US President Joe Biden said the Colonial fuel pipeline that was shut by a ransomware attack last week is fully operational again, but he asked Americans for patience and warned petrol stations against price-gouging.
Mr Biden said the US government did not believe the Russian government was “responsible” for the attack but the hackers were thought to live in the country.
“Fuel is beginning to flow to a majority of markets and they should be reaching full operational capacity as we speak,” he said.
But Mr Biden said Americans would not “feel the effects on the pump immediately. This is not like flicking on a light switch".
"It's going to take some time and there may be some hiccups,” he said.
He said the pipeline had never been fully shut down before.
Mr Biden said he expects a regional “return to normalcy” by this weekend, but warned petrol stations not to excessively raise prices in the meantime.
“Nobody should be using this situation for financial gain. That’s what the hackers are about, not us,” he said.
Mr Biden is under pressure to show his administration is responding to the hack that caused Colonial Pipeline to shut down its East Coast distribution system, sending average petrol prices to more than $3 a gallon for the first time in six years.
The company resumed shipments late on Wednesday and on Thursday morning said deliveries had begun to most of the pipeline’s markets.
Some petrol stations ran dry from Florida to Virginia after Colonial was forced to take systems offline on May 7.
In parts of the US South, three of every four petrol stations had no fuel as of Wednesday, while in Washington DC, cars were lining up for blocks as they waited to fill up.
Optimism that the situation would return to normal sent gasoline futures down as much as 3.5 per cent in New York trading.
In response to the shortage, the administration temporarily eased century-old US shipping requirements on Thursday so a foreign tanker could carry petrol and jet fuel to the East Coast.
A White House official said on Thursday that the exemption applied to one tanker but other waiver requests were under consideration.
The waiver was necessary to get around the Jones Act, which restricts shipping between American ports to be conducted by vessels built and crewed in the US.
The administration has taken other steps to ease the crisis, including waiving some petrol requirements and empowering 10 states to allow heavier-than-normal truck loads of fuel.
The disruption showed how vulnerable America’s fuel supply system has become after increased attacks on energy infrastructure by hackers over the past few years.
Hackers are increasingly trying to infiltrate essential services such as electric grids and hospitals.
Colonial paid nearly $5 million to hackers on Friday, Bloomberg News reported, despite reports this week that the company had no intention of paying a ransom to regain control of its systems.
The company paid the hefty ransom in untraceable cryptocurrency within hours of the attack.
A source said US government officials were aware that Colonial made the payment.
When they received the payment, the hackers provided the operator with a decrypting tool to restore its disabled computer network.
The tool was so slow that the company continued to use its own back-ups to help restore the system, a source said.
A representative from Colonial declined to comment, as the National Security Council.
Colonial said it began to resume fuel shipments about 5pm eastern time on Wednesday.
The hackers, who the FBI said are linked to a group called DarkSide, specialise in digital extortion and are believed to be in Russia or Eastern Europe.
Mr Biden said on Wednesday that the attack demonstrated the need for US investments in education to improve the nation’s cyber defences.
He has proposed $4 trillion in spending on infrastructure, social welfare and education programs.
Mr Biden called for Congress to confirm Chris Inglis, his nominee for national cyber-security director, a position Congress created earlier year.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
More on Quran memorisation:
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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The biog
Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Favourite music: Classical
Hobbies: Reading and writing
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
