Foreign / News / Weather

Hundreds of thousands evacuated in China after heaviest rains in decades

The heaviest rainfall in decades has triggered floods and landslides in southern China, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people, state media reported.

The downpours have dangerously swelled waterways in the low-lying Pearl River basin in recent days, threatening manufacturing, shipping and logistics operations at a time when supply chains are already stressed because of China’s strict Covid-19 controls.

The average rainfall in Guangdong, Fujian and Guangxi provinces between early May and the middle of June reached 621 millimeters (24 inches), the highest since 1961, according to China’s National Meteorological Center.

State media photos showed people huddled on camp beds in schools converted into temporary shelters in Guangdong’s Shaoguan city, and hundreds of tents erected on a sports ground.

In the neighboring Guangxi region, muddy water was seen flooding urban areas and emergency rescuers were seen evacuating villagers on rubber dinghies, according to state media images.

Guangdong authorities said Monday that more than 200,000 people have been evacuated over the course of the disaster, and that the damage so far is estimated at 1.7 billion yuan ($254 million).

The evacuees were among almost 480,000 people impacted by the rains and floods, according to the officials.

Shaoguan issued a red flood alert — the most serious — Tuesday morning, after multiple rural counties and the major city of Foshan upgraded their flood warnings in recent days.

Guangxi was hit by the heaviest floods since 2005, local media reported.

Meteorological authorities said Monday that 28 of Guangxi’s rivers had exceeded warning levels, with rains continuing on Tuesday.

Jiangxi province issued a red alert for flooding on Monday.

And in Fujian, more than 220,000 people have been evacuated since the beginning of this month because of floods, China’s official Xinhua news agency said Monday.

Earlier this month, at least 21 people died after flooding induced by torrential rain in the central Chinese province of Hubei.

Catastrophic flooding in central China’s Henan province last summer killed 398 people and caused economic losses of more than $10 billion.…

Business / News / politics

Nigeria owes China $3b, says World Bank

The total amount of money owed to the Chinese government by the Federal Government as at March last year rose to $3.121 billion (N1,126.68 trillion at USD/N361).

The amount represents only 3.94 per cent of Nigeria’s total public debt of $79.21 billion as at September 2021.

Similarly, in terms of external sources of funds, loans from China accounted for 11.28 per cent  of the External Debt Stock of USD27.67 billion as at the same date.

According to document from World Bank, the  total borrowing from China of USD3.121 billion as at March 31, 2020, are concessional loans with interest rates of 2.50 per cent per annum with a  tenor of 20 years and grace period (moratorium) of seven years.

“These terms are compliant with the provisions of Section 41 (1a) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007. In addition, the low interest rate reduces the interest cost to government while the long tenor enables the repayment of the principal sum of the loans over many years. These two benefits, make the provisions for debt service in the annual budget lower than they would otherwise have been if the loans were on commercial terms,” the document said.

The $3.121 billion loans, the document explained, are project-tied loans.

The projects, (11 in number as at March 31, 2020), include: Nigerian Railway Modernisation Project (Idu-Kaduna section), Abuja Light Rail Project, Nigerian Four Airport Terminals Expansion Project (Abuja, Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt), Nigerian Railway Modernisation Project (Lagos-Ibadan section) and Rehabilitation and Upgrading of Abuja-Keffi-Makurdi Road Project.

The document added: “The impact of these loans is not only evident but visible. For instance, the Idu-Kaduna Rail Line has become a major source of transportation between Abuja and Kaduna. Also, the new International Airport in Abuja, has improved air transportation for the populace, while the Lagos-Ibadan Rail line when completed, will ease traffic on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

“The projects also have the added benefits of job creation, not only by themselves but through direct and indirect service providers, a number of which are Small and …

Athletics / Basket Ball / Boxing / Football / Olympics / Sports / Tennis

The Olympic Games’ medal table after day four

  1. Japan: 13 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze, 22 total
  2. China: 12 gold, 6 silver, 9 bronze, 27 total
  3. USA: 11 gold, 11 silver, 9 bronze, 31 total
  4. Russian Olympic Committee: 7 gold, 10 silver, 6 bronze, 23 total
  5. Australia: 6 gold, 1 silver, 9 bronze, 16 total
  6. Great Britain: 5 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze, 16 total
  7. South Korea: 4 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze, 11 total
  8. Germany: 3 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze, 10 total
  9. France: 3 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze, 8 total
  10. Netherlands: 2 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze, 11 total
  11. Canada: 2 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze, 9 total
  12. Hungary: 2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze, 5 total
  13. Slovenia: 2 gold 1 silver, 1 bronze, 4 total
  14. Kosovo: 2 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 2 total
  15. Italy: 1 gold, 6 silver, 8 bronze, 15 total
  16. Switzerland: 1 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze, 6 total
  17. Chinese Taipei: 1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze, 6 total
  18. Brazil: 1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze, 5 total
  19. Georgia: 1 gold, 2 silver, 0 bronze, 3 total
  20. Romania: 1 gold, 2 silver, 0 bronze, 3 total
  21. Serbia: 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze, 4 total
  22. Austria: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze, 3 total
  23. Hong Kong: 1 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze, 2 total
  24. Tunisia: 1 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze, 2 total
  25. Croatia: 1 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze, 2 total
  26. Estonia: 1 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze, 2 total
  27. Uzbekistan: 1 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze, 2 total
  28. Bermuda: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
  29. Ecuador: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
  30. Fiji: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
  31. Iran: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
  32. Latvia: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
  33. Norway: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
  34. Philippines: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
  35. Thailand: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
  36. Spain: 0 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze, 3 total
  37. New Zealand: 0 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze, 3 total
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Foreign / News / Stories

China allows couples to have three children: State Media

China will allow couples to have three children after a census showed its population is rapidly ageing, state media said Monday, further unwinding four decades of strict family planning controls in the world’s most populous nation which have strangled the birthrate.

In 2016 China relaxed its controversial “one-child policy” — one of the world’s strictest family planning regulations — to a “two-child policy” due to widespread concerns over an ageing workforce and economic stagnation.

Despite government efforts to encourage couples to have children, China’s annual births have continued to plummet to a record low of 12 million in 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics said last month, as the cost of living rises and women increasingly make their own family planning choices.

The slump threatens a demographic crisis which has alarmed the ruling Communist Party headed by President Xi Jinping, booking in a shortage of young workers to drive an economy experts say will by 2050 will have to support hundreds of millions of elderly.

A Monday meeting of the elite Politburo leadership committee hosted by Xi announced a further loosening of the state’s control over the size of families.

“To actively respond to the ageing population … a couple can have three children,” state media Xinhua reported.

The Politburo meeting also promised “accompanying support measures” that are also “conducive to the country’s population structure”, though these were left unspecified.

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