Rescues carried out in worst-hit city of Hualien after strong 7.7 magnitude quake; Japan lifts tsunami advisory

• Full report: four dead and dozens injured amid landslides and collapsed buildings

People are trapped in collapsed buildings in Taiwan’s city of Hualien according to local media and the local government has suspended schools and classes in the region.

According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration, the epicentre of the quake was 25km southeast of Hualien.

Based on tsunami wave models and early tide gauge records of the tsunami in the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, coastal areas in the Philippines fronting the Pacific Ocean are expected to experience high tsunami waves.

It is forecasted that the first tsunami waves will arrive between 08:33 AM to 10:33 AM, 03 Apr 2024 (PST). It may not be the largest and these waves may continue for hours.

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Live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets as investors await details of earthquake effects on chipmakers and tech suppliers

London’s FTSE 100 and Milan’s FTSE MIB are the biggest fallers of the main European stock market indices this morning. Both have lost 0.3%.

There are no major individual movers on the FTSE 100, however: the biggest faller is BT Group, down 1.7%.

EUROPE’S STOXX 600 UP 0.1%

FRANCE’S CAC 40 UP 0.2%, SPAIN’S IBEX UP 0.1%

EURO STOXX INDEX UP 0.2%; EURO ZONE BLUE CHIPS UP 0.3%

GERMANY’S DAX UP 0.2%

TSMC’s safety systems are operating normally. Preventive measures were initiated according to procedure and some fabs were evacuated. All personnel are safe, and those evacuated are beginning to return to their workplaces.

The company is currently confirming the details of the impact. Initial inspections show that construction sites are normal.

Enough votes had been cast as of Tuesday evening to put Disney’s board directors safely ahead of Trian’s two challengers.

10am BST : Euro area inflation rate flash reading (March; previous: 2.6% year-on-year; consensus: 2.6%)

10am BST : Euro area unemployment rate (February; prev.: 6.4%; cons.: 6.4%)

1:15pm BST : US ADP employment change (March; prev.: 140,000 jobs; cons.: 148,000)

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People rescued from buildings in cities of Hualien and Taipei amid continuing aftershocks from Taiwan’s strongest quake in decades

• Taiwan earthquake – live updates

Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years has killed four and injured at least 50, causing building collapses, power outages and landslides on the island, and sparking initial tsunami warnings in southern Japan and the Philippines.

The quake, given a magnitude of 7.7 by Japan’s meteorological agency, struck close to the popular tourist city of Hualien, on Taiwan’s eastern coast, damaging buildings and trapping people amid aftershocks following the quake, which started at 7.58am.

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Protesters who took part in the 2014 movement against closer ties with China say it holds lessons for Hong Kong and Ukraine

Rushing over walls and through doors, they clambered into the parliamentary chamber, crowding the halls with placards, while piling chairs against the door as barricades against police.

Hundreds of young people, mostly Taiwanese university students, were storming Taipei’s national legislature.

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After a fatal capsize off Kinmen island, China has rejected the existence of the prohibited waters line, which has been tacitly respected since the 1990s

Motoring across the calm waters of the South China Sea, Taiwanese captain Lu Wen-shiung recalls the old days, when Chinese and Taiwanese fishers used to meet behind rocky headlands, anchoring their boats out of the authorities’ sight, to share a meal. There was less surveillance then, and the two sides were more friendly, fishing the same waters, occasionally selling to each other on the sly.

“We were like brothers, we had a good relationship, they would even cook for us,” he says. “But … now the control has become more strict, the [Chinese] coast guard will call me if the boats are too close.”

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Social media manager Noya Lee says gen Z struggles with ‘everything’ but going straight into the workforce has given her confidence

• Read more from our 24 in 2024 series

Twenty-four in 2024 is a series on the lives, hopes and fears of 24-year-olds around the world in a year of election uncertainty, conflict and climate change.

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One out of every five fish is caught through illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in conditions where abuse is common, according to a UN estimate

Labor groups and government officials are pushing to rein in rampant abuses of workers in the fishing industry, where migrant laborers are frequently subjected to slavery and violence from employers.

One out of every five fish is caught through illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in conditions where abuses of workers are common, according to a United Nations estimate . Some 128,000 workers are thought to be currently trapped in forced labor on remote fishing vessels around the world, according to the International Labour Organization.

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Tien Chung-kwang’s visit comes after Tuvalu’s new government vowed to stick with Taipei amid speculation it may switch allegiances to Beijing

Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister has embarked on a visit to diplomatic ally Tuvalu, officials said, after the Pacific island nation’s new government affirmed its “special” relationship with Taipei.

Tien Chung-kwang left for the visit on Monday as a special envoy for president Tsai Ing-wen to congratulate and show support for Tuvalu’s new government, said foreign ministry official Eric Chen.

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Taiwan ambassador says ties remain ‘rock solid’ amid rumours island nation could switch allegiance to Beijing

Lawmakers in Tuvalu have selected Feleti Teo as the Pacific island nation’s new prime minister, weeks after an election that put ties with Taiwan in focus.

Former attorney general Teo secured the support of lawmakers who were elected last month, government secretary Tufoua Panapa told Agence France-Presse on Monday.

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