China Flies 103 Military Planes Toward Taiwan 

Soldiers pose for group photos with a Taiwan flag after a preparedness enhancement drill simulating the defense against Beijing's military intrusions, ahead of the Lunar New Year in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan on Jan. 11, 2023. (AP)
Soldiers pose for group photos with a Taiwan flag after a preparedness enhancement drill simulating the defense against Beijing's military intrusions, ahead of the Lunar New Year in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan on Jan. 11, 2023. (AP)
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China Flies 103 Military Planes Toward Taiwan 

Soldiers pose for group photos with a Taiwan flag after a preparedness enhancement drill simulating the defense against Beijing's military intrusions, ahead of the Lunar New Year in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan on Jan. 11, 2023. (AP)
Soldiers pose for group photos with a Taiwan flag after a preparedness enhancement drill simulating the defense against Beijing's military intrusions, ahead of the Lunar New Year in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan on Jan. 11, 2023. (AP)

China’s military sent 103 warplanes toward Taiwan in a 24-hour period in what the island’s defense ministry called a recent new high.

The planes were detected between 6 a.m. on Sunday and 6 a.m. on Monday, the ministry said. As is customary, they turned back before reaching Taiwan. Chinese warplanes fly toward the self-governing island on a near-daily basis but typically in smaller numbers. The Taiwan ministry didn't explain what time period it meant by a “recent” high.

China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, has conducted increasingly large military drills in the air and waters around Taiwan as tensions have grown between the two and with the United States. The US is Taiwan’s main supplier of arms and opposes any attempt to change Taiwan’s status by force.

The Chinese government would prefer that Taiwan come under its control voluntarily and last week unveiled a plan for an integrated development demonstration zone in Fujian province, trying to entice Taiwanese even as it threatens the island militarily in what experts say is China’s long-running carrot and stick approach.

The recent actions may be an attempt to sway Taiwan’s presidential election in January. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which leans toward formal independence for the island, is anathema to the Chinese leadership. China favors opposition candidates who advocate working with the mainland.

The presidential candidates had no comment Monday on the latest Chinese military activity.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said that 40 of the planes crossed the symbolic halfway point between mainland China and the island. They included more than 30 fighter jets as well as midair refueling tanker planes. Taiwan also reported nine Chinese naval vessels in area waters in the previous 24 hours.

The ministry called the Chinese military action “harassment” that it warned could escalate in the current tense atmosphere. “We urge the Beijing authorities to bear responsibility and immediately stop such kind of destructive military activities,” it said in a statement.

China last week sent a flotilla of ships including the aircraft carrier Shandong into waters near Taiwan. The drills came shortly after the US and Canada sailed warships through the Taiwan Strait, the waters that separate the island from the mainland.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 when the communists took control of China during a civil war. The losing Nationalists fled to Taiwan and set up their own government on the island.

Only a few foreign nations give the self-governing island official diplomatic recognition. The US among others has formal ties with China while maintaining a representative office in Taiwan.



Flood Victims Stranded on Roofs as Downpours Lash Eastern Australia

This handout photo taken and released on May 21, 2025 by the New South Wales State Emergency Service (NSWSES) shows a general view of the flooded streets in Wingham town, after heavy overnight rainfall across the NSW mid-north coast. (Photo by Handout / NEW SOUTH WALES STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP)
This handout photo taken and released on May 21, 2025 by the New South Wales State Emergency Service (NSWSES) shows a general view of the flooded streets in Wingham town, after heavy overnight rainfall across the NSW mid-north coast. (Photo by Handout / NEW SOUTH WALES STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP)
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Flood Victims Stranded on Roofs as Downpours Lash Eastern Australia

This handout photo taken and released on May 21, 2025 by the New South Wales State Emergency Service (NSWSES) shows a general view of the flooded streets in Wingham town, after heavy overnight rainfall across the NSW mid-north coast. (Photo by Handout / NEW SOUTH WALES STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP)
This handout photo taken and released on May 21, 2025 by the New South Wales State Emergency Service (NSWSES) shows a general view of the flooded streets in Wingham town, after heavy overnight rainfall across the NSW mid-north coast. (Photo by Handout / NEW SOUTH WALES STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP)

Fast-moving floodwaters rose Wednesday in eastern Australia, inundating homes and leaving residents stranded on their roofs overnight, as authorities warned more rain was expected in coming days.

Storms have already dumped more than four months' of rain in just two days in parts of New South Wales, engulfing homes, businesses and roads in muddy waters, AFP quoted authorities as saying.

"We have a situation where the rain has been falling quite heavily and hard and it has not been moving away. Part of that is because the ground is saturated and the rivers are swollen," the state's emergency minister Jihad Dib told reporters.

Taree, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of Sydney, is a key area of concern for emergency services after 415 millimeters (16.34 inches) of rain lashed the town since Monday -- more than four times the mean monthly rainfall for May.

Authorities said that water levels of a river in Taree surged past a previous record in 1929, reaching 6.3 meters (20.6 feet) on Wednesday.

The rising floodwaters left locals stuck on roofs overnight, with rescuers unable to reach them due to the bad weather.

Taree resident Holly Pillotto, who was among those stranded on an upper level of her home, said she was desperate for assistance as floodwaters continued to rise.

"Our neighbors on the back verandah here are also stranded," she told Australia's Channel Nine. "It's a really dangerous spot to be."

Dib said that emergency services were "throwing everything we have into" reaching those affected.

State Emergency Service Chief Superintendent Dallas Byrnes said the situation was "incredibly dynamic and escalating", with more than 150 flood rescues conducted overnight.

"We've got a lot of people getting rescued from rooftops and from upper levels of houses," Byrnes told the national broadcaster ABC.

However, he warned that "conditions are quite treacherous and it may be that those aviation assets are unable to fly throughout the day".

The agency said that about 16,000 people, or 7,400 dwellings, would remain isolated until at least Thursday.

More heavy rain is expected in the coming 48 hours -- with some locations to receive 200 millimeters (7.87 inches) -- before conditions begin to ease, authorities said Wednesday.

Scientists have warned that heatwaves and other extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more intense as global temperatures rise because of climate change.