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Zelenskiy: Ukraine wants to import Mozambique gas
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said on Monday that Ukraine was interested in importing Mozambican liquefied gas, because it "struggles" to meet its energy requirements after years of Russian attacks against its production infrastructure. Prior to the war, Ukraine produced almost all its own gas. Andriy Pyshnyi, Central Bank governor of Ukraine, said that the Russian attacks have caused Ukraine to lose about half of its gas production. In the?autumn of last year, Russia intensified their attacks on Ukrainian gas facilities. Most are located in the?frontline areas in northeast and central Ukraine. Zelenskiy, who met with the President of Mozambique Daniel?Chapo on Telegram after the meeting, suggested that Kyiv might be able to offer support to the southern African country in its fight against an Islamist insurgency. "Ukraine wants additional energy supplies." Mozambique wants Ukraine's technology and experience to?strengthen its internal security and protect the people from terror," Zelenskiy stated, without revealing any details about what volumes of natural gas may be involved in a deal. Mozambique, a major African producer of gas, announced in January that it and TotalEnergies would restart a LNG project previously halted due to the insurgency. The project, which has the capacity to produce 13,000,000?metric tonnes of LNG per year, is expected to turn Mozambique into a major gas-exporting country. Since 2015, Ukraine has not imported Russian Gas. Kyiv also expanded its LNG supply in recent years, setting up supplies of U.S. gas from terminals located in Poland and the Baltic states. Ukraine imports U.S. gas via the so-called Vertical corridor of pipelines, which connects Greece to Ukraine. Last week, official European AGSI energy data showed that Ukraine has begun storing its gas in underground facilities to prepare for the next heating seasons. Denys Schmyhal, Ukraine's Energy Minister, said that Ukraine plans to begin the heating season of?2026-2027 with a minimum of?13 billion cubic meters in underground storage - approximately the same volume as the previous season. Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine hasn't disclosed the full details of its imports of gas. (Reporting and editing by Daniel Flynn, Andrei Khalip and Pavel Polityuk)
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TSX increases as Trump delays strike on Iranian energy infrastructure
Canada's main stock index rose on Monday, after U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he would halt military strikes against Iranian energy facilities, allaying fears of an escalation major in the Middle East conflict, which is now in its fourth weeks. At 10:52 am. The S&P/TSX Composite Index of the Toronto Stock Exchange was up 2% to 31,943.43 at 10:52 a.m. ET. The price of precious metals rose and the oil price fell, signaling a slight improvement in risk sentiment on the market. Analysts remained cautious despite conflicting signals coming from the U.S. Allan Small is a senior investment advisor at Allan Small Financial Group, iA Private Wealth. He said that the broader'market' remains sensitive to changing headlines surrounding the Middle East conflict. "Nobody is sure what's happening as Washington and Tehran continue to send mixed signals that whipsaw the market sentiment," said Allan Small, senior investment advisor at iA Private Wealth. According to a source cited by Iran's Fars News Agency (FNA), there was "no direct or indirect communication" with the U.S. Israel, meanwhile, said that its military had launched strikes against Iran. Materials led gains in eight of the 11 major sectors listed on the TSX. Gold and silver prices rose, boosting the sector by 4.3%. Fears of inflation fueled by the conflict have waned. The technology stocks rose by 4% in line with Wall Street peers. The Canadian energy market was impacted by a 2% drop in shares after the crude oil prices fell nearly 12%. This is a significant drag on the Canadian stock market given its heavy index weighting and the country's dependence?on exports of energy. The TSX has lost 7.6% since the beginning of the 'war, due to the volatility in oil prices caused by Middle East tensions. US authorities have also warned investors to keep an eye on news about transportation after an Air Canada Express CRJ 900 hit a Port Authority 'emergency vehicle' on the LaGuardia airport runway late Sunday. The pilot and copilot were killed and more than a dozen other people were injured, according to the U.S. authorities. The company's stock was up 3.8% as oil prices fell, helping to lift travel-related stocks across the board.
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Sources say that Iranian oil is being offered at a premium to Brent to India
Three industry sources reported that traders offered Iranian oil at a higher price to 'Indian refiners' than ICE Brent, after Washington temporarily removed'sanctions' in order to ease the energy shortage caused by the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. India, which is the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world, hasn't received a shipment from Tehran since May 2019, after being pressured by the United States to stop buying Iranian crude. India is being hit hard by disruptions in energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, caused by the ongoing war against Iran. The conflict has now entered its fourth week. The?sources' claim that its refiners have a month in which to maximize purchases of liquefied gas and oil from Iran, as it is located geographically near India. Indian refiners bought millions of barrels after the U.S. lifted its sanctions to try and curb 'the rise in oil prices. India is also suffering from a severe shortage of LPG (primarily used for cooking) in addition to a lack oil. PAYMENTS - IN DOLLARS OR RUPEES The sources stated that traders and the National Iranian Oil Co. are looking for payments in dollars. Some parties will even accept payment in Indian rupees. Sources could not be identified because they weren't authorised to talk to the media. Fatih Birol said that the current energy crisis was worse than both oil shocks in the 1970s combined. Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, said that the Trump administration issued a waiver of sanctions for 30 days on Friday to allow Iranian oil to be purchased?at sea. According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, this waiver is applicable to oil that has been loaded onto 'any vessel, including tanks,' under sanctions on or before March 20, and discharged on or before April 19. According to sources, Iranian oil is being sold at a $6-$8 premium per barrel over the ICE Brent price. Payment must be made within seven days after cargo arrives. They added that Indian refiners wanted to make sure of the payment method before signing any agreement with NIOC, as Iran has been cut off from the SWIFT system. Sujata, the joint secretary of the federal oil ministry told reporters that any decision by oil companies to purchase Iranian fuel was "a technological-commercial decision".
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As the Middle East conflict escalates, airlines cancel more flights
The global air travel industry is still severely affected by the Iran war, which forced the closures of major Middle Eastern hubs such as Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi. This left tens or thousands of passengers stranded. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES Greece's largest airline cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman and Erbil until April 22. Baghdad and Erbil were also cancelled until May 24. Dubai flights were cancelled from April 19 to April 18 and Riyadh flights until April 19. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, said that all flights to Tel Aviv have been cancelled up until April 29. All flights to Dubai have been cancelled until October 24, according to airBaltic. AIR CANADA The Canadian carrier has cancelled all flights from Tel Aviv to Dubai and all flights from Dubai to Tel Aviv, until May 2. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights from Tel Aviv to April 10. AIR FRANCE KLM Air France has canceled Tel Aviv, Beirut and Dubai flights until the end of March. Riyadh and Dubai flights will be cancelled until March 24. This includes flights departing Dubai on March 25. KLM has suspended flights to Riyadh and Dammam until May 17, and flights to Tel Aviv till April 11. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines announced that it has cancelled all passenger flights from Hong Kong to Dubai, Riyadh and cargo freighter flights until April 30. Additional flights have been added to London between March 21 and 28 due to market demand. U.S. airline has canceled flights from New York, to Tel Aviv and Tel Aviv to New York. Atlanta-Tel Aviv flights have been paused from August 4 to August 5 and Tel Aviv to Atlanta until August 6. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES According to the?Israeli airline, the current constraints prevent regular flights from Israel except in rare cases. However, the carrier continues working within existing restrictions to bring passengers home. The airline has called on the authorities to open Ramon Airport, near Eilat. EMIRATES The UAE airline announced that it would be reducing its flight schedule in response to a partial opening of the regional airspace. ETIHAD AERWAYS The UAE carrier announced that it would operate a limited schedule of commercial flights between Abu Dhabi, and a few?key destinations. FINNAIR The Finnish airline cancelled all Dubai flights from March 29 to July 2 and Doha flights between July 2 and March 29. This was done in order to avoid airspace over Iraq, Iran, Syria, Israel, and other countries. FLYNAS Flynas, a Saudi Arabian budget airline, has extended the suspension of its flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi Sharjah Doha, Bahrain Kuwait Iraq and Syria, until March 31, 2019. British Airways, owned by IAG, has extended the cancellations of flights from Amman, Bahrain and Dubai until May 31, and Doha until April 30. Flights to Bangkok and Singapore have also been added. Flights to Abu Dhabi are suspended until the end of this year. INDIGO Indian Airlines has suspended its operations in Doha, Kuwait and Bahrain, Dammam as well as Fujairah Ras Al Khaimah Sharjah and Fujairah. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended all scheduled flights between Tokyo and Doha until March 31, and Doha to Tokyo until April 1. All flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai were cancelled by the Polish airline until May 31. The Polish airline also cancelled flights from Riyadh to Beirut between March 31 and April 30. LUFTHANSA GROUP Lufthansa and its partners, including Austrian Airlines, Swiss Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and ITA Airways have suspended flights from Germany to Tel Aviv until April 9 and to Beirut, Dubai Amman, Erbil, and Abu Dhabi up to March 28. For operational reasons, flights to Riyadh and Tehran were suspended until April 5. MALAYSIA AIRLINES Malaysia Airlines has suspended all flights from?Doha to?Malaysia until 28 March. NORWEGIAN AIR Low-cost airline Air Canada plans to begin flying to Tel Aviv from June 15 instead of April 1, and to Beirut on April 4, as previously planned. All flights from and to Dubai have been cancelled for the rest of the winter season, including April 8. PEGASUS Pegasus Airlines, Turkey's national airline, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq, Amman Beirut Kuwait, Bahrain Doha Dammam Dubai Abu Dhabi Sharjah and Doha Dammam until April 13. Riyadh flights were cancelled up until March 24. QATAR AIRWAYS The airline said that it would only operate a limited number of flights until March 28. SINGAPORE Airlines Singapore Airlines announced that it would suspend flights between Singapore, Dubai and London Gatwick until April 30. It will also add services between Singapore, London Gatwick and Melbourne from March 29 to November 24 in order to accommodate a "higher demand". TURKISH AIRLINES Turkish Airlines has cancelled most of its flights to Middle East destinations through the end of the month. SunExpress is a joint venture of Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa. It has canceled flights to Dubai and Bahrain up until the 23rd March. WIZZ AIR The low-cost carrier suspended flights from Europe to Israel and other destinations, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman, until the end of March. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed; edited by Matt Scuffham and Christopher Cushing.
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Investigators have no answers to the deadly China Eastern plane crash that occurred four years ago
China's aviation regulator?has not released an annual report?on the investigation into the deadly China Eastern Airlines?crash? for the second consecutive year, and has let the fourth anniversary of the crash pass without providing any insights into the cause. The China Eastern Boeing 737-8 jet crashed into a hillside about an hour after taking off in Guangxi, southwest China, on March 21, 2022. All 132 passengers and crew were killed in China's worst air disaster in 30 years. Global aviation guidelines require a report to be submitted within 30 days and the final report ideally within one year of an accident. This allows industry professionals to learn from mistakes and improve safety. Investigators will be expected to release statements at each anniversary if this is not possible. However, the Civil Aviation Administration of China last updated the victims in March 2024. The regulator's previous updates were only a few paragraphs in length, with scant details, but they indicated that there were no faults found or abnormalities before the takeoff from Kunming. The regulator said that the crew had valid licenses, adequate rest, and passed health tests on the day of flight. There was also no danger weather or dangerous cargo on board. Two people who were briefed at the time said that investigators had examined the actions of the China Eastern crew after they found no malfunctions. Authorities said that the pilots failed to respond to repeated requests from air traffic controllers or nearby planes while on rapid descent. The Wall Street Journal reported in?May 2022 that?black box' data showed someone intentionally crashed the plane, citing an initial?assessment by U.S. officials. CAAC said that it would release information relevant to the progress of its investigation. It also stated that speculations surrounding the crash "gravely misled the public", and interfered in accident investigation work. CAAC and China Eastern have not responded to our requests for comment. This month, the International Air Transport Association, a global airline body, released its 2025 Safety Report, reminding carriers of their duty to submit final reports. "Accident investigations help us improve safety, but many reports do not get published on time, are incomplete, or aren't easily accessible. Willie Walsh, IATA's Director General, said that some reports are not published and others do not have clear recommendations. "While the compliance to this obligation is improving - anything less than 100 percent shortchanges all of us on the opportunities for improvement."
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EasyJet warns that the Iran War will increase ticket prices by the end of summer
The CEO of easyJet, a discount airline, said on Monday that ticket costs will increase 'towards the end of summer due to the Iran War. He added that this conflict is driving people to Spain instead and away from Turkey or Cyprus. By the end of summer, the British carrier will have re-evaluated its fuel hedges. Ticket prices may increase depending on fuel prices. "The reality is prices will start to feed through?to consumers towards the end of summer," said CEO Kenton Jarvis, as the airline launched a new base at Newcastle Airport in northeast England. Bookings shift away from the Eastern Mediterranean Jarvis stated that the war, which is now in its fourth weeks, has already affected bookings. Customers are clearly avoiding booking trips to Turkey and Egypt, as well as Cyprus, where an Iranian drone struck a British military base in early March. He said that the east Mediterranean was less popular and the west Mediterranean was more popular. EasyJet has not made any changes to its capacity but it could reduce flight frequencies for destinations with multiple daily flights. Air France-KLM, SAS and Finnair have all already announced that they would have to increase ticket prices due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. EasyJet announced in January that it had hedged 84% of its fuel requirements for the first six months of 2026. 62% of the fuel for the second half, and 43% of the fuel for the first six months of 2027. The average cost was $715, $688, and $671 for each metric ton. Jarvis stated that he did not see any issues with the?supply, and easyJet is managing fuel price volatility by "business as usual through cost management." The market is expecting prices to drop. Will the price come back to what it was? ... He said that he didn't know, but noted that fuel for delivery in six months is still available at a price of under $1,000, even though the spot?price was around $1,800. He said that the future of the conflict was still uncertain, and it is unclear what effect the conflict will have on demand in the long-term. Following the outbreak, there was a drop in bookings for six weeks following the Ukraine war.
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Greece adjourns trial for deadly train crash in 2023 to April 1.
The trial for a 2023 train crash in Greece that killed 57 people was adjourned shortly after it began owing to poor conditions in the courtroom and protests outside. Judges cited sound problems as the reason for the adjournment. Lawyers and family members complained about the size of the room, which was a converted hall from an old university. On February 28, 2023, a passenger train with students collided at Tempi (central Greece) with a freight. The accident was the worst of its kind to ever happen in Greece, and it sparked a year-long investigation. The fireball-producing crash revealed a number of state failures including corruption, safety issues and the neglect of the rail network over the past decade of debt crisis. The crash has sparked mass protests in?Greece, where demonstrators are demanding?political responsibility and an end of politicians' immunity. A station master, former rail operators and managers, as well as a former railway manager, are among the 36 defendants. Charges range from traffic disruptions that caused deaths, to negligent manslaughter, to causing bodily injury. The trial of any politicians has not taken place. Most of the defendants didn't appear in court on Monday. The trial will last three years, and over 350 witnesses, including victims' families, survivors, and workers, are expected to testify. Mirela Routsi told reporters that her son was killed in the crash. Investigations revealed that most of the victims were killed in the crash. Others died from the fire. Relatives say questions remain unanswered. Rail services were stopped on Monday after Greek train workers held a 24-hour symbolic strike. Outside the heavily guarded court, hundreds of protesters gathered. Some carried banners that read: "We won’t forget, We won’t forgive." Investigations found that the project to install safety systems, co-funded by the European Union in 2014, was years behind schedule when it was completed in 2023. Families of the victims have accused authorities of attempting to hide evidence. The centre-right, which denies any wrongdoings, has promised justice, and committed to complete railway reform by 2027. (Reporting and editing by Renee Maltezou, Toby Chopra and Andrei Khalip; Editing by Edward McAllister)
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Kenya Airways claims that the war in Iran has increased demand for its flights
Kenya Airways reported on Monday that 'demand for seats in its flights has risen due to war effects in the Middle East.' The majority of these gains came from Europe, America and Asia. The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran has caused a stir in the global aviation industry. Some airlines have raised fares, changed their schedules, or even cancelled flights due to the effects of the conflict. Kenya Airways reported that the demand for seats, also known as the load factor, on its flights was almost 100%, up from 70% in January. "We were this way... until February. It then increased significantly. "We reached 90%, 90, and 99," George Kamal said to reporters. "And the biggest gains we're seeing are coming from Europe, the U.S. and Asia." "These routes contribute positively, very positively to our network," said?Kamal, without revealing any?details. Paul Njoroge, the head of flight operations at Kenya Airways, said that Kenya Airways currently has a jet fuel supply for 56 days and is working to obtain more in India. (Reporting and writing by Edwin Waita, George Obulutsa, Alexander Smith).
Norfolk to add brand-new board member in settlement with activist investor
Railroad operator Norfolk Southern accepted add an independent member to its board as it settled a long-drawn battle with activist investor Ancora Holdings over the business's. governance.
Following the agreement, Ancora will withdraw its election. of four prospects for election to Norfolk's board, the business. stated in a declaration.
Previously this year, the activist financier chose 7. directors to Norfolk's board and advised the company to change. then-CEO Alan Shaw, arguing that new blood was needed to enhance. financial and operational metrics.
Ancora won three seats at the business's yearly conference. in May however Shaw remained as a director and kept his CEO. position, triggering Ancora to state it will continue to promote. his replacement.
Norfolk fired Shaw in September following an internal. probe into accusations that he had breached the company's principles. policies. It promoted CFO Mark George to run the railway.
The company in October reported third-quarter revenue and. profits above estimates assisted stronger volumes and an improving. operating ratio.
On Thursday, Norfolk stated Ancora had actually participated in a. dead stop agreement and would now enact accordance with. suggestions made by the company's board to investors at. its 2025 annual meeting.
In our view, it's a brand-new day at Norfolk Southern. following Board drink, management improvements, and new. leadership's efforts to develop a disciplined and. operationally led network, Ancora CEO Frederick DiSanto said.
The addition of a new director will expand Norfolk's. board to 14.
(source: Reuters)