China's early rice output exceeds threshold of 28 billion kgs for four consecutive years

China's early-season rice yield stood at around 28.17 billion kilograms this year, exceeding the threshold of 28 billion kilograms for four consecutive years, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Friday.

The output dropped by 0.6 percent year on year, primarily due to heavy rain and flooding in the country's leading grain-producing regions since April, the NBS explained.

The NBS also noted that the sown areas for China's early-season rice remained largely stable. The early-season rice planting area nationwide was 71.322 million mu (around 4.75 million hectares) this year, up 0.5 percent compared to the previous year.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday formally tasked opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming a government, giving the former military chief a chance to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Netanyahu's right-wing coalition lost its parliamentary majority in October's election.

Eisenkot, leader of the centrist Yashar party, received recommendations from 67 lawmakers in the 120-seat parliament, compared with 46 for Netanyahu.

At the ceremony, Herzog called for unity and a "stable government that can last."

Eisenkot warned that Israel was facing a "critical moment," saying the objectives of its multi-front conflicts "remained unfulfilled," its international relations were in a "devastating crisis," and its democracy was facing one of its gravest challenges.

"If we continue on the current path, we risk reaching a point of no return," he said, calling for new leadership "that people can look in the eye and trust."

He said he was convinced it was possible to form a new government with a substantial majority in the Knesset, and that he was open to Netanyahu's Likud party and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionist Party joining a government under his leadership.

He said they were invited to "support the government under my leadership and the principles I've outlined."

"I intend to be the prime minister of all citizens of Israel, those who voted for me and those who haven't," Eisenkot said.

Eisenkot has 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension. Netanyahu will remain caretaker prime minister until a new government is sworn in.

Eisenkot's four-party alliance holds only 48 seats and would need support from Arab lawmakers or other parties to form a government.

Netanyahu on Saturday called for a national unity government, while Eisenkot's party said Likud could join a government led by Eisenkot if it abandoned its far-right allies.

Under Israeli law, if Eisenkot fails to form a government within the allotted time, Herzog may assign the task to another candidate, or at least 61 members of the 120-seat Knesset can ask the president to entrust the mandate to a candidate of their choice. If these efforts also fail, the Knesset will be dissolved and new elections will be held.