On Sunday, a landslide in western Sudan’s Marra highlands destroyed the tiny village of Tarsin.

Reliable information regarding the death toll is scant, with locals estimating range from hundreds to about 1,000 individuals.

Residents claimed weeks of torrential rains on the range, which runs across three governorates in Darfur, culminated in the calamity.

“Nearby villages are gripped with anxiety that a same destiny may befall them if the heavy downpour persists, which highlights the urgent necessity for a comprehensive evacuation strategy and the provision of emergency shelter.

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The two-year civil conflict has left more than half of Sudan’s people hungry and millions displaced, leaving them particularly vulnerable to Sudan’s devastating annual floods.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese water and irrigation ministry has warned that severe rains and “high and dangerous” floods are anticipated to persist, threatening several sections of the nation other than Darfur.

“The warning includes the states of North, River Nile, al-Jazira, North and West Darfur up to the borders with Chad in the west and probably Egypt in the north” according to the minister.

“More than 72 locations are in danger of floods with around 230,000 people facing different types of threat.”

The government urged residents to remain on high alert and evacuate regions prone to floods.

Sudan’s army-controlled government expressed sympathy and offered to help.

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The 6.0-magnitude quake struck a remote mountainous location in eastern Afghanistan, where many people live in substandard mud brick and wood dwellings.

The death toll in Afghanistan’s powerful earthquake rose above 1,400 people, with many more injured, the Taliban claimed Tuesday, as rescuers fought to reach survivors stuck in isolated districts.

It was epicentered 17 miles east of the city of Jalalabad at a shallow depth of 5 miles, where even minor earthquakes can inflict significant damage.

Afghanistan is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because it sits on multiple fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian plates converge.

According to Taliban authorities, the most of the killings have occurred in the border region of Kunar, where the populace lives in steep valleys in poorly constructed dwellings made of mud brick and wood.

And, despite the region’s low population density, the earthquake occurred when everyone was sleeping, destroying the rooftops above.

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More people are feared trapped under rubble, said the Afghan Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian group working in the region. The United Nations coordinator in Afghanistan said the toll was likely to rise.

Afghanistan is prone to deadly earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.

Unicef said it was providing medications, warm clothes, tents and tarpaulins for shelter, as well as hygiene supplies including soap, detergent, towels, sanitary pads, and water buckets.

Taliban troops were stationed in the region to provide aid and protection.

Rescue teams and authorities were working fast to dispose of animal corpses in order to reduce the danger of pollution to water supplies, according to a UN official on Monday.

“Damaged roads, ongoing aftershocks, and remote locations of many villages severely impede the delivery of aid,” the World Health Organisation stated, adding that the quake has affected over 12,000 people.

Authorities predicted that deaths would climb further when rescue teams reached more remote sites, many of which remained inaccessible more than 24 hours after the initial earthquake struck.

Experts urged the international community to intervene and give assistance, pointing out that the country’s rescue and relief agencies were barely working.

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The fourth meeting of the China-Pakistan Joint Working Group on Agriculture was held in Beijing, with senior representatives from the ministries of agriculture and rural affairs in China and national food security and research in Pakistan serving as co-chairs. According to the PTV report.

The meeting approved a fresh round of proposed projects, examined the results of the first round of agricultural projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and declared the establishment of the China-Pakistan Agricultural Technology Working Group to strengthen collaboration.

A future Memorandum of Understanding would formalize the two nations’ collaboration in tropical agriculture, and they have agreed to set up joint laboratories, according to China Economic Net (CEN). Other topics of discussion were growing collaborations in the fields of agricultural mechanization, fisheries, and related fields. Approximately 60 people participated in the event, both in person and remotely, including officials from government organizations, research institutions, businesses, and embassies.

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Officials from both sides have hailed Guangxi Royal Dairy’s China-Pakistan buffalo breeding and dairy processing project and Sichuan Litong’s chili pepper cultivation demonstration base as prominent examples of the first phase’s accomplishments. Building on this momentum, four more organizations have been chosen to spearhead the second phase of agricultural cooperation under CPEC: the Crop Science Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Runber of Shandong, Jinghua Seed Industry of Xinjiang, and Qingfa Hesheng of Wuhan. Following the discussion, corporate executives said they were excited about moving forward with “small yet refined” model projects.

These collaborative efforts are anticipated to further reinforce the idea of a China-Pakistan community with a shared future and breathe new life into the second phase of CPEC’s excellent growth.

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The British news agency Reuters reports that Trump intensified his social media attacks on central bank chairman Jerome Powell on Monday, labeling him a “big loser” and pressing for a quick interest rate cut.

As a result, the dollar dropped to 97.923 against many other currencies on Monday, the lowest since March 2022. The euro climbed above $1.15, while the currency dropped to a 10-year low against the Swiss franc.

Kevin Hassett, the White House’s economic advisor, stated Friday that the president and his team are debating whether to dismiss Powell. With most markets in Europe closed for Easter and most worldwide closed on Friday for a holiday, trading was modest. All three main indexes fell more than 2%, and the Magnificent Seven group of mega-cap growth firms saw significant losses following Trump’s social media statement criticizing Powell on Monday.

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According to him, Paul does not answer directly to Trump; thus, he cannot be fired. He could only be removed from office under certain processes, which one would believe would be more difficult, according to Vishnu Varthan, head of macro research in Asia X Japan at Mizuho. However, could the president do anything to damage the Fed’s purported independence? Certainly, he could.

The euro reached $1.1535, its highest level since November 2021, while the dollar dropped more than 1.5% versus the Swiss franc to a 10-year low of 0.8063. According to CFTC statistics, net long bets on the Japanese yen touched a record high in the week ending April 15, and the dollar likewise fell to its lowest level in seven months versus the yen, last seen at 140.66.

In a research note, Carl Shimota, chief market strategist at the Toronto-based corporation, warned that policymakers might not be able to significantly tighten policy in the face of a sharp increase in prices if the White House’s new goals undermine the central bank’s dual mandate of promoting full employment and maintaining price stability.
The Australian dollar reached a 4-month high of $0.6430, while sterling reached its highest level since September at $1.34.

It had been almost five months since the New Zealand currency hit the $0.6000 mark.

Global markets have been shaken by Trump’s high tariffs and the ambiguity surrounding his trade policy, which has bleakened the outlook for the largest economy in the world and caused the currency to weaken as investors withdraw their funds from the US.

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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock hailed the new digital visa application platform in a press release as “a real administrative revolution.” The platform is open to applicants worldwide and designed to assist those who want to work, study, or join a family in Germany, DW reports.

The applicants can choose between 28 categories of national visa online. The new portal has been available since January 1, 2025 to all 167 of Germany’s visa offices worldwide.

The procedure of getting a visa has always been difficult for those from nations that do not have visa-waiver agreements with Germany. Germany hopes to make the process quicker, easier, and less expensive for candidates by digitizing the system.

In her approval of the new system, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the change was “long overdue.”

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“At times like these, we cannot afford to downright put the best off coming here to roll up their sleeves because of long paper application forms and even longer waiting periods,” she added.

Baerbock emphasized that Germany needs “a national visa process that is state-of-the-art—modern, digital, and secure” because it is an immigration country.

According to the foreign minister, the services portal is revolutionary, particularly in the ongoing fight against workforce shortages, which has a significant impact on the German economy. For more than two years, the Foreign Affairs Office (BAA) has been developing this instrument, and it has already launched a test project at three visa application locations.

Apart from the expedited visa application procedure, the German government has enhanced the general circumstances for migrant laborers. The Skilled Immigration Act is one such modification that permits skilled workers to enter Germany under a limited set of restrictions.

MOSCOW ( Reuters): Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that freedom of expression and artistic freedom does not mean that other religious figures, including the Holy Prophet of Islam, have been licensed for blasphemy.

According to the World News Agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the annual press conference on the importance of artistic expression without hindering religious freedom, said that artistic freedom is important, but it is also important to respect the feelings and sanctities of others.

The Russian president added that arrogance in the name of the Prophet of Islam is not freedom of expression. We must avoid hurting others. Hurting someone is a criminal act.

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“Russia has emerged as a multiethnic and multifaith state, so we Russians are accustomed to respecting each other’s traditions,” Putin said.

While praising artistic freedom in general, Putin said it has its limits and it should not infringe on other freedoms.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan has welcomed the Russian president’s statement in a message on the social networking site Twitter.

I welcome President Putin's statement which reaffirms my message that insulting our Holy Prophet PBUH is not " freedom of expression". We Muslims, esp Muslim leaders, must spread this message to leaders of the non-Muslim world to counter Islamophobia. https://t.co/JUKKvRYBSx

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 24, 2021