China: Heavy flooding hits southern and central regions

Areas of southern and central China have been hit by heavy flooding. Dozens of people are dead or missing and millions have been left stranded. China raised its flood response alert on Sunday to the second highest level as heavy rain battered regions along the Yangtze River, with the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Jiangxi among the worst hit, state media reported. Thirty-three rivers have reached record highs and alerts have been issued on a total of 433 rivers. Thousands of soldiers and firefighters