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.



Iran: Khamenei to Endorse Pezeshkian’s Decree on Sunday

Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview with the website of the Supreme Leader’s office
Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview with the website of the Supreme Leader’s office
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Iran: Khamenei to Endorse Pezeshkian’s Decree on Sunday

Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview with the website of the Supreme Leader’s office
Masoud Pezeshkian in an interview with the website of the Supreme Leader’s office

The presidential decree of Masoud Pezeshkian will be endorsed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a ceremony on Sunday, while reports said the newly-elected president is close to announcing his new ministers.

“The endorsement ceremony is scheduled to be held at 10:00 am local time at Imam Khomeini Hussainia,” the Mehr news agency reported on Saturday.

It said Iranian high-ranking authorities, military officials, a group of the country's academics, families of martyrs, and the envoys of different states to Tehran would attend the ceremony.

“The presidential decree of the newly-elected president will be endorsed by Khamenei,” the news agency added.

During the event, the Interior Minister will present a report on the process of conducting the first and second rounds of the fourteenth presidential elections.

After reading the mandate to endorse the elected president and a speech by Pezeshkian, Iran’s Supreme Leader will address the audience, according to Mehr.

Iranian websites published a photo of the presidential decree. Once the endorsement ceremony ends, the new President will head to parliament to take the constitutional oath.

According to Iran’s Constitution, the President should recite the following, “As President of the Republic I take an oath, before this glorious Quran and the Iranian nation, on God the exalted and the powerful, that I will guard the official religion of the country, the order of the Islamic Republic, and the constitution. I will employ all of my capabilities and qualifications toward fulfilling the responsibilities that I have undertaken. I will devote myself to the service of the people and the advancement of the country, dissemination of religion and morality, and protection of truth and justice.”

The new president then has two weeks to present his program and his government lineup to the Iranian parliament.

Last Friday, Pezeshkian said he would follow Khamenei’s guidance.

In an interview with the website of the Supreme Leader’s office, he stated that he is working in close coordination and consultation with Khamenei in preparing his cabinet nominations.

National Unity

Pezeshkian then claimed he is seeking to form a government of national unity.

Iranian media said the newly-elected President told a group of his campaign officials that political figures are all trying to hold meetings with him while he is working on choosing his cabinet.