Earthquake of 4.8 Magnitude Hits Papua New Guinea

An earthquake measuring 4.8 magnitude on the Richter scale hit Papua New Guinea on Sunday.

The epicenter of the quake occurred 128 km from the city of Madang, at a depth of 207.4 km, US Geological Survey reported.

There have been no reports of casualties or material damage as a result of the quake.

Papa New Guinea is located in the so-called Ring of Fire, a region that extends along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, which is characterized by high seismic and volcanic activity. This region includes 90 percent of the active volcanoes in the world.

Source: Qatar News Agency

N. Korea Vows to Take Action to Protect Its Sovereignty

North Korea vowed Sunday to take action to protect its sovereignty as it condemned South Korea, the United States and Japan for their recent joint military exercises.

“We will protect our national sovereignty and security interests, as well as regional peace, through aggressive and overwhelming countermeasures,” North Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry did not elaborate on what it meant by countermeasures, according to South Korea’s News Agency (Yonhap).

On Saturday, South Korea, the US and Japan wrapped up their first, three-day trilateral multi-domian military exercise, titled “Freedom Edge,” aimed at strengthening their deterrence against North Korean threats.

The three nations have had combined maritime and aerial exercises before, but Freedom Edge was the first trilateral exercise held across multiple domains, including air, maritime, underwater and cyber.

The move came amid a growing North Korea-Russia alignment after Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader
Kim Jong-un signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” treaty that calls for providing military assistance to each other without delay if either side comes under an armed attack.

Source: Qatar News Agency

China Launches Zhongxing-3A Satellite

China successfully sent a new satellite into space from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the coast of southern island province of Hainan.

The satellite, Zhongxing-3A, was launched on Saturday evening by a modified version of the Long March-7 carrier rocket and entered the planned orbit successfully, according to China’s News Agency (Xinhua).

Designed as a communication and broadcasting satellite, the satellite will provide voice, data, radio and television transmission services.

This marks the 526th mission for the Long March series carrier rockets.

Source: Qatar News Agency