■ OIL
Exxon Mobil reports leak
Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest oil company, reported an incident at its Baytown, Texas, refinery, the largest in the US. The incident involved a possible exchanger leak at Tail Gas Cleanup Unit C, a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said. All customer needs are being met, however, the Exxon Mobil report said. Emissions from the incident began at 6am on Saturday and would continue until 6pm yesterday, the filing said. The Baytown refinery has oil-processing capacity of 586,000 barrels a day, the US Energy Department said.
■ OIL
GCC stocks stable
Gulf Arab stocks will probably hold their value this year as oil earnings boost the region's economies even after benchmarks jumped last year, leaving "few bargains" for investors, Nomura Holdings Inc said. "Valuations should be supported by a resilient macroeconomic environment, lower interest rates, moderate earnings growth and plentiful liquidity" this year, Bahrain-based Nomura analyst Tarek Fadlallah said in a note to clients e- mailed yesterday. Local and overseas investors bought shares in countries including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on rising corporate earnings, attractive prices and speculation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states will revalue their currencies against the US dollar, Fadlallah said.
■ ECONOMY
Clinton sees recession
Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton said on Saturday she believed the US economy was heading toward recession. Citing jobs data on Friday that showed the US unemployment rate rising to its highest level in more than two years, Clinton said: "I think the economy is slipping toward recession." US employers added only 18,000 jobs last month, underlining a dramatically slowing economy. In addition, oil prices topped US$100 a barrel last week.
■ CONSUMING
Cooking oil rationed
Malaysian cooking oil will be rationed starting today to counter a supply shortage caused by smuggling and panic buying amid fears of a price hike, a government official said. Consumers will be allowed to buy only up to 5kg of cooking oil at any one time, said Hoo Seong-chang, parliamentary secretary of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry. Supermarkets and retail stores nationwide have been told to enforce the rationing, he said yesterday. "It's a temporary measure to alleviate the shortage. It will help to prevent panic buying," he said.
■ MINING
Uranium production restarts
Energy Resources of Australia Ltd, producer of more than one-tenth of the world's mined uranium, intends to resume full production at its Ranger operation after a cyclone hampered mining and caused a staff evacuation. "We're flying people back in today [yesterday]," company spokeswoman Libby Beath said by telephone from Darwin, in the Northern Territory. Tropical Cyclone Helen, with winds of up to 90kph, swept east across the Territory's coastline yesterday, felling trees and power lines in Darwin and preventing the use of trucks at Ranger.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique