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Mexico's economic boost was not achieved by the World Cup
Mexico's economy is sluggish due to weak investment, uncertainty about the USMCA review and a lack of confidence in the World Cup. Mexico hosted 13 of the 104 matches in this tournament. It is expected to end on Sunday, after more than a months worth of matches played across Canada, United States and Mexico. It fell short of the ambitious tourism targets set by officials to boost gross domestic product (GDP), a figure that contracted in the first three months. Humberto Calzada is the chief economist at Rankia. Calzada said the tournament is only a temporary stimulus to an economy that the government expects will grow between 1,8% and 2,8% this year compared with analysts' predictions of 1.1%. The impact of the World Cup was localised. Banorte has lowered its estimate for the World Cup's contribution to GDP from up to 0.62%. Banamex estimated the total economic impact as $2 billion, which is about 0.1% GDP and less that half of the $5.6 Billion Mexico received from remittances alone in May. Deloitte estimated that the competition would create 100,000 temporary jobs. This is 10% less than their previous estimate. BBVA's household consumption indicator dropped 0.2% in June, despite a 16.5% increase in entertainment. Spending on hotels was down 10.5%, and restaurant spending down 4.9%. Benefits were not evenly distributed across Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, the three?host cities. Mexican Restaurant Association reported that half of its establishments had a worse performance than usual due to the low hotel occupancy in Mexico City and protests. The data on air travel was also mixed. In June, passenger traffic increased slightly in Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City but declined at the main airport. Analysts claim that the USMCA will provide greater trade certainty for Mexico. The IMF has recently reduced Mexico's growth projection to 1.2%, from 1.6%, due to companies holding back investments ahead of the review of the trade agreement and the economy's contraction by 0.6% during the first quarter. Reporting by Noe Turres Editing By Christian Radnedge
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Satellite images and experts confirm that a sanctioned tanker has leaked oil near Oman.
According to experts and satellite images, a vessel sanctioned for?moving Russian oil is likely to be leaking oil off the coast Oman in a marine protected area. According to data from ship tracking, the Caroline Bezengi vessel took "Russian oil" on board before departing for its latest voyage in Novorossiysk. The last time it sent a signal to the public AIS tracking system was on June 11, off the coasts of Yemen. Rentoor Shipmanagement of Shanghai, the owner listed in shipping databases, was not available for comment. The Oman Maritime Security Centre - and Oman's Environment Authority - did not respond to requests for comments. Images from the?Copernicus Sentinel-1 & Sentinel-2 satellites on July 2-13 showed a silvery-grey slick covering waters in a bay southwest of al-Qibliyyah Island. Three independent experts - John Amos, Leon Moreland, and Louis Goddard from Data Desk – said that satellite imagery seemed to show an oil leak. A video was reviewed that showed Caroline Bezengi, off the coasts of al-Qibliyyah Island. The date of the video could not be independently confirmed. Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" is made up of aging and often poorly maintained oil tankers that are used to circumvent Western sanctions against Russian oil exports. The cause of the leak is not known. It could be a malfunction, damage from an attack by Ukraine on Russian tankers or the conflict between the U.S. Two separate maritime security sources reported that the tanker first reported problems on June 8, off the coast south of Yemeni port Mukalla. One confirmed the spill. The cause of the vessel’s problems is unclear, they said. The European Union (EU) and Britain (UK) have sanctioned the vessel, claiming that it was involved in transporting fuels from Russia.
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Energy Ministry says Azerbaijan produced 13.3 million tonnes of oil and condensate from January to June.
The energy ministry announced on Friday that Azerbaijan’s oil and condensate production fell from 13.7 million metric tons in the same period last year to 13.3 millions metric tons in this time frame. Azerbaijan’s gas production from January to June increased to 25.4 billion cubic meters from 25.2 billion cube metres in the same period last year, while oil exports fell to 10.2 millions tons from 11.6million tons, according to the report. BP, a British company, reduced its Azerbaijan oil?production to?7.9 millions tons from 8.0million tons a year ago. Gas exports into Europe dropped to?5.9 billion cubic meters from 6.1 billion cubic metres. The ministry reported that overall gas exports increased to 12.7 billion cubic meters (bcm) from 12.1 billion cubic metres. Gas exports to Turkey remained unchanged at 4.9 billion cubic meters, while those to Georgia increased to 1.2 billion cubic metres from 1.1 billion cubic metres. The TANAP pipeline increased gas deliveries to Turkey to 3.0 bcm, up from 2.9 bcm. The ministry reported that Azerbaijan exported 0.7 billion cubic meters of gas to Syria.
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CPC: Drones attack a Chartered Oil Tanker near a Black Sea Terminal, CPC claims
CPC reported that two drones attacked and damaged an oil tanker, which was chartered to load oil at the Caspian Pipeline consortium terminal near Russia's Black Sea coast. ExxonMobil was said to have chartered the Suezmax class Nordic Zenith. CPC has not identified any party responsible for the incident. In the past week, both Russia and Ukraine have intensified their attacks on shipping in the Black Sea and Azov Seas. This marks a new phase in a war which has been fought mainly on the ground. CPC stated in a press release that a fire had broken out on the Nordic Zenith, but it was extinguished later. The statement said that nearby CPC vessels evacuated thirteen crew members, while nine other chose to stay on board. CPC announced on its Telegram channel that the tanker had been removed from the schedule of loading and was "unfit" for any moorings or loadings at the terminal. The 'CPC' is a 1,510-km (1,510 mile) oil pipeline that connects Kazakhstan's Caspian Sea oil deposits to Russia's Black Sea Port of Novorossiysk. The oil is then transported by tanker from Novorossiysk to the world market. CPC is responsible for 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports. At 'various points during the war, its operations were disrupted by Ukrainian attacks against?pumping station in Russia and drone strikes on the CPC load terminal near Novorossiysk.
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Three people killed in Russia's strikes on Black Sea ports of Ukraine
Officials said that Russia has intensified its pressure on Ukraine’s main trade routes by attacking two Ukrainian Black Sea port cities and killing three people. Regional prosecutors reported that a Russian drone attack in the southern city Mykolaiv caused damage to three civilian foreign flagged vessels. Two Ukrainians were killed in one of the early Friday morning strikes on a foreign vessel. Local officials confirmed that another man was killed during a Russian attack against Odesa, Ukraine’s largest seaport. ATTACKS HAVE DETROYED GRAIN SHIPMENTS The Russian defence ministry has confirmed that its forces have struck Ukrainian port facilities in Odesa, Chornomorsk and overnight. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's export routes during the war. However, the strikes have intensified over the past few weeks and are now focusing on deepwater port facilities that handle a large amount of the country's grain - and other cargo - which is vital to the wartime economy. Ukraine's Seaports Authority said on Thursday that Russia struck Ukrainian ports and civil vessels several times in the month of July, killing eleven people, including port employees and foreign crew members. Analysts and traders say that the strikes have caused a partial suspension in grain purchases, as well as a complete suspension of grain shipments. Local authorities reported that a Russian missile attack late Thursday night on a building housing residential units in Odesa killed two people and injured others. "Never before has anything like this happened. There are so?many air alerts. Viktoriia, an Odesa resident, said that it's "practically one alert after another". Ukraine is continuing its campaign to isolate Russia's annexation of Crimea and disrupt the logistics for Moscow's military. Robert Brovdi said that Ukraine struck another?12 Russian ships in the Black Sea Friday. He said that the total number of vessels that were struck in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov this month was now 159. The Russian Defence Ministry has confirmed that Russian forces have attacked 24 Ukrainian military vessels in the last week. (Reporting and editing by William Maclean, Andrew Heavens and Anna Pruchnicka)
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Latvian PM: We are in discussions with a strategic investor to save airBaltic
Prime Minister Andris Kubergs said that the Latvian government was in talks with a strategic investor to help airBaltic. The carrier is trying to stabilize its finances and avoid default. These comments are made ahead of a meeting on August 3, at which airBaltic - in which Lufthansa Germany has a minor stake - will ask bondholders for short-term funding. Kulbergs said in an interview with the?widely-reaching Kulbergs on Thursday that they were talking to a serious company. He declined to identify it. "It's a matter of executing this summer... We have to take the necessary steps to prepare the company for a strategic shareholder... "If that happens, then airBaltic is going to fly," he said. Kulbergs said that Latvia's primary condition for any investors would be to maintain airBaltic hub at Riga Airport, where it's the largest airline. He added: "I think this is a good proposal for the investor." Questions about the stake that a potential investor might be able to take in the carrier were dismissed. AMBITIOUS GROWTH TASKS AirBaltic didn't specify how much money it needs to raise in its announcement about the meeting on August 3. Fitch Ratings stated in a report last week that the Latvian government has not yet repaid a EUR30m ($34m) short-term lending due in August. In June, it failed to replenish a required reserve account under its?2029 Senior Secured Notes. AirBaltic’s financial struggles highlight the fact that rising costs following the U.S./Israeli war against Iran have revealed structural problems at some airlines. This has fueled investor concerns about the ability of these airlines to pay their debts. The airline, which has a fleet consisting of '55 Airbus A220-300 planes and aims to double this number by 2030, repeatedly delayed plans to list on the stock exchange due delays in engine deliveries that have 'ground many of its aircraft. Kulbergs stated that the management would be presenting a new business proposal?next Monday outlining necessary restructuring measures to put the airline back on a sustainable basis. The (business) plan is dependent on a number of factors to be in place. The first is cash and the second is a strategic investor. He said that "airBaltic"s growth targets were unrealistic because it had lost access to Russian and Ukrainian markets due to Moscow's war on Ukraine. He said that the COVID-19 epidemic and the Middle East Crisis had also affected its operations.
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Ukraine's Naftogaz appoints Fedorenko as CEO
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Friday that the state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz would appoint Sergiy Fedorenko as CEO to replace Sergii Koreteskyi, who was appointed prime minister following a sudden government reshuffle. Zelenskiy stated that Fedorenko will be leading the company for a set period of time. However, he did not specify how long this term would last. Zelenskiy wrote in a blog post that it was important to implement all the plans we made for winter, despite 'the ongoing Russian attacks. The Russian campaign against Ukraine's Energy Sector has made Naftogaz the primary target. On Friday, its gas production facility located in the northeastern Kharkiv Region was again attacked. Zelenskiy, who endorsed Koretskyi's appointment as the head of Ukraine's Government, praised his experience in protecting?Naftogaz infrastructure from strikes and ensuring enough gas was stored for the winter season. Officials in Ukraine warn that the country should prepare for the harshest winter yet if it is to continue the four-year conflict with Russia. They say that Russian attacks on the energy sector during the previous winter have caused significant damage. (Reporting and editing by Yuliia Dyesa)
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Twenty pupils die in Uganda bus crash, government bans all school outings
Authorities said that 20 schoolchildren were killed when a bus carrying them crashed late on Thursday night, after returning from a visit to some 'waterfalls' in eastern Uganda. On Friday, the government announced that it would ban all school trips following the tragic events of last week. Online posts and outpourings in grief urged better safety standards. In a police post on X, they said that preliminary investigations?suggested that the driver had lost control and the bus veered?off?the road, then turned over when it hit a large rock. Police said that the bus was owned by King David Junior School, located in Kampala's capital, on its way back from an educational trip to Sipi falls. It crashed in Chekwatit Village in Kapchorwa District. Officials said that three adults, as well as several children, were also injured. Road accidents in Uganda are not uncommon. Experts blame poor maintenance of vehicles and lack of street lighting. In October of last year, 46 people died in a bus accident on one of the main highways of the country between the capital and the northern city?Gulu. Chrysostom muyingo, the Education Minister had "put on hold all school trips and excursions effective immediately" and until further notice. This was announced by a government communications agency on Friday. (Reporting and writing by Elias Biryabarema, Writing by Vincent Mumo Nzilani, Editing by Alexander Winning & Andrew Heavens).
FAA restores Boeing's authority to certify 787, 737 MAX planes
Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday that it would allow Boeing to begin issuing airworthiness certifications for all 737 MAX airplanes and 787 aircraft next week. This marks a major milestone for Boeing as it ramps production up. The FAA stated that the "decision was made after months of data analysis and safety reviews demonstrating consistent quality production and reflects FAA's faith in Boeing's capability to issue airworthiness certifications under FAA supervision." First reported by?. After a second MAX crash that killed two people in?Ethiopia in 2019, the FAA revoked Boeing’s authority to approve MAX aircraft, and Boeing 787 planes due to quality production issues in 2022.
The FAA has allowed Boeing to continue issuing airworthiness certifications for the 737?MAX aircraft and 787 planes alternately every other week.
The FAA said that it has observed "comparable findings" in production quality when Boeing issued airworthiness certificates compared to when the FAA did. It added that they will continue audits, inspections and monitoring of Boeing’s production system. Boeing will continue to "work under the FAA's oversight in building high-quality, safe commercial aircraft that comply with airworthiness requirements" and "doing better", according to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. He added that the goal was "not to relax our regulatory compliance requirements for Boeing, but to be more cooperative in the decision-making processes." Boeing is aiming to 'increase 737 MAX Production. Last year, the FAA raised Boeing's production cap from 38 aircraft per month to 42. This was a result of a panel blowout mid-air aboard a new Alaska Airlines MAX 9 MAX 9 in January 2024.
Bedford stated in May that the agency supported Boeing's decision to increase production to 47 planes per month, and they expected the company to continue to push for further increases.
Bedford said he also expects that the 737 MAX 7 will be certified by the summer, and the MAX 10?will be approved by the end of the year.
The MAX 7 is the shortened version of two existing types, the MAX 8 & 9, that have accumulated thousands of flight-hours.
Also, the widebody 777X aircraft from the U.S. manufacturer has been delayed in certification.
(source: Reuters)