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Trump demands that Ottawa and Washington hold talks about the new US-Canada Bridge
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, threatened on Monday to prevent the opening of a new $4.7 billion bridge linking Detroit and Windsor,?Ontario, as his latest salvo in a trade dispute with Canada. Trump cited Canada as the owner of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, Canada's refusal to stock certain U.S. alcoholic drinks on Canadian shelves, Canada’s tariffs on milk products, and its trade negotiations with China. Canada financed the bridge because the U.S. refused. It is expected to open within the next few months. Tolls will cover the costs over a period of 30 years. Trump posted on Twitter: "I won't allow this bridge to be opened until the United States has been fully compensated for all that we have done. And, Canada must treat the United States with the?Fairness and Respect we deserve." We will begin negotiations immediately. We should be able to own at least half of this asset, if not more, with all we have done for them. Rick Snyder, Michigan's former governor, accepted an offer from the Canadian government to pay for the majority of the costs of the new Gordie-Howe Bridge in 2012. He then took the unusual decision to use executive authority and?bypass' the legislature. Construction started in 2018 and is nearly complete. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security published on January 30, a rule declaring that the bridge is an official port of entrance. It says,?the bridge saves $12.7 million per year for travelers by reducing traffic congestion and travel times while easing flow of traffic. The Canadian Embassy and the bridge authority did not comment immediately. Local Politicians React A spokesperson for Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (a Democrat) said that Canada financed the construction. The bridge was built by union workers on both sides of border and will be operated as part of a joint ownership arrangement between Michigan and Canada. It will open in some way. Elissa slotkin, a Michigan Democrat Senator, stated that "cancelling this project would have serious repercussions." Michigan businesses will face higher costs, less secure supply chain, and ultimately fewer jobs. She said Trump was "punishing Michiganders" for a trade conflict he began. Canada's trade agreement with China will only happen because President Trump kicked Canada in the teeth over the past year. Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat representative, claimed that Trump had endorsed the bridge back in 2017. "Nothing's changed. Dingell stated, "We cannot forget Canada as our friend and ally." We must stop these cheap insults. It hurts the economy and doesn't help anyone. Detroit will be the largest U.S. border freight port in 2023. It is the second-largest U.S. cargo port by value. Commercial trucks are expected to trade $126 billion worth of goods. The Ambassador Bridge will handle truck traffic. According to a University of Windsor report, the Gordie Howe bridge will reduce crossing times by 20 minutes, saving truckers $2.3 Billion over 30 years. In his second term, Trump has threatened Canada and dramatically increased tariffs against the U.S. neighbor to the north. He said last month that he would impose 100% tariffs on Canada if they follow through with a deal with China. In January, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited China to restore the countries' strained relations and to reach a trade agreement with Canada's second largest trading partner behind the U.S. Trump said that the U.S. will decertify Bombardier Global Express jets in January and threatened to impose 50% import tariffs until Ottawa certifies a number planes made by U.S. competitor Gulfstream. Trump's administration has not taken any action against Canadian aircraft. Reporting by David Shepardson and Ryan Patrick Jones, both in Washington: Editing and proofreading by Caitlin webber, Lincoln Feast, and Thomas Derpinghaus.
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Teamsters union sues UPS for new driver buyout program
Teamsters Union announced on Monday that it has sued United Parcel Service for violating their national contract with the new buyout packages? offered by the delivery giant to drivers. The two agreed to a contract ?deal covering 340,000 Teamsters-represented workers in 2023. The ?deal averted ?a strike at UPS, which has more Teamsters-represented employees than any other U.S. company. UPS announced in January that it would close 24 facilities and cut up to 30 000 jobs as it sought to shift away from millions low-profit deliveries to its largest customer, the online retailer Amazon.com. The union stated that "the scope of UPS’s updated buyout is much wider than the payoff offered to workers last summer when UPS advertised payouts to more 'tenured drivers approaching retirement". As part of its network restructuring, the delivery company announced that it would offer a buyout to its drivers by July 2025. This included 20,000 job cuts and the closing 73 locations. The union announced in a press release that the latest buyout program, called Driver Choice Program, will be announced this coming week. According to the union, if implemented, this program would provide drivers with a lump-sum payment if they "legally commit to never working for UPS again." Teamsters has detailed six violations in its National Master Agreement filed with the Massachusetts District Court. UPS has failed to respond to over 57 requests for information and documents relating to the revised plan of driver buyout since late January, according to Teamsters. UPS sent an email to UPS saying that they had engaged the Teamsters on the topic of this issue in early January. They would address the Teamsters' response via the legal channels. UPS said in a statement that the court filing will not impact operations. FedEx, Amazon Logistics and other UPS competitors are not unionized. They offer lower wages to delivery employees and drivers. Reporting by Aishwarya Jain, Los Angeles and Lisa Baertlein; editing by Sriraj Kaluvila.
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Spain has agreed to new safety measures, which have led to the end of the strike by rail workers' unions
Spain's major unions of rail workers have called off their?three-day national strike that began earlier on Monday after the authorities agreed to?boost investment and reinforce staffing in response to a series of high-profile accidents. In the last?month?, several consecutive derailments, crashes, and deaths left dozens of people dead. This sparked public concern about the state of Spain’s rail infrastructure. A high-speed train crash on January 18 in southern Andalusia left 46 dead, while a derailment in northeastern Catalonia two days later killed a driver. In a recent statement, the Spanish Transport Ministry announced that it would invest 1.8 billion euro ($2.15 billion), in rail maintenance up until 2030. It will also hire 3,650 new workers to work for a public-funded rail administrator. The number of vehicles that are used to maintain road vehicles will increase and the number of train drivers who count their hours of work will be changed. SEMAF, the train drivers union, said in a statement that it had 'achieved all its demands through a deal which addressed daily safety concerns raised by drivers from all railway companies.' This included steps on infrastructure investments, working groups, and safety procedures. It added that the Transport Ministry, Adif, and Renfe, a state-owned railway company, had all committed to implement measures aimed at improving safety management. They also agreed to establish clear limits and responsibilities, and increase staffing. The country's two largest unions, CCOO and UGT told their railway members that the strike had been called off. CCOO warned it would closely monitor the proper implementation of the measures agreed upon. The smaller unions CGT, Sindicato Ferroviario and CGT said that they would strike 'until tomorrow, because they were excluded from the talks and hadn't been informed of its terms. The Transport Ministry set high service standards for commuter services, including 75% during rush hours and 50% off-peak. On Monday morning, passengers were checking the electronic boards at Barcelona's main train station, Sants, for any cancelled services. This is my third cancellation. Francois Monti (52), a French commuter, said he hoped the train he was booked on that was supposed to depart in an hour would actually leave. "But I know that the safety situation in the trains is complex, so I can understand the drivers."
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Union: Ukraine wheat exports are low due to logistics problems
Farmers union UAC reported on Tuesday that wheat exports remain extremely low in Ukraine, with just 27,000 metric tonnes?leaving out of the?700,000.?tons contracted for this month. Ukraine is one of the world's largest wheat producers and exporters. "Logistics is not always perfect." Blackouts prevent ports from operating at full capacity. Wheat is also competing with corn which is loaded before, according to a UAC report. Russia has intensified its strikes against Ukrainian ports and energy infrastructure. This has caused blackouts in entire regions, and severe restrictions on the?energy supply to ports and railways. UAC stated that due to logistical issues, Ukraine would not be able to export the full amount of wheat contracted. In January, 536 000 tons of the 620,000 tons contracted were exported. In December, 586,000 of the 1 million tons contracted left the country. APK-Inform, an agriculture consultancy, lowered its forecast for Ukrainian wheat exports in 2025/26 to 14.5 millions tons on Sunday from the previous estimate to?16.7million tons. The consultancy increased its forecast for ending grain stocks in?2025/26 to 11.5 millions tons, up from 6.8 million tons a month ago. It added that this volume could include 4.3 million metric tons of corn and 4 million metric tons of wheat. (Reporting and editing by David Goodman.)
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France's Macron says FCAS fighter jet program is not dead
French President Emmanuel Macron said the French-German-Spanish ?FCAS warplane programme was not dead ?and he hoped to ?discuss ?plans for progress on it soon with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Sources said that in December, a meeting of the French, German, and Spanish Defence Ministers had failed to achieve a breakthrough regarding the'rescue' of the troubled program, where the countries were to build a jet to replace the 'France's Rafales' and Germany's and Spain's Eurofighters. Macron responded "No" when asked in interviews by European newspapers, including Le Monde and Financial Times, if the FCAS Project was dead. In the published interviews on Tuesday, Macron said: "The French assessment of FCAS is that it's a very good project. I haven't heard a single German voice tell me that it's not a good project." He also expressed his hope that the FCAS project will progress.
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Judge temporarily suspends order that Trump unfreeze tunnel funding
On Monday, a U.S. Judge in New York temporarily put her decision on hold. This forced the Trump Administration to lift the four-month-old federal funding freeze for the $16 Billion Hudson River Tunnel Project that connects New York City and New Jersey. U.S. district judge Jeannette Vargas had on Friday ordered that the funding be reinstated. Justice Department warned that it would have to pay up to $200m in funding for the Gateway Tunnel project by Monday at 1pm (1800 GMT), unless Vargas' order was halted. Vargas said that she would delay her order until Thursday, at?5 p.m., to allow the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to review the government's?urgent?request. She denied the government request for a prolonged halt. New York and New Jersey had demonstrated that the shutdown of operations caused by the funding freezing "would have an immediate, severe impact on the region's economic interest." The?Justice Department argued that it would not be able to recover the money if government wins on appeal. Gateway, USDOT and the White House did not comment immediately. The Gateway project is a construction of a new commuter train tunnel between Manhattan, New Jersey and the East Coast. It will also repair an old tunnel that has been used for more than 200,000 passengers and 425 trains per day. The Hudson Tunnel, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy (2012) and requires frequent emergency repairs to prevent travel on the country's busiest passenger rail line. The Gateway project has halted all construction and will resume once funding is restored. States said that the Trump administration frozen funds as a "brazen act of political revenge" against Democratic leaders. Gateway reported that the Trump administration has withheld $205 Million in reimbursements since October 1. Trump reportedly asked that Washington Dulles Airport and New York's Penn Station renamed after him as a way to unfreeze the funds. This drew strong criticism from Democrats. Former President Joe Biden allocated approximately $15 billion to the project. So far, nearly $2 billion has already been spent on this project.
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Anarchists blame rail sabotage at the Olympics in Italy
Anarchists claimed Monday responsibility for the disruption of train traffic and the destruction of rail infrastructure on Saturday in northern Italy, on the first day of Winter Olympic Games. Three separate incidents were reported by the police at different locations on Saturday morning, causing delays of up 2-1/2 hours in high-speed services and regional trains. This was particularly true around Bologna. There were no injuries and no damage to the trains. Anarchists said in a statement that the progressive crackdown by Prime Minister Giorgia?Meloni on protests had rendered confrontations on the street "ineffective", and they were forced to find alternative forms of protest. The?anarchists said: "It seems necessary therefore to adopt clandestine techniques, decentralise and multiply the fronts of the conflict, and turn to self-defence, and sabotage, in order to survive the times ahead." The police did not immediately comment on the statement. Matteo Salvini - the Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Transport Ministry - has vowed that he will catch the anarchists. He wrote: "We will do all we can to... flush out and hunt down these thugs, wherever they may be hiding.?To put them in jail and to confront the people who defend them," on X. "Long Live the Olympics! Symbol of an Italy which builds, inspires emotion and never gives up,"? he added. Anarchists have denounced Olympic Games for glorifying nationalism, saying that the event was a "testing ground" to monitor crowds and police them. After breaking off from the larger group of anti-Olympics demonstrators in Milan, the co-host city of the Games, the small group of 100 hooded activists threw flares at the police. Meloni called the protesters on the streets and the saboteurs "enemies" of Italy. (Reporting and editing by Alison Williams; Crispian Balmer)
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CPC Blend oil prices drop as traders become more cautious about supply, say sources
CPC Blend crude, for February loading, is trading at the biggest discount to Brent since late 2022, as buyers are holding back following a'months-long period of export disruptions including field outages and bad weather, and Ukrainian drone strikes, according to four traders. The main route of export for Kazakh oil via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium has been interrupted repeatedly, leading to large cancellations. The traders reported that several February-loading CPC blend cargoes were sold at Brent minus $5 per barrel. The traders added that the discount had narrowed this week due to a new demand for more attractive prices. The traders said that the weak differentials were due to the fact that many buyers had already purchased February barrels from other sources, in order to avoid CPC's unpredictable supply. CPC Blend exports could fall by as much as 35% in this month, as Kazakhstan's Tengiz Oilfield slowly recovers after fires that occurred at power plants in January. They also said that higher war-related risk for ships entering Russia’s Black Sea ports and logistical issues also affected differentials. Drones attacked two oil tankers, one of which was chartered by the United States, in mid-January. Oil major Chevron was heading towards a Russian terminal when drones struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea. CPC Blend last saw a discount in 2022 when the European Union embargo against?Russian crude oil drove the grade down to around dated Brent plus $9 per barrel. In 2023, prices rose after the sanctions clarified that transit volumes were not affected. Russian companies also provide crude to the system. The CPC pipeline terminates at Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka, on Russia's Black Sea coastline. Reporting by Robert Harvey and in Moscow. Mark Potter (Editing)
EU sanctions proposed for Georgian and Indonesian ports that handle Russian oil
A proposal document released on Monday showed that the European Union had proposed to extend its sanctions against Russia?to include ports located in Georgia and Indonesia which handle Russian oil. This would be the first time for the bloc to target ports in a third country. The EU proposal was reviewed by and would add Kulevi, in Georgia, and Karimun, in Indonesia, to the list of sanctions, barring EU individuals and companies from transacting with either port. These measures are part of 'EU's 20th package of sanctions over Russia's conflict in Ukraine. The package, which was jointly drafted and presented to EU member states on Monday, was a joint effort by the EU’s?diplomatic services, the EEAS and the European Commission. EU'sanctions must be approved by unanimity to become law. Ursula von der Leyen, the Commission president, said on Friday that the package would include sector-wide restrictions and a move away from the Group of Seven nations price cap towards a "full maritime services ban" for Russian crude. The package also includes new import restrictions on certain metals like nickel bars, iron ore and concentrates and unrefined copper. The package would also ban the import of ammonia and pebbles. It would also include furskins, silicon, salt, and furskins. For the first time, the proposal proposes to use an anti-circumvention device against a tertiary country. The new restrictions will ban the sale of metal-cutting machines, and communication machines like modems or routers for voice, data and image transmission to Kyrgyzstan. The EU also proposed to add two Kyrgyz bank - Keremet, and OJSC Central Bank of Asia - as well as Laos, and Tajikistan banks to its sanctions list, for providing crypto assets to Russia. Two Chinese lenders were also removed from the list. The listed banks will be prohibited from transacting with EU individuals and companies if approved. The EEAS has proposed that 30 individuals and 64 companies be added to its existing sanctions framework, which includes travel bans and asset freezes. Bashneft is a listed Russian oil giant Rosneft subsidiary, and eight Russian refineries are also included, including two Rosneft controlled plants, Tuapse & Syzran. The proposal does not include Rosneft, or Lukoil which are already under U.S. sanction. Reporting by Julia Payne. (Editing by Peter Graff, Mark Potter and Mark Potter.)
(source: Reuters)