MELBOURNE (CNA) – Japan and Australia said yesterday they were prepared to tap their oil reserves, together with other member nations of the International Energy Agency (IEA), if global supplies were hit by hostilities in Ukraine.
Japan said it would work with oil producing and consuming nations and support a coordinated oil release from its emergency stockpile if requested to do so by the IEA.
“The stabilisation of the crude oil market is extremely important for the stability of the world economy and the Japanese economy,” the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement.
Australia’s Energy Minister Angus Taylor said Canberra was working closely with the United States (US) and the IEA to monitor oil and gas markets ahead of any move to tap the small stockpile Australia holds in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
This week, the IEA said member nations stood ready to act together to ensure global oil markets were adequately supplied.
Total oil stocks in IEA nations stood at close to 4.16 billion barrels by the end of December, including 1.5 billion held by governments in emergency reserves, the IEA said on February 22.
By the end of December, Japan held 480 million barrels, or 240 days’ worth of reserves, in national and private stockpiles and sufficient reserves of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the Industry Ministry said.
AP – Lewis Hamilton feels re-energised for the new Formula One (F1) season after the disappointment of losing the title to Max Verstappen on the last lap of the last race of the 2021 season.
Hamilton, Verstappen and the rest of the F1 drivers began preseason testing in Barcelona on Wednesday, getting their first feel for the revamped F1 cars following major regulation changes to try to make the series more competitive.
Hamilton was fifth-fastest with Mercedes on a day led by Lando Norris of McLaren. Verstappen was ninth-fastest with Red Bull.
“I feel the freshest that I ever have,” Hamilton said. “Of course, there are so many different ways you can re-focus and get re-centred, and I would say this (break) was one of the best I’ve ever experienced.”
He said he regrouped by spending time with his loved ones in what he called “the best period of time I’ve actually ever had with my family”.
“It was definitely more about being present and in the moment, and creating memories,” the 37-year-old Hamilton said.
“I know sometimes in life, we get so focussed and stuck into certain things like work that we forget to do those things. So it was a great time, just refreshing with the family.”
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain arrives for a press conference. PHOTO: AP
Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, is going into his 16th season in F1. He was one lap away from breaking a tie with Michael Schumacher for most titles at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but was overtaken by Verstappen on fresher tires at end.
Hamilton skipped the mandatory post-race news conference and also didn’t go to the season-ending gala. He had made just one public appearance a few days after the race when receiving his knighthood at Windsor Castle.
Back in the paddock in Barcelona on Wednesday, Hamilton said he was fully motivated again.
“This morning, arriving and looking down the pit lane and seeing all the different cars, I think it’s one of the most exciting and interesting seasons that I’ve ever embarked upon,” he said. “It will be interesting to see where everyone comes out and where we stand in the first race.”
F1 has undergone one of its most significant regulations chances this season to try to improve racing. New aerodynamic and tyre requirements are in place to hopefully allow drivers to race closer together and increase the number of overtakes.
“I’ve seen the designs of our car over several months, but now to see everyone’s car out there, you’re trying to get a close eye to see what is different, if there is anything,” Hamilton said.
“So I think it’s the most exciting (year), and again, you have absolutely no idea where you stand.”
There were and will be two more days of testing in Barcelona yesterday and today. Three more sessions are scheduled for March 10-12 in Bahrain ahead of the season-opener on March 20.
ISLAMABAD (AFP) – A Pakistan court sentenced the scion of a wealthy industrialist family to death yesterday, for raping and beheading his girlfriend in a murder that sparked an outcry over the brutalising of women in the deeply patriarchal nation.
Pakistani-American Zahir Jaffer, 30, attacked Noor Mukadam at his Islamabad home in July last year after she refused his marriage proposal – torturing her with a knuckleduster and using a “sharp-edged weapon” to behead her.
Mukadam, the 27-year-old daughter of a former ambassador, had made repeated attempts to escape the mansion but was blocked by two members of staff.
Pakistani-American Zahir Jaffer, 30, attacked Noor Mukadam at his Islamabad home in July last year after she refused his marriage proposal. AFP
“The main accused has been awarded the death sentence,” said judge Atta Rabbani at the Islamabad district court.
Jaffer’s parents, Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee, were found not guilty of attempting to cover up the crime.
The two staff members were sentenced to 10 years in prison for abetting murder. “I am happy that justice has been served,” said Shuakat Mukadam, Noor’s father, while pledging to challenge the acquittal of Jaffer’s parents.
The case prompted an explosive reaction from women’s rights campaigners reckoning with the pervasion of violence against women.
KARBALA, IRAQ (AP) – Iraq’s Razzaza Lake was once a tourist attraction known for its beautiful scenery and an abundance of fish that locals depended on. Now, dead fish litter its shores and the once-fertile lands around it have turned into a barren desert.
One of Iraq’s largest lakes, the man-made Razzaza is seeing a significant decline in water levels and has been hit by pollution and high levels of salinity.
“During the 1980s and 1990s, the Razzaza Lake was a source of livelihood, it had fish including the yellowfin barbel, binni and carp because the water (level) was good,” said fisherman Saleh Abboud. “But now it has dried up.”
Razzaza Lake is the latest victim of a water crisis in Iraq, known as the “Land Between the Two Rivers” – the Tigris and the Euphrates. Upstream dams in Turkey, Syria and Iran have shrunk the rivers and their tributaries, seasonal rainfall has dropped and infrastructure has fallen into disrepair.
Hundreds of families used to rely on fishing the Razzaza for their livelihood. Now the number of dead fish that turns up is bigger than the number of live fish they can catch.
Razzaza Lake, also known as Lake Milh, Arabic for Salt Lake, is located between Iraq’s governorates of Anbar and Karbala. It’s the second largest lake in Iraq and is part of a wide valley that includes the lakes of Habbaniyah, Tharthar and Bahr al-Najaf.
The lake was constructed as a measure to control floods in the Euphrates and to be used as huge reservoir for irrigation purposes. Iraqis and tourists frequented the lake as a recreational spot to cool down during Iraq’s hot summers.
Not anymore, with the lake getting smaller every year.
Fishermen remove dead fish from the shore of Razzaza Lake, also known as Lake Milh. PHOTO: AP
ACAPULCO, MEXICO (AP) – Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal had comfortable wins on Wednesday at the Mexican Open and a rematch of their epic five-set final at the Australian Open appears to be on the horizon.
Medvedev took another step toward top spot in the ATP rankings with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 second-round victory over Pablo Andujar while Nadal cruised past Stefan Kozlov 6-0, 6-3.
If Medvedev beats Yoshihito Nishioka in the quarterfinals and Nadal does the same against Tommy Paul, the two players will meet again in the semifinals less than a month after the Spaniard rallied to win the final at Melbourne for his record 21st Grand Slam singles title.
Paul advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (6), 2-6, 7-5 with a win over Dusan Lajovic and Nishioka progressed after rallying to beat Taylor Fritz 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The 26-year-old Medvedev is trying to replace Novak Djokovic atop the rankings and could achieve that goal if he wins the title in Acapulco.
He needed just over an hour to beat Andujar the morning after defending champion Alexander Zverev was kicked out of the Mexican Open for violently smashing his racket on the umpire’s chair moments after losing a doubles match.
“If I do it it’s going to mean a lot, there would be a lot of statistics mentioned, since when this or since when that… it´s going to be fun, but first I have to achieve it, it´s my main goal to win as many matches as possible in the next few weeks,” Medvedev said.
Medvedev beat Djokovic in the US Open final last September to win first major title and, at his next Grand Slam event, reached the final at the Australian Open on January 30 before losing to Nadal.
The Mexican Open is played on the hard courts of the Arena GNP in Acapulco.
Daniil Medvedev of Russia serves during a match. PHOTO: AP
LONDON (AP) – Artworks by Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol and other modern masters are going up for auction in a sale ordered by a United States (US) court as part of a billionaire couple’s acrimonious divorce.
Sotheby’s auction house announced last Friday that it will offer 30 works from the Macklowe Collection on May 16 in New York.
The works belonged to New York property developer Harry Macklowe and his wife Linda, who spent 40 years assembling a collection by some of the 20th Century’s greatest artists, displaying many of them in their grand apartment in Manhattan’s Plaza building.
After they split in 2016, a judge ordered the collection sold as part of the divorce settlement. The pieces being auctioned in May are collectively valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.
Sculptures by Picasso, Alberto Giacometti and Jeff Koons are also among the works on offer in the sale, the second from the Macklowe Collection. The first sale of 35 artworks last November netted USD676 million – the highest-ever total for a Sotheby’s auction.
The November sale included a multi-coloured Rothko canvas, No 7, that sold for USD82.4 million, Jackson Pollock’s Number 17, which went for USD61 million and Warhol’s Nine Marilyns, which fetched USD47 million.
A public display of works from the May sale is planned at Sotheby’s in London from Tuesday until March 2. The items then are scheduled to go on tour to Palm Beach, Hong Kong, Shanghai and New York ahead of the auction.
Photographers taking photos near an artwork at Sotheby’s. PHOTO: AP
The red code on the BruHealth app does not mean the person is infected with COVID-19, said Minister of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar at the press conference yesterday.
Members of the media sought for clarification on issues relating to work while having a red code on the BruHealth app.
The minister said there’s a confusion among the public when they refer to red-coded government staffs who are asked to report for work. “These red code holders are just close contacts and not positive for the virus,” said the minister, adding that these staffers are required to do an antigen rapid test daily.
The minister said the red code should not be confused with the purple code which indicates an individual is infected with COVID-19, and those with information on protocol violation may report to the police or by calling 148.
He said either employee or their employer may be held liable for breaking the COVID-19 protocol.
Meanwhile, during the press conference, a member of the media raised an issue of individuals not having their red code changed to green even after serving their quarantine order well past the required five days.
The public has made complaints over the delay.
In response, Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham sought patience from the public regarding the matter and have made assurances that the system will be “back to normal” soon.
The minister said they have been upgrading the BruHealth app.
“It needs to be improved from time to time,” he said, adding that it has caused delays in some of its operations, such as colour code changes, in the past few days.
THE STRAITS TIMES – Rising temperatures are accelerating the world’s water cycle and triggering natural disasters such as droughts and floods, according to a new report led by Australian researchers.
The report, published in Nature journal said that the hotter temperatures are speeding up the cycle of freshwater between the clouds, the land and the ocean, leading to more extreme weather conditions with wetter areas becoming even more soaked and the dry regions becoming even more parched.
Lead author Dr Taimoor Sohail said the findings “paint a picture of the larger changes happening in the global water cycle”.
Dr Sohail said his team had analysed historical data from 1970 to 2014 to monitor the changing patterns of salt in the ocean, to estimate how much ocean freshwater had moved from the equator to the poles during that time.
BANGKOK (AP) – Some human rights advocates are urging governments to impose sanctions against supplying aviation fuel to Myanmar as its security forces carry out air strikes against opponents of the army-led administration.
Calls to cut off jet fuel supplies gained attention after several major oil and gas companies, including TotalEnergies and Chevron, said they would withdraw from ventures in the country, potentially reducing flows of hard currency to the military.
While Myanmar still produces oil and gas in partnerships with Thai, Japanese, Chinese and South Korean companies, it has no large-scale modern refineries and imports all its aviation fuel for both civilian and military use.
Widespread non-violent protests followed a February 1, 2021, military takeover that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. An armed resistance has grown after peaceful protests were put down with lethal force. The country now faces an insurgency that some experts characterise as a civil war.
More than 1,560 civilians have been killed by the security forces, including some in air strikes, according to monitoring groups.
So far, no governments have banned or otherwise sanctioned supplying aviation fuel to Myanmar, although the British government recently urged companies to avoid providing products that might be used in such attacks.
“The Myanmar military regularly uses air strikes against civilian targets,” it said in a statement. “If dealing with any entity linked to Myanmar’s aviation sector, businesses should conduct thorough supply chain diligence to ensure that commodities such as jet fuel do not reach the military.”
In the past, the United States has barred provision of aviation fuel to Russian forces in Syria.
This week, the European Union imposed sanctions against state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise, a joint venture partner in all the country’s offshore gas projects. That includes the Yadana gas field, which TotalEnergies and Chevron recently said they would quit.
