Chinese vice premier in Guizhou to guide rescue, relief work after boat accident

Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing arrived in Qianxi City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, late on Sunday to guide the rescue and relief work after a tourist boat accident.

Four boats capsized in sudden strong winds in a river of Qianxi on Sunday afternoon, plunging 84 people into the water. All those involved in the accident have been found as of 12:45 on Monday, with 10 people dead, 70 injured, and 4 uninjured.

Upon his arrival in Qianxi, Zhang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, went directly to the site of the accident to learn about the emergency response and rescue efforts.

Afterwards, he went to Qianxi People's Hospital to check on the injured and urged all-out efforts to treat the patients.

On early Monday morning, Zhang chaired a meeting to convey the important instructions from President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on the accident, and to arrange the following work.

Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has made an important instruction, demanding utmost search and rescue efforts as well as efforts to treat the injured and properly handle affairs related to the victims and console their families, Zhang said during the meeting.

The president has underscored the importance of strengthening safety measures to curb the trend of frequent occurrence of severe safety incidents, he said.

Premier Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, has urged to put people's lives first and all-out efforts to do a good job in the follow-up work, and demanded that a thorough investigation into the accident should be conducted and those responsible held in accordance with the law, Zhang said, adding that the premier has also called on local authorities to eliminate potential risks and hazards.

Chinese vice premier in Guizhou to guide rescue, relief work after boat accident

Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday that the country is at a critical stage and must achieve national unity, emphasizing that maintaining internal cohesion is of utmost importance.

In a televised address, Rodriguez called on the public to continue trusting the government under the current highly complex political circumstances.

Her statement comes in the wake of a January 3 military operation conducted by the United States, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were taken into custody and flown out of the country.

The operation resulted in at least 100 fatalities.

Rodriguez, who was sworn in as acting president two days later on January 5, framed her appeal for unity against this backdrop of external intervention.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information Freddy Nanez denounced the U.S. actions as a "war crime of the 21st century" when speaking at an international cultural event on Sunday.

Nanez condemned not only the January 3 airstrikes but also the associated cyber and electromagnetic attacks.

He accused the United States of violating international law through the forced removal of President Maduro and his wife, while attacks on civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities, represent a flagrant breach of humanitarian norms.

He reiterated that the stigmatization and military attacks against Venezuela are driven by economic interests, particularly the desire to control its abundant natural resources.

Venezuelan acting president calls for national unity amid complex situation