Other News

Philippines says China ‘mischaracterised’ South China Sea resupply mission deal

  MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ foreign ministry accused China on Sunday of ‘mischaracterising’ an arrangement between them that allowed the unimpeded resupply of Filipino troops stationed on a beached naval vessel in the South China Sea. After repeated clashes in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, the two countries reached a “provisional arrangement” earlier this month on resupply missions to soldiers stationed at the Sierra Madre, a naval vessel Manila deliberately grounded in 1999 to […]

Putin: U.S. missile plans in Germany could spark cold war-style crisis

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday warned the United States that if Washington deployed long-range missiles in Germany from 2026 then Russia would station similar missiles in striking distance of the West. The United States will start deploying long-range fire capabilities in Germany in 2026 in an effort to demonstrate its commitment to NATO and European defenсe, the United States and Germany said earlier this month. The United States’ “episodic deployments” are […]

Remnants of Typhoon Gaemi trigger flash floods in northeast China

BEIJING: Continued heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Gaemi triggered flash floods in northeast China on the border with North Korea and brought railway disruptions and landslides to other parts of the country, state media reported on Sunday (Jul 28). Two officials, including the deputy mayor of Linjiang city in Jilin province, went missing during flood rescue efforts, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing city authorities. More than 27,000 people in northeast China were evacuated and hundreds […]

Wary of China escalation, U.S. revamps military command in Japan

Summary U.S., Japan hold high-level security talks in Tokyo U.S. to establish new joint command HQ in Japan Allies say China ‘greatest challenge’ facing region Countries pledge ‘unshakable partnership’ with S.Korea By Simon Lewis and Tim Kelly TOKYO (Reuters) -The United States said on Sunday it would revamp its military command in Japan to deepen coordination with its ally’s forces, as the two countries labelled China the “greatest strategic challenge” facing the region. The announcement […]

Harris says she is ‘underdog’, Trump goes on offense

By Stephanie Kelly, Jeff Mason and Tim Reid (Reuters) -Vice President Kamala Harris cast herself as the “underdog” in the presidential race and called her Republican opponent Donald Trump “just plain weird,” while Trump painted Harris as “evil,” “sick” and “unhinged” as the rivals exchanged barbs from afar on Saturday. The dueling appearances capped a whirlwind week that saw Harris ascend to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden, 81, dropped his […]

Israel says Hezbollah rocket kills 12 at football ground, vows response

Summary: Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah denies any role Israeli PM Netanyahu vows Hezbollah will pay price for attack U.S. condemns attack, says support for Israel is ‘iron-clad’ By Maayan Lubell, Maya Gebeily and Laila Bassam JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) -A rocket attack on a football ground in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights killed 12 people including children on Saturday, Israeli authorities said, blaming Hezbollah and vowing to inflict a heavy price on the Iran-backed Lebanese group. Hezbollah denied any […]

California wildfire explodes, doubles in 24 hours to become largest in US

(Reuters) Thousands of firefighters were battling a rapidly growing wildfire in northern California on Saturday (July 27) after the blaze more than doubled in size in a 24-hour span. The Park Fire had burned more than 350,000 acres (141,640 hectares) about 90 miles (144 km) north of the state capital city of Sacramento as of Saturday afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. Cooler temperatures and more humid […]

Blinken chides Beijing’s ‘escalating actions’ at sea, concerned over Taiwan

VIENTIANE (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticised Beijing’s “escalating and unlawful actions” in the South China Sea at a summit on Saturday, while his Russian counterpart said Washington has stoked anxiety with its plan for a nuclear deterrence with ally Seoul for the Korean peninsula. Blinken singled out China over its coast guard’s hostile actions against U.S. defence treaty ally the Philippines in the South China Sea. But he also lauded the two […]

Oregon wildfire explodes to half the size of Rhode Island

(Reuters) -Winds and lightning strikes have sparked and fanned wildfires across the Pacific Northwest this week, including the largest fire currently burning in the U.S., which was rapidly expanding near the Oregon-Idaho border on Friday. The Durkee Fire near Huntington, Oregon, has scorched 600 square miles (1,600 square km), an area more than half the size of Rhode Island’s land mass, authorities said. It is threatening several towns. The blaze was set off by lightning […]

Australia signs $1.4 billion deal to upgrade navy submarines

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia said on Saturday it had signed a A$2.2 billion ($1.4 billion) four-year contract with state-owned submarine builder ASC to upgrade the navy’s Collins class submarines. The “sustainment contract” is part of a government pledge to keep the diesel-electric powered Collins-class fleet “a potent strike and deterrence capability”, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said in a statement. The contract will be “directly ensuring job security for more than 1,100 highly skilled workers”, […]

China’s foreign minister warns Philippines over US missile deployment

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned the Philippines over the U.S. intermediate-range missile deployment, saying such a move could fuel regional tensions and spark an arms race. The United States deployed its Typhon missile system to the Philippines as part of joint military drills earlier this year. It was not fired during the exercises, a Philippine military official later said, without giving details on how long it would stay in the […]

France’s train network hit by arson attacks hours before Olympic ceremony

By Dominique Vidalon and Elizabeth Pineau July 26, 2024   PARIS, July 26 (Reuters) – Saboteurs struck France’s TGV high-speed train network in a series of pre-dawn attacks across the country, causing travel chaos and exposing security gaps ahead of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony later on Friday. The coordinated sabotage took place as France mounted a massive security operation involving tens of thousands of police and soldiers to safeguard the capital for the sporting […]