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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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India-Pakistan Gunfire Triggers Terror of Past Conflict

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel stand guard near the India-Pakistan Wagah border post, about 35kms from Amritsar on May 3, 2025. (Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP)
Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel stand guard near the India-Pakistan Wagah border post, about 35kms from Amritsar on May 3, 2025. (Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP)
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India-Pakistan Gunfire Triggers Terror of Past Conflict

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel stand guard near the India-Pakistan Wagah border post, about 35kms from Amritsar on May 3, 2025. (Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP)
Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel stand guard near the India-Pakistan Wagah border post, about 35kms from Amritsar on May 3, 2025. (Photo by Narinder NANU / AFP)

For 10 nights straight, gunfire between Indian and Pakistani soldiers has echoed from the mountains and deep valleys that form the heavily defended de facto border between the nuclear-armed rivals.
And, each night, it brings back afresh the horror for 50-year-old maize farmer Bashir Dar -- the last time the bitter enemies battled across the Line of Control in contested Kashmir, his wife was killed.
"The mortar shell landed right next to my wife -- she died instantly", said Dar, describing fighting in 2020 near his mountain village of Balkote, on the Indian side of the dividing line.
"These days, that moment flashes in my head all the time," the widower said, holding up a picture of his late wife.
"Every night, I sit huddled with my four children in one room -- with an ear to the sounds of gunfire coming from the border."
Relations between the neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing the worst attack on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir in years, in which a gang of gunmen shot dead 26 men, mostly Hindus, said AFP.
Islamabad has rejected the accusations.
Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men -- two Pakistanis and an Indian -- accused of carrying out the April 22 attack at Pahalgam.
They say they are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organization.
- Cleaning bunkers -
India's army said Sunday that its troops had exchanged gunfire with Pakistani soldiers overnight across the Line of Control in multiple sites, which it says has taken place every night since April 24.
The army said "unprovoked small arms fire" from Pakistan, to which Indian soldiers "responded promptly and proportionately".
There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan, but Islamabad -- whose military on Saturday said it carried out a "training launch" of a missile weapons system -- has accused India of a "ceasefire violation".
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, with both governing part of the disputed territory separately and claiming it in its entirety.
Rebel groups opposed to Indian rule have waged an insurgency since 1989. Tens of thousands have been killed.
Government employee Mansoor Ahmed, 38, took two days off to prepare his bunker he had built in the village, at a cost of some 200,000 rupees ($2,300).
"I cleaned up my bunker and stocked it up for the first time since 2021," Ahmed said, referring to the year India and Pakistan agreed to a renewed border ceasefire.
Many of those without bunkers have already left for safer places like Baramulla, further from the dividing line.
"Six families in my neighborhood left their homes for safety during the last few days," said truck driver Mohammad Ibrahim, who has stayed with his wife and children.
"They requested us to look after their homes and cattle."
- 'No protection' -
In the villages of Churunda and Tilawari, fearful residents said officials had visited, telling them to check the condition of a few government-constructed community bunkers.
"There are only six bunkers, and each bunker can accommodate a maximum of 15 people," a young villager told AFP, declining to be named.
In Churunda village, there are some 120 families.
"No proper facilities exist in the bunkers, and when it rains, water enters inside. The bunkers have not been built properly," said the man.
"If war happens, these bunkers will be useless."
AFP reporters saw a community bunker in the village with thick concrete walls and a slab on top.
But the floor was covered in runny mud.
Residents are fearful, and watch news on their mobile phones constantly.
"We live in constant fear of becoming victims of the conflict," said a young woman in Tilawari, who declined to be named.
"We want peace," she said. "We want to send our children to school and live our lives without fear."