Rainstorm warnings, flood responses activated in rainstorm-hit Sichuan

Southwest China's Sichuan Province has activated rainstorm warnings and emergency flood responses, as local weather department forecast heavy rainfall across multiple regions from Sunday to Monday.

All cities in the Sichuan Basin will experience rain showers or thunderstorms from 08:00 Sunday to 08:00 Monday, with some areas to be hit by torrential rain, according to weather forecast.

Sichuan Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters initiated a level-IV emergency response for flood control -- the lowest in China's four-tier emergency response system -- at 11:00 on Sunday.

Later on the same day, Sichuan's Meteorological Observatory issued a yellow alert, the third level in China's four-tier weather warning system, forecasting heavy to torrential rain in 16 cities from 20:00 Sunday to 20:00 Monday.

Some areas are expected to experience extremely intense rainfall, with maximum hourly precipitation of 70 to 90 millimeters, accompanied by thunder and lightning and gusts of strong winds, according to the provincial meteorological observatory.

As of Sunday night, a total of 29,142 residents in 57 county-level regions across Sichuan were transferred to safe locations in advance. There have been no reports of casualties so far.

The large-scale heavy rainfall has also triggered warnings for mountain torrents in Sichuan and neighboring Chongqing Municipality and Yunnan Province.

The Ministry of Water Resources and the National Meteorological Center jointly issued a red warning for mountain flood disasters, saying that from 20:00 Sunday to 20:00 Monday, there is a high possibility of mountain flood disasters in some areas of eastern Sichuan, western Chongqing and northeastern Yunnan.

The authorities warned that other mountainous regions may also experience flash flooding due to short-duration heavy precipitation, suggesting that local departments should take precautions, including real-time monitoring, issuing early warnings and relocating people.

Rainstorm warnings, flood responses activated in rainstorm-hit Sichuan

The United States cannot legitimize an operation that attacked Venezuela and captured its president, a Chinese scholar said Sunday.

On Saturday, the United States launched a large-scale strike on Venezuela, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were 'captured and flown out of Venezuela' according to a post by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account.

Teng Jianqun, director of the Center for Diplomatic Studies at Hunan Normal University, said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) that the aim of this operation is to take full control of Venezuela’s natural resources.

"I don't think the United States can legitimize this operation to take custody of the president of Venezuela. And also I don't think the United States can legitimize its any action in taking the oil reserves of that country. This is actually a very dangerous game played by the Trump administration. And of course, the United States would like to take full control of that country and to take full control of the natural resources, especially the large reserve of oil in Venezuela," said Teng.

Teng said Venezuela is not an isolated case but a common practice by the United States. The United States launched an invasion of Panama on Dec. 20, 1989, which continued until January 1990, with the stated objective of capturing Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega on charges of drug trafficking and organized crime.

"We still remember the so-called sentence of the former president of Panama in the late 1980s. And this time, the president of Venezuela will be under some judicial condition (judicial proceedings) for the so-called drug trafficking and some other crimes. So I think this is not a single case for the Venezuela country, but also this is actually a practice by the United States -- to use force, to use so-called justice under law against any leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean waters," he said.

US cannot legitimize operation against Venezuela: Chinese scholar