BEIJING — Central and southern China were on high alert for more flash floods on Friday (June 20) as the annual East Asia monsoon gathered pace and extreme rainfall threatened disruption in the world's second-largest economy.Red alerts, the first for this year, were issued late on Thursday covering the provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi region, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the water resources ministry and national weather forecaster.Extreme rainfall and severe flooding, which meteorologists link to climate change, increasingly pose major challenges for policymakers as they threaten to overwhelm ageing flood defences, displace millions, and wreak havoc on China's US$2.8 trillion (S$3.59 trillion) agricultural sector.China's rainy season, which arrived earlier than usual this year in early June, is usually followed by intense heat that scorches any crops that survive waterlogged soil, depletes reservoirs, and warps roads and other infrastructure.Economic losses from natural disasters exceeded US$10 billion last July, when the rainfall typically peaks. […]

BEIJING — Some Chinese civil servants have been ordered not to dine out in groups of more than three after deaths linked to excessive alcohol consumption at banquets, according to interviews and social media posts, as Beijing's austerity push ramps up.Revised austerity regulations released in May targeting Communist Party members and public sector workers now bans lavish banquets, "white elephant" infrastructure projects, luxurious car fittings and ornamental plants in work meetings.Analysts say the renewed push is a sign of President Xi Jinping's longstanding preoccupation with anti-corruption and Party discipline, suggesting previous controls were not effective."The drinking culture among civil servants is indeed quite serious but they haven't found a good solution yet so can only implement a 'one size fits all' policy," said Alfred Wu, associate professor at the National University of Singapore."While Beijing wants to boost consumption, clean government — which is Xi's fundamental priority — has a price." […]

BEIJING — The Chinese embassy in Israel has urged Chinese citizens to return home or leave the country via land border crossings as soon as possible, on grounds that the security situation has deteriorated and Israeli airspace remained closed."At present, the Israeli-Iranian conflict continues to escalate, with civilian facilities damaged and civilian casualties increasing, making the security situation even more severe," the embassy warned in a Tuesday (June 17) notice on WeChat.The notice recommended Chinese citizens to leave via the land crossing towards Jordan.[[nid:719178 […]

SINGAPORE — Chinese medical office worker Qin Meng has found a lucrative side-hustle: she wakes up before midnight, fills in her clients' divorce certificate applications on a government website, then hits the confirm button exactly at the top of the hour.Miss it by seconds and the daily slots are "gone in the blink of an eye," says the 30-year-old, who charges 400 yuan (S$71.32) for her service, bringing relief to couples who have sometimes spent six months trying for a slot.Demographers say the emergence of impromptu agents like Qin, who advertise on Chinese social media, is another sign of how the slowing economy is piling financial stress on married couples and contributing to the breakdown of relationships.The 2024 divorce rate has yet to be announced by the National Bureau of Statistics, but Yi Fuxian, a Chinese demographer and senior scientist at University of Wisconsin-Madison, expects it to hit 2.6 per 1,000 people, against a low of 2.0 during the Covid-19 pandemic. This compares with the most recent rates of 1.5 in Japan and 1.8 in South Korea. […]

HONG KONG — Hong Kong will toughen screening of catering premises for potential violations of national security, which civil servants should accord top priority in deciding on licence approvals, the city's leader said on Tuesday (June 10).Critics see the move as targeting the territory's many businesses, including cafes and restaurants, that have displayed posters, symbols or images expressing solidarity with its embattled pro-democracy movement.Such businesses, widely called the "yellow economic circle", have faced growing pressure from authorities, such as tax inspectors, at a time when they are reeling from a broader economic and retail downturn."Food and environmental hygiene officers... should place national security as the most important consideration and make appropriate assessments," John Lee told reporters.He called the move "appropriate and necessary", saying all civil servants were expected to rate security as the highest priority under the national security law.The city's food and hygiene department would follow the law in considering new licences and renewing existing ones, he added. […]

HONG KONG (Reuters) — China said that by the end of this year all tertiary level hospitals must offer epidural anaesthesia during childbirth, a move it said would help promote a "friendly childbearing environment" for women.Tertiary hospitals — those with more than 500 beds, must provide epidural anaesthesia services by 2025 while secondary hospitals — those containing more than 100 beds — must provide the services by 2027, China's National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement last week.Authorities are struggling to boost birth rates in the world's second largest economy after China's population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024 with experts warning the downturn will worsen in the coming years.Around 30 per cent of pregnant women in China receive anaesthesia to relieve pain during childbirth, compared with more than 70 per cent in some developed countries, the official China Daily said. […]

A video of a woman in Henan, China, causing a rampage by smashing several cars with a weapon and climbing onto a Tesla on Monday (June 2) is the doing the rounds online.Footage widely circulated on China's media platform, Weibo, shows the woman climbing onto a purple Tesla and aggressively hitting the windshield.The footage has since garnered over 5,000 views.To deter her from further damaging the windshield, the driver drives the car forward, causing the woman to drop her weapon and lose her balance, ultimately falling flat on her back against the windshield.In the later part of the video, the women can be seen walking down the road and smashing other cars with the weapon.Several members of the public can be seen crowding around the damaged cars, with some even recording the scene.Later, a man can be seen holding her hand while she is seated on the ground, before authorities arrived and took her away to a mental care facility for treatment.According to Must Share News, the woman's family has agreed to foot the bill for the damage caused to the cars.[[nid:713196 […]

HONG KONG — Health authorities in China's southwestern Sichuan province are proposing to extend marriage leave up to 25 days and maternity leave up to 150 days, to help create a "fertility-friendly society" which boosts the country's population. The move comes as China's government struggles to boost birth rates in the world's second-largest economy. China's population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024 and experts have cautioned the downturn will continue to worsen. Sichuan's Health Commission, which published the draft on its website, is seeking public opinion and comments from May 30 to June 30. Sichuan province has a population of 84 million, more than most countries including Germany and the United Kingdom. The proposal would extend marriage leave by 400 per cent from the five days currently given and more than double the existing 60-day maternity leave period. Sichuan also plans to extend paternity leave to 30 days from 20 days to "facilitate the care of men for their wives after childbirth and help advocate that couples share the responsibility of raising children," authorities said. […]

BEIJING — Mongolia's Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene has stepped down after losing parliamentary support following corruption claims that erupted into street protests last month, the country's parliament said on Tuesday (June 3). The parliament of the world's largest landlocked country did not pass a draft resolution on a confidence ballot, meaning Oyun-Erdene was deemed to have resigned, a parliament statement said. "It was an honour to serve my country and people in difficult times, including pandemics, wars, and tariffs," Oyun-Erdene said after the result of the vote was known. Oyun-Erdene, who has been prime minister since January 2021 and was re-elected in July 2024, will remain caretaker prime minister until a successor is named within 30 days. The political upheaval comes after Mongolians last month protested for weeks in the capital Ulaanbaatar alleging corruption involving Oyun-Erdene and his family. Oyun-Erdene did not immediate respond to Reuters' emailed request for comment on his resignation and the corruption allegations. […]

BEIJING — Top Chinese general Xu Qiliang, a close ally of President Xi Jinping who was the former vice chair of the powerful Central Military Commission, died of illness at age 75 on Monday (June 2) in Beijing, state media reported. Xu served two consecutive terms on the Communist Party's highest military command body between 2012 and 2022, as Xi came to power. Before that, he spent decades in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force, rising to Air Force Commander in 2007 after a stint in the PLA General Staff Department. Xu was described as an "outstanding member of the Communist Party" and an "outstanding leader of the People's Liberation Army" in a short obituary published on Monday by state news agency Xinhua. […]

STREETS across China were alive with energy yesterday, as thousands of runners jogged, smiled and celebrated in what’s been dubbed a “super marathon weekend.” Data show that about 30 marathons took plac […]

IN a country with a rich tea-drinking tradition spanning thousands of years, China saw its first cohort of university students majoring in coffee science and engineering start the new semester this month. This […]

DESPITE the sweltering summer heat, tourists visiting Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, now has a new attraction to explore — the world’s largest indoor ice and snow theme park. T […]

CHINA’S first commercial spacecraft launch site is ready for operations in south China’s Hainan Province, having completed a rocket launch simulation rehearsal using its two launch pads. According to […]

THE International Horticultural Exhibition 2024 — which opened in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, last week — offers a comprehensive and on-site “101 handbook” for gardening devotees […]

A group of young foreign tourists went on a fantastic journey to Sanya, a popular coastal destination in south China’s Hainan Province. The exhilarated youngsters were fascinated by the picturesque scenery, […]

THAILAND extended a warm welcome to the first batch of visa-exempt flights from China yesterday, marking the launch of the nation’s fresh initiative to reinvigorate its Chinese tourist market. Approximately […]

HOST China snapped up more gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games yesterday. A shooting world record fell to Chinese teenager Sheng Lihao in the men’s 10-meter air rifle with his 253.3 points surpassing […]

CHINA’S top-two ranked male tennis players Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yibing will partner each other for the first time. The duo is paired in the doubles competition at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou. Shangha […]

EXPRESSWAYS in China will likely see a record traffic volume during the upcoming holiday due to travel demand, an official said yesterday. According to Wang Xiuchun, from the Ministry of Transport, t […]