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The US has failed to enforce privacy laws for airline passengers, according to lawmakers.
Two Democratic 'U.S. On Wednesday, lawmakers asked a congressional agency to investigate the failure of the Transportation Department to ensure privacy for airline passengers. Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Shontel 'Brown asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate USDOT. They said that USDOT has not brought any enforcement actions related to passenger data in over 40 years, "despite many widely publicized privacy disasters affecting hundreds of millions travelers." GAO confirmed that it received the request. The letter stated that "USDOT’s abdication of its privacy regulatory role has left the'sensitive personal information of thousands of millions of Americans vulnerable to corporate exploitation and warrantless government surveillance and 'warrantless seizures of money and property." It also added "Travel data stored by airlines and travel agents may be of interest to foreign enemies. Sean Duffy's spokesperson did not immediately comment. In March 2024, the then-Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg opened an investigation into how 10 of the largest U.S. Airlines collect and use passengers' information. In the letter, it was stated that two years after "it is still unclear whether or not a meaningful review took place." USDOT didn't make the airlines' responses public, nor did it announce any public findings or take any enforcement action. Airlines for America declined to comment. The letter stated that the Airline Reporting Corporation, which is owned by the major U.S. carriers, has sold access to an enormous database of?roughly 722 millions passenger travel records? to federal agencies such as the Homeland Security Department, Internal Revenue Service and the Internal Revenue Service without warrants or judicial oversight. The letter?noted by ARC in November 2025 ARC ceased the effort, but this year 'DHS issued a request for a replacement system to be installed on airlines. The letter cited also a 2016 Justice Department Audit that showed the Drug Enforcement Administration paid airline employees millions of dollars in order to obtain private passenger information about Americans. Airlines could be subject to civil penalties if they mishandle consumers' personal information. (Reporting and editing by David Shepardson)
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Sources say that Ivory Coast’s delayed cocoa harvest could lead to congestion in ports before EU rules.
Industry sources say the Ivory Coast Coffee and Cocoa Council fears a 'delayed start' to the main 2026/27 cocoa crop will 'lead port congestion, as exporters rush before stricter EU deforestation regulations?take place at year-end. The industry regulator for the world's largest cocoa producing country, the Coffee and Cocoa Council, announced last week that the country is ready to comply with the new regulations. Nevertheless, two sources from the Council and five exporters said that they expect congestion in the ports of Abidjan, and San?Pedro, during November and December. They also added that storage capacity might be stretched. The main cocoa crop was delayed due to a combination between difficult weather conditions, inadequate farm maintenance, and the strength of the mid-crop which delayed the development of the main?crop. One source stated that the main cocoa crop would be delayed by eight to ten weeks. Sources spoke under condition of anonymity because the issue was so sensitive. A representative of a European export firm in Abidjan stated, "With this impending delay, we'll find ourselves having export enormous quantities within a short time period in December." One of two officials from the Cocoa Council said that the organization would do all it could to minimize the impact. Sources said that even though the main season will start on September 1, they expect weekly arrivals to be below 15,000 tons in September, and below 25,000 tons in Oct. They said that the main-crop volumes would begin to arrive in late October or early November, and then increase through December. The cocoa council estimates that the total arrivals of the main crop from September to February 28th, 2027 will not exceed 1.4 million tons. Exporters predict 1.4 to 1.45 million tons. Between October and December 2026, about 900,000 metric tons of cocoa is expected to reach Ivorian port, compared to an updated 1.1 million tons during the same period in 2015. Ports typically receive between 800,000 and 1 million tons of cocoa during this three-month period. (Reporting and editing by Ange Abooa, Amindeh Blaise Atabong, Ayen Deng Bior and Barbara Lewis).
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Democratic-led states renew their challenge to Trump's plans to restrict voting by mail
On Wednesday, a coalition of Democratic-led States renewed their efforts to stop the U.S. Postal Service from implementing President Donald Trump’s executive order that restricts?mail-in?voting. The Democratic Attorneys General of 23 States and the District of Columbia, along with Pennsylvania Governor filed the lawsuit at Boston Federal Court two days after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the earlier injunction that they won blocking Trump’s order on grounds that they sueded too early. The earlier lawsuit was filed before USPS had 'finalized' the rule to implement the March order signed by the Republican President targeting mail-in votes. USPS published a final rule Friday, despite an existing court order designed to prevent it from implementing Trump's plan. USPS was prevented from implementing this new rule until Wednesday as a result another injunction issued by U.S. district judge Indira Talwani of Boston in a similar case brought forth by voting rights organizations. Talwani, at the request of the Trump administration, rescinded her order after the states filed suit, stating that it could not stand in light of the Supreme Court ruling, despite the "chaos" that may be unleashed while litigation is still pending. In their latest case, the?states have asked Talwani - an Obama appointee - to block implementation of USPS’s new rule. This new rule requires states to provide USPS with lists of voters who want to vote by mail, and it imposes federal requirements on ballot envelopes that must have unique barcodes. The new rule requires USPS to check mailed-in ballots and to refuse delivery if the ballots do not meet its standards or the voter is not listed on the state's list. Democratic-led states claim that if the new requirements are implemented, they could be burdened in the weeks leading up to an election. They would have to buy new envelopes, equipment and systems, and train their staff. Letitia J. James, New York Attorney General, said that the new policy would create confusion for voters, as well as unnecessary costs and unacceptable risks. Her office will go to court to stop this. She and other state attorney?generals argue that USPS does not have the authority to set federal eligibility requirements for voting by mail, and that its rule violates federal laws protecting voter's rights and states' authority to administer elections under the U.S. Constitution. California and Massachusetts are also included in the states that argue against this rule. They claim it?risks alienating voters. USPS processed nearly 100 millions ballots during the 2024 elections. The states claim that about 30% of voters in the United States voted by mail. USPS has not responded to any requests for comment. In separate filings, voting rights groups and Democratic Party arms said that they are also moving to block USPS rule. They say it is now ready for adjudication. (Reporting from Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Aurora Ellis.)
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Italy extends Diesel Tax Cuts to Ease Price Pressure
The government announced that the Italian cabinet extended until September 1 a 'cut in excise duties on diesel fuel introduced to offset the higher prices at the pumps. Since the U.S. - Iran conflict began, Prime Minister Giorgia meloni has repeatedly increased fuel tax cuts to help businesses and families cope with rising prices. The government has said that the tax relief is currently only applicable to diesel and the current reduction of EUR17 cents per litre will continue until September 5. According to a source "close" to the issue, the extension of the measure would cost about EUR130 million in lost revenue. Meloni's Office said this week that the government could?introduce targeted measures to ease fuel costs only for low-income households when?the?excise duty reductions expire. (Reporting and editing by Gavin Jones, Angelo Amante)
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Trump announces he will review beef processing regulations as farmers oppose tariff plan
On Wednesday, U.S. president?Donald Trump said that he would look into the issue of whether there are too many regulations in beef processing plants. Beck had suggested that less regulation could allow farmers and ranchers do their own killing. The Trump administration is reducing regulation in all areas of government. Beck asked Trump to "look at this cartel, the meat-processing cartel", and suggested that reducing Department of Agriculture regulations would make it easier for small-scale ranchers to process their beef themselves. Trump said, "This could be an excellent decision for ranchers." "I have heard only bad things about it - there are four locations, and it is a monopoly." Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS USA and National Beef Packing Co. control about 85%?of U.S. meat-processing. Last year, the Justice Department announced that it was looking into whether meatpacking firms were driving consumer beef prices up illegally. Last week, Trump?said that he planned to temporarily lower tariffs on certain beef imports to try to bring down record-high 'beef prices. Farm groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, were critical of this move. AFBF President Zippy Duvall urged Trump to reconsider in a?letter on Tuesday, arguing that it would "undermine 'America's ranchers whose work is tireless to grow food for American Families." Brooke Rollins, the Agriculture secretary at the White House, told reporters on Tuesday that she didn't know which countries Trump had covered.
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Sources say that Russia's NORSI oil refinery has halted oil processing following a drone attack
Three industry sources said that the?Ukrainian drone 'attack' on Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region caused a halt to?crude oil?processing at NORSI, Russia’s second largest?gasoline producer and fourth-largest refinery. A drone attack by Ukraine on the Russian region of Nizhny Novgorod on August 26 damaged an unspecified industrial building, according to local governor Gleb Nikitin. Lukoil - the owner of 'the refinery' - did not respond immediately to a'request for comment. Sources said that the drone attack had damaged a number of?processing units and inter-unit infrastructure, as well as general?plant equipment. The sources were unable to estimate how long it would be before the damage was repaired and the refinery could resume its processing operations. Lukoil’s major Russian refineries are now all offline. The Perm refinery stopped operations following a drone attack on August 21. Meanwhile, the Volgograd refinery suspended processing on July 31. NORSI is able to process 15 million metric tons of crude oil a year and produce 5 million tonnes of gasoline, 5 million tons or more of diesel, 2 million tons of fuel oils, and around 500,000 tonnes of bitumen. (Reporting and Editing by Kirsten Doovan)
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Democratic-led states renew their challenge to Trump's plans to restrict voting by mail
On Wednesday, a coalition of Democratic-led States renewed their efforts against the?U.S. Postal Service to implement President Donald Trump's executive orders restricting mail-in votes, in order to?prevent? it from imposing any new requirements for November congressional elections. The Democratic Attorneys General of 23 States and the District of Columbia, along with Pennsylvania Governor filed the lawsuit at Boston Federal Court two days after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the earlier injunction that they won blocking Trump’s order on grounds that they sueded too early. The earlier lawsuit was filed before the?USPS finalized the rule to implement the March order signed by the Republican President targeting mail-in votes. USPS published a "final rule" on Friday despite an ongoing court order in a separate case that was designed to prevent the USPS from implementing Trump's plan. USPS is still unable to implement the new rule due to another injunction issued by U.S. district judge Indira Talwani of Boston in a similar case. The 'Trump administration asked her to revoke her order stating that it could not stand on the basis of the Supreme Court ruling. The lawsuit by the'states' is a direct attack on a new rule that requires states to provide lists of voters who want to vote by mail. It also imposes federal requirements regarding ballot envelopes which now must have barcodes. The new rule requires USPS to check mailed-in ballots and to refuse delivery if they don't meet its standards, or if the voters on the state lists aren't listed. The Democratic-led States say that if the new requirements are implemented, they could be burdensome in the weeks leading up to an election. They would have to purchase new envelopes, equipment and systems, and train their staff. Letitia James, New York Attorney-General, said that the new policy would create confusion and unnecessary costs for voters on Election Day. Her office will take this to court to stop. She and other state attorney generals argue that USPS does not have the authority to set federal eligibility requirements for voting by mail, and that their rule violates federal laws protecting voter's?rights as well as states' authority to administer elections under the U.S. Constitution. California and Massachusetts are also included in the states that claim this rule could disenfranchise voters. USPS processed almost 100 million ballots during the election of 2024. The states claim that 'about 30% of voters in the United States cast their ballots via mail. USPS has not responded to a comment request. In separate filings, voting rights groups and Democratic Party arms said that they are also moving to block USPS rule. They say it is now ready for adjudication. (Reporting from Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Aurora Ellis.)
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Norway Gas Fields to undergo Winter Maintenance
Gassco, the infrastructure operator, said that Norway's natural-gas export capacity would be reduced by 20% in a period up to the end of September. This is due to the final planned maintenance for the system to be ready for the high demand winter season across Europe. Gassco, the infrastructure operator, said that Norway's natural gas export capacity would be reduced by around 20% in a period until the end of September due to a final round of planned maintenance. This is in preparation for the high-demand winter season in Europe. Gassco data on transparency shows that the aggregated reduction in capacity at Norway's processing and gas fields will reach 71 million cubic meters (mcm), or one fifth of daily deliveries. These typically total around 340mcm/day. According to Alfred Skaar Hansen of Gassco who manages Norway's export terminals and gas pipelines, maintenance has progressed "largely" according to plan. Hansen said on the sidelines a conference in Stavanger which is Norway's largest oil and gas hub. A longer outage on the Ormen Lange Field will reduce supply by 7.9mcm/day up until February 1. This is lower than an initial estimate of Shell, which was 8.9mcm/day. Gassco will deliver 114.9 billion cubic meters (bcm), or a little over?114.9 billion, in 2025 through its 8,800 km (5,468 miles) pipeline network. Deliveries so far this year are 76.1 bcm and have increased by?1.3 bcm from last year. Hansen stated that "the storage situation in Europe is a top priority, so there's a willingness to transport as much as gas as possible." He said that Gassco has a?certain amount of spare capacity, which allows those who book flows (known as shippers) to be flexible in the timing?of their gas deliveries. Hansen stated that "right now, it's about production capacity." He said that the maintenance schedule for next year is expected to be more busy than 2026. Gassco will also finalise its maintenance plan for 2027 in November or December. (Reporting and editing by Terje Sollsvik, Tomasz Janovowski)
Qantas full-year profits fall 14% due to fuel costs; A380s will be retired in 2028
Qantas Airways, Australia's largest airline, reported on Thursday a 13.8% decline in its pre-tax profit for the full year, due to the Middle East conflict and a surge in jet fuel prices.
The flag carrier of the country also announced that it is in discussions with major aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing to convert 20 options into firm orders starting from?2030.
Qantas stated that "Project Sunrise and additional 787-9 deliveries have been confirmed for calendar year 2027. The A380 fleet is expected to be retired in calendar year 2020, in order to maximize capital efficiency while maintaining network reach with the new wide-body aircraft fleet."
The carrier reported an underlying profit before tax of A$2,06 billion ($1.48billion) for the year ended June 30 compared to A$2.39billion reported a previous year, which was slightly higher than the Visible Alpha consensus estimation of A$2.00billion.
The Middle East conflict caused jet fuel prices to more than double and remain highly volatile during the second half. Qantas hedged almost 90% of its crude oil exposure in the second half, but it was still vulnerable to changes in jet refinery margins.
The rising costs of fuel are partially offset by higher fares, reduced domestic capacity and the re-deployment of aircraft to better international routes.
The carrier declared a final dividend per share of 19,8 Australian cents, a higher amount than the 16,5 Australian cents declared last year. The company also decided to scrap its A$150 million share buyback announced in February that never started after the Iran War.
(source: Reuters)