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22.04.2025, 18:09 4501

Indonesia's Semeru volcano erupts 4 times, ash columns reaching 800 meters

Semeru volcano in Indonesia's East Java province erupted four times on Tuesday, spewing gray ash up to 800 meters above its summit, according to the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), Xinhua reports.

The initial eruption occurred at 5:55 a.m. local time, with an ash column reaching 800 meters to the north, followed by a second eruption at 6:30 a.m., with a 700-meter ash column headed northeast for 120 seconds," said Yadi Yuliandi, an officer at the Semeru Volcano Observation Post.

The third explosion at 8:41 a.m. lasted 113 seconds, while the fourth, at 12:08 p.m., lasted 135 seconds and ejected ash up to 800 meters high.

The 3,676-meter-high volcano, located on the boundary of Lumajang and Malang regencies, is now at the second level of danger.

The PVMBG has recommended that the public avoid any operations within a 3 km and 8 km radius to the southeast of the summit, as well as avoid river courses that originate from Semeru's peak.

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22.04.2025, 17:11 4261

Pope Francis' funeral to be held Apr 26

The funeral of Pope Francis will be held on Saturday 26 April at 10 am, the first day of the novendiali and, as provided for in the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, Agenzia Nova reported.

The funeral will be celebrated by the cardinal John the Baptist King.

The Pontiff, 88 years old, died yesterday, Monday 21 April due to a cerebral stroke.

Tomorrow, instead, at 9:00, the coffin with the body will be taken from the Chapel of the Domus Sancta Martha to the Papal Basilica of St. Peter. After the moment of prayer, presided over by His Eminence the Most Reverend Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, the translation begins. The procession will pass through Piazza Santa Marta and Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani; from the Arch of the Bells it will exit into Piazza San Pietro and enter the Vatican Basilica through the central door. At the Altar of the Confession the Cardinal Camerlengo will preside over the Liturgy of the Word, at the end of which the visits to the body of the Roman Pontiff will begin.

The president of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, was this morning at Santa Marta, in the Vatican, to pay homage and say his last farewell to the Pontiff. The head of state, who was accompanied by his daughter Laura, recently returned to the Quirinale.

On Monday, Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed his condolences over the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis. According to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Pontiff was an extraordinary spiritual leader who spared no effort to promoting the noble ideals of humanism, justice and compassion.

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22.04.2025, 12:11 5596

Pope Francis died of cerebral stroke and heart failure: Vatican doctor

Pope Francis died of a cerebral stroke and irreversible heart failure, Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli says in a death certificate, Al Jazeera reported.

The certificate released on Monday for the 88-year-old pontiff said the pope had fallen into a coma before his death on Monday morning.

Francis died of "cerebral stroke, coma, irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse", the death certificate said. It added that the first Latin American pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church died at 7:35am (05:35 GMT) in his apartment at the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican.

Just a day earlier, the pontiff made what would be his final major appearance as he greeted thousands of Easter worshippers from an open-top popemobile in St Peter’s Square and delivered a blessing through an aide.

Francis had suffered various ailments during his 12-year papacy with life-threatening complications in recent weeks during a bout of double pneumonia, for which he spent 38 days at Rome’s Gemelli University Hospital in February and March.

The death certificate added that Francis also suffered from arterial hypertension, multiple bronchiectasis and type 2 diabetes, ailments that had not been previously disclosed.

The Vatican also released Francis’s spiritual testament - a written statement of faith - in which he said he wished to be buried in Rome’s Basilica of St Mary Major and not at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, unlike many of his predecessors.

The text specified Francis wanted to be buried "in the ground, without particular decoration" but with the inscription of his papal name in Latin: Franciscus.

As I sense the approaching twilight of my earthly life, and with firm hope in eternal life, I wish to set out my final wishes solely regarding the place of my burial," read the testament, which was dated June 29, 2022.

May the Lord grant a fitting reward to all those who have loved me and who continue to pray for me," it said.

Rosary prayer

The Vatican on Monday evening held a rosary prayer in St Peter’s Square, its first public commemoration since the pope’s death. Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica, led the prayer at sunset.

Sister Raffaella Petrini, president of the Vatican City State and one of the highest-ranking women at the Vatican, delivered the first reading. Her appointment was a sign of Francis’s insistence that women be given more prominent decision-making roles.

Francis’s death marks the beginning of nine days of mourning called the Novendiale.

His body will be dressed in papal vestments and placed in St Peter’s Basilica for public viewing before his burial. Daily prayer services and Requiem Masses will be held in Catholic churches worldwide and at St Peter’s Basilica during this time.

The Vatican also enters a transitional period called the sede vacante or interregnum, during which power is handed over to the College of Cardinals, but no major decisions will be made until the papacy is filled.

In about 15 to 20 days, cardinals under the age of 80 will convene at the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, which will be sealed off, to elect the new pontiff through a secret ballot. Once the next pope is elected, white smoke will emerge from the chimney of the chapel.

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21.04.2025, 17:00 9756

World’s first 10G broadband network launched in China

Images | Depositphotos

The first 10-gigabit (10G) broadband network in the world was jointly deployed in Xiong'an New Area by Huawei and China Unicom. The network, which uses innovative 50G Passive Optical Network (PON) technology, can reach up to 9834 Mbps for downloads, 1008 Mbps for uploads, and 3 ms for latency, Kazinform News Agency reports.

This innovation greatly expands the potential of fixed broadband infrastructure. The service boosts individual user bandwidth from gigabit levels to 10G by modernizing the optical access network infrastructure.

In the pilot phase, customers have started testing the network by simultaneously using smart home systems, streaming 8K video, and playing cloud-based games without experiencing any performance issues.

In contrast to mobile 5G, 10G refers to the speed at which data is transmitted over fixed optical lines (10 gigabits per second). To give an example, a 20 GB 4K movie download typically takes 7 to 10 minutes on a 1 Gbps link, but on the new 10G broadband network, the same 4K movie may be downloaded in less than 20 seconds.

It is anticipated that the network will soon be extended to 168 locations around China.

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21.04.2025, 13:12 10626

Pope Francis dies at the age of 88

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta, Kazinform News Agency cites the vaticannews.com.

According to the statement from the Vatican made in February Pope Francis was treated for a 'complex clinical situation' and would remain in the hospital as long as needed.

In March the Vatican released the first picture of Pope Francis since the 88-year-old was admitted to hospital for double pneumonia.

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17.04.2025, 18:01 25211

WTO projects tariff uncertainty to cause 0.2% drop in global trade volume in 2025

The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday that the global goods trade volume is projected to fall by 0.2% this year as the global trade outlook deteriorated sharply due to the increased trade policy uncertaintyб Anadolu reported.

While the WTO expected global trade volume to rise in 2025 and 2026, large-scale tariffs announced since January this year have prompted economists at the Geneva-based international trade regulator and facilitator body to reassess the current state of trade, according to the WTO's Global Trade Outlook report.

The US suspension of reciprocal tariffs for 90 days is easing the contraction in trade, but downside risks remain.

The decline in trade is expected to be particularly steep in North America, where exports are forecast to fall by 12.6%.

Risks to the global goods trade outlook persist due to the reintroduction of reciprocal tariffs announced by the US, which were subsequently suspended for 90 days, and the possibility of increased trade policy uncertainties affecting non-US trade relations.

If enacted, the US reciprocal tariffs are estimated to reduce global goods trade growth by an additional 0.6% this year, while this contraction could reach 0.8% if trade policy uncertainty rises.

The combination of the introduction of reciprocal tariffs and the spread of uncertainty could lead to a total 1.5% decline in global goods trade this year.

WTO expects North America's exports to fall by 12.6% and imports by 9.6% this year, while Asia's and Europe's exports and imports are forecast to grow by 1% and 1.9%, respectively.

The disruption in US-China trade is expected to trigger significant trade diversion, raising concerns among third markets about increased competition from China," it said.

Chinese goods exports are projected to rise by 4% to 9% across all regions outside North America as trade is redirected.

Meanwhile, US imports from China are expected to fall sharply in sectors such as textiles, apparel, and electrical equipment, creating new export opportunities for other suppliers able to fill the gap.

This could open the door for some least-developed countries (LDCs) to increase their exports to the US market," it noted.

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16.04.2025, 17:58 32251

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan discuss launch of new flights

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are mulling over the idea of kicking off direct flights on the Dushanbe-Issyk-Kul and Khujand-Issyk-Kul routes, Trend reports, citing the Civil Aviation Agency under the Government of Tajikistan.

The issue was discussed during a meeting between Habibullo Nazarzoda, Director of the Civil Aviation Agency of Tajikistan, Daniyar Bostonov, Director of the Civil Aviation Agency of Kyrgyzstan and Torokeldi Omurov, General Director of the Kyrgyzaeronavigatsia state enterprise.

The parties also kicked around the idea of boosting the number of flights between Dushanbe and Bishkek, as well as between Khujand and Bishkek.

Other topics on the table included tightening the screws on bilateral cooperation in flight safety and aviation security, as well as boosting the competitiveness of the civil aviation sector.

At the end of the meeting, the parties signed a draft Memorandum of Understanding aimed at improving the qualifications and professional skills of civil aviation specialists in both countries.

Regular flights between Dushanbe and Bishkek resumed on March 14, 2025. It was the first direct flight between the countries since 2019. The Khujand-Bishkek route followed on March 16.

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16.04.2025, 10:09 39976

Sandstorm sweeps Iraq, hospitalizes over 3,700 peopleSandstorm sweeps Iraq, hospitalizes over 3,700 people

Images | aa.com.tr

A sandstorm has swept Iraq and hospitalized more than 3700 people with respiratory problems, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

At least 3,747 people have so far been admitted to hospitals in Baghdad and other provinces since Monday," ministry spokesman Saif al-Badr told the state news agency INA.

He said the highest number of cases were reported in Baghdad, with at least 1,014 people admitted to hospitals, and al-Muthanna with 874 cases in southern Iraq.

The spokesman said most of the cases recovered and were discharged.

No deaths were reported in the sandstorm.

We have not faced any problems in providing medicines, medical supplies, or oxygen," Badr said.

Sandstorms are common in Iraq, but experts believe they are becoming more frequent due to climate change.

According to the United Nations Global Environment Outlook, Iraq is the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change.

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