2025-07-19 16:44
HANOI, July 19 (Reuters) - At least 27 people died after a tourist boat capsized in stormy weather in Vietnam's Halong Bay on Saturday, state media reported. The boat, carrying 53 people, tipped over at around 2 p.m. local time (0700 GMT), as Storm Wipha approached the country across the South China Sea. Strong winds, heavy rainfall and lightning were reported in the area. Sign up here. Most of the tourists were from the capital, Hanoi, local newspaper VnExpress reported. There was no official announcement on the nationality of the tourists as emergency crews kept looking for survivors. Rescue teams found 11 survivors and recovered 27 bodies, eight of them children, the state-run Vietnam News Agency said, citing local authorities. Halong Bay, about 200 km (125 miles) northeast of Hanoi, attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year. Boat tours are hugely popular. Storm Wipha, the third typhoon to hit the South China Sea this year, is projected to make landfall along Vietnam's northern coast early next week. Weather linked to the storm also disrupted air travel. Noi Bai Airport said nine arriving flights were diverted to other airports, and three departing flights were temporarily grounded on Saturday. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/least-27-killed-after-vietnam-tourist-boat-capsizes-halong-bay-2025-07-19/
2025-07-19 14:32
DUBAI, July 19 (Reuters) - A fire broke out on Saturday at a unit of Iran's Abadan refinery, killing one employee, before being brought under control, the Iranian oil ministry's news agency reported. It said operations were unaffected. Sign up here. "According to initial technical probes, the cause of the fire was a leak in one of the pumps in Unit 70, and no evidence of sabotage or human intervention has been observed so far," SHANA said. Several workers suffered burns, and as many as three were in serious condition, Abadan governor Khosrow Pirhadi told state TV, adding that worn-out parts at the refinery may have caused the incident. Local news agencies carried videos showing large flames and plumes of dark smoke rising from part of the refinery, Iran's oldest crude processing facility. Abadan is in the southwestern Khuzestan province, currently among the hottest places in the world with temperatures close to 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit). The refinery, like almost all Iranian oil and gas processing plants, needs major works and renovation after decades of international sanctions. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/fire-irans-abadan-refinery-contained-one-dead-2025-07-19/
2025-07-19 13:40
WARSAW, July 19 (Reuters) - Polish authorities said they had fixed a fault in air traffic control systems that briefly disrupted take-offs in Warsaw and other cities on Saturday morning, and operations were returning to normal. Warsaw's Chopin Airport said take-offs and landings were running as usual by midday. Earlier outages had forced authorities to limit the number of flights in Polish airspace. Sign up here. Airports in Krakow, Katowice and Gdansk had also reported issues through the morning. "The temporary problems were caused by a fault that was promptly resolved," the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) wrote in a statement, without providing further details on the fault. "After implementing all necessary procedures, the primary air traffic management system was restored," the agency said. Backups had kept safety systems running through the outage, it added. Earlier, the Interior Ministry said the security agency had investigated the outage and made routine checks for sabotage. Poland and other countries have accused Russia of stepping up disruption and sabotage campaigns since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 - accusations that Moscow has denied. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-fixes-fault-that-briefly-disrupted-flights-officials-say-2025-07-19/
2025-07-19 12:45
HANOI, July 19 (Reuters) - A tourist boat carrying 53 people, including five crew members, capsized in Vietnam's Halong Bay on Saturday, killing three people, state media reported. The accident occurred at approximately 2 p.m. local time (0700 GMT), shortly after Storm Wipha entered the South China Sea. Strong winds, heavy rainfall, and lightning were recorded in the area. Sign up here. Rescue teams have located 12 survivors and recovered three bodies, the People's Army Newspaper said, citing local border guards. Authorities have yet to disclose details about the tourists or their nationalities, and rescue operations are ongoing. Halong Bay, situated roughly 200 km (125 miles) northeast of Hanoi, attracts tens of thousands of visitors annually, many of whom take overnight boat tours. Storm Wipha, the third typhoon to hit the South China Sea this year, is projected to make landfall along Vietnam's northern coast early next week. Weather disruptions linked to the storm have also impacted air travel. Noi Bai Airport reported that nine arriving flights were diverted to alternate airports, while three departing flights were temporarily grounded due to adverse conditions. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/vietnam-tourist-boat-capsizes-halong-bay-three-dead-2025-07-19/
2025-07-19 11:13
WARSAW, July 19 (Reuters) - Polish services were investigating an air traffic management system outage, the Interior Ministry spokesman said on Saturday. "Officers of the Internal Security Agency are collecting information on this matter, analysing it, and verifying it for potential sabotage," he added. Sign up here. Warsaw's main airport had earlier reported disruptions to aircraft takeoffs, according to state news agency PAP, but later said planes were departing. "Takeoff and landing operations at Chopin Airport have been fully restored and are now proceeding without disruptions," Chopin Airport in Warsaw wrote on X. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-is-investigating-air-traffic-control-system-outage-ministry-says-2025-07-19/
2025-07-19 08:55
SHANGHAI, July 19 (Reuters) - China vowed on Saturday to step up a crackdown and toughen law enforcement against smuggling of strategic minerals seen as vital to national security and critical for development. The remarks by the commerce ministry came a day after the state security ministry accused foreign spy agencies of having tried to "steal" rare earths and pledged to crack down on infiltration and espionage targeting the critical sector. Sign up here. The world's largest supplier of dozens of strategic minerals, China began imposing export curbs in 2023 on supplies vital to sectors ranging from chipmaking and the energy transition to defence. The commerce ministry remarks, describing smuggling and export of strategic minerals as a severe problem to be combated, came at a meeting of officials responsible for export control coordination and other government bodies. "Cases of smuggling by a small number of criminals for their own selfish interests and collusion between domestic and foreign parties are still occurring," it said in a statement. Evasive methods such as false declarations and third-country transshipment were taking on increasingly covert forms, it added, urging government bodies to prevent illegal outflows of strategic minerals and related technologies. China has adopted a "zero-tolerance" approach to smuggling and export of strategic minerals, which it will fight with a heavy hand, through special efforts to toughen law enforcement, the ministry said. In May China said it would strengthen controls on the entire supply chains of strategic mineral exports while tightening its grip on materials deemed crucial to national interest. Earlier, Beijing launched a special campaign to tackle smuggling of strategic minerals such as gallium, germanium, antimony, tungsten and some rare earths. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/china-vows-tougher-action-against-smuggling-strategic-minerals-2025-07-19/
