HOHHOT/SHIJIAZHUANG, July 26 – Heavy rainfall lashed north China’s Hebei Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, causing two deaths and two others missing so far, said local authorities on Saturday.

Widespread torrential rain has persisted across Inner Mongolia since Wednesday, triggering flooding in several areas.

In Xilingol League and cities of Ordos and Ulanqab, more than 22,000 people have been relocated. Over 14,000 pieces or sets of machinery, 737 drainage devices and 8,287 sets of rescue supplies have been deployed across the region, according to the regional emergency management department.

In Fuping County, Baoding City of Hebei, two were killed and two others missing due to the latest round of heavy rainfall starting from Friday.

For the county, the record-breaking downpour has caused direct economic losses of about 203.5 million yuan (about 28.5 million U.S. dollars).

As of 6 p.m. Saturday, more than 46,200 people in the county have been affected by the rainstorms. So far, more than 4,600 local residents have been evacuated, according to the county’s flood control and drought relief headquarters.

From 8:00 a.m. on Friday to 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, precipitation was recorded at 1,854 stations across 12 leagues or prefecture-level areas and 92 banners or counties in Inner Mongolia, with heavy rainfall concentrated in Xilingol League and the cities of Ulanqab, Hohhot and Tongliao, said local meteorological authorities.

In response, the region has activated Level-IV alerts for flooding and geological disasters and a Level-III alert for rainstorms. Currently, it has also allocated 34,000 items or sets of relief supplies to support its affected areas.

XINHUA, 26.7.2025

TEHRAN, July 26 – At least eight people, namely five civilians and three assailants, were killed and 13 others were injured in a “terrorist” attack Saturday morning on the building of the justice department in Iran’s southeastern city of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan province, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by Jaish al-Zulm, designated by Iran as a terrorist group, the report said.

It added that upon entering the justice department’s premises, the “terrorists” opened fire on the people there, stressing that the casualties could further increase.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said in a statement published on its official news outlet Sepah News that its ground forces managed to kill three of the “terrorists.”

The IRGC added that some of those injured in the attack were in critical condition, giving the assurance that security forces had the situation under control.

In remarks to Tasnim, Mohammad-Hassan Mohammadi, head of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, said all the wounded were transferred to nearby hospitals.

Provincial authorities have called on people to stay away from the justice department and the surrounding areas.

Jaish al-Zulm has been involved in many deadly attacks against Iranian security forces and civilians in recent years.

XINHUA

LIMA, July 25 – At least 18 people died and 24 others were injured in a road accident in the central Peruvian region of Junin, according to local media La Republica on Friday.

The accident occurred when a double-decker bus from the Expreso Molina Lider Internacional company fell into an abyss on a central highway near the Talca district in Tarma province.

Members of the Tarma Fire Department, the National Police, and health personnel arrived to rescue the injured, several of whom were trapped between the twisted iron, according to the state-run TV Peru.

Those affected were transferred to the Felix Mayorca Hospital in Tarma. Police officers isolated the accident scene to facilitate rescue efforts.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause, although it is presumed that the vehicle was driven at an excessive speed.

XINHUA

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Two people were shot, one fatally, Friday at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where authorities said the suspect remains at large. They shut down the campus and told students to shelter in place.

Gunshots were fired at the Casas del Rio dormitory complex, the university said in a statement. The wounded person’s injuries were not life-threatening, it said.

“The suspect remains at large and may still be on campus,” said the statement, posted at about 6:30 a.m. An initial alert was posted at about 3 a.m.

“Out of an abundance of caution, UNM has closed its Albuquerque central campus,” the university added.

“Multiple law enforcement agencies are on scene and actively investigating,” it said.

Details on the two victims were not released.

The university in central Albuquerque has about 23,000 students during the school year.

AP

NEW DELHI – The roof of a government middle school building collapsed Friday in India’s western state of Rajasthan, killing seven children and injuring at least 21, a senior police official said.

The collapse occurred soon after the students had reached their classrooms and were about to start the school assembly, said police official Amit Kumar.

It is still unclear what caused the roof to collapse.

Frantic parents, teachers, and locals immediately joined the rescue effort, sifting through mounds of debris to pull out the trapped students, local media reported.

Local official Ajay Singh said the accident will be investigated, according to the Press Trust of India. He added that while the district administration had recently requested a list of dilapidated school buildings from the education department, this school was not on it.

The school, located in Piplod village of Jhalawar district, has students studying up to eighth grade, or what is called a middle school in India.

A total of around 35 students were present when the roof collapsed. All seven fatalities were students from seventh and eighth grade, Kumar said. The injured have been transported to two local hospitals for treatment.

AP

ISKUT, British Columbia – Three workers who were trapped at a gold and copper mine in Western Canada have been rescued after more than 60 hours underground.

Red Chris mine operator Newmont Corp. said the three men were safely brought to the surface late Thursday after being trapped underground by two rockfalls Tuesday morning.

Kevin Coumbs, Darien Maduke and Jesse Chubaty, contractors for Canada based Hy-Tech Drilling, were in good health and spirits, it added.

“This was a carefully planned and meticulously executed rescue plan,” Newmont said in a statement.

The company, based in Denver, said the rescue operation involved drones and a remote-controlled scoop that dug away a massive rockfall, estimated to be 20 to 30 meters (65 to 100 feet) long and seven to eight meters (22 to 26 feet) high.

Once the fallen debris was cleared from the access tunnel, an emergency response team was able to reach the refuge chamber where the men were trapped and bring them to the surface.

It said the workers were being supported by medical and wellness teams and their families had been notified.

Newmont said that the men had consistent access to food, water and air while in the refuge chamber of the mine. The mine is in remote northern British Columbia, about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) north of Vancouver.

British Columbia’s Mining and Critical Minerals Minister Jagrup Brar said in a social media post that he “can’t describe the relief we all feel knowing that these three workers are going to be able to go home to their families.”

The rescue came hours after Newmont’s global safety chief, Bernard Wessels, expressed confidence in the rescue.

He said that drones had flown over the debris blockage at the mine and found a stable route to the steel safety refuge where the men were sheltering.

AP

JERUSALEM/ANKARA – Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Friday claimed there is “no real hunger in Gaza,” contradicting the warnings of dozens of countries and international humanitarian organizations about the deepening famine in the besieged enclave.

In a post on X, Ben Gvir said: “There is no real hunger in Gaza. If they were hungry, they would have returned the hostages home,” adding: “I support starving Hamas in Gaza.”

Ben Gvir, leader of the ultranationalist Jewish Power party, has long advocated for cutting off all humanitarian aid to Gaza, calling for a complete reoccupation of the territory, the expulsion of its Palestinian residents, and the establishment of Israeli settlements.

His latest remarks come in defense of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy of preventing the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, a policy widely condemned as collective punishment.

Ben Gvir’s comments sharply diverge from the positions of numerous governments and humanitarian agencies, including the UN, which have warned of mass starvation in Gaza and accused Israel of weaponizing food as part of its genocidal war.

The Gaza Strip is currently experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in its history. Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has waged a devastating war on the enclave, and since March 2, has completely sealed off all crossings, blocking the entry of food, medical supplies, and humanitarian aid.

The closure has caused acute malnutrition, especially among children and the sick. Famine conditions have been reported in multiple areas, with aid organizations warning that time is running out to prevent mass deaths from starvation.

ANADOLU

BANGKOK, July 25 – Thailand has rejected mediation efforts from third countries to end the ongoing conflict with Cambodia, insisting that Phnom Penh cease attacks and resolve the situation only through bilateral talks, its foreign ministry said on Friday.

Simmering border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have flared into open hostilities at multiple locations along the frontline, with exchanges of artillery for a second straight day.

At least 16 people, most of them Thai civilians, have died so far in the heaviest fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbours in over a decade.

The United States, China and Malaysia, which is the current chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, have offered to facilitate dialogue but Bangkok is seeking a bilateral solution to the conflict, Thai foreign ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura told Reuters.
“I don’t think we need any mediation from a third country yet,” Nikorndej said in an interview.

Cambodia and Thailand accuse each other of starting the conflict early on Thursday at a disputed site, which quickly escalated from small arms fire to heavy shelling along a border where sovereignty has been disputed for more than a century.

“We stand by our position that bilateral mechanism is the best way out, this is a confrontation between the two countries,” Nikorndej said, adding that the Cambodian side must stop violence along the border first.

“Our doors are still open.”

Cambodia’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Its Prime Minister Hun Manet asked the United Nations Security Council on Thursday to convene a meeting on the issue, condemning what he called “unprovoked and premeditated military aggression” by Thailand.

The body has said it will hold a closed-door meeting to discuss the issue on Friday.

The fighting broke out a day after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Phnom Penh on Wednesday and expelled Cambodia’s envoy, in response to landmine explosions that injured Thai soldiers.

Thai authorities allege the mines had been laid recently by Cambodia, a charge dismissed by Phnom Penh as baseless.

REUTERS