Latest News
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Allegiant acquires Sun Country Airlines for $1.5 Billion
Allegiant, a low-cost airline, will buy Sun Country Airlines for $1.5 billion including debt. Sun Country shareholders receive 0.1557 Allegiant Shares and $4.10 cash per share. This values the stock at about $18.89. That's a 19.8% premium to the Friday closing price of $15.77. The deal will increase the number of destinations that the combined company can serve in the United States as well as on international markets. The fleet will consist of about 195 aircraft with options and additional orders. The combined company will have its headquarters in Las Vegas and is expected to generate annual synergies of $140 million by the third full year following the closing. In addition, the transaction should increase earnings per share in the first year. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026. After the merger, Allegiant shareholders and Sun Country investors will own approximately 67% and 33 % of the combined company. Allegiant CEO 'Gregory Anderson' will be the chief executive of the combined company, Robert Neal as president and chief financial officers. Sun Country CEO Jude Bricker joins the board of director.
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Nordics reject Trump’s claim that Chinese and Russian vessels are near Greenland. FT reports
Financial Times reports that Nordic diplomats have rejected Donald Trump's claim of Russian and Chinese vessels near Greenland. The FT reported that there have been no signs in recent years of Russian or 'Chinese' ships?or subs around Greenland, citing senior Nordic diplomats who had access to NATO intelligence. The report could not be verified immediately. The White House as well as NATO have not responded to comments. It is simply not true. I've?seen intelligence. The FT quoted a senior?diplomat who said, "There are no submarines or ships." A second Nordic diplomat has said that claims that Russian and Chinese vessels were "crawling" in the waters surrounding Greenland are unfounded. They added that this activity is on the Russian side of the Arctic. Trump has repeatedly said that Russian and Chinese ships are operating near Greenland. Denmark disputes this claim. He hasn't provided any evidence. Trump said that the U.S. should own Greenland - an autonomous part within the Kingdom of Denmark - to stop Russia or China from occupying this strategically located, mineral rich territory. Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Danish Foreign Minister, said this week that the image of Russian and Chinese vessels right inside?Nuuk Fjord with massive Chinese investments is incorrect. MarineTraffic data and LSEG vessel tracking data show that there are no Chinese or?Russian ships near Greenland. Greenland’s Assembly said late Friday that it would convene a meeting on Monday to discuss the response to U.S. threat to take control of island. Trump's renewed push to get Greenland after the U.S.'s military intervention in Venezuela worries many of Greenland's 57,000 residents, who have a common goal to become an independent country.
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Dar Global and Trump Organization Launch $10 Billion Saudi Developments
Ziad El Chaar, CEO of Saudi real estate developer Dar Global, announced on Sunday that two Trump-branded luxury projects will be launched in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and Jeddah (Jordan). Chaar said that the projects include the Trump National Golf Course in Riyadh and the Trump International Hotel at Diriyah. This is a massive project located on the western edge of the Saudi capital. Chaar said that a mixed-use development called Trump Plaza is planned for Jeddah. Chaar stated that the projects were in line with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims to diversify its economy and move away from oil. The aim is to attract direct foreign investment. Saudi Arabia will also allow foreigners to own property in certain areas for the first-time starting this month. According to Eric Trump, son of U.S. president Donald Trump and executive vice-president of the Trump Organization, the latest in a long line of partnerships between the Trump Organization and Dar Global (the international arm of Saudi developer Dar Al Arkan) is expected to be completed within the next four or five years. (Reporting and editing by Tomasz Janovski and David Goodman in Riyadh)
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Maersk is exploring more ethanol for green fuel in order to reduce its reliance on China.
The Financial Times published an interview with Maersk's CEO, Vincent Clerc, on Sunday. This could reduce the company's dependence on China, and help the industry to decarbonise. Clerc stated that the U.S. and Brazil are the leading producers of ethanol in the world. Clerc?told FT that if all the benefits are concentrated in China then some countries may object. But if they're more evenly distributed then many more will be supportive ?.?.?. It will allow more countries to see the benefits of the green transition. The shipping industry is more difficult than others to reduce emissions. This requires expensive retrofits for existing vessels or new ships that are able run on efuels. Hapag-Lloyd?and North Sea Container Line (NCL), two shipping companies, won a tender late last year to use low-emission fuels made from hydrogen on container ships starting in 2027. The contract will run for three years. (Reporting from Gnaneshwar rajan in Bengaluru, editing by Kate Mayberry.)
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Ukrainian drone attack injures four, damages buildings in Russia's Voronezh, governor says
The governor of Voronezh Region said that an overnight Ukrainian drone strike inflicted injuries on at least four people and caused damage to a number of buildings. The governor Alexander Gusev said on Telegram that an emergency service facility, six houses, and seven apartment buildings were damaged by the attack. The?reports could not be independently verified. Ukraine claims that it has been attacking targets in Russia since the Kremlin launched its war nearly four years ago. This is in response to the repeated drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Russia launched a missile at a Ukrainian site near NATO member Poland on Friday, an attack Kyiv's European partners characterized as a ploy to dissuade them from continuing their support for Ukraine. (Reporting and editing by Alistair Bell in Melbourne)
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Mississippi man accused in killing six people, including a 7-year old child and a pastor
Officials from law enforcement said that a man was arrested and charged for first-degree homicide in the deaths of six people on Friday night, including a young child, in Clay County, Mississippi. Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott announced on Saturday that Daricka Moore, 24, is suspected of killing several members of her family and a pastor in the area before she was taken into custody. Officials said that the charge against Moore is likely to be upgraded to capital murder and a death penalty could be imposed if he is found to have mental competency. This is horrible. "This is as bad as it gets," said Scott Colom. He's the district attorney of Mississippi's Sixteenth Circuit Court. His jurisdiction includes Clay County. Scott claims that Moore shot his father, brother and uncle in the head, killing them, on Friday night. He then stole a truck, drove to another location, where he attempted to sexually abuse a 7-year old girl who was related to him before shooting her dead in the head. The?law enforcers responded to the 911 call and were directed to a third location where they found two other males who had been fatally shot. One of those men was a pastor from the area. Moore was arrested at a nearby area 'just before midnight', Scott reported. Scott stated that the motives of the murders were unknown. Scott said at a press conference that the incident had "really?shaken" his community. "I personally don't know why someone would kill a seven-year-old." Scott stated that autopsies will be conducted by the Mississippi Crime Lab. Moore will appear in court Monday. Clay County is located in northeastern Mississippi. It has a population close to 20,000. (Reporting and editing by Sergio Non in Houston, Mark Potter and Rod Nickel.
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Local media and law enforcement say that a suspect has been arrested after six people were killed in Mississippi
Local news outlets and police have not provided any additional information, but say that at least six people died after being shot in Clay County, Mississippi. The suspect is in custody. According to WTVA (an NBC News affiliate), the deaths took place at?three separate shooting locations. Eddie Scott, the Clay County Sheriff, announced on social media that the suspect was "in custody" and no longer posed a threat to 'our?community. WTVA reported that six people were killed. Scott and the Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to an?ask for comment. Scott posted on Facebook: "I ask you to lift up our victims and their families in your prayers." Clay County is located in the?northeast part of Mississippi. It has a population close to 20,000. Reporting by Ernest Scheyder. (Editing by Sergio Non, Mark Potter and Mark Potter.
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Four tankers, which had left Venezuela in "dark mode", are now back in its waters
Four tankers, the majority of which were loaded, left Venezuela early in January in "dark mode" - that is, with their transponders turned off despite a "strict" U.S. blockade. According to the state company PDVSA, and the monitoring service TankerTrackers.com, the blockade is now in place. Last month, a flotilla consisting of at least three empty ships and a dozen vessels with cargo left Venezuelan waters. This was in apparent defiance to an embargo that President Donald Trump imposed on Venezuela since mid-December. The U.S. seized the?supertanker M Sophia with a Panamanian flag this week as it returned to the country. Another Aframax Tanker Olina, flying a Sao 'Tome and Principe flag, was also?intercepted, but was released to Venezuela Friday by state company PDVSA. Tankertrackers.com spotted three more vessels in Venezuelan waters on Friday night through satellite images. These were the Panama-flagged Merope and Cook Islands-flagged Min Hang, as well as Panama-flagged Thalia III. U.S. authorities had announced on Friday that Olina, formerly known as Minerva m, would be released. They said that the next step in the negotiations between Caracas, Washington and the U.S. for a $2 billion oil deal would be to begin organized crude exports. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that arrangements had been made for a supply of oil in a meeting with executives from top oil companies on Friday. Sources said that Vitol, Trafigura and other global trading houses received the first U.S. licensing to carry Venezuelan exports and to negotiate with Venezuela. Naphtha is also expected to be supplied to the OPEC nation, according to sources. Marianna Pararaga, Julia Symmes Cobb and Marianna Parraga contributed to this report.
Strait of Hormuz, the world's main oil artery
A U.S. official stated on Tuesday that U.S. president Donald Trump would restore his "maximum-pressure" campaign against Iran and bring its oil exports to zero.
Iran has threatened repeatedly to close down the Strait of Hormuz as a response to Western pressure. This would lead to the closure of trade in the region and a rise in oil prices.
Here are some details on the Strait of Gibraltar:
The Strait is located between Oman, Iran and the Gulf of Oman. It connects the Gulf of Oman in the north with the Arabian Sea to the south.
The shipping lane is only two miles wide (three kilometers) in each direction. It's narrowest point is 21 miles wide (33 km).
Why does it matter?
Around a fifth (or 18-19 million barrels of oil per day) or fuel, condensate, and oil are transported through the Strait.
OPEC member Saudi Arabia, Iran and the UAE export the majority of their crude oil via the Strait mainly to Asia.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been looking for other routes to bypass this Strait.
The U.S. Government says that existing UAE and Saudi pipelines with unused capacity of 2.6 million bpd could be used to bypass Hormuz.
Qatar, which is the largest LNG exporter in the world, ships almost all its LNG through this Strait. This accounts for about a quarter (25%) of the global LNG usage.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait, but it never did.
Fifth Fleet of the United States, based out of Bahrain, has been tasked to protect commercial shipping in this area.
History of Tensions
In 1973, Arab producers, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), imposed an oil embargo against Western supporters of Israel during its war with Egypt.
OPEC crude is now mainly purchased by Asia, not the West.
In the past two decades, the United States has more than doubled the amount of oil liquids it produces. It is now one of the largest oil exporters in the world.
In the Tanker War, which lasted from 1980-1988 between Iran and Iraq, both sides tried to disrupt the other's exports.
A U.S. Warship shot down a Iranian airliner in July 1988. Washington claimed it was an accident, while Tehran said that the attack was deliberate.
Iran had threatened to close the Strait as a retaliation against U.S. sanctions and European ones. In May 2019, four vessels, including two Saudi oil tanks, were attacked near the UAE coast outside the Strait of Hormuz.
(source: Reuters)