The dispute between China and the Philippines has heated up considerably since the UN tribunal in the Hague ruled that China is not the owner of the majority of the waterway in spite of the PRC’s claims. Shortly after the ruling last week that favoured the Philippine’s claims, China announced that the judgement was without merit. Yesterday and today saw people in China demonstrating “rational patriotism” by demonstrating against the US at KFC outlets and smashing Apple iPhones. The PRC government is blaming the US for encouraging the Philippines to take their claims to the international court. On video recorded by a CNN journalist riding in a reconnaissance plane over the artificial islands, one can see military runways and numerous ships in a lagoon. Island building on reefs has been going on for the past few years and to date about 2000 acres have been built atop coral reefs. As the surveillance plane flew near and over the disputed area, a voice came over the plane’s radio identifying itself as the Chinese navy telling the aircraft to leave the area. The request that the plane leave was repeated numerous times. The South China Sea is one of the busiest transportation corridors in the world. At the same time that the US military plane was receiving messages to leave, a Delta aircraft was hearing the same message. The People’s Liberation Army(PLA) has revealed to the public. The new weapons include missiles that can travel 1500 km, far enough to reach Okinawa. Also displayed were weapons geared to sink aircraft carriers and a new class of warplanes. The PRC official news agency Xinhua News has pointed out that not all countries agree with the UN court. In particular, they point out that Sudan and Syria both support China’s claims. The area is looking to become further militarized as China has earmarked bomber, reconnaissance planes and refueling aircraft for regular patrols over the newly formed islands. Further reading: CNN South China Sea Morning Post Xinhua News
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It’s beginning to look as if the very strong team of Sky is unbeatable this year. Their success has been explained by their discipline and plan. They can usually be seen riding at the front of the peloton and setting the pace – fast but not too fast – to discourage challengers. When a challenger for the race leader pops off the front, the boys in blue pick up the pace a little and ride him down. With much of the race behind them, Froome has a two minute 27 second advantage over Bauke Mollema, Trek, who sits in second place. Nairo Quintana, Movistar, who was expected to mount a real challenge failed to answer the call today on the final climb. He later told the media that he was having a bad day. Perhaps stage 18 will be more to his liking. It is an individual time trial up a mountain. First across the finish line on Wednesday was Ilnur Zakarin, Katusha. He has been selected by the Russian Olympic Committee to go to Rio. Whether he will see Rio is still up in the air as the IOC is considering banning all Russian athletes because of the state sponsored drug scandal. There were crashes early in the stage that saw some riders withdraw from the competition. Gorka Izaguirre, Movistar and Borut Bozic, Confidis were forced to abandon because of injuries. Mark Cavendish, DDD, pulled out to finish off his pre-Olympic training. Stage 17 Standings
The Tour de France caravans and peloton moved into Switzerland on Monday. Team Sky was challenged but they held fast and protected Chris Froome who retained the yellow jersey for another day. Peter Sagan, Tinkoff, maintained his lead in the points for top sprinter. Mark Cavendish, Dimension Data, has more stage wins this tour with four under his belt, but Sagan has more points accrued. Sagan won Monday's stage by a hair. It was another photo finish. Sagan and Alexander Kristoff, Katusha, duked it out for the top spot. On the TV coverage it looked as if Kristoff misjudged the finish line and "threw" his bike a fraction of a second late. The weather was hot on Monday. It melted the tar on the roads in places adding to the difficulty of the route. Today's peloton ended in the Swiss city of Berne. It was particularly welcoming for Fabian Cancellera, Trek, who makes his home about 5 km from the city. He has already announced that this is his last year as a professional rider. He is 35 years old this year and plans to retire after this year's biking season. Those who are asking where Bradley Wiggins is this year will be pleased to see him when the Rio Olympics are on next month. Stage 16 Standings
Further reading: Le Tour Velo News With half the Tour de France finished for this year, it looks as if Chris Froome supported by his Team Sky is unbeatable. Froome rode in the yellow jersey as race leader today and will again tomorrow. It will make eight days he has held the coveted jersey. Before this year's race, the buzz was that Nairo Quintana, Movistar, would challenge the former Kenyan but while Quintana has clung to Froome's back wheel like a limpet, he hasn't mounted a serious challenge. Part of the success of Team Sky is that it has super stars riding support to Froome. On other teams the support riders could be the team captain. Today Team Astana tried to shake up the relentless pace of Sky but nothing seemed to work. Sunday's route took the peloton 183 km ending with a climb up the Grand Colombier twice, once to the summit, the second time up only 800 metres. Stars for today were Jarlison Pantano, Movistar and Rafal Majka, Tinkoff. Both of them were the survivors of an early break which saw them stay clear for over 100 miles. They came in to the finish line one two. Julian Alaphilippe had a clear lead over the first two when an undisclosed incident delayed him and he finished off the podium. Stage 15 Standings
Monday the riders will pedal 209 km ending in Switzerland. For extensive extra information and stats, look to Le Tour and/or Velo News. Late Friday / early Saturday: Details and reliable information is sketchy but news is leaking out that a large contingent of Turkey's military have taken over the country. The airport in Istanbul has been shut down. The bridge over the Bosphorus has been shut down. CNN reported that their broadcaster had soldiers enter their studio and shut down live broadcasting. President Recip Tayyip Erdogan is reported to be out of the capital city of Ankara on vacation in the city of Marmaris. PM Binal Yildirim spoke to the public saying that the situation was under control and that the movement was by a few plotters. The plotters are reported to have killed policemen and television employees. The plotters killed 17 policemen in an attack on the Gölbaşı Special Forces Department headquarters in the Turkish capital of Ankara, according to the Istanbul governor. Hurriyet Daily News Explosions have been reported in Ankara, attacking the parliament buildings. MPs are reportedly hiding in shelters. Some protesters have been met with violence. The military cabal that calls themselves the Peace in the Country Council has imposed a curfew and has been flying helicopters over the major cities. Military rule is effect. Later Saturday morning: There are reports the coup has failed. 90 people are reportedly dead and 1,000 injured. President Erdogan from a safe hideout in Marmaris appealed to his people to get out onto the streets in spite of a Military curfew. The people responded. This morning footage is circulating of the various military pesonnel being taken into police custody. They face tough sentences. The coup was not a full all out military event but it adds to instability in the region. Further Reading: ITV |
Barbara McPherson
Blogger, gardener, farmer. Working toward food security and a 30 foot
diet. Addicted to reading. Love this planet, especially my little corner
on Vancouver Island, Canada Archives
October 2016
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