Landslide from Typhoon Gaemi Remnants Kills 12 in China

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a landslide blocks a road in Shouyue Town of Nanyue District, Hengyang City, central China's Hunan Province on Sunday, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a landslide blocks a road in Shouyue Town of Nanyue District, Hengyang City, central China's Hunan Province on Sunday, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)
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Landslide from Typhoon Gaemi Remnants Kills 12 in China

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a landslide blocks a road in Shouyue Town of Nanyue District, Hengyang City, central China's Hunan Province on Sunday, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a landslide blocks a road in Shouyue Town of Nanyue District, Hengyang City, central China's Hunan Province on Sunday, July 28, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)

Continued heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Gaemi triggered a landslide that killed 12 people in southern China, caused flash floods in the northeast and railway disruptions elsewhere, state media reported on Sunday.
Cyclonic winds from Gaemi, downgraded from a typhoon, had mostly dissipated by Sunday, but many parts of China remained under alert for flooding risks caused by earlier rains. Remnants of Gaemi's vast cloud-banks could still dump rain on already waterlogged cities, forecasters warned.
The 12 were killed in the landslide near Hengyang city in Hunan province on Sunday morning that trapped 18, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Six injured survivors were rescued. Hunan provincial authorities issued a flood warning as heavy rains continued through Sunday, Reuters reported.
Two officials, including the deputy mayor of Linjiang city in Jilin province, went missing during flood rescue efforts, CCTV said, citing city authorities. More than 27,000 people in northeast China were evacuated and hundreds of factories suspended operations.
The most powerful storm to hit the country this year lashed towns on coastal Fujian province on Friday with heavy rains and strong winds as it began its trek from the southeastern coast into the populous interior.
Jilin province, bordering North Korea, issued upgraded warnings for heavy rains and flash floods on Sunday morning. Linjiang authorities shut schools, factories and businesses on Sunday, warning that "major flood disasters may occur.”
Rail services were suspended in southern China's Guangdong province and Hainan island, while some passenger rail lines resumed in the southern provinces of Fujian and Jiangxi as the storm moved north.
Gaemi, which killed dozens as it swept through Taiwan and worsened seasonal rains in the Philippines, has affected almost 630,000 people in Fujian, with almost half of them being relocated, state news agency Xinhua reported.



Khamenei Officially Endorses Pezeshkian as Iran's President

A handout picture provided by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei office shows, Khamenei (C), as he delivers the official endorsement letter to president elect Masoud Pezeshikan during the new president endorsement ceremony on July 28, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei office shows, Khamenei (C), as he delivers the official endorsement letter to president elect Masoud Pezeshikan during the new president endorsement ceremony on July 28, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
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Khamenei Officially Endorses Pezeshkian as Iran's President

A handout picture provided by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei office shows, Khamenei (C), as he delivers the official endorsement letter to president elect Masoud Pezeshikan during the new president endorsement ceremony on July 28, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei office shows, Khamenei (C), as he delivers the official endorsement letter to president elect Masoud Pezeshikan during the new president endorsement ceremony on July 28, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei formally endorsed Masoud Pezeshkian as the country's president on Sunday, after he won the elections this month.

Pezeshkian is a relative moderate who will be sworn in on Tuesday.

In a ceremony broadcast live on state television, Khamenei gave his approval for Pezeshkian, and in a speech afterwards, the supreme leader reiterated Iran's longstanding anti-Israel stance.

"The Zionist regime (Israel) is not a state, it is a criminal gang, a bank of killers, and a terrorist band," Khamenei said in his speech, while praising Hamas for its resistance against Israel in Gaza.

Pezeshkian's victory lifted hopes of a thaw in Iran's antagonistic relations with the West that might create openings for defusing its nuclear dispute with world powers.

But as the ultimate authority in Iran, Khamenei has the final say in all state matters like the country's foreign and nuclear policy as well as Pezeshkian's upcoming selections for key cabinet posts, such as the foreign, oil and intelligence ministers.