Yangtze

Major flooding has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in southern China, with more rain expected.

The manufacturing hub of Guangdong suspended classes, office work and public transport amid rising waters and the threat of landslides.

In the neighboring province of Jiangxi, almost 500,000 people have seen damage to their homes and their lives uprooted.

At least 40 people were killed and many others are believed to be trapped in a scaffolding collapse yesterday morning at a power plant construction site in eastern China, state media reported.

A total of 396 people have been confirmed dead after a cruise ship capsized in China, state media said, making it the country's worst shipping disaster in nearly 70 years.

Only 14 people have been confirmed alive out of the 456 - mostly tourists aged over 60 - on board when the "Eastern Star" rapidly sunk on the Yangtze river in a storm on June 1.

The death toll of a river cruise capsizing in the Yangtze River jumped by 39 fatalities to a total of 65 June 4 morning, the most significant increase since the Eastern Star overturned in a heavy storm with 456 people on board more than two days earlier.

PM Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday sent a message of condolences to Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang in the wake of the tragic shipwreck on the Yangtze River.

"It is with great sadness that we learned of the tragic shipwreck on the Yangtze River, in which human lives were lost and many passengers are still reported missing," the Serbian prime minister said, and added:

The death toll in China's latest round of flooding has risen to at least 52, including two schoolchildren aboard a bus carrying more than twice its authorized passenger load that plunged into a pond, authorities said.