11 dead, 122 injured in China earthquake
Beijing: Eleven people were killed and 122 injured after China's Sichuan province was hit by two strong earthquakes since Monday night, according to the state media.
The first 6.0 magnitude quake shook Changning County of Yibin City at 10:55 pm on Monday (local time) and according to the China Earthquake Centre (CENC), the second tremor of magnitude 5.3 hit the area on Tuesday morning.
The deaths and injuries were reported from across the province. "Two people remain trapped and one of them is in critical condition," a rescuer told China's official news agency Xinhua.
Four people have been rescued and sent to a hospital, according to a rescuer in Shuanghe township. People in Yibin said aftershocks were felt in the following half-an-hour of the earthquakes.
"I was resting in my house when the quake struck," said Chen Hongxia, who lives on the 16th floor of a residential building in Changning County.
"The chandelier and furniture were vigorously shaking, and my family first hid in the toilet and then rushed outside," Chen said, adding that many of her neighbours rushed to the ground floor.
Hu Yukun, also a resident of Changning County, said the quake was quite strong, and that "the ground kept shaking for about a minute."
Local policeman He Zexi said he first felt the electric fan in his house shaking and then the chandelier began to shake."It lasted about 30 seconds," he said.
In provincial capital Chengdu, an early warning system alerted the people about one minute before the earthquake struck. When the countdown ended, strong tremor was felt.
The Ministry of Emergency Management and the provincial department of emergency management have activated an "emergency response'", according to Xinhua.
The ministry has sent a work team to the affected areas to provide guidance in rescue and disaster relief.
The National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration and the ministry have dispatched 5,000 tents, 10,000 folding beds and 20,000 quilts to the quake-hit areas, the state media reported.
Sixty-three fire tenders and about 302 fire fighters from Sichuan province have been rushed to the scene for rescue operations, the ministry said.
The Hongyuan Hotel in Meidong township collapsed during the earthquake, according to the county government.
The quake caused cracks in a major highway connecting Yibin and Xuyong County of Sichuan's Luzhou city and it has has been closed. Some sections of two other highways have also been shut.
Meidong and Shuanghe, which are near the epicentre of the quakes, are suffering from poor telecommunications and the townships are being lashed by heavy rains since Monday .
Local police are trying to evacuate the people to safety and hospital staff, firemen and other rescuers are rushing to quake-hit areas for rescue efforts.
Strong tremors were felt in major districts of neighbouring Chongqing Municipality, which is not far from the epicentre, and a few residential houses were damaged.
However, no casualties were reported, the Chongqing Municipal Emergency Management Bureau said. Changning is around 300 km from Chengdu and about 240 km from Chongqing.
In neighbouring Yunnan province, the earthquake was felt in a few counties of Zhaotong city, which is close to Yibin city. Local fire departments have sent teams to help with rescue efforts, the Xinhua report said.
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Indian economy likely to be 'a little weaker' in 2025: IMF MD
Washington, Jan 11: The Indian economy is expected to be "a little weaker" in 2025 despite steady global growth, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has said.
Georgieva also said she expects quite a lot of uncertainty in the world this year mainly around the trade policy of the US.
In her annual media roundtable with a group of reporters on Friday, she said global growth is expected to be steady in 2025, but with regional divergence.
Georgieva said she expects the Indian economy to be a little weaker in 2025. However, she did not explain it any further. The World Economy Outlook update week will have more details about it.
“The US is doing quite a bit better than we expected before, the EU is somewhat stalling, (and) India a little weaker," she said.
Brazil was facing somewhat higher inflation, she said.
In China, the world’s second-largest economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was seeing deflationary pressure and ongoing challenges with domestic demand, she said.
"Low-income countries, despite all the efforts they are making, are in a position when any new shock can affect them quite negatively,” Georgieva said.
“What we expect in 2025 is to have quite a lot of uncertainty, especially in terms of economic policies. Not surprisingly, given the size and role of the US economy, there is keen interest globally in the policy directions of the incoming administration, in particular on tariffs, taxes, deregulation and government efficiency,” Georgieva said.
“This uncertainty is particularly high around the path for trade policy going forward, adding to the headwinds facing the global economy, especially for countries and regions that are more integrated in global supply chains, medium-sized economies, (and) Asia as a region," she said.
That uncertainty is actually expressed globally through higher long-term interest rates, even though short-term interest rates have gone down, the IMF Managing Director said.
Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, replacing Joe Biden at the White House.
Trump, 78, has announced plans to impose additional tariffs on countries like China, Canada and Mexico. He has publicly announced the use of tariffs as a key policy tool.
On inflation, the IMF expects global disinflation to continue, Georgieva said.
"As we all recognise, the higher interest rates that were necessary to fight inflation did not push the world economy into recession. They have delivered the desired results. Headline inflation is converging back to target sooner in advanced economies than in emerging markets,” she said.
