Iran warns of oil price hikes
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s oil minister on Thursday predicted a painful time ahead for international oil customers as U.S. sanctions take hold, saying waivers that Washington granted to eight major oil importing countries are not enough for market demands.
Iranian state TV quoted the minster, Bijan Zanganeh, as saying he sees the months ahead as “painful months for oil consumers.”
Mr. Zanganeh claimed the Trump administration may have been able to “superficially” bring fuel prices down ahead of the U.S. midterm elections this week but that there’s bound to be a hike in prices in the future.
The United States on Monday re-imposed oil and banking sanctions on Iran that were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal but granted waivers to eight major importers to continue buying Iranian petroleum products without penalty for six months.
Yemen fighting grows
SANAA,Yemen — Despite U.S. calls for a cease-fire, fighting is escalating in a strategic Yemeni port city, threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians and deepening a humanitarian crisis in which millions are at risk from a famine.
The clashes in Hodeida, pitting a U.S.-backed regional coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against northern Houthi rebels, have caused numerous civilian casualties over the past week, according to residents, health workers and aid agencies. The violence is also edging closer to medical facilities, threatening the safety of patients and medical workers.
The fighting has particularly intensified near Hodeida’s port, through which passes more than 70 percent of all food, fuel, medicine and other essential supplies destined for the northern part of the country, where the large majority of Yemenis live.
Crash spurs questions
Investigators are slowly piecing together clues of how Indonesia’s worst air disaster in two decades transpired, raising questions over how a near brand-new Boeing jet that had recurring instrument failures was cleared for its ill-fated flight.
The Lion Air Max 8 plane’s angle-of-attack sensor, which helps aircraft maintain the correct pitch to stay airborne, was replaced the day before the Oct. 29 crash after erroneous readings on a previous trip, the Indonesia National Transportation Safety Committee said Wednesday. Faulty airspeed readings plagued the jet on its last four flights before it plunged into the Java Sea with 189 aboard.
The revelations spurred Boeing to alert operators of the 737 Max aircraft worldwide that the airflow sensor can provide false readings in certain circumstances. Misleading data from that device could trick the plane into pointing its nose down.
That warning and the investigation team’s statement suggest the pilots on JT610 may have been battling with the aircraft as its computers commanded a dive. In addition, the faulty cockpit data over multiple flights leading up to the accident and the replacement of a wildly misleading sensor have raised questions about maintenance, oversight and the plane’s suitability for service.