Iran fires missiles at Diego Garcia Island in the Indian Ocean

Today’s headlines: Washington suspends sanctions on Iranian oil, whilst Tehran allows Japanese ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz; Eleven people have died and dozens have been injured in a factory fire in Daejeon, South Korea; Himalayan glaciers are melting at twice the rate seen in 2000; Hong Kong slips further down the global happiness index.

IRAN-UNITED STATES-MAURITIUS

Iran has launched two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the island of Diego Garcia, which hosts a joint US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean. The Wall Street Journal, citing several sources, reports that neither missile hit its target. Diego Garcia – located some 3,800 km from the Iranian coast – is one of the Chagos Islands at the centre of the agreement signed last year between the UK and Mauritius, which provides for the transfer of sovereignty over the archipelago from the former colonial power whilst retaining the Anglo-US military base.

WAR AND OIL

The Trump administration has suspended for 30 days sanctions on the purchase of Iranian oil in a further attempt to keep oil prices in check. The waiver will bring around 140 million barrels of oil onto global markets and help ease pressure on energy supplies. Meanwhile, Tehran is reportedly prepared to allow ships linked to Japan to transit the Strait of Hormuz, the sea route through which around 90% of Japan’s imported oil passes. This was stated by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an interview with the Korean news agency Yonhap. The supplies could reach Asia within three or four days and hit the market after being refined within about a month and a half.

SOUTH KOREA

At least 11 people have died in a massive fire that broke out at an automotive components plant in the city of Daejeon, South Korea. Three others are missing and at least 59 were injured in the explosion, including two firefighters. At the time of the fire, reported around 1pm yesterday, there were around 170 workers inside the plant. Firefighters struggled for a long time to enter the building due to the risk of collapse. The presence of around 200 kilograms of sodium inside the building also complicated the fire-fighting operations, which lasted more than ten hours.

INDIA

The rate at which glaciers are melting in the Himalayan region has doubled since 2000, according to a new report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. The report highlights that the last decade has seen an increase in the frequency of years with extreme melting, heightening the risks of catastrophic flooding and long-term water insecurity for a region home to billions of people.

HONG KONG

Hong Kong has fallen to its lowest ever position in the World Happiness Report, dropping for the sixth consecutive year to 90th place out of 147 territories. The city fell from 88th to 90th place in the latest ranking. China ranked 65th, Taiwan 26th and Singapore 36th.

At the top of the rankings are Finland, Iceland and Denmark, whilst the lowest levels of happiness were recorded in Malawi, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan. Based on a survey conducted by Gallup, the study asks around 1,000 people in each country to rate their overall life on a scale of 0 to 10, then cross-referencing the result with variables such as GDP per capita, life expectancy and social support.

RUSSIA

According to the Financial Times, Russia has sent two tankers loaded with oil and fuel to Cuba, despite the energy embargo imposed by US President Donald Trump, the Sea Horse, sailing under the Hong Kong flag with 27,000 tonnes of gas, and the Anatolij Kolodkin, flying the Russian flag with around 100,000 tonnes of crude oil – the equivalent of 725,000 barrels of Urals crude – which are expected to arrive in Cuba by early April.

BELARUS

Belarus has expelled two Polish Catholic priests, Adam Straczinski and Pavel Kruczek, who had been carrying out their ministry for many years in the Diocese of Pinsk in the Brest region, leaving six parishes without a pastor, as no agreement had been reached with the state authorities regarding the extension of their residence permits for ‘religious activities’. Bishop Antonij Demjanko has called for “prayers for priestly vocations in Belarus”.

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