News in Brief(2023-07-11)

FE Team | Published: July 10, 2023 21:52:34

Xi says Russia and China should
'lead global governance reform'
BEIJING, July 10: China and Russia need to "lead the correct direction of global governance reform", according to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who hailed the two countries' partnership at a meeting with a top Russian politician in Beijing on Monday, state media reported. Beijing and Moscow have ramped up economic cooperation and diplomatic contacts in recent years, with exchanges only growing closer since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.
On Monday, Xi met Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of the Federation Council the Russian parliament's upper house-at the Great Hall of the People, state broadcaster CCTV reported. — AFP
Biden pays brief visit to Britain
LONDON, July 10 (AFP): US President Joe Biden was in Britain on Monday for a brief visit to his key ally during which he will meet King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before going on to a NATO summit in Lithuania. Ahead of the visit, the White House said Biden would seek to "further strengthen the close relationship" with Britain. The king will host Biden at Windsor Castle, a royal residence west of London, where they are due to discuss climate issues, long a subject close to Charles' heart. It will be their first meeting since the monarch's coronation in early May. The president did not attend, sending First Lady Jill Biden instead, but the Bidens were at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September. — AFP
Heavy rains leave 2 dead in Japan
TOKYO, July 10: Torrential rain has been pounding southwestern Japan, triggering floods and mudslides and leaving two people dead and at least six others missing Monday. Rains falling on the regions of Kyushu and Chugoku since the weekend caused flooding along a number of rivers as well as mudslides, closing roads, disrupting trains and cutting the water supply in some areas. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters the government has set up a task force and is doing its utmost for the search and rescue operation "as we put the people's lives first." Two people have died and at least six others were missing, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency and prefectural officials. — AP
Car bombs kill eight in north Syria
BEIRUT, July 10: Car bombs killed at least eight people including three children in two separate incidents Sunday in northern Syria, a war monitor said. One blast hit a car repair shop in Shawa, a village near the Turkish border held by pro-Ankara fighters, residents told AFP. Five civilians including three children were killed and 10 others injured, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Areas held by Turkey and its Syrian proxies in northern Syria are the scene of regular targeted killings, bombings and clashes between armed groups. -- AFP
12 homes set to collapse in California
CALIFORNIA, July 10: Twelve homes were evacuated in a Los Angeles-area city after a major ground shift put them at risk of collapse, officials said Sunday. Janice Hahn, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, visited Rolling Hills Estates, a city 19 miles (30 kilometers) south of Los Angeles, Saturday night while the ground was moving. She said she had "never seen anything like" the damage that occurred. "To think that these homes were intact, you know, yesterday afternoon, and today you can hear the creaking, the cracking, the crumbling," Hahn said Sunday. "They're going to fall." Evacuated homes were at risk of falling into a nearby canyon "sooner than later," Hahn said. — AP