BEIRUT (AFP) – An Israeli air strike hit Syria’s Latakia port before dawn on Tuesday, sparking a fire that lit up the Mediterranean seafront in the second such attack on the key cargo hub this month, Syrian state media reported.
Since the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out air strikes on its strife-torn neighbour, mostly targetting Syrian government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters.
But it is only the second time it has hit the port of Latakia, in the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad’s minority Alawite community.
“At 3.21am, the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial aggression with several missiles from the direction of the Mediterranean… targetting the container yard in Latakia port,” Syrian state news agency SANA cited a military source as saying.
The strike caused “significant material damage”, it added.
Asked about the strike, an Israeli army spokesman said: “We don’t comment on reports in foreign media”. Pictures released by SANA showed firefighters training hoses on stacks of blazing containers that lit up the night sky. The news agency said the containers were carrying “engine oil and spare parts for cars and other vehicles”.
But Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the cargo was “arms and munitions”, which had detonated in “powerful explosions that were felt across the city of Latakia and its suburbs”.
Firefighters work at the scene of missiles attack at the seaport of the coastal city of Latakia. PHOTO: AP
SINGAPORE (CNA) – Demand for new SGD2 banknotes during festive periods has gone down by about 20 per cent each year since a “good-as-new” initiative was launched in 2013, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) yesterday.
MAS issues about 100 million new notes annually to meet Chinese New Year and other festive periods, with the SGD2 bills accounting for the bulk of the demand, said MAS in response to queries from CNA.
“Other than the SGD2 denomination, there is no accumulation of excess notes as the new notes of other denominations issued are recycled to meet normal circulation demand,” it said.
Its “good-as-new” SGD2 note initiative – which encourages the public to choose used notes that are clean and crisp instead of newly printed ones – has helped to reduce the demand for new SGD2 bills during festive periods by about 20 per cent each year, said the authority.
In a media release on Tuesday, the central bank had said that a large proportion of new notes issued for festive gifting, particularly the SGD2 bills, are returned after Chinese New Year and subsequently destroyed as it “far exceeds normal circulation demand”.
“The carbon emissions from the production, transportation, and destruction of such new notes each year is highly wasteful, unnecessary, and impacts the environment negatively,” it said.
Reusing notes for the Chinese New Year “will support the environment and reduce queues at bank branches” added MAS.
MAS issues about 100 million new notes annually to meet Chinese New Year and other festive periods, the SGD2 bills accounting for the bulk of the demand. PHOTO: CNA
It was a fun-filled day for Haji Mohammad Isa bin Haji Marsidi’s family as they finally got to go on a Brunei River cruise after their original plans were postponed due to the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak.
Haji Mohammad Isa said their initial plans was for a river cruise on August 8 but the trip was delayed due to the outbreak that began a day earlier and the cruise operator had to postpone all excursions.
During the highly anticipated tour, Haji Mohammad Isa’s family of 78 was divided into two groups because the ship can accommodate only 45 passengers per trip due to the 75 per cent capacity limit.
Haji Mohammad Isa said, “One group boarded the morning cruise and another in the afternoon.
“Seeing them all filled with joy during the cruise was beautiful. The trip gave them a holiday retreat and stress relief during the current travel restrictions because of the pandemic.”
Haji Mohammad Isa bin Haji Marsidi’s family in a group photo during the afternoon cruise. PHOTO: LYNA MOHAMAD
LONDON (AP) – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta (AP; pic below) tested positive for the coronavirus again and will be absent for the Premier League match against Manchester City on New Year’s Day, the club said yesterday.
Arteta’s positive test in March 2020 was a key factor in the suspension of the league in the first week of the pandemic.
Arteta is the third Premier League manager currently isolating after contracting COVID-19, after Crystal Palace’s Patrick Vieira and Aston Villa’s Steven Gerrard.
“Mikel is isolating in line with government guidelines and we wish him well,” Arsenal said. Arteta was previously the assistant coach at City.
Meanwhile, In Spain, Barcelona announced three players – Ousmane Dembélé, Samuel Umtiti and Gavi – have tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of its league match at Mallorca on Sunday.
“The players are in good health and are in isolation at their homes,” Barcelona said on its Twitter account.
JAKARTA, INDONESIA (AP) – Indonesia said yesterday it is lifting its ban on Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, three years after one crashed into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff killing all 189 people on board.
The Transportation Ministry said in a statement yesterday that the aircraft will be permitted to fly in Indonesia, but only after airlines carry out airworthiness directives.
The ministry will also conduct inspections before the aircraft are allowed to operate in the country, said the ministry’s Director General of Civil Aviation Novie Riyanto.
“Several flight operators have stated that they have carried out airworthiness orders for 737 MAX aircraft, in accordance with FAA provisions and will prepare training and simulators at the nearest facility, in Singapore,” Riyanto said.
Governments grounded the Boeing 737 Max after 346 people were killed in the crashes of the Lion Air flight in Indonesia on October 29, 2018, and an Ethiopian Airlines flight on March 10, 2019.
Lion Air’s Boeing 737 Max 8 sitting on the tarmac at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, Indonesia. PHOTO: AP
Investigators blamed a computer system that pushed the plane’s nose downward in flight and couldn’t be overridden by pilots. Boeing has carried out technical upgrades to fix such problems.
Earlier this month, China became the last major market to approve the Boeing 737 Max after the United States (US) allowed flights to resume in December 2020. European Union (EU) regulators gave permission in January. Brazil and Canada also have given approval.
Anton Sahadi, whose 24-year-old cousins Muhammad Rafi Ardian and Rian Ariandi died in the 2018 crash, said that he regrets the government decision to let the 737 Max fly again.
“The government has to ensure that the aircraft meets safety standards so that similar incidents don’t happen again,” Sahadi said.
“I do not see the urgency yet for Boeing’s 737 Max aircrafts to fly again in Indonesia. Families of victims still have not finished the process of resolving problems with Boeing,” he said.
Sahadi was referring to complaints by some families of crash victims that a USD2.5-billion settlement between Boeing and the US. Department of Justice excluded them from involvement in negotiating their compensation.
PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE (AFP) – Chilean scientists studying organisms in one of the most remote places on Earth are urging regional leaders to step up efforts to tackle climate change.
A recent expedition, which was delayed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, sought to investigate harmful organisms and how they are impacting climate change.
Chile’s Magallanes region – on the southern tip of South America where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet – is known as the “end of the world” and extends from Punta Arenas through the Magallanes Strait to the Beagle Channel.
Sailing through peak-lined straits past glaciers and soaring birds, the scientists on board the oceanographic research vessel Cabo de Hornos had their focus trained on the water, which has lower levels of acidity, salt and calcium than other seas and oceans, especially in their shallowest parts.
Scientists believe the conditions found in the water will appear in other parts of the world in the coming decades, as the impact of climate change mounts.
“The regional plans for mitigation and adaptation to climate change are out of date with respect to what is happening in the environment,” Jose Luis Iriarte, who headed the expedition, told AFP.
Crew members of the Chilean navy scientific research ship Cabo de Hornos take pictures at the glacier Fouque in the region of Magallanes, Chile. PHOTOS: AFP
“The environment is changing quicker than we as a society are responding to it.”
The scientific mission paid special attention to the “red tides” – harmful algal blooms that can turn the sea red.
They were first recorded in the Magallanes region half a century ago and have since been responsible for the deaths of 23 people and poisoned more than 200.
This area is also affected by melting glaciers, a product of global warming.
“We don’t know how these organisms and particularly microorganisms will respond to these effects,” said Iriarte.
The expedition stopped at 14 places, each time taking water samples at different levels up to a depth of 200 metres using a piece of equipment called a rosette.
Another piece of equipment was used to collect soil samples, sometimes at a depth of more than 300 metres.
The scientists also combed the shores for algae and molluscs.
From the highest point on the boat, marine biologist Rodrigo Hucke, one of 19 scientists on the expedition, spent hours scanning the surface of the water.
Spotting a far off whale, he would give the signal and then jump into a small motorboat to try to get as close as possible to the huge mammal in a bid to collect its faeces, with the aim of looking for changes to its diet.
Hucke said there has been a historical lack of action by governments when it comes to the oceans, which cover 70 per cent of the planet’s surface.
He hoped the next United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference – COP27 in Egypt – will mark a true global transformation in how the oceans are managed.
“All of this needs to change in 2022 and there needs to be a concrete decision in advancing toward profound policies of change in how us humans do things,” said Hucke.
He is worried that this region could one day become “one of the last bastions of biodiversity on Earth.”
After the nine-day mission, it was time to head back to laboratories to analyse the information gathered.
“I think we’re the voice of what nature cannot say,” said Wilson Castillo, a biochemistry student who, at 24, was the youngest member of the expedition.
VIENNA/IRAN (AFP) – The United States (US) said it had seen possible progress in talks with Iran but joined European negotiators in pressing for urgency in rolling back Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Negotiations resumed Monday in Vienna in a fresh push to make headway on reviving a landmark 2015 agreement that curtailed Iran’s nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief.
“There may have been some modest progress,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters in Washington.
“But it is in some ways too soon to say how substantive that progress may have been. At a minimum any progress, we believe, is falling short of Iran’s accelerating nuclear steps and is far too slow.”
Former US president Donald Trump in 2018 withdrew from the nuclear accord and imposed a slew of punishing sanctions, including a unilateral US ban on Iran selling its key export of oil.
US President Joe Biden supports a return to the agreement but Iran has kept taking steps away from compliance as it presses for sanctions relief.
Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani speaks to the press in Vienna. PHOTO: AFP
The Vienna talks began after Biden’s election but stopped in June as Iran elected a new ultraconservative government. They resumed in late November with Iran agreeing to keep talking after a brief break.
“This negotiation is urgent,” negotiators from Britain, France and Germany said in a statement.
“We are clear that we are nearing the point where Iran’s escalation of its nuclear programme will have completely hollowed out the JCPoA,” the so-called E3 powers said, referring to the deal’s official name by its acronym.
“That means we have weeks, not months, to conclude a deal before the JCPoA’s core non-proliferation benefits are lost.”
The Biden administration has warned of a return to pressure if talks fail and Iran pursues its nuclear work.
Iran was in compliance with the 2015 deal before Trump’s withdrawal but has since taken key steps including stepping up its enrichment of uranium, although it denies that it wants to acquire a nuclear arsenal.
Porsche Brunei, represented by official importer and dealer QAF Eurokars Sdn Bhd, debuted the latest variant of the first fully-electric Porsche, the highly anticipated Taycan Cross Turismo.
QAF Eurokars General Manager Lahiru de Silva officially unveiled the first cross utility vehicle (CUV) from Porsche during a media event at Porsche Centre Brunei in Beribi on Tuesday.
The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo is an all electric sports car with off-road versatility, and an innovative 800-volt technology designed for fast charging and plentiful range.
The latest Taycan variant features impressive spaciousness and practical flexibility, complementing the already popular Taycan model range.
One of its key features is its all new high-tech chassis with all-wheel drive and adaptive air suspension, ensuring uncompromising dynamics, both on and off-road. The variant offers 36 millimetres more headroom for rear-seat passengers and more than 1,200 litres of load capacity (with rear setbacks folded down), loaded through the large tailgate at the rear, making the Cross Turismo a true all-rounder.
What clearly sets the Taycan Cross Turismo apart is that the electric vehicle sits 20mm higher compared to its Taycan saloon counterpart, and it comes with the optional Offroad Design Package with ground clearance further increased by up to 30mm. This allows it to be driven on challenging off-road terrains, which is even more optimised in the ‘gravel’ driving mode, exclusive to the Cross Turismo.
The exclusive feature manages torque distribution through traction-optimised shifting and other chassis settings, increasing the suitability of the Taycan Cross Turismo on poor-quality roads.
QAF Eurokars General Manager Lahiru de Silva with the management team of Porsche Brunei following the launch of the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo. PHOTOS: JAMES KON AND PORSCHE BRUNEIThe Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo boasts a sporty interior design
Other off-road design elements of the vehicle include wheel arch trims, unique front and rear lower aprons and side sills.
The Cross Turismo has special flaps at the corners of the front and rear bumpers and at the end of the sills, as part of the optional Offload Design package. The elements do not only result in a striking exterior, but also provides protection from stone impact.
Meanwhile, QAF Eurokars Sdn Bhd, the leading car dealer to offer electric vehicles and charging infrastructures, launched the fully electric sports car Porsche Taycan during the grand opening of the new Porsche Centre Brunei in April this year.
The Porsche Taycan that comes in four variants, the flagship Taycan Turbo S, Taycan Turbo and Taycan 4S, and the new entry-level Taycan received encouraging response from the Brunei market, proving Bruneians are recognising the importance of green technology of electric vehicles.
De Silva told a media gathering on Tuesday that this year has been quite a journey.
“The journey was not an easy one, but definitely a remarkable one. Despite challenging circumstances, we proved our resilience, and the resilience of Porsche, achieving a 40 per cent jump in year-on-year sales, with approximately 20 per cent of our sales coming from electrified Porsche models.
“As we welcome the new year, our endeavour continues to be a brand driven by pioneering spirit, powered by innovation – and we look forward to continue keeping the dream of the sports car alive,” de Silva said.
After a hiatus from event-hosting due to COVID-19-related partial-movement restrictions in Brunei Darussalam, the company also held a small gathering at Porsche Centre Brunei to reaffirm ties with the media.
Twenty guests from media organisations were present along with QAF Eurokars staff and management.
The Taycan Cross Turismo will be available for viewing at Porsche Centre Brunei in the coming weeks. Interested parties can schedule an individual appointment at https://bit.ly/PTaycanCT.
CNA – China’s Geely said its premium electric mobility brand, Zeekr, will make electric vehicles for Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, to be deployed as fully autonomous ride-hailing vehicles across the United States (US).
The vehicles will be designed and developed at Zeekr’s facility in Sweden, and later integrated with Waymo’s self-driving technology, Geely said on Tuesday.
Waymo said it would introduce the vehicles to US roads “in the years to come”.
Concept images Waymo published on Tuesday show a roomy, low-to-the-ground minivan with seating for about five riders and sliding doors on each side serving as the lone entryways.
Waymo is the first and only fully driverless taxi service in the United States. It has driven thousands of people since launching the service a year ago in Phoenix.
The partnership with Zeekr will help Waymo expand its driverless ride-hailing service in the face of increased competition, and also create inroads for Chinese brand Geely into the US market.
A security guard passes by the logo of Geely’s Zeekr at its factory in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China. PHOTO: CNA
WATFORD, ENGLAND (AP) – West Ham ended a five-match winless run in all competitions by securing a 4-1 victory in the Premier League on Tuesday over a depleted Watford team that was playing its first game in 16 days because of coronavirus cases.
Responding to going behind to Emmanuel Dennis’ fourth-minute goal, West Ham scored twice in 110 seconds – through Tomas Soucek and Said Benrahma – to lead at halftime.
A penalty by Mark Noble and substitute Nikola Vlasic’s first club goal for West Ham completed the win at Vicarage Road.
Jarrod Bowen had a hand in three of West Ham’s goals, including winning
the penalty.
Watford’s last three games were postponed because of COVID-19 outbreaks.
Games against Burnley and Palace were called off because Watford had coronavirus cases, while Sunday’s match at Wolverhampton was postponed after an outbreak at Wolves.
Watford came into the match on the back of only one full training session in two weeks and West Ham players’ match fitness and sharpness was evident as they grew into the game.
Making matters worse for Watford, defender Kiko Femenia was forced off through injury in the first half.
West Ham climbed to fifth place, a point ahead of Tottenham having played two games more.
West Ham’s Vladimir Coufal controls the ball during the match against Watford. PHOTO: AP
