Iranian Guards Seize Foreign Ship Over Alleged Diesel Smuggling

A missile is launched by Iran's military during a navy exercise in the Gulf of Oman, in this picture obtained on January 14, 2021. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
A missile is launched by Iran's military during a navy exercise in the Gulf of Oman, in this picture obtained on January 14, 2021. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
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Iranian Guards Seize Foreign Ship Over Alleged Diesel Smuggling

A missile is launched by Iran's military during a navy exercise in the Gulf of Oman, in this picture obtained on January 14, 2021. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
A missile is launched by Iran's military during a navy exercise in the Gulf of Oman, in this picture obtained on January 14, 2021. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Iranian Revolutionary Guards have seized a foreign ship for allegedly smuggling diesel, a Guards commander said on Saturday.

"A foreign ship, carrying smuggled diesel was seized," Iran's state broadcaster quoted Col. Ahmad Hajian, commander of the Naval Type 412 Zulfaqar in the southern Parsian county, as saying.

"After inspection, more than 150,000 liters of smuggled diesel were discovered," he added.

Hajian said the ship's 11 crew members were detained for interrogation. He did not provide the ship's nationality or details on when it was seized.



Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake Strikes China Near Source of Yellow River

A lake is seen near the headwaters of the Yellow River in Madoi county, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai province, China August 31, 2019. (Reuters)
A lake is seen near the headwaters of the Yellow River in Madoi county, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai province, China August 31, 2019. (Reuters)
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Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake Strikes China Near Source of Yellow River

A lake is seen near the headwaters of the Yellow River in Madoi county, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai province, China August 31, 2019. (Reuters)
A lake is seen near the headwaters of the Yellow River in Madoi county, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai province, China August 31, 2019. (Reuters)

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake shook parts of the Chinese province of Qinghai on Wednesday, with its epicenter located near the source of the Yellow River, the main natural waterway serving northern China.

The vast Qinghai-Tibetan plateau has been jolted by seismic activity since Tuesday, including a deadly 6.8-magnitude quake in the foothills of the Himalayas in Tibet and a smaller 3.1-magnitude quake in Sichuan.

The epicenter of the Qinghai quake, which struck at 3:44 p.m. (0844 GMT), was located in Madoi county in the Golog prefecture at a depth of 14 km (8.7 miles), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

It was about 200 km west of the county seat of Madoi, a town populated mainly by Tibetans, including former nomadic herders and their families who have resettled in government-built homes over the years.

Earthquakes are common along the edges of the seismically active Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, including Madoi.

A total of 102 quakes of magnitude 3 or higher have been logged within 200 km of Wednesday's quake over the past five years, according to CENC, with the largest reaching a magnitude of 7.4 in 2021.

The epicenter of Qinghai quake on Wednesday is about 1,000 km northeast of the quake in Tibet a day earlier.