Major EU Airline Introduces Hefty ‘Environmental Charge’
Germany’s flagship airline Lufthansa has announced a surcharge of up to €72 ($77) for plane tickets, as it seeks to offset the cost of complying with new EU rules on using more expensive sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
According to the company statement issued this week, the levy will be applied to all tickets issued by June 26 and for departures starting from January 1, 2025 onwards.
On short and medium-haul flights, fares will go up by up to €5 in economy and €7 for business class, Lufthansa told Reuters. On long-haul flights, travelers in business class will be charged between €18 and €36 extra while first class customers will be charged up to €72.
The additional cost will be applied to flights departing from any of the EU’s 27 member states, as well as the UK, Norway and Switzerland, Lufthansa said. All flights sold or operated by Lufthansa Group, which owns airlines including Lufthansa, Eurowings, Swiss and Edelweiss Air, and Austrian Airlines, will be subject to the charge.
“The surcharge is intended to cover part of the steadily rising additional costs due to regulatory environmental requirements,” Lufthansa said.
New EU regulations mandate that fuel suppliers ensure 2% of fuel at EU airports is SAF by 2025, rising to 6% by 2030 and 70% by 2050.
However, experts have been warning that the measures aimed at making flying less polluting could result in higher costs being passed on to customers.
In January 2022, Air France-KLM became the first EU airline to add extra biofuel charge to tickets. The company announced at the time it was adding up to €12 on business fares and up to €4 on economy fares.
Air France-KLM is now considering broadly similar measures to Lufthansa, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, indicating the charges could rise further.
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US Has Provided Israel With 10,000 Bombs, Missiles Since Start of Gaza Conflict – Reports
The United States has sent Israel more than 10,000 bombs and missiles since the start of Israel’s military operation in Gaza last October, Reuters reported, citing two US officials.
The report said the weapons shipments included at least 14,000 of the MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, and 2,600 air-dropped small-diameter bombs.
The United States has not made any significant changes that would limit the level of US military support provided to Israel, the report added.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Sputnik’s request for comment on this matter.
On Wednesday, a US official told reporters that the United States has sent Israel $6.5 billion worth of weapons.
The Biden administration at present only has one shipment on temporary hold of the 2,000-pound bombs Israel has been asking for. The United States is currently reviewing this request amid concerns that Israel would use it in densely populated areas in Rafah.
However, the United States is expected to release a hold soon on 500-pound bombs that have also been placed on hold, according to reports. Israel will reportedly need them in case it gets into a deeper conflict with Hezbollah on its northern border with Lebanon.
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$500 Bail for Haitian Accused of Raping Disabled Teen in Boston
A Haitian migrant accused of raping a disabled 15-year-old girl has been freed on bail for $500, despite immigration officials requesting he remain in custody.
Cory Alvarez, 26, was arrested for the crime, which occurred at a Boston migrant shelter, in March.
He was released on Tuesday following a hearing to assess the danger he poses to the public.
The Plymouth County District Attorney’s officed argued at that meeting that Alvarez should be held on a $10,000 bail, but the judge decided to set the figure at just $500.
Alvarez has now been released with an ankle monitor, but since Boston is a “sanctuary city,” ICE officials are unable to track him there and local officials do not have to cooperate with the agency. Alvarez has been ordered to remain at home, surrender his passport and have twice-monthly check-ins with the probation office.
Former ICE field office director John Fabbricatore told The New York Postthat Alvarez’s release is symptomatic of “a concerning trend of inadequate and failed vetting procedures.”
“This rushed process undermines the thorough checks typically conducted before granting parole or visas. The current administration’s haphazard approach raises significant safety concerns for US citizens,” Fabbricatore said.
“In particular, this recent case involving an accusation of rape by a Haitian national admitted under the Biden parole program highlights the ongoing issue. Additionally, sanctuary city policies continue to provide protection to foreign-born criminals rather than safeguarding law-abiding, tax-paying citizens.”
Alvarez entered the US at JFK airport in 2023 as part of President Biden’s parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV). He had no known criminal history when he entered the country.
Alvarez’s arrest in March led to Rep. Jim Jordan leading an inquiry into the CHNV program.
“Biden Is Far Beyond Cogent”: Watch MSNBC Host Say Biden Is “The Best Ever” Just Months Ago
Hilarious footage of MSNBC host Joe Scarborough lauding Biden for his cognitive abilities has resurfaced on Twitter.
In the one-minute clip from a mere 12 weeks ago, when Biden’s declining capabilities were already painfully in evidence, Scarborough says that he had undersold Biden’s capabilities and that he is, in fact, “far beyond cogent.”
MSNBC on Bidən’s cognitive abilities:
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 28, 2024
“Bidən is far beyond cogent. He is better than he has EVER been intellectually, analytically. He is the best ever.”
This was just 3 months ago. pic.twitter.com/UdvqyvF1Sv
“I’ve said it for years now: he’s cogent. But I undersold him, when I said he’s cogent. He’s far beyond cogent. In fact, I think he’s better than he’s ever been—intellectually, analytically. Because he’s been around for 50 years,” Scarborough said.
“And I don’t know if people know this, but Biden used to be a hothead. Sometimes that Irishman would get in front of the reasoning, sometimes he would say things he didn’t want to say.”
Scarborough then takes a moment to reset himself, before continuing.
“F you if you can’t handle the truth. This version of Biden—intellectually, analytically—is the best Biden ever.”
Supreme Court Rejects Bannon Bid to Avoid Monday Prison Deadline
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has until Monday to report to prison after the Supreme Court rejected his 11th hour bid to remain free while he pursues an appeal of his conviction for two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee.
US District Judge Carl Nichols had previously put Bannon’s sentence on hold as he pursued his appeal, saying that Bannon had presented a “substantial question of law or fact likely to result in reversal” of the conviction.
That, however, was rejected by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in May – leaving him only the Supreme Court to help him avoid time behind bars.
Bannon has argued that he was acting on the advice of counsel when he refused to comply with the subpoenas.
He must report to prison on July 1.
As the Epoch Times notes further, Bannon through his lawyers asked the Supreme Court to intervene. In the application, lawyers said it would be unfair for Mr. Bannon to start serving his sentence before the full appeals court and justices consider overturning the recent appeal rejection.
“If Mr. Bannon is denied release, he will be forced to serve his prison sentence before this court has a chance to consider a petition for a writ of certiorari, given the court’s upcoming summer recess,” the lawyers wrote.
Department of Justice attorneys, on the other hand, urged the Supreme Court to reject the application. They said Mr. Bannon “cannot make the demanding showing necessary to override the normal requirement that a convicted defendant begin serving his sentence.”
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), chairman of the House Administration Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight, told the court in a brief that the panel that subpoenaed Mr. Bannon produced flawed subpoenas because it failed to comply with House regulations, as it did not have a ranking member appointed by the Republican minority.
“Notwithstanding the applicant’s indictment and sentencing, the select committee’s enforcement of the subpoena and the prosecution of Mr. Bannon for failing to participate in a deposition was factually and procedurally invalid,” Mr. Loudermilk wrote. “As such, this court should conclude that the entire prosecutorial process against the applicant was tainted and must be dismissed as a matter of law.”
Peter Navarro, another former adviser to President Trump, is already serving a sentence after being convicted of contempt of Congress after also declining to cooperate with subpoenas from the same committee.
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McDonald’s Admits Millions of Customers Are Rejecting Bill Gates’ Fake Meat Burgers
McDonald’s has decided to scrap selling Bill Gates’ synthetic meat burgers after millions of customers complained that the fake meat product tasted disgusting and made them feel ill. Joe Erlinger, McDonald’s U.S. president, told the […]
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