New Era, New Journey: Boosting Western Development for a New Landscape
The western region accounts for 72% of the national land area and 27% of the population, holding a significant strategic position in safeguarding national ecological security, water security, energy and resource security, and defense and border security. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has conducted over 30 inspections and investigations in the western region, promoting the formation of a new pattern of Western Development. Bearing in mind the General Secretary's instructions, the western region has leveraged its resource endowments and industrial foundation to vigorously create a new situation for high-quality development and write a new chapter in coordinated regional development. The latest first-quarter data shows that the container throughput of Guangxi's Beibu Gulf Port increased by 20.4% year-on-year, and cargo throughput increased by 4%. Xinjiang's total foreign trade import and export value reached 93.63 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 42.7%, ranking second nationwide in growth rate. Yunnan received 300 million tourists, generating over 390 billion yuan in total tourism consumption. In the first quarter of this year, the western region achieved a "good start" in multiple areas. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping's footprints have covered all 12 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in the western region, providing guidance and drawing a blueprint for the development of the western region in the new era. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed promoting the formation of a new pattern of Western Development. Following the direction pointed out by the General Secretary, the western region has focused on key areas, addressed shortcomings, and strengthened weak links, achieving significant historical achievements in economic and social development. Data from the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments show that in 2023, the western region's GDP reached 26.9 trillion yuan, accounting for 21.5% of the national total, with an average annual growth of 4.9% over the past five years. Today's western region is striving to paint a new picture of rural revitalization. From the depths of the Qinling Mountains to the Hexi Corridor, from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the southwestern hinterland, the former main battlefields of poverty alleviation have undergone tremendous changes and are brimming with vitality. In Gansu, the local government is deeply applying the experience of the "Thousands of Projects" initiative, collaborating with Tianjin, Shandong, and other regions to co-build industrial parks, continuously increasing the income of the impoverished population. In Shaanxi, characteristic industries such as apples, edible fungi, and tea have enriched farmers' pockets. This spring, the booming flower appreciation economy has driven the deep integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism. In Tibet, 220 plateau and beautiful villages are being accelerated, with a focus on improving rural industrial development, rural construction, and rural governance. Today's western region is making solid progress in high-quality development. As of now, it has built 9 national strategic emerging industry clusters, including new materials and biomedicine, and 5 national advanced manufacturing clusters, including electronic information and aviation. Sichuan is leading the construction of a modern industrial system with scientific and technological innovation, issuing 10 supportive policies for the quality improvement and doubling of six advantageous industries, and promoting the cluster development of artificial intelligence and low-altitude economy industries. This year, Qinghai is expected to add over 15 million kilowatts of clean energy, accelerating the construction of channels for outward transmission of green electricity. In Ningxia, the largest full-chain demonstration project for carbon capture, utilization, and storage in China is being expedited, with the first phase scheduled for production in September. Ningxia is focusing on new materials, modern chemicals, and other industries to introduce a batch of projects that extend, complement, and strengthen the industrial chain. Today's western region is rapidly transforming from an open periphery to a frontier. The number of China-Europe freight train services accounts for about half of the national total, reaching 160 cities in 20 European countries. Six free trade pilot zones and 40 comprehensive bonded zones are accelerating the creation of new high grounds for opening up. In Chongqing, the integrated operation of the Western Land-Sea New Corridor Logistics and Operation Organization Center, the China-Europe Freight Train Assembly Center, and the Upper Yangtze River Shipping Center has basically taken shape. Today's western region is continuously expanding its green footprint. A cumulative area of over 320 million mu has been subject to reforestation and grass restoration. Two national parks, Sanjiangyuan and Giant Panda, have been established, and the main streams of the Yangtze River and Yellow River have both reached Class II water quality. In Guizhou, reforestation, wetland restoration, and comprehensive rocky desertification control are being expedited, further solidifying the ecological barrier. In Inner Mongolia, spring afforestation has been fully rolled out, with a plan to complete 15 million mu of desertification control this year. Grassland rest grazing and mine greening are also progressing simultaneously. Promoting the formation of a new pattern of Western Development, by 2035, the western region will basically achieve socialist modernization, striving for complementary development of different types of regions, coordinated progress in East-West two-way opening up, prosperous, secure, and stable ethnic border areas, and harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.
Li Qiang Chairs 7th State Council Thematic Study Session
On the afternoon of April 22, the State Council held its seventh special study session on the theme of "further deepening capital market reform and promoting the steady and healthy development of the capital market." Premier Li Qiang, who presided over the session, emphasized the need to thoroughly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on capital market development, and in accordance with the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee, accelerate the building of a safe, regulated, transparent, open, vibrant, and resilient capital market. Liu Qiao, Dean of Peking University's Guanghua School of Management, gave a lecture. Vice Premiors Ding Xuexiang and Liu Guozhong, and State Councilor Wang Xiaohong made exchange speeches, and Vice Premier He Lifeng submitted a written speech. Li Qiang pointed out that to do a good job in capital market work, it is necessary to understand the basic laws of capital market operation with a systemic perspective and professional thinking, and to grasp the phased characteristics of China's capital market with a historical and developmental perspective. It is important to be good at learning from international advanced experience while always adhering to the national conditions and adapting to the times, paying more attention to using market concepts to design rules and formulate policies, and continuously deepening capital market reform. Li Qiang pointed out that it is necessary to take the implementation of the "Opinions of the State Council on Strengthening Regulation, Preventing Risks, and Promoting High-Quality Development of the Capital Market" as an opportunity to solidly promote the reform and development of the capital market. Accelerate the improvement of the basic institutional system of the capital market. Focus on improving the quality of listed companies and encouraging them to enhance their awareness of returning value to investors. Improve and strengthen capital market regulation, and increase the punishment for illegal and irregular acts. Effectively strengthen the protection of the rights and interests of small and medium-sized investors. Li Qiang emphasized that promoting the steady and healthy development of the capital market is an important embodiment of economic development and governance capabilities. All relevant parties should continuously improve their work capabilities and professional literacy, strengthen coordination and linkage, better coordinate economic and non-economic policies, and form a synergy to promote the high-quality development of the capital market.
Party Discipline Education: Localities, Departments Deepen Study and Practice
Launching Party discipline education across the Party is an important measure to strengthen the Party's disciplinary construction and promote the comprehensive strict governance of the Party in depth. In recent days, various regions, departments, and units have thoroughly studied and implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourses on strengthening the Party's disciplinary construction, meticulously planned and deployed, focused on key learning points, and promoted the deep and practical implementation of Party discipline education. Starting today (April 22), "Xinwen Lianbo" will launch a special column [Party Discipline Education] to showcase the practices and achievements of integrating Party discipline education into daily routines and regular activities. The Beijing Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee held a meeting and deliberated on and approved the Party discipline education implementation plan and key work arrangements. Closely adhering to the goals and requirements of Party discipline education, it carefully reviewed the four work arrangements, including thorough study, strengthening warning education, enhancing interpretation and training, and strengthening inspection and rectification, and further refined them into nine specific measures. The Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee immediately issued an implementation plan for Party discipline education, detailing 20 specific measures in 5 aspects. Currently, all 13 prefecture-level cities, 95 counties (cities, districts), provincial government departments, provincial enterprises, universities and research institutes, and 282,000 grassroots Party organizations in Jiangsu Province have fully launched and deployed the education. The Shandong Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee formulated work arrangements for taking the lead in Party discipline education, proposing key monthly tasks and clarifying time nodes and specific requirements. In Weihai, the local government organized Party discipline education reading classes in conjunction with local conditions, arranging for Party members and cadres to listen to guidance reports and conduct self-study and centralized study. The Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee proposed nine key measures. Focusing on studying the "Regulations," various localities have deeply planned work measures. Hangzhou City, in light of its actual situation, proposed specific arrangements such as thorough and detailed study, in-depth interpretation, tiered training assistance, warning education promotion, and practical application in connection with reality, to improve the effectiveness of the study.
High-Quality Development Series Press Conference: Driving New Breakthroughs in Jilin's Full Revitalization
This morning (April 22), the State Council Information Office held a series of press conferences on the theme of "Promoting High-Quality Development," where relevant officials from Jilin Province introduced the relevant situation. In 2023, Jilin's provincial GDP grew by 6.3%, 1.1 percentage points higher than the national average, with the growth rates of many economic indicators ranking among the top in the country. In the first quarter of this year, the regional GDP grew by 6.5%, 1.2 percentage points higher than the national average, maintaining a good trend of steady progress and positive development. This year, Jilin Province will synergistically improve efficiency through means such as expanding arable land and cultivating good varieties, striving for a grain output of 88 billion catties (44 billion kilograms) to solidify the foundation of national food security. This year, Jilin Province will promote industrial innovation through scientific and technological innovation, focusing on cultivating "four major clusters": grand agriculture, grand equipment, grand tourism, and big data; comprehensively advance the deepening and upgrading of state-owned enterprise reform to enable Jilin's state-owned enterprises to "regain their glory"; vigorously develop the clean energy industry and accelerate the construction of a world-leading and domestically first-class "green hydrogen+" industrial cluster; accelerate the construction of a beautiful China pilot zone, continuously fortify the national ecological security barrier, and create a world-class ice and snow tourism destination and summer resort, striving to exceed one trillion yuan in tourism revenue by 2027.
National Fiscal Revenue Continues Restorative Growth in Q1
At the press conference held by the State Council Information Office today (April 22), relevant officials from the Ministry of Finance introduced the fiscal revenue and expenditure for the first quarter of this year. In the first quarter, national fiscal revenue continued to maintain a restorative growth trend, and fiscal funds effectively and efficiently supported economic and social development. Data shows that in the first quarter of this year, national general public budget revenue was 6,087.7 billion yuan. After excluding special factors, comparable growth was around 2.2%, continuing the restorative growth trend. In terms of expenditure, in the first quarter, national general public budget expenditure was nearly 7 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.9%. Social security and employment, education, and housing security expenditures increased by 3.7%, 2.5%, and 7.8% respectively. The increased national debt funds issued in the fourth quarter of last year, mainly invested in urban and rural communities, agriculture, forestry, water conservancy, disaster prevention and emergency management, all achieved double-digit growth year-on-year. This year, the central government is vigorously cultivating new drivers of economic growth. The Ministry of Finance will work with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments to implement a new round of fiscal support policies for "specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative" small and medium-sized enterprises. It will allocate 3 billion yuan to support the "intelligent transformation, digital transformation, and networked connection" work in the first batch of about 20 pilot cities for new manufacturing technological transformation. This year, another 3 billion yuan will be allocated to support the expansion of the scope of pilot cities for digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, a combination of fiscal and tax policies will be implemented to support large-scale equipment renewal and trade-in of consumer goods.
Water Conservancy Infrastructure Investment Hits Record High in Q1
Reporters learned from the Ministry of Water Resources today (April 22) that in the first quarter of this year, the country implemented 23,500 water conservancy projects with a total ongoing investment scale of 4.7 trillion yuan. Water conservancy construction investment of 778.7 billion yuan was secured, a 93.3% increase compared to the same period last year. Water conservancy construction investment of 193.3 billion yuan was completed, a 4.4% increase compared to the same period last year, marking a historical high for the same period. In the first quarter, major water conservancy projects accelerated construction, with 13 major projects started this year, including the治理 (governance) of the Tongling section of the Yangtze River main stream and the Leping Water Conservancy Hub in Jiangxi. Last year, the state issued an additional 1 trillion yuan in national bonds to support post-disaster reconstruction and enhance disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief capabilities. Currently, all three batches of additional national bond funds have been allocated, with four major categories and over 7,800 projects allocated to the water conservancy sector. As of April 19, out of the 5,542 key flood damage repair projects included in the Ministry of Water Resources' statistics, 5,112 have been repaired, with a total repair rate of 92.2%. All repairs are planned to be completed by the end of June.
China Achieves Significant Results in Ecological Protection and Restoration
Today (April 22) marks the 55th World Earth Day. Reporters learned from the Ministry of Natural Resources today that China's natural resource rights confirmation and registration work is progressing smoothly, with over 100 million mu of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and deserts restored. At the same time, after years of protection, significant achievements have been made in wildlife protection. The Ministry of Natural Resources stated that as of now, nearly 100 key areas, including Wuyi Mountains, Giant Panda National Parks, Jiangsu Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve, and Shandong Kunyushan National Nature Reserve, have successively completed the registration of natural resource rights confirmation and registration, signifying smooth progress in the "household registration" work for natural resources. According to the plan, China will basically achieve full coverage of natural resource rights confirmation and registration for various types of natural resources this year. Meanwhile, focusing on ecological restoration work, China has implemented 52 major integrated protection and restoration projects for mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasslands, and deserts, involving 29 provinces, all located within the national ecological security framework, with a cumulative restoration and management area exceeding 100 million mu. Latest data from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration shows that after years of protection, China's wildlife protection has also achieved remarkable results. The wild populations of giant pandas and Hainan gibbons have significantly increased, and the numbers of rare and endangered species such as crested ibises and wild Cycas panzhihuaensis have steadily risen.
Heavy Rain Persists in Southern China; Regions Hasten Rescue Efforts
Persistent rainfall in many parts of southern China has prompted rescue efforts by various local departments. The Central Meteorological Observatory today (April 22) continued to issue a yellow alert for heavy rain and a blue alert for strong convective weather. Affected by the heavy rainfall, the water level of rivers in Wujiang District, Shaoguan, Guangdong, surged. Multiple landslides and traffic disruptions occurred in Jiangwan Town. Local rescue forces worked overnight to clear roads and repair communications, and helicopters were dispatched to transport relief supplies to the affected areas. Currently, partial power and emergency communications have been restored in Jiangwan Town. This round of heavy rainfall has affected many areas in Guangdong, with over 110,000 people evacuated across the province as of 12:00 today. High-speed trains and regular trains affected by the heavy rain in northern Guangdong and other areas are now operating normally. Today, rainfall in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, gradually weakened. Local forces are expediting muck removal and repairing collapsed and damaged areas, while reservoirs are being coordinated to discharge floods in a timely manner. The heavy rainfall affected multiple townships in Chenzhou, Hunan, with some houses and roads inundated and farmland damaged. As the rainfall weakened today, local personnel were organized to carry out cleaning and disinfection work, inspect crop damage, and guide villagers in subsequent production. Continuous heavy rainfall has caused varying degrees of power outages in many parts of southern China. As of now, China Southern Power Grid has dispatched over 10,000 repair vehicles, and over 94% of affected users in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guizhou have had their power restored. The Central Meteorological Observatory forecasts that from today, the scope of heavy rainfall in Jiangnan and South China will shrink, but precipitation will not completely cease. In the next three days, eastern Jiangnan and central-eastern South China will still experience rainfall.
Han Yong, Former Deputy Director of CPPCC Population, Resources and Environment Committee and Former Party Secretary, Chairman of Shaanxi Provincial CPPCC, Expelled from Party for Serious Violations
With the approval of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission conducted a case investigation into Han Yong, former deputy director of the CPPCC National Committee's Population, Resources and Environment Committee, and former secretary of the Party Leadership Group and chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial CPPCC, for serious violations of discipline and law. Investigations found that Han Yong lost his ideals and convictions, deviated from his original mission, had a weak sense of political awareness, dared not to take responsibility or fight, associated with political fraudsters, and engaged in political speculation; violated the spirit of the Central Eight Provisions by improperly accepting banquets and travel arrangements from others; violated organizational principles by practicing favoritism and nepotism, engaging in selling official positions and titles; lost his integrity bottom line by improperly accepting gifts and money, and improperly purchasing housing at low prices; improperly interfered with and intervened in disciplinary and law enforcement activities; had a poor family style; and used public power as a tool to seize personal gains, engaged in extensive power-for-money transactions, and used his positions to seek benefits for others in business operations, cadre appointments, and project contracting, and illegally accepted huge amounts of property. Han Yong seriously violated the Party's political discipline, organizational discipline, integrity discipline, work discipline, and living discipline, constituted serious job-related violations and is suspected of bribery, and did not restrain himself after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which is serious in nature and has a vile impact, and should be dealt with severely. In accordance with relevant provisions such as the "Regulations on Disciplinary Actions of the Communist Party of China," the "Supervision Law of the People's Republic of China," and the "Law on Disciplinary Actions for Public Officials of the People's Republic of China," after deliberation by a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and approval by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, it was decided to give Han Yong the punishment of expulsion from the Party; cancel his benefits in accordance with regulations; confiscate his illegal gains; and transfer his suspected criminal issues to the procuratorial organs for review and prosecution in accordance with the law, along with the involved property.
Domestic News Snippets
Major Cities Joint Recruitment Spring Session for College Graduates Launches Special Service Activities. Reporters learned from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security that the 2024 Major Cities Joint Recruitment Spring Session for College Graduates is launching over a hundred special service activities, including offline specialized job fairs for electronic information and commercial logistics, cross-regional巡回招聘会 (touring job fairs), as well as online specialized job fairs for different industries and groups such as medicine and health, new energy, and graduates facing employment difficulties. China Comprehensively Strengthens Rural Housing Construction Management. Five departments, including the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Ministry of Emergency Management, recently jointly issued opinions, requiring localities to regularly conduct investigations and rectification of rural housing safety hazards, establish a normalized rural housing safety inspection mechanism, and strictly manage rural houses used for business operations. By 2025, a closed-loop supervision system for rural housing quality and safety throughout the entire process will be achieved. As of the end of March, National Power Generation Capacity Increased by 14.5% Year-on-Year. The National Energy Administration announced today (April 22) that as of the end of March, the cumulative national power generation capacity was approximately 2.99 billion kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 14.5%. Among them, solar power generation capacity was approximately 660 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 55.0%; wind power generation capacity was approximately 460 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 21.5%, showing a rapid development trend for new energy. World's Largest River-Ocean Direct Pure Electric Container Ship Arrives at Yangshan Port for the First Time. Today (April 22), the world's largest river-ocean direct pure electric container ship arrived at Shanghai Yangshan Port for the first time under the escort of maritime authorities. The ship can save 3,900 kilograms of fuel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 12.4 tons for every 100 nautical miles traveled. In the future, it will make weekly round trips between Nanjing and Yangshan Port, contributing to the low-carbon and environmentally friendly transformation of river-ocean intermodal vessels. The 2024 World Tunnel Congress Opens in Shenzhen Today. Today (April 22), the 2024 World Tunnel Congress opened in Shenzhen. More than 3,000 experts, scholars, and enterprise representatives from member countries of the International Tunneling and Underground Space Association shared industry trends, innovative technologies, and application achievements. This year's congress exhibition scale and number of participants both reached new highs.
Israel Vows Increased Military Pressure on Hamas; Palestinian Militants Fire Rockets at Northern Israel
According to Palestinian media reports, on April 20-21, Israeli forces carried out airstrikes on Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, and the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, killing at least 29 people. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society released a video on April 21, stating that its medical compound near Khan Yunis was shelled. The Israel Defense Forces announced on April 21 that IDF Chief of Staff Halevi had approved plans for continued military operations in the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that he would increase military and political pressure on the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the coming days. Hamas's armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, stated on April 21 that its militants had launched 20 rockets from southern Lebanon towards the Shomera military camp in northern Israel. In addition, the Palestinian Ministry of Health stated on April 21 that Israeli forces clashed with Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron on the same day, killing two Palestinians. The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, stated on April 21 that it had launched attacks against Israeli forces in several locations in the West Bank, causing casualties among Israeli personnel. Israeli airstrikes targeted multiple Hezbollah positions in Lebanon; Hezbollah shot down an Israeli military drone. The Israel Defense Forces stated on April 21 that its fighter jets had launched airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in several locations in southern Lebanon, including Ayta ash Shab and Naqoura. On the same day, Hezbollah announced that it had shot down an Israeli military drone over southern Lebanon. The IDF confirmed in the early hours of April 22 that a drone had been shot down in Lebanon.
Two US Bases in Syria Attacked
According to Al Mayadeen TV in Lebanon on the evening of April 21, within less than an hour that evening, two US military bases in Syria's Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor provinces were successively attacked. According to two Iraqi security sources and one American official, at least five rockets were launched from Zummar, near Mosul, Iraq, in the attack. Iraq's Joint Operations Command's Security Media Cell issued a statement on April 21, stating that militia members had launched several rockets towards a US military base in Syria that evening. Iraqi security forces launched a large-scale search operation in the Iraq-Syria border area and found and burned the vehicles used for the rocket launch. Currently, neither US officials nor Iraqi militias have officially responded to the incident.
Russia Claims Control of Another Settlement; Ukraine Reports Striking Russian Vessels
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on April 21 that Russian forces had taken full control of the settlement of Bogdanovka in Donetsk. Russian forces also destroyed a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet, shot down nearly 200 Ukrainian drones, and intercepted eight HIMARS and Uragan rockets. Ukrainian Air Force Commander Oleschuk stated that today (April 22), Russian forces launched three S-300/S-400 missiles, multiple attack drones, and reconnaissance drones towards Ukraine, and Ukrainian air defense forces shot down some drones in the Odesa region. The spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy stated on April 21 that the Ukrainian Navy struck the Russian rescue ship "Kommuna." Russia has not yet responded to this.
International News Snippets
China Wins 70 Gold Medals at Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions. The 49th Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions concluded on April 21 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Chinese delegation showcased 197 inventions, winning 70 gold medals and 97 silver medals. The Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions was founded in the 1970s and is one of the longest-running and largest invention exhibitions in the world. Syrian President Says US Profits from International Conflicts. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad recently stated in an interview with Russian media that the United States first seeks self-interest from any conflict and then stands by, waiting for a favorable moment in the increasingly chaotic situation. Bashar pointed out that the United States has repeatedly used divisive tactics, instigation, and intimidation to achieve its goals, leading to the continuous spread of conflicts. Other Western countries, he added, are entirely subservient to the United States. Nigerien Citizens Demand Withdrawal of US Troops. On April 21, a large number of Nigerien citizens marched in the northern city of Agadez, demanding the withdrawal of US troops from Niger. According to multiple media reports, the US has agreed to Niger's request for troop withdrawal but has not provided a clear timetable. The US currently has two bases in Niger, with approximately 1,000 personnel, one of which is a drone base near Agadez. Extreme Weather Causes Over 10 Billion Euros in Economic Losses in Europe Last Year. The World Meteorological Organization and the EU's climate monitoring agency jointly released the "State of the Climate in Europe 2023" report today (April 22). The report pointed out that extreme weather caused by climate change continues to affect Europe, with Europe experiencing widespread floods and severe heatwaves in 2023. The average sea surface temperature in European waters reached its highest recorded level, with temperatures above average for 11 months of the year. The report also indicated that the economic losses due to weather and related factors in Europe in 2023 are estimated to be approximately 13.4 billion euros. Continuous Heavy Rains in Tanzania Kill 66 People. Tanzanian police stated on April 21 that continuous heavy rains across Tanzania since the beginning of this month have killed 66 people. The most severely affected regions are Coast Province and Morogoro Province, with nearly 12,000 people affected, thousands of houses damaged, and over 70,000 hectares of crops destroyed.