All posts tagged: disruption

Nigeria faces jet fuel shortage as Strait of Hormuz disruption bites

Nigeria faces jet fuel shortage as Strait of Hormuz disruption bites

Published by Sam Flores

Nigeria’s jet fuel shortage is being driven by disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz that have curtailed global supplies of middle distillates, a fuel marketers’ group said, squeezing airlines already grappling with soaring costs. Products such as jet fuel and diesel that normally pass through the strategic waterway have become less available worldwide, pushing up prices, the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) said. Source link

Bauer cuts jobs in digital restructure amid AI search disruption

Bauer cuts jobs in digital restructure amid AI search disruption

Published by Sam Flores

Bauer Media Group magazine titles in the UK Europe’s largest magazine publisher Bauer Media Group will make job cuts as part of a major restructure of its digital businesses in the UK and Germany. Bauer cited the impact of Google’s AI Overviews reducing clickthroughs to publisher websites as well as “under pressure” and “fragmented” advertising models. Bauer will shut its digital business in Germany, Bauer Xcel Media Deutschland KG, on 30 September, impacting all of the division’s 160 employees. In the UK where Bauer publishes titles like Empire, Grazia and Heat, it is proposing to restructure its digital publishing businesses with jobs at risk. A consultation process has begun. Digiday reported that the cuts could affect up to 30% of all Bauer’s publishing staff. Bauer said in a statement: “In recent years, the digital publishing environment has changed significantly. Technological disruption, particularly the rapid rise of AI, is reshaping how audiences access content, with users increasingly receiving answers directly via platforms rather than visiting publisher websites. “At the same time, platform dynamics, user behaviour and …

Royal Mail delivery disruption alert for 29 UK postcodes today

Royal Mail delivery disruption alert for 29 UK postcodes today

Published by Sam Flores

Royal Mail is facing delays again (Image: Getty) Royal Mail’s delivery delays have continued as 29 UK postcodes are affected today. Homes and businesses across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have been impacted by postal disruptions. The delivery giant has faced mounting criticism over its late deliveries, with owner Daniel Kretinsky telling MPs: “Of course I am deeply sorry for any letters that arrive late.” However, this week he denied Royal Mail’s track record for letters arriving late was deteriorating. Addressing the Commons Business select committee, Mr Kretinsky said: “It is not perfect, but it is not catastrophic.” Read more: Fury as Royal Mail workers told to ‘hide parcels to meet delivery targets’ Read more: Martin Lewis warns Brits to ‘stockpile’ everyday household £1.70 item by April 7 Last October, Royal Mail was handed a £21million fine for missing First and Second Class delivery targets in its last financial year. Just 77% of First Class mail and 92.5% of Second Class were delivered on time in its 2024-25 financial year. This falls short of …

Royal Mail disruption today as UK delivery delays hit 62 postcodes

Royal Mail disruption today as UK delivery delays hit 62 postcodes

Published by Sam Flores

In the face of impending stamp price hikes next month, the firm has come under fire for falling short of delivery targets. Royal Mail has stated it is endeavouring to “minimise” customer disruption. However, it acknowledges that several delivery offices throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are contending with “high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors”. As of Monday, March 23, 25 delivery offices are encountering delays. Royal Mail stated: “We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week. In a small number of local offices, this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors. “In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers. We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive.” It added: “We’re sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.” These delays coincide with an …

Exclusive-Iraq Declares Force Majeure on Foreign-Operated Oilfields Over Hormuz Disruption, Sources Say

Exclusive-Iraq Declares Force Majeure on Foreign-Operated Oilfields Over Hormuz Disruption, Sources Say

Published by Sam Flores

By Aref , Mohammed and Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD, March 20 (Reuters) – Iraq ⁠has ⁠declared force majeure on all ⁠oilfields developed by foreign oil companies after military operations in the region ​disrupted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, halting most of the country’s crude exports, three energy ‌officials with direct knowledge of the ‌decision said. Navigation through the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for around 20% of global oil ⁠and liquefied ⁠natural gas supplies — has been severely affected by unprecedented military activity, the ​oil ministry said in a letter dated March 17 and seen by Reuters. Most Iraqi crude exports transit the Strait, and the disruptions have caused storage capacity to reach its limits, the letter said. International ​oil prices settled at their highest level in nearly four years on Friday, as ⁠the three-week-old ⁠U.S.-Israeli war with Iran ⁠escalated. “The international ​partners were unable to nominate tankers to lift crude, preventing exports despite the state oil ​company SOMO being ready to ⁠load shipments,” the letter said. “Based on the situation, the ministry ordered …

Singtel CEO apologises for outages, says 9-hour disruption on Mar 16 due to mechanical fault

Singtel CEO apologises for outages, says 9-hour disruption on Mar 16 due to mechanical fault

Published by Sam Flores

SINGAPORE: Singtel Singapore CEO Ng Tian Chong on Thursday (Mar 19) apologised for the company’s recent outages, and said that the disruption that occurred on the first day – lasting more than nine hours – was due to a “mechanical fault”. Singtel customers had reported connectivity issues on three consecutive days starting from Mar 16. “We know how important it is to stay connected and recognise the impact these incidents may have had on our customers. This should not have happened. We sincerely apologise,” he said. On Mar 16, about 15 per cent of its customers started having mobile connectivity issues from about 10.30am due to a “mechanical fault” at one of Singtel’s network facilities, said Mr Ng. According to an investor factsheet, Singtel has 4.5 million mobile customers in Singapore as of end-March last year. “Though multiple redundancy measures were in place to support seamless service continuity, our situation required reconfiguration which took time to fully take effect.” He said that 4G services for affected customers were restored by around 1.30pm and 5G services …

Gulf disruption squeezes Indonesia nickel makers’ sulphur supply

Gulf disruption squeezes Indonesia nickel makers’ sulphur supply

Published by Sam Flores

SHANGHAI/LONDON, March 6 : Nickel makers in Indonesia reliant on the Middle East for 75 per cent of the sulphur they use may have to cut production as Gulf shipping is increasingly disrupted by the conflict in the region, analysts said Sulphur is used to make sulphuric acid, which is essential for leaching metals from ore in nickel refining and copper processing, with some copper producers in Africa potentially facing similar problems.  The Middle East accounted for around 24 per cent of global sulphur production at 83.87 million metric tons last year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. But disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, as a result of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran’s widening retaliation, is threatening to squeeze supplies.  Indonesia, home to more than 50 per cent of global nickel production, imports roughly three quarters of its sulphur from the Middle East, according to Peter Harrisson, analyst at consultancy CRU. The country’s nickel is used mostly to make stainless steel. Sulphur stockpiles at high-pressure acid leaching nickel plants …