France, Germany and the UK confirmed on Tuesday (31 March) that INSTEX has successfully concluded its first transaction to facilitate the export of medical goods from Europe to the pandemic-hit country.
Iran’s economy has been battered since May 2018 when US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – signed by Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, UK, US, Germany – and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.
The Chinese state-owned offshore oil and gas company CNOOC has made a large-sized discovery in Bohai Bay.
The company believes the Kenli 6-1 discovery to be the first large-sized oil field in the Laibei lower uplift. This is in the southern area of the Bohai basin.
The well was drilled and completed in water depth of 1,596m. It encountered oil pay zones with a total thickness of around 20m.
CNNOC said the exploration of Kenli 6-1 structure further proves the company’s exploration potential of the Neogene lithologic reservoir in the Laizhou Bay.
Bohai is the company’s main reserve, and crude produced in the region is mostly heavy oil.
This discovery stands with the six Bohai discoveries made in 2018. These are Luda 10-6, Luda 4-3, Luda 6-2 South, Bozhong 13-2, Longkou 19-1 North, and Kenli 5-1.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) 9th (Kinmen) Offshore Flotilla on Thursday (March 19) reported that its vessels were attacked by more than 10 Chinese speedboats, which hurled rocks, bottles and rammed the cutters.
The CGA said the skirmish resulted in multi-task offshore patrol cutter CP-1022 suffering damage to two of three outboard motors after the Chinese speedboats rammed into it, reported Liberty Times. The CGA demanded that China track down the culprits, arrest them, and compensate Taiwan for the damages.
At about 9 a.m. on March 16, as patrol cutters CP-1022 and CP-2006, along with three Taiwanese fishing boats, were driving off Chinese fishing vessels and removing illegal fishing nets, more than 10 unmarked Chinese speedboats rushed in and began hurling rocks and beer bottles at the CGA craft. During the skirmish, CP-1022, which had begun active duty on March 13 and cost NT$6 million (US$197,000) to build, was intentionally rammed from behind by the speedboats.
Chinese speedboats (center and right), CGA cutter (second from left). (CGA photo)
To fend off the Chinese speedboats, CGA officers hurled six stun grenades and fired five bean bag rounds at the Chinese crews, prompting them to beat a hasty retreat. One CGA officer was quoted by Liberty Times as saying, “We’ve never seen more than 10 Chinese speedboats swarm and aggressively attack like this.”
In the process, two outboard motors, valued at NT$600,000 each, were badly damaged and shards of broken bottles littered the cutter’s deck. No CGA personnel were injured during the assault.
Chen Chien-wen (陳建文), director of the CGA’s 9th Offshore Flotilla in Kinmen, said the incident occurred on the median line in the Taiwan Strait, according to the report. Chen said that during the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the CGA will not hesitate to drive away foreign intruders and protect Taiwan from the disease.
The CGA shipped two new outboard motors from Kaohsiung to Kinmen to replace the damaged ones on CP-1022, reported Apple Daily. The cutter is expected to resume service on Monday (March 23), when it will continue to defend Taiwan’s waters against illegal fishing and help protect Taiwan’s borders from the spread of COVID-19.
CGA cutter (foreground) as Chinese speedboats lurk behind. (CGA)
Chinese speedboat (right) races toward CGA cutter (second from left). (CGA image)
CGA officer points out damage to CP-1022’s outboard motors. (CNA photo)
Scientists in southwest China on Tuesday said they had built the world’s second biggest solar telescope, which they say will provide more accurate data and improve forecasting.
With a 1.8-metre aperture, the Chinese Large Solar Telescope (CLST) was developed by the Institute of Optics and Electronics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
The Honourable Minister, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite on Thursday 19th March 2020, laid the first stone for the commencement of construction of the Segilola Gold Mine in the communities of Odo-Ijesha and Iperindo in Osun State.
In his keynote address, The Hon Minister, emphasised on the importance of the kick starting of the mining sector in Nigeria which had been earmarked as a key sector to grow the economy. The Honourable Minister assured that the Federal Government was committed to supporting companies in the sector and hailed the project, which is being built by Canadian listed gold developer, Thor Explorations, through its wholly owned local subsidiary, Segilola Resources Operating Limited, as a pioneering project in the Nigerian Mining Sector.
The first cross-river railway bridge connecting China with Russia has connected from both sides on Wednesday, further paving the way for the bridge to be operational within this year.
The bridge, across the Heilongjiang River, known as the Amur River in Russia, will connect the city of Tongjiang, in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province, with Nizhneleninskoye in Russia.
The main bridge spans 2,215 meters, with 1,886 meters of that standing in China. Construction of the bridge, which has a designed annual throughput capacity of 21 million metric tons, began in February 2014.
