Squid beaks, plastic debris among contents found in Jurong Island sperm whale’s belly: Study

Fann Sim Channel NewsAsia 12 Apr 19;

SINGAPORE: Jubi Lee, the 10.6m female sperm whale that was found off the coast of Jurong Island in 2015, lived on a diet of squid, a study has shown.

Researchers from the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum found more than 1,800 beaks from at least 25 cephalopod species, mainly squids, in the whale's belly. There were also remains of fish, a mud lobster, and several "peculiar" bioluminescent animals known as pyrosomes.

Jubi Lee's belly also contained plastic drinking cups, food wrappers and a plastic bag, the study led by museum mammal researcher Marcus Chua concluded.

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NEA closely monitoring air quality in Singapore after explosion at Johor oil and gas facility

Channel NewsAsia 12 Apr 19;

SINGAPORE: The 24-hour PSI levels in Singapore remained in the low-moderate range, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said, after an explosion at the Petronas oil and gas facility in Johor on Friday (Apr 12) left two injured.

The blast at the Pengerang Integrated Complex happened around 1.25am, Petronas confirmed in a statement on Twitter.

It added on Friday afternoon that the fire had occurred at the facility's Atmospheric Residue Desulphurisation (ARDS) unit, which was currently under the commissioning stage.

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Malaysia: Fire at Petronas' RAPID oil refinery quickly tamed

Joseph Sipalan Reuters 12 Apr 19;

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A fire was brought under control early on Friday after an explosion at a Malaysian oil refinery being developed by state oil firm Petronas, which was testing its facilities ahead of planned commercial operations later this year.

RAPID, or Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development, will anchor the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) and is Petronas’ biggest domestic investment, made in a 50-50 partnership with Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Saudi Aramco.

The explosion and fire occurred at about 1:25 a.m. on Friday (1725 GMT on Thursday) at the plant’s atmospheric residue desulphurisation unit (ARDS), which is in its commissioning stage, Petronas said in an updated statement.

Petronas said there were no fatalities caused by the explosion and fire. The fire was contained within 30 minutes, it had said earlier.

“We wish to assure members of the public that the situation is under control and there is no health related risk to this incident,” the company said in its latest statement.

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Indonesia: BBKSDA confirms ensnared Sumatran tiger on path to recovery

Antara 12 Apr 19;

The snare wounds are healing at a good rate, and it seems that new tissue has started to grow over them,
Pekanbaru (ANTARA) - A Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris) that had suffered grave injury in the left leg after being trapped in a hunters' snare is showing signs of recovery, according to Riau's Center for Natural Resources Conservation (BBKSDA).

"The snare wounds are healing at a good rate, and it seems that new tissue has started to grow over them," Head of Riau BBKSDA Suharyono remarked in Pekanbaru on Friday.

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