Latest News
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Visual Investigation-The U.S. Army Veteran and the Mystery Boeings Flying Sudan's War Routes
On Wednesday, a visual investigation was published that showed that a 'fleet of aging Boeings operated by 'companies controlled by U.S. military veteran Steven Shaulis flew to the logistics hubs used during the Sudan War by the Rapid Support Forces. Outside the?world of business, Shaulis is a 63 year old U.S. Army Special Forces veteran who heads the CADG company based in Singapore, a global organization that holds a number of?U.S. United Nations contracts for decades. The investigation found that behind the scenes, Shaulis controlled firms operated at least three Boeing aircraft to fly to key logistic hubs used the Sudanese Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces accused of atrocities committed in the Darfur region. No evidence was found that 'Shaulis, or any of his businesses have been sanctioned by authorities or face allegations of wrongdoing. Click here to read the visual investigation. Reporting by Alexander Dziadosz in Cairo,?Reade Levenson and David Lewis, and editing by David Clarke Brian Thevenot Sarah Cahn.
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Australia's Perpetual receives a sweetened bid of $1.75 billion from EQT
Perpetual?of Australia said on Wednesday that it received a'sweetened, non-binding' takeover offer from EQT AB of Sweden. The proposal valued the financial services provider in Australia at A$2.50billion ($1.75billion). Under the revised proposal, EQT will buy all Perpetual shares at?A$22.07 each, a nearly-22% premium over the firm's closing price on July 1. This was before the company?disclosed EQT’s initial approach to market. The latest offer is higher than EQT’s?earlier A$2.45billion proposal that Perpetual?rejected because it did not reflect the value of the company. The board stated that it was evaluating the revised offer, but warned there was no guarantee it would lead to a?binding transaction. The new takeover attempt marks the latest attempt at acquiring the?140 year-old financial services company, which has been able to fend off?several rivals in recent times. It rejected a A$1.7 billion takeover bid in 2022 from a consortium that included portfolio manager Regal Partners. The following year, it turned down an A$3.1 billion offer from its largest shareholder Washington H Soul Pattinson.
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Memo shows that former DP World boss Bin Sulayem is now in charge of Malaysia MMC Port.
According to a memo obtained by the media, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem will be taking over as the new CEO of?Malaysian company MMC Port Holdings. The group chief executive is leaving his post immediately. Emirati bin Sulayem is now the executive chairman of MMC. He resigned in February from Dubai's DP World after the Department of Justice released emails between Jeffrey Epstein and the company. Bin Sulayem did not comment publicly on the emails he exchanged with Epstein who died in prison in 2019 while waiting to be tried for'sex trafficking' charges. Bin Sulayem was not immediately available. The MMC memo dated July 12 did not provide a reason or a date for the permanent replacement of Azman Shah Mohd Yousof. It was not possible to determine the date Bin Sulayem, a veteran Dubai ports executive,?was named executive chairman of MMC Ports. MMC didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment about?the content of the memo. Azman didn't immediately answer the phone or leave a message. PORTS GIANT MALACCIA STRAIT MMC Ports, Malaysia's largest group of port operators, has seven ports located along or near Strait of Malacca. This narrow sea lane connecting the Indian Ocean to the Pacific is crucial for global trade. The strait is a major shipping chokepoint. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the strait is one of the most important oil transit routes in the world. MMC Ports was expected to pursue an IPO that could have been Malaysia’s largest in over a decade. However, the company reported in October it had?delayed its planned listing. The memo from July 12, addressed to MMC Port Management and the chief executives at its operating ports, stated that 'all matters which would have previously been sent to the group CEO, should now be directly sent to Bin Sulayem’s office. It said that "Azman ceased to be the Group?Chief executive officer of MMC Port with immediate effect." The memo stated that the interim reporting line was designed to?maintain leadership, governance, and decision-making across the group'. Bin Sulayem stated in the memo that he expects operations and strategic project to continue without disruption and that the firm will maintain its business momentum while ensuring continuity and stabilty across MMC Ports. DP World announced on February 13th that Bin Sulayem, one of the largest port and logistic companies in the world, had resigned. Essa Kazim was named as chairman, and Yuvraj Nrayan, group CEO. Reporting by Yantoultra NGi in Singapore and Rozanna Latti in Kuala Lumpur. Editing by Martin Petty, Sam Holmes and Sam Holmes.
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Drones, AI, and white paint: Europe races against the heat to protect its infrastructure
White paint is a simple, yet effective, solution to the aging infrastructure of Europe's railways, which are buckling under record temperatures, melting roads and straining power grids. Drones, AI-powered sensors and AI-powered sensors, to name a few, have been used to inspect tracks. Workers at the Oslo Airport in Norway sprayed water on the tarmac to 'keep it cool'. The temperature was expected to reach 30 degrees Celsius, 10 degrees above the normal average for this time of the year. The country is adjusting to the rising temperatures in Europe, which are fueling wildfires and killing thousands. Infrastructure is also under increasing pressure. Jorn Arvid remark, an operating engineer for Norwegian airport operator Avinor said that the asphalt in Norway must be able to withstand extreme cold temperatures as well as moderately warm temperatures. The airport is currently testing a heat-resistant asphalt. The fire brigade sprays 9,000 litres on the runway's key areas, as the surface can be damaged by high temperatures and softening under the weight of planes. Many of Europe's roads, and rails, which were built decades ago, are struggling to keep up. Climate Monitor reports that temperatures in Western Europe were 5.5 C higher than average on Wednesday. Chris Dodwell is the co-head at Impax Asset Management's sustainability centre. He said that our infrastructure was not prepared for extreme weather events. In a report from 2025, leading central banks predicted that extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, and floods could reduce the GDP of the euro zone by up to 4.7% by 2030. HIGHER TEMPERATURES CAN INDUCE MORE FLOODS AND STORMS Europe's rails have been hit hard. A report by the EU in April revealed that over 70% of rail managers reported a growing number of disruptions due to?extreme climate. Weather-related disruptions between 2015 and 2024 amounted to one to three years' worth of rail service in the region. Heat can cause points, signals, and power to fail. Extreme weather caused by high temperatures is a?even greater disruption. The most important issue for rail networks are not heat waves themselves, but thunderstorms, strong wind and landslides, which often follow them, said Oliviero Baccelli. As a result, climate-related events have already caused significant disruptions in Italy's railway network, especially on Alpine routes. Northern European countries, such as Britain, face special challenges due to the fact that their rail infrastructure is designed for a smaller temperature range than southern European networks. John Lawrence, the chair of IET Railway Technical Network said that many rail components and system were "in essence frozen" in time. He said it would cost a lot to heatproof an entire network, but operators are exploring new sleeper designs that are more stable and using technologies like AI and drones?to "speed the amount of track which can be monitored and inspected". Network Rail in Britain has committed to investing? Network Rail has pledged to invest? Some operators use traditional methods of heat reflection, which are not expensive. Stockholm's Transport Authority spent around 100,000 Swedish Crowns ($10 300) to paint sections of metro tracks white in May and Junie to reduce the risks of track buckleling. HEATWAVES "MORE INTENSE AND LONGER LASTING" Martin Wilson, Engineering Director at the French rail equipment manufacturer Alstom said that Europe could "learn from" transport systems like the Riyadh metro and Dubai tram which are designed to run in temperatures over 50C (122F). He said that heatwaves today are more intense, frequent and lasting longer. "Rising temperatures are a growing challenge to rail systems in Europe." The pressures on roads are similar. According to engineers, northern European highways were designed to resist damage caused by freeze-thaw cycles. In contrast, southern countries like Spain use asphalt mixes better suited for prolonged summer heat. As countries struggle with colder winters as well as hotter summers, finding the right balance is getting harder. Jose Pablo Saez Villar, of the Spanish Civil Engineers Association said that planners and roadbuilders in northern Europe may need to change their approach. RATP, the Parisian transport operator, has created a contingency heatwave unit and will be preparing an adaptation plan to climate change by the end this year. Officials in Norway say that the warmer and wetter climate is changing how infrastructure is designed. Grethe Vikane is the head of climate and social development at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. So they can cope with both the current challenges and the expected consequences of climate change.
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Three killed in Russian attack on Ukraine's Odesa as Moscow and Kyiv fight over Black Sea
On Wednesday, Russia and Ukraine intensified their battle for control of the Black Sea and important trade routes. Moscow killed three people during an attack on Odesa in the Ukrainian port and Kyiv used drones to strike Russian shipping. Oleh Kiper, the Governor of Odesa Region, said that an "massive" Russian missile and drone attack on southern Ukraine continued for a 5th day. The attack targeted civilian, industrial, and port infrastructure. Ukrainian authorities reported that three people died and at least another three were injured in a Russian missile attack on a seven storey residential building?in Odesa. In recent days, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s deepwater Black Sea port in the Greater Odesa region. These ports handle most of Ukraine's grain and other goods and are crucial to the wartime economy. Ukraine has intensified its campaign against Russia to disrupt the?logistics of Russian forces in areas Moscow occupies, in southern Ukraine. It also aims to isolate Crimea which Russia annexed back in 2014. Kyiv’s top commander of drone forces said that Ukrainian drones struck 20?Russian ships in the Black Sea over night. Robert Brovdi said, "Now Black Sea," on Telegram. He added that 116 ships have been hit in the Sea of Azov during this month. STRIKES DISRUPT SEA SHIPPING OF AZOV Sources say that the Ukrainian attacks forced Russia, which is the world's largest grain exporter to restrict shipping on the Sea of Azov -?a route where about a quarter of the grain it exports passes. They said that shipping remained restricted Tuesday. The Russian defence ministry announced on Wednesday that Moscow continued its overnight strikes?on Ukrainian ports, which it claimed handled cargoes for Ukrainian military. The report said that a number?of targets in the?ports?of Odesa and Chornomorsk, and four vessels that were said to be delivering cargoes to Ukraine's military in the ports of Chornomorsk?and Dnipro-Buh had been struck. Kiper stated on Tuesday that in an evening drone attack on port infrastructure, two people had been killed. He said that a civilian vessel flying the Marshall Islands flag was damaged by the attack. Kernel, Ukraine's largest grain exporter, halted its operations at Chornomorsk port after Russian attacks. Another Russian strike damaged a vegetable oil terminal near Odesa, the company said late Tuesday. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the attacks on ships in the Sea of Azov "terrorism", while the Russian Agriculture Ministry acknowledged that the exports could be diverted onto other routes.
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Lithuania: Russia planning to attack infrastructure
In an interview published Wednesday, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that Lithuania had intelligence that Russia was 'planning attacks on the infrastructure. As a precautionary measure, security around energy and transportation sites would be tightened. Nauseda, who spoke to BNS, said that he did not know when or where the attacks would take place, nor had he any information about his own country being the target. "We receive'such signals from our intelligence services. He said that they 'do not clearly identifies place or time... because the enemy is not yet at the end of its planning and we only know about the 'planning or goal. "It may be a variety of means to physically damage critical infrastructure. ... "Anything that stops the functioning of these websites," he said. Lithuania, a NATO country that shares land borders with Russia's exclave Kaliningrad as well as with Moscow's ally Belarus, has tripled its defence expenditures since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Poland, a neighboring country, said this month that Western intelligence agencies are concerned about the possibility of Russian attacks on its territory and the Baltic States. Moscow has consistently denied allegations of?planning or carrying out sabotage?and other attacks?on countries outside Ukraine. It says such reports are part an anti-Russian campaign. Reporting by Andrius sytas, Vilnius. Editing by Andrew Heavens
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What were the names of the two pilots that flew the Air India jet which crashed?
A court filing revealed that Indian investigators had prepared a 'cockpit voice recording transcript', performed a psychological autopsy, and are now in the final stages of their investigation into last year’s deadly Air India crash. The court filing did not reveal the results of the psychological autopsy, or the identity of the subject. The following are short profiles of the two aircraft pilots based on media reports and the preliminary investigation report: CAPTAIN SUMEET SABHARWAL The 56-year old's airline transport pilot licence was valid until May 14, 2026. He was cleared to fly as a pilot-in command on several aircraft, including the Boeing 787 and 777, the Airbus A310 and other models. He has a total of 15,638 flying hours. 8,596 hours of that were on the Boeing 787. According to a report in the Times of India, Sabharwal called his family at the airport and assured them that he would call again once he landed in London. He was described as a gentleman by a pilot who briefly spoke with him. Sabharwal's dad asked the Supreme Court of India to order a thorough independent investigation that would consider other factors than pilot error. Two officials from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau visited him after his son's crash and implied that he had cut the fuel to the plane engines after takeoff. FIRST OFFICER CLIVE KUNDER The 32-year old had a commercial licence issued in 2020 that was valid until September 26th, 2025. He was cleared to fly Cessna 172, Piper PA-34 Seneca and Airbus A320 jets and Boeing '787 jets in the capacity of pilot-in-command. Kunder had a total of 3,403 flying hours with 1,128 of those hours as a Boeing 787 copilot. According to Indian media, his relatives, he had a passion for flying ever since he was a student. In 2012, he began working as a pilot. The Wall Street Journal reported that Kunder attended flight school in Florida last year. The newspaper reported that he was hired by Air India and flew on an Airbus A320 for a while before the airline changed him to a 787. The report said that Kunder's friends and family described him as a superhero movie fan who built a computer from scratch. He also nearly pursued an esports pro career in college. Reporting by Abhijith Ganahapavaram, Aditya Kahlra and Kate Mayberry; Editing Jamie Freed & Kate Mayberry
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Air India's Boeing Dreamliner crash: Inside the cockpit
A court filing revealed that India's air crash investigating body had prepared a cockpit voice recorder transcript, conducted a mental autopsy and moved into the final stages of their investigation into last year's deadly Air India accident. The sequence of events as described by Indian investigators on July 12, last year, is shown below. Air India Dreamliner VTANB landed at Ahmedabad as AI423 at 05:47 GMT. 07:48 GMT - An aircraft was observed leaving Bay 34 of the airport. 07:55 GMT - Air traffic control granted the taxi clearance to the aircraft. A minute later, the aircraft taxied backwards and positioned itself for takeoff. 08:02 GMT - The aircraft has been transferred from tower to ground control. 08:07 GMT - Take off clearance issued 08:07 GMT - The aircraft started rolling. Aircraft lifted off at 08:08 GMT. The report stated that "the aircraft air/ground sensor switched to air mode in accordance with liftoff." 08:08 GMT - The aircraft reached its maximum airspeed of 180 knots. "Immediately after, the Engine 1 fuel cutoff switch and Engine 2 fuel shut off switch transitioned one by one from RUN to CUTOFF with a time interval of 1 sec." The Engine N1 and N2 started to degrade from their takeoff values when the fuel supply was cut off. In the cockpit recording, one pilot is heard asking another why he cut off. "The other pilot replied that he didn't do it." The airport CCTV footage showed Ram Air Turbines (RATs) being deployed immediately after take-off. The aircraft began to lose height before crossing the perimeter wall of the airport. The RAT hydraulic pump started supplying power at 08:08 GMT. Both engines "passed the minimum idle speed" and both engines were below it. The fuel cutoff switch for Engine 1 has been changed from CUTOFF to RUN. The fuel cutoff switch for Engine 2 has also been changed from CUTOFF (stop) to RUN (run). When fuel control switches from CUTOFF are changed to "RUN" while the aircraft in flight, each engine's full authority dual-engine control (FADEC), automatically manages a relighting and thrust recovery sequence for ignition and fuel introduction. Engine 1's core speed deceleration stopped and reversed. It then started to recover. Engine 2 could relight, but it couldn't stop core speed deceleration. It was then re-fuelled repeatedly to increase core acceleration and recovery. The pilot who sent "MAYDAY Mayday Mayday" at 08:09 GMT. 08:09 GMT - Data recording has stopped. The Crash Fire tender has left the airport grounds for firefighting and rescue. Reporting by Aditya KALA, Abhijith GANAPAVARAM; Editing by Jamie Freed & Kate Mayberry
No tsunami warning following M6.9 earthquake in Japan's northeast
The Japan Meteorological Agency announced on Thursday that no tsunami warning had been issued following an earthquake of magnitude?6.9 which struck the east coast of Japan's northeastern Tohoku area.
The agency stated that the epicentre was located off the coast of Iwate Prefecture at a depth of 50km. No tsunami damage is expected except for "slight changes in sea level".
It said that the earthquake in Aomori had an intensity of 6+, which is a situation where "it's impossible to stand or move without crawling" on a Japanese scale from 0-7.
Tohoku Electric Power has said that no irregularities have been found in the nuclear power plants?Onagawa & Higashidori, which were idled following the earthquake.
East Japan Railway said it had halted certain trains, including the high-speed Shinkansen services in?Tohoku?.
Japan is one of the most seismically active areas in the world. Japan is home to one-fifth the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater. (Reporting from?Kantaro Kommiya in Tokyo, and Natalia Bueno Rebolledo at Mexico City. Editing by Chris Reese, Christopher Cushing and Christopher Reese)
(source: Reuters)