
24 rescued as oil tankers collide off UAE, sparking fire
British maritime security monitor Ambrey said the incident, which took place at a time of high tensions as an air war rages between nearby Iran and Israel, was 'not security-related'.
Shipping company Frontline said a fire was extinguished on its Front Eagle tanker after the collision with Adalynn, another oil transporter, 15 nautical miles off the UAE's Gulf of Oman coast.
'We are (also) aware of reports of a fire onboard the Adalynn following the collision,' a Frontline statement said, adding: 'There have been no reports of pollution at this time.'
The UAE coastguard carried out 'an evacuation mission involving 24 crew members of the oil tanker ADALYNN, following a collision between two ships in the Gulf of Oman', the UAE National Guard posted on X.
The incident took place close to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a waterway between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran that carries one-fifth of global oil output.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Hong Kong mogul Jimmy Lai's 'punditry' not criminal: lawyer
HONG KONG: Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai's lawyer clashed with judges on Thursday (Aug 21) over whether the pro-democracy newspaper founder's "armchair punditry" on social media and other platforms breached the city's national security law. The 77-year-old founder of the now-closed Apple Daily has pleaded not guilty to two counts of foreign collusion, with authorities accusing him of using various platforms to lobby Western nations to sanction China and Hong Kong. The charges were brought under the city's national security law, which Beijing imposed in 2020 after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the finance hub the year before. Lawyers are presenting their closing arguments in the trial, which began in December 2023. Prosecutors have cited 161 articles, including op-eds carrying Lai's byline, as part of their evidence that the tycoon conspired to lobby for sanctions against China and Hong Kong. Defence lawyer Robert Pang read out some of Lai's social media posts in court. He also pointed to a 2020 livestream in which Lai warned about China's "war-wolf attitude" in foreign relations that the mogul said would not change unless Chinese President Xi Jinping stepped down. "He's commenting on world affairs... (like) over the dimsum table," Pang told the court. "It's not a request for Xi Jinping to step down." However, the three-judge panel disagreed multiple times, with judge Esther Toh telling Pang to interpret Lai's words "without obfuscation". The 161 articles have also been cited as evidence of "seditious publication", which is being brought against Lai as a separate charge. Western nations and rights groups have called for Lai's release. Reporters Without Borders said on Thursday that it and "a coalition of 72 human rights and press freedom organisations" are urging British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to secure the release of Lai, a British citizen. Hong Kong authorities "strongly disapproved and rejected the slanderous remarks" last week from foreign organisations and media regarding Lai's case. Officials also maintained that Lai was receiving "adequate and comprehensive" medical care while in custody. Lai has been fitted with a heart-rate monitor and prescribed medication after his defence team said last week he was experiencing heart palpitations. - AFP


New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
US woman jailed for 30 years in UK for failed assassination plot
LONDON: An English court on Thursday handed an American woman a 30-year jail sentence after she was convicted of trying to murder a British man caught up in a feud between families. After a years-long police hunt, would-be assassin Aimee Betro, 45, was extradited earlier this year from Armenia, where she had been living, to face trial in the central English city of Birmingham. Prosecutors told the court Betro had covered her face with a niqab before climbing out of a car in September 2019 and trying to shoot Sikander Ali at point-blank range in his own car. But the handgun jammed and Ali drove away at high-speed. Hours later Betro returned to the house, and fired three shots at his family home, the court heard. Sentencing Betro, Judge Simon Drew told her it was only a "matter of chance" that Ali had not been killed. "You were engaged in a complex, well-planned conspiracy to murder," he added. "You were prepared to pull the trigger and did so on two separate occasions." Prosecutors said Betro was part of a plot with co-conspirators Mohammed Aslam, 56, and his 31-year-old son, Mohammed Nabil Nazir. Betro had met Nazir on an online dating site, and told the jury she was in love with him. Both men were jailed last year for their roles in the "violent" feud which erupted after they were injured in a brawl at Ali's father's clothing store in July 2018. Graphic design graduate Betro did not know Ali and denied three charges including conspiracy to murder and possessing a self-loading pistol. She said she had no knowledge of the plot. Betro, who is originally from Wisconsin, told jurors it was "just a terrible coincidence" that she had been close to the scene of the attack. She maintained the real shooter was "another American woman" who sounded similar to her and had the same phone and brand of trainers. Police said they had seen no evidence that Betro was paid for her role in the attack. — AFP


The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Russia bars entry to 21 people it says spread disinformation against it in UK media
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Wednesday it was barring entry to 21 individuals it accused of working with "the destructive British media" to promote anti-Russian narratives. The list includes journalists, experts and members of NGOs. Their names were added to those of many hundreds of other Western nationals whom Russia has placed on its "stop list" since the start of the war in Ukraine. Britain on Wednesday said it was imposing new sanctions on cryptocurrency networks it said were exploited by Russia. (Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)