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Second Cold Wave Envelops China's Beijing in Snow, Ice

People walk past the Bell Tower amid snowfall in Beijing, China December 13, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
People walk past the Bell Tower amid snowfall in Beijing, China December 13, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
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Second Cold Wave Envelops China's Beijing in Snow, Ice

People walk past the Bell Tower amid snowfall in Beijing, China December 13, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
People walk past the Bell Tower amid snowfall in Beijing, China December 13, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

Snow, blizzards and plunging temperatures swept northern China in what could be one of its most severe cold snaps in December, spurring authorities in the capital to halt train services, shut schools and tell people to stay home.
A mass of cold air drifted into Beijing from the west, the second cold wave this week. City officials have issued the second-highest alert for blizzards through Thursday, the only such warning yet in the country, Reuters reported.
To avert chaos threatened by what was expected to be a "long-lasting" round of snowfall, the city of nearly 22 million shut all schools from Wednesday and moved classes online. Businesses were told to offer employees flexible working conditions and staggered commutes.
Scenic spots in the mountainous north and west have been temporarily shut.
Some railway services with key cities, such as the commercial hub of Shanghai, Hangzhou and Wuhan, were suspended. Trains that still ran went at slower speed, causing delays. But Beijing's Capital Airport continued to operate.
Beijing could face temperatures as low as minus 18 degrees Celsius (minus 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit) this weekend, compared to the mid-December average of about minus 8 C (17.6 F).
Even Shanghai in the south, now experiencing balmy weather of 20 degrees Celsius (68 F), is forecast to be buffeted by weather as frigid as minus 4 C (24.8 F) on Saturday and Sunday.
More than 6,000 rescuers have been put on call for road emergency rescues and more than 5,800 sets of snow-removal equipment and machinery are on standby.
About 32,000 metric tons of snow-thawing agent has been readied for use on icy roads and motorways.
City officials canvassed volunteers to clear snow and shovel ice, in addition to 73,000 people on duty to tackle these tasks, and ordered indoor heating stepped up.
Beijing last experienced such cold weather on Jan. 7, 2021, when the temperature fell to minus 19.6 C (minus 3.28 F). The city's all-time low of minus 27.4 C (minus 17.32 F), was recorded on Feb. 22, 1966.
This week's cold snap, compared with the autumn-like conditions of a week ago, reflects recent sharp temperature swings. October was one of Beijing's warmest in decades, in a year of weather extremes.

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World

Putin Says It’s Too Early to Say if the Drone Which Strayed into Romania Was Russian

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the extended-format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the Palace of Independence in Astana on May 29, 2026. (AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the extended-format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the Palace of Independence in Astana on May 29, 2026. (AFP)
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Putin Says It’s Too Early to Say if the Drone Which Strayed into Romania Was Russian

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the extended-format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the Palace of Independence in Astana on May 29, 2026. (AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the extended-format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the Palace of Independence in Astana on May 29, 2026. (AFP)

Russian ‌President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that it was too early to say if the drone which crashed into an apartment block in Romania was Russian and suggested it could have been a Ukrainian drone.

NATO accused Moscow on Friday of reckless behavior and pledged to "defend every inch of Allied territory" after Romania said a Russian drone had crashed into ‌an apartment ‌block in the alliance member state ‌during ⁠an attack on ⁠neighboring Ukraine.

"Who in Romania says that this is a Russian drone?" Putin asked reporters at a news conference in Astana, Kazakhstan. He said he had only just heard of the incident as he had been in talks ⁠all day.

"No one can say ‌what the origin ‌of this or that drone is until an examination ‌has been carried out," he said.

Putin ‌said that Ukrainian drones had previously been spotted in Finland, Poland and in the Baltic countries.

"The first reaction was exactly the same as it ‌is now in Romania: The Russians are coming," Putin said. "Then, after a short ⁠time, ⁠it turned out that it had nothing to do with Russian drones."

Putin also pushed back against remarks by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who accused Russia of crossing another line with the incident, saying that she had not examined the drone debris herself.

Putin suggested that Romania share information about what happened and potentially drone fragments so that Moscow could conduct its own investigation.

World

Trump to Decide Imminently on Iran Deal, Says Hormuz Strait Must Open

US President Donald Trump looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 27 May 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 27 May 2026. (EPA)
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Trump to Decide Imminently on Iran Deal, Says Hormuz Strait Must Open

US President Donald Trump looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 27 May 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 27 May 2026. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump said he would make a final decision on Friday over a deal with Iran to extend their ceasefire that would need to include opening the Strait of Hormuz and dismantling Tehran's capacity to make a nuclear weapon. 

"I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination," he said, referring to the White House's nerve center for monitoring global crises. 

Sources had said a deal was in the offing to ‌extend a truce in ‌place since early April for another 60 days ‌to ⁠allow oil and gas ⁠shipments to resume through the strategic waterway while negotiators tackle tricky issues such as Iran's nuclear program. 

"Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions," Trump said, adding that nuclear material would be "unearthed" by the US. 

There was no immediate response from Iran, but earlier its top negotiator ⁠Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf had sounded skeptical. 

"We do not trust ‌guarantees and words, only actions are ‌the criterion. No action will be taken before the other side acts," Qalibaf said in a ‌social media post, without elaborating. 

"The winner of any agreement is the ‌one who is better prepared for war the day after." 

THOUSANDS DEAD, GLOBAL ECONOMY SUFFERING 

The war launched by the US and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and caused global economic pain by pushing up ‌energy prices due to Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

Oil prices fell and stocks rose on ⁠Friday over the potential ⁠deal. 

In his post on Truth Social, Trump said mines would be removed from the strait and ships trapped there may start to go home: "Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President!" 

He added that no money would be exchanged "until further notice" - a possible reference to Iran's demands for toll payments in the strait, war damage reparations or a release of Iranian funds frozen abroad. 

Kazakhstan has signaled it is willing to take Tehran's stockpile of uranium enriched close to weapons-grade levels if the US reaches a deal with Iran, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, told the Financial Times. 

Kazakhstan hosts an internationally controlled bank of low-enriched uranium to ensure fuel supplies for power stations in International Atomic Energy Agency member states. 

World

Poland President Says Wants Zelensky Stripped of Award

Polish President Karol Nawrocki (C) attends the ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Wielun, central Poland, 01 September 2025. EPA/Marian Zubrzycki POLAND OUT
Polish President Karol Nawrocki (C) attends the ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Wielun, central Poland, 01 September 2025. EPA/Marian Zubrzycki POLAND OUT
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Poland President Says Wants Zelensky Stripped of Award

Polish President Karol Nawrocki (C) attends the ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Wielun, central Poland, 01 September 2025. EPA/Marian Zubrzycki POLAND OUT
Polish President Karol Nawrocki (C) attends the ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Wielun, central Poland, 01 September 2025. EPA/Marian Zubrzycki POLAND OUT

Poland's president said Friday he wanted Volodymyr Zelensky to be stripped of his country's highest civilian award, after the Ukrainian leader named a military unit after a historical faction accused of killing scores of Poles in World War II.

Karol Nawrocki told the media he was "outraged" and had proposed "the withdrawal of the Order of the White Eagle from President Zelensky".