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A6 WORLD NEWS
Friday 14 July 2023
U.N. court rejects Nicaragua’s case in a long-running maritime

dispute

By MIKE CORDER the court in a 2012 ruling,
Associated Press which have been under
THE HAGUE, Netherlands dispute for the past two de-
(AP) — The United Nations’ cades.
top court on Thursday re- The leader of Nicaragua’s
jected a case brought by delegation, Carlos José
Nicaragua in a decades- Argüello Gómez, said that
long dispute with Colom- his country would study the
bia over maritime borders judgment “because it has
and entitlements in the consequences in a very
Caribbean. The Interna- large and complicated
tional Court of Justice dis- area.” But he added that
missed Nicaragua’s bid to “in principle, obviously,
gain economic rights over whatever the court said,
an area of the Caribbean Nicaragua will comply with
Sea that lies more than 200 it.” Under international law,
nautical miles (230 statute coastal states have sov-
miles, 370 kilometers) from ereignty over waters ex-
its shores. tending 12 nautical miles
Nicaragua wanted the in- beyond their coastlines.
ternational court to review They have exclusive eco-
the limits of its continental nomic and environmental
shelf, and determine new rights over the seabed and
maritime boundaries for Nicaragua’s agent Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, left, greets Colombia’s agent Eduardo Valencia waters that extend up to
the Central American na- Ospina, right, at the World Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday, July 13, 2023, where the 200 nautical miles beyond
tion. United Nations’ highest court delivered its judgment in a long-running maritime border dispute their coast. However, some
Colombia already claims between Nicaragua and Colombia. countries have tried to ob-
exclusive economic rights Associated Press tain jurisdiction over un-
in much of the area that He added that he hoped maritime claims are linked from the baselines of an- derwater features that lie
lies to the east of Nicara- the ruling “ends the con- to its sovereignty over the other state.” The baselines beyond that limit, by prov-
gua’s 200 nautical mile troversy over our borders, San Andres and Providen- are points on land from ing that these features are
boundary. Bogota argued and we will now focus on cia Archipelago, which lies which the continental shelf connected to their conti-
that there is no precedent the sustainable develop- about 700 kilometers (435 is measured. nental shelves that is the
for extending a country’s ment of our archipelago.” miles) north of Colombia’s “Nicaragua is not entitled shallow seabed that ex-
200-nautical-mile zone, The area has long been Caribbean coast but only to an extended continen- tends beyond the coast.
when it clashes with that of claimed by both countries, 110 kilometers (68 miles) tal shelf within 200 nautical A 1928 treaty between Co-
another nation. and Nicaragua gained from Nicaragua’s coast. miles from the baselines of lombia and Nicaragua rec-
Members of Colombia’s le- fishing rights over a big por- The world court’s presi- San Andres and Providen- ognized Colombia’s sover-
gal team hugged in court tion in a 2012 ruling by the dent, Joan E. Donoghue, cia,” Donoghue said. eignty over the islands of
after the ruing, and Presi- world court in The Hague. said that a country’s right The decision means the San Andres and Providen-
dent Gustavo Petro tweet- But Colombia’s navy has to claim a continental shelf world court didn’t have to cia, and gave Colombia
ed that it was “a great vic- continued to patrol the wa- beyond the 200-nautical- review maritime boundar- economic rights over most
tory for Colombia in The ters, which are also used by mile limit cannot “extend ies between Colombia and of the waters around San
Hague.” drug traffickers. Colombia’s within 200 nautical miles Nicaragua, established by Andres. q

Record monsoon rains have killed more than 100 people in

northern India

By ASHOK SHARMA and RISHI LEKHI
Associated Press
NEW DELHI (AP) — Schools and colleges were closed after record monsoon rains led to
massive waterlogging, road caves-in, collapsed homes and gridlocked traffic in large
parts of northern India, killing more than 100 people over two weeks, officials said Thurs-
day.
At least 88 people died, 42 of them in the past five days, and more than 100 were in-
jured in the worst hit-mountainous Himachal Pradesh state where cars, buses, bridges
and houses were swept away by swirling flood waters, a state government statement
said. The region is nearly 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of New Delhi.
Twelve people have died of rain-related incidents since Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh
state, said Shishir Singh, a state government spokesman.
Nine of them drowned, two died after being struck by lightning and one was killed by a
snake bite, Singh said.
One person died in New Delhi and four were killed in the Indian-controlled section of

People living along the banks of the river Yamuna sit at a Kashmir, officials said.
flooded underpass in New Delhi, India, Thursday, July 13, 2023. Authorities used helicopters to rescue nearly 300 people, mostly tourists, who were
Associated Press stranded in the Chandertal area in Himachal Pradesh state since Saturday. q