the heart the capital. The lawsuit argues that Congress must approve any "major" new structure in District of Columbia on land administered by the federal government. The?Justice Department argues that Congress approved large structures on the planned site decades earlier and delegated the authority to the National Park Service for their design.
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Italy reduces its reliance on imported jet fuel amid disruptions caused by the Iran war
Senior officials from the fuel producers and airport operators in Italy said that the refineries had increased jet fuel production this year to reduce the risk of a shortage for the airline industry due to the 'Iran War. The Strait of Hormuz closure has caused global jet fuel supplies to be disrupted, which has led to higher prices and forced suppliers of cargoes to reroute their shipments. According to the head of fuel producers' union UNEM, Italy imported 50% of its?5million tons of jet fuel annually. By 2026, it will increase domestic production to 70% to meet demand. UNEM President Gianni murano stated that "in addition to its national production, Italy imports significant quantities of?jet-fuel from the United States" and Turkey. This practice has been continued. Murano stated that the increase in Italian jet-fuel production was due to higher prices. He added that the 'Iran war' had changed the pricing structure of oil products and made jet fuel more costly than gasoline or diesel. Iran's blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, which was a transit route for around 400,000 barrels of jet fuel per day, drove European prices to a record high of $200 a barrel in April. Carlo Borgomeo said that the rerouting some jet fuel imports helped the airline industry manage the disruptions caused by conflict. Borgomeo stated that Italy will not face any shortages of jet fuel for the rest of the year. Francesca Landini reported, Giulia Segrit and Keith Weir edited.
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There are some flights to the Middle East that have resumed but there is still disruption.
Middle East airlines are slowly resuming some flights as they rebuild their schedules following the war's disruption. However, the conflict is still disrupting wider traffic flows. Middle-East airlines have increased capacity following the severe disruption caused by the Iran War, but many carriers outside of the Gulf are still diverting Europe to Asia flights. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES Greece's biggest carrier has cancelled flights from Thessaloniki, Greece to Tel Aviv. Flights to Dubai have been cancelled until August 31 and flights to Erbil?and?Baghdad?until July 2. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai until the 28th of June. AIR CANADA Canadian Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai and Abu Dhabi until October 24. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has canceled flights to Tel Aviv from June 28 until now. AIR FRANCE-KLM Air France suspends Tel Aviv flights through June 21 and Beirut and Dubai flights through June 24. KLM has suspended flights from Dubai to Riyadh until August 2, and until July 26 to Dammam and Riyadh. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has suspended its flights to Dubai and Riyadh till?August 31, 2008. 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. Meanwhile, the launch of its Boston-Tel Aviv flight, scheduled for late October, was delayed. FINNAIR It has cancelled all Doha flights up to October 2 and continues to avoid the airspace over Iraq, Iran Syria, and Israel. The airline will resume its Dubai flights in October, which are only operated during the winter. British Airways, owned by IAG, delayed the return of its flights from Doha to Riyadh to August 8 and until August 1. Flights from Amman, Tel Aviv and Dubai will be paused for the rest of the summer and resumed on October 25. The airline plans to reduce flights to Dubai, Doha, Riyadh, Tel Aviv and Amman to just one flight per day when they resume. Jeddah will be dropped as a destination. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled Tokyo-Doha and Doha-Tokyo flight until July 31, and until August 1. 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 confirmed they would begin on July 1. SWISS delayed the return of flights to August, while Brussels Airlines suspended its operations until October 24. The suspension of Dubai flights by Lufthansa SWISS and ITA Airways continues until September 13th. Lufthansa and SWISS have suspended flights until October 24 to Abu Dhabi, Amman Beirut, Dammam Riyadh Erbil Muscat and Tehran. Eurowings, a low-cost carrier, has suspended its flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut until July 9, Erbil and Dubai until June 22, and Abu Dhabi and Amman until October 24. ITA Airways also extended its suspension of flights to Riyadh through June 30. MALAYSIA AIRLINES From July 2, the Malaysian carrier will resume limited services to Doha. NORWEGIAN AIR The low-cost carrier has delayed the launch of its Tel Aviv, Beirut and other services indefinitely. No new dates have been set. QANTAS Australia's flag-carrier has added flights to Rome, Paris and London to meet the increased demand for European routes. The number of flights to Paris will rise from three to five weekly return flights, and the Perth to Singapore service will go from daily to 10 per week. A new schedule will be implemented gradually for flights starting in mid-April. It will run through late July. ROYAL MAROC Moroccan airline announced that flights to Doha have been cancelled until 30 June. SINGAPORE Airlines In response to a 'higher demand,' the carrier has extended the Singapore-Dubai flight suspension until August 2. It also added services for Singapore-London Gatwick (late March) and Singapore-Melbourne (October 24). TURKISH AIRLINES SunExpress, Turkish Airlines’ joint venture with Lufthansa has cancelled flights from Dubai to Bahrain, Beirut, and Erbil up until July 14. 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 Lioma, Tiago Branao, Agnieszka Olesska, Bernadette HOG, Alexander Klyve Gudbrandsen, Romolo TOSIANI, Boleslaw LaSocki). Matt Scuffham and Alexander Smith edited by Milla Nissi -Prussak. Jonathan Ananda, Joe Bavier, and Joe Bavier.
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Think tank: Ukraine will experience summer power shortages following Russian attacks
The DiXi Group, a think tank, predicts that Ukraine's energy system, which has been under constant Russian assault, will face power shortages in the summer months, and consumers may be affected by outages, despite the strong output of solar power plants and the imports. Russia has been attacking Ukraine's energy generation and transmission system throughout the war. This has caused severe damage to thermal power plants, forcing Kyiv to import more and to resort to massive power cuts for consumers. DiXi stated in a press release that, under moderate temperatures and with no further damage done to the energy grid, the power shortage could reach 0.7 gigawatts during peak consumption. However, it could rise to 2.4 gigawatts if temperatures are significantly higher. The situation will be further complicated by the annual maintenance of nuclear power units, which are crucial to the energy system. It stated that "as the average daily temperature rises, hourly power cut will be 'unavoidable. A shortage could even occur at night when demand is?lowest", it said. If the system is damaged by high temperatures and further damages, the shortfall could reach 6.2?GW compared to 15.8 GW of demand, or about 40%. Blackouts in Kyiv, the capital, lasted up to 14-16 hours during the winter of 2025-2026 when Russian missiles damaged more than half of Ukraine's capacity for power generation. (Reporting and editing by Jan Harvey; Pavel Polityuk)
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Taliban: Pakistani air strikes in Afghanistan kill at least 13, Taliban claims
The Afghan Taliban government reported that Pakistani air strikes on Wednesday killed at least thirteen people, including 11 children. This is a resurgence of the conflict which has claimed hundreds of lives in this year. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mojahid stated that at least?14 other people - including children and women – were injured by strikes that violated Afghanistan’s airspace, and bombed homes of civilians in the provinces Kunar, Khost, and Paktika. The Pakistani government said that the "calibrated attacks" along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier killed 26 militants. They were in response to recent attacks on the country's northwestern region. Attaullah tarar, Pakistan's Information Minister, said that based on reliable intelligence, the targeted camps and hideouts were carried out with "precision and accuracy". Four targets, including a training center, a hideout, and an ammunition stash, were destroyed. Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring militants who it claims plot attacks against Pakistan. According to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, militant attacks in Pakistan 'have risen by fourfold since the year 2022. This was the year 'after the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan. The Taliban denied these allegations, and claimed that militancy is a problem within Pakistan. 'WE'LL TAKE REVENGE!' A renewed violence between former allies could disrupt a long-lasting truce between Islamabad, Afghanistan and their most intense battle for years that took place in February. In March, the two countries started a dialogue to reduce tensions. China was tasked with mediating a solution to the conflict. Fighting has ceased since then but there have been sporadic clashes along the 2,600 km (1,600 mile) border. Haji Ali Khan is a tribal elder in Khost. He said that one of the airstrikes killed 10 people in a village, including women and kids, after midnight. The family whose home was bombed is a local villager. "They have no connection to the TTP nor do they know them," said he, referring the Pakistani Taliban. "People want the authorities to provide security in this area, or, if that is not possible, they should allow people to defend themselves.... Either we all sacrifice ourselves or we take revenge on our own." Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Mushtaq Ali in Peshawar and Hritam Mukherjee, Saad Sayeed, and Himani Sarkar; editing by Himani Sarkar and Lincoln Feast.
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Airbus leans toward Saab while Franco-German fighters unravel
Airbus has been looking at Saab, a Swedish company as its preferred future partner. This is because the failure of the Franco-German fighter program has reshaped European defense alliances. Airbus, the company that represents Germany and Spain on the 'fighter market', has other options besides collaborating with the manufacturer of Gripen combat aircraft. High-level contacts have been made on a separate project that involves Britain, Italy and Japan. Airbus and Saab are in exploratory discussions with each other since at least six months, boosted by the improved defence relations between Germany, Sweden and Germany, according to sources. Saab stated that any collaboration would be a decision made by a politician. A spokesperson stated that Saab has an "open-door" policy and is open to collaboration with various players in the defence industry. Airbus had no immediate comment. Sources said that until now, the talks were largely conceptual in order to avoid a premature breakdown of the FCAS Fighter project. The upcoming divorce between Airbus and Dassault Aviation, which is expected to become official at the Berlin Airshow, could give Airbus more freedom to pursue a Nordic Partnership. Michael Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and?Space in Berlin, confirmed that Saab is a potential partner but added that it was still too early to exclude other options. There are many potential partners. Saab. Saab. Leonardo has opened the door for Airbus, and its paymaster Germany, to join the separate GCAP project, between Britain, Italy, and Japan. Lorenzo Mariani, CEO of Lorenzo Mariani said that Berlin was a "particularly valuable partner". Analysts claim that the collapse of FCAS, after nine years, is a blow for European defence co-operation. The decisions made about what happens next will have a lasting impact on European air power. Douglas Barrie is a senior fellow at IISS for military aerospace. He said, "It shows how difficult it is to align the military, industrial and political priorities." POTENTIAL HURDS Sweden remained independent in the last round of fighter aircraft development. It built the Gripen, while France developed the Rafale, and Britain, Germany Spain and Italy jointly developed the Eurofighter. It has not yet revealed its plans for the next generation. Initially, it partnered with Britain, and is now conducting research into a Gripen replacement, with decisions expected in 2030. According to people familiar with the situation, Sweden is willing and has the technology necessary to work with Airbus. Since months, the two sides have been gaining ground. When visiting Germany in September last year, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson stated that industrial cooperation was "blossoming". Saab and Airbus began discussing collaboration on unmanned technologies in?December. Sources said that although the talks were primarily focused on the support of existing crewed aircraft such as Eurofighter and Gripen, they could be a springboard to deeper cooperation. Berlin's path or not, there are still obstacles to overcome. It is unclear to what extent German and Swedish needs are similar to those of France. GCAP, according to insiders, is limited by the 2035 deadline that Japan and Germany agreed upon. This makes it difficult for Germany to be offered anything more than a minor role. There are also questions about whether a country can do it alone. Dassault - the only European company to have built a fighter using domestic engines - says it's ready to do it again, even though "French finances are stretched." Sources denied that this was the beginning of a new project. However, Airbus will be lobbying for German companies at the air show. Schoellhorn downplayed the possibility of going solo. He said that Germany has repeatedly made it clear, including on the 'political side', that they continue to be European. Analysts say that despite fiscal pressures and a limited domestic demand to keep costs low, European nations producing fighters other than France are likely to continue to pursue alliances. This could extend to the Middle East. "It does not make the product cheaper but it makes it more affordable." Barrie stated that some of these things are really hard to do by yourself, except for Americans or Chinese. (Additional reporting from Johan Ahlander. Ludwig Burger. Angelo Amante. Sarah Young. Joanna Plucinska. Michel Rose. Mark Potter is the editor.
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Two crew members missing following suspected US strike on tanker near Oman
Officials from the maritime industry said that two crew members are missing and another is injured after a suspected U.S. missile strike on a fuel tanker near Oman's coast. Ambrey believes that the 'blockade of Iranian ports by U.S. Ambrey, a British maritime security organization, said that the blockade of Iranian ports was likely to be responsible. In the past, crews were warned to gather at the bow of the vessel before an attack. Another maritime security source said that the ship was also likely to have been?hit by a U.S. rocket. The United Kingdom's Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a Palau-flagged chemical/oil product tanker reported a?engine room fire? 20 nautical miles northeast from Oman's Port of Sohar. According to British maritime risk-management group?Vanguard, the Omani Navy responded immediately to the distress call of the Settebello. According to MarineTraffic, the?tanker? was partially loaded? and last located near Oman's coastline on June 1st. The operator listed in the databases as being based in India could not be reached to comment. The United States launched a blockade of Iran related shipping on the 13th of April after Iran severely restricted shipping through Strait of Hormuz - a major global oil & gas route. U.S. Central Command reported that as of 8 June, U.S. Forces had disabled seven noncompliant?vessels and redirected 134 other vessels which were compliant, while allowing 42 vessels to pass supporting humanitarian aid. The U.S. military reported that U.S. forces disabled an unladen Marivex tanker on Monday in the Gulf of Oman after it tried to sail to an Iranian port, in violation of a 'ongoing blockade of Iran. The ships being targeted are Iranian vessels and so-called'shadow fleet tankers', which are 'older vessels with no Western insurance, used to transport sanctioned crude oil, and sailing under various flags in order to conceal their true ownership, the cargo they carry, and whereabouts. Reporting by Jonathan Saul, Ahmed Elimam and Alex Richardson; editing by Jason Neely and Alex Richardson
German airshow opens in shadow of Iran War, fighter project collapse
The ILA airshow in Germany opened on Wednesday, under the shadow of the?Iran war and the failure of a flagship Franco German fighter?jet program this week.
Berlin's event, which dates from 1909, showcases a large part of Europe's defense industry as companies present new technologies to governments and military purchasers.
The article also highlights European manufacturers' efforts to close the gap between them and their U.S. competitors, as well as persuading governments to support them at a time when the region is ramping up its defence spending.
The build-up was dominated, however, by the cancellation of the Franco-German Future Combat Air System. This project had been hailed as Europe's "most ambitious" defence project for years but was ultimately ruined by rivalry between industries. The failure of the FCAS has highlighted Europe's difficulty in building military capability at scale.
The decision comes at a time when Western officials are warning of an increasing threat from Russia, and the U.S. is pressing Europe to rearm more quickly.
RESHAPING ALLIANCES
Three people familiar with the situation said that Airbus, who represented Germany and Spain at FCAS, is increasingly looking towards Sweden's Saab to be a preferred partner as companies jockey to reshape their industrial alliances.
The?Iran War has increased the feeling of unease by exposing tensions in transatlantic relations and raising questions about NATO’s future. It also affects airlines, as more flights are being cancelled and fuel prices have risen.
The show will be addressed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday. He has publicly questioned if a manned fighter jet of the sixth generation still makes sense for Germany’s air force.
Ottmar Pfaender, MTU Aero Engines' Head of Programs, said that decisions about how to proceed must be made in the next few weeks. He added that the engine manufacturer was open to working together with other companies.
Stephanie Lingemann is a senior executive with the defence startup Helsing. She said that technologies like software-driven defense systems and autonomy in war could be incorporated into what follows FCAS.
She said, "There is always a chance with these kinds of endings."
Walking to the Venue
A380 jets from the Gulf carrier will be on display at the air show, giving Emirates President Tim Clark the opportunity to lobby the German government in favor of landing rights in Berlin.
Protesters?blocked the roads leading to the venue, chanting slogans such as "Free Palestine".
Witnesses reported that dozens of police officers were on the scene, and that buses couldn't reach the site, forcing hundreds?of people to walk into the venue. Some complained about the disruption.
From June 10 to 14?the ILA will be hosting more than 750 exhibitor from 37 different countries.
In conjunction with the opening of the new facility, Germany's Cabinet approved a 15-year strategy for aviation aimed at cutting expenses and increasing research in order to combat rising costs and increase foreign competition. (Additional reporting by Maria Rugamer. Matthias Williams is the author. (Editing by Thomas Seythal, Mark Potter and Mark Potter).
(source: Reuters)