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Minister: Hungary's exemption from US sanctions against Russia energy is permanent
Hungary claimed on Saturday that it had received an indefinite waiver of U.S. sanctions for the use of Russian oil and natural gas. However, a White House representative reaffirmed that this exemption was only valid for one year. Last month, U.S. president Donald Trump imposed sanctions related to Ukraine on Russian oil firms Lukoil & Rosneft. These sanctions carried the threat of additional sanctions against entities who buy oil from these firms. Viktor Orban met Trump, a Trump ally for many years, at the White House last Friday in order to push for a reprieve. Hungary heavily relies on Russian energy, and Orban faces an election in close proximity next year. The prime minister was very clear. Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian foreign minister, said on Facebook that he had agreed with President Obama to obtain an exemption from sanctions for all time. There are no sanctions indefinitely on the oil and gas exports to Hungary. In an email sent on Saturday, a White House official reiterated that the exemption was for a year. HUNGARY IS EXPECTED BUY U.S. LNG Officials added that Hungary will also diversify their energy purchases, and have committed to buy U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas with contracts worth around $600 million. Hungary's continued reliance on Russian Energy since the start of the conflict with Ukraine in 2022 has prompted criticism from several European Union allies and NATO members. Orban said that Hungary has received a permanent exemption from energy imports through the TurkStream pipeline and Druzhba pipeline. Orban said that there are no sanctions in place to restrict or increase the cost of supply for Hungary through these routes. Orban stated that this exemption was general and had no time limit. According to figures from the International Monetary Fund, Hungary purchased 74% of gas and 86% oil in 2024 from Russia. The IMF warns that a cutoff of Russian gas across all of Europe could cost Hungary over 4% of GDP. Orban stated that without the agreement energy costs would have soared, hitting the economy as a whole, increasing unemployment, and causing "unbearable price increases" for both households and businesses.
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Delhi Airport operator confirms that all flight operations are back to normal following glitch
Delhi International Airport announced on Saturday that all flight operations are running as usual at the airport, following a technical problem which caused hundreds of delays over the last two days. Delays were caused by a malfunction in the software used to create flight plans. India's airports authorities had announced late Friday night that the system is "up and working" following a technical error. In a press release, the Indian government stated that the system, called Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), was back in automatic mode on Saturday afternoon. The government reported that Ram Mohan Naidu, minister of civil aviation, has instructed officials to prepare for system upgrades including the addition of additional servers or fallbacks to improve air traffic operations.
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Minister: Hungary's exemption from US sanctions against Russia energy is permanent
Hungary announced on Saturday that it has been granted an indefinite exemption from U.S. sanction for its use of Russian oil and natural gas. This is contrary to a White House official, who claimed it was only granted a year-long exemption. Last month, U.S. president Donald Trump imposed sanctions related to Ukraine on Russian oil firms Lukoil & Rosneft. These sanctions carried the threat of additional sanctions against entities who buy oil from these firms. Viktor Orban met with Trump, a longtime ally of Trump, at the White House last Friday in order to push for a reprieve. Hungary heavily relies on Russian energy, and Orban faces a tight election in 2019. The prime minister was very clear. Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian foreign minister, said on Facebook that he had agreed with President Obama to obtain an exemption from sanctions for indefinite time. There are no sanctions indefinitely on the oil and gas exports to Hungary. The White House official noted that in addition to the exemption from sanctions, Hungary had also committed to buy U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas with contracts worth around $600 million. Hungary's continued reliance on Russian Energy since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine 2022 has prompted criticism from several European Union allies and NATO members. Orban said that Hungary has received an exemption indefinitely for energy imports via TurkStream and Druzhba pipelines. Orban said that there are no sanctions in place to restrict or increase the cost of supply for Hungary through these routes. Orban stated that this exemption was general and had no time limit. According to figures from the International Monetary Fund, Hungary purchased 74% of gas and 86% oil in 2024 from Russia. The IMF warns that a cutoff of Russian gas across all of Europe could cost Hungary over 4% of GDP. Orban stated that without the agreement energy costs would have soared, affecting the economy as a whole, increasing unemployment, and causing "unbearable price increases" for both households and businesses.
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Trump calls on lawmakers to give healthcare funds 'directly' to the people
The President Donald Trump floated on Saturday a possible compromise amid the impasse surrounding the U.S. Government shutdown. He urged Republicans to redirect federal funds that are currently going to health insurance companies in accordance with the Affordable Care Act to give them to individuals. Trump said in a post on social media that he recommended to Senate Republicans to send the hundreds of billions of dollars currently going to Insurance Companies to save the poor Healthcare provided by ObamaCare directly to the people so they can purchase their own, much better, healthcare and still have money leftover. He added that the "worst healthcare anywhere in the world, ObamaCare, is the one provided by the BAD, BIG Insurance Companies. Take it from them and give it to people. Trump's remarks on Truth Social were made just hours before the U.S. Senate reconvened at noon (1700 GMT), after rejecting legislation that would have reinstated pay for hundreds of thousands federal workers who had been without pay during the longest U.S. shutdown in history. The two sides are still at odds on how to reopen government. Democrats want to include in a funding measure the healthcare subsidies for 24 million Americans that will expire at the end of this year. Republicans, however, say Congress should first pass a bill with no strings attached to allow government reopening. White House representatives did not respond immediately to a comment request on Trump's tweet. The representatives of U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Senate majority leader John Thune did not respond immediately to a comment request. (Reporting and editing by Alistair Bell, Sergio Non, and Jonathan Landay)
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Tornado in southern Brazil kills six, injures hundreds
The state government reported that a tornado, accompanied by high winds and heavy rainfall, struck Parana in the south of Brazil, killing six. Rio Bonito do Iguacu, the town that was hardest hit, suffered multiple structural failures and roof collapses. The state's civil defence agency reported that more than half of the city area had been affected. The power lines and roads were damaged. The authorities reported that 437 people received treatment for injuries, and approximately 1,000 were forced to relocate. Guarapuava, a nearby city, was also affected. According to the Parana Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring System the winds of the tornado reached speeds between 180 km/h (111mph) and 250 km/h (155mph). Gleisi-Hoffman, the Institutional Relations Minister, said that she will travel to the affected area with Adriano Massuda, acting Minister of Health and other federal officials on Saturday to assist in relief and reconstruction efforts. "We will continue our assistance to the people of Parana, and provide any help that is needed," wrote President Luiz inacio da Silva on X. He also expressed condolences to families of the victims. (Reporting and editing by Alistair Bell; Marcela Ayres)
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US cuts flights for a second day as the shutdown continues
U.S. Airlines and travelers endured a second day on Saturday of flight cancellations across the nation as the shutdown is expected to cause more cancellations over the next few days. Due to the shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration has instructed airlines to reduce 4% of flights at 40 major airports on Saturday. The cut will increase to 6% by Tuesday, and to 10% on November 14. These cuts began at 6 am. About 700 flights were affected by the cuts on Friday morning, 1100 GMT, from American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines. Due to a lower volume of flights, airlines will cancel fewer flights Saturday than they did on Friday. United Airlines will cancel 168 flights on Saturday, down from Friday's 184, and Southwest will cancel a little under 100 flights. The record-breaking 39-day shutdown of the government has forced 13,000 air traffic control operators and 50,000 security screening workers to work without pay. This has led to an increase in absenteeism. On Thursday, many air traffic controllers learned that they wouldn't be paid for the second pay period in the next week. The Trump administration is increasing pressure on Congressional Democrats in order to get them to accept a Republican-led plan to fund federal government and reopen it. One such attempt is to raise the specter dramatic disruptions in air travel. Democrats claim Republicans are responsible for the shutdown, because they refused to negotiate on extending health insurance subsides. Sean Duffy, the U.S. Transportation secretary, said that he might require a 20% cut in air traffic if conditions worsen and more controllers fail to show up. Duffy stated, "I evaluate the data." We're going make decisions based upon what we observe in the airspace. In addition to the cancellations, the FAA was forced by the absence of air traffic control on Friday to delay hundreds flights in 10 airports, including Atlanta, San Francisco Houston, Phoenix, Washington D.C. and Newark. Over 5,600 flights were canceled or delayed on Friday. In a statement earlier this week, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated that 20% to 40% controllers did not show up to work on any particular day.
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UPS grounds its MD-11 fleet after Louisville crash
UPS announced on Friday that it had grounded its fleet McDonnell Douglas MD-11s. This is the type of aircraft involved in the crash of Tuesday in Louisville, Kentucky which resulted in at least 13 deaths. UPS spokesperson stated in an email that "out of an abundance caution and for the sake of safety, we've made the decision to ground temporarily our MD-11 fleet". The spokesperson said that MD-11s make up about 9% the fleet of the company. The grounding takes effect immediately. NBC News was the first to report on this news. On Tuesday evening, a UPS cargo flight bound for Honolulu took off. crashed just after takeoff at Louisville International Airport. U.S. safety inspectors reported that three UPS pilots tried to control the cargo plane as the bell rang in the cockpit on Friday. Todd Inman, National Transportation Safety Board Member, says that UPS flight 2976 began without incident, but a repeated bell could be heard in the cockpit voice recorder 37 seconds after the crew had called for the takeoff thrust. Tell reporters. FedEx and Boeing, who own the MD-11 program following their 1997 merger, both operate MD-11 cargo planes, but did not respond immediately to comments. Reporting by Rishabh J. Jaiswal in Bengaluru and Dheeraj K. Kumar; Editing by William Mallard, Thomas Derpinghaus
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Philippines warns against deadly storm surges when Typhoon Fung Wong approaches super-typhoon strength
The Philippines' weather bureau has warned of potentially life-threatening storm waves of up to 5 metres, and of destructive winds. Typhoon Fung Wong is expected to make landfall in the eastern part of the country on Sunday evening. Benison Estareja, PAGASA's weather forecaster, said that the typhoon has already pounded parts of eastern Philippines, with its massive circulation spanning 1,500 km (932 miles). Estareja stated that "it can cover nearly the entire country." Fung-wong (locally called Uwan) is packing winds up to 170 km/h with gusts as high as 140 kph. As it approaches land, Estareja says, the wind speed could increase to 185 kph. This powerful wind can destroy houses, toppling trees and other structures. As much as 200 mm is expected to fall in eastern Philippine provinces. This includes the Bicol region and parts of Samar. The risk of flooding and landslides are increased. PAGASA warned residents of low-lying coastal and low-lying areas to move to higher ground, stop all marine activities and evacuate. They also warned about violent winds and storm surges which could flood coastal communities. A number of local governments have cancelled classes on Monday and the Philippine flag carrier has canceled some flights ahead of Fung Wong's anticipated landfall. The warning comes only days after the Typhoon Kalmaegi wreaked havoc across the region by tearing through coastal communities and destroying roofs, windows, and trees. Kalmaegi caused the deaths of 204 Filipinos and five Vietnamese, displace hundreds of thousands and knock out power in large areas. Vietnam's disaster agency said that nearly 2,800 houses were damaged and about 500,000 people are still without electricity. In the Philippines, violent floods have destroyed homes and blocked streets with debris. Due to their location along the Pacific typhoon Belt, Vietnam and the Philippines regularly experience damage and fatalities during peak storm season. In Thailand, Kalmaegi’s impact lasted for a long time and caused heavy rainfall and flooding in the northeast and central areas. Scientists warn that global warming is increasing the power of storms like Kalmaegi. (Reporting and editing by Himani Sarkar; Additional reporting in Vietnam by Phuong nguyen, and Chayut setboonsarng from Bangkok.
Houthis alert shipowners in brand-new stage of Red Sea project: Prepare to be assaulted
On a warm spring night in Athens, soon before midnight, a senior executive at a. Greek shipping business noticed an uncommon e-mail had actually landed in. his personal inbox.
The message, which was also sent out to the supervisor's company. email address, warned that one of the business's vessels. traveling through the Red Sea was at danger of being assaulted by. Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi militia.
The Greek-managed ship had actually breached a Houthi-imposed transit. ban by docking at an Israeli port and would be straight. targeted by the Yemeni Army in any area they deem. proper, checked out the message, composed in English and examined. .
You bear the obligation and consequences of consisting of. the vessel in the restriction list, said the e-mail, signed by the. Yemen-based Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC),. a body established in February to liaise in between Houthi forces and. commercial shipping operators.
The Houthis have carried out nearly 100 attacks on ships. crossing the Red Sea considering that November, acting in solidarity with. Palestinians in Israel's year-long war in Gaza. They have sunk. two vessels, seized another and eliminated a minimum of four seafarers.
The e-mail, got at the end of May, alerted of. sanctions for the entire business's fleet if the vessel. continued to violate the ban criteria and go into the ports of. the taking over Israeli entity.
The executive and the business decreased to be named for. security factors.
The caution message was the first of more than a lots. significantly menacing emails sent out to a minimum of 6 Greek shipping. companies given that May amid increasing geopolitical stress in the. Middle East, according to 6 market sources with direct. knowledge of the emails and 2 with indirect knowledge.
Because last year, the Houthis have been firing missiles,. sending armed drones and launching boats packed with explosives. at business ships with ties to Israeli, U.S. and UK entities.
The e-mail campaign, which has not been formerly reported,. suggests that Houthi rebels are casting their net larger and. targeting Greek merchant ships with little or no connection to. Israel.
The dangers were also, for the first time in current months,. directed at entire fleets, increasing the threats for those. vessels still trying to cross the Red Sea.
Your ships breached the choice of Yemen Armed Forces,. read a separate e-mail sent out in June from a Yemeni federal government web. domain to the very first business weeks later on and to another Greek. shipping company, which also decreased to be called. For that reason,. penalties will be imposed on all vessels of your business ... Best Regards, Yemen Navy.
Yemen, which lies at the entryway to the Red Sea, has been. embroiled in years of civil war. In 2014, the Houthis took. control of the capital, Sanaa, and ousted the internationally. acknowledged government. In January, the United States put the. Houthis back on its list of terrorist groups.
Gotten in touch with , Houthi officials declined to confirm. they had sent out the emails or provide any extra comment,. saying that was classified military details.
Reuters might not figure out whether the e-mails had actually been. likewise sent to other foreign shipping companies.
Greek-owned ships, which represent among the biggest. fleets in the world, consist of nearly 30% of the attacks brought. out by Houthi forces to early September, according to Lloyd's. List Intelligence information that did not define whether those ships. had any ties with Israel.
In August, the Houthi militia - which is part of Iran's Axis. of Resistance alliance of anti-Israel irregular armed groups -. assaulted the Sounion tanker leaving it on fire for weeks before. it might be towed to a much safer area.
The strikes have actually prompted lots of cargoes to take a much longer. route around Africa. Traffic through the Suez Canal has fallen. from around 2,000 transits each month before November 2023 to. around 800 in August, Lloyd's List Intelligence information revealed.
Stress in the Middle East reached a new peak on Tuesday as. Iran hit Israel with more than 180 missiles in retaliation for. the killing of militant leaders in Lebanon, including Hezbollah. leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday.
BRAND-NEW PHASE
The European Union's naval force Aspides, which has helped. more than 200 ships to sail securely through the Red Sea,. validated the evolution of Houthis' tactics in a closed door. meeting with shipping business in early September, according to. a file evaluated .
In the file, shown shipping business, Aspides. said the Houthis' decision to extend warnings to entire fleets. marked the beginning of the fourth stage of their military. campaign in the Red Sea.
Aspides likewise urged ship owners to turn off their Automatic. Identification System (AIS) transponders, which reveals a vessel's. position and acts as a navigational aid to nearby ships, stating. they needed to shut it off or be shot.
Aspides said the Houthis' rocket strikes had 75% accuracy. when aimed at vessels running with the AIS tracking system on. However 96% of attacks missed out on when AIS was off, according to the. exact same instruction.
Aspides did not right away respond to a Reuters request for. comment.
The Houthis' e-mail project began in February with messages. sent out to shipowners, insurer and the main seafarers. union from HOCC.
These preliminary e-mails, two of which were seen ,. signaled the market the Houthis had actually enforced a Red Sea travel. restriction on certain vessels, although they did not explicitly caution. companies of an imminent attack.
The messages sent after May were more enormous.
At least 2 Greek-operated shipping companies that. gotten e-mail hazards have actually chosen to end such journeys via the. Red Sea, 2 sources with direct understanding informed Reuters,. declining to recognize the business for security factors.
An executive at a third shipping company, which has also. received a letter, said they decided to end service with Israel. in order to be able to continue to utilize the Red Sea path.
If safe transit through the Red Sea can not be. ensured, business have a responsibility to act-- even if that indicates. postponing their shipment windows, stated Stephen Cotton, General. Secretary of the International Transport Workers' Federation,. the leading union organisation for seafarers, which received an. email from HOCC in February. The lives of the seafarers depend. on it.
The e-mail campaign has actually increased alarm among shipping. business. Insurance coverage costs for Western ship owners' have already. jumped because of the Houthi's attacks, with some insurance companies. suspending cover completely, the sources informed Reuters.
Greece-based Conbulk Shipmanagement Corporation stopped Red. Sea voyages after its vessel MV Groton was assaulted twice in. August.
No (Conbulk) vessel is selling the Red Sea. It. generally pertains to the team security. As soon as the team is in. danger, all the discussion stops, Conbulk Shipmanagement CEO. Dimitris Dalakouras told a Capital Link shipping conference in. London on Sept. 10.
Torben Kolln, managing director of German-based container. delivering group Leonhardt & & Blumberg, stated the Red Sea and broader. Gulf of Aden was a no go area for their fleet.
Gotten in touch with , the companies did not respond to a. ask for discuss whether they had been targeted by the. Houthi email project.
Some business continue to cross the Red Sea due to binding. long-lasting contracts with charterers or due to the fact that they need to. transfer goods because particular area.
The Red Sea stays the fastest way to bring products to. customers in Europe and Asia.
The Houthis have not stopped all traffic and most of. Chinese and Russian-owned ships - which they do not view as. associated with Israel - are able to cruise through unhindered. with lower insurance expenses.
We are re-assuring the ships belonging to business that. have no connection with the Israeli opponent that they are safe and. have freedom (of movement) and (to) keep the AIS devices going. on all the time, according to an audio recording of a Houthi. message broadcast to ships in the Red Sea in September shared. with Reuters.
Thank you for your cooperation. Out..
(source: Reuters)