Latest News
-
Austrian investigators slowly develop profile of school shooting suspect
Investigators in Austria are still trying to piece together the identity of the 21-year old man who committed the worst school shootings the country has ever seen. They have been unable to contact anyone who was close with the victim. Arthur A. was identified as the Austrian killer by local media. He shot 10 people at his former school in Graz before killing himself. The incident sent shockwaves throughout Austria which declared a three-day national mourning period. Police discovered discarded bomb plans and a nonfunctional bomb in his home following the shooting. However, it is unclear what caused his destructive impulses. Authorities stated that the suspect did not complete his studies in the school. Local media reported that the man who lived on the outskirts Graz with his mother felt bullied by the school and wanted to revenge. However, police have not confirmed these reports. He was described by his neighbours and local officials as a shy, slight man, who wore headphones and a cap to cover himself. Few locals wanted to speak about the suspect. Some people said they'd seen him but none claimed to know him. Sabine Jakubzig, a local council official, told Austrian TV that "he's not known at all in the area, meaning we were unable to speak with friends or acquaintances" yesterday. According to the newspaper Heute investigators stated that he didn't have a social media account. The police, who refused to comment, are holding a presser later on Thursday. Austrian magazine Profil reported that three months prior to the shooting, the suspect began practicing at a range near his house. It cited an unidentified regular. The man said that he had praised his son for accuracy but did not receive any response. The shooting club member quoted by Profil said: "He looked like someone from another world." Norbert Urabl was asked by ORF about the allegations of bullying at the Dreierschutzengasse School where the young man went to ask him questions. "Bullying" is a sensitive topic. "Bullying occurs at so many different levels, it is difficult to define the term in this situation," he said. "But, the fact is, if bullying is a trigger, then it is urgently necessary to recognize bullying processes earlier." (Reporting and writing by Alexandra Schwarz Goerlich and Francois Murphey, Editing by Ed Osmond, Dave Graham)
-
Armenians are increasingly worried about war with Azerbaijan due to escalating ceasefire violations
Khnatsakh residents are anxious at nightfall. Locals claim that every evening, around 10 pm, Azerbaijani soldiers fire into the night skies from their positions high above. Villagers say that bullets have been hitting houses regularly, but no one has been injured so far. Azerbaijan has denied that its troops are firing across the border and accused Armenian forces of violating ceasefire. Karo Andranyan (66), a retired mechanic, said, "It is very tense at home because we have children, little ones and elderly." Azerbaijani flags and a military position on a hillside are only 100 metres away from his door. This is a reminder that Armenia's bitter enemy is close by. Since the early 1990s, the heavily militarized 1,000-km border is closed. Two major wars have been fought in the last 40 years. This has destabilised the Caucasus, a region which is important for Russia, Iran, and Turkey because it contains major oil and natural gas pipelines towards Europe. Experts say that the rising tensions along the border increase the likelihood of a new conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as the two countries approach a crucial juncture in their tortuous peace process. In March, both sides announced that they had reached an agreement on the outline of a treaty of peace to be signed by 2026. This raised hopes for reconciliation. The draft envisages both sides delineating their shared borders, but requires Armenia to amend the constitution before Azerbaijan can ratify the deal. After months of relative calm, the reports of ceasefire breaches along the border are now soaring. Andranyan believes the gunfire at night is meant to intimidate both the local villagers and the small garrison Armenian troops that are stationed in the village. He said that the village, which according to census data had 1,000 residents, was emptying because locals were afraid of a return to war. What are we to do? Despite the fact that there has been no death on the border in over a year, cross-border gunfire is reported frequently. Azerbaijan has made the majority of accusations against Armenia since March. These include cross-border gunfire, and damage to property. Both sides have denied claims of ceasefire violation. Since 2020, the simmering conflict has decisively shifted in Azerbaijan’s favor. The oil and gas producer regained territory lost during the 1990s. It also progressively reestablished control over Nagorno Karabakh where ethnic Armenians established de facto autonomy since the collapse the Soviet Union. It retook Karabakh in 2023, causing 100,000 ethnic Armenians from the region to flee to Armenia. Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, told a hearing of Congress last month that there was "a real risk" of war. He stated that the U.S. wished Azerbaijan to "accept a peace accord that doesn't cause them to invade a neighboring nation, Armenia." Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev has been in power since 2003. He said that in January, Armenia was a "fascist menace" that must be eliminated. Laurence Broers is an expert in Armenia and Azerbaijan from London's Chatham House. He said that a full-scale conflict was possible but more localised clashes are more likely. He said Azerbaijan's population, which is 10 million, is three times that of Armenia. It has little incentive to sign a peace agreement quickly and could instead use smaller scale escalation to force its neighbor to make further concessions during the talks. Ilham Aliyev's strategy of escalation and militarization was a great success, he said. The Armenian authorities have insisted that there will not be a war. Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, said in a speech delivered last month that "despite all arguments and all provocations", the two countries will not fight again. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry responded to questions regarding the tensions along its border by referring to previous comments. In a May statement, Baku said it was committed to peace and had no territorial claims against Armenia. In a statement in May, it said that Yerevan’s actions "call Armenia’s commitment to peace into question". The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry has denied Armenian reports that cross-border gunfire had taken place. Tensions in the South The conflict is centered in Armenia's southernmost region of Syunik, where the majority of ceasefire violations have been reported. Syunik divides Azerbaijan's main body to the east and the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchivan in the west. It is also a crucial trade route between Armenia and Iran, with which it shares a border to the south. Azerbaijan demands that Armenia build a route through Syunik and Nakhchivan since 2020. Baku said the passage would be Armenian territory, but with minimal control from Yerevan. Azerbaijani officials also claim that the southern part of Armenia was historically Azerbaijani land, but they haven't made a formal territorial claim. Armenia has closed its border with Azerbaijan and its frontier with Turkey, a close ally to Baku. This makes its border with Iran the lifeline of trade. Syunik's corridor could cut off the country's access to its remote mountainous border. Armenia and Iran share a warm relationship, despite Armenia’s Christian faith and its increasingly pro-Western orientation. Iran was Armenia's largest importer in 2022. Tehran's Defence Minister visited Yerevan in May. Iranian media reported that he expressed Iran's opposition against redrawing borderlines in the region. Armenia's tensions with its traditional ally Russia are a major problem. Russia opposes Armenian efforts to move closer to the west and has strengthened its ties with Azerbaijan. "Armenia has open borders with Georgia and Iran. "This keeps the country moving," said Tigran Grizaryan, director at the Regional Centre for Democracy and Security, a think tank in Yerevan. Grigoryan stated that Azerbaijani demands for the corridor may be the spark to future military escalation. He said that the ceasefire violation could be an attempt to force Armenia to make concessions over the issue. He said: "If Armenia lost its border with Iran that would be a disaster." Requests for comments from the Iranian and Russian Foreign Ministries were not answered. The Iranian connection is evident throughout Armenia's south. Iranian road workers work to widen a mountainside road that is clogged by lorries coming from the south, headed north toward Georgia and Russia. Some locals are selling red wine in plastic bottles to newly-arrived truckers from Iran where alcohol is prohibited. Meghri is the historic town at the southernmost point of Armenia, and the gateway to Iran. Bagrat Zakaryan, Bagrat's deputy mayor, said that the town, which is only 16 km from Azerbaijan and has a population of 4,000, had its everyday life overshadowed due to tensions with Baku. He said that "given the recent events of Karabakh and what President Azerbaijan says, there's this feeling of terror." Opportunity for Peace Some people are more optimistic than others about the prospects of peace. Armen Davtyan, who was deputy director at Meghri railway station from 1993 to 1993, sat on a crossroads that connected Yerevan with Baku and Iran with the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. After the Karabakh War of 1988-1994 and the closing of the border, Davtyan began working as a borderguard. A derelict train with an emblazoned Soviet emblem lingers in the parking lot of the station, just metres away from the Iranian border. Davtyan said that he remembered fondly the days before the war, when Armenians worked with Azerbaijanis on the railways. He hopes to see cross-border trains again arrive at Meghri Station one day. He said: "I understand that some people fear that the Azerbaijanis may return if the rail reopens." "But if people in 2025 are still afraid of us opening up transport links, that seems a bit absurd." (Reporting and editing by Daniel Flynn; Felix Light)
-
Ukrainian pea prices could rise due to expected exports to China. Producers say
Ukrainian producers' union UAC stated on Thursday that prices for Ukrainian peas could rise dramatically by mid-summer due to the expected large supply to China which opened its market this spring to Ukrainian peas. According to data from the farm ministry, farmers sowed peas on 250,000 hectares in 2020, compared to 212,000 hectares sown in 2024. UAC stated in a press release that "China has opened their market and a substantial part of the peas are likely to go there." UAC stated that an increase in demand may push pea prices as high as 16,000 hryvnias (385.33) per ton EXW in late summer, compared to the current 14,000. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, pea production could rise from 409,000 metric tons during 2024/25 to 476,000 tons during 2025/26's July-June. The ministry stated that Ukraine exports peas mainly to Turkey, India and Malaysia.
-
New York Times Business News - June 12,
These are the most popular stories from the New York Times' business pages. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Israel is reportedly preparing an attack on Iran soon, according to officials from the United States and Europe. This could delay the efforts of the Trump administration in brokering a deal that would stop Iran's progress towards building a nuclear weapon. A U.S. official stated on Wednesday that the Trump administration is reviewing a security agreement between the United States and Britain to provide Australia with nuclear subs. The agreement is meant to "align with the president's America First Agenda". Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation on Wednesday, endorsed the calls for the inspector general to audit the air safety protocols in Washington DC following a fatal crash between a civilian flight and a helicopter. Officials told senators that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Army will soon sign a policy to prevent such accidents. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health Secretary, named eight doctors and scientists, including four that have expressed their opposition to vaccinations in some form, on Wednesday. They will replace about half of the experts he dismissed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Compiled Bengaluru Newsroom)
-
Airbus can hit delivery goal despite delays, jetmaking CEO says
Airbus' CEO for its core planemaking division said that the company is "cautiously optimistic" about its ability to meet its target of 820 deliveries by 2025 despite bottlenecks which have seen nearly 40 airframes waiting in its factories for engines. Christian Scherer stated that while overall supply chains "improved considerably," bottlenecks still exist in the supply of CFM single-aisle engines and cabin interiors of wide-body jets. Lavatories have also been added to the list of delays. "We haven’t changed our delivery guidance." Scherer warned reporters not to extrapolate from monthly figures, after a recent series of monthly deliveries that were down compared to the previous year. CFM's engines are gradually increasing in output. We haven't changed our outlook because we think we'll get the engines between now and year-end," he said. "It is a gradual rise - we are a bit behind at the moment, but we remain cautiously optimistic that it will be possible". CFM is owned by GE Aerospace, France's Safran, and GE Aerospace. It supplies more than half the engines for the Airbus A320neo, the most popular family of Airbus aircraft. CFM competes with Pratt & Whitney, which offers alternative engines. CFM is the exclusive supplier of engines for the Boeing 737 MAX. "We have almost 40 gliders in our system," Scherer stated, referring to the nickname of the planemaker for planes which are otherwise completed but cannot be delivered to airlines because they are waiting for their engines. These engines are sold separately. CFM was not available for immediate comment. Top executives at CFM have stated that they've seen improvements in their own supply chain, and are poised to recover after a slow start of the year. Scherer stated that Airbus is on track to achieve its goal of building 75 A320neo family jets per month by 2027. Analysts are cautious in predicting when the goal will be achieved. "On single aisle (A320neo family) we are on the right track to achieve that (75 per month) and are just about to cruise past 60 (per month). We are on track to reach the 60s," Scherer stated. Airbus rarely talks about its monthly production targets in public. It has dropped the interim goal of 65 jets per month by 2023. Scherer spoke at a briefing on Airbus's market forecasts and product offerings ahead of next week's Paris Airshow. He said that the demand for aircraft remains "very high." (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed; Tim Hepher)
-
Airbus revises up 20-year jet demand forecast despite trade tensions
Airbus updated its forecasts for aircraft demand over the next two decades on Thursday. The company told investors and suppliers that the industry is expected to weather the current trade tensions. The European planemaker predicted that the industry, which it and its U.S. competitor Boeing dominate, would deliver 43,420 jets commercial between 2025-2044. This is an increase of 2 percent from its rolling 20-year projection issued one year ago. This includes 42,450 passenger aircraft, an increase of 2% over the previous forecast. And 970 freighters, which is a 3% rise. Airbus has maintained its original projection of an average annual increase in air traffic of 3.6%, despite cutting half a point from its forecasts for trade growth to 2.6%. It also reduced its projected global GDP growth to 2.5%. Antonio Da Costa (Vice President for Market Analysis and Forecast) told reporters that there was "certainly some turbulence" due to recent geopolitical events and the trade situation. The early signs are encouraging, but it is still early. The aerospace industry is being impacted by U.S. Tariffs introduced by U.S. president Donald Trump, the threat of retaliation by the European Union and wild swings between punitive duties traded by the U.S. U.S. officials and Chinese officials reached an agreement on Tuesday to roll back restrictions on dueling and restore the trade truce. Airbus officials stated that the latest forecasts assume base tariffs of 10 percent imposed by Trump's administration on the majority of imports will remain in place for some time, as opposed to the greater disruptions threatened by higher punitive duties. Da Costa stated that air transport has often proven to be resilient to shocks because it is closely linked to the economy, and the growing number of middle class families with disposable incomes. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury joined a chorus from U.S. leaders of industry in warning about the damage that a tariff war could cause. Airbus has increased its demand forecasts for single-aisle aircraft like the A320neo and 737 MAX that account for four of every five deliveries by 2%. Airbus expects to deliver 34,250 over the next 20 years. Of these, 56% will be extra capacity. Airbus has revised its wide-body passenger plane deliveries forecast by 3%, to 8,200 aircraft. Gulf carriers have been driving demand in this part of the long-haul market. (Reporting and editing by Emelia Sithole Matarise; Reporting by Tim Hepher)
-
Bloomberg News: Adani aims to IPO airport units by 2027 and accelerate $100 billion capex pace.
Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that billionaire Gautam Adani’s group plans to list Adani Airports by 2027 as part of its growth plan, which requires $100 billion in investments across all businesses over the coming years. Reports citing anonymous Adani Group executives said that the unit would be spun-off and listed in March 2027. Adani Airports has eight airports in India. This includes the Navi Mumbai International Airport located on the outskirts India's financial center, and which is expected to be operational very soon. The report also stated that the company has doubled its capital expenditure plan, and expects to spend $100 billion over the next five to six year period instead of the previous decade. Last week, a group of international banks invested $750 million in the airport unit. A portion of the funds will go towards refinancing debts of $400 million. Adani Group didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment.
-
After fatal crash, US Army will curtail VIP flights near the Pentagon
A senator announced on Wednesday that the U.S. Army would curtail VIP helicopter flights near the Pentagon following safety concerns raised after the fatal January 29 collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane near Reagan Airport. Senator Jerry Moran (a Republican senator who chairs a subcommittee on aviation) told reporters the Army would limit training missions near Reagan Washington National Airport, and the number of senior military officials and defense officials that could use helicopters as transport. After a close call on May 1, which forced two civilian aircraft to abort their landings, the Federal Aviation Administration barred the Army in early May from priority or training transport flights around Pentagon. Acting FAA administrator Chris Rocheleau told reporters that the FAA and the Army are currently in negotiations to establish rules for future military flights around commercial planes near Reagan. Rocheleau stated that they were working closely with the Army. On Wednesday, the FAA, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Army provided senators with a briefing on Washington airspace. Moran stated that the Army had been ferrying three-star and higher generals before the 29th of January, but now that the Army has resumed flights only a few senior officials and the Defense Secretary will be eligible. Moran stated that "the number of flights and Army flights have been really limited in that airspace. Potential airspace is also very limited." This, he said, was a positive development. He added that the Army's "air safety protocols" are not as strict as those of commercial aircraft. Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary, had previously criticised the use of helicopters in generals' convenience. Duffy stated, "Get a Suburban and drive. You don't have to take a helicopter." Another question is whether a key safety system known as ADS-B, or automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, is working on most Army helicopters. Moran stated that testing has shown the system does not work on other military aircraft, and ADS-B did not operate in the helicopter which crashed on January 29, 2009. ADS-B transmits the location of an aircraft using advanced surveillance technology. The FAA gave an exemption to the military in certain circumstances in 2019. The FAA in The use of the device on flights was made mandatory by March around Reagan.
Aena receives approval for the 3.2 billion euro expansion of Barcelona Airport
Salvador Illa told reporters that Catalonia had approved the airport operator Aena's plan to expand the Barcelona-El Prat Airport by 3.2 billion euros ($3.65 billion).
He said that the deal between Spain's Transport Ministry and Catalonia's Government, and Aena included the construction of satellite terminals and an extension of the third runway, as well as the remodelling of the Terminals 1 and 2, and the parking lot.
To compensate for the environmental impact of construction, the park adjacent to Llobregat's agricultue field fields will also be converted into wetlands.
Environmentalists, groups against overtourism, and hard-left parties criticise the planned expansion.
Aena and Airlines have stated that the expansion would allow for more direct flights to the United States and Asia, which are highly sought-after markets for the local tourist industry.
Aina Vidal is a member of the parliament from the junior coalition partner Sumar. She said that Barcelona already had too many tourists, and was unable to accommodate any more.
Vidal said at a press conference that "more airplanes means more pollution in a city which is already at its limits."
Aena reports that the new satellite terminal will increase the airport's passenger capacity from 55 million to 70 millions.
Spain received a record number of tourists last year, bringing it to the second most popular destination in the world after France.
(source: Reuters)