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Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Airlines will fly almost five billion passengers in 2024 and revenues will near $1 trillion, both record highs, trade body IATA said on Monday as the industry roars back after the pandemic. The International Air Transport Association also said it expected the world's airlines to post $30 billion in net earnings this year, up from its previous estimate of $25.7 billion. However, total expenses are expected to hit a record high this year, climbing 9.4 percent to $936 billion, IATA announced at its annual general meeting in Dubai. Fossil fuel-burning airlines are also under pressure to contribute to the fight against climate change and make progress towards a pledge to reach "net zero" carbon emissions by 2050. This year's expected $30 billion profit "is a great achievement considering the recent deep pandemic losses," IATA director general Willie Walsh told the body's annual general meeting in Dubai. "Without a doubt, aviation is vital to the ambitions and prosperity of individuals and economies. Strengthening airline profitability and growing financial resilience is important," he added. The COVID-19 pandemic plunged the aviation industry into crisis, grounding fleets and costing thousands of jobs. IATA put the losses at $183 billion between 2020 and 2022. But despite the expected bounce-back to record passengers and revenues of $996 billion this year, some clouds remain. As well as the record expenses, the return on invested capital is estimated at 5.7 percent in 2024, about 3.4 percentage points below the average cost of capital. The net profit margin is just 3.1%, amounting to about $6 per passenger — a slight improvement on 2023, which is estimated at $27.4 billion net profit with a 3.0% margin. "Earning just $6.14 per passenger is an indication of just how thin our profits are — barely enough for a coffee in many parts of the world," Walsh said. Flooded runways Airlines are facing a sharp rise in costs due to shortages of parts and labor as well as challenges related to climate change, including flooded runways and forest fires. In April Dubai's airport, the world's busiest for international passengers, was closed by severe flooding that left standing water on the runway and forced the cancellation of more than 2,000 flights. The extreme rainfall in the desert United Arab Emirates was likely exacerbated by manmade global warming, according to an international grouping of scientists that examines extreme weather events. Air transport currently accounts for less than 3% of global CO2 emissions, but is often in the firing line because it serves a minority of the world's population. Production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), taken from renewable sources, will triple this year to 1.9 billion liters, or 1.5 million tons, IATA said on Sunday. But SAF will account for just 0.53% of the industry's fuel needs in 2024, the body added. It is expected to provide 65% of aviation's "net zero" mitigation by 2050, with the balance expected to come from greater efficiencies, new technologies and carbon offsets. After Doha in 2022, Istanbul in 2023 and Dubai this year, IATA's 2025 AGM will be held in New Delhi — the center of an aviation boom, including record-breaking aircraft orders by Indian carriers.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California firefighters made significant progress Sunday to tame a wind-driven wildfire that scorched thousands of acres 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of San Francisco, burned down a home and forced residents to flee the area near the central California city of Tracy.   The fire erupted Saturday afternoon in the grassy hills managed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, one of the country's key centers for nuclear weapons science and technology. The cause was under investigation.   The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the research center was not under immediate threat from the blaze, dubbed the Corral Fire, which had devoured some 22 square miles (52 square kilometers) by Sunday afternoon. The fire was 50% contained as of Sunday evening.   Thousands of people in the area, including parts of the city of Tracy with a population of 100,000, were ordered to leave for evacuation centers Saturday. The evacuation order was lifted to allow residents to return home starting Sunday evening. Tracy is about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of California's capital in Sacramento.    CalFire Battalion Chief Josh Silveira said Sunday afternoon the fire “burned right up to the homes” in the area and destroyed one house. With calmer winds and milder weather Sunday, Silveira said he didn't expect the fire to grow.   Two firefighters suffered minor to moderate burns on Saturday and were expected to make a full recovery, Silveira said.   The wildfire presented no threat to any laboratory facilities or operations and had moved away from the site, Lawrence Livermore spokesperson Paul Rhien said in a statement to The Associated Press early Sunday.   “As a precaution, we have activated our emergency operations center to monitor the situation through the weekend,” Rhien said.   Photos showed a wall of flames moving over the parched landscape as dark smoke billowed into the sky.   The wildfire also forced the closure of two major highways, including an interstate that connects the San Francisco Bay Area to San Joaquin County in central California. But they had reopened by Sunday afternoon.   The San Joaquin County Office of Emergency Services on Saturday issued an evacuation order for areas west of the California Aqueduct, south of Corral Hollow Creek, west to Alameda County and south to Stanislaus County. A temporary evacuation point was established at Larch Clover Community Center in Tracy. The county also asked residents to temporarily use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes.   Sunday’s high temperature for Tracy was expected to reach 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius), with no rain in the forecast. But hotter conditions are on their way.   The National Weather Service said “dangerously hot conditions” with highs of 103 F to 108 F (39.4 C to 42.2 C) were expected later in the week for the San Joaquin Valley, an area that encompasses Tracy. Wind gusts of up to 45 mph (72 kph) lashed the region Saturday night, according to meteorologist Idamis Shoemaker of the weather service in Sacramento. 

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Seoul, South Korea — Seoul will fully suspend a 2018 tension-reducing military deal with nuclear-armed North Korea, the South's National Security Council said Monday, after Pyongyang sent hundreds of trash-filled balloons across the border. Seoul partially suspended the agreement last year after the North put a spy satellite into orbit, but the NSC said it would tell the cabinet "to suspend the entire effect of the 'September 19 Military Agreement' until mutual trust between the two Koreas is restored." In the last week, Pyongyang has sent nearly a thousand balloons carrying garbage including cigarette butts and likely manure into the South, in what it says was retaliation for missives bearing anti-regime propaganda organized by activists in the South. South Korea has called the latest provocation from its neighbor "irrational" and "low-class" but, unlike the spate of recent ballistic missile launches, the trash campaign does not violate UN sanctions on Kim Jong Un's isolated government. The North called off the balloon bombardment Sunday, saying it had been an effective countermeasure — but warning that more could come if needed. The 2018 military deal, signed during a period of warmer ties between the two countries which remain technically at war, aims to reduce tensions on the peninsula and avoid an accidental escalation, especially along the heavily fortified border. But after Seoul partially suspended the agreement in November last year to protest Pyongyang's successful spy satellite launch, the North said it would no longer honour the deal at all. As a result, Seoul's NSC said the deal was "virtually null and void due to North Korea's de facto declaration of abandonment", anyway, but that abiding by the remainder of it was disadvantaging the South in terms of their ability to respond to threats like the balloons. Respecting the agreement "is causing significant issues in our military's readiness posture, especially in the context of a series of recent provocations by North Korea that pose real damage and threats to our citizens," it said. The move will allow "military training in the areas around the Military Demarcation Line," it said, and also enable "more sufficient and immediate responses to North Korean provocations," it added. The decision will need to be approved by a cabinet meeting set for Tuesday before it takes effect. Ties between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with diplomacy long-stalled and Kim Jong Un ramping up his weapons testing and development, while the South draws closer to major security ally Washington. Block the balloons? Seoul's decision to jettison the 2018 tension-reducing deal shows "that it will not tolerate trash balloons coming across the border, considering international norms and the terms of the truce," said Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul. "However, it could further provoke Pyongyang when it is impossible to physically block the balloons drifting southwards in the air," he said. "The safety of the citizens cannot be guaranteed with such actions while it can wait for the situation to cool down and seek ways to resolve it." South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the balloons were not found to contain hazardous materials, but had been landing in northern provinces, including the capital Seoul and the adjacent area of Gyeonggi, which are collectively home to nearly half of South Korea's population. South Korean officials have also said Seoul would not rule out responding to the balloons by resuming loudspeaker propaganda campaigns along the border with North Korea. In the past, South Korea has broadcast anti-Kim propaganda into the North, which infuriates Pyongyang, with experts warning a resumption could even lead to skirmishes along the border.

Beijing — China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe looks set to begin its historic journey back to Earth from the moon's far side after collecting samples that scientists expect will help answer key questions about the early evolution of the solar system. Chang'e-6, named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess, was launched on May 3 from the southern Chinese island province of Hainan. The fully robotic probe landed on Sunday in a previously unexplored location in a gigantic impact crater called the South-Pole Aitken Basin, on the side of the moon that permanently faces away from Earth. China's previous Chang'e mission collected samples from the moon's near side in December 2020, restarting global lunar material retrieval efforts after a gap of 44 years. The uncrewed Luna 24 mission launched by the former Soviet Union in 1976 collected 170.1 grams of samples from Mare Crisium, or "Sea of Crises," on the near side of the moon. Between 1969 and 1972, six Apollo missions, all crewed, collected 2,200 samples weighing a total of 382 kilograms, also from the side of the moon facing Earth. James Carpenter, head of the European Space Agency's lunar science office, said the samples collected by the Apollo missions from the moon's near side suggested the South-Pole Aitken Basin on the far side was caused by an epoch of extremely heavy bombardment of the solar system, Earth and moon. "This is a really core event in the history of the whole solar system, but there is some controversy about whether it happened or not," he said. "To understand that, you need to anchor those events, and that's going to be done with samples from the lunar far side from the South-Pole Aitken Basin."   Small window After landing, Chang'e-6 had a 14-hour window to drill, excavate, and seal 2 kg of material, with the goal of being the first probe to bring back such samples from the moon's far side. This compares to the 21-hour window Chang'e-5 had in 2020. "Once it gets dark, once the sun goes over the horizon, the mission has to end, so there is a limited time window between landing, getting those samples, and getting off the surface again, so it's quite an exciting mission because it has to be done quickly," Carpenter said. While China said it had improved the efficiency of its digging and drilling machines compared with 2020, the mission could still encounter snags at the sampling phase. Chang'e-5 returned 1.73 kg of lunar samples, rather than the planned 2 kg, as the drill was only able to create a hole 1 meter deep, rather than 2 meters, after encountering impenetrable layers beneath the surface. The Chang'e-6 samples will be transferred and sealed on a rocket booster atop the lander, which will launch back into space, dock with another spacecraft in lunar orbit and transfer the samples. A landing in China's Inner Mongolia is expected around June 25. Throughout the probe's journey, payloads from Italian, French, and Pakistani research institutes, as well as the European Space Agency, will collect data on questions pertaining to space and the moon, highlighting the growing international weight of China's space program, which is competing with the United States to build a lunar outpost in the next decade. Carpenter said there was "extremely strong" collaboration between European and Chinese scientists in analyzing the lunar samples brought back by Chang'e-5, and he hoped this would be repeated for Chang'e-6.

JOHANNESBURG — President Cyril Ramaphosa called Sunday for South Africa's political parties to overcome their differences and find “common ground” to form the first national coalition government in its young democracy. His comments came in a speech straight after final election results were announced confirming that no party won a majority in last week's vote. Unprecedented coalition talks were set to start to find a way forward for Africa’s most industrialized economy. Ramaphosa's African National Congress party had already lost its 30-year majority after more than 99% of votes were counted by Saturday and showed it couldn’t surpass 50%.  The ANC received 40% of the votes in last week’s election in the final count, the largest share.  Without a majority it will need to agree on a coalition with another party or parties for the first time to co-govern and re-elect Ramaphosa for a second term. South Africa’s national elections decide how many seats each party gets in Parliament and lawmakers elect the president later. “Our people have spoken,” Ramaphosa said. “Whether we like it or not, they have spoken. We have heard the voices of our people, and we must respect their choices and their wishes. ... The people of South Africa expect their leaders to work together to meet their needs. This is a time for all of us to put South Africa first.” The ANC was the party of Nelson Mandela and freed South Africa from the apartheid system of white minority rule in 1994. It had governed with a comfortable majority since then, but this election saw an unprecedented slump in its support as voters deserted the party due to its failure to solve widespread poverty, extremely high unemployment levels and problems with delivering basic government services to many in a nation of 62 million. The ANC had said earlier Sunday that it was starting its negotiations with all major parties. More than 50 parties took part in the election, and at least eight had significant shares of the vote. At least 26 of them, including the MK Party led by former President Jacob Zuma, have lodged objections and complaints with the electoral body alleging voting irregularities, which it has promised to address.  ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said it was open to all negotiations, even with the main opposition Democratic Alliance, which has led the chorus of criticism of the ANC for years but is viewed by many analysts as the most stable coalition option for South Africa. The DA won the second most votes with 21.8%, and the two parties would hold a majority together and be able to govern. DA leader John Steenhuisen said his party was also initiating talks with parties. The ANC won 159 seats in the 400-seat Parliament, down from the 230 it won in the last election. The DA increased slightly to 87 seats.  There is some time pressure for coalition talks to progress and for the uncertainty to be minimized, given that the new Parliament needs to sit for the first time and elect a president within 14 days of the election results being declared.  Ramaphosa is seeking a second and final term and Mbalula said his position as leader of the ANC was not in question despite the election result. Mbalula said the ANC would not consider the demands by Zuma's MK Party that Ramaphosa step down as a condition for talks. “No political party will dictate terms to us, the ANC. They will not ... You come to us with that demand, forget (it),” Mbalula said. He said the ANC would not be arrogant, though. “The elections have humbled us, they have brought us where we are,” he said. South Africa is a leading voice for its continent and for the developing world on the global stage and is due to take over the presidency of the Group of 20 rich and developing nations late this year. It’s the only African nation in that group. “Everyone is looking to see if South Africa can weather the storm and come out the other side,” political analyst Oscar van Heerden said on the eNCA news network.  Amid many coalition options, the ANC could also join with MK and the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters, although they have been cast as partners that would make investors uneasy. Both have pledged to nationalize parts of South Africa’s economy, including its gold and platinum mines, among the world’s biggest producers. The DA has long said it will not work with the EFF and MK, calling them a “doomsday coalition” for South Africa. Steenhuisen, the party's leader, repeated that stance Sunday in a speech on national television but said his party was starting talks with others and would approach them “with cool heads and open minds.” Political analyst van Heerden said an ANC-DA coalition would “possibly give stability” but there were some within the ANC who would oppose it. Other smaller parties could be involved to dilute it and make it more palatable for the ANC, some commentators said. “The DA has approached the ANC as the enemy over many, many years,” van Heerden said. “The next few days is going to be a very difficult period. People will have to be mature behind closed doors.”

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New York — The Washington Post said Sunday that its executive editor, Sally Buzbee, has stepped down after three years at the top of one of journalism's most storied brands. She will be replaced by Matt Murray, former editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, through this fall's presidential election. Following that, Robert Winnett, deputy editor of the Telegraph Media Group, will take over as editor as the newsroom restructures its operations. No reason was given for Buzbee's departure. She wasn't quoted in the news release announcing that she was leaving and did not immediately return a message seeking comment. The Post also announced that it was launching a new division in its newsroom dedicated to reaching audiences who want to pay for and consume news in a different way. Buzbee, former top editor at The Associated Press, was selected as the Post's top editor in May 2021. She replaced a renowned predecessor, Martin Baron, after the Post exploded in popularity during the Trump administration. Buzbee was the first woman to serve as executive editor of The Washington Post. And like Jill Abramson, the first woman to be top editor at The New York Times, her tenure was short: Abramson had her job from 2011 to 2014. It has been a miserable few years financially for the news industry, including for the Post. It has bled subscribers to the point where new publisher, Will Lewis, told employees last month that the newspaper lost $77 million last year. “To speak candidly, we are in a hole, and have been for some time,” Lewis said, according to the Post. Lewis was named late last year to replace Fred Ryan as Post publisher. He has worked at both The Wall Street Journal and The Telegraph in England, the places he turned to to find the new executives. He's talked about creating a multi-tier subscription plan for The Post, similar to that in place at Politico. In an email to employees late Sunday, Lewis said the new department will focus on more video storytelling, embrace artificial intelligence and flexible payment methods. It will begin this fall, he said. In an earlier meeting, “we highlighted the need to move away from the traditional one-size-fits-all approach in the news media industry and focus on creating news for a broader range of readers and customers.” It augurs a change to the traditional structure of the Post. In his memo, Lewis mentioned “three newsrooms.” Winnett will not take on the title of executive editor, but he will be responsible for the “core coverage areas” of politics, investigations, business, technology, sports and features. He has run The Telegraph's news operations since 2013, the Post said. Murray will take over as leader of the newly created department starting Nov. 6, the Post said. No one will have the title of executive editor: Murray, Winnett and David Shipley, the editorial page editor who will lead the “opinions newsroom,” will each report directly to Lewis, the Post said. “By creating three strong journalism functions — core, service/social and opinions — we are taking a definitive step away from the ‘one size fits all’ approach and moving towards meeting our audiences where they are,” Lewis said. The Post won three Pulitzer Prizes last month, including one in national reporting for a vivid series on the impact of the AR-15 rifle.  

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

If Hamas agrees to Israel's proposed truce on Gaza, the United States says it expects that Israel will accept the plan. Peace mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. have called on both sides to agree to a cease-fire and hostage release plan outlined by U.S. President Joe Biden Friday. Former President Donald Trump weighed in on Sunday about the possibility of being sentenced to jail next month after his conviction for falsifying business records. A new Netflix series made in India puts a historic red-light district in Pakistan in the spotlight. A nonprofit community of breast milk donors has formed in Uganda.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico Rep. Jesús Manuel Ortiz defeated Sen. Juan Zaragoza in a gubernatorial primary held Sunday by their Popular Democratic Party, which seeks a return to power in the upcoming general elections. Zaragoza conceded defeat after obtaining 38% of the votes to his rival's 62%, even though only a little more than 60% of the votes had been counted. Meanwhile, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi was still locked in a battle against Puerto Rico congresswoman Jenniffer González in a primary held by the pro-statehood New Progressive Party. The two ran on the same ticket four years ago, but González announced her plan to challenge Pierluisi in early December. All candidates face disgruntled voters on an island still struggling with chronic power outages and awaiting completion of reconstruction projects following Hurricane Maria, which hit as a Category 4 storm in September 2017. Other ongoing complaints include the difficulty of obtaining business permits, a fractured education system and the lack of access to capital markets after the local government emerged two years ago from the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy in history after announcing in 2015 that it was unable to pay its more than $70 billion public debt load. The debt was accumulated by governments that overspent, overestimated revenue and borrowed millions despite a ballooning debt. Running alongside Pierluisi for the position of congressional representative was Puerto Rico Sen. William Villafañe, while senior U.S. naval military officer Elmer Román, a former secretary of state for Puerto Rico, sought the position under González. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico Sen. Juan Zaragoza, who was highly lauded for his work as the island's former treasury secretary, ran against Rep. Jesús Manuel Ortiz to be the main candidate for the Popular Democratic Party, which supports the island's status quo as a U.S. territory. Attorney Pablo José Hernández was running unopposed to be the party's candidate for resident commissioner, the first person in 20 years to seek that nomination. Voting centers closed Sunday evening, with political pundits warning that voter turnout appeared low and that electronic voting machines did not properly work in some towns, although it was too early to determine the magnitude of the problem. All candidates faced disgruntled voters on an island still struggling with chronic power outages and high electric bills as it awaits completion of reconstruction projects following Hurricane Maria, which hit as a Category 4 storm in September 2017. Power outages were reported at more than a dozen voting centers, including one where Ortiz arrived to cast his vote, forcing officials to revert to a manual process. Heavy rains also pelted parts of the island, with flood warnings issued for nearly a dozen towns and cities. Power outages remain such a big concern that the State Commission of Elections rented more than a dozen generators and a private power company identified 81 alternate voting sites with guaranteed electricity. "It's been years since I last voted," said Benito López, a 66-year-old retiree wearing a T-shirt that read, "The Island of Enchantment." He planned to cast a vote for a candidate he would not reveal "to see if there's any improvement and change." Other voter complaints include the difficulty of obtaining business permits, a fractured education system, and the island's lack of access to capital markets after the local government emerged two years ago from the largest debt restructuring in U.S. history. Meanwhile, more than $9 billion of debt owed by Puerto Rico's power company, the largest of any government agency, remains unresolved. A federal judge overseeing a bankruptcy-like process has yet to rule on a restructuring plan following bitter negotiations between the government and bondholders. "They have broken Puerto Rico," said 79-year-old Cecilio Rodríguez of the current and previous administrations as he waited to cast his vote. "Economic development must be a priority." For other voters, stopping the exodus of doctors from Puerto Rico and improving the U.S. territory's crumbling health system is a priority. "The patients are the ones who have to stay here and endure this. It's not fair," said Dr. Alfredo Rivera Freytes, an anesthesiologist who left Puerto Rico for the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Thomas because of the ongoing problems with the local health system. He returned two years ago with plans to retire but found himself working again because of the need for anesthesiologists in Puerto Rico. Ahead of the primaries, Pierluisi has touted record tourist numbers, ongoing hurricane reconstruction and growing economic development among his successes as he seeks re-election. He has pledged to prioritize projects targeting children and the island's growing elderly population, among other things. An event marking the end of his campaign held a week before the primaries was headlined by former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, who resigned in August 2019 following nearly two weeks of massive protests touched off by a leak of crude and insulting chat messages between him and his top advisers. His opponent, González, did not hold a campaign closer. She has pledged to crack down on corruption, award more funds to agencies to help victims of violence amid a surge in killings of women, and stem an exodus of doctors and other medical workers to the U.S. mainland. Meanwhile, Zaragoza has promised to prioritize climate change and renewable energy, decentralize the island's education department and improve access to health. His opponent, Ortiz, has pledged to improve the licensing process to retain doctors, simplify the island's tax system and revamp health care. Puerto Rico's next governor will have to work alongside a federal control board that oversees the island's finances and was created after the government declared bankruptcy. Ahead of Sunday's primaries, more than 4,900 inmates voted in prisons across the U.S. territory. The State Commission of Elections also has received and counted more than 122,000 early ballots.