A section of bluffs in Del Mar, California collapsed early on Wednesday (July 13), but there were no injuries. According to fire dispatchers, the collapse was reported at 8:15am local time (1515gmt). Dogs searched the area after reports people may have been trapped under the rubble, but no one was found. Del Mar is about 20 miles (32 km) north of San Diego. (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016
International
Wildfire burns in Lake Sherwood, California
Over 200 firefighters were battling a wildfire that scorched 50 acres in Southern California on Wednesday (July 15) The Ventura County Fire Department told local media outlets that 233 firefighters were in the Lake Sherwood area in Ventura County, about 40 miles (64km) west of Los Angeles. Multiple agencies were on the scene battling the fire with helicopters and airplanes dropping water and fire retardant on flames. Officials said no structures were immediately threatened by […]
U.S. says it is looking forward to working with new British foreign minister
The U.S. State Department looks forward to working with Boris Johnson, appointed on Wednesday (July 13) as British foreign secretary, a U.S. State Department spokesman said. The United States will always be able to work with British officials because of its “deep, abiding” relationship with Britain, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said at a daily news briefing. Johnson was a leading figure in the victorious “Leave” campaign in Britain’s European Union membership referendum last month. […]
Q+A on wider impacts of South China Sea ruling
An international ruling striking down China’s claims to most of the South China Sea was chiefly a victory for the Philippines, which launched the David v Goliath legal challenge. The verdict, by a UN-backed tribunal in The Hague on Tuesday, is meant to be legally binding on just those two countries. However it has wider ramifications for the region. Here are some key questions and answers on those impacts: Who are the other winners? The […]
Philippines and Japan coastguards hold joint drills in Manila Bay
MANILA, Philippines (Reuters) — Philippines and Japan coastguards took part in joint drills in Manila Bay on Wednesday (July 13) as part of the efforts to improve maritime security in the region. About 50 coastguard personnel from Japan and 15 from the Philippines held simulated rescue exercises aimed at combating piracy and armed robberies at sea. Philippine coastguard spokesperson Armand Balilo told journalists the exercise was not part of territorial disputes in the South China […]
China welcomes positive statements by Philippine President on South China Sea: Chinese official
CCTV — China welcomes the positive statements on the South China Sea issue made by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and hopes that China and the Philippines can go back to negotiation table to settle the disputes, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said in Beijing at a press conference Wednesday. Liu said that China and the Philippines are neighbors facing each other across the sea with over 1,000 years of friendship. Though the Philippines is […]
Australia urges China and the Philippines to follow South China Sea ruling
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) — Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Wednesday (July 13) urged China and the Philippines to follow the South China Sea Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling. In a case that was seen as a test of China’s rising power and its economic and strategic rivalry with the United States, the court in The Hague ruled China had breached the Philippines’ sovereign rights by endangering its ships and […]
Mourners identify dead in Italy train collision
by Giovanni GREZZI with Ella IDE in Rome ANDRIA, Italy (AFP) — Relatives of victims of one of Italy’s worst rail accidents gathered to identify their dead Wednesday, as rescue workers at the scene of the head-on collision between two trains dismantled the wreckage in search of missing bodies. Shell-shocked families at the Policlinico hospital morgue in the southern Italy city of Bari were being called in turns to search among the dead for their […]
China warns against ‘cradle of war’ in sea
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China warned its rivals Wednesday against turning the South China Sea into a “cradle of war” and threatened an air defense zone there, after its claims to the strategically vital waters were declared invalid. The surprisingly strong and sweeping ruling by a UN-backed tribunal in The Hague provided powerful diplomatic ammunition to the Philippines, which filed the challenge, and other claimants in their decades-long disputes with China over the resource-rich waters. […]
S. Korea to announce US anti-missile system site
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea will announce on Wednesday the site for an advanced US missile defense system, officials said, following strong objections from China and Russia accusing Washington of flexing military muscle in the region. The plan to deploy the powerful system, which fires projectiles to smash into enemy missiles, came last week after the United States placed North Korea’s “Supreme Leader” Kim Jong-Un on its sanctions blacklist for the first time. […]
Beijing claims ‘right’ to declare air defense zone in S. China Sea
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing “has the right” to declare an air defence identification zone over the South China Sea, it said Wednesday as it stepped up denunciations of international tribunal that ruled against its expansive claims in the strategic waters. Whether Beijing set up such a zone — which would require civilian aircraft to identify themselves to military controllers — depended on “the level of threat we receive”, said vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin. “Do […]
Taiwan sends warship to South China Sea after ruling
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — A Taiwanese warship set sail for the South China Sea on Wednesday “to defend Taiwan’s maritime territory”, a day after an international tribunal ruled China has no historic rights in the waterway and undermined Taipei’s claims to islands there. President Tsai Ing-wen rallied troops on the deck of the frigate, saying Taiwanese were determined to “defend their country’s rights”, before the warship headed for Taiwan-controlled Taiping island in the Spratly island […]
