44 dead, 76 injured in two road accidents in east Afghanistan
Images | Marjankhil/Xinhua
At least 44 commuters have been confirmed dead and 76 others were injured in two separate road accidents in east Afghanistan's Ghazni province on Wednesday night, a local official reported Thursday, Xinhua reports.
The mishaps took place on the outskirts of Ghazni city and in the Andar district of the province, along the highway linking the capital Kabul with the southern Kandahar province, said Mullah Hamidullah Nesar, provincial director of information and culture.
According to Nesar, all the injured have been shifted to health centers for treatment, but most of their conditions were reported as critical.
Road accidents due to reckless driving on congested roads and lack of traffic signs on dilapidated highways are leading causes of death in the war-ravaged country.
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Trains collide near Russia's Murmansk, number of injured people rises to 31
Images | Transport Prosecutor’s Office/TASS
The number of injured people in the collision of freight and passenger trains in the Kandalaksha district of the Murmansk Region has increased to 31 people, including five children, the Russian Railway’s press office said in a statement on Thursday, TASS reports.
According to the statement, "31 people sustained injuries, including five children. Fourteen people are hospitalized with four out of them in serious condition," the statement reads.
Murmansk Region Governor Andrey Chibis stated earlier in the day that one of victims in the trains’ collision died in a hospital bringing the death toll to two people.
Dmitry Panychev, a deputy governor of the Murmansk Region and the regional health minister, told TASS earlier that five people, including two 14-year teenagers, requested medical assistance at local hospitals on their own, while two more people declined hospitalization.
The collision involved a freight train and a passenger train, which was en route from Murmansk to St. Petersburg. According to Russian Railways, there were 326 passengers on board the passenger train. The accident derailed 19 train cars, including 15 freight cars. A criminal investigation has been opened into a violation of safety rules.
An emergency management services representative said a malfunction of the freight train was suspected as the cause of the collision. Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said he would personally supervise the provision of medical assistance to the victims.
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China visa-free transit policy boosts tourism and business: experts
Images | CFP
China introduced an update to its visa-free transit policy on Tuesday, extending the allowed stay for eligible foreign travelers to 240 hours, or 10 days, up from the previous 72 to 144 hours. The move, aimed at attracting more international visitors, took effect immediately, according to an announcement by the National Immigration Administration (NIA) on its official website, CGTN reports.
The policy applies to travelers from 54 countries, including Russia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, who transit through China en route to a third country or region. Eligible individuals can now enter China without a visa via any of the 60 open ports across 24 provincial-level regions, provided their stay does not exceed 240 hours within the specified areas.
China has been continuously optimizing its transit visa exemption policies since July 2023. To date, the country has established comprehensive visa-free agreements with 26 nations, unilaterally exempted visas for travelers from 38 countries, including France and Germany, and implemented transit visa exemptions for 54 countries. Additionally, China has mutual visa-free agreements with 157 countries and regions worldwide.
According to NIA, from January to November 2024, 29.2 million foreign visits to China were recorded, an 86.2 percent year-on-year increase. Of these, 17.4 million benefited from visa-free entry, marking a 123.3 percent rise. Notably, the 72/144-hour visa-free transit policy has gained immense popularity domestically and internationally, with a 132.9 percent year-on-year increase in such visits.
Experts have underscored the broader impact of these measures. Chen Zhanming, vice dean of the School of Applied Economics at Renmin University of China, highlighted that the enhanced visa-free transit policy will improve ease of access for foreigners visiting China for tourism, business, or family purposes. He said, "the growing influx of international tourists will create more opportunities for China's tourism and other industries, injecting new momentum into its economic growth."
Ester Baiget, global president of Danish biotechnology firm Novonesis, emphasized the practical significance of the visa-free policy. "Although it may seem like a small detail, it will greatly facilitate travel to China. With smoother mobility, our connections will strengthen, fostering closer relationships," she said.
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China launches commercial Lijian-1 Y5 carrier rocket, 15 satellites
Images | Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua
China on Monday launched the Lijian-1 Y5 commercial carrier rocket with 15 satellites onboard, Xinhua reports.
The rocket blasted off at 12:03 p.m. (Beijing Time) from a commercial aerospace innovation pilot zone in northwest China and sent the 15 satellites, including satellites from the Jilin-1 Gaofen series, Yunyao-1 series, Xiguang-1 series and a remote-sensing satellite launched for Oman, into their planned orbits.
The Lijian-1 carrier rocket was developed by CAS Space, a commercial spaceflight company established by the Institute of Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This rocket series completed its maiden flight on July 7, 2022, and has now launched a total of 57 satellites in the course of five flight missions.
With a length of 30 meters, a takeoff weight of 135 tonnes, and a takeoff thrust of 200 tonnes, Lijian-1 can send a payload of 1.5 tonnes to a 500-km sun-synchronous orbit, or a payload of 2 tonnes to low Earth orbit.
The Lijian-1 Y5 carrier rocket uses a payload fairing with a diameter of 3.35 meters to accommodate the larger space required by satellites. Payload fairing configuration can be adjusted according to the payload capacity and space requirements of satellites in future missions.
The Yunyao-1 series onboard the rocket consists of six satellites, which are primarily designed for atmospheric detection or monitoring environmental hot spots.
The remote-sensing satellite launched for Oman utilized artificial intelligence to calculate its load. The intelligent operating system of the satellite can conduct in-orbit processing and analysis, and it can be applied in detailed land surveys, urban planning, forest surveys and disaster monitoring.
This mission marks the first time for Chinese commercial space enterprises to provide launch services to international users, highlighting that the Lijian-1 carrier rocket has officially entered the international commercial space market, said Shi Xiaoning, chief designer of the rocket.
Shi noted that the cost performance and product reliability of the rocket have been recognized by the international market.
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