China sets up South China Sea environment protection fund
China has set up a 15 million yuan ($2.25 million) environmental protection fund for the South China Sea having already spent double that in the past four years, the Xinhua state news agency said on Monday. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled this month that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea and it criticised environmental destruction in the waters. China rejected the ruling and refused to participate in the case. The tribunal found that China's large-scale land reclamation and construction of artificial islands has caused severe harm to coral and violated its obligation to preserve fragile marine environments. China has repeatedly denied damaging the environment in the South China Sea.
Typhoon Slams into Southern China, One Dead
A super typhoon slammed into China on Friday killing one person, as the government ordered an all-out effort to prevent loss of life from a storm that has already killed at least 64 people in the Philippines. Typhoon Rammasun, with winds of up to 180 kph (112 mph), made landfall at Wenchang city on south China's island province of Hainan on Friday afternoon, the National Meteorological Center said on its website. The typhoon, which is shaping up to be the strongest to hit Hainan in more than 40 years, will bring heavy rain throughout the weekend before moving southwest and weakening on Monday, the Xinhua state news agency said. By mid-evening on Friday, the storm had made landfall in Guangdong province on the mainland. It is likely to hit the southwestern Guangxi region late on Friday.
