Heaviest rains in 60 years kill 10 in Beijing

 The heaviest rain storm in six decades to hit the Chinese capital killed at least 10 people and caused widespread chaos, flooding streets and stranding 80,000 people at the city's main airport, state media reported on Sunday.

The storm, which started on Saturday afternoon and continued late into the night, flooded major roads and sent torrents of water tumbling down steps into underpasses.

In the Beijing suburb of Tongzhou, two people died in a roof collapse and another person killed was struck by lightning, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Other deaths were caused by electric shocks from downed power lines and drowning, it added, without giving an exact breakdown.

More than 500 flights were cancelled at Beijing's Capital International Airport, the Beijing News said.

However, the subway system was largely unaffected, aside from being swamped with people desperate to get home and unable to use cars, buses or taxis.

The city received about 170 millimeters (6.7 inches) of rain on average, though a township in Fangshan District to Beijing's west was hit by 460mm (18.1 inches), Xinhua said.

The Beijing city government said on its website (www.beijing.gov.cn) it was working to get the metropolis back on its feet, but reminded people to prepare for further bad weather.

"The weather forecasters say that from late July to early September this city is prone to flooding, and there could be further large-scale storms or extreme weather," it said.

Many residents took to China's popular micro blogging site Sina Weibo to post dramatic pictures of the storm. Some complained the city should have been prepared, especially as the government had issued a severe storm warning the day before.

"It was forecast early on that Beijing would get torrential rain, so why were pumps and other facilities not prepared in time?" complained one user.

But at least one good result came from the storm.

The official pollution index, which had showed an unhealthy rating before the storm hit, registered "excellent" on Sunday, with the air noticeably free of its normal acrid smell.

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Syria: Assad 'facing the end' after Damascus bomb attacks

Syria’s opposition proclaimed “the beginning of the end” for Bashar al-Assad’s regime on Wednesday night after a bomb attack in the heart of Damascus killed three of the president’s closest lieutenants, including his powerful brother-in-law.

Striking the very core of Mr Assad’s defence apparatus, the bomb exploded inside the headquarters of Syria’s national security council as officials convened a meeting of the 'crisis cell’ set up to crush the 16-month uprising against the president’s rule.

For weeks, Mr Assad’s power had been visibly crumbling, weakened by a series of high-profile defections. But yesterday’s attack amounted to an evisceration of his inner sanctum, a solitary strike more devastating than any other rebel act during the past 16 months of blood-letting.

In a series of grim broadcasts, state television confirmed the fatalities: Gen Daoud Rajha, the defence minister, Gen Hassan Turkmani, assistant to the vice-president and head of the crisis cell, and Assef Shawkat, the husband of Mr Assad’s sister and the most important scalp of all. Mr Shawkat was referred to by some Syrians as their “second president”. 

There were reports that Mohammed Shaar, the interior minister, was also among the dead, while Gen Hisham Ikhtiyar, one of Mr Assad’s intelligence chiefs, was said to have been wounded. 

Late last night, there were also claims from one rebel spokesman that Mr Assad himself may have been at the meeting when the bomb went off. It was suggested that he may have been wounded and taken out of Damascus on a private jet. Both reports were unconfirmed.
The cause of the explosion was also unclear. Initial reports suggested it may have been the work of a suicide bomber, with government officials alleging that the perpetrator was a bodyguard. 

But senior rebel officials told The Daily Telegraph that bombs hidden in a flower arrangement and a chocolate box were remotely detonated by defectors working to bring down the regime from within.
Both the Free Syrian Army and a jihadi group calling itself Liwa al-Islam claimed responsibility, although they may have been acting in collaboration.
“There were two bombs,” Louay al-Mokdad, the FSA’s logistical coordinator said. “One was hidden in a packet of chocolates and one in a big flower pot that was in the middle of the table of the conference room.” He claimed that the operation was conducted by a group of FSA members in collaboration with drivers and bodyguards working for Mr Assad’s inner circle, a version repeated by other activists. 

 

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Three Americans killed as private jet crashes in southern France

Three Americans were killed Friday when a private jet crashed and burst into flames at the end of a runway in the south of France, police officials told NBC News.

The Americans formed the plane crew and no other passengers were on board, the Police Prefecture of Var told NBC.

The aircraft, a Mystere-Falcon 20, crashed at Castellet airport, between Marseille and Toulon, moments after the pilot signaled a problem at around 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. EST), authorities said. The jet had departed from Nice, officials said.

The reason for the crash remained unclear.

French authorities have not released the identities of those killed in the accident, except to say that the 60-year-old pilot, 24-year-old co-pilot and 30-year-old flight attendant all died in the crash.

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