Death toll now 94, missing 78

Flooding caused by torrential downpours in central and southern China has killed 94 people and left 78 others missing, the government said .

Flooding on the southern reaches of the Yangtze river and in southwest China's Guangxi region in recent days has affected 13 provinces or regions and destroyed 465,000 hectares of cropland, it said.


The figures were announced by the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
Provinces such as Hubei, Anhui and Hunan along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze river -- China's longest -- had recently been suffering a severe drought.


China is hit by heavy summer rainfalls every year. In 2010, torrential downpours across large swathes of the country triggered the nation's worst floods in a decade, leaving more than 4,300 people dead or missing.
One devastating mudslide in the northwestern province of Gansu killed 1,500 people in August.


The flood control and drought relief headquarters said last week the recent downpours had helped ease the Yangtze drought but that many areas were still bone-dry and suffering from acute shortages of water for crops and drinking.


The China Meteorological Administration said yesterday further heavy rainstorms were expected along the Yangtze over the next few days.

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Obama calls on private sector to create jobs

US president Barack Obama on Saturday called for the private sector to create more jobs, but underlined the government’s role in promoting professional education.
‘Now, government is not — and should not be — the main engine of job-creation in this country. That’s the role of the private sector,’ the president said in his weekly radio and internet address.
‘But one thing government can do is partner with the private sector to make sure that every worker has the necessary skills for the jobs they’re applying for,’ Obama added.
His comments came after labour department figures showed only 54,000 new jobs had been created in May, just a quarter of the February-April pace; the unemployment rate had edged up to 9.1 per cent.
The White House and economists cautioned that the poor data was likely a monthly blip, but it has fuelled allegations that Obama’s economic policies are failing, 18 months ahead of the presidential election.
The president noted that the US economy had not got into what he called a ‘mess’ overnight, and would not resolve its problems quickly.
‘It’s going to take time,’ he warned.
Obama pointed to the importance of investing in wind power, solar power, and biofuels to make America less dependent on foreign oil and to clean up the environment.
‘These are steps we know will make a difference in people’s lives — not just twenty years from now, or ten years from now, but now, and in the months to come,’ the president said.

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