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The US will give higher reviews to solar and wind energy projects
The Trump administration announced on Thursday that the Office of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will review decisions related to solar energy and wind energy installations on federal lands to stop what they claim has been preferential treatments for renewable energy sources. This increased scrutiny aligns with the pledge of President Donald Trump to reverse the climate change and clean energy policies of his predecessor Joe Biden. The Interior Department stated that the additional reviews will apply to leases, rights-of way, construction and operation plans, and other project permits. The majority of solar and wind power plants are built on private property. Adam Suess, Acting Assistant Secretary of Lands and Minerals Management said in a press release that today's actions "further deliver on President Trump’s promise to tackle Green New Scam and safeguard the American taxpayers’ dollars." "American Energy Dominance" is a result of the U.S. production of reliable baseload electricity, and not by regulatory favoritism for unreliable projects that are dependent solely on taxpayer subsidies or foreign-sourced equipment. (Reporting from Nichola Groom).
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US Auto Safety Agency to shed more than 25% of its employees
According to data seen by Congress, the Trump administration is offering financial incentives to leave the government to more than 25 percent of the U.S. Auto Safety Agency's employees. Under the program, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (part of the Transportation Department) is down from 772 to 555 employees by May 31. Federal Highway Administration (FHA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) are both losing over 25% of their employees. Rick Larsen expressed concern about the cuts. He questioned how USDOT could "accelerate project delivery and improve safety" with a "decimated workforce." USDOT loses just under 4,100 employees, dropping from 57,000 to 52.862. The Federal Aviation Administration sheds 2,137, falling from 46.250 to 44.208. Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary, said on Wednesday that the Department has not reduced any safety-critical staff and is actively looking to hire air traffic controllers. USDOT and NHTSA didn't immediately comment. The Transportation Department has not yet confirmed if it will still conduct a layoff programme in addition to the early retirements. NHTSA is currently conducting investigations into self-driving cars and advanced driver assistance systems involving Tesla, Alphabet Waymo, and other companies. Consumer advocacy groups urged lawmakers on Thursday to abandon proposed budget cuts to NHTSA, including cutting the operations and research account of over $10 million, "harming agency's capability to conduct rulemaking and enforcement actions, as well as research and analysis". The law would also reduce nearly $78 millions of supplemental funding from the $1 billion infrastructure law for 2021. The groups said that they were "especially concerned" about the possibility of further forced retirements or firings. These have decimated NHTSA. Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Chizu nomiyama and Aurora Ellis
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Waymo extends coverage to Austin, Texas as the robotaxi competition heats-up
Alphabet Waymo, the company's self driving unit, announced on Thursday that it was expanding its service area in Austin, Texas to 90 square mile from 37 square mile earlier. The software giant is trying to protect its position as the top provider in the city against rivals like Tesla. The company announced that Waymo will cover Crestview, Windsor Park Sunset Valley, Franklin Park and other neighborhoods in Austin. Waymo, which has been slowly expanding its self driving taxi service across the U.S. over the past few years, is now widely regarded as the leader in this space. It has around 1,500 vehicles in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Atlanta, among other cities. Tesla, the rival automaker, is trying to catch up. Last month it conducted a trial of about a dozen Model Y SUVs on a restricted area in Austin. Tesla faces an uphill battle to commercialize the technology at a large-scale and overcome regulatory obstacles. It also relies solely on artificial intelligence and cameras, and does not use sensors like radar or lidar as do Waymo and many of its competitors. Shweta Shwevastava is the senior director of Waymo's product management. She said, "Austin continues to be one of the most rapidly growing cities in America, and we do our part to keep up with that growth." Waymo vehicles reached a 100-million-mile milestone this week. They have doubled their mileage in just six months.
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BlackRock to invest $10 billion in Aramco Jafurah Infrastructure Deal
Two people familiar with the matter said that Saudi Aramco was close to signing a deal for the group BlackRock to invest around $10 billion in Aramco’s Jafurah Gas Project infrastructure. This agreement is the latest in a long line of financial arrangements that are similar to borrowing and allow Gulf oil-producing countries to raise funds to diversify their economy while offering investors a steady revenue stream. Two people confirmed that the new transaction would be similar to the two infrastructure deals Aramco signed in 2021. This included one where BlackRock invested into Aramco’s gas pipeline network, allowing it to generate funds. Aramco controlled the infrastructure, while investors received tariffs for using the pipelines. The talks were private, so both sources requested anonymity. The sources did not specify a date for the finalisation of the deal. Aramco declined to comment. The $100 billion Jafurah Project, which is potentially the largest shale-gas project outside of the United States, will be central to Aramco’s ambitions to become the world's leading natural gas company and to increase its production capacity from 2021 to 2030 by 60%. One source said that the assets of Jafurah underpinning this deal included gas pipelines as well as a gas treatment plant. Aramco is the largest source of revenue for the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is trying to diversify its economic base as the oil price has come under pressure due to global economic uncertainty. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Saudi Arabia and aiming to increase market share, has also increased production. Aramco is reportedly looking to sell five gas-fired plants in order to raise money. Previous Deals BlackRock and EIG, two investor groups, took stakes in 2021 in companies leasing usage rights for Aramco's oil and gas pipeline networks. In two separate deals, the groups leased back these rights to Aramco over a period of 20 years. This helped raise $28 billion for Aramco. Robin Mills is the chief executive officer of Qamar Energy, a consultancy. He said that these transactions were described by Aramco as lease-and-leaseback transactions at the time. They were structured in a way to borrow money. Mills stated that "the pipeline deals were essentially a securitisation", and not a sales of the asset. Ownership remained with Aramco. Aramco holds 51% of the shares in Aramco Oil Pipelines & Aramco Gas Pipelines. Aramco pays a tariff to the subsidiaries for crude oil and natural gas flows, with minimum commitments. The deal followed similar transactions in the region including Abu Dhabi ADNOC's sale of minority stakes to companies that own the leasing rights for its oil and natural gas pipelines. Reporting by Sarah McFarlane, Hadeel al Sayegh, and Federico Maccioni, in Dubai. Additional reporting by Anirban Saba and Yousef Sabah, and editing by Anousha Takoui and Barbara Lewis.
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United Airlines shares rise on signs of travel recovery
United Airlines shares rose by 4% after the U.S. airline projected an improved demand since July's start, a positive tone following the fallout from President Donald Trump’s budget cuts and tensions in trade. In early Thursday trading, shares of Delta Air and American Airlines gained 3% each. The Chicago-based airline projected Wednesday that overall travel demand would rise by six percentage points in third quarter. Business travel bookings also saw a double-digit increase. In a Wednesday statement, United CEO Scott Kirby stated that the world was less uncertain than it had been during the first half of 2025. This gives him confidence for a successful year's end. The demand for premium products is strong, and carriers with a wide range of offerings benefit from it. However, the main cabin revenue suffers as a result of the slowdown in travel. Cost-conscious travelers are rethinking the plans they had made. Citi analysts wrote that despite macroeconomic uncertainty and Newark’s short-term problems, "United is well on its path to its long-term goals." Budget cuts and trade tensions in the U.S. had alerted the aviation industry, causing most carriers to withdraw 2025 profit projections and prepare for a wider travel slowdown. Since then, industry executives signaled that the travel demand has stabilised. Booking trends improved last week, which led Delta Air Lines to reaffirm its profit forecast for the full year. United, like Delta also said that it expected the industry to reduce unprofitable flight in the next few months to stabilize airfares, and to protect margins. As we look at the end June, we can see both a shift in demand and supply. In mid-August this year, the airline industry will see a large number of seats leave the industry. This is going to benefit us, Kirby told CNBC in a Thursday interview.
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India investigators say it is too early to draw conclusions about the cause of the Air India crash
The Indian aircraft accident investigation body stated on Thursday that it is too early to draw any "definite conclusions” about what caused the deadly Air India Boeing crash last month, which killed 260 people. GVG Yugandhar, the chief of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB), said that "we urge the public as well as the media not to spread premature narratives which risk undermining integrity in the investigative process." The investigation was still ongoing. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Thursday that, citing sources familiar with U.S. authorities' initial assessment of evidence and citing a cockpit recording, it was clear that the captain had cut off the fuel flow to the plane's engine. Could not independently verify Wall Street Journal report. In the preliminary report of the AAIB on the crash that occurred on Saturday, it was stated that one pilot could be heard asking another pilot on the cockpit recorder why he had cut off the fuel. "The other pilot replied that he didn't do so." The report did not name the person who made these remarks. The flight deck was manned by Captain Sumeet S. Sabharwal, and First Officer Clive Kunder. They had a combined flying experience of 15 638 hours and 3 403 hours respectively. According to a Journal report, Kunder, the pilot of the plane, asked Sabharwal, why he had moved the fuel switches into the "cutoff position" seconds after the plane lifted off the runway. The newspaper didn't say whether there was evidence beyond the verbal conversation it cited that Sabharwal had moved the switches. It quoted U.S. Pilots who had read the Indian authorities report, saying that Kunder would have likely had his hands full at that point in the flight pulling back on Dreamliner's control. Reporting by Abhijith Ganadavaram. Editing by Mark Potter and William Maclean.
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Israel's parliamentary panel wants compensation from the state for Israelis who were stranded in Iran during the war
The head of a parliamentary committee in Israel told the Finance Ministry Thursday that if the Finance Ministry did not come up with an adequate compensation plan for Israelis who were stranded overseas during the war with Iran last month, the panel will impose it. Israel's airspace, which was mostly closed because of daily rocket attacks from Iran, prevented tens of thousands of Israelis from returning to their country during the 12-day conflict. Flights to Tel Aviv were halted by both Israeli and foreign carriers. Many travellers were forced to pay heavy fees despite receiving a refund for their cancelled flights, or a place on an Israeli airline's so-called rescue plane. The Economic Affairs Committee is debating this issue since a week, and Israel's carriers have reported that they are receiving an increasing number of compensation claims. A representative of the Finance Ministry told the committee the ministry was analyzing data in order to develop a compensation structure. David Bitan is the head of the Economic Committee and a Likud Party member. He said that if the Finance Ministry does not complete its review by the end of this month, the committee would issue a ruling which, in the case of third party claims, could be used as a basis to hold the government liable. "I'm able to make this decision, but I need a compromise." Uri Sirkis of Israeli carrier Israir expressed concern that airlines will not be compensated under the final framework. "We have suffered millions of damages." It wasn't an accident or a commercial mistake, and we don't have to suffer alone," he said to the panel. He was referring to Israel's war with Iran. Oz Berlowitz is the CEO of Arkia Airlines a rival airline to Israir. He also accuses the state of abdicating its responsibility and leaving airlines without support. He said that hundreds of passenger claims were being received and would have to be passed on to the government as a 'third party' if they are to receive compensation. The claims totaled millions of dollars. (Reporting and editing by Frances Kerry.)
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Uber invests $300 million in Lucid, an EV manufacturer as part of the robotaxi deal
Uber is investing $300 million into Lucid, a maker of electric vehicles. The companies plan to launch a robotaxi service in one U.S. major city by the end of next year. Lucid shares surged 56% in the trading session before the bell, to $3.58. The company had also announced that it proposed a reverse stock split one for ten of its common class A stock. Uber said that over the next six years, starting in 2026 it will purchase and deploy more than 20,000 Lucid Gravity vehicles, which will be equipped by startup Nuro with autonomous vehicle technology (AV). The agreement shows the renewed push and plans for funding for self-driving taxis, years after an initial wave of investment in autonomous driving produced only a small number of vehicles. Tesla recently began a robotaxi test in Austin, and Alphabet’s driverless taxi unit Waymo has been accelerating its expansion. In their joint statement, Uber said that as part of the announced deal it will invest hundreds millions of dollars into Lucid and Nuro which provides self-driving technologies to automakers. Lucid will receive $300 million of that amount, according to a separate filing made by the EV manufacturer to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Uber's recent move shows its renewed interest in the robotaxi market after 2020. Uber has since partnered with several technology companies, including Waymo, Aurora, and others. Uber and Lucid have signed a robotaxi deal in April. Volkswagen will provide its ID.Buzz vans to Los Angeles for upcoming commercial services. Commercializing AV technology has proven to be more difficult than expected, with tight regulations, high costs and federal investigations forcing some, such as General Motors Cruise, shut down. Amazon.com Zoox is still in the running. It's testing a robotaxi that doesn't require manual control and has plans to launch a commercial service in Las Vegas in this year. Tesla began a limited trial in Austin, Texas last month, after years of broken promises. The company used a dozen Model Y SUVs. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has stated that it will rapidly expand this service to other U.S. Cities in 2018. Waymo is a company that has grown slowly over the years. It operates in many U.S. cities, with around 1,500 vehicles. This month, it reached 100 million miles in autonomous driving. The companies have confirmed that a prototype of the Lucid-Nuro roboticaxi has already been operating autonomously in a closed loop at Nuro's Las Vegas testing facility. Marc Winterhoff, interim CEO of Lucid, said: "We're expanding beyond our traditional EV leadership and working with partnerships to go into areas we haven't really focused on in the past." Nuro is a company founded by former Waymo employees and has grown from making vehicles for last-mile deliveries to offering its self-driving technologies in commercial and passenger vehicles. Dave Ferguson, co-founder of Nuro and its president, stated that "we have other very active discussions going on the personal vehicles side... where we will integrate Nuro Driver into vehicles which are sold to consumers." He said that Nuro would still have to apply for operating licenses at the state level, even though they already hold some licenses from previous operations.
Three Greeks arrested over ship loaded with cocaine seized by Spain 2023
Three people with knowledge of the investigation confirmed on Thursday that Greece had arrested three individuals linked to a cargo vessel seized in 2023 by Spanish authorities near the Canary Islands for transporting more than 4.5 tonnes of cocaine from Latin America into Europe.
Blume (a Togo-flagged vessel operated by Greece) had arrived from Brazil with a cargo of 200 tonnes, which was far less than its capacity. This raised suspicions.
The Spanish authorities seized the drugs, worth hundreds of millions, and arrested the entire crew on January 18, 2023. They then took the ship to Santa Cruz, Tenerife, where they docked it.
Two officials from both units said that the three people arrested by the Greek coastguard this week, after an investigation with the anti money laundering unit, were believed to have a connection to Dignatio Corp., the Greece-based operator of the vessel.
According to a third party, the suspects who initially denied any wrongdoing will appear in front of a prosecutor soon to answer the charges.
Dignatio Corp was not available for comment.
Six days after Blume was intercepted, in 2023, Spanish authorities confiscated a second vessel flying the flag of Togo, the cattle ship Orion V. It was transporting the same amount of cocaine. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Togo Police assisted in the investigation. Reporting by Yannis Soulieotis and Renee Maltezou, Editing by Tomasz Janowowski.
(source: Reuters)