Independent · Printed Daily · Est. 2026

The Daily Dispatch

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Deadly Chongqing landslide leaves 34 missing as China races to reach survivors

A landslide struck Pengshui County in China's Chongqing municipality on the morning of July 17, sending roughly 18,000 cubic meters of rock and debris down a slope near the Wujiang River and burying more than ten residential buildings. At least eight people have been killed, 34 remain missing, and more than 1,100 residents were evacuated. Over 800 rescuers, including 206 firefighters and a 100-strong team from China's Ministry of Emergency Management, are using more than 50 sets of detection and search equipment to reach those trapped, while President Xi Jinping has urged a scientific approach to the search-and-rescue effort. Engineers have warned that unstable rock masses remain along the cliff face, raising the risk of further collapse in continued wet weather.

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Xi Jinping launches global AI alliance headquartered in Shanghai

China formally established the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (WAICO) on July 16, an inter-governmental body headquartered in Shanghai with 29 founding member countries including Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, South Africa, Senegal, Russia and Pakistan. Speaking at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, President Xi Jinping said AI development "should not be a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation," in remarks widely read as a jab at the United States, and pledged continued cooperation with countries across Africa, Latin America and Asia. The alliance's stated goals are to promote international cooperation and shared AI governance, positioning Beijing as an influential counterweight to Washington in shaping global AI policy.

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Iran strikes Gulf states for seventh straight night as US bombs Hormozgan bridges

Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar all reported fresh Iranian missile and drone strikes on July 17, the seventh consecutive night of exchanges since renewed US-Iran hostilities began. Iran struck a power and desalination plant in Kuwait, sparking a fire that damaged electricity generation units, while explosions and air-raid sirens sounded across Doha after Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed an attack on Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base, injuring a child with falling shrapnel. The IRGC said it also targeted US-linked sites in Bahrain, Oman, Jordan and Syria. In response, US forces carried out their own seventh straight night of strikes on Iran, hitting surveillance sites, weapons storage and bridges in Hormozgan province near Bandar Abbas, killing at least eight people according to Iranian media, with no sign of the conflict de-escalating.

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