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Pertamina unit to produce ISCC-certified SAF in Q1
Kilang Pertamina Internasional, refinery unit of Indonesia's state owned energy company Pertamina, aims to produce its very first certified sustainable air travel fuel (SAF) in the very first quarter of this year, the company said on Thursday. The company received certification for SAF in December including the International Sustainability Carbon Accreditation( ISCC) Carbon Balancing Out and Decrease Plan for International Air Travel (CORSIA) and ISCC Europe Union (EU). accreditation. It will produce SAF using the dealt with extract hydro. dealing with unit at its Cilacap refinery. KPI is ready to progress by producing the very first. ISCC-certified Pertamina SAF in Indonesia and in the area with. used cooking oil as the raw material which is set up in the. very first quarter of 2025, KPI representative Hermansyah Y. Nasroen. stated in a statement. KPI had actually said its Green Refinery Cilacap has capacity to. procedure 6,000 barrels of used cooking oil per day to produce. hydrotreated grease and SAF with overall output approximated. about 300,000 kilolitres each year.
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Idemitsu to start trial of non-edible oilseed crop for aviation fuel
Idemitsu Kosan will start a trial plantation of the nonedible oilseed tree crop Pongamia in Australia from midJanuary to evaluate its capacity as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), Japan's No. 2. petroleum refiner said on Thursday. The plantation will be performed in collaboration with. Terviva, a U.S. business with over a years of research study and. growing proficiency in Pongamia, Idemitsu said in a statement. Pongamia, a leguminous plant dispersed in Southeast Asia. and Oceania, is an extremely efficient non-edible oilseed crop that. does not take on food production, according to Idemitsu. Idemitsu, intending to develop a supply system for 500,000. kilolitres of SAF yearly by 2030, stated it has also purchased. Terviva, it stated, but did not reveal the investment details. Through the trial plantation, Idemitsu will evaluate. long-term cultivation methods for Pongamia and how to optimize. the supply chain from cultivation to SAF production. Idemitsu will likewise check out additional usages for Pongamia,. consisting of producing carbon credits through afforestation,. producing biomass power pellets from Pongamia shells, and utilizing. pressed oilseed cake as animals feed. Oil drawn out from its seeds is anticipated to act as a. feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel production, the business. stated. SAF is thought about essential for the aviation sector to reach. its objective of net no carbon emissions by 2050, but its adoption. remains in a nascent stage. SAF makes up only around 0.3% of international jet fuel use and. is predicted to reach just 0.7% by 2025, according to information from. airline trade body IATA. Experts emphasize that the production. rate of the green fuel requires to grow rapidly for the sector to. attain its emissions targets.
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Taiwan navy shows off its steel with simulated attack exercise
Taiwan's navy simulated on Thursday an effort to see off opponent ships as it finished up three days of New Year drills, sending out two of its newest and most innovative warships to lead a flotilla into the Taiwan Strait. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, sends its flying force and navy into the skies and waters near the island every day in what the government in Taipei calls a continual pressure project. In 2015 China also held 2 rounds of significant war video games around Taiwan. At the Zuoying naval base in the southern city of Kaohsiung on the shores of the Strait, two Tuo Chiang-class corvettes accompanied 4 smaller sized Kuang Hua VI-class rocket boats into the waters in a drill replicating the approach of enemy ships. When we see a target at sea, when it continues to approach us, this is how we respond, navy Captain Chen Ming-feng informed reporters at the base. The Taiwan-made Tuo Chiang corvettes have been called the aircraft carrier killer by its navy, for their complement of anti-ship missiles. They can also bring Sky Sword anti-aircraft missiles. With a catamaran style, the cutting edge highly manoeuvrable stealth vessels, are meant to secure larger warships while operating near Taiwan's shores. Taiwan's navy is dwarfed by that of China, which has 3 carrier, nuclear-powered submarines and hundreds of other warships. During the drills, which began on Tuesday, Taiwan's air force also demonstrated for reporters its Patriot ground-to-air rockets and Ching-kuo Indigenous Defence Fighters. Taiwan declines Beijing's sovereignty claims and states only the island's people can decide their future.
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Taiwan buys estimated 114,650 T wheat of U.S.-origin, traders say
The Taiwan Flour Millers' Association bought an approximated 114,650 metric tons of milling wheat sourced from the United States in a tender on Thursday, European traders stated. The purchase included various wheat types in two consignments for shipment from the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast. The very first consignment for shipment for March 8-22 included 38,300 lots of U.S. dark northern spring wheat of a minimum 14.5% protein material bought at an estimated $285.66 a ton complimentary on board (fob) equating to $314.91 per lot expense and freight ( c&& f) including ocean shipping expenses to Taiwan, they stated. It also involved 12,475 tons of tough red winter season wheat of a. minimum 12.5% protein content bought at $259.41 a load. fob/$ 288.66 a heap c&& f and 6,925 tons of soft white wheat of a. minimum 8.5% and optimum 10% protein purchased $228.54 a heap. fob/$ 257.79 c&& f. Trading house Viterra offered the dark northern in the very first. consignment while CHS offered the hard red and soft white, traders. said. The 2nd consignment for March 26-April 9 shipment. involved 38,100 tons of dark northern spring wheat of a minimum. 14.5% protein content bought at an approximated $285.66 a heap. fob/$ 316.46 a load c&& f, they stated. It also involved 12,450 lots of tough red winter season wheat of a. minimum 12.5% protein material bought at $256.47 a lot. fob/$ 287.27 c&& f and 6,400 tons of soft white wheat of a minimum. 8.5% and optimum 10% protein bought at $229.81 a load fob/$ 260.61. c&& f. Viterra was thought to have actually offered the dark northern and soft. white in the 2nd consignment and CHS offered the soft red. winter. Reports show evaluations from traders and even more. quotes of costs and volumes are possible later. The association's tenders offer a photo of U.S. wheat. export rates in Asian markets.
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Aerospace firms gird for protectionism under Trump, Airbus CEO states
European aerospace business are bracing for really strong protectionism in the United States under the administration of Presidentelect Donald Trump, the head of planemaker Airplane said on Thursday. Speaking to reporters as head of France's GIFAS aerospace market association, Airplane CEO Guillaume Faury likewise stated supply chains had yet to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Airplane is anticipated to reveal later Thursday that it made 766 shipments in 2024, up 4% from the previous year, combined with a downturn in orders from record highs in 2023. The industry faces a cocktail of strong aerospace and defence demand, except in the European area sector, combined with supply chain problems, geopolitical tensions and growing competitors from India and in other places, Faury said. Days ahead of Trump's inauguration, the European market is getting ready for a shift to protectionism that has yet to be specified however is most likely to be noticable, Faury said. Trump has actually threatened tariffs on foreign products as part of an economic program to put America very first. Europe's aerospace sector is gaining from strong need for business jets and increased defence costs, while facing overcapacity and countless job cuts in satellites. Faury stated European defence companies face what he described as unjustifiable lacks of funding from the banking sector, offered the war in Ukraine. Following Russia's intrusion of Ukraine, the sector has actually said defence must represent a greater portion of portfolios, while sustainable investors in Europe have remained opposed. Holding the turning presidency of France's aerospace lobby, Faury ticked off requests to the government of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who took office last month, including maintaining support for research on cutting emissions and easing business charges. The former auto executive said the history of the French vehicle industry demonstrated it was possible to topple from a strong export surplus in 2000 to a considerable deficit. Let's not duplicate in air travel what took place in other sectors, he informed a news conference.
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Philippines' Black Nazarene procession draws numerous countless devotees
Numerous thousands of barefoot fans signed up with a yearly procession in the Philippines of a centuriesold statue of Jesus Christ on Thursday in one of the world's grandest displays of Catholic devotion and expression of faith. Filipinos turned the streets of Manila to a sea of maroon and gold and swarmed the Black Nazarene, a life-sized picture of Jesus Christ bearing down a cross, as followers jostled for a. chance to pull the thick rope towing the carriage throughout the. Philippine capital. The procession's organisers have estimated about 220,000. individuals went to mass before the procession, while 94,500 remained in. the march as of 8 a.m. (0000 GMT). That number is anticipated to. swell as it moves along its 5.8 km (3.6 mile) path. Other fans tossed white towels at the image as marshals. cleaned them of its surface area, thinking that touching the statue. would bless them and heal their illnesses. Nearly 80% of Filipinos recognize as Roman Catholic, a key. legacy of Spanish colonisation in the Philippine archipelago for. more than 300 years. The late Filipino priest and theologian Sabino Vengco said. in 2019 the statue's revered black colour was because of the. mesquite wood used in constructing the image, debunking a. longstanding myth its blackened image was because of a fire that. emerged on the ship that brought it to the Philippines from. Mexico in the early 17th century. The procession, called the traslacion, or translation,. honors the transfer of the Black Nazarene from a church. inside the old Spanish capital of Intramuros to its present. location in Quiapo church. Cardinal Jose Advincula, Manila's archbishop, told devotees. on Thursday to turn away from wicked, greed and vices and follow. the mentors of Jesus Christ. Let us live up to his rules, embrace his mentors. and follow his example. It is much better to follow the Beloved. Lord, Advincula stated in his homily ahead of the procession.
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Australia's Telstra brings home satellite tech with Musk's SpaceX
Leading Australian telco Telstra stated on Thursday it is working together with billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring satellite connection technology to its local customers. Telstra has actually partnered with satellite-based internet supplier Starlink to bring the latter's Starlink-to-Mobile technology to Australia, allowing the U.S. company to provide satellite broadband connectivity directly to suitable mobile phones, particularly in remote areas. The cooperation would allow Telstra clients to send out and get SMSes on a suitable smart phone in most parts of Australia where there is a direct view to the sky, said Telstra Group Executive of Global Network and Innovation Shailin Sehgal. This is not the very first partnership between the two companies; in 2023, Telstra signed a contract with Starlink to use voice-only and voice-plus-broadband services in rural and remote areas of Australia. Additionally, U.S. EV maker Tesla, where Musk serves as the CEO, is chaired by Robyn Denholm, a previous finance and operations head of Telstra.
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Hong Kong airport raises $4.15 bln in 3 tranche dollar bond deal, term sheet programs
Airport Authority Hong Kong has raised $4.15 billion in a three tranche dollar bond deal, according to a term sheet evaluated on Thursday. The operator of Hong Kong's airport raised $1.3 billion in a. 3.5-year bond, $1.85 billion in a 5.5-year deal and $1 billion. in a 10-year tranche, the term sheet said. Airport Authority Hong Kong did not right away react. to an emailed ask for remark from Reuters. Financiers lodged $3.4 billion worth of a bids for the. quickest dated bond, $5.8 billion for the 5.5-year offer and $8.5. billion for the 10-year bond, a book runners messaged sent out on. Thursday said. Airport Authority of Hong Kong also raised the. equivalent of $2.8 billion in Hong Kong dollar and Chinese yuan. bonds previously this week, term sheets for those offers showed. The deal indicates more than $10 billion has been raised in. dollars in Asia today, according to LSEG data and term. sheets seen . Dealmakers expect about a 20% increase in dollar issuance throughout the area in 2025, as lower U.S. interest rates make dollar bonds more attractive to providers.
In talks with Putin, PM Fico claims to have secured gas supplies for Slovakia
Robert Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, said that he secured the country's gas supply when he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month in Moscow. This was just a few days before Ukraine stopped the transit of Russian gas to Ukraine at the beginning of 2025.
Fico stated in a Facebook video that he needed to ensure at least gas for Slovakian domestic consumption. We have done so.
Fico didn't provide any more details, and the government office didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment.
Fico accused Kyiv, of harming Slovakia, by refusing to extend a transit agreement for Russian gas which expired at the end 2024. He also threatened to reduce electricity flows to Ukraine as well as aid to its refugees.
According to data from the Slovak gas network operator Eustream, Slovakia continues to receive gas through Hungary, which gets Russian gas via Turk Stream. This has been true since Ukraine stopped receiving gas.
Fico stated that the Ukraine's stoppage has cost him 500 million euros as transit fees, and 1 billion euro in higher gas prices.
Fico will meet with officials of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday to talk about the suspension of Ukraine's gas transit.
Moscow will continue to lose revenue if Ukraine continues to be attacked by Russia, according Kyiv.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, has accused Fico that he opened a second energy front against Ukraine at Russia's orders. (Reporting and editing by Kevin Liffey, Alistair Bell and Jason Hovet)
(source: Reuters)