China Extends Power Rationing for Factories in Drought

A tree trunk lies on the dried-up riverbed of the Jialing river, a tributary of the Yangtze, that is approaching record-low water levels in Chongqing, China, August 18, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
A tree trunk lies on the dried-up riverbed of the Jialing river, a tributary of the Yangtze, that is approaching record-low water levels in Chongqing, China, August 18, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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China Extends Power Rationing for Factories in Drought

A tree trunk lies on the dried-up riverbed of the Jialing river, a tributary of the Yangtze, that is approaching record-low water levels in Chongqing, China, August 18, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
A tree trunk lies on the dried-up riverbed of the Jialing river, a tributary of the Yangtze, that is approaching record-low water levels in Chongqing, China, August 18, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Power rationing that forced factories in China’s southwest to shut down has been extended through at least Thursday due to low water at hydroelectric dams, according to a notice reported by news outlets and a company announcement, adding to losses from the hottest, driest summer in decades.

The “tense situation” of power supplies in Sichuan province “has further intensified,” Tencent News reported Monday. There was no public announcement, but the report included a photo of the government notice to companies, The Associated Press reported.

The drought and heat have wilted crops and caused rivers including the giant Yangtze to shrink, disrupting cargo traffic. State media say the government will try to protect the autumn grain harvest, which is 75% of China’s annual total, by using chemicals to generate rain.

The disruption adds to challenges for the ruling Communist Party, which is trying to shore up sagging economic growth before a meeting in October or November when President Xi Jinping is expected to try to award himself a third five-year term as leader.

Factories in Sichuan that make processor chips, solar panels, auto components and other industrial goods were required to shut down or reduce activity last week to conserve power for homes as air-conditioning demand surged in temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). Air-conditioning, elevators and lights were shut off in offices and shopping malls.

On Monday, LIER Chemical Co. said in an announcement through the stock exchange in the southern city of Shenzhen that its facilities in the cities of Jinyang and Guang'an in Sichuan received an order extending power rationing through Thursday.

Some companies said earlier that supplies to customers weren’t affected, while others said production would be depressed.

The city government of Shanghai said Tesla Ltd. and a major state-owned automaker suspended production due to disruption in supplies of components from Sichuan.

The government says this summer is China’s hottest and driest since it began keeping temperature and rainfall records in 1961.

Sichuan, with 94 million people, is especially hard-hit because it gets 80% of its power from hydroelectric dams. Other provinces rely more on coal-fired power, which isn’t affected.

Economists say if Sichuan reopens relatively soon, the national impact should be limited because the province accounts for only 4% of China’s industrial output.

In the neighboring megacity of Chongqing, bushfires were breaking out and stores shifted to nighttime hours to avoid the high temperatures.

The fire conditions are being fueled by a weekslong drought in the west of the country that is usually hot, humid and rainy in the summer.

Shopping centers would operate from 4 to 9 p.m. to relieve pressure on the electricity grid.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Monday more than 1,500 residents had been moved to shelters, while around 5,000 civilian and military personnel had been mobilized to put out the blazes.

Helicopters have been sent to drop water on the fires, supporting crews on the ground who have in the past been left to their own resources.

In 2019, a wildfire in the mountains of Sichuan province adjacent to Chongqing killed 30 firefighters and volunteers.

No deaths have yet been reported as a result of the heatwave, Xinhua said, although that could not be independently verified. Dehydration, stroke and other health issues can be triggered or exacerbated by temperatures that have exceeded 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for the past week and longer.

Experts say China's record-high monthly temperatures and droughts are part of a trend linked to global warming.



Senior Israeli Army Officer among Suspects in ‘Leaks Scandal’

 A photo published by Israeli Channel 12 of the central suspect in the leaks case.
 A photo published by Israeli Channel 12 of the central suspect in the leaks case.
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Senior Israeli Army Officer among Suspects in ‘Leaks Scandal’

 A photo published by Israeli Channel 12 of the central suspect in the leaks case.
 A photo published by Israeli Channel 12 of the central suspect in the leaks case.

The arrest of a new senior army officer involved in a suspected leak of classified Gaza documents has sparked a wave of political controversy and public outcry in Israeli politics.
In the past few days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some individuals close to him tried to downplay the so-called “leaks scandal” and portrayed it as “just an ordinary incitement against the PM.”
But on Monday, an Israeli army officer was arrested by police investigators as part of the probe into leaked classified documents from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Hebrew media reports said the officer was relaxing with his wife and children in a hotel in the southern city of Eilat, when a force of masked policemen raided the place, arrested him, and took him to an investigation room in the Tel Aviv area without providing further information.
Observers suggest this officer is one of the security personnel who leaked and falsified documents from the military to compromise efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
The arrest is the fifth so far in the high-profile investigation. The five suspects include a civilian spokesman from Netanyahu's circle and four members of the security establishment.
Hebrew media outlets on Monday uncovered new information about the central suspect in the case, Eli Feldstein, the only person whose name was allowed to be published. Feldstein has previously worked for National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. He then worked as a spokesman for Netanyahu from soon after the Hamas attack in southern Israel in October 2023.
According to people close to the investigation, one of the tasks assigned to Feldstein in the PM’s office was to “share with various media outlets security information that serves Netanyahu.”
Feldstein is suspected of receiving secret documents from army officers and then sharing them with a false interpretation to both the German Bild newspaper and the UK’s Jewish Chronicle, which are both close to Netanyahu and his wife.
The scandal started when details from a secret document were published by the German Bild newspaper on Sept. 6.
The report cited a document captured in Gaza indicating that Hamas’s main concern in ceasefire negotiations with Israel was to rehabilitate its military capabilities, and not to alleviate the suffering of Gaza’s civilian population. Bild said it had obtained the spring 2024 document exclusively, without offering further details. It said the document was found on a computer in Gaza that belonged to now-slain Hamas leader Sinwar.
Around the same time, Jewish Chronicle published a report saying that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar planned to smuggle hostages through the Philadelphi Corridor to Egypt.
Netanyahu has used those reports to justify his control over the Philadelphi Corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt and to thwart the hostages deal.
In the past days, the scandal has provoked sharp criticism from opposition leaders and the families of hostages.
The independent media said it highlighted “the corruption that knows no bounds” in the Netanyahu government.
Yossi Verter wrote in the Haaretz newspaper that, “Recent scandals among those in Netanyahu's inner circle reveal the nature of his entourage – a crime organization that places him above the country and national security concerns.”
Speaking about the main suspect in the case, Feldstein, Verter wrote, “The new star, burning with motivation to prove himself, quickly adapted to the office's corrupt semi-criminal atmosphere, its moral and ethical decay and its culture of lies, manipulation, and disinformation.”
At the Maariv newspaper, Shimon Hefetz, a colonel in the army reserve and military secretary to three Israeli presidents, spoke on Monday at the 29th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, saying: “(The assassination) will forever be a shocking day for Israeli democracy, as it is happening in the Prime Minister's office today.”