Recovery Efforts in Progress Despite Adverse Weather Conditions
The tragic highway collapse in southern China has claimed the lives of 36 individuals, with 30 others sustaining injuries as emergency teams work tirelessly to retrieve vehicles from the site.
Details of the Incident
The catastrophic event occurred during the early hours of Wednesday morning, coinciding with China’s peak holiday season, a period known for increased traffic on the roads. Aerial images captured the dramatic scene of a section of the S12 highway between Meizhou city and Dabu county crumbling away, engulfed by mud sliding down the forested hillside.
Causes and Response
State media reported that the collapse was a result of a natural geological disaster exacerbated by heavy rainfall. A significant portion of the road, measuring 17.9 meters (58.7 feet), gave way, trapping 23 vehicles in the muddy debris. Eyewitnesses described hearing the distressing sounds of cars plummeting followed by a deafening explosion.
Rescue Operations
Authorities swiftly closed the highway in both directions and mobilized approximately 500 emergency personnel, including firefighters and mine rescue experts, to assist in the rescue mission. Images from the scene depicted damaged vehicles being lifted out of the mire by cranes, with excavators on standby. Rescue teams, aided by search dogs and life-detection equipment, braved the challenging conditions to locate survivors.
Challenges Faced
The relentless rain and shifting gravel and soil at the site posed significant challenges to the search and rescue efforts, increasing the risks for the workers involved. The incident adds to a string of calamities in Guangdong province, including recent floods and a fatal tornado, all attributed to extreme weather patterns linked to climate change.
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Tragedy Strikes: Death Toll Climbs in Southern China Highway Collapse to 36
Hamas Demands Revision of Gaza Truce Talks – Negotiations in Trouble Again
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Sorry, please use a different browser. Close Let’s go, truce talks are in trouble again… Hamas: The negotiation plan needs to be revised
[앵커]
Negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of hostages that will decide the fate of millions of Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip are ongoing.
Hamas, which has been reviewing this negotiation plan mediated by the international community, reacted almost negatively, demanding to ‘review the content’.
This is reporter Lee Jun-sam.
[기자]
The Gaza ceasefire plan prepared by the international community is largely divided into two phases.
The plan is to expand the scale of hostage and prisoner release and the ceasefire period (6 weeks → up to 1 year) in the second phase by partially releasing hostages and prisoners and temporarily ceasing fighting.
Hamas, which initially responded positively to the proposal, has recently turned negative.
Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan said, “Our position on the current negotiation document is negative,” and warned, “Negotiations will be suspended if the Rafah operation takes place,” especially since Israel is not surrendered his will to attack Rafah.
The New York Times, citing Egyptian officials, said that Hamas also complained that there was no specific mention of ‘ending the war’ in the talks.
However, Hamas made it clear that its negative stance does not mean an end to negotiations and that it is ready to continue negotiations.
As foreign media reports that the Israeli authorities are expected to send a negotiating delegation to Egypt within the next few days, it is expected that a decision will be made soon whether these stalled negotiations will be resolved.
Meanwhile, the United States again brought up the card of normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which had been buried for a while, and put pressure on the end of the ceasefire talks.
The US Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, announced that the joint defense agreement with the US, which Saudi Arabia had requested as a key condition for the normalization of relations with Israel, was almost complete, and spoke of peace in the Gaza Strip and the establishment of a Palestinian state. as preconditions.
This is Lee Jun-sam from Yonhap News. ( [email protected] )
#GazaWar #peasefirenegotiation #Hamas #Israel
Yonhap News TV article inquiries and reports: KakaoTalk/Line jebo23
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Hamas Demands Revision of Gaza Truce Talks – Negotiations in Trouble Again
Demonstrators-police clashes in Istanbul for May Day, Taksim square banned: 160 arrested
Over 160 people were taken into police custody after attempting to reach Istanbul’s central Taksim Square to celebrate May Day, despite the area being banned from demonstrations. The center of the city, and also other neighborhoods, are today completely cordoned off by the police, who allow passers-by to walk, while most of the shops are closed, cars do not pass, public transport does not stop in the areas central Istanbul and there are many armored police vehicles on the streets. According to reports from Turkish media and trade unions, around 80 activists who attempted to reach the areas of the city prohibited for demonstrations were stopped and taken to the barracks for checks while around 42 thousand officers were deployed in the streets.
See also: May Day in Istanbul: armored city and clashes with the police over the ban on demonstrations
The general secretary of the main opposition party CHP, Ozgur Ozel, and Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul recently re-elected with the same party, contested the decision to close Taksim Square to the celebrations and gathered together with the demonstrators at the municipality headquarters , in the Sarachane neighborhood, but the police did not allow them to march towards the areas prohibited for demonstrations.
Yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had contested the opposition parties for having asked to be able to celebrate Labor Day in Taksim Square, stating that “terrorist organizations want to transform May Day into a propaganda tool with their appeals” and that “It is clear that insisting on holding a rally in an area other than those permitted does not show good intentions.”
The police intervened with tear gas against some demonstrators who attempted to force a barrier formed by officers to prevent demonstrators from marching towards the central Taksim Square. Various Turkish media reported this, publishing videos where activists can be seen clashing with the agents. After the tensions, the main trade union groups decided not to march towards the square. Over 160 activists who attempted to reach the areas prohibited for demonstrations were stopped and taken to the barracks for checks.
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Demonstrators-police clashes in Istanbul for May Day, Taksim square banned: 160 arrested