Canadian PM to visit China: spokeswoman

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will pay an official visit to China from January 14 to 17, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman announced at a press briefing in Beijing on Monday.

Carney's visit is at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, said Mao Ning, the spokeswoman.

"Since last year, with the joint effort of both sides, China-Canada relations have gradually improved and developed. Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Carney in Gyeongju, the Republic of Korea, marked a turnaround in bilateral relations and the restoration, leading to the restoration and resumption of exchanges and cooperation across various fields. Prime Minister Carney's visit marks the first visit by a Canadian prime minister to China in eight years, and China attaches great importance to it. President Xi will meet with Carney to provide new strategic guidance for the further improvement and development of China-Canada relations. Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhao Leji will also hold talks and meetings with him separately for comprehensive and in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern," Mao said.

"The healthy and stable development of China-Canada relations is in the common interest of both countries and their people, and is also conducive to world peace, stability, development, and prosperity. China hopes that Carney's visit will serve as an opportunity to strengthen dialogue and communication, enhance political mutual trust, expand pragmatic cooperation, properly handle differences, address each other's concerns, consolidate the positive momentum in China-Canada relations, and better benefit the people of both countries," she said.

Canadian PM to visit China: spokeswoman

Canadian PM to visit China: spokeswoman

Canadian PM to visit China: spokeswoman

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