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US moves to curb Ebola risks, saying immediate risk to the public is low
U.S. officials announced Monday'steps to reduce the risk of Ebola spreading in the United States,' amid international?concerns about a new outbreak of the disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, they also assured Americans that the risk is low. CDC officials will monitor and screen 'travelers' who left or visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan in the last 21 days. According to the CDC, this order is only in effect for 30 day and does not affect U.S. Citizens, U.S. Nationals or lawful permanent residents. The CDC stated that the risk of Bundibugyo disease being introduced into the United States was increased by the virus incubation period. This can last up to 21-days, allowing 'infected' individuals to travel abroad while asymptomatic, and thus unlikely to be detected using routine symptom-based screening methods. The U.S. government will also "ramp up" contact tracing capacity, laboratory testing capability and hospital readiness across the country, it added. The CDC statement 'comes at a time when medical personnel are rushing to 'the frontlines of outbreak in eastern DRC, after the World Health Organization proclaimed it a 'public?health emergency due to concerns that the?disease might spread after two cases have been confirmed in Uganda. (Reporting and editing by Katharine Nichols, Michelle Nichols, and Susan Heavey)
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Airline cancellations in response to Middle East conflict
Middle Eastern carriers increased capacity following the Iran War, and airlines outside the Gulf have rerouted flights between Europe & Asia away from major hubs within the region. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES On May 21, Greece's biggest carrier will resume its flights from Heraklion, Rhodes, and Larnaca to Tel Aviv. Thessaloniki-Tel Aviv flights are canceled until June 26. Flights to Riyadh,?Amman and Erbil will resume on May 21. The airline has cancelled flights to Dubai until June 29 and Erbil and Baghdad till July 2. AEROFLOT The Russian flag carrier has announced that it will resume flights to the United Arab Emirates on June 1. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, has announced that flights to Tel Aviv are cancelled until the 28th of June. Dubai flights are cancelled until 24 October. AIR CANADA The Canadian carrier has canceled flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai and Abu Dhabi until September 7. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv from June 9 until now. Air France-KLM Air France suspended flights to Riyadh, Beirut, and Dubai until May 19, and Tel Aviv and Beirut until June 3. KLM suspends flights to Riyadh Dammam, and Dubai until 28 June. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has suspended all flights to Dubai, Riyadh and cargo freighter service to Dubai, Riyadh and Dubai until May 31. The airline plans to continue all scheduled flights after June. The U.S. carrier plans to resume New York JFK to Tel Aviv flight service on September 6. The airline said that the launch of its Boston to Tel Aviv route was delayed until further notice. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES All flights to Dubai have been cancelled until 31 May. FINNAIR Finnair has cancelled all Doha flights until July 2 and continues to avoid airspace in Iraq, Iran Syria, and Israel. The airline will not resume Dubai flights until October. British Airways, owned by IAG, will reduce flights to the Middle East once services resume. Jeddah is no longer a destination and it will be permanently dropped. Plans to reduce service to Dubai, Doha, and Tel Aviv from two daily flights to one daily flight by July? Riyadh will be reduced from two to one daily flight from mid-May. Changes will be made through the end of summer, which is October 24. One Dubai service will resume on October 16. Iberia Express, the Spanish low-cost carrier of IAG, has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until May 31. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled Tokyo-Doha and Doha-Tokyo flight until July 1, as well as Doha-Tokyo until June 30, 2009. The Polish airline suspended its flights to Tel Aviv from June 12 until now. The Polish airline has also cancelled flights from March 31 until June 27 to Beirut and Riyadh. LOT will operate its winter route from Dubai to Riyadh in October. LUFTHANSA GROUP Austrian Airlines plans to restart flights to Tel Aviv on June 1. SWISS, ITA Airways, and Lufthansa plan to resume flights in July. Brussels Airlines suspended its operations until October 24, Lufthansa will continue to suspend its flights to Dubai until September 13th. Until October 24, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS have suspended their flights to Abu Dhabi and other destinations, including Amman, Beirut and Dammam as well as Riyadh. Erbil, Muscat, Tehran and Riyadh are also affected. Eurowings, a low-cost airline, has suspended its flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut until July 9, Erbil and Dubai until June 22, and Amman and Abu Dhabi until October 24. ITA Airways has also extended the suspension of flights to Riyadh through June 30. MALAYSIA Airlines will resume limited service to Doha on July 2. NORWEGIAN AIR Low-cost airline 'pushed back the planned launch of its Tel Aviv and Beirut services until June 15 PEGASUS Pegasus Airlines, Turkey's national airline, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam Riyadh Abu Dhabi Sharjah until June 1. QANTAS, Australia's flag-carrier, is increasing flights to Rome and Paris in response to a surge in demand for European destinations. The number of flights to Paris will rise from three to five per week, and the Perth to Singapore service will go from daily to 10. A new schedule will be implemented gradually for flights starting in mid-April. It will run through late July. QATAR AIRWAYS From June 16, it will also expand its international flight network by more than 150 destinations. ROYAL MAROC Moroccan Airlines has announced that flights to Doha have been cancelled until 30 June, and those to Dubai? until 31 May. SINGAPORE Airlines In response to increased demand, the carrier has extended its Singapore-Dubai suspension until August 2. It also added services on Singapore-London Gatwick as well as Singapore-Melbourne from late March until October 24. TURKISH AIRLINES SunExpress, Turkish Airlines joint venture with Lufthansa has cancelled flights until June 30, including to Dubai, Bahrain and Erbil. WIZZ AIR Low-cost airlines will resume their flights to Tel Aviv from May 28, but flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as flights to Amman in Jordan remain suspended until the middle of September. All flights to Medina have been suspended permanently. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed. Elviira Loma, Tiago Branao, Agnieszka Olenka, Bernadette HOG, Boleslaw LaSocki, Romolo Tosiani. Matt Scuffham and Alexander Smith edited by Milla Nissi, Susan Fenton, Jonathan Ananda, Milla Nissi-Prussak, and Jonathan Ananda.
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US House lawmakers propose a $130 annual EV charge to pay for road repair
U.S. House members proposed bipartisan legislation requiring electric vehicles to pay $130 annually for "road repairs" and $35 per plug-in hybrid model. The 'House' is working on a bill to reauthorize the highways for five years, allowing $580 billion in funding before the expiration of current legislation on September 30. The majority of federally-funded road repairs are funded by diesel and gasoline tax revenue, which EVs don't pay. The law requires that the fee?be increased by $5 each year beginning in 2029, up to a maximum of $150 for EVs and $50 plug-in cars. The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will likely take up the bill introduced by Sam Graves and Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the committee. Some states charge EVs a fee to cover the cost of road repairs. Congress has not raised fuel taxes in the last?three decades to cover rising road repair costs. In February 2025, some Republican senators proposed a $1000 tax on electric vehicles to pay for road repair costs. Sierra Club, a group that advocates for the environment, has criticized this bill. They claim it will cut funding for charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and include "an irresponsible charge for drivers of EVs and plug-in hybrids." The bill also requires the U.S. Transportation Department to publish regulations within two years establishing performance-based standards of safety for?autonomous trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles. The bill would not apply for?passenger vehicles and would pre-empt state law. The bill would require that autonomous school buses transporting young students have a human driver. The?Electrification Coalition (an EV advocacy group) argued last year that a $250 charge for?EVs is unfair, since the average gasoline-powered vehicle only pays $88 in federal gas tax per year. Since 2008, over $275 billion - including $118 from the 2021 infrastructure law - have been transferred from the general fund to pay road repairs. Some lawmakers believe it will be difficult to reach an agreement on funding by September 30, given the upcoming November congressional elections. (Reporting and editing by Hugh Lawson.
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Battery storage companies eye AI but grid and supply challenges
Battery storage firms in the U.S. see a surge of interest from AI data centers that are power-hungry. However, long queues to connect to the grid as well as a supply chain heavily reliant on China hinder the industry's capacity to scale quickly. Batteries are increasingly being used in regions with a high renewable energy supply, such as California, to help meet the demand at night when solar power begins to fade. They are now emerging as a solution that is promising for data centres. Installed in front of the meter they can optimize transmission line capacity and smooth out power demand. They can be installed behind the meter to manage power spikes, reduce consumption of power when the grid strains, cover temporary outages, and reduce dependence on backup diesel generators. However, experts say that the industry is still facing bottlenecks. Harvest-Time Obadire is a senior power and renewables analysts with BMI. He said that while data centers can be constructed in as little as 18-24 months, connecting the?grid in some parts of the US can take up to seven years. The power demand from data centers could rise quickly Data centers may account for 9% to 17% (or more) of the total electricity consumed in the U.S. Electricity supply could reach 790 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2030, compared to around 4% today. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, in 2025 the U.S. will have added a record-breaking 57.6 gigawatt hours of battery energy storage, bringing the total installed capacity to 166.1 gigawatt hours. The group predicts that annual battery storage deployments by 2030 will reach 110 GWh. A significant portion of this is driven by the data center demand. These systems also work well with the natural gas-fired generator, which is becoming a popular solution for data centers that are energy-intensive. Ben Hertz Shargel, Wood Mackenzie's global head of grid transformatio, said that batteries will be a vital resource for data centers that rely on gas generators. Gas generators cannot keep up with the volatile AI datacenter demand. This demand is driving deals. According to CEO Julian Nebreda, energy storage company Fluence has been involved in more than 30 GWh in data center projects worldwide, including a significant portion in the U.S. Tesla made $430 million last year by selling its storage systems to Elon Musk's xAi. Calibrant Energy also agreed to supply a 31 MW/62 MWh energy storage battery system for an Aligned campus data center in the Pacific Northwest. Batterie storage companies are increasing their efforts to increase domestic production and calibrate offerings for "hyperscalers". Nebreda said that Fluence views this as a strategic advantage and intends to grow it. SUPPLY CHAIN AND INTERCONNECTION CHAOS However, it is difficult to quickly add new battery capacity. While the U.S. increases its domestic capacity for lithium ion-phosphate batteries, the supply chain remains heavily dependent on China. This creates bottlenecks in the near term as tax credit regulations increasingly demand non-China sourcing. RBC Capital Markets Analyst Chris Dendrinos said: "This is a great opportunity to scale US Manufacturing that would otherwise have been priced out. However, sourcing materials outside of China needs to be further developed." The grid interconnection queues continue to be a bottleneck for front-of-the meter battery projects that are connected to it. This can cause delays in projects across the country by several years. PJM interconnection, the biggest grid operator in the nation, halted the processing of new applications for connecting to the grid in 2020 after becoming overwhelmed with projects. They began accepting new applications a few months ago. Nebreda stated that if it weren't for the long interconnection queues we could deploy an utility-scale storage system within a year and meet the needs of electric grid. (Reporting and editing by Liz Hampton, Tasim Zaid and Kavya Baliaraman)
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ANSR CEO: Global centres in India are slowing hiring as AI reshapes the work.
The CEO of ANSR, a company that helps companies 'build & run global centers,' said Monday, "Global capability centres are being measured in India as companies...are worried about the impact of...geopolitical uncertainty and the growing adoption of.AI." India has more than half the global centres, as businesses prefer it for its skilled workforce, low operating costs, and ability to support high-value positions in technology, finance, and engineering. The 'rise of artificial intelligence' could put this edge to the test by reducing the number of people in certain roles and reshaping what global centers do. Lalit?Ahuja is also the founder and CEO of ANSR. "Companies are employing fewer employees, as a matter?of abundant 'caution. ANSR's clients include FedEx, Target, and Lowe's. Ahuja claims that the hiring is being cut by 30% to 50%. Some firms who had planned to have global centers with more than 5, 000 employees are now reducing their ambitions to around 2,000. He didn't give any further details. In a report released this month, the IT industry body Nasscom said that India will host 2,200 global centers and 2.36 million talent by the end of fiscal year which ends in March. FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE Ahuja stated that hiring is expected to be subdued 'in the near-term.' This will allow companies to build a core team, along with a flexible pool of workers who can be scaled down or up based on business needs. This reflects a growing tiredness with the "wait and watch" approach. Companies choose to hire less people than planned or begin work on a smaller-scale - all in an effort to see what happens. Ahuja stated that "Companies are now undertaking bold experimental experiments." It's hard to let people go.
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Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM shippers suspend Cuba bookings following US executive order
CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and other shipping giants announced on Sunday that they have suspended all bookings for travel to?and out of Cuba until further notice. Both cited a U.S. Executive Order issued on May 1. This is the latest blow inflicted on the island's economic crisis. Two sources who have direct knowledge of the situation say that the temporary suspension of new order by two of the largest shipping companies in the world could threaten as much as 60 percent of Cuba's volume of shipping. This is a further blow to a nation already on the verge of collapse due to the U.S. blockade of oil, which has slowed down the island's fuel supplies. In an emailed announcement, the French company stated that "following the U.S. Executive Order dated May 1, CMA CGM decided to suspend their?bookings into or out of Cuba until further notice." The company said it would "closely monitor the situation" as well as adapt its operations to comply with applicable regulations. Hapag-Lloyd's spokesperson said that the German company had also suspended Cuban orders due to the compliance risks associated with President Obama's executive order of May 1. The Cuban government didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. The Trump executive orders on May 1 widened the existing U.S. restrictions on?commerce to Cuba, including "any foreign persons" who operate in "energy, defense, related material, metals, mining, financial services or security sectors of the Cuban economic system, or any other sector." Sources said that the most affected areas would be Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. Sources added that Northern Europe and the Mediterranean will also be severely affected, but all shipping to Cuba will be affected. The?sources' said that the main reason for the suspensions was to stop any shipping from or to the communist-run Island and to Gaesa. Gaesa is a vast business conglomerate linked to Cuba's army, which has been heavily sanctioned in the United States. Sherritt International, a Canadian mining company, pulled out of its nickel and cobalt operations in Cuba earlier this month after decades of investment. CiberCuba reported the decision of the shippers first. It would be disastrous for Cuban imports that are critical to keep shelves stocked up with supplies in a country already plagued by shortages. Sources said that Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM and other shippers had several options. Shippers can decide to stop shipping to Cuba permanently or they can strike a deal to continue to ship to Cuba under the administration of the?U.S. The shippers could strike a deal with President Donald Trump, in which they would be allowed to continue shipping only to Cuba's?private?sector. Sources said that the second option would be consistent with the Trump administration’s strategy of giving private businesses in Cuba an edge over the state sector. (Reporting and writing by Gus Trompiz and Christoph Steitz; Additional reporting and writing by Natalia Siniawski, Mathieu rosemain and Christian Plumb. Editing and reviewing by Barbara Lewis and Chris Reese.
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What sites have been attacked by Ukraine?
In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian energy installations as the peace talks have not produced any progress. Here is a brief summary of some of the recent attacks that followed Russian strikes against Ukrainian energy facilities and their impact. MOSCOW Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said on Sunday that twelve people had been injured, mainly near the entrance to Moscow’s oil refinery. Three houses also suffered damage. He said that the "technology" at the refinery had not been damaged. Moscow's refinery is located in the Kapotnya district of the capital, in its southeastern part. It has a capacity of 11 million tons per year. ASTRAKHAN The local governor reported that debris from a drone strike caused an fire at a gas-processing plant on May 13, in the southern region Astrakhan. The Caspian Sea plant has a capacity of 12 billion cubic meters of gas per year and 3,000,000 tons of stable condensate. The plant also produces diesel, gasoline, and liquefied oil gases. Two industry sources reported that the Perm oil refinery in Russia halted its processing on May 7, after a drone strike caused a fire to break out and damaged some equipment. The refinery will process around 12.6 million metric tons, or about 250,000 barrels, per day in 2024. It produced 2,000,000 tons of gasoline and 5.3,000,000 tons of diesel. 700,000 tonnes of coke was also produced, as well as 200,000 tons fuel oil. TUAPSE Officials said that a Ukrainian drone attack on the oil refinery of the city Tuapse caused a major blaze to break out in the evening of April 28. Two industry sources reported that the refinery, which exports the majority of its products, stopped operations after a?drone strike by Ukraine on April 16. The company has a production capacity of approximately 12 million tonnes per year or 240,000 barrels a day. It produces fuel oil, naphtha and vacuum gasoil. SYZRAN Two industry sources said that Rosneft’s Syzran refinery stopped oil refining following a drone attack on April 18, which damaged processing equipment. The refinery can process around 170,000 barrels per day, or 8.5 million tons of oil. According to industry sources, it processed 4.3 millions tons of crude oil in 2024 and produced 800,000 tonnes of gasoline, 1,5 million tons diesel, and 700,000 tonnes of fuel oil. NOVOKUIBYSHEVSK Two industry sources confirmed that the primary oil processing has been stopped at Rosneft's Novokuibyshevsk Refinery since April 18, following a drone attack by Ukraine. Industry sources claim that in 2024 the refinery will process 5.74 million metric tonnes of crude oil and 1,10 million tons each of motor gasoline, diesel fuel, and fuel oil. Two industry sources confirmed that NORSI, Russia’s fourth largest oil refinery and owned by Lukoil, halted operations on 5 April following an attack by a Ukrainian drone. NORSI can process up to 16 million metric tons (or 320,000 barrels) of oil each year. The Ukrainian military confirmed that it had carried out a strike on the Bashneft Novoil oil refinery in Russia, which is located over 1,400 km away from the Russia/Ukraine border. The plant can process up to 7 million tonnes of oil each year. KIRISHI Kirishi Oil Refinery stopped processing at the end March after Ukrainian drone attacks caused fires. Kirishi produced 2.1 million tons last year of gasoline, 7.7 million tons of diesel, 6.1 millions tons of fuel oil, and 600,000 tonnes of bitumen. UST-LUGA PROCESSING PLLAN Three market sources reported on March 27, that Novatek Energy Company suspended the processing of gas condensate and export loadings of naphtha at its Ust-Luga Complex after drone attacks resulted in an fire. Three?processing units of the Ust-Luga Complex, each with 3 million tons per year capacity, refine stable condensate to light and heavy naphthas, jet fuels, ship 'fuel oil, and gasoil. According to company data, in 2025 the complex will have processed 8.0 millions tons of gas condensate. PORTS/TANKERS Ukraine also attacked Russia's Baltic and Black Sea ports, including Primorsk Port, oil tanks and military vessels on May 3. After a drone strike on April 23, a fire broke out in a Transneft?oil pumping station that supplies crude oil to Russia's biggest export terminal at the Baltic port?of Primorsk. An official of Ukraine's SBU said that on April 21, Ukrainian drones hit an oil pumping and dispatch facility located in Russia's Samara Region. In April, Ukrainian drones started a fire in the Sheskharis Oil Terminal in Russia. Primorsk is one of Russia's biggest export gateways and can handle up to 1 million barrels a day. At least 40% of the storage facilities were destroyed in a drone attack by Ukraine last month. Reporting by
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China searches for six missing persons after truck plunges into river during heavy rain
State broadcaster CCTV reported that rescuers are searching for six missing people after a pickup truck carrying 15 passengers sank into a river in China's southwest region of Guangxi during heavy rains, killing four. Weather authorities have warned that more rain is expected to fall after the heavy rains which soaked central and eastern China over the weekend. This includes provinces such as Jiangxi, Hunan and others. A separate incident occurred on Monday when a magnitude-5.2 earthquake in the city of Liuzhou, Guangxi, killed two people. Search and rescue operations were ongoing and authorities issued a warning about possible transport disruptions. Authorities have announced that they've allocated 10,000 relief items for Guangxi earthquake and flood relief. National Meteorological Center said that rains will gradually move from east to south across China in the next three day. The report warned that 'the risk of increasing mountain torrents, floods in small and medium rivers, and urban waterlogging are among the other threats. As part of the city's emergency response to flooding, Jingzhou, in central?Province of Hubei, declared measures to suspend business and work activities. Hubei Daily reported that the Hubei rains in Yichang broke a 36 year record for daily rainfall over the weekend. Authorities closed tourist sites and ordered schools to suspend outdoor classes. Reporting by Farah Masters in Hong Kong and Laurie Chen in Beijing, and the Beijing Newsroom. Editing by Raju and Clarence Fernandez.
US Treasury and India's Adani Enterprises resolve alleged Iran sanctions violation
The U.S. Department of Treasury announced a settlement of $275 million with India's Adani Enterprises Ltd. over the potential civil liability of the company for 32 apparent 'U.S. sanctions' violations. The U.S. Department of Treasury announced on Monday that it had?agreed to a $275 million settlement with India's Adani Enterprises Ltd over the company's potential civil liability for 32 apparent violations of?U.S. sanctions. Treasury's Office for Foreign Assets Control released a statement stating that Adani Enterprises allegedly purchased shipments of liquefied petrol gas from a Dubai-based trader claiming to be supplying Omani and Iraqi gasoline, but the gas?actually originated from Iran. Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission settled separately a civil suit against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani for an alleged scheme of bribing Indian government officials.
According to two sources familiar with the matter, the Justice Department is close to dropping criminal charges of fraud against Adani who has pledged $10 billion for the economy in 'U.S. According to two sources who are familiar with the issue, the Justice Department is also close to dropping related criminal?fraud charges against Adani. He has promised to?invest $10 billion in the?U.S. economy. (Reporting and editing by Michelle Nichols; Susan Heavey)
(source: Reuters)