17/04/2026

FRIDAY | APR 17, 2026

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Fire at Australia refinery heightens fuel supply fears

Nepal to probe assets of politicians KATHMANDU: Nepal’s government, led by rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah, has set up a panel to investigate the property and assets of past and present politicians and officials, a move aimed at controlling corruption in the Himalayan nation. Shah, 35, became prime minister after the March 5 parliamentary election. In his three-year stint as mayor of Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city, Shah gained popularity for his fight against corruption and reformist credentials. The five-member panel would be headed by retired Supreme Court judge Rajendra Kumar Bhandari, said Cabinet spokesperson Sasmit Pokhrel. “An impartial investigation will be carried out on the basis of evidence based on legal standards. Its report and recommendations will be implemented by concerned agencies of the government,“ Pokhrel said after a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, without mentioning the time frame given to the panel. JAKARTA: A leading Indonesian university suspended 16 law students yesterday after a sexually explicit group chat about their female peers was widely spread, sparking a debate on gender violence in the Muslim-majority country. Screenshots of a conversation between 16 male students at the University of Indonesia were posted on social media this week, eliciting shock and anger from female peers and a wider societal discussion. The university said yesterday it has suspended the men for two weeks pending an investigation. “This step was taken as part of the university’s commitment to maintaining a conducive academic environment,“ said spokesperson Erwin Agustian Panigoro. The men are accused of making vulgar and explicit sexual jokes about female peers and lecturers. One message read “silence means consent”, suggesting that women who do not verbally refuse a sexual advance are implicitly agreeing to sex. Days later, a group of women students at the university berated the men in a public forum. A video of the confrontation, in which the accused men stare at their feet as they are chewed out by women who said they were made to feel unsafe, was also widely spread. The university student body is demanding the men be brought before an ethics board and given strict sanctions. The incident has triggered a public debate about verbal sexual abuse and harassment, often brushed off as inconsequential in conservative Indonesia. More than a quarter of women in Indonesia reported having experienced gender-based violence, said the latest United Nations Development Programme survey. The Indonesian Education Monitoring Network said it has

it was a “very challenging incident”. “Production is not our primary priority today. It is getting the site safe.” Australia holds roughly 38 days’ worth of petrol in reserve, according to government figures, far below the 90-day minimum advocated by the International Energy Agency. While the government has resisted moves to ration fuel, it has urged drivers to conserve petrol where they can and use public transport if possible. Like most nations in Asia and the South Pacific, Australia is heavily reliant on oil shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, which at one point carried one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas. Shipping traffic through the vital waterway has essentially ceased since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb 28. – AFP

fuel and diesel had been spared the worst of the blaze. Geographically isolated and with only two oil refineries, Australia is heavily exposed to disruptions in global fuel supply and imports most of its petrol. Bowen urged Australians to ignore the impulse to rush out and panic buy more fuel. “It is important that people buy as much fuel as they need. But no more, no less.” A “significant leak” of highly flammable gases and liquid hydrocarbons triggered the fire, said Incident controller Mark McGuinness. “It was quite ferocious. It went from a small fire through several explosions to a large, intense fire,” he told reporters. Images taken yesterday showed thick clouds of smoke billowing over the industrial complex. Viva Energy boss Scott Wyatt said

Fire Rescue Victoria yesterday said the blaze has been contained, but it could smoulder throughout the day. “The major impact at this point appears to be on petrol production,” said Energy Minister Chris Bowen. “It is not great. It is not great timing, is it?” he told national broadcaster ABC, as the nation’s fuel supplies are under pressure due to war in the Mideast. The refinery is capable of processing up to 120,000 barrels of oil each day, company figures stated. Analysts said, together with the Ampol refinery in Brisbane, it produces between 10% and 20% of Australia’s total fuel supply. The fire ripped through a section of the refinery responsible for the production of high-octane petrol, added Bowen. By triggering isolation valves, other parts of the plant producing jet

GEELONG: Columns of fire engulfed a crucial Australian oil refinery after a chain of explosions, authorities said yesterday as they warned of disruptions to domestic fuel supply. Flames as tall as 60m erupted on Wednesday after a gas leak caught fire at the Viva fuel plant in Victoria state, one of two working oil refineries in Australia, firefighters said. The refinery, about an hour’s drive southwest of state capital Melbourne, pumps out about 10% of Australia’s fuel, according to energy company Viva. o Citizens urged to ignore impulse to rush out and panic buy more oil

The probe is expected to cover hundreds of politicians and officials who held public offices after the popular movement that led to the abolition of the 239-year-old monarchy in 2008, analysts said. – Reuters Indonesia suspends students over lewd chat

recorded more than 200 cases of violence in education institutions in the past three months countrywide, nearly half involving sexual abuse. The NGO is demanding the government declare a state of emergency on violence in education and make it a national priority. The country passed a law on sexual violence in 2022 criminalising harassment, including online. In another development, Indonesia’s Mount Marapi in West Sumatra erupted yesterday morning, sending volcanic ash 1.6km into the sky, while Mount Semeru in East Java recorded multiple eruptions on the same day, signalling heightened volcanic activity across the archipelago. Mount Marapi erupted at 8.43am local time, sending a column of grey ash drifting towards the northeast, while authorities confirmed multiple eruptions at Mount Semeru earlier in the day. “The ash column was grey with moderate intensity,” said Marapi Volcano Observation Post officer Ilhamdi Saputra. Mount Marapi, which rises 2,891m above sea level and is located on the border of Agam and Tanah Datar regencies in West Sumatra, was at Alert Level II. Mount Semeru, the highest volcano on Java island at 3,676m, erupted at least five times between 5.11am and 7.32am local time. Semeru Observation Post officer Liswanto said the strongest eruption at 6.21am produced an ash column reaching 1,200m above the summit, with ash clouds drifting to the northeast. Subsequent eruptions sent ash columns ranging between 500m and 1,100m in height, with plumes moving in various directions, including northeast and north. Mount Semeru was at Alert Level III. – AFP

DAINTY DRESSES ... Students wear festive clothing as they participate in a parade celebrating the Khmer New Year, known as Nokor Sankranta , in Phnom Penh on Wednesday. – AFPPIC

Jakarta to tighten vape regulations in July JAKARTA: Indonesia will roll out stricter regulations on electronic cigarettes, or vapes, from July, aimed at boosting public health protection. Health Ministry Public must comply with maximum nicotine content standards and are not allowed to contain additives with adverse health effects.

improving the credibility and governance of carbon trading in the forestry sector and refining the way the“carbon economy”is deployed, the ministry said. The regulation calls on the government to introduce a carbon trading road map, which includes targets to set aside at least 48.7 million hectares of forest for emission offsets and at least 3.5 million hectares of degraded land for carbon sequestration, the regulation document showed. The regulation also expands carbon market participants beyond companies to include indigenous communities, community-based organisations and carbon ecosystem service managers, among others. – Reuters

The regulation also mandates pictorial health warnings and prohibits the use of e-cigarettes in smoke-free areas, he said. He said the ministry is preparing derivative regulations, including ministerial regulations and decrees, to serve as guidelines for implementation ahead of the rollout. In a separate development, Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry has issued a new regulation detailing the procedures of carbon trading using emission offsets generated by the forestry sector, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. The regulation is aimed at

Communication and Service Bureau head Aji Muhawarman said the measures, introduced under Government Regulation No. 28 of 2024, will align e-cigarette oversight with conventional tobacco products. “The regulation of e-cigarettes includes age restrictions, advertising controls, as well as product content standards,” he said, according to Antara News Agency yesterday. Aji said the regulation prohibits the use of e-cigarettes by individuals aged under 21 and restricts advertising, including on social media platforms. In addition, he said vape products