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Twenty-one People Missing as Heavy Rains Soak Southern China, Triggering Landslides

People wade past a damaged car along a flooded street, after heavy rains in Mentougou district in Beijing on 31 July 2023. Pedro Pardo, AFP
People wade past a damaged car along a flooded street, after heavy rains in Mentougou district in Beijing on 31 July 2023. Pedro Pardo, AFP
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Twenty-one People Missing as Heavy Rains Soak Southern China, Triggering Landslides

People wade past a damaged car along a flooded street, after heavy rains in Mentougou district in Beijing on 31 July 2023. Pedro Pardo, AFP
People wade past a damaged car along a flooded street, after heavy rains in Mentougou district in Beijing on 31 July 2023. Pedro Pardo, AFP

Twenty-one people have been trapped after torrential rain triggered landslides in China's southwestern Guizhou province on Thursday, with the military deployed to assist in rescue efforts.

One landslide struck Qingyang village trapping 19 people from eight different households, state broadcaster CCTV reported citing preliminary reports.

A further two were trapped in nearby Changshi township, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Authorities also issued risk warnings for geological disasters in nearby areas, said Reuters.

China is facing hotter and longer heatwaves and more frequent and unpredictable heavy rain as a result of climate change. The country is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, authorities have said, because of its huge population.

Authorities initiated its third highest emergency response for heavy rain in mountainous Guizhou as well as the nearby provinces of Hunan and Jiangxi. More than 400 emergency staff including military officers and firefighters were sent to assist in the rescue mission.

Heavy rains over the last week in China's southern Guangdong province and Guangxi region have killed seven people and left several missing with authorities issuing warnings for severe rain, mountain flooding and geological disasters in the south of the country.

Chinese meteorological data shows 2024 was the warmest year for the country since comparable records began more than six decades ago, the second straight year in which milestones were broken.

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EU Sanctions Iranian Individuals Accused of Targeting Dissidents

European Union flags fly outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
European Union flags fly outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
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EU Sanctions Iranian Individuals Accused of Targeting Dissidents

European Union flags fly outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
European Union flags fly outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

The EU has imposed sanctions on eight people and one entity responsible for the targeting of Iranian dissidents for assassination on behalf of Iran's government, the European Council said in a statement on Tuesday.

The sanctions, over what it called "serious human rights violations" and "transnational repression", included asset freezes and travel bans, the council said.

The Council listed the Zindashti Network, which it said was a criminal group uconnected to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security that has carried out numerous acts of transnational repression, including assassinations of Iranian dissidents, Reuters reported.

It also included the Zindashti Network's boss Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti - who it said was an Iranian narcotics trafficker and organised crime boss - and some of his associates. Zindashti and his network have previously been sanctioned by the United States.

The Council, the European Union's governing body, is also targeting Mohammed Ansari, the leader of the Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force Unit 840, who it said ordered the assassination of journalists critical of the Iran.

It said that the listings confirmed the EU’s concerns about transnational repression by Iranian state bodies through the use of proxy agents, in particular involving criminals and organised crime networks targeting dissidents and human rights defenders across the world, including on EU territory.