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A farmer inspecting a rice field that has recently been treated with microbial solution Soil Digest, in Chiang Rai province, Thailand. (AFP) Rice farmers Siriporn and Amnat Taidee used to burn their paddy fields between plantings — a common method of clearing crop residue partly blamed for toxic smog that blankets much of Thailand every spring.A quick and affordable way to prepare for a new growing cycle, the practice has long been seen as the only feasible option for millions of Thai rice farmers.But for the couple from Chiang Rai, abandoning what Amnat called “the old way of doing things” for new microbial solutions has been a boon.Thanks to the hungry bacteria that chew up post-harvest leftovers — their soil is softer, their yields are up and their fertiliser bills are down.”My life has changed,” said Siriporn, 63, as she sloshed through a verdant paddy field in Chiang Rai. “I’m so happy… we don’t have to burn anymore.” This aerial photo…
New Delhi summoned the Iranian ambassador yesterday to lodge a protest over a “shooting incident” involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the foreign ministry said. Iran has reversed its pledge to reopen the strategic trade route to commercial traffic during a ceasefire in the Middle East war in protest at a US counter-blockade of the waterway, a crucial passage for crude oil and gas.Security monitors said several commercial ships came under fire and threats from Iranian forces yesterday as they tried to cross the strait. India’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Secretary Vikram Misri summoned the Iranian ambassador and “conveyed India’s deep concern at the shooting incident earlier today involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz”. New Delhi also urged Iran to “resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the Strait”, the statement said, adding that the envoy “undertook to convey these views to the Iranian authorities”. Monitoring site TankerTrackers.com said in post on X that “two Indian vessels were forced back west out of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran’s Sepah (IRGC) Navy”, adding one of the vessels was “an Indian-flagged VLCC supertanker carrying 2 mn barrels of Iraqi oil”. India, the world’s second-largest buyer of liquefied petroleum gas, has managed to secure passage for several Indian-flagged vessels in recent weeks. India imports about 60% of its LPG needs and has been grappling with a gas crunch since the war in the Middle East began on February 28. New Delhi maintains strong relations with Tehran but has steadily expanded co-operation with Iran’s rival Israel in defence, agriculture, technology and cybersecurity. Source link
The Trump administration on Friday renewed a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil at sea for about a month, even as lawmakers accused the government of going easy on Moscow as its war on Ukraine grinds on. The Treasury Department’s waiver lets countries purchase Russian oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels as of Friday through May 16. It replaces a 30-day waiver that expired on April 11 and excludes transactions involving Iran, Cuba and North Korea. The move is part of the administration’s effort to control global energy prices that have shot higher during the US-Israeli war with Iran. It came after countries in Asia, suffering from the global energy shock, pressed Washington to allow alternative supplies to reach markets. “As negotiations (with Iran) accelerate, Treasury wants to ensure oil is available to those who need it,” a Treasury Department spokesperson said. Just two days earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would not be renewing the waiver for Russian oil and another for Iranian oil, which is set to expire on Sunday. Global oil prices tumbled 9% on Friday to about $90 a barrel after Iran temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz, an oil choke point in the Gulf. But the war has already created the worst global energy supply disruption in history, the International Energy Agency has said. The war, which enters its eighth week on Saturday, has damaged more than 80 oil and gas facilities in the Middle East, and Tehran has warned it could close the strait again if the recent US Navy blockade of Iranian ports continued. High oil prices are a threat to President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections. Trump has also faced pressure from partner countries on the oil price. A US source said partner countries on the sidelines of Group of 20, World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington this week had requested the US extend the waiver. And he spoke about oil this week in a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, a big purchaser of Russian oil. The waiver on Iranian oil, which the Treasury Department issued on March 20, allowed about 140mn barrels of oil to reach global markets and helped relieve pressure on energy supply, Bessent said last month. US lawmakers from both political parties had slammed the administration over the sanctions waivers, saying they stood to help the economy of Iran while it was at war with the US and of Russia as it was at war with Ukraine. The waivers could impede the West’s efforts to deprive Russia of revenue for its war in Ukraine and put Washington at odds with its allies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said now is not the time to relax sanctions against Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev said an extension of the US waiver will affect another 100mn barrels of Russian oil, bringing the total volume affected by both waivers to 200mn barrels. Dmitriev, who travelled to the US on April 9 for meetings with members of the Trump administration ahead of the previous waiver expiry, said on his Telegram channel that the extension faced “active political opposition.” Brett Erickson, a sanctions expert at the consulting firm Obsidian Risk Advisors, said Friday’s renewal is likely not the last waiver Washington will issue.“The conflict has done lasting damage to global energy markets, and the tools available to stabilise them are nearly exhausted,” Erickson said. Waiver aims to stabilise energy prices amid Iran war and Middle East tensions; Lawmakers criticise waivers for benefiting Russia during war with Ukraine; Analyst warns energy market tools are ‘nearly exhausted’; EU urges no relaxation of Russia sanctions Source link
Pope Leo XIV (CL) is welcomed by Angola’s President Joao Lourenco (CR) upon his arrival at the “4 de Fevereiro” Luanda International Airport in Luanda on…
This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Foreign Ministry on April 17, 2026, shows Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan greeting Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa…
A fire that broke out Sunday morning destroyed approximately 200 stilt houses in the Kampung Bahagia water village of Sandankan, Malaysia.Sandakan Fire and Rescue Station chief, Jimmy Lagung, said that firefighting operations are still underway and the blaze has not yet been brought under control. He noted that firefighters are facing difficulties reaching the site due to narrow access roads which hindered the movement of fire engines.Strong winds and the close proximity of the houses contributed to the rapid spread of the fire, while low tide conditions made it difficult to obtain an open water source, he added.Meanwhile, Sandakan District Disaster Management Committee chairman Datuk Walter Kenson declared a disaster following the fire, noting the activation of a temporary relief center to accommodate affected residents. He added that the affected homes are no longer safe to live in following the fire incident.According to unofficial figures, approximately 445 people from 89 families were displaced. Source link
Nepal's government, elected last month on an anti-corruption platform, has formed a commission to investigate the assets of politicians and officials, an official said Thursday.Prime Minister Balendra Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician, won a landslide election victory on a platform of youth-driven political change in the first elections since deadly 2025 anti-corruption protests ousted the government.Led by a former Supreme Court judge, the five-member commission will examine assets of top figures who have held public office since 2006.Dipa Dahal, press and investigation adviser to the prime minister, said the commission was ordered by cabinet on Wednesday.’The cabinet meeting made this decision,’ Dahal told AFP. ‘We are following up to confirm its timelines and other details.’Plans to form the commission were listed in the government's 100-point reform agenda issued after Shah took office.Earlier this month Nepal issued an arrest warrant for former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife in a money laundering investigation, the latest high-profile figure targeted under the new government.Deuba, who is abroad, has rejected the allegations.Investigations are also ongoing into former prime minister KP Sharma Oli and ex-home minister Ramesh Lekhak over their alleged roles in the deadly crackdown on the anti-corruption protests in September 2025.The two men were arrested last month, but they have denied all accusations and were released after a court order.The youth-led uprising began in Kathmandu and was triggered by a brief social media ban.It spread countrywide the following day, fuelled by longstanding frustration over corruption and economic hardship.Nepal currently ranks 109th out of 180 countries on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. Source link
Logo of the Spanish oil company Repsol at a gas station. (Reuters/File Photo) Spanish energy group Repsol said Thursday it has reached an agreement with the Venezuelan government to regain control of its oil business in the country and sharply increase production over the coming years.Repsol’s operations in Venezuela have been sharply limited since 2025 after Washington unilaterally revoked its operating license, a move that also affected other foreign companies in the country.The deal will allow Repsol to resume operational control of its Petroquiriquire joint venture created to develop and operate oil fields in eastern Venezuela, the company said in a statement.Repsol said it is prepared to increase gross oil production in the country — which currently averages some 45,000 barrels daily — by 50 % within 12 months and potentially triple output within three years, provided “necessary conditions” are met.”This agreement underscores Repsol’s commitment to Venezuela, where we have operated continuously since 1993,” the company’s head of exploration and production, Francisco Gea, said in a statement.”We have the assets and the technical, operational, and human capabilities on the ground to increase our production in the country.”The deal was signed between Repsol, Venezuela’s hydrocarbon ministry and Venezuela’s state oil and gas firm PDVSA, which owns 60% of the Petroquiriquire joint venture.A new bonanza from Venezuela’s vast oil reserves has been touted after the US captured its socialist strongman Nicolas Maduro in January in a lightning military operation on Caracas.The new authorities, led by interim president Delcy Rodriguez, have cooperated with US President Donald Trump’s administration and introduced reforms to liberalise the sector.The US has eased a seven-year-old oil embargo on Venezuela and issued licenses allowing a handful of multinationals including Repsol to operate in the country under certain conditions.US oil giant Chevron and the government of Venezuela signed two deals on Monday that will expand oil production in the country.The possibility of increased Venezuelan oil output comes as global markets face disruptions to Middle East oil supplies from the conflict in Iran which have driven up oil prices.Venezuela sits on the world largest proven oil reserves and the once-thriving sector helped make it one of Latin America’s wealthiest countries in the 20th century.But production plummeted during two decades of socialist rule, with observers pointing to underinvestment, mismanagement and corruption, as the country plunged into a protracted political, social and economic crisis.Speaking to AFP in Paris in February, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Venezuelan oil production was “a little bit less than a million barrels a day” in January.But output could grow by 30-40% by the end of 2026 — “that’s a big deal,” he said. Source link
Peru’s presidential candidate for the Juntos por el Peru party, Roberto Sanchez, greets supporters in Lima on Wednesday. (AFP) Leftist congressman Roberto Sanchez and far-right former Lima Mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga were neck-to-neck Thursday in the race to face conservative Keiko Fujimori in a June runoff vote for Peru’s presidential election.Sanchez held a less than 10,000-vote lead over Lopez Aliaga with 93% of ballots counted, as results continued to trickle in through Peru’s ONPE electoral office five days after Sunday’s vote, which was extended into Monday to accommodate several thousand people who were unable to vote.Sanchez held 11.98% of votes compared to Lopez Aliaga’s 11.92%, while Fujimori — the daughter of late former president Alberto Fujimori who is on her fourth run for the job — maintained a comfortable lead with 17.07%.A second-round vote has been scheduled for June 7.The extended vote count has triggered allegations of fraud, notably from Lopez Aliaga, who has called for counting to be suspended.Lopez Aliaga’s party has offered 20,000 soles (around $5,830) to electoral workers as a reward for information about “possible irregularities, fraud, or sabotage.”He has not produced evidence to back up his assertions, and European Union observers have said they found no concrete evidence of fraud.Fujimori has called for calm.”I have chosen not to comment until there is significant progress in the count,” Fujimori said at a press conference on Wednesday night. “The result is going to be very close. Every vote will count, and the result is not yet decided.”Pre-election surveys suggested that a large number of voters were undecided or unwilling to vote for any candidate in the race, in which a record 34 candidates competed.Markets have reacted nervously to Sanchez gaining ground.He has pledged a new constitution and more state control over natural resources and is an ally of former President Pedro Castillo, who was ousted and jailed in 2022 after a short-lived presidency.Peru, a major exporter of copper and agricultural goods, has faced years of political upheaval with eight presidents in the last decade. Several of its former leaders are behind bars.Despite this, it has long been one of Latin America’s most stable economies.Alvaro Henzler, who heads Transparencia, an election-monitoring NGO, told local radio RPP that it may take a couple of weeks to get the full results, with most of the uncounted votes coming from broadly left-leaning rural areas and overseas, where emigrants tend to back right-wing parties.”Transparencia is calling for calm and asking people to wait,” he said. Related Story Source link
The US State Department has announced its approval of a potential $11.9 billion sale of military equipment to Germany.In a statement, the Department noted that “this proposed sale will support US foreign policy and national security objectives by bolstering the security of a NATO ally,” describing Germany as a “force for political stability and economic progress in Europe.”The package includes eight AEGIS-based Integrated combat systems, advanced radar arrays, and guided missile launch systems, among other hardware. According to the statement, this technology will enable German warships to detect and neutralize threats at an earlier stage while maintaining seamless communication with other NATO units.The State Department further explained that the deal will “enhance the German Navy’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving national and regional defense.” It also highlighted the importance of interoperability between German forces, the US military, and other NATO allies. The proposed deal has been formally submitted to Congress for review and final approval. Source link