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Philippines to Deploy Floating Barriers to Contain Oil Spill

A coast guard staffer arranges an oil spill containment boom to be use3d in Manila Bay. Jam Sta Rosa / AFP
A coast guard staffer arranges an oil spill containment boom to be use3d in Manila Bay. Jam Sta Rosa / AFP
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Philippines to Deploy Floating Barriers to Contain Oil Spill

A coast guard staffer arranges an oil spill containment boom to be use3d in Manila Bay. Jam Sta Rosa / AFP
A coast guard staffer arranges an oil spill containment boom to be use3d in Manila Bay. Jam Sta Rosa / AFP

The Philippine Coast Guard planned Friday to deploy oil dispersant and floating barriers a day after a tanker carrying 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel sank off Manila.
AFP journalists at the Port of Limay in Bataan province watched coast guard personnel preparing equipment for a boat to be used against the slick in Manila Bay.
The MT Terra Nova sank in rough seas nearly seven kilometers (4.3 miles) off Limay municipality early Thursday after setting out for the central city of Iloilo.
An oil slick stretching several kilometers has been detected in the waterway, which thousands of fishermen and tourism operators rely on for their livelihoods.
But coast guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo told a briefing Thursday that it appeared diesel fuel used to power the tanker had leaked and, so far, not the industrial fuel oil cargo.
The coast guard has set a target of seven days to offload the cargo and prevent what Balilo warned would be the worst oil spill in Philippine history if it were to leak.
The incident happened as heavy rains fueled by Typhoon Gaemi and the seasonal monsoon lashed Manila and surrounding regions in recent days.
Swamped by waves
After setting out late Wednesday the captain decided to abort the journey to Iloilo due to rough seas, but as the vessel turned back it was swamped by large waves and went down.
One crew member died, but 16 were rescued.
An investigation into the cause of the incident was underway but Balilo said Thursday the vessel had not broken rules on heavy-weather sailing.
Campaign group Greenpeace said the owners of MT Terra Nova should "foot the bill" for any environmental damage and compensate affected communities.
One of the worst oil spills in the Philippines was in February 2023, when a tanker carrying 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil sank off the central island of Mindoro.
Diesel fuel and thick oil from that vessel contaminated the waters and beaches along the coast of Oriental Mindoro province, devastating the fishing and tourism industries.
The oil dispersed over hundreds of kilometers of waters famed for having some of the most diverse marine life in the world.
A tanker sank off the central island of Guimaras in 2006, spilling tens of thousands of gallons of oil that destroyed a marine reserve, ruined local fishing grounds and covered stretches of coastline in black sludge.

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World

Russia Evacuates 198 Workers from Iran Nuclear Plant Amid Airstrike

Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Director General Alexey Likhachev arrives to attend the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 01 April 2026. (EPA/Pavel Bednyakov/AP Pool)
Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Director General Alexey Likhachev arrives to attend the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 01 April 2026. (EPA/Pavel Bednyakov/AP Pool)
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Russia Evacuates 198 Workers from Iran Nuclear Plant Amid Airstrike

Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Director General Alexey Likhachev arrives to attend the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 01 April 2026. (EPA/Pavel Bednyakov/AP Pool)
Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation Director General Alexey Likhachev arrives to attend the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 01 April 2026. (EPA/Pavel Bednyakov/AP Pool)

Russia started a planned evacuation of 198 workers from Iran's Bushehr atomic plant shortly after a US-Israeli projectile hit near the facility, Russian state media said on Saturday.

This was a third evacuation from the facility in southern Iran on the Gulf coast, which was built with Moscow's help, with about 100 Russian staff remaining there by now.

The area around Bushehr has been struck four times during this war. The latest attack on Saturday saw one person -- a guard at the facility -- killed, but did not damage the plant itself, according to Iranian state media.

"As planned, we began the main phase of the evacuation today," Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom head Alexey Likhachev was quoted as saying by Russia's TASS news agency.

"About 20 minutes after that ill-fated strike, buses set off from Bushehr station towards the Iranian-Armenian border (with) 198 people, to be precise -- this is the largest evacuation," he added.

Likhachev also said that Russia informed the US and Israel about the evacuation.

"The likelihood of a risk of damage or a potential nuclear incident is, unfortunately, only increasing, as has been confirmed by this morning's events," the Rosatom CEO said.

The agency plans to keep only a skeleton staff at Bushehr amid the threat of further strikes.

The Russian foreign ministry slammed the "evil" US-Israeli attack and urged a cessation of hostilities on Iranian nuclear facilities immediately.

World

Erdogan Says Middle East War Has Caused ‘Geostrategic Impasse’

This handout photograph taken and released by the Turkish presidential press service on April 4, 2026, shows Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcoming and shaking hands Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) upon arrival for a bilateral meeting on security at Dolmabahce Presidential Office, in Istanbul. (Turkish Presidential Press Service / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Turkish presidential press service on April 4, 2026, shows Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcoming and shaking hands Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) upon arrival for a bilateral meeting on security at Dolmabahce Presidential Office, in Istanbul. (Turkish Presidential Press Service / AFP)
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Erdogan Says Middle East War Has Caused ‘Geostrategic Impasse’

This handout photograph taken and released by the Turkish presidential press service on April 4, 2026, shows Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcoming and shaking hands Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) upon arrival for a bilateral meeting on security at Dolmabahce Presidential Office, in Istanbul. (Turkish Presidential Press Service / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Turkish presidential press service on April 4, 2026, shows Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcoming and shaking hands Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) upon arrival for a bilateral meeting on security at Dolmabahce Presidential Office, in Istanbul. (Turkish Presidential Press Service / AFP)

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the war in the Middle East had led to a "geostrategic impasse", during a telephone conversation with NATO chief Mark Rutte, his office said Saturday.

"President Erdogan said the process started by the intervention against Iran had led to a geostrategic impasse and that the international community had to redouble its efforts to bring an end to this war," said the statement.

Türkiye has attempted to mediate an end to the hostilities, notably through negotiations conducted with Pakistan and Egypt.

Erdogan said his country was also continuing efforts "to reach a peaceful outcome" to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Istanbul Saturday for talks with Erdogan.

A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that the talks would not only be about drone interceptors but also about security cooperation in general.

The Turkish presidency said on X that the talks would focus "efforts towards a ceasefire and a lasting solution."

World

Several Injured in Israel by Iran Missile Fire

A picture shows the damage at a factory that got hit by a missile in Petah Tikva, east of Tel Aviv, on April 3, 2026. (AFP)
A picture shows the damage at a factory that got hit by a missile in Petah Tikva, east of Tel Aviv, on April 3, 2026. (AFP)
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Several Injured in Israel by Iran Missile Fire

A picture shows the damage at a factory that got hit by a missile in Petah Tikva, east of Tel Aviv, on April 3, 2026. (AFP)
A picture shows the damage at a factory that got hit by a missile in Petah Tikva, east of Tel Aviv, on April 3, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli emergency services said its crew treated five people who were injured Saturday in Tel Aviv and surrounding areas after Iran fired several rounds of missiles toward Israel.

Since midnight, seven waves of Iranian missiles have been launched towards Israel, according to the Israeli military.

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency services said a 45-year-old man was treated for minor injuries from glass shrapnel in the central city of Bnei Brak and taken to hospital.

As the day progressed, rescue teams said they had treated three additional casualties -- two men in their 20s hit by glass fragments and one injured by blast.

A 52-year-old man "lightly injured by the blast wave" was also transferred to a hospital in Ramat Gan, in central Israel, the emergency service said.

In a residential neighborhood of Ramat Gan, AFP images showed the top floor of a house completely blown out, exposing its gutted interior, with a crushed bookcase and an exercise bike amid the debris.

Numerous impact marks were visible on the walls.

Nearby, another home was largely destroyed, stripped of its outer walls, according to AFP photographs.

"All this is from shrapnel," Joy Frankel, a social worker told AFP near one of the impacted sites.

According to several local media outlets, including The Times of Israel, a cluster munition missile fired from Iran on Saturday morning landed near the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, not far from the defense ministry.

The military said its air defenses were working to down missiles fired from Iran, each a time it announced incoming projectiles.

Since February 28, the United States and Israel have conducted joint strikes against Iran, prompting the Tehran to retaliate with daily missile barrages targeting Israel and several neighboring countries across the region.