Two tankers collide in Suez Canal, traffic hit
CAIRO, Aug 23: wo tankers carrying oil products and liquefied natural gas collided in the Suez Canal, briefly disrupting traffic through the global waterway, Egyptian authorities said Wednesday. The Suez Canal authority said in a statement that the BW Lesmes, a Singapore-flagged tanker that carries liquefied natural gas, suffered a mechanical malfunction Tuesday night and ran aground while transiting through the canal. The Burri, a Cayman Islands-flagged oil products tanker, collided with the broken vessel. The collision disrupted traffic for several hours before it resumed after the two tankers were towed away, the Suez Canal authority said. The two tankers were part of a convoy transiting through the canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. “We’ve immediately handled the breakdowns … and traffic will go back to normal in both directions within the coming hours,” said Adm. Ossama Rabei, the head of the canal authority, in the statement. About 10 per cent of world trade flows through the canal, a major source of foreign currency for the Egyptian government. (AP)
Srettha Thavisin named new PM of Thailand
BANGKOK, Aug 23: Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn has given his approval for Srettha Thavisin to assume the office of the country’s prime minister, a spokesperson for the House Speaker said Wednesday. “The President of the National Assembly has sent a letter to inform the King about the outcome of the prime ministerial election, and the King has already granted approval for the 30th prime minister,” Kampee Ditthakorn told a press conference. The Secretariat of the House of Representatives is scheduled to deliver the royal endorsement to the Pheu Thai Party headquarters at 6 p.m. local time, Xinhua news agency quoted the spokesperson as saying. Srettha was elected Thailand’s new prime minister after winning a joint vote of the bicameral parliament on Tuesday. The 60-year-old former property tycoon entered the political arena shortly before the May general election and emerged as a prime ministerial candidate of the Pheu Thai Party. (IANS)