Image credit : Shutterstock

Immediate actions to reduce demand:

1. Work from home where possible. Displaces oil use from commuting, particularly where jobs are suitable for remote work.

2. Reduce highway speed limits by at least 10 km/h. Lower speeds reduce fuel use for passenger cars, vans and trucks.

3. Encourage public transport. A shift from private cars to buses and trains can quickly reduce oil demand.

4. Alternate private car access to roads in large cities on different days.

Number-plate rotation schemes can reduce congestion and fuel-intensive driving.

5. Increase car sharing and adopt efficient driving practices. Higher car occupancy and eco-driving can lower fuel consumption quickly.

6. Efficient driving for road commercial vehicles and delivery of goods

Better driving practices, vehicle maintenance and load optimisation can cut diesel use.

7. Divert LPG use from transport

Shifting bi-fuel and converted vehicles from LPG to gasoline can preserve LPG for cooking and other essential needs.

8. Avoid air travel where alternative options exist

Reducing business flights can quickly ease pressure on jet fuel markets.

9. Where possible, switch to other modern cooking solutions

Encouraging electric cooking and other modern options can reduce reliance on LPG.

10. Leverage flexibility with petrochemical feedstocks and implement short-term efficiency and maintenance measures

Industry can help free up LPG for essential uses while reducing oil consumption through quick operational improvements

Image credit : Getty images

Hong Kong police can now demand phone or computer passwords from those who are suspected of breaching the wide-ranging National Security Law (NSL).

Those who refuse could face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to HK$100,000 ($12,700; £9,600), and individuals who provide “false or misleading information” could face up to three years in jail.

It comes as part of new amendments to a bylaw under the NSL that the government gazetted on Monday.

The NSL was introduced in Hong Kong in 2020, in wake of massive pro-democracy protests the year before.

Authorities say the laws, which target acts like terrorism and secession, are necessary for stability – but critics say they are tools to quash dissent.

The new amendments also give customs officials the power to seize items that they deem to “have seditious intention”.

Monday’s amendments ensure that “activities endangering national security can be effectively prevented, suppressed and punished, and at the same time the lawful rights and interests of individuals and organisations are adequately protected”, Hong Kong authorities said on Monday.

Changes to the bylaw was announced by the city’s leader, John Lee, bypassing the city’s legislative council

(BBC)

President Donald Trump on Friday said he believed that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is helping Iran in its war against the United States and Israel.

According to CNBC, Trump’s comment came in a radio interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, and a week after the president lashed out at Fox News reporter Peter Doocy for asking him at the White House about reports that Russia was aiding Iran.

Kilmeade asked Trump on Friday: “You think Putin is helping them?”

Trump replied, “I think he might be helping them a bit, yeah.”“I guess, and he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine, right?” Trump continued.

“Yeah, we’re helping them also,” Trump said, referring to Ukraine, which has been at war against Russia since being invaded in early 2022.

“So he [Putin] says that, and China would say the same thing, you know,” Trump told Kilmeade.

“It’s like, ‘Hey, they do it, and we do it, in all fairness,’ ” Trump said. “They do it, and we do it.”