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Davos participants react on Trump's Greenland Speech
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, ruled out using force to take control of Greenland in a bid on Wednesday. However, he said in a speech at Davos?that no other country could secure?the autonomous Danish territories. Here are some comments from a few of the people who listened to the World Economic Forum speech. GAVIN NEWSOM GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA It was a speech of very little importance. "He wanted Greenland the week before. He said that we should talk about Greenland, which he wanted two weeks earlier. The European Union responded by saying, "We're happy to negotiate and we never kicked you away." You sort of left. You can still place your bases there. '" The stock market's reaction shows that this?thing has frightened many people. "I am worried about NATO." I'm worried about trust and truth. CONRADIN CRAMER, HEAD OF CANTONAL GOVERNMENT FOR THE CITY BASEL, SWITZERLAND It is a bit of a relief that we live in such "crazy" times. The world's relief at the news that the president of the largest?NATO nation will not use military force against another NATO member country shows just how insane things have become. PHILIP GORDON IS A BROOKINGS EXPERT, AND A FORMER ASSISTANT OF THE US PRESIDENT DURING BIDEN ADMINISTRATION. Gordon said that the biggest takeaway from Trump's decision to rule out the use of force in Greenland was the fact that he had ruled it out. "There was an enormous sigh?of relief among the audience." He said that the worldview outlined in the speech by Trump would be very troubling for other countries: "We're entering a new era where middle powers will have to find ways to survive a world without the protection of the U.S. protection." AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES It is insane to try to wreck these alliances in the same way that he did to the East Wing. When asked if Trump's actions made NATO more secure, he replied: "Of Course Not - It's Ridiculous." ALASTAIR CAMPBELL, BRITISH POLITICAL STRATEGIST When asked what he thought was the most important takeaway from the speech, Campbell replied, "How embarrassing everything was." (Reporting and editing by Mark John, Ariane Lithi, Dave Graham, DAVOS Switzerland.
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Ukrainian power grid executive killed while supervising repair at damaged facility
The company reported that a senior executive of Ukraine's state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo was killed?while overseeing repairs to a damaged power facility,? caused by a Russian strike. The company didn't say how Oleksiy died. They only called it "tragic". Evropeiska Pravyda, an unnamed local media outlet, reported that Brekht died after receiving a shock from one of the substations. The company posted a statement on social media saying that "Death... caught up with him" where he felt it necessary to be in order to "restore light as quickly as possible to the people." Ukrenergo didn't immediately reply to a question about the cause of Brekht’s death. Ukrenergo reported that Brekht was 47 years old. He is an executive who briefly?served at the top of the company in the last year. Electrical engineers in Ukraine have been working around the clock, under hazardous conditions, for weeks now after Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s grid during an extreme cold spell. This left hundreds of thousands without heat and power across the country. (Reporting and editing by Alison Williams; Max Hunder)
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Egypt's current account deficit shrinks to $3.2 Billion in the July-September quarter
The central bank reported that Egypt's deficit on its current account decreased to $3.2 billion between July and September 2025. This is compared to $5.9 billion for the same period one year ago. The 'bank attributed this to an increase in remittances by Egyptians who work abroad, which reached $10.8 Billion in the first quarter, up from $8.3 Billion a year earlier. The Suez Canal's revenues also increased to $1.05billion from July to September of 2025, up from $931.2mil the previous year. Revenues from the canal were hit by attacks?by Yemeni Houthis, who are aligned with Iran, against shipping routes in the Red Sea. Net foreign direct investment 'inflows' reached $2.4 billion, up from $2.7 billion the previous year. Egypt's tourism revenues also increased, reaching $5.5 billion from $4.8 billion the year before. Reporting by Jaidaa?Taha, Yomna?Ehab and Ahmed Elimam
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Archer, a maker of electric air taxis, partners with Serbia to push global markets
Archer Aviation announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Serbia to become the preferred partner for?electric vertical-take-off and landing aircraft in Serbia. This is part of a?move to expand into global markets. According to the agreement signed at the World Economic Forum Davos in Switzerland, Serbia will have the option of purchasing an initial fleet Archer's Midnight planes and can purchase up to 25 aircraft. "It is a positive that Archer has added an option to its aircraft order book, but it would be a much more significant 'positive' if they demonstrated the full flight envelope of their Midnight aircraft," commented?Needham Analyst Chris Pierce. Electric air taxi manufacturers are stepping up their expansion efforts in response to the growing demand for faster and more sustainable urban transport methods. Archer is launching its aircraft on international markets including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, India, Japan, and South Korea. The company is the official partner of?EXPO 2020 Belgrade. The event is scheduled to run from?May to August 2027 and will showcase the next-generation of transportation as well as the benefits of advanced air mobility. Archer, the official air taxi provider for Los Angeles 2028 Games was named last year. Archer added that they had entered into a dialog with the Serbian Government to explore future industrialization work, including rare earth magnets and minerals critical for batteries. (Reporting from AnshumanTripathy in Bengaluru, Editing by Maju Sam)
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Mozambique has recorded 13 deaths in floods, but the toll is expected to rise
The Mozambique authorities reported on Thursday 13 deaths due to severe flooding over the last two weeks. However, the figure is expected to increase sharply as aid workers expect to find more bodies 'as the waters recede. Heavy rains have caused rivers to overflow and submerged towns, affecting half a million residents. South Africa was also affected by flooding in parts of the country. By Thursday, the rain had stopped in certain?areas. Some of the buildings in Maputo's capital were submerged up to the roof tops. The city was also cut off from other parts of the country due to flooding along a major highway. Justino Zita, a shopkeeper in Maputo, said "I will not give up" as he waded through the brown water which had flooded and destroyed his livelihood. "We will not give up, but we'll have difficulties." Mary Louise Eagleton is the representative of UNICEF in Mozambique. She expects the number of deaths and injuries to increase. She said: "We anticipate that many of those who were swept away by the floods or died in them are children." Officials have described the floods as the worst in Mozambique since at least 2000 when 700 people died. Paulo Tomas said that mandatory evacuations and early warning systems could have prevented more deaths this time. He said that "many people?complied' by leaving the worst affected areas voluntarily. He said that the lower death toll may be due to "limited access in some areas" and to the fact that many zones are still submerged.
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Experts say that the part found near Spain crash site could be missing its undercarriage
A large metal piece found near the crash site of a high speed train in Spain could?be the missing undercarriage the investigators are searching for, to determine the cause of the accident. At least 42 people were killed in the crash, which was one of Europe's largest, that occurred on Sunday near Adamuz, a small town located in the south of Turkey. Inaki Barron is the head of Spain’s railway accident investigation body CIAF. He said that on Monday, the investigation will focus on a missing piece, called a bogie. This part is important because it acts as a key point of contact for the speeding train and the tracks. It could also shed light on what caused the derailment. Photos taken on Tuesday showed that the piece was partially submerged in the?small stream' to the side a railway bridge, about 15 metres (49 feet) below the tracks. The crash site is approximately 300 meters away. The Transport Minister, Oscar Puente, told TVE state broadcaster on Wednesday that this bogie was one of "hundreds of pieces of evidence being collected" and that it had been found on Monday by Civil Guard but left in its place because of its weight. He did not specify which of the two train involved in the accident the piece belonged to. BOGIE FLEW OUT LIKE ?BULLET, SOURCE SAYS Sources briefed about the investigation said that the component is believed to be the so-called bogie, the train's undercarriage on wheels. It belonged to the private consortium Iryo's first derailed train. The source said that due to the high speed of the two trains and their impact, the bogie, which was very heavy, flew out like a bullet. Over the last three days, investigators have cordoned off the area around the crash site, marked and photographed every piece of evidence found on the track. This piece was unmarked and was not in the cordoned-off area when it was photographed on Tuesday afternoon. The state rail company Renfe sent an email to customers on Wednesday after the photo was taken. It said: "(The piece) is under investigation by the railway accident investigation body CIAF. We cannot add any additional information or comments outside of the scope" Adif, the Spanish Transport Ministry and?Iryo did not respond to immediate requests for confirmation from them that the part photographed was actually 'the missing bogie. Ferrovie Stato in Italy, which owns Iryo majority, refused to comment on the matter due to the ongoing investigation. EXPERTS SAY PHOTOGRAPH APPEARS AS A BOGIE Gareth Dennis, a Scottish railway engineer who writes about the industry, said that bogies (the element that holds the wheels and suspension of the train) are frequently thrown free during high-energy accidents. Dennis said that the location of the bogie, and the section it left from, will help investigators determine the exact trajectories and energies of the derailed cars. (Reporting and writing by David Latona, Susana Vera and Corina Poons; Additional reporting and writing by Emma Pinedo and Leo Benasatto, Writing and editing by Aislinn Laing; Rachel Armstrong, Sharon Singleton and Aislinn Laing)
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O'Leary, Ryanair's CEO, shrugs off Elon Musk's takeover threat.
While Europe and the U.S. As Europe and the?U.S. face off in Davos about Donald Trump's threats to take over Greenland two of the region's most?outspoken?business leaders, Michael O'Leary & Elon Musk are engaged in a trolling battle over Starlink. Last week, the feud began after O'Leary, Ryanair's boss, refused to use Musk's Starlink service on his fleet more than 600 planes. The U.S. billionaire called him an "utter fool". O'Leary, at a Dublin press conference on Wednesday, referred to as a response by Ryanair to "Musk's Latest Twitshit", dismissed Musk's suggestion that he could buy the airline and succeed him. He did say he'd 'welcome' an investment. O'Leary, who said that he was not bothered by being called an idiot or stupid, referred to Musk's claim about Starlink antennas causing no drag on aircraft as "a stupid idiotic statement". According to the airline's boss, Starlink usage could cost Ryanair $250 million per year in fuel and other costs. MUSK CAN'T CONTROL RYANAIR O'Leary, who spoke on Wednesday, said that Ryanair is open to foreign investment, but not a takeover, due to EU rules restricting foreign ownership of airlines. O'Leary added that if Musk wanted to invest in Ryanair he would get better returns than from Musk's social-media platform X. "Mr Musk can buy shares but cannot take control." Musk suggested in recent days that he could buy Europe's biggest airline based on passenger numbers, and "put someone in charge whose real name is Ryan". In a poll conducted on X, three quarters of respondents backed this idea. ANTI MUSK BUMP IN BOOKINGS O'Leary, in response to what he called Musk's Twitter tantrum, said that the publicity had given bookings a wonderful boost. He said that the increase was about 2% to 3% over the last five business days. This is an impressive boost, considering our volume. Later, he told a reporter that bookings were good for the last quarter of Ryanair’s financial year - January to March. The shares of Ryanair rose 2% on Tuesday, but they have not moved much overall since the dispute began. This suggests that most investors don't take Musk's takeover speculations seriously. The billionaire did consult his followers on social media before purchasing X, formerly Twitter. O'Leary stated that he held discussions with Starlink over a period of 12 months to evaluate onboard WiFi, but concluded the cost was excessive. He claimed that Ryanair was looking for a provider who would pay for installation and the two sides were at odds on passenger take-up. Starlink believes that 90% of passengers would be happy to pay for wifi access. He said that based on his experience, "we think less than 10 percent of our passengers would pay for WiFi access." A TARIFF HEADACHE AHEAD O'Leary's airline, which is expected to announce its results for the last three months of 2025, will report their results on Monday. He said that average fares could rise by 2%-?4% this year due to tight capacity in Europe. However, he added, "We don't have a clue." O'Leary responded that it was still too early to predict the effects of a trade war between the EU and the US following Trump's threat to increase tariffs on Greenland. When asked if he felt confident that Boeing would absorb any new tariffs on U.S. plane deliveries to Europe, he responded: "I don't." Conor Humphries is the reporter. Sarah Young is the writer. Paul Sandle, Mark Potter and Sarah Young edited the work.
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Bristow secures Electra plane delivery with deposit deal
Bristow Group, an offshore helicopter operator, announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to make a series of?milestone payments' to Virginia-based Electra. This was a very rare step to lock in the delivery date for Electra's planned EL9 hybrid electric passenger plane. The deal, which upgrades a tentative purchase of five of these planes designed to operate in runways as long as a soccer field, marks a move towards more financial discipline in a sector that is widely hailed but highly volatile. Bristow has also options on 45 additional planes. Analysts in the industry say that until now, most of the headline agreements between airlines, flying taxi designers, and larger electric planes involved modest upfront cash payments, and relied heavily on equity promises. But Bristow and Electra said in ?a joint statement they had agreed on "multi-million-dollar" pre-delivery payments and binding contractual terms, subject to certification. David Stepanek is the chief transformation officer at Bristow. He said that Bristow has rejected the idea of equity deals or "soft contracts" to help developers. We wanted a transaction at arm's-length, a standard "I'm a operator, you're (manufacturer). You sell me aircraft." The agreement comes after Electra announced last month that it had submitted a safety certification application to the Federal Aviation Administration. Marc Allen, CEO of Electra, said: "This is a true transaction. It stands alone." The company claims that its aircraft can operate from runways as short as a few hundred feet. This is one of a number of projects that fill a gap between smaller, battery-powered "urban air vehicles" and larger regional turboprops. Analysts warn that the development of new planes requires a lot of money and resources. MILITARY MARKET Bristow intends to use these planes as a means of providing cargo and passenger services to feed into its helicopter operation. ?Electra targets military applications as well as commercial clients like Bristow. The U.S. Air Force Agility Prime program, which aims to?promote novel forms of vertical lifting for military purposes' is also a supporter. The U.S. Government has pledged $50 million and the company claims to have raised $150?million private funds. Bristow also is testing other models, including Beta Technologies' Alia - an all-electric aircraft that has attracted interest by the U.S. Air Force. The deal is not publicized. It has purchased five planes and has options to purchase another 50. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson; Tim Hepher)
Documents and data indicate that Venezuelan oil exports are progressing slowly under the supply agreement with US
Venezuelan oil exports, under a $2 billion deal, reached 7.8 million barrels of crude on Wednesday. Documents and vessel tracking data from the state-run PDVSA show that shipments increased after the U.S. eased its blockade, but not enough to allow PDVSA fully reverse production cuts. Caracas, Washington and the U.S. agreed on a deal after President Nicolas Maduro was captured by the U.S. in early January. The deal included selling up to 50,000,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil stored in tanks and vessels. The first U.S. licenses for loading and exporting cargoes of Venezuelan crude oil were obtained by trading houses Vitol, and Trafigura.
The supply of oil has not yet helped to reduce PDVSA's large inventories. These grew as a result of a U.S. export blockade that lasted for nearly a week and left Venezuela with tens and millions of barrels in storage, including on tankers loaded and stranded on Venezuelan waters. The energy giant PDVSA has not yet fully reversed its early January production cuts because it did not have a place to store oil. Documents and company sources confirm that it is waiting for the storage levels to drop before it can completely reverse the cut.
Sources familiar with the negotiations claim that sales have been slow because refiners refused to pay the prices demanded by trading companies for the oil. They said that the stranded oils have been a problem to store and transfer.
Last week, refiners in the United States began receiving Merey heavy Venezuelan crude at a discounted price of between $6.50 and $7.50 a barrel. This was higher than Canadian crude, which is of similar quality and easily available, so refiners had no reason to switch to Venezuelan crude. Vitol, Trafigura and other companies made similar offers to refiners in India at $8-8.50 a barrel less than Brent. The same thing happened. There was little interest. Trading sources say that traders recently lowered their discounts to $9 per barrel but buyers have not shown much interest.
Trading sources said that the U.S. continues to seize Venezuela-linked tanks in the Caribbean. As a result, shipowners are reluctant to participate in the trade.
Vitol Trafigura have declined to comment. PDVSA didn't immediately respond to requests for comments. Curacao confirmed last week that Venezuelan oil is being stored in the island.
U.S. officials announced last week that $500 million of the proceeds from the initial oil sales will be deposited into a fund managed by the U.S. Government. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday that initial sales were negotiated for a "fair" price of $45 per barrel, which is approximately 11 to 12 million barrels.
Washington has not yet announced the mechanism it will use to sell future barrels in order to meet its 50-million-barrel commitment. However, many PDVSA customers and partners are waiting on U.S. licensing to resume or expand exports.
SLOW DEPARTURES
Shipping data shows that since the first two tanks left Venezuelan waters in January, heading for storage terminals in St. Lucia and the Bahamas, five more vessels have followed, transporting Venezuelan crude oil to these ports as well as to the Bullen Bay Terminal in Curacao.
According to data, besides cargoes chartered through the trading houses the only company exporting Venezuelan oil is Chevron, PDVSA’s main joint venture partner. Chevron has increased its shipments from 100,000 barrels per day in December to 221,000 bpd so far this year. Since January 12, when traders began moving cargoes with U.S. licensing, export volumes have reached 780,000 barrels per day (bpd). Exports have now reached around 1,000,000 bpd. This is close to normal levels, but still far from clearing accumulated stock.
The oil price?rose Wednesday due to optimism about tighter supplies after a temporary closure at two large Kazakh fields and because Venezuelan export volumes showed slow progress towards reversing PDVSA’s production cuts.
Venezuela's crude production fell from 1.16m bpd to 880,000 bpd by late November, following PDVSA’s production cuts. These were mostly made in the Orinoco Belt, Venezuela's main oil producing region.
Sources from the company said that some oilfields had begun to restore production in recent weeks, but the majority of areas remained below capacity. (Reporting Marianna Pararaga, with additional reporting from Shariq Khan and Arathy Sommesekhar. Julia Symmes, Louise Heavens, David Gregorio and Julia Symmes Cobb edited the article.
(source: Reuters)