U.S. warns air traffic controllers could be dismissed as shutdown delays mount
The U.S. government has warned that air traffic controllers who repeatedly fail to report for duty during the shutdown could be fired, amid rising fli...
The European Union plans to ban Russian LNG imports into the bloc a year earlier than envisaged as part of a 19th package of sanctions against Moscow, EU officials said on Friday, a change that follows pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.
"Russia's war economy is sustained by the revenues from fossil fuels. We want to cut these revenues," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as she announced the proposal, which requires approval from EU governments.
"So we are banning imports of Russian LNG into European markets. It is time to turn off the tap," von der Leyen said.
Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, said on X that the aim was to "to speed up the phase-out of Russian liquefied natural gas (to be complete) by 1 Jan 2027".
The EU had previously planned a phase-out by 1 January, 2028, but Trump has repeatedly urged the bloc to end Russian energy purchases faster before he does anything further to pressure Moscow.
Sanctions in the EU need the unanimous approval of all 27 of its member states.
Beyond LNG, or liquefied natural gas, the proposed sanctions would also target more of Russia's shadow tanker fleet and cryptocurrency.
Von der Leyen and Kallas did not give full details of the new package, but officials said it would also target Russian and central Asian banks, Chinese refineries and special economic zones, a customs loophole used by Moscow to import dual-use goods for its military.
"We are now going after these who fuel Russia's war, who purchase oil in breach of sanctions," von der Leyen said.
"We target refineries, oil traders, petrochemical companies in third countries including China."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that any EU proposal to phase out Russian energy more quickly would not affect Russia and would not force it to change its position.
Trump presses Europe to shoulder more of the cost of supporting Ukraine's military and to do more to cut off Moscow’s energy revenues that fund its war, in his efforts to help end Russia's war in Ukraine.
The proposal risks compelling EU countries to cover any shortfalls in LNG supplies through purchases from the United States, increasing their energy dependency on the U.S. in an era when Washington is using trade tariffs as a policy tool.
One European official said advancing the ban on Russian LNG became a "priority" after von der Leyen spoke with Trump this week.
Russia's share in EU imports of LNG decreased to 14% in the second quarter of 2025 from 22% in the first quarter of 2021, according to Eurostat. Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and France import Russian LNG.
Gas piped via TurkStream goes to Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria.
Totalenergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said last week that Russian gas was needed until the end of 2027, "then we can exit from that because we can source it from other places without impact on the price".
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
The U.S. government has warned that air traffic controllers who repeatedly fail to report for duty during the shutdown could be fired, amid rising flight delays across the country.
U.S. President Donald Trump credits himself with ending "seven wars in seven months" since he returned to the White House in January. With just a few hours to the announcement of Nobel Peace Prize, could he win the prestigious international award?
The United States will deploy 200 troops as part of a joint task force aimed at stabilising Gaza, though no U.S. personnel will be stationed within the Strip, according to two senior U.S. officials on Thursday.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb finalised an agreement on Thursday, for the U.S. Coast Guard to acquire up to 11 icebreaker ships, enhancing U.S. national security in the Arctic.
A large-scale Russian attack on Friday morning caused a fire in a high-rise apartment building in central Kyiv and targeted energy infrastructure, officials reported.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment