China urges diplomacy, opposes pressure on Iran nuclear issue

A Chinese envoy on Thursday stressed that pressure and coercion are not the tools of diplomacy, and confrontation cannot resolve the Iranian nuclear issue.

Li Song, China's permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the remarks at an IAEA Board of Governors meeting where Iran's nuclear program was the focus of discussion.

The United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany pushed for a resolution aimed at pressuring Iran.

However, China, Russia, and Burkina Faso, out of the 35 board members, vetoed the resolution. Additionally, 12 developing countries, including South Africa, India, and Egypt, chose to abstain from voting.

The Board of Governors is one of the two policy-making bodies of the IAEA, along with the annual General Conference of IAEA Member States.

China welcomes Iran's cooperation with the IAEA on unresolved safeguards issues and commended the positive outcomes of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi's recent visit to Iran, according to Li.

He warned that creating confrontation and escalating tensions would only serve to complicate the cooperation between the IAEA and Iran.

Emphasizing that exerting pressure and coercion are not the means to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue, Li called for renewed political and diplomatic endeavors. He stressed the importance of constructive multilateral cooperation in addressing non-proliferation challenges.

In light of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) being severely undermined in recent years, Li urged all parties to adopt a measured and responsible approach.

He called for practical steps to support genuine diplomacy and to move towards a political resolution on the issue.

China urges diplomacy, opposes pressure on Iran nuclear issue

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight