MANILA -- A 6.4-magnitude earthquake that hit the northern Philippines late Tuesday night injured at least 36 people and damaged buildings, the military said on Wednesday.
Lt. Col. Elmar Salvador, spokesperson of the military's northern command, said the injured are from the Ilocos Norte and Abra provinces on the main Luzon island.
He said no one died but the earthquake damaged several houses, century-old churches, school buildings and hospitals. (Philippines-Earthquake-Injury)
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SINGAPORE -- Singapore's Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng said on Wednesday that SembCorp is installing a 200-megawatt (MW) Energy Storage System (ESS) on Singapore's Jurong Island, which will be operational by November this year.
"This is the largest ESS deployment in Southeast Asia," Tan told the second Singapore-IRENA High-Level Forum at the Singapore International Energy Week. "This project will support our efforts to enhance grid reliability and also maximize solar deployment in Singapore."
According to a statement from Singapore's Energy Market Authority (EMA), the authority appointed Sembcorp Industries to build, own and operate 200MW/200MWh of ESS to enhance the resilience of the country's energy supply and power grid in June. (Singapore-Energy Storage System)
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SUVA -- Fiji upgraded on Wednesday its economic growth outlook for 2022 to 15.6 percent from a 12.4-percent projection expected earlier this year.
According to a joint statement by Fiji's Macroeconomic Committee and the Reserve Bank of Fiji, the key sectors contributing to this year's economic growth will be accommodation and food services, transport and storage, administration and support services, wholesale and retail trade, agriculture, and net indirect taxes.
The statement also pointed out that despite the remarkable growth this year, Fiji's economy will not return to the pre-COVID-19 level until 2024 as there has been a permanent economic scar, given the cumulative contraction of 22.1 percent over the last two years. (Fiji-Economic Outlook)
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Three commuters lost their lives and three others were injured in a traffic accident that happened in the southern Kandahar province, provincial administration spokesman Hajji Zahid said on Wednesday.
A Kandahar-bond car, according to the official, collided with another car coming from the opposite direction in Spin Boldak district late Tuesday, leaving three dead on the spot and injuring three others. (Afghanistan-Road Accident)
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CANBERRA -- Australia's annual inflation has climbed to its highest level in more than 30 years amid soaring prices for housing and gas.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday reported the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1.8 percent in the three months to Sept. 30 and by 7.3 percent over the last 12 months.
It marks the highest annual figure since 1990. According to the data, the cost of buying or building a new home rose by 3.7 percent in the September quarter and 20.7 percent over the year. (Australia-Inflation)
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WELLINGTON -- The cost of living for the average household increased by 7.7 percent year on year, with increasing prices widely felt across all household groups in the September 2022 quarter, New Zealand's statistic department Stats NZ said on Wednesday.
The cost of living for the average household increased by 7.7 percent in the September 2022 quarter when compared with the September 2021 quarter. All household groups faced their highest annual cost-of-living increase since the series began in 2008, Stats NZ said.
"Higher prices for housing and food were the main contributors to the increase across all the household groups," consumer prices manager Katrina Dewbery said in a statement. (New Zealand-Inflation) ■
