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Authorities have evacuated more than 340,000 people and suspended work and rail services as Typhoon Noul approaches southern China, with flight cancellations announced in the financial hub of Hong Kong.The typhoon is forecast to make landfall along the coast between Shenzhen and Haifeng in Guangdong province early today, China’s National Meteorological Center said.The Chinese weather forecaster issued a red typhoon alert on Saturday night, the highest level in its four-tier system. Parts of Guangdong and neighbouring Hunan, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces are set to receive heavy rainfall from Saturday night to Sunday night, it said.When the typhoon makes landfall, it is forecast to have maximum sustained winds of 151-173kph (94-107mph).More than 340,000 people have been evacuated in Guangdong, Xinhua news agency said.Twelve cities across the province including Guangzhou, Dongguan and Shantou have suspended “classes, work, production, business operations, and transportation” either fully or partially, it added.All train services in the province will be halted on Sunday, state broadcaster CCTV said.Financial hub Hong Kong issued on Saturday night its third-highest typhoon warning, with local authorities saying it had opened 28 temporary shelters across the city.The Hong Kong Observatory said it would consider raising the warning to the second-highest early Sunday.“Local winds will strengthen significantly overnight,” it added.The city’s airport authority said yesterday that at least 49 flights were cancelled and 238 delayed, adding that “a large number of flights are expected to be affected tomorrow”.Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific said it had cancelled all flights scheduled to arrive and depart from Hong Kong International Airport between 1:15am and 6:00pm local time Sunday (1715 GMT Saturday and 1000 GMT Sunday).“A small number of other flights will be delayed as we set up our flying plan to resume once the typhoon passes,” it said in a statement yesterday.Guangdong’s Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport said airlines would adjust flight schedules from Sunday morning to around midday “depending on weather conditions”.Typhoon Noul is “characterised by deep inland penetration, a prolonged duration, heavy cumulative rainfall, a path traversing complex terrain, and a high risk of causing disasters”, CCTV said, citing meteorologists.Authorities upgraded Guangdong’s emergency response for “flood and typhoon control” to the third level in its four-tier system on Saturday afternoon, Xinhua reported.A level-four flood emergency response for Jiangxi and Hunan was also activated, Xinhua added.Extreme weather has already wreaked havoc on southern and central China this month, with 39 people killed when Typhoon Maysak triggered devastating floods in Guangxi.Maysak also caused thunderstorms and gale-force winds that killed 11 people and injured 331 in the central province of Hubei.Scientists warn the intensity and frequency of global extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions.China is the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, but it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon neutral by 2060. Source link
Huang Zhen, 34, shut his cafe for a day last week to be buffeted by surging waters and powerful winds that knocked him off his feet — training for extreme weather events that are increasingly afflicting China.Huang was one of a dozen people attending a session at the Lvxing Disaster Simulation Training Center in Hangzhou, eastern China. For 1,599 yuan ($235) per day, it offers a realistic experience of what it is like to be caught up in a typhoon or a flash flood, albeit with the advantage of wearing a wetsuit, a helmet and having a safety instructor to guide you.The centre says it the first of its kind in the world to provide typhoon training, with its simulated experience generating wind speeds of up to 165kph (103mph) alongside torrential rain.In a separate section, 900 metric tonnes of surging water are unleashed to mimic mountain flooding, while in another, participants must wade — sometimes thigh-deep, sometimes shoulder-deep — through 400 tonnes of water in a mock urban environment.”Over the last two years, the weather has become increasingly unpredictable,” Huang said. “An opportunity like this … gives us a better idea of what different levels of disasters might actually be like, and helps raise our awareness of disaster preparedness.”Climate change is increasingly exposing the world’s second-largest economy to destructive weather events, scientists say. This year is of particular concern due to the emergence of the El Nino weather pattern, which can drive up temperatures and fuel more intense typhoons. China’s National Climate Center has said it expects up to six typhoons to form in the Northwest Pacific and South China Sea in July, more than the average of 3.8.One of those was Typhoon Bavi, which brought severe floods and forced millions of Chinese to evacuate.”Typhoon Bavi hit just a couple of days ago, making people realise that typhoon hazards are far more of a threat than we thought,” said Wu Zijian, a 44-year-old freelance worker who travelled from nearby Shanghai to attend.More than 160,000 people have attended sessions at the centre since it opened in May 2025. Wang Kuanghan, the centre’s chief instructor, said there are plans to open five more centres in China within the next three years. These will include simulations of other natural disasters such as fires and earthquakes.For those who can’t make it there yet, Wang has a tip.”If you ask me, the most important survival skill during a typhoon is simply not to go outside,” he said. “Stay indoors and keep yourself safe at home.” Related Story Source link
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar arrive for a group photo…
People gather near the CITIC Tower in Beijing on Friday, after an eyewitness reported plane debris at the base of Beijing’s tallest building. (AFP) Pilot killed in crash with Beijing’s tallest building, local government says13 others, who were not on board, being treated for injuriesA light aircraft crash into Beijing’s tallest building on Friday killed the pilot and injured 13 people who were not on board, the local government said following the unusual accident for the Chinese capital, where airspace is heavily restricted.Those injured are receiving medical treatment and authorities are investigating the incident, Chaoyang district government said in a statement Saturday.”A single-engine, two-seat light sport aircraft collided with a high-rise building while flying near the East third ring road in Chaoyang, at 5:55pm on June 26,” said the statement, which was posted on social media.”There was only one person on board, the pilot, who died,” the statement added, without giving any further details of the possible cause of the crash.Damage to the exterior of the skyscraper appeared to be limited to a hole caused by the loss of two large glass panels. The gap had been temporarily boarded up as of Saturday.The 528m-high building, known as CITIC Tower or China Zun, is in Beijing’s Central Business District, about 6 km (3.7 miles) from the Forbidden City, which is visited by thousands of tourists each day.It is also near Zhongnanhai, a compound that houses the offices of China’s top political leadership. The last aircraft crash in Beijing was in 2022, when a tourist helicopter crashed during a flight between the Changping and Fangshan districts, killing the two pilots on board.Pictures posted on social media in China in the aftermath of Friday’s crash showed debris from the plane and the identifier B-12PP. Reuters could not immediately verify the images.Data from global flight tracking service provider Flightradar24 reviewed by Reuters showed an aircraft with registration number B-12PP was in the air at around 5:30pm on Friday in Beijing’s northeastern suburbs.It flew in a wide circle before heading in the direction of downtown Beijing, about 50km away, the Flightradar24 data showed. Tracking then stopped at 0955 GMT, with coordinates showing it already in the downtown Chaoyang district.The aircraft was a small two-seat, single-engine light-sport Aurora SA60L made by China’s Sunward, Flightradar24 data shows.An aircraft matching the registration number was shown as being owned and operated by Beijing-based Dongshi Shuangyue General Aviation, a promotional video published by the company in 2024 on Chinese social media showed.The Financial Times, citing a person with knowledge of the incident, reported that the aircraft belonged to the company.Reuters could not immediately ascertain if the company owned and operated the aircraft when the crash occurred or if the pilot involved was affiliated with the company.A Dongshi Shuangyue General Aviation employee contacted by Reuters Saturday said she was not sure whether B-12PP belonged to the company, without providing further information.The company video, which was removed from the social media account on Friday evening, said a 30-minute sightseeing tour out of the small Shifuosi airport would cost 880 yuan ($129).The company offers low-altitude sightseeing flights, hands-on flight experience programs and aviation training in the suburban Pinggu district, about 50km from downtown Beijing. Related…
Chinese Politburo Standing Committee member Cai Qi attends a meeting with global business leaders at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. (Reuters/File Picture) China officially appointed its fifth-ranked leader Cai Qi as head of the Communist Party’s central ideology school, cementing his position as one of President Xi Jinping’s closest and most trusted confidants.Cai became part of the party’s seven-man Politburo Standing Committee, China’s pinnacle of political power overseen by Xi, in 2022. Cai is also director of the party’s General Office, making him Xi’s de facto chief of staff.China’s two most recent leaders, Xi and Hu Jintao, had both served as head of the elite Central Party School before ascending to the top leadership position.By taking the helm of the top party school, Cai, 70, unites the party’s organisational, doctrinal and administrative apparatus under a single Standing Committee member — a rare concentration of power.Cai replaced Chen Xi, 72, as the new president of the National Academy of Governance, the human resources ministry announced Thursday.Established in 1994, the academy has operated jointly with the Central Party School since 2018 as one institution under party leadership and is responsible for training senior Chinese officials and shaping party ideology.Thursday’s official statement follows a state media report earlier this month noting that Cai attended a spring semester graduation ceremony of the school and academy as president.Cai has longstanding ties with Xi through overlapping careers in the provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang.In 2017, Cai became part of the then 25-member Politburo, the party’s second-highest decision-making body, as Xi started his second term as leader of the Communist Party. …
Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watch a march-past as Kim holds a welcome ceremony for Xi at Kim Il Sung Square…
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shaking hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. (AFP/File Photo) China said yesterday President Xi Jinping would visit North Korea on a two-day trip from June 8, his first in nearly seven years as Beijing looks to reassert ties with Pyongyang, its only formal treaty ally. Xi will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern, China’s foreign ministry said. “Both sides will use the visit as an opportunity to promote greater development of China-North Korea relations in keeping with the times,” spokesperson Mao Ning told a press briefing. Beijing has worked to draw Pyongyang back into its fold after the Covid-19 pandemic froze exchanges and Kim deepened ties with Moscow by sending troops and weapons to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two countries signed a co-operation and mutual assistance treaty 65 years ago, legally binding each to provide the other with military support if they came under attack. “The message implicit from the Chinese side is… we are still the principal actor when it comes to North Korea,” said John Delury, a senior fellow of the Asia Society. “One of the audiences is Russia.”Yesterday’s announcement by the international department of the ruling Chinese Communist Party follows Xi’s summits in Beijing last month with US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim was a guest at a massive military parade in Beijing last September, travelling to the Chinese capital on his signature green armoured train. Passenger train services between the capitals resumed in March, after a six-year suspension ushered in by the pandemic, while Air China later restarted flights between them.Bookings, however, have been limited to some business travellers and exchange students, with Chinese tourists still excluded.Xi’s visit to Pyongyang will be his first overseas this year. The 72-year-old, who makes fewer trips abroad, last travelled internationally in late October to Republic of Korea, where he also met Trump. Trump met Kim three times in his first term and has previously said he would be open to meeting the North Korean leader again.“At the symbolic level it is important for Xi to keep tabs on what’s going on in Pyongyang,” said Delury, who said Xi visiting both Koreas within a year would be a “big win” for the peninsula. “There’s a kind of symmetry that the Chinese like to keep up” regarding the two Koreas, he added. Republic of Korea views the trip solely as high-level bilateral exchanges unaligned to Moscow, an official from the presidential Blue House said. “We do not interpret this as a co-ordinated move by the three countries, nor are we sure how it would be linked to the US-China summit,” the official said.Seoul expects Beijing to continue its constructive role on peninsula issues, the Blue House said. Since Xi became China’s top leader in 2012, he has visited North Korea once, and its southern neighbour twice. He also visited Pyongyang in 2008 as vice-president, meeting its then leader Kim Jong-il, the father of the current leader. Kim called for an “exponential” expansion of Pyongyang’s atomic arsenal this week when he visited a new factory to make nuclear material, KCNA said.Experts have linked Kim’s site visit to the impending meeting with Xi. Before his September visit to Beijing, Kim inspected plans for a new intercontinental ballistic missile, the “Hwasong-20”. Source link
China and the US held “candid and constructive” exchanges at a meeting in Hawaii on air and maritime safety last week, agreeing that improved communication could reduce miscalculations and enhance professionalism, the Chinese Navy said.The May 28-29 meeting was attended by representatives from both sides’ militaries, it said in a statement late on Monday.A separate statement from the US Indo-Pacific Command said that it hosted representatives from the People’s Liberation Army in Honolulu for discussions focused on reducing the risk of unsafe and unprofessional encounters.The meeting follows a high-profile summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump last month and could ease concerns about a lack of communication after the absence of top Chinese military officials at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a regional defence forum, in Singapore over the weekend.At last month’s summit, Xi and Trump agreed to pursue a “constructive relationship of strategic stability”, which analysts say could set practical boundaries for how the two powers interact.”This shared strategic framing shifts the bilateral dynamic beyond reactive crisis management toward more deliberate, forward-looking stability-building,” said Wang Dong, an international studies professor at Peking University.At the Shangri-La Dialogue, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned of China’s historic military build-up and urged Asian countries to boost their defence spending and capabilities.But he also said relations between the US and China are better than they’ve been in many years and unlike in his address at the forum last year, did not mention Taiwan, suggesting Washington was adopting a measured tone on the contentious issue.China views democratically run Taiwan as its own territory, and has never renounced the use of force against the island. The US is bound by law to arm Taipei, which Beijing has long been opposed to.In addition to stressing the importance of communication, the statement by the Chinese Navy also said that China “firmly opposes any action that undermines China’s sovereignty and security.” Related Story Source link
China expressed strong opposition yesterday to a decision by Japan and the Philippines to start maritime border negotiations, calling the talks ‘illegal’ and claiming exclusive control over the waters concerned.The two island nations announced on Thursday they would start formal talks ‘to delimit the maritime boundary’ of an economic zone and continental shelf between them, as Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos met Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on a visit to Tokyo.But Beijing again asserted yesterday that it has an ‘exclusive economic zone and continental shelf’ in the waters to the east of Taiwan.’China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to this,’ foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news conference when asked about the delimitation talks between Tokyo and Manila.’China solemnly declares that the so-called delimitation negotiations between Japan and the Philippines are entirely illegal and invalid,’ Mao said.Beijing has ‘lodged solemn representations’ with both countries, she added.Manila and Tokyo's shared grievances over Chinese maritime territorial claims have seen them draw increasingly close in recent years.Japan and China are in territorial and economic disputes in the East China Sea, where coastguard ships from both sides routinely stage dangerous standoffs.Beijing has meanwhile deployed navy and coast guard vessels in the South China Sea, in a bid to bar the Philippines from strategically important reefs and islands, leading to a string of confrontations. Source link
Rescuers work at the site following a gas explosion at Liushenyu coal mine in Qinyuan county, Shanxi province. (Reuters/File Photo) Unmarked tunnels, missing trackers and fake doors have been uncovered during an initial probe into the deadliest mining tragedy in China in over 15 years, with the government vowing to leave no stone unturned, state media reported yesterday.At least 82 people were killed by a gas explosion late on Friday at the Liushenyu mine in the coal-rich province of Shanxi in northern China. Two remained unaccounted for with a further 128 hospitalised, state media said.The blast is the deadliest mining accident in China since 2009, when a gas explosion at the Xinxing Mine in Heilongjiang province killed 108 people.While the cause of Friday’s incident remains under investigation, the official Xinhua news agency yesterday said concealed mining tunnels, falsified drawings and outsourced and unregistered miners, who had not been provided with required life-saving location trackers, were contributing factors to the deadly incident.’YIN-YANG DRAWINGS’The mine, controlled by Shanxi Tongzhou Coal Coking Group, maintained two separate sets of plans and surveillance systems, Xinhua said. One set matched the actual operations while the other was used to deal with official inspections, with some mining areas hidden from regulatory oversight.Reuters was not able to contact officials from the company, as according to state media they have been detained.Coal mined from the concealed and unregulated tunnels is not included in the official production figures and went untaxed.The two sets of plans are known colloquially as “yin-yang drawings”: one kept in the open for inspectors to scrutinise and the other kept in the dark.Similar profit-driven practices are not uncommon in coal mines across China despite crackdowns, the national mine safety administration has said.The Liushenyu mine “used wire mesh and woven plastic sacks sprayed with mortar, to make fake doors that looked very much like the rock wall of the mine tunnel,” Xinhua said.Workers would be tipped off by someone outside whenever inspectors came, and they would shut the fake doors, smear coal ash to blend them in with the rest of the underground passage.MISSING TRACKERS, ALARMSIn order to evade detection, the mine operator hired subcontracted labour to work in the concealed tunnels without providing them with required identification-location trackers or logging them in the official entry record.Authorities would have been able to monitor where the miners were underground had they been equipped with trackers, including in emergency situations.When the blast occurred on Friday, the official log showed only 124 workers had gone underground, according to footage shown on state broadcaster CCTV on Monday. In fact a total of 247 workers were working in the mine, suggesting that 123 had been untracked in tunnels outside official purview.The lack of accurate maps and miners’ location information has severely hampered rescue operations, state media said.The Liushenyu mine — classified as a “high-gas mine” with elevated blast risk — also deliberately avoided installing gas-monitoring equipment to further evade authorities’ supervision, the state radio broadcaster said in a separate report yesterday.The issues were not unknown to authorities before Friday’s tragedy. In 2025, the mine operator was “fined after regulators discovered concealed working faces, but the penalty failed to serve as an effective deterrent, and the company continued illegal production,” Xinhua said.Some mines across China have halted or reduced production following the incident for safety inspections. Related Story Source link