A massive oil spill caused by leakage from a power plant at a Syrian refinery is spreading along the coast of the Mediterranean country, state news agency Sana said on Wednesday.
Satellite photos showed the spill had reached the coastal town of Jableh, about 20 kilometres north of the refinery in the town of Baniyas. Syria's environmental department and the municipality of the coastal province of Latakia have placed all concerned departments on alert, Sana said.
It said work was under way to clean the coast in the rocky areas.
The Syrian government on Tuesday said that maintenance teams at Baniyas Thermal Station had brought a fuel leakage from one of the tanks under control.
Satellite images from Planet Labs Inc on Wednesday showed what appeared to be a 19-kilometre long spread oil spill from the Baniyas plant.
An image from Monday showed no sign of the slick.
The head of the Electricity Workers Syndicate at Tartous Workers Union, Dawoud Darwish, blamed cracks in one of the fuel tanks at the thermal station. He pointed out that the tank was filled with 15,000 tonnes of fuel.
Syria’s oil resources are mostly outside of government-controlled areas but its two refineries are operated by the government. Damascus is reliant on Iran for fuel but US Treasury sanctions have hindered the supply network, which spans Syria, Iran and Russia.
There has been a series of mysterious attacks on vessels in Middle Eastern waters, such as those off Syria's coast, for more than a year, amid rising tensions in the region between Iran, Israel and the United States.
In May, Syria’s foreign minister blamed Israel for attacks on oil tankers heading to Syria, saying the actions breached international law and would not go unpunished.
Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
The years Ramadan fell in May
