When rain finally came to great tranches of the Karoo this week, you could hear the sigh for hundreds of miles. Farmers danced, flung themselves into rivers and dams, or cried with relief. Dogs ran ...

A bird's-eye view of a residential area in Yunyan district of Guiyang, Guizhou province. The blue tin roofs can be seen on almost all buildings, making the area look like some shantytowns. Residents ...