Heavy snow disrupts traffic, affects farming in China's Xinjiang

Heavy snowstorms and strong winds battered parts of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Sunday and Monday, disrupting road traffic and affecting farming, with local authorities immediately activating swift emergency responses to ensure public safety.

At 03:00 on Monday, a border police station in Altay Prefecture received a distress call from a family stranded in a road by the snowstorm while driving home.

The police rushed to the scene amid strong winds and visibility of less than 20 meters on the highway.

The road was covered with 30 centimeters of snow, leaving the vehicle unable to move due to the poor visibility.

After more than an hour of efforts, the police officers successfully escorted the stranded vehicle and its four occupants to safety.

By 10:00 Monday,  the snowstorms subsided and traffic returned to normal.

Snowstorms also hit the provincial capital Urumqi on Monday.

In response, local traffic police enhanced road patrols and video surveillance, and imposed temporary road restrictions during heavy snow.

They also conducted snow removal operations immediately in a bid to resume normal traffic.

In Manas County of  Changji Prefecture, heavy snow began at 04:00 on Monday, with temperatures plunging to minus three degrees Celsius and snow reaching 10 centimeters, causing significant disruptions to traffic.   As a result, traffic control measures were put in place on the Urumqi-Kuitun Expressway, prompting many drivers to shift to G312 highway, adding to the traffic congestion in the region.

Meanwhile, continued snow and strong winds battered Jimsar County of Changji Prefecture from Sunday night to Monday morning, with snow reaching five centimeters in six hours.

At a local greenhouse farm in Quanzijie Town, staff members worked overnight to keep the temperature inside the greenhouses stable by turning on heating systems and covering the outside with insulation cotton, ensuring a cozy environment for the strawberries amid the freezing temperatures.

Heavy snow disrupts traffic, affects farming in China's Xinjiang

U.S. President Donald Trump said he is strongly considering pulling the United States out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after the alliance failed to join the attacks on Iran, The Telegraph reported on Wednesday.

When asked if he would reconsider America's membership in the alliance after the conflict, he said the question is "beyond reconsideration," adding, "I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger."

Trump also expressed dissatisfaction with NATO for "not being there," saying it was "actually hard to believe."

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Trump would make a decision on the future of NATO given the fact that some U.S. allies refuse to provide support, after the end of U.S. military operations against Iran.

Following Trump's criticism, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he is not changing his position on the war.

Multiple European countries have kept their distance from the conflict with Iran. Starmer on Monday said his country will not get dragged into the conflict "whatever the pressure and whoever it's coming from," while Spain on Monday closed its airspace to all flights related to the U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran.

Trump calls NATO 'paper tiger,' considers withdrawal