Saudi carrier flyadeal to start flights to Syria, CEO says
MANILA, May 28 (Reuters) - Saudi budget carrier flyadeal could start flying to Syria as early as July, CEO Steven Greenway said on Wednesday, joining a handful of foreign airlines introducing or resuming flights to the country as sanctions against it are scaled back.
"We got approvals last week to fly to Syria ... We're getting ready to hopefully launch that in July," Greenway told Reuters in Manila where he announced a deal to lease two jets from Philippine budget airline Cebu Pacific.
Many airlines pulled out of Syria during its 14-year civil war. International flights also stopped for a period after rebels toppled former President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, but then resumed with services currently offered by Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines and Royal Jordanian as well as Syrian carriers.
United Arab Emirates-based FlyDubai has said it will resume services from June.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration last week issued orders effectively lifting sanctions on Syria. Trump said he did so at the behest of Saudi Arabia's crown prince.
EU foreign ministers also agreed last week to lift economic sanctions on Syria.
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Reuters
43 minutes ago
- Reuters
Demand for US light sweet crude drops as OPEC+ ramps up output
NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - Rising OPEC+ supplies and new streams of oil coming online globally are increasing options for European and Asian refiners and weighing on export demand for light sweet U.S. crude, contributing to lower prices in the country's main oil-producing regions. The U.S., the world's largest crude producer, is facing increasing competition as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies pump more oil in a bid to regain market share and punish members that over-produce. Since April, OPEC+ countries including Saudi Arabia and Russia have made or announced increases totaling 1.37 million barrels per day, or 62% of the 2.2 million bpd they aim to add back to the market. The additional supplies come at a time of broad uncertainty for global oil producers as they assess how volatile trade policies are impacting the world's economic outlook and prepare for a longer-term future in which greener fuels could displace their barrels. For the U.S., lower demand for a significant portion of its crude will likely add to a complicated outlook for producers already digesting on-again, off-again tariffs from President Donald Trump's administration. Companies are considering cutting output and jobs even as Trump urges higher domestic production. U.S. exports fell to an average of 3.8 million bpd in May from an average of 4 million bpd in April, according to an analysis of weekly Energy Information Administration data. Prices have declined for crudes such as WTI-Midland, a key sweet grade from the U.S. shale region. Since early March, its price is off by 45% to a 60-cent premium to U.S. crude futures . Light Louisiana Sweet from the U.S. Gulf Coast has fallen by about 30% to a $2.70 per barrel premium over the same period. "That's a part of OPEC accelerating. Light sweets are weak, broadly speaking," said Jeremy Irwin, global crude lead at Energy Aspects, adding that demand is expected to fall further as European refiners favor medium crudes in the summer months. The U.S. sent 1.4 million bpd of light, sweet crude to Europe in May, versus 1.6 million bpd in April, data from Kpler showed. In May 2024, the U.S. exported 1.7 million bpd of light, sweet crude, which is lighter in density and lower in sulfur content, to Europe. While light crudes are typically easier for refineries to process, many global refineries have invested in upgrading capacity to run heavy-sour grades, which are usually cheaper and still yield sufficient quantities of higher-value fuels. As Asian refiners come out of turnaround season - when plants reduce output for maintenance purposes - and European refiners ramp up fuel production going into summer, demand for medium-sour grades has increased. Increased OPEC+ exports will primarily flow into Asia. Lower prices for Murban crude produced in the United Arab Emirates have made it unprofitable to export WTI to Asia, said Richard Price, an oil markets analyst at Energy Aspects. OPEC+ is increasing output more quickly than expected this year to punish allies such as Kazakhstan, which has produced well above its OPEC+ target. "The rise in Kazakh crude production means greater availability of CPC blend crude, which is increasingly competing with WTI into Europe," said Matt Smith, a lead oil analyst at Kpler. CPC Blend is light density crude, similar to WTI-Midland. Additionally, Guyana and Brazil's exports into Europe could increase from the 400,000 bpd they each already send, if European refiners can absorb it, Smith said. Other sweet grades including barrels from Libya and Algeria, and Norway's new Johan Castberg stream, are giving European refiners more choice, Vortexa analyst Rohit Rathod said. Global petroleum consumption is expected to grow by 970,000 bpd in 2025 and 900,000 bpd in 2026, the EIA said, while global crude production is expected to grow by 840,000 bpd in 2025 and 680,000 bpd in 2026. But demand growth currently is mainly fueled by oil products that are best refined from heavier barrels, said Janiv Shah, vice president of commodity markets at Rystad Energy. "As such, we expect increased throughput of available medium sour barrels and some discounting of light sweet grades."
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Australian engineer freed on bail after four years in Iraqi prison
An Australian engineer has been granted conditional release after spending more than four years in an Iraqi prison in what the UN has described as arbitrary detention. Robert Pether, 50, was arrested in Baghdad in April 2021 along with his colleague, Egyptian national Khalid Radwan, amid a contractual dispute between their employer CME Consulting and the Central Bank of Iraq. The two men had been overseeing the multi-million-dollar reconstruction of the bank's Baghdad headquarters, a project Pether had been involved with since 2015. Following their arrest, both men were held for nearly six months without charge, subjected to what the UN described as 'abusive and coercive' interrogations, and ultimately sentenced to five years in prison and a joint fine of $12m (£8.8m). Pether, who has consistently maintained his innocence, said he was forced to sign a pre-written confession in Arabic. In 2022, a UN working group concluded that the detention of the pair violated international law and due process. The following year, the International Chamber of Commerce's Court of Arbitration ruled that the Central Bank of Iraq, not CME Consulting, was at fault in the contractual disagreement and ordered it to pay $13m (£9.5m) in compensation to the firm. Although Pether has now been granted bail, he is still prohibited from leaving Iraq and will face ongoing legal proceedings. His family and supporters are urging the authorities to lift the travel ban so he can receive urgent medical treatment. His wife, Desree Pether, told the BBC that he is 'extremely sick' and has been unable to eat properly for months, raising fears of a possible recurrence of skin cancer. 'He's unrecognisable,' Ms Pether said. 'If he got on a plane now and they were checking his passport, they would not know it was the same person.' She added that the family had begun crowdfunding to afford private hospital care for him in Baghdad. 'Enough is enough. He needs to come home.' In a statement, Australia's foreign minister, Senator Penny Wong, welcomed the development, calling it 'a positive step' following years of 'persistent advocacy'. She noted the personal toll the detention has taken on Pether and his family, adding that she hoped 'this news brings a measure of relief after years of distress', reported 9 News. Senator Wong also thanked Australian officials, including the government's special envoy to Iraq, for their efforts, noting that Pether's case had been raised with Iraqi authorities more than 200 times. Ireland 's deputy prime minister, Tánaiste Simon Harris, also acknowledged the development, revealing that Iraq's foreign minister Fuad Hussein had called him directly to confirm Pether's release. The Pether family had been living in Roscommon, Ireland, before the arrest. 'I welcomed this as a first step to his being allowed to return to his family in Roscommon,' said Mr Harris. "I also spoke this evening with Robert's wife, Desree Pether, about this positive development." Speaking after a phone call with her husband on Thursday night, Ms Pether said he was briefly uplifted by the release but warned he was likely to crash emotionally soon after. 'There's a tiny glimmer of hope,' she said. 'But there's another mountain still to go over.' In a letter written from prison last year, Pether described the pain of missing milestones with his wife and five children during his detention. "I've missed so many milestones," he wrote. "Our oldest son's 30th, our other son's 18th and soon 21st and our youngest son's 16th and 18th. Our youngest two boys have finished school and are now young men. Our daughter was eight when I was arrested and is now 11. "I've missed three Christmases and four Easters, multiple birthdays, three wedding anniversaries, and so much more.' He wrote feeling 'abandoned' by the Anthony Albanese government. 'I have pleaded for three years for Prime Minister Albanese and Foreign Minister Wong to do everything they can to help me and get me home,' he said. 'So far, I just feel abandoned. I am sick, and worried I will not survive this ordeal much longer. 'I want to go home,' he wrote. 'I want to go back to Australia and hear the birds, swim at the beach, sit and watch the harbour while the ferries come and go and feel the sun on my skin.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Netanyahu defends arming Palestinian clans accused of ties with jihadist groups
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has admitted arming clans in Gaza that he says are opposed to Hamas, following accusations that members of these criminal gangs allegedly looted humanitarian aid and have ties to jihadist groups. Netanyahu's comments came after Israeli media reports quoted defence sources as saying Netanyahu had authorised giving weapons to a clan reportedly led by a man known as Yasser Abu Shabab, a Rafah resident from a Bedouin family, known locally for his involvement in criminal activity. Israel allegedly provided Abu Shabab's group, which calls itself the 'Anti-Terror Service', with Kalashnikov assault rifles, including weapons seized from Hamas. 'On the advice of security officials, we activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas. What's wrong with that?' Netanyahu says in a short video he posted on social media. 'It only saves the lives of Israeli solders,' he continued – 'and publicising his only benefits Hamas.' On Thursday, following the allegations circulating in the media, Netanyahu's office said Israel 'was working to defeat Hamas through various means, based on the recommendations of all the heads of the security establishment'. The former defence minister and opposition lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman repeated the allegations and alleged that Abu Shabab's group was affiliated with the Islamic State terror group. 'The Israeli government is giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons, identified with Islamic State, at the direction of the prime minister,' Lieberman, who heads the opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party, told Kan Bet public radio. The basis for Lieberman's allegation of ties to IS was unclear. Abu Shabab's group has previously been accused of involvement in smuggling operations linked to Egyptian jihadi groups. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Yasser Abu Shabab's involvement with Israeli troops was confirmed last week through several videos circulating on social media in Gaza, showing him operating alongside Israeli soldiers in IDF-controlled areas. Last week, Abu Shabab's family issued a statement disowning him, accusing him of collaborating with Israeli forces. 'We, like everyone else, were surprised by video footage broadcast by the resistance showing the involvement of Yasser's groups within a dangerous security framework, reaching the point of operating within undercover units and supporting the Zionist occupation forces, who are brutally killing our people,' it said. 'We affirm that we will not accept Yasser's return to the family. We have no objection to those around him liquidating him immediately, and we tell you that his blood is forfeit.' On 28 May, Jonathan Whittall, the head of United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in occupied Palestinian territories, said: 'The real theft of aid since the beginning of the war has been carried out by criminal gangs, under the watch of Israeli forces, and they were allowed to operate in proximity to the Kerem Shalom crossing point into Gaza.' When contacted by the Guardian, Whittall confirmed he was 'referring to gangs such as Abu Shabab. On several posts on Facebook, reported by local media, Abu Shabab denied the allegations, saying he was taking the goods only to feed himself and his family. Strong criticism of the initiative has come from opposition parties in Israel. In a social media post on X, Yair Golan, the leader of the Democrats in the Knesset, said: 'Netanyahu is a threat to Israel's national security. Instead of bringing about a deal … bringing the hostages home and providing security for Israeli citizens, he is creating a new ticking timebomb in Gaza'. Despite nationwide protests demanding a ceasefire deal and the release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza after Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack, Netanyahu's coalition remains solid, buoyed by the steadfast support of far-right parties. That unity, however, may soon be tested, after the ultra-Orthodox Shas party in Netanyahu's coalition announced it would support dissolving the Knesset. The Shas party's decision comes after no significant progress in advancing a law effectively exempting the ultra-Orthodox from the military draft. Israel has mandatory army service but for decades made an exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews, also known as Haredi, who are allowed to continue full-time Torah study. But an alternative plan seeks to extend the duration of military service for conscripts and raise the age for reservists, while also urging an end to the customary exemptions granted to yeshiva students. Due to the continuing war in Gaza, the IDF is seeking yeshiva students must be drafted, as it urgently needs an additional 10,000 combat soldiers and about 3,000 soldiers for other roles. Meanwhile, Israeli jets continued to pound Gaza on Thursday and Friday. According to Gaza's health officials, at least 52 Palestinians have been killed in attacks in Gaza across the strip, as the UN says that the number of Gaza children facing acute malnutrition has soared since February, with more than 2,700 suffering from it. The US backed-Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said on Friday that all of its aid distribution sites in the enclave remained closed and a reopening date would be announced later, urging residents to stay away from these sites 'for their safety'. Work at the sites was halted in response to a series of deadly shootings by Israeli soldiers that on Tuesday killed 27 Palestinians and injured hundreds as they were waiting for food.
