Latest News
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DHL suspends global shipments above $800 for US consumers
DHL Express is a division within Germany's Deutsche Post. It has announced that it will suspend all global business-to consumer shipments of over $800 in value to individual customers in the United States as of April 21. This is due to changes made by U.S. Customs regulations which have increased clearance time. The notice posted on the website of the company was not dated but metadata indicated that it was created on Saturday. DHL attributed the stoppage to new U.S. Customs rules that require formal entry processing for all shipments over $800. Prior to April 5, the minimum was $2,500. DHL stated that business-to-business shipping would not be suspended, but may face delays. Changes to DHL's policy do not affect shipments under $800, whether they are sent by businesses or consumers. In a statement, the company stated that this is a temporary move. DHL responded to questions last week by saying that it will continue to process shipments to the United States from Hong Kong "in accordance to the applicable customs regulations and rules" and that they would "work closely with our customers in order to help them adapt to the planned changes for May 2. This came after Hongkong Post announced last week that it had suspended its mail service for goods shipped by sea to the United States. It accused the U.S. Reporting by Amy Lv in Beijing and Lewis Jackson; editing by Saad sayeed
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Boeing jet from China returns to the US, a victim in Trump's tariff war
The Boeing jet, intended for a Chinese carrier, was returned to the U.S. production center of the planemaker on Sunday. It is a victim the bilateral tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump as part of his global trade offensive. A witness said that the 737 MAX was intended for China's Xiamen Airlines and landed on Boeing Field in Seattle at 6:11 p.m. (0111 GMT). The Xiamen livery was on the aircraft. The jet was among several 737 MAX aircraft waiting for completion at Boeing's Zhoushan center before being delivered to a Chinese airline. This month, Trump raised the baseline tariffs for Chinese imports from 125% to 145%. China has responded by imposing a 125% duty on U.S. products. The tariffs could cripple a Chinese airline that takes delivery of a Boeing jet, as a new 737 MAX is valued at around $55million, according to IBA Aviation Consultancy. Boeing didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Xiamen has not responded to a request for comment. Boeing's top-selling 737 MAX is back, the latest disruption in new aircraft deliveries caused by the breakdown of decades-old duty free status for the aerospace industry. Boeing is recovering from a five-year-old import ban on the 737 MAX and previous trade tensions. Analysts say that confusion over tariff changes could cause many aircraft deliveries to be delayed. Some airline CEOs have said they will defer plane delivery rather than pay duty. (Reporting from Dan Catchpole in Seattle, Lisa Barrington in Seoul and William Mallard and Joe Brock)
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China's ENN and Zhenhua Oil sign LNG deals with ADNOC
China's privately-controlled ENN Natural Gas, and the state-run Zhenhua Oil each signed a contract to purchase liquefied gas from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. ENN Natural Gas announced on its WeChat official account on Saturday the contract covers annual supplies of around one million metric tonnes for 15 years. This is ADNOC’s largest LNG deal with a Chinese customer. ENN stated that the deal was a major step towards stabilizing and diversifying energy supplies. Shanghai-listed ENN Natural Gas is offering to buy the remaining shares of Hong Kong-listed ENN Energy for approximately $7.65 billion. A Chinese source familiar with the deal said that Zhenhua Oil, a state-owned oil and gas trading company, had also agreed to a five-year contract with ADNOC, starting in 2026, for up 12 cargoes per year. The source declined to give his name as he was not authorized to speak in the media. Zhenhua Oil is building a LNG terminal in Rudong. The first LNG terminal will be operational in the first quarter 2026. ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber was present at the opening ceremony of the new Beijing office, according to a source in the industry who attended, as well as a report from Dubai's China-Arab TV. The report did not give any further details but said that ADNOC signed three LNG deals with Chinese partners on Al Jaber's trip. Zhenhua Oil & ADNOC did not respond to requests for comment on the weekend.
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China Shipbuilders Criticize Trump's "short-sighted" US Port Fees
China's Shipbuilders on Sunday blasted the U.S. Port Fees announced by Donald Trump's Administration on China-linked vessels as "shortsighted". The measure was aimed at China's shipbuilding sector. Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to revive U.S. shipbuilding while reducing China's hold on the global shipping market. The next day, his government diluted the measures by protecting domestic exporters and vessel owner serving the Great Lakes region, Caribbean and U.S. territory. The dispute over ocean shipping, which carries 80% of all global trade, is just the latest in a trade war that has intensified between China and the U.S., pushing levies against each other's imported goods beyond 100%. China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry has expressed "extreme anger and resolute resistance" against the U.S. measures, joining the protests of the government and the country's owners of ships. The shipbuilders stated that the decline of the U.S. industry of shipbuilding is due to its protectionist policies and has nothing whatsoever to do with China. It warned that the U.S. restriction would disrupt the global shipping system, cause a rise in shipping costs and increase U.S. prices, as well as harming the interests of the U.S. public. The industry group said that it expected the Chinese authorities to take strong measures to counteract the shortsighted U.S. behavior. On Friday, the government condemned "discriminatory steps" and urged Washington to "correct any wrongdoings." In a press release, the Ministry of Commerce pledged to "resolutely" take the necessary measures to protect our interests, saying that the fees "fully reveal its unilateralist and protective policies and are typical non-market practices". (Reporting and editing by Beijing Newsroom)
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At least 148 people die after boat catches fire in Congo, media reports say
Local officials cited in media reported that at least 148 bodies were discovered after a motorised wood boat capsized and caught fire. According to reports, the boat carried up to 500 passengers including women and kids when it sank in the Congo River, located in the northwest region of the country, on Tuesday. In Congo, boating accidents are common, as old wooden boats are used to transport people between villages, and they are often overloaded. The reports also stated that officials estimate hundreds of missing people. The previous estimate of 50 dead people was revised upwards. The boat, named HB Kongolo caught fire near Mbandaka after leaving the port of Matankumu to the Bolomba Territory. Sky News reported that about 100 survivors were transported to an improvised refuge at the town hall. Those with burn injuries were then taken to local hospitals. According to Competent Loyoko of the Associated Press, the incident happened when a fire broke out while a woman was cooking aboard the vessel. The report said that several passengers, including children and women, died when they jumped into the water, despite not being able swim. In 2024, a boat carrying 278 passengers capsized on Lake Kivu in eastern Congo, and at least 78 drowned. In a separate event, At least 22 people have died After a riverboat sank in December, in western Congo. (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese in Bengaluru, Mrinmay dey from Bengaluru)
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At least 148 people die after boat catches fire in Congo, media reports say
Local officials cited in media reported that at least 148 bodies were discovered after a motorised wood boat caught fire and capsized. According to reports, the boat carried up to 500 passengers including women and kids when it sank in the Congo River, located in the northwest region of the country, on Tuesday. In Congo, boating accidents are common, as old wooden boats are used to transport people between villages, and they are often overloaded. The reports also stated that officials estimate hundreds of missing people. Previous estimates put the number of deaths at 50. The boat, named HB Kongolo caught fire near Mbandaka after leaving the port of Matankumu to the Bolomba Territory. Sky News reported that about 100 survivors were transported to a temporary shelter set up at the town hall. Those with burn injuries were then taken to hospitals in the area. According to Competent Loyoko of the Associated Press, the incident happened when a woman cooking aboard the vessel started a fire. The report said that several passengers, including children and women, died when they jumped into the water, despite not being able swim. In 2024, a boat carrying 278 passengers capsized on Lake Kivu in eastern Congo, and at least 78 drowned. In a separate event, At least 22 people have died After a riverboat sank in western Congo in December, (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese in Bengaluru, Mrinmay dey from Bengaluru)
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At least 148 people die after boat catches fire in Congo, media reports say
Local officials cited in media reported that at least 148 bodies were discovered after a motorised wood boat sank and caught fire. According to reports, the boat carried up to 500 passengers including women and kids when it sank in the Congo River, located in the northwest region of the country, on Tuesday. In Congo, boating accidents are very common. Old wooden boats are used as the main means of transport between villages, and they are often overloaded. The reports also stated that officials estimate hundreds of missing people. The previous estimate of 50 dead people was revised upwards. The boat, named HB Kongolo caught fire near Mbandaka after leaving the port of Matankumu to the Bolomba Territory. Sky News reported that about 100 survivors were transported to an improvised refuge at the town hall. Those with burn injuries were then taken to local hospitals. According to Competent Loyoko of the Associated Press, the incident happened when a woman cooking aboard the vessel started a fire. The report said that several passengers, including children and women, died when they jumped into the water, despite not being able swim. In 2024, 78 people died when a boat carrying 278 passengers capsized on Lake Kivu in eastern Congo. In a separate event, At least 22 people have died After a riverboat sank in western Congo in December, (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese in Bengaluru, Mrinmay dey from Bengaluru)
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Russian oil rates from Baltic to India continue to fall as Urals remains under price cap
Two traders reported that the freight rates for Russian oil shipments to India from Baltic ports are dropping further from their recent highs in April, as Urals crude is trading well below $60, increasing tanker supply. The Group of Seven, together with the EU, will impose a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian crude oil by late 2022. This will restrict access to Western shipping services and insurance for purchases above this limit in an effort to reduce Moscow's funding of war. Costs of shipping Urals Oil from the Baltic Ports of Primorsk & Ust-Luga, to India have fallen to an average of $6 million for a one-way shipment. This is down from $7 million in late March and $8 million at the beginning of this year. Early in April, the global oil price fell, pushing Urals crude into Russian ports below $60 a barrel. This allowed more Western shipping firms to resume their services, including freight, for Russian oil. On Thursday, the price of Urals oil shipped from Primorsk port was $53.5 per barrel. After a new round U.S. energy sanctions announced in January took effect, the price of Russian crude shipping increased sharply. Russian oil sellers had to find new tankers to replace the ones that were hit by the sanctions. The cost of shipping Russian crude oil from the Baltic ports to India in January was $4.7-4.9million. Reporting by
The building of a data center in the US has raised concerns about overburdening the largest US grid.
Energy executives and regulators at CERAWeek, a conference held in Houston last week, expressed concern about the ability of an aging U.S. electric grid to meet this demand.
Electricity consumption in the United States is reaching record levels due to the construction of giant computer warehouses by Big Tech. A single site can use as much energy as a medium-sized U.S. town. The government agencies predict that data center demand is expected to triple in the next three-years, and consume 12% of all U.S. electricity.
In an interview, Samir Vora said that the challenges facing the grid are becoming more pronounced.
As electricity demand grows, fossil fuel-powered generators are being retired. Interconnection queues for new generation and power lines can last years, affecting the delicate balance between supply and demand needed to prevent blackouts.
Mark Christie, the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said this at a conference held on Thursday.
Christie stated that the reality of the situation has been made most apparent in the largest electrical grid of the United States, PJM Interconnection. This grid covers 13 states plus the District of Columbia.
PJM has the largest concentration of data centres in the world. Virginia, a member state of PJM, routes about 70% of the global internet traffic. PJM's latest capacity auction saw prices more than 800% above the previous year. The grid operator cited rising demand and shrinking supplies as the reason for the increase.
Manu Asthana said in a panel discussion that he was optimistic about the solution to this problem, but it wasn't a trivial one.
Asthana, PJM's CEO, said that he expects the peak demand of 184 gigawatts in 2030. Asthana added that nearly all of these additions will come from data centers.
FERC's Christie warned that if new power is not added quickly, the supply and demand squeeze will spread to other areas of the country.
He warned that the problem would be magnified in other regions with multiple states. (Reporting and editing by Laila KEARNEY; Liz Hampton)
(source: Reuters)