Articles by "TRANSPORTATION"
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Airport screening delays have caused more than 70,000 American Airlines customers and 40,000 checked bags to miss their flights this year, an executive at the airline company told a U.S. congressional subcommittee Thursday.

A shortage of staff and a surge in air travelers have created a nightmare scenario for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA), with airport wait times in places such as Chicago stretching beyond two hours.
While TSA is taking steps to shorten lines, such as by hiring more full-time officers, it lacks the staffing to handle peak travel times this summer, Administrator Peter Neffenger said Wednesday.
The world’s largest airline, American wants TSA to create a senior internal role focused on traveler concerns, said Kerry Philipovitch, American Airlines Group senior vice president for customer experience. The request comes days after Neffenger shook up TSA’s management, removing the head of security operations, Kelly Hoggan.
Philipovitch also recommended that TSA consider reinstating a risk-based screening program that it canceled last year because of high-profile lapses.
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In the program, officers trained to detect irregular behavior would pull unsuspicious travelers randomly into so-called PreCheck lanes that can process people faster, as they do not remove their shoes and other belongings.
TSA has projected it will screen 740 million people at U.S. airports this year, some 15 percent more than in 2013 despite a 12 percent cut in its staff.
May 27, 2016
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As Egyptian authorities investigate the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804, there was a significant breakthrough: Searches detected an emergency signal from the wreckage, the Wall Street Journal wrote in an exclusive report Thursday. It could help searchers find the aircraft’s fuselage on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.

Until now, only small pieces of debris and human remains were discovered. The remains are being tested at a forensic lab so they can potentially be identified using DNA.
The deformed metal from the wreckage was also sent for analysis, as it could reveal whether the flight broke apart midflight or crashed into the sea in one piece. It also might reveal if any explosives were used to down the aircraft.
The detection helped investigators zero in on a search zone, which now has a radius of about three miles, investigator Capt. Ayman Al Moqadem told Egypt newspaper Al Ahram. Before that, the search area was much larger.
The black boxes have not yet been located, but investigators are determined to keep looking. “There are many examples in similar air accidents when 30 days passed without finding the box yet ... these planes’ black boxes were found,” EgyptAir’s Deputy Chairman Ahmed Adel said.
France and Italy reportedly have sent a ship with instruments that could help detect wreckage 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) under the sea. “The objective is to go extremely quickly so they can find the boxes that are probably in very deep waters,” a source told the Guardian Wednesday. The U.S. Navy was not asked to help.
It’s unknown what (or who) caused the crash. For now, nothing has been ruled out. There were 66 people aboard, including passengers and crew, when the Airbus Group SE A320 aircraft traveling from Paris to Cairo crashed May 19. There were 30 Egyptians and 15 French on the plane.

May 27, 2016
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As Egyptian authorities investigate the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804, there was a significant breakthrough: Searches detected an emergency signal from the wreckage, the Wall Street Journal wrote in an exclusive report Thursday. It could help searchers find the aircraft’s fuselage on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.

Until now, only small pieces of debris and human remains were discovered. The remains are being tested at a forensic lab so they can potentially be identified using DNA.
The deformed metal from the wreckage was also sent for analysis, as it could reveal whether the flight broke apart midflight or crashed into the sea in one piece. It also might reveal if any explosives were used to down the aircraft.
The detection helped investigators zero in on a search zone, which now has a radius of about three miles, investigator Capt. Ayman Al Moqadem told Egypt newspaper Al Ahram. Before that, the search area was much larger.
The black boxes have not yet been located, but investigators are determined to keep looking. “There are many examples in similar air accidents when 30 days passed without finding the box yet ... these planes’ black boxes were found,” EgyptAir’s Deputy Chairman Ahmed Adel said.
France and Italy reportedly have sent a ship with instruments that could help detect wreckage 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) under the sea. “The objective is to go extremely quickly so they can find the boxes that are probably in very deep waters,” a source told the Guardian Wednesday. The U.S. Navy was not asked to help.
It’s unknown what (or who) caused the crash. For now, nothing has been ruled out. There were 66 people aboard, including passengers and crew, when the Airbus Group SE A320 aircraft traveling from Paris to Cairo crashed May 19. There were 30 Egyptians and 15 French on the plane.
May 27, 2016
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A Korean Air Boeing 777 takes off from New York's JFK airport on July 8, 2009
Photo: Alberto Riva

Korean Air Lines evacuated 319 passengers and crew from an aircraft preparing to take off from Japan's Haneda Airport in Tokyo after smoke came from its left engine.
The incident prompted authorities to temporarily close down Japan's busiest aviation hub.
Images broadcast by NHK showed the Boeing 777 on a runway being sprayed with foam by fire trucks, with four of its emergency slides deployed. The aircraft, which was due to fly to Seoul in South Korea, is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines.
No injuries were reported, although around 30 passengers said they felt unwell, the state-owned broadcaster said.
Haneda Airport, located on Tokyo Bay, handles around 550 flights a day with around 75 million passengers passing through the hub last year, making it one of the world's busiest airports.
May 27, 2016
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Lydia Tomkiw
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    A shirt displays a message about the missing Malaysian Airlines MH370 during the Day of Remembrance for MH370 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 8, 2015. Photo: NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
  • MH370
    Relatives of passengers who were on Malaysia Airlines MH370 chant outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing, March 8, 2016, the second anniversary of the plane's disappearance. Photo: GREG BAKER/AFP/Getty Images
The continued search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is uncertain now that Australia has decided not to provide funds past July, but Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker argues there should be no price ceiling stopping the investigation into what happened to the passenger jet, the News Australia reported.
Millions of dollars have been spent in the search and Al Baker said the International Air Transport Association had not done enough to raise concerns about the search and “unprecedented” disappearance.
“For me as the CEO of an airline, it’s very concerning that the international community for monetary purposes are going to abandon the search for this aeroplane,” Al Baker said Wednesday. “I don’t think there is any amount that is too much to find why this tragedy happened where over 200 people lost their lives.”
The search for MH370 will likely not continue beyond July with the Australian government deciding not to provide additional funds for the operation. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s budget has been significantly slashed and the agency will also lose nine staff members.
Australia has contributed more than $67 million to the search effort, the Herald Sun reported. Both the Chinese and Malaysian governments have also contributed financially to the search. China has spent more than $14 million while Malaysia has spent in excess of $55 million in the search efforts.
“It is very critical for all in the industry, all the countries in the world to try to find the wreckage of this plane, to find out exactly what happened,” Al Baker added.
Debris from MH370 has washed ashore in both Mozambique and the island of Reunion. A wing part called a flaperon was found on Reunion and investigators said its discovery was consistent with ocean currents.
MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, while the aircraft was over the Indian Ocean en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. There were 239 people on board. The missing Boeing 777 has 3 million components and had a maintenance check a month before it disappeared, Bloomberg reported.
May 05, 2016
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A candle burns a prayer message for passengers of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, March 8, 2016.
Photo: Getty Images/MOHD RASFAN/AFP
Stenciled codes on two debris pieces found along the coast of the southeast African nation of Mozambique "almost certainly" prove they originated from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which is leading the search for the plane, said in a report Tuesday. Over the last few months, four pieces of debris possibly from the missing plane have been recovered, including one each from South Africa and Mauritius.
The two items from Mozambique, which were found on Dec. 27, 2015, and Feb. 27, 2016, were sent to Australia for examination at the request of the Malaysian government. ATSB said Tuesday that one of the pieces — found in Mozambique in late December by a South African teenager holidaying with his family — is a "segment from a Boeing 777 flap track fairing." The second piece — found in late February by U.S. blogger and lawyer Blaine Gibs — is "a segment of a Boeing 777 RH horizontal stabilizer panel."
Investigators revealed that the stenciling of the code “676EB” and the words “NO STEP” on the debris provided almost irrefutable evidence that the parts were from the missing Boeing 777.

Flap fairing outer surface showing stencil location and comparison.
Photo: Australian Transport Safety Bureau
"The 676EB stencil font and color was not original from manufacture, but instead conformed to that developed and used by MAB during painting operations," investigators said in the report. The stenciling of "NO STEP" was also "consistent with that developed and used by Malaysian Airlines."

Stabiliser panel “NO STEP” stencil and fastener comparison.
Photo: Australian Transport Safety Bureau
The two debris pieces will be sent to Malaysia this week for further examination, ATSB said in the report.
Australian authorities also said that two other items — the South Africa piece with the Rolls Royce logo and the piece found on the Rodrigues Island in Mauritius — were brought to ATSB laboratories last week.
"Investigators from the ATSB and the Malaysian authorities are currently examining those two pieces for details which would serve to identify them as coming from a Boeing 777, and in particular for any details which might serve to link the debris as coming from MH370," authorities said.
The ongoing search for Flight MH370 — which went missing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board while on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing — has not yielded any concrete clues about what happened to the jet.
In July 2015, a flaperon belonging to Flight MH370 turned up on the French-controlled Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean.
The underwater search in a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean has cost nearly $70 million, with four vessels still scouring the ocean floor to find the plane wreckage. The search operation, which has been headed by Australia, is expected to be called off in June.
April 19, 2016
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Narayanan Somasundaram
 
Qantas Airways Ltd. shares fell the most in more than two years after Australia’s largest carrier cut its planned domestic capacity expansion as the prospect of a federal election and a drop in consumer confidence weigh on demand.
The stock fell 11 percent to close at A$3.62 in Sydney trading, the biggest decline since December 2013. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.4 percent.
Expected capacity additions in the six months to June 30 will be 0.5 percent to 1 percent compared with 2 percent forecast in February, the Sydney-based airline said in a statement to the stock exchange Monday. This month, the carrier removed three U.S. services and redeployed planes to fly to Hong Kong and Singapore, it said.
“We recognise airline share prices are highly reliant on earnings sentiment and the uncertainty presented by this announcement is likely to weigh on sentiment,” UBS Group AG analysts led by Simon Mitchell wrote in a note to investors.

Changed Conditions

Qantas’s announcement underscores the delicate balance carriers need to achieve between profits and growth amid uncertain economic conditions. The company’s revenue per available seat kilometer declined in March with weaker yield performance in domestic and international businesses, it said.
Every 1 percent decline in revenue per available seat kilometer equates to A$120 million lower pretax profit, which would in turn drive as much as a 7 percent downgrade to its 2016 forecasts, UBS said.
“In response to changed demand conditions, the Qantas Group has revised planned capacity additions in the final three months of financial year 2016,” the company said. Softness in demand “began to emerge over the peak Easter and school holiday period in late March and continued to be seen in forward bookings in April and May.”
Australian consumer confidence dropped 4 percent in April from a month earlier, data released by Westpac Banking Corp. showed last week. Elections for both houses of the federal parliament could be held as early as July 2 if the Senate refuses to pass legislation aimed at curbing trade union influence, the government has said.
Qantas, which is benefiting from a A$2 billion ($1.5 billion) turnaround, didn’t disclose the impact of the capacity cuts on its earnings. The airline is expected to post a pretax profit of A$1.8 billion for the year ending June 30, according to the mean of eight analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
April 18, 2016
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A BA pilot has reported that a drone hit his passenger plane as it was landing at Heathrow Airport. The aircraft touched down safely. Sky's Rebecca Williams reports.
April 18, 2016
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A US Air Force reconnaissance plane was intercepted by a Russian SU-27 jet in an “unsafe and unprofessional” manner while flying a routine route in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the Pentagon says.

This handout picture taken by Japan's Air Self-Defense Force on Feb 7, 2013 shows a Russian fighter jet SU-27. (AFP/Defense Ministry)
WASHINGTON, DC: A US Air Force reconnaissance plane was intercepted by a Russian SU-27 jet in an “unsafe and unprofessional manner” while flying a routine route in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the Pentagon said Saturday.
"The US aircraft was operating in international airspace and at no time crossed into Russian territory," said Laura Seal, a Pentagon spokeswoman.
The incident comes shortly after Russian aircraft repeatedly buzzed the USS Donald Cook this past week, including an incident Tuesday in which a Russian Su-24 flew 9m above the ship in a "simulated attack profile", according to the US military's European Command.
Russia has denied the action was reckless or provocative.
"This unsafe and unprofessional air intercept has the potential to cause serious harm and injury to all aircrews involved," Seal said of Thursday's incident.
"More importantly, the unsafe and unprofessional actions of a single pilot have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries."
The US aircraft in question was an RC-135.
- CNA/cy
April 17, 2016
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WASHINGTON - A US Air Force reconnaissance plane was intercepted by a Russian SU-27 jet in an "unsafe and unprofessional" manner while flying a routine route in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the Pentagon said.
The Pentagon said the Russian interception of an RC-135 surveillance aircraft took place in international airspace over the Baltic Sea
"The US aircraft was operating in international airspace and at no time crossed into Russian territory," said Laura Seal, a Pentagon spokeswoman.
The incident comes shortly after Russian aircraft repeatedly buzzed the USS Donald Cook this past week, including an incident Tuesday in which a Russian Su-24 flew 30 feet (nine meters) above the ship in a "simulated attack profile," according to the US military's European Command.
Russia has denied the action was reckless or provocative.
"This unsafe and unprofessional air intercept has the potential to cause serious harm and injury to all aircrews involved," Seal said of Thursday's incident.
"More importantly, the unsafe and unprofessional actions of a single pilot have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries."
The US aircraft in question was an RC-135.
US Air Force plane intercepted by Russian jet in 'unsafe' manner
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April 16, 2016
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auren Robinson
l'Airbus A318 F-GUGE
Wikipedia/Philippe Noret
Air France will allow female flight attendants to fly to Iran’s capital, Tehran, on a voluntary basis after facing significant union backlash at its decision to make wearing headscarves and loose clothing mandatory during arrival in the Middle Eastern country.
The airline had initially sent a notice to staff stating that female attendants flying the Paris to Iran route, which will commence on April 17, would have to dress in accordance with Iranian law upon landing.
This includes being required to wear trousers during the flight, as opposed to skirts, and wearing a loose fitting jacket and a headscarf or hijab covering their hair when exiting the aircraft.
Air France also asked its female flight crew to refrain from smoking in public. Male attendants were not given the same advisory when it came to them flying the same journey.
The Paris-Iran route had been on hiatus since 2008 due to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but flights are resuming after the signing of the Iran Nuclear Deal last year.
Following the airline's note, unions began receiving phone calls from staff who were concerned about wearing coverings and the penalties that could result from a refusal to abide by the new rules. 
One union, the Syndicat National du Personnel Navigant Commercial (SNPNC), called the rules an “attack on freedom of conscience and individual freedoms, and invasion of privacy", Mashable reported.
This prompted the airline to fight back against the union’s requests, saying the headscarf requirement was “not new” -- it is already in place for flights to Saudi Arabia -- and that the hijab did not have to be worn onboard.
“This obligation does not apply during the flight and is respected by all international airlines serving the Republic of Iran," Air France had said in a statement on Monday.
However, it seems Air France eventually caved to the demands of staff and unions, on Tuesday agreeing that staff could refuse to travel to Tehran without incurring any penalties.
"Any woman assigned to the Paris-Tehran flight who for reasons of personal choice would refuse to wear the headscarf upon leaving the plane will be reassigned to another destination, and thus will not be obliged to do this flight," human resources official Gilles Gateau told the ABC.
France bans the wearing of face-covering headgear, such as masks and other veils in public places, whether by a Muslim or non-Muslim. The ban applies to full body coverings, such as the burqa. However, in Iran, all women are required by law to wear a hijab. 
Australia’s national carrier, Qantas airlines, at present does not fly to areas such as Saudi Arabia, Iran or other middle Eastern countries where a requirement for female hair to be covered is in place. A spokesperson from QANTAS told IBT Australia that while there are services to Dubai, the city was “cosmopolitan” with regards to its dress regulation.
A spokeswoman for British Airways also told the Sydney Morning Herald that flights would resume from Heathrow to Iran in July. Recommendations to crew will be made closer to the date.
April 16, 2016
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Garfield Clinton Reynolds
A Qantas plane made an emergency descent to land in Muscat, Oman, after a passenger suffered a suspected heart attack during a flight from Melbourne to London on Friday, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The male passenger died before the plane was able to land, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified fellow passenger. The Airbus A380 was delayed in Oman for four hours before leaving for Dubai, according to the Herald.
Qantas confirmed the landing was caused by a medical emergency, the newspaper reported, citing an unidentified spokeswoman for the airline. The spokeswoman told the Herald that the crew worked with a doctor who was on board to attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the passenger.
April 10, 2016
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Anurag Kotoky
India is considering restricting the number of flights that can take off or land at airports to cut noise pollution, in line with with several European and American nations, a senior official at India’s aviation regulator said.
The environment ministry is working with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the regulator, to formulate guidelines on the maximum noise levels to be permitted at existing and new airports, the official said, asking not to be identified citing rules.
The regulator is considering the step after residents and hospitals near the New Delhi airport -- India’s busiest -- complained to the National Green Tribunal, the person said. The airport currently has 118 arrivals and 122 departures between 10:01 p.m. and 05:59 a.m., according to the official.
Two 2013 studies linked aircraft noise to higher rates of cardiovascular diseases. While the first study found rates of strokes and heart disease increased with people’s proximity to London’s Heathrow Airport, the second found that U.S. seniors on Medicare who were exposed to the most airplane noise were also more likely to have been hospitalized for heart disease.
India in September 2013 began collecting data on noise levels at airports in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru -- the three biggest airports at the world’s fastest growing aviation market, the official said.
April 09, 2016
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  Anurag Kotoky
India is considering restricting the number of flights that can take off or land at airports to cut noise pollution, in line with with several European and American nations, a senior official at India’s aviation regulator said.
The environment ministry is working with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the regulator, to formulate guidelines on the maximum noise levels to be permitted at existing and new airports, the official said, asking not to be identified citing rules.
The regulator is considering the step after residents and hospitals near the New Delhi airport -- India’s busiest -- complained to the National Green Tribunal, the person said. The airport currently has 118 arrivals and 122 departures between 10:01 p.m. and 05:59 a.m., according to the official.
Two 2013 studies linked aircraft noise to higher rates of cardiovascular diseases. While the first study found rates of strokes and heart disease increased with people’s proximity to London’s Heathrow Airport, the second found that U.S. seniors on Medicare who were exposed to the most airplane noise were also more likely to have been hospitalized for heart disease.
India in September 2013 began collecting data on noise levels at airports in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru -- the three biggest airports at the world’s fastest growing aviation market, the official said.
April 08, 2016
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Jason Murdock
A man was falsely accused of being a terrorist as Europe remains on high alert following twin bombings in Brussels
iStock
An Iraqi man hauled off an EasyJet flight after being accused of being an Islamic extremist has been released without charge. The man in question was forced off the flight on 26 March just before takeoff after a fellow passenger on the plane in the seat next to him claimed to have seen text messages relating to the so-called Islamic State (Isis) on his phone.
After the woman alerted the cabin crew to the possible threat, all on-board passengers on the flight from Vienna to London were forced to disembark while all bags were checked by officials. According to AFP, the plane was cleared for takeoff three hours later but without the man or woman involved in the incident as they were still being questioned by law enforcement at the time.
"There was nothing suspicious found and he has been allowed to continue his journey," said Austrian interior ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck the day after the incident. "The only thing outstanding is a detailed analysis of his mobile phone."

High alert as tensions boil over

Europe remains on high alert following twin bombings in Brussels on 22 March which resulted in the death of over 30 people and hundreds of injuries. The Islamic State-affiliated attack occurred at an airport and a metro station and involved a coordinated spate of suicide bombings.
Now, Belgian law enforcement has launched a crackdown in order to locate the culprits of the attack – and arrests are mounting. Most recently, a prosecutors charged a man called Fayçal Cheffou for having a suspected role in the atrocity. Reports emerged that Cheffou was the man caught by airport CCTV who fled the scene after his bomb failed to detonate.
Most recently, as tensions continue to rise in Brussels, police have been forced to confront a group of roughly 400 "fascists and football hooligans" who attempted to incite trouble with a group of Christian and Muslim peace protesters on Easter Sunday. The black-clad group claimed to represent 'Fascists against Terrorism' however despite trying to disrupt an ongoing rally were quickly shut down by a swelling of riot police.
March 27, 2016
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Priya Joshi
Passengers watched as the co-pilot was handcuffed and removed from the American Airlines flight
REUTERS
An American Airlines pilot was forcibly removed from the cockpit of a plane, moments before it was due to take off, after he was allegedly found to be drunk. The pilot was suspected of having a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit after taking an on on-site breathalyser test.
He failed two sobriety tests before being taken into custody, according to reports. Passengers at Detroit airport on American Airlines flight 736, described scenes of chaos as they saw the co-pilot being put in handcuffs by the side of the jet and detained by officials.
Delaney Bradley, who was on board the flight from Detroit to Philadelphia, said: "I happen to glance out the window and first I saw a police car. About five minutes later I saw them actually taking the pilot around side of the car and handcuffing him.
"There was a lot of scrambling," she added. "When we first got off the plane it seemed to be a lot of chaos. People trying to get answers, we knew we were going to miss our connecting flight. So it was a lot of chaos."
Another woman said: "Honestly I just couldn't believe it. I was speechless that something like that could happen and again that he could get that close to the aircraft."
American Airlines told ABC News: "This is a serious matter and we are assisting local law enforcement and the Federal Aviation Administration with the investigation. We will handle this matter appropriately as the safety and care of our customers and employees is our highest priority."
American Airlines said the flight from Detroit to Philadelphia was cancelled and customers were taking other flights. The airline apologised to any customers affected by the incident and added they were re-accommodating people whose travel plans had been disrupted.
Airport spokesman Michael Conway said the unidentified man, who is believed to be about 50-years-old and from Pennsylvania, was later released. Authorities will determine whether charges will be filed Sky News reports.
Just a month ago, American Airlines hit the headlines after a flight attendant deliberately started a fire in an aircraft bathroom on 1 February and later extinguished it in front of the flight crew to appear like a hero. The incident occurred on an American Airlines flight 1418 heading from Dallas to Detroit.
March 27, 2016
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By Joel Hruska 
Ever since Volkswagen acknowledged that it used defeat devices to cheat on EPA and EU diesel emissions testing, the company has maintained that this critical decision was made by a rogue engineer, or perhaps some middle-level managers. This has never been particularly convincing, given VW’s autocratic and closely managed culture. Now, new evidence may blow the claim up altogether.
According to the New York Times, new documents procured by the paper show that VW executives, including ex-CEO Martin Winterkorn, were aware by May 2014 that regulators could accuse VW of using defeat devices based on the vehicle’s performance in real-world tests. VW didn’t acknowledge that it had installed these devices until September, 2015, and Winterkorn has said he did not learn of the problem until shortly before Volkswagen admitted its lie.

In May 2014, Bernd Gottweis, a retired VW executive who came out of retirement to assist the company with its emissions problem, told Winterkorn that the company would be unable to give “a sound explanation for the dramatically elevated” emission levels.
When Michael Horn, head of VW’s US division, testified to Congress, he stated that VW had a specific technical plan to bring vehicles into compliance. That’s significant, because the EPA spent well over a year working VW to try and solve the problem with a software update before the auto manufacturer finally admitted no fix was possible. We now know the roots of the issue go back more than a decade, when VW realized none of its upcoming vehicles would meet US standards.
Again, these documents contradict the above view. By April 2014, VW had already evaluated various solutions to its emissions problem, including software updates, and had concluded that they wouldn’t solve the situation. VW performed this anyway, in December 2014, but it appears to have been done in the vain hope that the EPA would simply drop the case rather than actually expecting it to solve the problem. Volkswagen has been unable to find a solution that would satisfy US regulators. US regulations on diesel emissions are more strict than their European counterparts, and the EPA’s relationship is much less cozy with auto manufacturers than in Europe.
VW has reportedly considered simply buying back some or all of the affected vehicles. With an estimated 480,000 Volkswagens in the United states, even a $10,000 buyback offer would cost the company $4.8 billion. That’s not including the fines and criminal penalties that could be brought against the company if documents prove that it continued lying to the US government while fraudulently misrepresenting its “clean diesel” technology to US consumers.
February 21, 2016
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The Lagos State Government has intensified efforts on the Light Up Lagos Project, an initiative aimed at lighting up every nook and cranny of the State.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, in a post on his website, said most major highways and streets have been lightened up, while massive repair of street lights are being carried out in other strategic places.


In keeping faith with the actualization of the project targeted at creating an enabling environment that will ensure 24-hour power supply to residents in the next two years, Governor Ambode had set up an Advisory Council chaired by the Deputy Governor, Dr. (Mrs) Idiat Oluranti-Adebule, with a charge on them to make electricity available to Lagosians for both business and domestic use.

Ambode had equally urged individuals and corporate bodies to light up their streets and neighborhood, with a promise that such gestures would be duly rewarded and recognized by the State.



The main idea behind the setting up of the Advisory Council was said to have been for members, who were drawn from the public and private sector, to liaise with the Federal Ministry of Power to actualize the dream.

Speaking on the progress made so far on the project, a source said: “If you notice, in the past few months, if you move from Berger to Lekki, Ikorodu to Lagos Island, the entire Ikeja axis, Victoria Island, Ikoyi and so on, it is very clear that there are more street lights in Lagos today more than ever before.”

While expressing confidence in the sincerity of the Ambode administration, the source however expressed hope that government would be able to sustain the project and make sure that street lights are on at all times in the State.

When contacted, Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Wale Oluwo confirmed the efforts being made by government toward lighting up every nook and cranny of the State, and recalled that same were in line with the campaign promise made by Governor Ambode to the people.

Oluwo said to underscore the commitment of government, arrangement has been concluded on having Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) buses to work at night once the light up project is completed.

His words: “This is one of the campaign promises made to the people by the Governor and just like he has fulfilled others, this project will not be an exception.

“The intention of government is to light up all highways in the State. In fact, the Governor is about to embark on 114 road reconstruction which will be done two per each Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas in the State with walkways and street lights.

“You see, the street light project is more or less complimentary to the security equipment worth N4.8 billion recently donated by the Governor to the police, and the ultimate goal is that when all the street lights are on, we will start having BRT buses working at night.

“You will recall that the Governor also promised to make Lagos city a 24-hour economy, this exactly is the change that the people voted for. We just appeal and pray that the Governor will continue to have the energy and resources to consummate all the promises and Lagos will be in the real sense of the word a megacity.”

“We are assuring Lagosians that the process of lighting up every corner of the state has begun in earnest and we are not going to stop until we achieve our aim.”
January 13, 2016

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