Xi attends "SCO Plus" meeting

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the "Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Plus" Meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday afternoon.

Earlier on the day, he attended the 26th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO and delivered an important speech. Xi arrived in Bishkek on Sunday for the SCO Summit 2026 and a state visit to Kyrgyzstan at the invitation of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov.

Rescue operations in mudslide‑hit Nepal are being slowed by blocked roads, harsh terrain and severe weather, with Chinese and Indian experts joining in the large-scale search effort to locate thousands of people who remain missing.

Nepalese authorities said Tuesday the death toll had risen to 1,010, with 4,599 people still missing. More than 10,000 people have been rescued so far but operations are far from over.

Teams are racing against time but face extreme challenges, with roads cut off and heavy equipment unable to reach remote areas.

"There is no road. There's no way to go to these places. It's so difficult. You have seen how the army and security people have rescued the people by sliding them and they are crawling under the mud, if they stand they will be completely halfway buried," said Bishal Nath Upreti, a disaster management expert.

To reach hundreds of hydropower workers trapped inside tunnels, Chinese and Indian experts have joined the operation, assessing underground conditions to penetrate blockages without triggering further collapse.

With roads cut off, heavy equipment cannot be moved into the disaster zone, slowing progress. Inside the tunnels, high water levels and thick silt have made movement difficult, forcing rescuers to advance slowly.