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Parts of China have been hit by “the heaviest rain in 1,000 years” – with footage showing underground train carriages filling with water.

More than 20cm of rain fell on the city of Zhengzhou, Henan province, in a single hour on Tuesday. In the recent European floods, the worst-hit areas of Germany saw 18.2cm over three days.

At least 12 people died in the floods and 100,000 were forced to flee their homes, according to China’s state news agency Xinhua.

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Floodwater surges through Chinese subway

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Cars float down flooded road in China

Pictures and video from the region showed torrents of water flowing down streets, with rescuers working to evacuate people who had become trapped.

Power was cut to some parts of the city, trains were suspended, roads were closed and flights delayed.

Posts on social media showed commuters trapped in waist-deep flood water on a subway train.

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Woman rescued from raging floodwaters

One internet user wrote on social media: “The water outside the cabin was rising, and it was leaking in from the door.

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“The water reached my chest.

“I was really scared, but the most terrifying thing was not the water, but the increasingly diminishing air supply in the cabin.”

Heavy rainfall causes waterlogging in Zhengzhou city, central China's Henan province, 20 July 2021. (Imaginechina via AP Images)
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Zhengzhou city was on the receiving end of a lot of rain. Pic: AP

Sky News Asia correspondent Tom Cheshire tweeted: “Very distressing scenes in Zhengzhou right now where there is severe flooding. People trapped in subway – some rescued but other videos appear to show dead bodies.”

Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan, has a population of more than 10 million and is located on the bank of the Yellow River – one of China‘s largest waterways.

Other cities in Henan – including Ruzhou – have also been ravaged by the waters.

The Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng had to close, and an aluminium plant in the city exploded, sending water surging into the facility.

The Longmen Grottoes – a UNESCO World Heritage site featuring buddhas etched into limestone dating back as far as 500 AD – are also threatened by the flooding.

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Driver surrounded by floodwater

People ride in the waterlogging caused by rainstorm in Zhengzhou city, central China's Henan province, 20 July 2021. (Imaginechina via AP Images)
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Zhengzhou has a population of more than 10 million. Pic: AP

More than 30 reservoirs in Henan have exceeded their warning levels and overnight the rainfall caused a 20-metre breach in the Yihetan dam in the city of Luoyang west of Zhengzhou.

In Zhengzhou, the flood control headquarters said the city’s Guojiazui reservoir had been breached.

From Saturday to Tuesday, 3,535 weather stations in Henan saw rainfall exceeding 5cm, of which 1,614 had levels above 10cm and 151 above 25cm.

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Speaking on state television, Chinese President Xi Jinping said: “Flood prevention efforts have become very difficult.”

Flooding is not uncommon in China during the rainy season, but the expansion of cities and conversion of agricultural land into housing has put more people closer to danger.

Forecasters are predicting the downpours to end by Thursday.

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Afghanistan: Three British men being held in Taliban custody – including ‘danger tourist’ who returned after army evacuation

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Afghanistan: Three British men being held in Taliban custody - including 'danger tourist' who returned after army evacuation

Three British men are being held in Taliban custody in Afghanistan – including so-called “danger tourist” Miles Routledge who returned to the country after being evacuated by British armed forces less than two years ago.

The other two men are charity medic Kevin Cornwell and another unnamed UK national who manages a hotel in Kabul. They are believed to have been held by Taliban secret police since January.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said: “We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families.”

Mr Routledge, 23, has gained fame – and attracted controversy – by travelling to dangerous countries and posting about it online.

In August 2021 he was on a “holiday” in Afghanistan when he was caught up in the chaos in the capital as the Taliban took control of the country.

He chose the war-torn country having looked up a list of the most dangerous places to visit in the world, despite the Taliban taking control of more and more of the country at the time.

Mr Routledge thanked the British Army after he was among those evacuated during the Kabul airlift.

He appears to have returned to the country since then.

Kevin Cornwell
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Kevin Cornwell has been held since January

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Mr Cornwell, 53, was arrested at his hotel by officers from the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) on 11 January.

He is accused of having an illegal firearm in the safe in his room, but his family say he had been granted a licence for the firearm.

The FCDO continues to advise UK citizens against all travel to Afghanistan based on the security risks involved, including the possibility of detention by the Taliban authorities.

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Yoghurt thrown over women in Iran for not covering their hair

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Yoghurt thrown over women in Iran for not covering their hair

Two women in Iran who went into a store while not fully covering their hair had yoghurt thrown over them by a man, in an incident captured on video.

CCTV footage showing the “yoghurt attack”, believed to have taken place in the city of Shandiz in northeast Iran, has been spreading on social media.

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi insisted that the hijab is the law in the country, in response to the widely shared clip.

It shows a man in a chequered shirt getting increasingly animated as he speaks to one of the women.

He is then seen grabbing a pot of what is believed to be yoghurt and throwing it over the pair before being confronted by another man and pushed out of the store.

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Following the incident, the two women have been arrested for not covering their hair, according to judicial authorities.

The man has also been arrested for insulting the women, public disorder and “unconventional promotion of virtue”.

Authorities said the owner of the dairy shop, who confronted the attacker, had also been warned.

Reports on social media showed his shop had been shut, although he was quoted by a local news agency as saying he had been allowed to reopen and was due to “give explanations” to a court.

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President Raisi said: “If some people say they don’t believe [in the hijab]… it’s good to use persuasion…

“But the important point is that there is a legal requirement… and the hijab is today a legal matter.”

Women in Iran had already been warned by the regime’s judiciary chief that they will be prosecuted “without mercy” if they are seen in public without a veil.

Following protests in recent months, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Saturday: “Unveiling is tantamount to enmity with [our] values.

“Those who commit such anomalous acts will be punished and will be prosecuted without mercy.”

Iran has been rocked by huge waves of protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in September.

The 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman died while in the custody of Iran’s morality police.

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Women to be prosecuted ‘without mercy’ for not wearing veils, says Iran’s judiciary chief

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Women to be prosecuted 'without mercy' for not wearing veils, says Iran's judiciary chief

Women will be prosecuted “without mercy” if they are seen in public without a veil, Iran’s judiciary chief has warned.

Following protests in recent months, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Saturday: “Unveiling is tantamount to enmity with [our] values.

“Those who commit such anomalous acts will be punished and will be prosecuted without mercy.”

He did not specify what the punishment would be, but violations of state laws on hijabs have seen people face arrest, fines, imprisonment and even the death sentence.

Women across the country have been refusing to wear their headscarves following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September.

Ms Amini had been arrested for allegedly breaking the law on headscarves and died in police custody.

Mahsa Amini
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Mahsa Amini’s death sparked protests in Iran

Nationwide street protests were met with a severe police crackdown.

Human Rights Activists, a group that has been tracking the crackdown from inside Iran, has reported more than 19,700 people being arrested during the demonstrations.

Another group, Iran Human Rights (IHR) estimates that 500 of them, including 70 minors, were killed by the regime.

Previously, Mr Ejei said that 22,000 people arrested during recent protests have now been pardoned.

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Iran protesters speak about punishment

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Iranian actress posts picture without headscarf

Iranian women have now moved their fight online, with many posting videos of themselves with their hair and bodies exposed.

Under Iran’s Islamic Sharia law, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes to disguise their figures.

Describing the veil as “one of the civilisational foundations of the Iranian nation” and “one of the practical principles of the Islamic Republic,” the interior ministry said in a statement on Thursday that there would be no “retreat or tolerance” on the issue.

The authorities are encouraging people to confront women who break hijab laws – something that has previously seen religious extremists physically attack them in public.

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