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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

China Says Arms Trade With Cambodia, Thailand Unrelated to Border Conflict

Flags flutter at an entrance of Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Zone in Rayong province, east of Bangkok, Thailand, April 7, 2016. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom
Flags flutter at an entrance of Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Zone in Rayong province, east of Bangkok, Thailand, April 7, 2016. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom
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China Says Arms Trade With Cambodia, Thailand Unrelated to Border Conflict

Flags flutter at an entrance of Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Zone in Rayong province, east of Bangkok, Thailand, April 7, 2016. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom
Flags flutter at an entrance of Thai-Chinese Rayong Industrial Zone in Rayong province, east of Bangkok, Thailand, April 7, 2016. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

China said on Thursday its arms trade with Thailand and Cambodia is unrelated to the current conflict between the Southeast Asian neighbours, with which Beijing has close ties.

"We hope relevant parties will refrain from making subjective speculation and malicious hype," the Chinese Defense Ministry said in response to reports that Thai troops seized Chinese-made weapons from Cambodian positions as border clashes between the two nations reignited, Reuters reported.

Beijing hopes the two countries can reach a ceasefire as soon as possible, the ministry said, adding that China will continue to advocate for peace and talks.

Border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia resumed this month and have killed more than 40 people and displaced over half a million in both countries.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in separate calls with his Thai and Cambodian counterparts on Thursday, also called for an immediate ceasefire and criticised "false information" that he said was aimed at smearing China's ties with the two countries.

"As a friend and close neighbour of both Cambodia and Thailand, China least wants to see the two sides engage in armed conflict, and is deeply saddened by civilian casualties caused by the clashes," the Foreign Ministry quoted Wang as saying.

China will continue to play a constructive role in facilitating peace, Wang said, urging both countries to protect the safety of Chinese projects and personnel.

Beijing last week warned Chinese citizens to leave border areas after media reports of injuries.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday a special envoy for Asian affairs would be visiting Cambodia and Thailand on Thursday to conduct mediation.

World

UK Police Arrest Pro-Palestinian Protesters as Authorities Toughen Hate Speech Law Enforcement

Police officers carry a protester during a protest to support Palestine Action in London, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/ Joanna Chan)
Police officers carry a protester during a protest to support Palestine Action in London, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/ Joanna Chan)
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UK Police Arrest Pro-Palestinian Protesters as Authorities Toughen Hate Speech Law Enforcement

Police officers carry a protester during a protest to support Palestine Action in London, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/ Joanna Chan)
Police officers carry a protester during a protest to support Palestine Action in London, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/ Joanna Chan)

Police in London arrested two people who called for “intifada” during a pro-Palestinian protest, which followed a decision by authorities to toughen enforcement of hate speech laws after a deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Australia.

The arrests Wednesday came hours after police in London and Manchester, England, announced a crackdown on protesters using slogans such as “globalize the intifada.” The Arabic word intifada is generally translated as “uprising.”

While pro-Palestinian demonstrators say the slogan describes the worldwide protests against the war in Gaza, Jewish leaders say it inflames tensions and encourages attacks on Jews, including the attack that killed 15 people on Sunday at Bondi Beach in Sydney, The Associated Press said.

London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley and Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson said they decided to take a tougher stance after Bondi Beach and an Oct. 2 attack on a Manchester synagogue that left two people dead.

“We know communities are concerned about placards and chants such as `globalize the intifada,’ and those using it at future protest or in a targeted way should expect the Met and GMP to take action,” they said in a joint statement released Wednesday. “Violent acts have taken place, the context has changed — words have meaning and consequence.”

In the hours before Wednesday night’s demonstration in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group that was banned as a terrorist organization earlier this year, London police warned protesters to be aware of the earlier announcement.

Two protesters were arrested for “racially aggravated public order offenses” after they shouted slogans calling for intifada during the protest outside the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday night, the Metropolitan Police Service said on social media. A third person was arrested for trying to interfere with the initial arrests.

The term “intifada” is used to describe two major Palestinian uprisings against Israeli policy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the first beginning in 1987 and the second beginning in 2000. During the recent conflict in Gaza, the slogan “globalize the intifada” has been widely used by pro-Palestinian protesters around the world.

The debate over such language comes after antisemitic hate crime and online abuse soared in Britain following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the Israeli military campaign in Gaza that followed.

Around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage during the initial attack on Israel. More than 70,660 Palestinians have been killed during the ensuing Israeli campaign in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry.

World

Russia Says It Hopes Trump Does Not Make 'a Fatal Mistake' on Venezuela

Supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro wave a Venezuelan flag during a rally demanding peace in Caracas on December 15, 2025. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)
Supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro wave a Venezuelan flag during a rally demanding peace in Caracas on December 15, 2025. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)
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Russia Says It Hopes Trump Does Not Make 'a Fatal Mistake' on Venezuela

Supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro wave a Venezuelan flag during a rally demanding peace in Caracas on December 15, 2025. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)
Supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro wave a Venezuelan flag during a rally demanding peace in Caracas on December 15, 2025. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)

Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday that it hoped that US President Donald Trump's administration did not make a fatal mistake over Venezuela and said that Moscow was concerned about US decisions that threatened international navigation.

Trump on Tuesday ordered a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela as Washington tried to increase pressure on Nicolas Maduro's government.

There has been an effective embargo in place after the US seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela last week, with loaded vessels carrying millions of barrels of oil staying in Venezuelan waters rather than risk seizure.

"We hope that the D. Trump administration, which is characterized by a rational and pragmatic approach, will not make a fatal mistake," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said that Venezuela was a friendly country to Russia, and that Moscow hoped the US would not wade into a situation that would have "unpredictable consequences for the entire Western Hemisphere".

Russia quoted Simon Bolivar, a brilliant Venezuelan military tactician who liberated much of South America from centuries of Spanish rule, as saying that every nation had the right to choose its own rulers and that other countries should respect this.

Russia, the ministry said, wanted a normalization of dialogue between Washington and Caracas, and reaffirmed Russia's "solidarity with the Venezuelan people in the face of the trials they are going through."

Russia supports "the Maduro government's course aimed at protecting the national interests and sovereignty of the Motherland."