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China struggles with flood recovery as death toll mounts

Guardian: The waters that surged through the village of Louzishui on the outskirts of Beijing fell almost as abruptly as they had arrived. Under the blazing sun, the rubble left behind was dry enough to allow a cluster of crouching mourners to burn offerings of paper money for the dead. "My husband was washed away while he was driving," said one middle-aged woman. A few feet away, five cars lay crushed, half-filled with mud, windscreens smashed and doors twisted by the force of the torrent that swept through...

Thailand: Bangkok residents flee floods as river threatens to burst banks

Guardian: Thousands are fleeing Bangkok after the city's governor ordered residents of three districts to evacuate and breaches in dykes allowed floods to spread through the capital. The central government has declared a five-day holiday from Thursday, encouraging many to leave the city. A naval official warned that Bangkok's main river is likely to overflow its defences on Saturday, when high tides are expected to merge with the heavy runoff from further north. The floods are the country's worst for...

Thailand: Bangkok braces for more flooding

Guardian: Bangkok was preparing for more flooding on Sunday after the Thai prime minister warned that authorities were racing against time to protect the city. "Water is coming from different places, and headed in the same direction. We're trying to build walls but there will be some impact on Bangkok," Yingluck Shinawatra said. Thailand has had its worst floods for half a century after months of unusually heavy rainfall, with 356 people killed since late July and more than 110,000 forced to move to shelters....

IAEA urges Japan to give more information on nuclear crisis

Guardian: The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog has urged Japan to provide more information on its "extremely serious" crisis as the battle to regain control of a failing power plant enters a second week. Yukiya Amano, the International Atomic Energy Agency chief, told the prime minister, Naoto Kan, that although it had been briefed, "there is the opinion in the international community that more detailed information is needed". Earlier, as he arrived in Tokyo, Amano told reporters: "This is...