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Superyacht Bayesian of tech tycoon Lynch is lifted out of the water off Sicily Coast
Salvage experts pulled the superyacht of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch from the water Saturday. They plan to bring it to a Sicilian harbor for inspection. This is 10 months after the yacht sank near the coasts of Sicily and killed Lynch, his daughter, and five other people. The work had begun at dawn, when one of Europe's most powerful maritime cranes was used to lift the 56-metre (184-foot-long) Bayesian out from the sea. The upper decks of the Bayesian appeared to be badly damaged, while the blue hull had become encrusted in mud. It was found at a 50-metre depth on the seabed. Next week, Italian authorities will be able to inspect a luxury yacht in the nearby port Termini Imerese as they search for clues about a tragic accident that has baffled maritime experts. In August of last year, the Bayesian, moored near Porticello in Palermo's small port, sank suddenly during a storm. A British interim report last month said that the yacht was susceptible to violent winds, and was likely knocked down by gusts exceeding 117 km/h (73 miles/hour). The salvage team led by British company TMC Marine pumped seawater out of the vessel's hull. It was then elevated and surrounded by pollution containment barriers while more checks were conducted. Marcus Cave, director of TMC Marine, said: "This was an extremely complex and precise lifting and salvage operation that followed a step by step programme." The yacht will be transported to the port on Sunday, before being lifted onto a cradle made of steel on the quayside on Monday. The recovery process was made easier by the removal of the 72-metre mast using a remote controlled cutting tool. It was then placed on the seabed. The yacht capsized and killed Lynch, the founder of Autonomy software, his daughter Hannah as well as Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda and banker Jonathan Bloomer, Judy and Recaldo. Six guests and nine other crew members were saved. (Reporting and writing by Roberto Mignucci, Additional reporting by Wladimir Panttaleone, Danilo Aroni, Igor Petyx, Rosaura Bonafardino, Writing by Keith Weir, Editing by William Mallard.
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Air India is warned by India's watchdog for violating the pilots' duty hours
According to the government directives that were reviewed on Saturday, India's aviation regulator has warned Air India about "repeated serious violations" in relation to pilot duty schedules and oversight. Air India was ordered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to remove three executives from their crew scheduling roles – a divisional Vice President, a Chief Manager of Crew Scheduling and a Planning Executive – for lapses related to flights between Bengaluru and London on May 16-17 that exceeded the pilot flight limit of 10 hour. The order of June 20 cited "systemic failings in scheduling protocols and oversights", and criticized the lack strict disciplinary actions against responsible officials. The latest action taken by the aviation authority is not related to the crash of a Boeing 787-8 aircraft that took place this month, in which all but one person onboard died. However, it does signal increased scrutiny of the airline. The authorities warned Air India on Thursday for violating safety regulations after three Airbus planes were flown despite not having been checked for emergency equipment or escape slides. The latest order from Himanshu Srivastava as assistant director of operations for the DGCA said: "Of special concern is the lack of strict disciplinary actions against key officials who are directly responsible." Air India issued a press release stating that it had implemented the DGCA's order. In the interim, its chief operations officer would be responsible for overseeing the Integrated Operations Control Centre. Air India has committed itself to adhering to all safety protocols and standards practices. In its order, the DGCA noted that Air India had voluntarily reported the violations. Air India will be taken over by Tata Group 2022. It faces many challenges to rebuild its reputation after years of complaints from travelers about poor service. Like many regulators abroad, the Indian regulator fines airlines often for non-compliance. In February, the Indian government informed parliament that 23 safety violations were cited by authorities and fined or warned airlines. Air India Express and Air India were involved in about half (12) of the fines. Air India was fined $127,000 for "insufficient air on board" on some international flights. Aditya K. Kalra, Jacqueline Wong (Editing and Reporting)
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FAA reports Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center is experiencing a telecommunications problem
Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday that Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center, located in Florida, is experiencing a communication issue which has led to a loss in radar, frequencies and automation equipment. According to the agency's statement, the center is still operating. It also added that the redundant equipment and telecommunications have not resulted in any loss of vital air traffic services. The FAA stated that L3Harris, the local exchange providers and other agencies have been contacted and initially identified the cause of the outage to be a cut fiber in Florida. The company said that the local exchange carrier was on-site and working to fix the problem. According to the FAA, this center covers an area of 160,000 square miles (414 400 sq km) and includes parts of Florida and Georgia. (Reporting and editing by Jasper Ward)
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US Highway Safety Officials review Tesla's answers on robotaxi deployment plans
The U.S. Highway Safety regulators are reviewing the answers Tesla provided to questions they asked about the safety and reliability of the self-driving robotaxis in bad weather, according to a statement released by the agency on Friday. This is ahead of plans for the vehicles to be deployed as early as this weekend. According to social media posts and screenshots, it was reported on Friday that Tesla had sent out invitations to a select group of people for a limited trial in Austin, Texas, which is set to begin tentatively on Sunday. NHTSA sent a letter to Tesla last month asking it to provide detailed answers by June 19, 2015, on its plans to start a robotaxi service for a fee in Austin, Texas. This was to determine how Tesla's self-driving cars would perform in bad weather. Since October, the NHTSA is investigating Tesla collisions with full self-driving vehicles in low visibility road conditions. The investigation covers 2.4 millions Tesla vehicles with full-self-driving technology (FSD), following four reported collisions including a fatal 2023 crash. In May, the agency stated that it wanted to know more about Tesla's robotaxis and their development "to determine whether the system can react appropriately in reduced visibility conditions", as well as details of the robotaxi deployment plans. NHTSA asked in May how many robotaxis will be available and when the technology would be available for cars controlled by other people than Tesla. (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese; David Shepardson)
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Gold to lose a weekly loss as US delays decision on Middle East involvement
Gold prices were stable on Friday, and are expected to fall by a significant amount this week after U.S. president Donald Trump deferred a decision about entering the Israel-Iran war. As of 1742 GMT, spot gold was unchanged at $3,368.68 per ounce as of 0142 EDT. This is its lowest price since June 12. The index fell 1.8% in the past week. U.S. Gold Futures closed 0.7% lower at $3,385.70. Gold is stable as Trump reverses his stance on an "imminent" attack on Iran. Tai Wong, a metals trader, said that for the moment it appears all the bad information is out. The gold rally has seen dips aggressively purchased. The White House announced on Thursday that Trump would decide within the next two weeks if the United States would get involved in Israel-Iran's air war. This will increase pressure on Tehran to engage in negotiations. Iran launched another barrage of rockets against Israel in the early hours of Friday morning, hitting near residential apartments, offices and industrial facilities located in Beersheba, a southern city. Gold has traditionally been considered a hedge in times of political or economic uncertainty. The U.S. Central Bank held rates at the same level on Wednesday. While policymakers still anticipate cutting rates by half a percentage point this year, they slightly slowed the pace from there to a single quarter-percentage-point cut in each of 2026 and 2027. Gold is not a yielding asset and is therefore unfavorable in a high-interest rate environment. Carsten Menke is an analyst with Julius Baer. He said: "We continue to see a strong demand for gold from central banks and safe-haven investors, which should support the current price of gold." Silver spot fell 1%, to $36.02 an ounce. It was down 0.7% on the week. Palladium fell 0.1% to $1.049, but gained 2.1% for the week. Platinum fell 3.1% to $1.266.72, on course for its third consecutive weekly gain. (Reporting and editing by Vijay Kishore, Rod Nickel, and Ashitha Mukherjee in Bengaluru. Additional reporting by Anushree mukherjee.
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Dassault Aviation receives French government support for VORTEX, its spaceplane demonstration demonstrator
Dassault Aviation signed an agreement with the French government on Friday, whereby the French Ministry of Armed Forces will support the development and production of Dassault Aviation’s VORTEX Spaceplane Demonstrator. At the Paris Airshow, French Minister of Defence Sebastien Lecornu signed an agreement with Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier. Dassault Aviation VORTEX, a project of Dassault Aviation, has received government support. This comes after President Emmanuel Macron backed plans to create a European satellite manufacturing leader on Friday. Macron declared that the space is the new arena for the world's power competition at the Paris Airshow. In a press release, Eric Trappier said: "At a crossroads between aviation and space technology, the VORTEX is undoubtedly going to pave the path for a new era of space aeronautics. This will consolidate France's position as the world leader in space."
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Serbia's NIS Oil Company seeks fourth waiver of sanctions from the US
The Russian-owned Serbian Oil Company NIS asked the United States on Friday for a 4th waiver from sanctions that could reduce its crude supply. NIS operates Serbia's sole oil refinery. It is owned by Russia's Gazprom and Gazprom. The refinery has a capacity of 4.8 millions tons per year, which is enough to meet the needs of most Balkan countries. On January 10, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury placed sanctions against Russia's oil industry and gave Gazprom a 45-day deadline to sell its NIS shares. NIS has secured three waivers so far, the third of which expires on June 27, It said that on March 14, NIS sent a request for removal from the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions list. The company stated in a website statement that "despite the complex environment within which it operates, NIS continues to supply the domestic market regularly with all types of oil derivatives and remains committed to maintaining the social stability of its workers." Gazprom Neft, in an effort to avoid sanctions, transferred to Gazprom a stake in NIS of approximately 5.15% on February 26. Gazprom owns 11.3% of NIS. Serbian government holds 29.87% of NIS, while small shareholders hold the remainder. NIS imports 80% of the oil it needs via Janaf, Croatia's pipeline operator. The rest is covered by the crude oil produced in Serbia.
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US sanctions target Houthi oil traders and those who provide Iran with military equipment
The Trump administration announced on Friday that it had imposed new sanctions against Iran, targeting eight entities and one vessel as well as one individual for their alleged involvement in providing sensitive equipment for Tehran's defence industry. United States The gang is determined to stop any attempt by Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, said that the U.S. government would "purchase sensitive dual-use components and machinery" to support the regime's ballistic weapons, unmanned aerial vehicles, and asymmetric weapon programs. Treasury will continue to degrade Iran’s ability to manufacture and proliferate deadly weapons that threaten regional stability as well as global security, he said in announcing this action. The statement stated that two of the entities are shipping companies located in Hong Kong, Unico Shipping Co Ltd. and Athena Shipping Co Ltd. The Treasury Department on Friday also issued counterterrorism-related sanctions targeting Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis over alleged illicit oil trading and shipping, it said in a separate statement. The department stated that these sanctions were imposed on four individuals, twelve entities and two vessels for importing oil and other illegal goods in support of the Houthis. The Department of State said that the sanctions target four individuals, 12 entities and two vessels over imported oil and other illicit goods to support the Houthis.
Eight people killed in hot-air balloon crash on Brazilian coast
State officials reported that eight people died after a hot air balloon crashed in the state of Santa Catarina on Saturday. The balloon was carrying 21 passengers including the pilot. According to the state fire department, the tourism balloon caught on fire in the early morning hours and crashed in a forest in the city Praia Grand.
In Brazil, the city is one of the most popular places for tourists to go on balloon rides. Santa Catarina estimates that between 25 and 30 hot air balloons leave daily from Praia Grande during peak season. Most of these balloons can transport up to 25 passengers. According to the fire department, thirteen survivors were transported to hospitals nearby. According to a spokesperson for the fire department, CNN Brasil reported that none of these survivors' lives were in danger.
In a message on X, Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva expressed his solidarity with the families who lost loved ones, and said that the federal government was available to the local and state authorities involved in the case. (Reporting and editing by Diane Craft, Franklin Paul and Andre Romani)
(source: Reuters)