Latest News
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WHO chief is concerned about the speed and scale of Ebola outbreak
As the number of Ebola cases continues to rise, the head of the World Health Organization has expressed his deep concern. Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, WHO director-general, said that there have been at least 50 suspected cases of Ebola and 130 suspected deaths since the outbreak began. Later, 131 deaths were attributed to the outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of?Congo. According to a daily bulletin from the health authorities, there have been 516 suspect cases and 33 confirm cases in the?Congo. Two confirmed cases were also reported in the neighbouring country of?Uganda. Tedros said that the "numbers" will change, as field operations, such as strengthening surveillance, contact tracking and laboratory testing, are scaled up. Tedros expressed his deep concern about the speed and scale of the epidemic. Tedros announced that the WHO Emergency Committee will meet later on Tuesday to discuss Ebola. The WHO chief is advised by an emergency committee of international experts. The WHO is concerned by a number of factors, including cases in urban areas such as Kampala, Uganda and Goma, DRC as well as the conflict affected province of Ituri. Cases reported among health workers ?also indicate healthcare-associated transmission, Tedros ?said. The WHO approved $3.9million?in funding for national authorities to respond to this outbreak.
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Sweden buys navy frigates for more than $4 billion from France
The first delivery is expected to take place in 2030, at a cost of approximately 40 billion Swedish crowns (4.25 billion dollars). Ulf Kristersson, the Prime Minister of Sweden, said at a press conference that the purchase of the French Defence and Intervention model (FDI) will be the biggest investment in Sweden's military since the 1980s. Sweden is rushing to strengthen its military following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the Nordic nation's subsequent membership in NATO. The new frigates represent a significant increase of maritime defence capability. Minister Pal Jonson, the Swedish Defence Minister, said that several weapons developed in Sweden?including those by Saab? could be used by these vessels. Jonson stated that each vessel is expected to cost between 10 billion Swedish crowns depending on the exact weapon systems onboard, and the first delivery should take place by 2030. The right-wing Ukrainian government, which is one of Ukraine's strongest supporters in Europe, said that it expected to achieve the NATO target of 3,5% of GDP for military expenditures in 2030. This was several years before the deadline set by NATO. The government previously stated that the new frigates would be the largest surface warfare ships in Sweden's Navy and that they were expected to have a?lifespan? of around 40 years. Naval beat out a joint bid from Britain's Babcock & Saab, as well a bid from Spain's Navantia. The frigates play a crucial role in Sweden's air defense and protecting the Baltic Sea. Sweden also has five Visby-class Corvettes, and is upgrading its submarine fleet. $1 = 9.4037 Swedish Crowns (reporting and editing by Terje Solsvik, EssiLehto, and Niklas pollard).
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What is the Power of Siberia 2 Natural Gas Pipeline to China?
The Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit China this week, and he will 'hold discussions with President Xi Jinping. A Kremlin aide stated on Monday that a detailed discussion of the proposed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline would be held. China, 'the world's largest oil and gas consumer, is a major buyer of Russian products. Here are some facts regarding the proposed pipeline: What is the POWER OF SIBERIA II? Power of Siberia 2 is a planned 2,600 km (1,616 miles) system that will transport 50 billion cubic meters (bcm), or 50 billion cubic feet per year of gas to China via Mongolia. This gas will come from the Arctic Gas Fields of Yamal. The Power of Siberia 2 pipeline would be a complement to the existing Power of Siberia 1 pipe that brought 38 bcm of Russian gas to China in 2017. During the September meeting between Putin and?Xi the two sides agreed that the Power of Siberia pipeline would be increased to 44 bcm a yearly capacity. Gazprom of Russia, the company that will build Power of Siberia 2 in Russia, began a feasibility report on the project in 2020 and announced in September 2025 a legally-binding 30-year supply agreement. Power of Siberia 2 is stalled because of disagreements about price. In a meeting in September, Putin said that the price of the gas would be determined by a formula similar to those used for Russian shipments into Europe. This project is of particular importance to Russia, as sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine have cut off most of its European clients. WHAT HAS CHINA COMMENTED? China has not made many public comments about the pipeline. China didn't release a statement when Gazprom announced its memorandum in September last year. Last November, the head of China National Petroleum Corp's research unit said that it would take at least 8-10 years to build a project like this. In March, China announced that in its 15th 5-year plan it would advance the "early stage" work on the Power of 'Siberia 2 What is China's existing gas pipeline import network? China's natural-gas imports via pipelines are steadily increasing, and will reach 59.4 millions tons by 2025, accounting for 19% of the country's domestic consumption. Five pipelines already exist that bring?natural-gas from Central Asia, Russia, and Myanmar. Three pipelines enter China in the Xinjiang area, which supply more than 40 bcm natural gas per year. They start in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The 793 km?Myanmar - China Gas Pipeline started operating in 2013, and was designed to transport 12 bcm per year. Russia and China also are building another pipeline, with a 10 bcm capacity to transport gas from the Russian Pacific Island of Sakhalin.
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New York Times Business News - May 19,
These are the most popular?articles on the New?York?Times?business pages. The New York Times has not'verified' these stories, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. U.S. president Donald Trump's government created on Monday a fund of nearly $1.8 billion to compensate victims who were "weaponized" by political forces. This was to settle the lawsuit Trump filed against his government over alleged mismanagement of his tax records. After a wage agreement was reached with the New York Governor Kathy Hochul, 3,500 workers at the Long Island Rail Road in New York will end their strike. This is the first strike for'more than three decades' that had caused disruption on the U.S. busiest commuter route. U.S. energy companies?NextEra Energy & Dominion Energy announced on Monday a merger plan in a $66.8 Billion deal. This will create one of the world's largest utilities, while expanding data centers that are energy-intensive to support artificial intelligence. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday that TrumpRx.gov will now include generic drugs. This includes widely used drugs like cholesterol medication atorvastatin, and diabetes drug metformin. (Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)
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French and Benelux stocks: Factors to watch
Here are some company news and stories from France and Benelux that could impact the markets or individual stocks in these regions. The ADP Group Traffic for April was down to 29,1 million passengers. BANIJAY GROUP Banijay Group reported first-quarter adjusted EBITDA of 196.6 millions euros. SANOFI: French pharmaceutical company Sanofi announced on Monday that a clinical trial had shown its 'rare disease therapy' was superior to standard care for?raising the levels of a protein key in patients with genetic lung disease. SOCIETE GENERALE A French financial regulator fined Societe Generale?20 million euros for failing to provide crucial information to its retail customers. VINCI Vinci announced that it had acquired the Modern Group of?Companies based in Canada. Pan-European market data: European Equities speed guide................... FTSE Eurotop 300 index.............................. DJ ?STOXX index...................................... Top 10 STOXX sectors........................... Top 10 ?EUROSTOXX ?sectors...................... Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors..................... Top 25 European pct gainers....................... Top 25 ?European pct losers........................ Main stock markets: Dow ?Jones............... Wall Street report ..... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ FTSE 100 ............... London - Report ........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt items......... CAC-40................. ?Paris items............ World Indices..................................... Survey of World Bourse Outlook ......... European Asset Allocation........................ News in a glance Top News ............. Equities.............. Main Oil Report ........... Main currency report .....
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Adani Group stocks rise after US drops fraud charges against Gautam Adani
Shares of the 'Adani Group' companies rose between 0.13 and 2.32 percent on Tuesday after the Trump Administration dismissed criminal?fraud allegations against billionaire Gautam Adani. This lifted a major?legal burden from the conglomerate. Adani Enterprises settled allegations of Iran sanctions violations related to the importation of liquefied petroleum gas. Adani Enterprises shares rose by 1.67% before the open of trading and then gained another 2.06% to close at 2,475.30 Rupees. U.S. prosecutors accused Gautam Adani, and his associates in November of last year that they had agreed to pay $265,000,000 to Indian officials as bribes for approvals?for solar energy projects?and misled U.S. Investors about the group's anticorruption practices. The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Monday that Adani Enterprises agreed to pay $275 Million to resolve alleged sanctions related to liquefied gas imports from Iran. The company has stopped importing LPG into India, and created a compliance role to ensure that Treasury guidelines are followed. Sources familiar with the issue say that Adani's lawyer, who is also the personal attorney of U.S. president Donald Trump, stated last month that the group had planned to invest $10 Billion in the United States but could not do so while the cases were unresolved. Since the 2023 report by Hindenburg Research, a short seller, alleged stock manipulation as well as improper use of tax havens offshore. Adani Group denies?wrongdoing' on a repeated basis. Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Ports both gained 0.61 percent as of 9:23 am IST. (Reporting and editing by Rashmi aich in Bengaluru, Surbhi Misra)
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Australia purchases more jet fuel and urea from Brunei, China
The 'Australian Government' said that it had secured three shipments of jet-fuel from China, and additional urea for agricultural use from Brunei. This is to boost fuel and fertiliser stocks amid the disruptions caused by Iran War. After discussions between Premier Li Qiang and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the government announced that more than 600,000. barrels of jet fuel, or approximately 100 million litres would be arriving in early June. Beijing has been limiting fuel exports to protect the domestic supply since March after the Strait of Hormuz was closed, disrupting crude and fuel flow. The government of Australia said that it also purchased 38,500 metric tonnes of urea in Brunei, to "support farmers and agriculture sectors". The fuel and fertiliser security centre, worth A$7.5 billion ($5.36billion), was able to secure both shipments. The facility was created to assist Australia's agricultural and transport industries deal with supply pressures through financial assistance in the form of loans, equity, guarantee, insurance, and price support. Albanese, in a press release, said that the additional?600,000.00 barrels of jet-fuel will keep Australia moving and will provide?certainty? to our farmers. The additional 'jet fuel' represents about 1% of Australia’s annual consumption. Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that Australia worked?with other countries in the region to respond to the shock to the global economic system and ensure the continual flow of essential fuels. Since the Middle East conflict started at the end February, Australia has been experiencing localised fuel shortages. Reporting by Christine Chen, Sydney; Editing Clarence Fernandez, Jamie Freed
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FAA claims it did not address warning signals prior to fatal collision
The Federal Aviation Administration's head will tell Congress Tuesday that the agency did not act on warnings before the fatal January 2025 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. Army helicopter, which killed 67 near Reagan Washington National Airport. The National Transportation Safety Board reported in January that a series systemic failures of the Federal Aviation Administration caused a mid-air collision which was the most deadly U.S. aviation disaster for more than 20 years. "Our airspace systems were sending warning signals before that tragic evening." In a written?testimony, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told a U.S. Senate Commerce Subcommittee that the problem was not lack of data but a failure to?translate this data into action. "That's the gap we urgently close." Bedford said that the FAA has taken a number of steps to improve safety. In March, they suspended the use of visual separations between helicopters and airplanes at major airports. In March, the FAA issued new rules citing two recent incidents including a near-miss involving an American Airlines plane and a police helicopter near San Antonio's airport. He said that a strategic, sweeping reorganization is underway at the FAA. "This includes streamlining of leadership roles and eliminating silos that hinder transparency and information sharing." The NTSB found that the FAA allowed helicopters to travel close to airports without safeguards separating them from planes and failed to review data or act on recommendations for moving helicopter traffic away. Since 2021, 15,200 air separation accidents have occurred near Reagan Airport between commercial planes and helicopters. This includes?85 close calls. The FAA implemented restrictions on helicopter traffic at Reagan Airport after the?collision of 2025. Other airports, including Baltimore, Las Vegas, and Washington Dulles, were also affected. The FAA also reduced plane arrivals at Reagan.
Since the Ukraine War, Russia has been increasing its energy ties to China
China has increased its purchases of Russian gas and oil since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine 2022. Moscow and Beijing declared a partnership with "no limitations" just days before war broke out. Energy relations between Russia and China are expected to be a major topic at the meeting of Vladimir Putin with Xi Jinping in Beijing, on Wednesday.
Here are some facts about energy ties between the two countries.
Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, supplies natural gas to China through a pipeline of 3,000 km (1,865 miles) called Power of Siberia, under a $400 billion, 30-year deal signed at the end of 2019
Exports will increase by a quarter in 2025 to 38,8 billion cubic metres (bcm), surpassing the planned capacity of 38 bcm.
In September, during Putin's trip to China, the two countries agreed to raise the annual volume of gas on the route from 42 bcm to 44 bcm. China agreed in February 2022 to purchase up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year?by the end of 2027, via a pipeline that will connect Sakhalin Island to Russia's Far East. Later, the countries agreed to increase the volumes to 12 billion cubic meters.
Russia's exports of gas to China are still a fraction of its record 177 Bcm delivered to Europe annually in 2018-19.
The share of Russian gas in European Union imports fell during the Ukraine conflict, especially?in terms of pipeline flows. Russia was the EU’s second largest liquefied gas supplier with a share of 16% last year, but the gap between the EU’s main LNG partner - the United States - widened significantly. Russia and China are still in discussions about a new Power of Siberia 2 pipe that can deliver 50 bcm of natural gas to China via Mongolia each year.
Gazprom started a feasibility study for the pipeline in 2020. However, the project is now more urgent as Russia looks to China as its main gas customer. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller stated in September that both countries had signed a legally binding memorandum on the pipeline. However, a contract has yet to be finalized.
According to TASS, China's Customs data cites that Russia's liquefied gas exports to China increased by 18.2% last year to 9,79 million metric tonnes.
China is the largest purchaser of seaborne gas in the world. After Australia and Qatar, Russia is the third-largest LNG supplier to China.
OIL China is the top client of Moscow for oil shipments by sea and pipelines. The sanctions imposed by the West on Russia for its involvement in the Ukraine war have led to a surge in exports. China's General Administration of Customs reported that China's imports of Russian oil were 2.01 million barrels a day (bpd), or 100.72 millions metric tons, in?2025. This represents a 7.1% decline. This represented 20% of China's total imports by volume.
Yury Ushakov is Putin's aide for foreign policy. He said that Russian oil exports reached 31 million tons in the first quarter 2026.
China is the largest oil consumer in the world. It mainly purchases crude oil from Eastern Siberia to the Pacific Ocean (ESPO), which is exported via the Skovorodino Mohe spur on the 4,070-km (2.540-miles) ESPO pipe. This pipeline connects Russian oilfields with?refineries and ports in China. Transneft, the Russian oil pipeline operator, has announced that it is expanding the ESPO pipe to increase exports through Kozmino. The expansion work should be completed by 2029. China imports oil as well from the Pacific island of Sakhalin in both Sakhalin Blend oil and Sokol oil grades. Since July 2025 when exports were increased to 1 million barrels a day, the 'availability' of ESPO blend oil has remained high. Transneft keeps exports via Kozmino around this level.
The Russian government has agreed to increase its oil exports via Kazakhstan to China by 2.5 million tonnes per year, to 12.5 millions tons. (Reporting and editing by Gus Trompiz, Vladimir Soldatkin)
(source: Reuters)