Latest News
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Brazil reaches handle airline companies to settle tax responsibilities
Brazil's government said on Friday it has actually reached deals with two of the country's biggest airlines, Gol and Azul, to settle some pending tax responsibilities totaling 7.5 billion reais ($ 1.22. billion). The government has offered the carriers with significant. discount rates and permitted them to make installation payments. WHY IT is essential. The deal might supply monetary relief to the business. Latin. American airlines have been dealing with financial hurdles in the wake. of the COVID-19 pandemic and were forced to restructure. responsibilities as they have problem with high debt loads. Gol has actually been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy defense in the U.S. because early 2024, while Azul just recently struck deals with lessors. to scrap obligations in exchange for an equity stake and. shareholders to obtain fresh financing. BY THE NUMBERS Gol will pay 880 million reais in approximately 120 installments to. settle commitments of about 5 billion reais, the federal government said. in a statement, adding that it would likewise maintain 49 million. reais from the company currently deposited in a judicial account. Azul, meanwhile, will pay 36 million reais instantly and. an extra 1.1 billion reais in as much as 120 installations to. settle more than 2.5 billion reais in financial obligation. SECRET ESTIMATES Mariana Vieira, an authorities in the office of Brazil's. lawyer general, stated the deals were a significant action. towards settling tax issues intensified by the pandemic, and. add to the resumption of growth in the market. Gol in a different statement stated the deal solves tax. liabilities and would not affect its net financial debt. MARKET REACTION. Sao Paulo-traded shares of Gol were up 1.5% on Friday, adding to. gains of more than 5% in the previous session, when the company. supplied a look of the tax deal in a securities filing. Azul shares were up 0.8%, following a rise of 2.8% on. Thursday.
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Long queues at border control as German airports hit by IT interruption
German airports were struck by an across the country IT failure affecting cops systems at border control on Friday, triggering disruption and longer immigration lines for passengers from outside the European Union's Schengen travel zone. There is currently a nationwide IT disruption, a. federal police representative said by phone, requiring officers to. manually procedure guests getting here from outside the. passport-free Schengen area. The cause was not immediately known. The blackout caused. queues of people waiting at border control at several German. airports, including Frankfurt, the nation's busiest. Berlin airport confirmed longer waiting times at. immigration for non-Schengen passengers. We can verify that considering that around 2 p.m. (1300 GMT). today, there have actually been disruptions to border control for flights. to and from the non-Schengen location, said a representative for. Duesseldorf airport, saying passengers were being provided with. water. The regional public broadcaster WDR reported that. travelers were awaiting 2 hours at migration while. others were being continued the aircraft.
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U.S. police worried about copycat vehicle-ramming attacks
U.S. law enforcement and intelligence firms are worried about copycat vehicleramming attacks following the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans by a U.S. Army veteran, according to a U.S. law enforcement intelligence publication released on Friday. The bulletin was released a day after the FBI stated ShamsudDin Jabbar, a 42yearold Texas local, was 100 percent influenced by the Islamic State militant group to drive a truck into New Year's Day revelers in New Orleans, eliminating a minimum of 14 people and hurting lots of others. Jabbar subsequently was eliminated in a shootout with cops . The FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center are concerned about possible copycat or vindictive attacks, said the intelligence bulletin released by the 3 agencies and evaluated . Such attacks are most likely to stay appealing for striving assailants given cars' ease of acquisition and the low skill threshold needed to conduct an attack, said the publication issued to U.S. police. It urged law enforcement workers and private security firms to be aware that in numerous previous cases enemies who rammed lorries into crowds were equipped and continued their attacks with weapons or edged weapons. The Jan. 1 incident in the packed French Quarter of New Orleans was the seventh attack in the United States considering that 2001 that was inspired by a foreign extremist organization, the publication said. The use of edged weapons and guns has actually been more typical in such attacks however vehicles might provide a growing risk, it said.
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A timeline of thought underwater sabotage events in the Baltic Sea
A Finnish court has rejected a. ask for the release of an oil tanker presumed by cops of. damaging an undersea power line and four telecoms. cable televisions in the Baltic Sea recently. The occurrence was one of several considering that 2022 in which. undersea vital infrastructure in the Baltic Sea has. suffered suspicious damage. Baltic Sea nations are on high alert. and NATO has said it will increase its existence in the Baltic Sea. A number of cops investigations are under method but no suspects. have been brought to trial. DEC 2024: POWER AND WEB CABLE TELEVISIONS The Estlink 2 undersea power cable television linking Finland and. Estonia was harmed on Dec. 25 along with 4 telecoms lines. Finland released a sabotage investigation and on Dec. 26. took a tanker bring Russian oil on suspicion it triggered the. damage by dragging its anchor. Finnish authorities stated the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S. belonged to a shadow fleet used to circumvent sanctions on. Russian oil exports. The European Union stated it condemns any. deliberate damage of Europe's facilities. The NATO military alliance said on Dec. 27 it would increase. its existence in the Baltic Sea area. The Kremlin stated the very same. day that the ship's seizure was of little issue to it, and. Russia has previously rejected participation in such events. Finnish authorities stated on Dec. 29 they had actually found tracks on the. seabed where they presume the Eagle S of damaging the cable televisions. The owner of the Eagle S, United Arab Emirates-based. Caravella LLC FZ, on Dec. 30 filed a demand with the Helsinki. District Court seeking the release of the ship. This was. turned down on Jan. 3, 2025. NOV 2024: BALTIC TELECOM CABLES 2 undersea fibre-optic interactions cable televisions found more. than 100 nautical miles (about 200 km) apart in the Baltic Sea. were severed on Nov. 17 and 18, raising suspicions of sabotage. A 218-km (135-mile) internet link between Lithuania and. Sweden's Gotland island headed out of service at about 0800 GMT on. Nov. 17, according to Lithuania's Telia Lietuva, part of. Swedish Telia Business. A 1,200-km cable television linking Helsinki to the German port of. Rostock stopped working around 0200 GMT on Nov. 18, Finnish. state-controlled cyber security and telecoms business Cinia said. Private investigators in the nations included have zeroed in on. Chinese bulk provider Yi Peng 3, which left the Russian port of. Ust-Luga on Nov. 15, and a Reuters analysis of MarineTraffic. information revealed that the ship's coordinates corresponded to the time. and location of the breaches. China allowed agents from Germany, Sweden, Finland. and Denmark on Dec. 21 to board the Yi Peng 3 in addition to. Chinese investigators, after a month-long diplomatic standoff. during which the ship sat still in a Danish shipping lane. Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said on. Dec. 23 China had actually not observed the Swedish federal government's demand. for a district attorney to be able to perform the initial. examination on board. OCT 2023: BALTICCONNECTOR GAS PIPE AND CABLE TELEVISIONS A subsea gas pipeline, the Balticconnector, which links. Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea, was severed by what. Finnish investigators figured out was Chinese container vessel. NewNew Polar Bear dragging its anchor in the at an early stage Oct. 8,. 2023. Estonian authorities suspect the ship of likewise harmful telecoms. cables linking Estonia to Finland and Sweden on Oct. 7-8,. in the past hitting the gas pipeline on its method to a port near St. Petersburg in Russia. China guaranteed Finland and Estonia assistance with the. investigations however Estonian authorities have stated the Chinese. did little to fulfil its pledges. Finnish and Estonian detectives have been unable to. figure out whether the Hong Kong-flagged vessel caused the damage. by mishap or intentionally, and have not yet offered their. conclusions in the events. SEPT 2022: NORD STREAM BLASTS Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, built throughout the Baltic Sea. by Russia's state-controlled Gazprom to pump natural. gas to Germany, were harmed on Sept. 26, 2022. Swedish seismologists registered a number of subsea blasts, some. 17 hours apart, off the Danish island of Bornholm, that ruptured. 3 out of 4 pipelines in the Nord Stream system, releasing. methane into the atmosphere. In the investigations, Sweden found traces of dynamites on. several objects recuperated from the site, confirming it was a. purposeful act, but Sweden and Denmark closed their. investigations without calling suspects in 2024. No one has actually taken obligation. Some Western officials have actually suggested Moscow blew up its own. pipelines, an interpretation dismissed by Russian President. Vladimir Putin. Russia has actually blamed the United States, Britain and Ukraine for. the blasts, which largely cut Russian gas off from the European. market. Those countries denied involvement. In August 2024, Germany asked Poland to jail a Ukrainian. diving trainer implicated of belonging to a group that exploded. the Nord Stream pipelines. Poland stated the man left the nation. before he could be apprehended.
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Underwater sabotage suspected in Baltic Sea
A Finnish court denied a release request of an oil tanker that police suspected of damaging four telecommunications cable and an underwater power line in the Baltic Sea. This was not the first time that underwater critical infrastructure in Baltic Sea has been damaged in a suspicious manner. NATO and the Baltic Sea nations have stepped up their presence in this area. A number of police investigations are underway, but no suspects were brought to court. DEC 2024 - POWER AND INTERNET CABLING On December 25, four telephone lines and the Estlink 2 underwater power cable, which connects Finland to Estonia, were damaged. Finland has launched a sabotage probe and on December 26th seized a Russian oil tanker on suspicion that it had caused damage by dragging the anchor. The Cook Islands Eagle S, registered in Finland, was part of an "shadow fleet" that circumvented sanctions against Russian oil exports. The European Union condemned any deliberate destruction to Europe's infrastructure. NATO announced on December 27 that it would increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea Region. The Kremlin stated the same day that it was not concerned about the seizure of the ship, and Russia had previously denied any involvement in such an incident. On December 29, the Finnish police reported that they found tracks in the water where they suspect Eagle S to have damaged the cables. On December 30, the owner of the Eagle S - Caravella LLC FZ based in the United Arab Emirates - filed a petition with the Helsinki District Court requesting the release of ship. The request was denied on January 3, 2025. BALTIC TELECOM CABLES AVAILABLE NOV 2024 On November 17 and 18 two undersea fiber-optic communication cables, located at a distance of more than 200 km (over 100 nautical miles), were cut in the Baltic Sea. This raised suspicions about sabotage. According to Lithuanian Telia Lietuva (part of Swedish Telia Company), a 218-km (135 mile) internet connection between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island went out of service around 0800 GMT on November 17. Cinia, the Finnish cyber security and telecommunications company controlled by the Finnish government, said that a 1,200-km cable linking Helsinki to Rostock in Germany stopped working at around 0200 GMT November 18, 2018. Investigators from the countries involved focused on the Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 which left the Russian Port of Ust-Luga in Nov. 15. An analysis of MarineTraffic showed that the coordinates of the ship matched the time and location of the breaches. After a diplomatic standoff lasting a whole month, during which the ship was parked in the Danish shipping lanes, China finally allowed investigators and representatives from Germany as well as Sweden, Finland, and Denmark to board the Yi Peng 3 on December 21. Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard stated on December 23 that China had refused to heed the Swedish government’s request to have a prosecutor conduct the preliminary inquiry on board. OCT 2023 - BALTICCONNECTOR PIPE AND FILTERS FOR GAS The Balticconnector subsea pipeline that links Finland and Estonia beneath the Baltic Sea was cut by the Chinese container ship NewNew Polar Bear, according to Finnish investigators, when it dragged its anchor early in the morning of Oct. 8, 2023. The Estonian Police suspects that the ship also damaged telecoms cables linking Estonia with Finland and Sweden between Oct. 7 and 8, before striking the gas pipeline while on its way to St Petersburg, Russia. Estonian authorities claim that China did not fulfill its promise to Finland and Estonia regarding the investigation. Investigators in Finland and Estonia have been unable determine whether damage was caused by the Hong Kong flagged vessel accidentally or intentionally. They have yet to provide their conclusions. SEPT 2022 : NORD STREAM BLASTS On September 26, 2022, Nord Stream 1 & 2 were damaged. They are two pipelines built by Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom across the Baltic Sea to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany. Swedish seismologists recorded several subsea explosions that occurred 17 hours apart off the Danish Island of Bornholm. These blasts ruptured three of the four Nord Stream pipelines and released methane in the atmosphere. Sweden's investigation found explosive residue on several recovered objects, confirming that it was an intentional act. However, Sweden and Denmark ended their investigations in 2024 without naming any suspects. No one has accepted responsibility. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has dismissed some Western officials' claims that Moscow blew its own pipelines. Russia blames the United States of America, Britain, and Ukraine for these explosions that have largely isolated Russian gas from the European Market. These countries denied any involvement. In August 2024 Germany requested that Poland arrest a Ukrainian diver instructor who was accused of being a member of a team which blew up Nord Stream Pipelines. Poland claimed that the man fled the country before being detained. Reporting by Anne Kauranen, in Helsinki; Nerijus Adomiaitis, in Oslo; Johan Ahlander, in Gothenburg; Stine Jacobsen, in Copenhagen; Andrius Sytas, in Vilnius, and Anna Ringstrom, in Stockholm. Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, and Timothy Heritage.
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US strikes JetBlue with $2 million charge over chronic flight hold-ups
The U.S. Transportation Department has imposed a $2 million charge on JetBlue Airways for operating four chronically delayed flights on domestic paths the first time it has actually enforced such a fine on an airline for the restricted scheduling practice. USDOT said on Friday that as part of a consent agreement with the airline company, JetBlue will pay a $1 million fine and the remainder will go to compensate clients impacted by its chronic delays or any future disturbances within the next year. As part of the settlement, JetBlue has actually agreed to supply vouchers worth a minimum of $75 for guests for future flight cancellations or hold-ups of three hours or more triggered by the airline company within the next year. JetBlue, which did not immediately comment, told USDOT it did not admit liability but agreed to settle to avoid the expenditure and uncertainty of lawsuits. USDOT stated at various points in 2022 and 2023 JetBlue run chronically delayed flights between New york city and Raleigh-Durham, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando together with a flight in between Fort Lauderdale and Windsor Locks, Connecticut. No matter the reason for the delay (carrier, weather condition, national airspace, security) for any specific flight, JetBlue had adequate time to act to avoid the chronic hold-ups, USDOT said. The airline said it invested 10s of millions of dollars to address concerns with air traffic control service particularly in the U.S. Northeast passage to as much as reasonably possible to prevent any persistent delays. USDOT stated there were 395 hold-ups and cancellations across four chronically postponed flights in total, which suggested U.S. flights that are canceled or get here more than thirty minutes late. more than 50% of the time over a month. USDOT estimates JetBlue was responsible for over 70% of the. disruptions for the 4 chronically postponed flights.
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Airbus provisionally provided over 765 jets in 2024, sources say
Jet missed its headline shipment target by a whisker in 2024, provisionally launching more than 765 jets to airline companies and lessors, market sources said, mentioning preliminary data. Plane notionally delivered more than 122 planes in December, bringing the total for the year to just over 765, they stated. Airbus decreased remark ahead of a statement on Jan 9. The European planemaker had actually anticipated around 770 shipments after lowering its target in July due to provide problems, and avoided a prospective 2nd revenue warning after striking a deal over extra engine supplies in November. But products of interiors stay a persistent issue and some shipments had to be shelved amidst complicated negotiations in between airline, planemaker and seat provider, leaving the 770 target narrowly out of reach, the sources said. The data undergoes a regular audit and can alter at the last minute, with some discretion allowed whether shipments can be scheduled before the modification of ownership is total, though one source stated such paper deliveries had fallen in 2024. Airbus had already prepared the ground for a small miss out on in the delivery target by telling experts that a shortfall of anything less than 20 jets would not be considered product, and for that reason not major sufficient to necessitate a new earnings caution. Plane creates the bulk of its operating earnings and many of its cashflow from commercial jet shipments. Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that Jet had delivered around 760 planes in 2024. Airbus will give projections for 2025 with complete results on Jan. 20.
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Suspension of flights to Middle East
Issues about dispute in the Middle East have actually prompted international airline companies to suspend flights to the region or to prevent affected airspace. Below are some of the airlines that have suspended services to and from the area: AEGEAN AIRLINES The Greek airline company in August cancelled flights to and from Beirut up until March 29. AIR ALGERIE The Algerian airline company has actually suspended flights to and from Lebanon up until further notification, it said on Aug. 1. AIR ARABIA The United Arab Emirates provider will resume flights to Beirut on Jan. 9. AIRBALTIC Latvia's airBaltic has actually cancelled flights to and from Tel . Aviv till Jan. 28. It announced the suspension in late. September. AIR FRANCE-KLM Air France has extended its suspension of Paris-Tel Aviv. flights until Jan. 17 and Paris-Beirut flights up until Jan. 31. KLM will extend its momentary suspension of flights to. Tel Aviv and will not fly till the end of March. The group's affordable unit Transavia has cancelled flights to. and from Tel Aviv, Amman and Beirut up until end-March. AIR INDIA The Indian flag carrier has suspended flights to and from. Tel Aviv till further notice, it stated on Aug. 12. BULGARIA AIR The Bulgarian carrier said it would resume flights to and. from Tel Aviv on Dec. 26. It had actually cancelled the flights in. October pointing out security suggestions. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific has actually cancelled flights to Tel . Aviv till Oct. 25, 2025. It suspended its flights to Israel in. August. CORENDON AIRLINES The Turkish airline has cancelled flights to and from Tel . Aviv up until January. DELTA AIR LINES The U.S. provider has paused flights in between New york city and Tel . Aviv through March 2025. The suspension was announced on Sept. 19. EASYJET EasyJet will not hurry to resume flights to Tel Aviv. after a ceasefire in between Israel and Hezbollah entered effect,. its incoming CEO said on Nov. 27. The UK budget airline had. formerly suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv until March. EMIRATES UAE's state-owned airline has cancelled flights to Beirut. and to Baghdad up until Jan. 31. The suspension started in late. September. FLYDUBAI Flights to Beirut remain momentarily suspended, a. flydubai spokesperson said on Dec. 30. IAG IAG-owned British Airways has suspended flights to Tel Aviv. till the end of March 2025. IAG's inexpensive airline company, Iberia Express, has cancelled. flights to Tel Aviv until March 29 while Vueling will keep. operations to and from Tel Aviv suspended throughout the first. quarter of 2025. IRAN AIR The Iranian airline company has actually cancelled Beirut flights till. further notice. The suspension was announced in late September. IRAQI AIRWAYS Iraq will enable the national carrier Iraqi Airways to resume. flights to Lebanon on Dec. 30, the transportation minister was estimated. as stating by state media on Dec 28. Iraqi Airways had actually suspended. all its flights to and from Beirut on Sep. 27. ITA AIRWAYS The Italian carrier has extended the suspension of Tel Aviv. flights through Jan. 31, a suspension that has been in location. because Sept. 30. LOT The Polish provider plans its first set up flight to. Beirut for April 1. It had actually suspended its flights to Lebanon in. August. LUFTHANSA GROUP The German airline group has extended the suspension of its. flights to Tel Aviv until Jan. 31. Flights to Tehran are cancelled up until Jan. 31 and to Beirut. until Feb. 28. SunExpress, a joint endeavor in between Lufthansa and Turkish. Airline companies, has suspended flights to Beirut up until March. 31. PEGASUS The Turkish airline stated on Jan. 2 that it was carrying. out Beirut flights during daylight hours from Istanbul and. Antalya. RYANAIR Europe's most significant spending plan airline company does not intend on resuming. operations to Israel until March 31 at the earliest, while a. decision to resume operations to and from Jordan from December. is under discussion, a Ryanair spokesperson said on Nov. 27. SUNDAIR The German airline company has actually cancelled flights between Beirut and. Bremen till March 26. The cancellation started on Sept. 23. UNITED AIRLINES The Chicago-based airline company confirmed on Dec. 30 that its. flights to Tel Aviv remain suspended. The suspension started on. July 31. VIRGIN ATLANTIC The UK carrier has suspended Tel Aviv flights until completion. of March. The suspension has actually remained in location given that September. WIZZ AIR The Hungary-based airline has suspended Tel Aviv flights. through Jan. 14, other than for those from Larnaca. Wizz Air has. suspended its flights to Tel Aviv since October.
Puerto Rico's power grid collapses, leaving island in the dark
Puerto Rico awakened in darkness on Tuesday early morning after a power grid failure left nearly all of the island without electrical energy.
Around 90% of customers lacked power at 9:30 a.m. (1330. GMT), according to energy circulation business Luma Energy's. real-time website.
It will likely take 24 to 48 hours to turn the lights back. on, conditions permitting, Luma said in a declaration.
While the reason for the blackout is under examination,. preliminary findings point to a failure in an underground line,. Luma included.
Ivan Baez, a spokesperson for power generator Genera,. called the grid failure a major event in a regional radio. interview.
He said that the line believed to have actually stopped working was. operated by Luma and reduced plants belonging to Genera as. well as private generators.
Genera's site showed two plants launching again at 9:30. a.m. in the U.S. territory.
Puerto Rico has long dealt with chronic power outages as its. facilities falls apart. It was hit hard by Cyclone Maria, a. Category 4 storm, in 2017.
(source: Reuters)