International

Several injured in Washington state ice cave collapse

JULY 7 (Reuters) — Several people were injured on Monday (July 6) in the partial collapse of an ice cave in Washington State that U.S. Forest Service officials had warned was too dangerous for exploration due to unseasonably warm weather in the Pacific Northwest. A spokeswoman from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said rescue workers were still trying to confirm how many people were in the Big Four Ice Caves near Granite Falls, 40 miles […]

File footage of various disputed land masses in the South China Sea

JULY 7 (Reuters) — China’s claim to the disputed South China Sea will come under international legal scrutiny for the first time this week, after Philippines filed the case at a U.N. tribunal. Manila’s international legal team has gone to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to initially argue that the five-judge panel has jurisdiction to hear the case, Philippines Foreign Ministry officials told Reuters. That is because of concerns China raised in […]

Drought leads to mass cutting of trees in Los Angeles

JULY 7 (Reuters) — Los Angeles city officials say they don’t have enough water to irrigate all the trees in the city so they are cutting down those that are dead or dying from drought. According to the city, roughly 14,000 trees have died in the last year alone from drought. ”It’s difficult to say the specific cause of death. But the drought is a very much a very real contributing factor,” said Laura Bauernfeind, […]

Wildfires lead to evacuation of over 13,000 in western Canada

JULY 7 (Reuters) — Hundreds of wildfires have swept across the western Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Saskatchewan, where the Canadian military was called in to help fight the 112 active fires that have forced the evacuation of more than 13,000 people and threatened several remote towns on Monday (July 6). The provincial government said more than 1,000 soldiers were on their way or already in the Prairie province, with some 600 to be […]

Greece votes ‘no’ to bailout terms

Greeks voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to reject terms of a bailout, risking financial ruin in a show of defiance that could splinter Europe. With nearly half of the votes counted, official figures showed 61 percent of Greeks rejecting the bailout offer. An official interior ministry projection confirmed the figure as close to the expected final tally. The astonishingly strong victory by the ‘No’ camp overturned opinion polls that had predicted an outcome too close to […]

America celebrates its 239th birthday with fireworks in the nation’s capital

(Reuters) — Americans marched in star-spangled parades, ran relay races, gathered for fireworks shows and crowned a new world hot dog eating champion as they celebrated Independence Day in traditional style on Saturday (July 4). Possible security threats, wildfires in the West and rainy weather on the East Coast apparently did little to dampen the spirits of celebrants decked out in red, white and blue from their headbands to their shoelaces The crowd in Washington, D.C. […]

South Korea reports one new MERS case, total rises to 186

(Reuters) — South Korea’s Health Ministry on Sunday (July 5) reported an additional case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), bringing the total number of cases to 186. “As of now, the total number of patients undergoing treatment is 37, 116 patients have been discharged from hospital and 33 people have died. And the total number of confirmed MERS cases is 186. Compared to yesterday, the total number of patients undergoing treatment has declined by […]

Tunisia declares state of emergency after hotel attack

(Reuters) Tunisia President Beji Caid Essebsi declared a state of emergency on Saturday following an Islamic militant gun attack on a Sousse beach hotel, where 38 foreign tourists, mostly Britons, were killed, TAP news agency said, citing the president’s office. A state of emergency temporarily gives the government more flexibility and the army and police more authority, and restricts the right of public assembly. Tunisia last had a state of emergency during the 2011 uprising […]

Greece FM says action toward Greece is ‘terrorism’

(REUTERS) Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said European action toward the country was “terrorism” in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo and said a trillion euros would be lost if Greece was allowed to crash. “What they’re doing with Greece has a name: terrorism,” Varoufakis said in the interview, published on Saturday. “Why have they forced us to close the banks? To frighten people. And when it’s about spreading terror, that is known as […]

PM Tsipras urges vote for “dignity in Europe”

  (Reuters) Greek Prime Minister Tsipras urges crowds in central Athens to spurn the tough terms of an aid deal offered by creditors calling on people to vote ‘No’ in referendum. Elected in January on a promise to end years of austerity, Tsipras wants Greeks to spurn the tough terms of an aid deal offered by international creditors. He frames Sunday’s ballot as a battle for democracy. ALEXIS TSIPRAS, GREEK PRIME MINISTER: “Democracy is liberation, democracy […]

How did Greece get here?

  (Reuters) Alexis Tsipras was voted Prime Minister of Greece on a wave of euphoria after his leftist Syriza party won the election in January this year, promising to overturn 5 years of harsh austerity. With not quite enough votes to form a government, he joined forces with the anti-bailout, far-right Independent Greeks, headed by Panos Kamenos, whom he made Defence Minister. Also invited to join the cabinet were Nikos Kotzias as foreign minister, and […]

China angered by new U.S. military strategy report

JULY 3 (Reuters) — China’s Foreign Ministry expressed anger on Friday (July 3) after the Pentagon’s updated National Military Strategy slammed Chinese claims in the South China Sea as aggressive and “inconsistent with international law”. “China’s actions are adding tension to the Asia-Pacific region,” says the paper, released this week in the first update of the strategy since 2011, making specific reference to China’s “aggressive land reclamation efforts” in the South China Sea. China’s Foreign […]