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| Posted: 29 Mar 2014 09:02 AM PDT  BLAINE OHIGASHI,/AP  REUTERS/Gene Blevins  Jae C. Hong/AP  USGS/EPA  Rod Veal/The Orange County Register via AP  Mark Rightmire/The Orange County Register via AP Previous Next EnlargeMore than 100 aftershocks have rattled Southern California since a 5.1 magnitude earthquake jolted the area Friday night. Scattered, minor damage and injuries were reported as the U.S. Geologoical Survey warned the seismic shift could foreshadow a bigger temblor. "There could be even a larger earthquake in the next few hours or the next few days," seismologist Lucy Jones said at a media briefing. Friday's event followed a ground-shaking event earlier this month. "Tonight's earthquake is the second in two weeks, and reminds us to be prepared," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said. It struck at 9:09 p.m. and was centered near La Habra in Orange County — about 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles — at a depth of about 5 miles. It was felt as far south as San Diego and as far north as Ventura County, according to citizen responses collected online by the USGS. Broken glass, gas leaks, water main breaks and a rockslide were reported near the epicenter, according to authorities. Eyewitness photos and videos show bottles and packages strewn on store floors. Southern California Edison reported power outages to about 2,000 customers. Public safety officials said crews were inspecting bridges, dams, rail tracks and other infrastructure systems for signs of damage. The Brea police department said a rock slide in Carbon Canyon area caused a car to overturn, and the people inside sustained minor injuries. Callers to KNX-AM reported seeing a brick wall collapse, water sloshing in a swimming pool and wires and trees swaying back and forth. One caller said he was in a movie theater lobby in Brea when the quake struck. "A lot of the glass in the place shook like crazy," he said. "It started like a roll and then it started shaking like crazy. Everybody ran outside, hugging each other in the streets." A helicopter news reporter from KNBC-TV reported from above that rides at Disneyland in Anaheim — several miles from the epicenter — were stopped as a precaution. Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully was on the air calling the Angels-Dodgers exhibition game in the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium. "A little tremor here in the ballpark. I'm not sure if the folks felt it, but we certainly felt it here in press box row," Scully said. "A tremor and only that, thank goodness." Tom Connolly, a Boeing employee who lives in La Mirada, the next town over from La Habra, said the magnitude-5.1 quake lasted about 30 seconds. "We felt a really good jolt. It was a long rumble and it just didn't feel like it would end," he told The Associated Press by phone. "Right in the beginning it shook really hard, so it was a little unnerving. People got quiet and started bracing themselves by holding on to each other. It was a little scary." Friday's quake hit a week after a pre-dawn magnitude-4.4 quake centered in the San Fernando Valley rattled a swath of Southern California. That jolt shook buildings and rattled nerves, but did not cause significant damage. Southern California has not experienced a devastating earthquake since the 1994's 6.7 magnitude quake in Northridge, which killed 57 people, severed freeways and caused $25 billion in damages. Preliminary data suggest Friday night's 5.1 magnitude earthquake occurred near the Puente Hills thrust fault, which stretches from the San Gabriel Valley to downtown Los Angeles and caused the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, seismologist Lucy Jones said. "It's a place where we've had a lot of earthquakes in the past," she said. The 5.9 Whittier Narrows quake killed eight people and caused $360 million in damage. |
| Ukraine crisis: Russia vows no invasion - BBC News Posted: 29 Mar 2014 09:06 AM PDT
29 March 2014
Last updated at 15:26
 Russian troops are already in full control of Crimea
Moscow has no intention of sending troops into Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said. His comments came after the US and Russian presidents discussed a possible diplomatic solution to the crisis. The US-backed plan calls for Russia to halt to its military build-up on the border with Ukraine and withdraw its troops in Crimea to their bases. US Secretary of State John Kerry is trying to set up talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Reports say Mr Kerry was flying home from the Middle East on Saturday when he abruptly changed travel plans. He instructed his plane to fly to Paris, where he is expected to meet Mr Lavrov early next week. Tensions over Ukraine rose following the overthrow of pro-Kremlin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in February, following months of street protests. Moscow later intervened in Crimea, a predominantly ethnic Russian region of Ukraine where its troops are stationed, saying the takeover in Kiev was a pro-fascist coup. Russia then annexed Crimea after the region held a referendum which backed joining the Russian Federation. Western countries condemned the vote as illegal and imposed sanctions on members of Mr Putin's inner circle. Meanwhile Ukraine's interim authorities have been pressing ahead with elections due in May. On Saturday boxer and opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko pulled out of the race for president. He announced he was supporting billionaire Petro Poroshenko saying: "The only chance of winning is to nominate one candidate from the democratic forces." Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has also said she will stand. 'Diplomatic means'In an interview with state TV channel Rossiya 1 on Saturday, Mr Lavrov said: "We have absolutely no intention of - or interest in - crossing Ukraine's borders." 
Sergei Lavrov: "We have no intention of crossing Ukraine's borders" He added that Russia was ready to protect "the rights of Russians and Russian-speaking people in Ukraine, using all available political, diplomatic and legal means". After the interview was broadcast, it emerged Mr Lavrov had spoken by phone to Mr Kerry, in a conversation that Russian officials said was initiated by the US. That call followed an hour-long phone discussion late on Friday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama. Mr Putin had contacted President Obama, according to US officials. "President Obama underscored to President Putin that the United States continues to support a diplomatic path... with the aim of de-escalation of the crisis," the White House said in a statement. "President Obama made clear that this remains possible only if Russia pulls back its troops and does not take any steps to further violate Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty."  President Putin welcomed military leaders to the Kremlin on Friday
The US proposal, developed in consultation with Ukraine and other European countries, includes halting the military build-up near Ukraine's border, the deployment of international monitors in Crimea to protect the rights of Russian speakers, and the return of Russian troops there to their bases. The Kremlin said that the Russian president had drawn Mr Obama's attention to "the continued rampage of extremists" in Kiev and various regions of Ukraine. It said these individuals were "committing acts of intimidation towards peaceful residents, government authorities and law enforcement agencies... with impunity". Russia's reported troop movements near Ukraine's eastern border - described by Nato as a "huge military build-up" - has triggered fears that Mr Putin's interest in Ukraine is not limited to Crimea. The BBC's North America Editor, Mark Mardell, said Friday night's phone call could indicate tentative progress towards a diplomatic solution - just when fears were growing in the West that Russia could be about to stage an invasion of eastern Ukraine.  |
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