Iraq in talks with ExxonMobil on Asian refining capacities

 

Iraq's state oil company SOMO is in advanced talks with ExxonMobil over a possible agreement to secure storage capacity in Singapore using tanks owned by the U.S. oil major, the Iraqi state news agency INA said on Saturday.

Negotiations also include possible refining capacity deals and profit-sharing arrangements in Asia, where demand for crude and products continues to grow, INA added citing SOMO's Director General Ali Nazar as saying.

In the past two years, Iraq has signed agreements with oil majors that had previously retreated from the country, including Chevron, France's TotalEnergies and UK oil major.

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/iraq-in-talks-with-exxonmobil-on-asian-refining-capacities-ce7d59d9d08ef52c

Israeli military tells Gaza City residents to leave, bombs high-rise tower

 An Israeli strike flattened a high-rise in Gaza City on Saturday -- the second in as many days -- after the military warned people to flee south to a "humanitarian zone" ahead of a planned offensive to capture the area.

Israel has been warning for weeks of a new assault on the territory's largest urban centre, without issuing a timeline.

It has stepped up air strikes in the area and operations on the city's outskirts despite calls to abandon the plan, which has sparked widespread fears it could worsen already-dire humanitarian conditions.

On Saturday, the military announced it struck a Gaza City high-rise, saying "Hamas terrorists installed intelligence gathering equipment and positioned observation posts in the building in order to monitor" Israeli troops, adding it had taken "measures to mitigate harm to civilians".

Witnesses identified the building as the Sussi residential tower and said it was destroyed, with video shared by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz showing the roughly 15-storey structure buckling to the ground in a cloud of dust and smoke.

"We're continuing," Katz said in the post, after having shared a video the previous day of another Gaza City high-rise being destroyed.

The military has said that in the coming days it will target structures deemed to be used by Hamas, particularly tall buildings.

It also issued an evacuation order for another high-rise on Saturday, warning of an imminent strike and telling people to leave to the south.

A military spokesperson had earlier called on residents to leave the city for Al-Mawasi, along the southern coast, where the army said humanitarian aid and medical care would be provided.

"Take this opportunity to move early to the (Al-Mawasi) humanitarian zone and join the thousands of people who have already gone there," spokesman Avichay Adraee said on social media.

Israel first declared Al-Mawasi a safe zone early in the war, but has carried out repeated strikes on it since, saying it targeted Hamas fighters hiding among civilians.

Gaza City residents said they believed it made little difference whether they stayed or fled.

"Some say we should evacuate, others say we should stay," said Abdel Nasser Mushtaha, 48, a resident of the city's Zeitun neighbourhood now sheltering in a tent in the Rimal area.

"But everywhere in Gaza there are bombings and deaths. For the past year-and-a-half, the worst bombings that caused massacres of civilians have been in Al-Mawasi, this so-called humanitarian zone," he added.

"It no longer makes any difference to us," said his daughter Samia Mushtaha, 20. "Wherever we go, death pursues us, whether by bombing or hunger."

- US in 'deep negotiation' -

Israel has faced mounting domestic and international pressure to end the nearly two-year war in Gaza.

Its foe Hamas agreed last month to a proposal for a temporary ceasefire and staggered hostage releases, but Israel has demanded the militant group release all the hostages at once, disarm and relinquish control of Gaza, among other conditions.

At the White House on Friday, President Donald Trump said the United States was in talks with Hamas over the captives being held in Gaza.

"We're in very deep negotiation with Hamas," said Trump. "There could be some (hostages) that have recently died, is what I'm hearing. I hope that's wrong, but you have over 30 bodies in this negotiation."

Militants took 251 hostages during the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war. The Israeli military says 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 believed to be dead.

"We said let them all out right now, let them all out, and much better things will happen for them," said Trump. "But if you don't let them all out, it's going to be a tough situation, it's going to be nasty."

- 'Disaster' -

The UN estimates nearly one million people remain in and around Gaza City, where it declared a famine last month. It has warned of a looming "disaster" if the assault proceeds.

The vast majority of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war.

Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,368 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/israel-tells-residents-leave-gaza-082215749.html

South Korean President vows support to Koreans arrested in US immigration raid

 South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Saturday ordered all-out efforts to swiftly respond to the arrests of hundreds of the nation’s citizens in a US immigration raid on a Hyundai Motor car battery factory.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said the government had set up a team to respond to Thursday’s arrest of more than 300 Koreans at the facility in the southern state of Georgia, and that he could go to Washington to meet officials if needed.

“I am deeply concerned. I feel heavy responsibility for the arrests of our citizens,” Cho told an emergency government meeting.

The incident could exacerbate tensions between the Trump administration and Seoul, a key Asian ally and investor. They have been at odds over the details of a trade deal that includes US$350 billion of South Korean investment in the United States.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun says he feels “heavy responsibility” for the arrests of more than 300 South Koreans in the US immigration raid. Photo: EPA/Yonhap

A video released by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed Asian workers shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles getting on a bus after the raid, which involved a helicopter and armoured vehicles.

The arrest of some 475 workers, including more than 300 Koreans, at the plant near Savannah, part of President Donald Trump’s escalating crackdown on immigrants, was the largest single-site enforcement operation in the US Department of Homeland Security’s history.

In the video, hundreds of workers were standing up in front of a building, with some wearing yellow vests with names such as “Hyundai” and “LG CNS”. Two of the workers hid in a pond before being arrested.

“We welcome all companies who want to invest in the US, and if they need to bring workers in for building or other projects, that’s fine – but they need to do it the legal way,” Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama Steven N. Schrank said in a statement on Saturday.

“This operation sends a clear message that those who exploit the system and undermine our workforce will be held accountable.”

Hyundai said it would investigate its suppliers and their subcontractors to ensure they meet regulations.

LG Energy Solution, which is working with Hyundai to build the factory, said it had asked employees to return from US business trips while suspending travel to the United States except for customer meetings.

The Hyundai Metaplant, an electric vehicle assembly factory, opened in October 2024 along I-16 west of Savannah. Photo: Hyundai/TNS

South Korea, Asia’s fourth-biggest economy, is a key carmaker and electronics producer with multiple plants in the US.

Its companies have invested billions of dollars to build factories in America in a bid to access the US market and avoid tariff threats from Trump.

Lee met Trump during a visit last month, and Seoul pledged US$350 billion in US investment in July.

Trump has promised to revive the manufacturing sector in the US, while also vowing to deport millions of undocumented migrants.

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3324612/south-korea-pledges-support-citizens-arrested-us-immigration-raid-hyundai-plant

UK police arrest dozens at latest protest for banned Palestine Action

 

Arrests have been made at the latest protest for Palestine Action in London, the Metropolitan Police say.

Demonstrators are taking action in Parliament Square in Westminster this afternoon in support of the proscribed terror organisation, as well as in Belfast and Edinburgh.
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One man was seen being taken away by police as the crowd in Parliament Square chanted "shame on you" and "you're supporting genocide".

Met Police announced the first arrests of the day on X just 12 minutes after the protest's official start time.

Palestine Action has been banned as a terror group since 5 July after MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of the move, making it illegal to express support for the group.



Image:A woman is led away by police during the protest. Pic: PA

Image:Demonstrators at the Palestine Action protest. Pic: PA

In a further update on X, the Met Police said the pro-Palestinian protesters had marched past counter-protesters, and that officers were in place to keep the two groups separated.

The march reached Whitehall at around 2pm, where speeches are taking place. The police have said the demonstration "must" conclude by 5.30pm.

Met Police warned before the protest began: "Expressing support for a proscribed organisation is a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act.

Image:Pic: PA

Image:Pic: PA

"Where our officers see offences, we will make arrests."


The protests' organiser, Defend Our Juries, said it estimated 1,500 gathered for the rally, where many of them to held signs saying: "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action."

More than 530 people were arrested at the last major demonstration against Palestine Action being banned as a terror group. However, Met Police used "street bail" to avoid having to process them all in custody.

Street bail allows officers to release suspects on bail before they are taken to a police station. The suspect receives a bail notice requiring them to return to a station at a future date instead.

The organisers encouraged protesters not to accept street bail during today's demonstrations, writing in a briefing document before they started: "It will not be practically possible for the police to arrest 1,000 non-compliant people on the same day, and that is the strategic rationale behind non-compliance. It increases pressure on the state."

In a reference to the advice in the briefing document, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson told Sky News the move would be "misguided".

The ban on the group came shortly after two Voyager aircraft suffered around £7m worth of damage at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on 20 June.

It faces a legal challenge in November after the High Court granted a full judicial review to Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori.




https://news.sky.com/story/arrests-made-at-protest-for-palestine-action-in-london-13426020

China condemns sailing of Canadian, Australian warships in Taiwan Strait

 Two warships from Canada and Australia transited the Taiwan Strait while being monitored by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), China's state media reported on Sept 6.

China's state-run Global Times newspaper said in a report the Canadian frigate Ville de Quebec and the Australian guided-missile destroyer Brisbane were the two vessels that passed through the waterway separating China from the island of Taiwan.

The Taiwan Defence Ministry said it could not immediately comment, and the Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

"The People's Liberation Army (PLA) maintained full surveillance and monitoring throughout the transit, with the situation fully under control," the Global Times reported.

The US Navy and occasionally ships from allied countries like Canada, Britain and France transit the strait, which they consider an international waterway, around once a month.

Taiwan also considers it an international waterway. China, which claims Taiwan as its own, says the strategic waterway is part of its territorial waters.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/canadian-and-australian-warships-transit-taiwan-strait-china-media-reports

Key Epilepsy Trial Results Coming: Rapport's RAP-219 Phase 2a Data Could Impact Treatment

Rapport Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RAPP), a clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing precision medicines for neurological and psychiatric disorders, has scheduled a conference call and webcast for September 8, 2025, at 8:00 am ET. The company will present topline results from its Phase 2a trial of RAP-219 in patients with drug-resistant focal onset seizures.

Investors can access the call through a webcast link or by dialing (800) 715-9871 in the U.S. or (646) 307-1963 for other locations using conference ID 4762775. A replay will be available on the company's website for 90 days after the call.

https://www.stocktitan.net/news/RAPP/rapport-therapeutics-to-announce-topline-results-for-rap-219-phase-e5og23e8a46n.html

Oil Extends Drop as Saudis Want OPEC to Pursue More Output Hikes

 Oil fell to the lowest since May ahead of a weekend OPEC+ meeting where Saudi Arabia will seek to steer the group toward more production increases in the coming months.

West Texas Intermediate slid 2.5% to settle below $62 a barrel, down 3.3% this week. The alliance will hold a virtual meeting Sept. 7 to decide its next move after completing the restart of 2.5 million barrels a day of idled supply at its previous gathering.

Saudi Arabia wants to boost production further in a bid to offset lower prices with higher volumes, people familiar with the matter said. No decision has been made, and it’s not clear whether any increase would be agreed upon as soon as Sunday or only in later months.

“If the eight OPEC+ countries were to agree on another production increase, we believe this would place significant downward pressure on oil prices,” Commerzbank analysts Barbara Lambrecht and Carsten Fritsch wrote in a note. “After all, there is already a significant risk of a supply surplus.”

West Texas Intermediate crude futures have retreated about 14% this year after the shift by OPEC+ — coupled with supply increases from drillers outside the group — exacerbated concerns about a global glut. Market sentiment has also been weighed down by mounting worries over the health of the US economy, where job growth slowed last month.

Geopolitical tensions have also been in focus this week, with the US looking to pressure buyers of Russian crude to push Moscow into agreeing on a truce in Ukraine. As part of that effort, Washington has imposed a 50% levy on some imports from India. President Donald Trump said Friday that the US seems to have “lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China.”

“Sentiment in crude markets is poor,” said Daniel Ghali, a commodity strategist at TD Securities. “Price action remains asymmetrically skewed to the downside into OPEC’s upcoming meeting, and with additional supply expected from Guyana and Brazil on the horizon, we remain tactically bearish on crude.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/oil-set-weekly-loss-tension-060914517.html