Lightning, downpours kill 41 people across Pakistan

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LAHORE, Pakistan: At least 41 people have died in storm-related incidents across Pakistan since Friday, including 28 killed by lightning, officials said on Monday ( Apr 15 ).

Due to the anticipated increase in rain in the coming days, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority ( NDMA ) has issued warnings about landslides and flash floods.

Punjab, Pakistan’s largest and most populous state, witnessed the highest suicide burden, with 21 people killed by lightning between Friday and Sunday.

I have requested that the NDMA arrange with the regions. and for the NDMA to distribute comfort items to places where harm has occurred,” said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday.

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More youths leaving Pakistan in massive brain drain amid low salaries, lack of jobs

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UNABLE TO THRIVE And Give

Pakistan’s business was in turmoil last year, with prices rising to nearly 30 per share. The Pakistani rupee hit a record-breaking small of more than 300 pounds in August, while the consumer price index ‘ development reached an all-time large of 38 % in May.

When the nation signed a US$ 3 billion loan with the IMF in June 2023, avoiding a severe financial crisis, the nation was on the verge of default.

Even in its capital Islamabad, one of the state ’s richest areas, many can find a job and are ready to risk everything by leaving. While in Europe, Romania has welcomed a wave of poor Muslim labor, a large number of departs go to the Middle East, specifically Saudi Arabia.

One for young person, Adeel Sabeel, left the country for Romania because of immigration problems.  

The 25-year-old had gone there with dreams of a better life but when he reached Romania’s main airport, he was deported due to inadequate documents. He is then searching for work once more in Pakistan.

He claimed to have had troubles with managing his everyday household expenses and that his purpose was to relocate worldwide for better opportunities.

I am in a position where I need to become a pillar of support for my family at this time in my life. Considering the need to settle down, I do n’t believe I can thrive under such challenging circumstances, ” he added.

“AN ALARMING FACTOR”

According to experts, the Bangladeshi government should be more focused on boosting its efforts to retain workers and focus on doing so.

“It should not be a degree of worrying. According to Dr. Farhat Asif, leader of the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies, there should be a level of panic right then.

But, Pakistan’s officials do not see its head discharge as a lost but an property instead.

According to Rana Ihsan Afzal Khan, a Pakistani prime minister’s assistant, the country benefits from having foreigners who send money back home, which boosts the economy. However, he acknowledged that the nation’s lower socioeconomic development poses a concern.

“Definitely, the ( economic ) growth rate in Pakistan is below the growth rate of population increase, so this is an alarming factor, ” he said.

I fully understand and acknowledge that we are in a stage of reduced growth, which is a major concern for the government. ”

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China set to post slowing growth on housing, consumption woes

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  “VERY BEARISH” Ratings company Fitch this quarter downgraded China’s royal credit perspective to negative, warning of “increasing risks to China’s public finance outlook” as the country contends with more “uncertain financial prospects”. According to analysts, position pledges of support for the real estate industry have yet to influence theContinue Reading

Hanoi’s high-speed rail plans lay tracks for closer China-Vietnam ties

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As Vietnam tries to modernize its transportation systems and increase communication with its northern ally, it has announced plans to begin work on two high-speed road tasks connecting it to China by 2030.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Planning and Investment on April 9, one line is scheduled to work from northern Haiphong and Quang Ninh to the border with Yunnan province in China. The other is planned to extend southward in southwestern China from Hanoi to the area around Guangxi.

According to local news channel VnExpress, both lines will form part of the north-south high-speed road course. By 2030, work on the$ 70 billion project, which connects northern Hanoi to the southern city Ho Chi Minh, is also scheduled to begin, despite difficulties brought on by a lack of government support and financing.

Vietnam sent its officers to work with Taiwanese railroad companies earlier this month, and the country said it was attempting to learn from China to create its second high-speed railroad network.

Vietnam’s largest trading partner is China, which is a significant importer for the South Eastern nation’s manufacturing sector. Trade between the two nations increased by 22 % in the first quarter of 2024 from the previous quarter to US$ 43. 6 billion, according to Taiwanese government statistics.

The two nations are currently connected via a network of roads and two outdated railroad lines. These are the Hanoi-Pingxiang-Nanning column, built in 1940. The other is the traditional Vietnam-Yunnan range, first constructed by the French at the start of the 20th century.  

Vietnam is not the only objective of China ’s high-speed road interests. A semi-high-speed Laos-China rail opened to passengers in 2021. The route lasts about 10 hours and connects the southwest Chinese industrial hub of Kunming to Vientiane, the country’s capital.  

A more initiative is live in Thailand, which aims to connect the Laos-China Railway with Bangkok. The Thai government anticipates the series to be functional by 2028 despite disruptions and rising development costs.

In response to that, strategies are being made to expand the range to north Malaysia, where it will run from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore before ending in Singapore.  

China also backed Southeast Asia’s second high-speed road. The project in Indonesia, which provides a much quicker commute between Jakarta and Bandung ,  launched in 2023, and 2023.  

Increased ease of travel abroad and the rising popularity of road travel, particularly among younger Foreign tourists, are among the highlights of high-speed road jobs. But, not all plans have been easy running.  

The Thai government agreed to cover the full cost of US$ 5 billion for the first tower period, according to Reuters, and the task was met with some attention and criticism.  

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Super Junior’s Kyuhyun fluently sings in Malay during Kuala Lumpur concert

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Fans in Malaysia erupted into cheers on Saturday ( Apr 13 ) when Kyuhyun performed a rendition of Misha Omar’s 2002 ballad Bunga-Bunga Cinta ( Flowers Of Love ). The Singles Inferno host’s flawless language of every individual Malay word was evident in the recordings taken during the performance, which won praise from critics who called his performance “beautiful” and “deserving of a K-drama soundtrack”

Yet Misha Omar has commended Kyuhyun’s cover. In an Instagram Story, the 42-year-old singer said that she “was still smiling” and “did n’t know when she’d stop”. Speaking to Malaysian internet store Gempak, Misha added: “Kyuhyun made the song tone more intimate. “

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‘A new era of slaves’: Thailand’s plan to loosen fisheries laws renews fears of illegal fishing, forced labour

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Business fishers are now much more difficult to enter marine protected areas that are crucial as bass nurseries and for the rejuvenation of fish populations.

Despite the organization claiming that seafood prices have dropped and fishing yields have decreased, EJF’s analysis has revealed the opposite to be true.

The EJF found, based on available get information by volume and value from the Department of Fisheries, that for almost all kinds groupings, the value of shellfish landed by Thai-flagged vessels has gone up by 48 per share, on average, between 2014 and 2022.

Additionally, there has started a little but gradual rise in stocks on coastal fishing grounds.

Catch levels in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand had dropped significantly by 2017 after decades of overcrowding.

According to data from the Department of Fisheries, catch per unit effort ( CPUE), which measures how healthy fish stocks are and is expressed in kilograms of fish caught per hour, dropped by 96 % in the Gulf and 86 % in the Andaman between 1961 and 2017.

As of 2022, the number in each ocean figure had recovered by 80 per share and 40 per cent, both.

It is “too soon ” to think about rolling back any of the conservation measures, which have the “knock-on effect ” of improving the productivity of inshore exclusion zones and the catches of artisanal fishers, said Mr Thomson.

18 handmade fish organizations last month raised concerns with the Thai congress regarding the revocation of commercial vessels ‘ permits to enter their protected fishing grounds.

These groups are still underrepresented in the law drafting committee, and there is no representation from economic or labor organizations.

WEAKENING WORKERS ’ PROTECTION “A SLIPPERY SLOPE”

While the Thai fishing industry is still a dangerous market, labor and human rights organizations claim that working conditions have improved significantly in recent years as operators have been required to properly file and pay their employees.  

“The position on boats is better, workers are legitimate and they feel like they exist and are protected, ” Ms Patima said.  

Then, five of the eight proposed payments support the re-authorisation of at-sea team payments, as well as dropping crew-list demands, which in the past has led to human rights abuses that are difficult to detect.

Move Forward Party is the only organization that wants to eliminate the requirement for migrant workers to carry a man text, a document that authorizes their employment on ships.

The NFAT claims that there should be a decoupling of labor laws from the fisheries laws, and that the getting and keeping staff is too expensive and cumbersome.

According to Mr. Mongkol,” I think we need to split the rules because IUU is about how we manage the boats and protect the environment, but labor is a whole other matter.”

Mr Woraphop agrees, saying the nation ’s existing labour rules adequately cover fishing issues now.

But eroding workers ’ protection is a “slippery slope”, said Mr Thomson.

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15 dead, two missing after Indonesia landslide

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KARTA: Following a landslide in central Indonesia, at least 15 people have been found dead and two more are missing, according to local authorities on Sunday ( Apr 14 ). According to local disaster agency head Sulaiman Maila, the lifeless and two survivors were ushered out of the Tana Toraja,Continue Reading