UK airlines given green light to cancel or consolidate flights to conserve jet fuel
UK airlines will be able to cancel or consolidate flights this summer to conserve jet fuel as the war in the Middle East continues to disrupt supplies.The measures are being taken to avoid major disruption as Britons jet off on their summer holidays.Airlines are looking carefully at their timetables to see which flights can be cancelled in advance and cause the least delays.New legislation would allow for actions such as consolidating schedules on routes where there are multiple flights to the same place on the same day, which could be put in place to stop last-minute cancellations, the government announced on Sunday.The changes will allow airlines to give back a limited proportion of their allocated takeoff and landing slots without losing the right to operate them the following season.
Usually, cancelling these puts airlines at risk of losing the slots, meaning sometimes they run half-empty planes in order to keep the right to use them,Airlines will be cancelling flights well in advance if there is a jet fuel shortage, meaning passengers can be moved on to similar services,If flights have not sold a significant proportion of tickets, these may also be cancelled in order to prevent wasting fuel from running near-empty planes, say ministers,Under the plans, flights will have to be cancelled at least two weeks in advance,Rob Bishton, the chief executive of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “Relaxing the rules around slots at airports will allow airlines more flexibility and so we expect them to give passengers as much notice as possible of cancellations during this period.
”The plans were hatched at a meeting last Thursday between the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, and representatives from Heathrow and Gatwick airports, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and easyJet,The strait of Hormuz, a key artery for oil and gas, has been closed in effect since the beginning of March, causing an energy crisis in many countries and leading European states to fear jet fuel shortages,According to some calculations, there are just a few weeks of jet fuel supplies left in Europe,The UK imports about 65% of the jet fuel it uses, much of which comes from the Middle East,Alexander said: “There are no immediate supply issues, but we’re preparing now to give families long-term certainty and avoid unnecessary disruption at the departure gate this summer.
“This legislation will give airlines the tools to adjust flights in good time if they need to, which helps protect passengers and businesses.We will do everything we can to insulate our country from the impact of the situation in the Middle East.”
Investment or waste? How the M4 relief road plan for Newport sums up Wales’s economic quandary
It is afternoon rush hour on the M4 and drivers are yet again making slow progress around the city of Newport, often seen as the gateway to south Wales given its location between Cardiff and Bristol.Cars and lorries are stuck in gridlocked traffic in both directions on the approach to the Brynglas tunnels, where the road narrows to two lanes in each direction, while flashing lights warn motorists in Welsh and English of a ciw (queue).Traffic jams may be an everyday reality for commuters and businesses trying to move goods around, but they have also become a hotly debated topic before the Senedd elections on 7 May, in a vote predicted to bring sweeping political change to the principality, and send Labour into opposition for the first time since devolution in 1999.Congestion on this part of the M4 – the main route linking south Wales with England – has been complained about by businesses and commuters for decades, while a relief road around Newport has been proposed for almost as long. Motorists say tailbacks cost time and money, and make the country less attractive to potential investors
Trump may not be a fan of clean energy but Iran war is accelerating global shift from oil and gas | Heather Stewart
Operation Epic Fury has thus far achieved none of Donald Trump’s war aims, but it may well accelerate the global transition towards the clean energy he loves to hate.Last week brought the latest exchange of verbal blows in the standoff over the strait of Hormuz. Iran was “choking like a stuffed pig” on the oil it was unable to export because of the US blockade, Trump claimed.From Tehran, the supreme leader shot back that foreigners who “maliciously covet” the waterway “have no place there except at the bottom of its waters”. To the rest of the world, the exchange raised the spectre of a prolonged impasse
UK ‘invention agency’ grants £50m of public money to US tech and venture capital firms
Britain’s “invention agency” has pledged £50m of UK taxpayer money to US tech companies and venture capital projects.Dreamed up by Dominic Cummings to fund “crazy” ideas, the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria) is meant to “restore Britain’s place as a scientific superpower”.But a joint investigation by the Guardian and Democracy for Sale, an investigative website, has established that more than an eighth of the agency’s £400m in research and development funding over the past two years has gone to 14 US tech companies and venture capital groups, in some cases, with no clear return for the UK or Aria.One of these companies, Rain Neuromorphics, is also backed by the OpenAI chief executive, Sam Altman, and was reported to be near collapse last year, shortly after winning Aria money. It did not respond to a request for comment; two of its founders appear to have left the company
Under a cloud: the growing resentment against the massive datacentres sprouting across Australian cities
Residents say AI factories with unknown environmental impacts are being rushed into development as proponents argue Australia must ride the data boom or be left behindFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhen West Footscray resident Sean Brown takes his 19-month-old boy to the park, their walk passes an imposing new building cheerily spruiked as “Australia’s largest hyperscale AI factory”, a datacentre called M3.He hates it: the construction noise from its constant expansion, the looming towers and the insistent background hum, the exhaust from the growing array of diesel generators that can help power the ranks of servers inside.And he worries what it represents for his young child’s future.“He is growing – neurologically, pulmonarily, physically – in the shadow of a facility whose cumulative environmental impact … has never been assessed,” Brown says.“They’re building something which is, frankly, terrible for the community
Shaun Murphy v Wu Yize: World Snooker Championship final day one – live
As for Wu, I’d be staggered if he ends his career without winning this event more than once. I’d be lying if I said he isn’t my favourite – the way he plays, it’s impossible to take your eyes off him. He attacks the game in the way we should all attack life, however trepidatious we feel, and if it doesn’t work out, he quickly gets over himself, heals, then has at it again. Mates: if ever you’re stuck, think Wu.Shaun, of course, won this title unseeded, aged just 22, in 2005
Somerset v Yorkshire, Leicestershire v Nottinghamshire, and more: county cricket, day three – live
With Eskinazi on 99, Hull defends with spagetti arms five balls of a James over, edging the last just short of third slip. Leics are also just 34 short of avoiding the follow on…After playing out five dot balls from a TRJ over, Gay guides the last for four down to third man to collect his 13th f-c century. Could be a career-defining one, with the Test team soon to be picked. He takes off his helmet and raises his bat, grins, gets a warm round of applause around the ground and from his teammates on the pavilion balcony. His third century of the season – one came against Kent, but two against the more challenging Lancs and Durham attacks
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