Power generator fire damages Air India aircraft
Bengaluru — Air India said on Tuesday it has grounded a passenger jet for checks after a power generator caught fire shortly after landing at India’s capital city, New Delhi.
The aircraft’s auxiliary power unit (APU) caught fire when its passengers were getting off the aircraft and was automatically shut down, a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement.
APU is an electrical power generator typically located at the rear of an aircraft. Its primary function is to start the main engines and power essential on-board systems while the aircraft is parked at the airport.
Passengers “disembarked normally” and are safe but the aircraft, which was flying from Hong Kong, suffered some damage, the airline said. It did not elaborate on the damages caused to the plane. Reuters
Nigeria to create local indices for petroleum products
Lagos — Nigeria has partnered with S&P Global Commodity Insights to develop a regional pricing benchmark for refined petroleum products in West Africa, the country's downstream regulator said on Tuesday.
The initiative, launched at the West African Refined Fuel Conference in Nigeria's capital Abuja, aims to create localised indices for products such as petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and liquefied petroleum gas.
West Africa is a large oil and gas producer as well as a growing refining hub. But it is dependent upon posted prices from global reference markets, said Farouk Ahmed, head of Nigeria’s Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority. Reuters
Lockheed Martin profit dives on pretax losses
Bengaluru — Lockheed Martin reported on Tuesday that its second-quarter profit plunged by about 80%, after the US defence giant recorded pretax losses of $1.6bn, mainly linked to a classified programme within its Aeronautics segment.
The company’s shares fell 8% in premarket trading.
Its net income dropped to $342m, or $1.46 per share, compared with $1.64bn, or $6.85 per share, a year earlier
Lockheed said the charge stemmed from difficulties with a classified programme in its Aeronautics business and to certain international helicopter programmes in its Sikorsky unit. Reuters
Apple supplier Goertek to buy Luen Fung units
Beijing — Apple supplier Goertek said on Tuesday it plans to buy two units of Hong Kong’s Luen Fung Commercial Holdings for about a combined HK$10.4bn ($1.32bn).
The acquisition of Mega Precision Technology and Channel Well Industrial would help Goertek strengthen competitiveness in the field of precision structural components, the company said in a Shenzhen stock exchange filing. Reuters
US and China to meet over higher tariffs deadline
Washington — US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that he will meet his Chinese counterpart next week and discuss what is likely to be an extension of an August 12 deadline for higher tariffs.
Bessent told Fox Business that trade with China was in “a very good place” and the meetings in Stockholm would take place next Monday and Tuesday.
“I think we’ve actually moved to a new level with China, where it’s very constructive and very we’re able — we’re going to be able — to get a lot of things done now that trade has kind of settled in at a good level,” Bessent said. Reuters
Ukraine extends curbs for anti-corruption agencies
Kyiv — Ukraine’s parliament voted on Tuesday to tighten restrictions on two anti-corruption agencies, legislators said, rolling back the autonomy of institutions that have been at the centre of the government’s reform programme.
Stamping out endemic graft is a central requirement for Kyiv to join the EU and independent investigators have in recent months embarrassed senior officials with allegations of corruption.
Tuesday’s vote paves the way for the presidentially appointed general prosecutor to gain more control over the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. Reuters
New Iran sanctions ‘will worsen nuclear situation’
Dubai — Reimposing international sanctions on Iran would make the “situation” over its nuclear programme more complex, state media quoted Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi as saying on Tuesday.
He was speaking ahead of a meeting on Friday with three European states known as the E3 — Britain, France and Germany.
The E3 have said that if no progress is reached by the end of August over Iran's nuclear programme, they will invoke a “snapback” mechanism — a process that would reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under a 2015 deal in return for restrictions on Iran's nuclear programme
“We will express our position regarding the E3’s comments on the snapback mechanism, which we think lacks any legal ground,” Gharibabadi said, referring to Friday’s meeting in Istanbul. Reuters
Britain gives final nod for Sizewell C nuclear plant
London — Britain gave the final go-ahead for the £38bn Sizewell C nuclear plant in eastern England on Tuesday after it secured investment from British and international investors including Canadian pension fund La Caisse.
Under the deal, the British state will be the largest shareholder in the project with a 44.9% stake, La Caisse will hold 20%, UK energy firm Centrica 15% and London-based Amber Infrastructure will take an initial 7.6%, joining France's state-owned EDF which had already announced its 12.5% stake.
The decision to go ahead with Sizewell C is another sign of a nuclear revival in Europe as several countries look to build new plants to replace ageing fleets, boost energy security and reach climate goals.
The plant in Suffolk will be only the second new nuclear plant built in Britain in more than two decades. It is expected to create about 10,000 jobs during the peak of construction, and produce enough electricity to power about 6-million homes when built.
EDF expects Sizewell C to be operational by around the mid to late 2030s. Reuters
Shell, energy groups exit net zero emissions plan
Bengaluru — Shell and other leading energy groups have abandoned a six-year-long attempt to define a net zero emissions strategy after being told that such a standard would require them to stop developing new oil and gas fields, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing documents seen by the newspaper.
Shell, Norway's Aker BP and Canada’s Enbridge have all quit the expert advisory group of Science-Based Targets initiative since late last year, the FT reported.
The Science-Based Targets initiative, a leading assessor of company climate goals, confirmed it has paused development of the oil and gas standard due to “significant, resource-intensive development” it still required.
“This is the sole reason behind our decision ... we will return to Oil & Gas Standard development, with the precise timing to be determined as we finalise our forward work programme,” a spokesperson for the group said.
In March, the body had proposed new rules to better help companies set high-quality emissions-reduction plans. Reuters
Harvard University calls for return of federal grants
Boston — Harvard University urged a federal judge on Monday to order US President Donald Trump’s administration to restore about $2.5bn in cancelled federal grants and cease efforts to cut off research funding to the prestigious Ivy League school.
But a lawyer for the Trump administration told the judge the cancelled grants reflect a government priority not to send money to institutions that practice antisemitism.
“Harvard prioritised campus protesters over cancer research,” said Michael Velchik, a senior lawyer at the US justice department. He told the judge she should not be hearing the case in the first place, arguing the matter belonged in the Court of Federal Claims, which handles monetary disputes.
The court hearing before US district judge Allison Burroughs in Boston lasted more than two hours, but ended without a ruling. The case marks a crucial moment in the White House’s escalating conflict with Harvard, which has been in the administration’s crosshairs after it rejected a list of demands to make changes to its governance, hiring and admissions practices in April.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based university said hundreds of research projects including ones concerning cancer treatments, infectious diseases and Parkinson’s disease will be in jeopardy unless the judge declares the grant cancellations unlawful. Reuters
Russia carmaker Avtovaz expects sales to fall 25%
Moscow — Russia’s largest carmaker Avtovaz on Tuesday said it may shorten its working week to four from five days, a rare move from a major state-owned employer, as high interest rates and competition from China squeeze its sales.
Avtovaz, struggling to find enough car buyers, said last month that it expects sales across Russia’s car market to shrink by 25% this year and has blamed the central bank’s high interest rates, which reduces appetite for car loans and raises production costs, as a major issue.
Russia’s key interest rate has been at a more than 20-year high for several months and the central bank has come under pressure from government officials and business leaders to reduce borrowing costs more quickly. The bank is widely expected to cut rates by 200 basis points to 18% on Friday.
“We are talking about the high key rate and tougher demands from the regulator for borrowers on car loans,” Avtovaz said in a statement. “In addition, a significant number of cars have been imported into Russia, with imported brands pursuing a policy of price dumping.” Reuters
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