Typhoon Wipha strengthens to severe tropical storm, triggers emergency response

Typhoon Wipha, the sixth typhoon of the year, strengthened to a severe tropical storm around 5:00 on Saturday, according to the China Meteorological Administration, which renewed a yellow alert.

In the early hours of Friday, a tropical depression east of the Philippines strengthened into Wipha to the level of a tropical storm.

The tropical storm is moving northwestward at a speed of 25 kilometers per hour and is expected to intensify.

It is projected to make landfall along coastal areas between Shenzhen City of Guangdong Province in south China and Wenchang in the southern tropical island province of Hainan between Sunday afternoon and evening.

As Wipha approached, China's Ministry of Water Resources launched a Level-IV emergency response to flooding in the coastal provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan on Saturday. Guangdong activated a Level-IV emergency response for strong wind on Friday.

Shenzhen on Friday issued its first red alert for rainstorms this year as the city began to experience heavy thunderstorms and strong winds.

The Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration on Friday activated a Level-IV emergency response to tropical cyclone, which was upgraded to Level II on Saturday morning.

A total of 24 shipping routes and 89 passenger ferries in the province's coastal waters were suspended as of 16:00.

East China's Fujian Province, located in the outer sphere of Wipha, launched a similar emergency response on the same day.

Three sea ports in Haikou, the capital of Hainan, are scheduled to suspend operation starting 21:30 on Saturday.

Maritime authorities in Guangdong are intensifying efforts to evacuate personnel from offshore construction platforms and marine ranches to ensure safety.

So far, a total of 12,000 offshore workers have been evacuated, and 523 offshore fishing boats have returned to ports for shelter.

China has a four-tier emergency response system for flood control, with Level I being the most urgent response, and a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Typhoon Wipha strengthens to severe tropical storm, triggers emergency response

Officials from the European Union (EU) and Finland have voiced concerns after the White House said it has been discussing "a range of options" to acquire Greenland, including the use of the military.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told a press briefing in Cairo on Thursday that the message from the U.S. is "extremely concerning," and "not really helping the stability of the world."

Kallas called on all parties to stick to international law, adding that relevant response measures has been discussed among EU members.

"The international law is very clear, and we have to stick to it. It is clear that it is the only thing that protects smaller countries, and that is why it is in the interest of all of us. And we discussed this today, as well, that we uphold the international law on all levels," she said.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Thursday described recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump and members of his administration on Greenland as "worrying," while reiterating Finland's support for Denmark and Greenland's right to self-determination.

"Finland and the other Nordic countries have exceptional expertise in Arctic conditions, and we are happy to make use of that together with our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to strengthen Arctic security, but it cannot be done by threatening allies," she said at a press conference at Finnish parliament after an extraordinary meeting of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee.

Johannes Koskinen, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said it was "unprecedented" for threats of violence to be made within NATO against another member in connection with seizing territory, adding that such threats run counter to the United Nations Charter and that their inconsistency with international law should be underscored at all levels.

EU, Finnish officials express concerns over US remarks on Greenland