San Francisco crash survivors return to China
Thirty-one survivors of a fatal plane crash that occurred in San Francisco on July 6 returned to China on Saturday.
The returnees are students and teachers from Jiangshan Middle School in east China's Zhejiang Province who traveled with a 34-member group to the U.S. to attend a summer camp.
Two female students who traveled with the group died in the crash. Another girl who was previously in critical condition died on Saturday local time as a result of severe injuries she received during the accident, according to a statement from the San Francisco General Hospital.
Death toll rises to 43 in SW China landslide
The death toll from a landslide in southwest China's Sichuan Province has risen to 43 after 25 more bodies were retrieved.
Local authorities say rescuers have found 43 bodies from the landslide that happened on Wednesday morning in the village of Sanxi in Dujiangyan City.
The identities of ten bodies have been confirmed.
Some 118 people across the city were missing or can not immediately be reached. Most of them are tourists.
Local authorities are continuing to verify the exact number of those missing. They have been expanding search and rescue range.
Typhoon Soulik lands in Chinese mainland
Typhoon Soulik, the seventh typhoon to hit Chinese mainland this year, made landfall in eastern Fujian Province on Saturday afternoon, bringing heavy rain and wind.
Typhoon Soulik is currently moving northwest at 20 to 25 km per hour.
It is expected to bring downpours to the central and northern parts of Fujian.
A total of 304,000 people in Fujian were evacuated before Typhoon Soulik landed. Some 5,500 soldiers have been dispatched to 18 counties to engage in relief efforts.
Chinese FM pushes cooperation with Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has met separately with senior diplomats from Russia, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan to promote bilateral cooperation.
The meetings took place on the sidelines of a foreign ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Kyrgyztan.
SCO foreign ministers have just concluded a meeting, pledging to expand coordination and cooperation under the regional framework.
In a statement released after the latest session of the SCO Foreign Ministers' Council, the participants noted that SCO members hold the same or similar positions on major global and regional issues, which is conducive to the development of their partnership.
Police confirm final death toll in French train derailment at six: media
French police say the final death toll in Friday's train derailment south of Paris is now definitive at six.
The train was carrying about 385 passengers when six of its carriages went off track on Friday afternoon and crashed into the platform at the Bretigny-sur-Orge station, about 20 km south of Paris.
The country will be in mourning on Sunday's national holiday, Bastille Day. It was the country's worst train accident since 1988.
19 killed, 62 wounded in separate attacks across Iraq
At least 19 people were killed and 62 others wounded in separate violent attacks across Iraq on Saturday, including a bombing attack against a Sunni mosque in the capital city.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the al-Qaida front in Iraq, in most cases, is responsible for such violent acts in the country.
No asylum application from Snowden yet: Russian migration chief
A Russian migration official says fugitive U.S. intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden has not yet filed an official request for political asylum in Russia.
The former U.S. spy agency contractor, who has been stranded in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport after arriving from Hong Kong on June 23, held a closed-door meeting Friday with human rights activists, lawyers and officials.
Meeting participants said Snowden intends to apply for asylum in Russia and has accepted the Kremlin's condition for asylum that he must stop damaging U.S. interests.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Snowden should first address the Federal Migration Service if he wants to be granted asylum.
President Vladimir Putin has held a telephone conversation with U.S. President Barack Obama on a wide range of issues, including Snowden's case.
Death toll of Moscow road crash rises to 18
Eighteen people have been confirmed dead in a truck-bus crash in southern Moscow on Saturday.
The Interior Ministry has opened a criminal case into the crash.
China to upgrade urban drainage systems
A guideline for upgrading drainage systems in cities across China has been developed.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development says frequent floods during periods of heavy rain, as well as public calls for updating poor drainage networks, prompted the creation of the guideline.
According to the guideline, drainage facilities in downtown areas in 36 large cities should be upgraded to handle heavy rain and prevent floods from occurring.
It says schools and hospitals should be prioritized in flood prevention efforts.
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