Asia

Beijing: Beijing activated a Level II flood-control emergency response, the second-highest level, on Tuesday as authorities warned of heavy rain and heightened risks of urban waterlogging and landslides. Most parts of the city are expected to receive more than 100 millimeters of rain within six hours and over 150 millimeters within 24 hours from Tuesday evening through Thursday, according to the Beijing meteorological service.A rescue worker works on a waterlogged road in Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Aug. 10, 2026. (Photo by Chen Wei/Xinhua) Beijing issued an orange alert for rainstorms at 10 a.m. Monday, while several districts, including Fangshan, Daxing and Tongzhou, issued the highest-level red alerts. Authorities said residents in high-risk areas would be evacuated by Tuesday evening. Construction work will be suspended, and mountain campsites and scenic areas will be closed. Starting Wednesday, employers are encouraged to adopt flexible working hours or staggered schedules. Schools may suspend classes and in-person training depending on conditions, while organized outdoor sports activities will be halted.An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 7, 2026 shows a scene at the dock of a port company in Tongjiang City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao) Beijing's drainage authorities have put 252 flood-control teams on standby. Preparations, including the installation of flood barriers, have also been stepped up at 368 subway stations, 33 hospital campuses and 17 elderly care facilities. In Fangshan, where exceptionally heavy rain is forecast, authorities have begun evacuating residents from high-risk areas ahead of the downpours and deployed emergency rescue teams and supplies, with more than 150,000 items of emergency equipment and materials on standby. Dolphin, the 13th typhoon of the year, made two landfalls in Zhejiang Province on Sunday. The National Meteorological Center on Tuesday maintained an orange alert for rainstorms, forecasting heavy rain across a broad swath of the country through Wednesday afternoon, including Zhejiang, Shanghai, Shandong, Beijing and Tianjin.A drone photo taken on Aug. 10, 2026 shows high-power pumps draining floodwaters from a street in Shangtang Town in Wenzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo by Su Qiaojiang/Xinhua) As of 7 am Monday, about 167,900 people had been moved from vulnerable areas on land and at sea in Fujian Province. By late Sunday, Shanghai had evacuated around 215,600 people from areas considered at risk.

Americas

Washington, United States: US President Donald Trump on Monday backed FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who is being criticised of a failed private investment scheme. "FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino," Trump said in a Truth Social post, calling the Italian-Swiss lawyer "fantastic" and saying he "presided over the most successful World Cup, by four times, ever presented." "If he is gone, it will never be as successful or profitable again!"

Americas

Pereira: Colombiaon Monday declared a state of emergency following a powerful earthquake that caused at least 111 deaths and flattened dozens of buildings, trapping more victims underneath. The 7.4-magnitude quake struck westernColombiaat 7:34 am (1234 GMT) and triggered a frantic search for survivors in several cities. "The national government is maintaining all its capacities deployed to protect lives, assist affected communities and deliver aid to every area that needs it," President Abelardo de la Espriella stated from Bogota. The leader appointed just three days ago reported 111 deaths, 87 people injured and over 1,000 buildings were damaged. The quake's epicenter was inColombia's coastal Choco region at a depth of 100 kilometers (60 miles). Authorities in the impoverished area reported 12 deaths. The nearby city of Pereira was one of the worst-hit areas, with local authorities earlier announcing that at least 40 people had died in the Risaralda region of which it is the provincial capital. The quake crumpled a tower of a beloved cathedral in the city of Manizales, an AFP journalist observed. "A great many buildings" in the city sustained damage, said administrative worker Jaime Zuluaga, 50. "Traffic is paralyzed and people don't want to go back to their homes for fear of an aftershock." At least 20 buildings crumbled inColombia's third-largest city, Cali, trapping people beneath the debris, Mayor Alejandro Eder said. Choco's governor warned of serious damage in the provincial capital Quibdo, where videos showed more buildings reduced to rubble. "We are all devastated," Quibdo community leader Luis Gregorio Moreno told AFP. "At this moment there are reported deaths, dozens of wounded, but what there are most of are missing people," he said. Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela also felt the early-morning quake, which prompted building evacuations in theColombian capital, Bogota. Still wearing their pajamas, crowds of people rushed out into the street upon feeling the tremor, AFP reporters saw. "The quake was very, very strong," said content creator Valeria Polo, 29, in the capital, where only minimal damage was recorded. Six small airports in westernColombiasuspended operations, the civil aeronautics agency said, and the soccer governing body postponed upcoming football matches. Washington is "closely monitoring the large earthquake that struckColombiaand stands ready to support the people ofColombia," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X. European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was "ready to provide more support" to the South American country. "We have already mobilised Copernicus, our satellite service, to help with rescue operations," she wrote on social media. Israel, Mexico, Ecuador and France also offered assistance. Latin America is already reeling from two disastrous quakes that struck Venezuela in June, killing more than 6,000 people and causing widespread destruction.