In yet another demonstration of solidarity with the flood affected people of Pakistan, China has dispatched an additional consignment of humanitarian relief goods for flood-affected families.

A special relief aircraft weighing 90 tons arrived at Islamabad International Airport today. It carried 700 tents, 16,000 blankets, 1,000 life jackets, and 4,000 sleeping bags.

Earlier, China sent two relief flights carrying 300 tents and 9,000 blankets, underscoring its continued support for Pakistan in times of crisis.

As per the directives of the Prime Minister, NDMA in coordination with relevant government institutions, is ensuring swift distribution of all relief assistance to the affected people.

The Government of Pakistan appreciates China’s timely humanitarian assistance, which reaffirms the strong bonds of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

• Part of school collapsed when students gathered for prayers.
• Evacuation process is still ongoing, says rescue agency official.
• More victims could be found: disaster agency chief. 
  

The death toll in an Indonesian school collapse rose to 17 on Saturday, officials said, as rescuers deployed heavy machinery to recover dozens more victims believed still buried under the rubble.

Part of the multi-storey boarding school collapsed suddenly on Monday as students gathered for afternoon prayers.

Rescuers retrieved two bodies and a body part from the rubble on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 17, National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) operation director Yudhi Bramantyo said in a statement.

“The evacuation process is still ongoing. Debris removal is focused to the north side in an area not integrated with the main structure,” Yudhi said Saturday.

Local search and rescue agency head Nanang Sigit confirmed the updated toll in a separate statement.

Earlier on Saturday, authorities said they had recovered nine bodies on Friday.

Rescuers were searching for 49 people still missing, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) chief Suharyanto said before prior to the retrieval of the latest bodies.

More victims could be found, said Suharyanto, who, like many Indonesians, only goes by one name, as rescuers brought heavy machinery to clear locations where the victims were believed to be buried underneath the rubble.

“After the last victim was found last night, we are focusing on a massive cleanup, with heavy equipment entering the collapsed areas,” he said, as reported by broadcaster Kompas TV.

The school collapse was so violent that it sent tremors across the neighbourhood, according to residents.

Investigators have been looking into the cause of the collapse, but initial signs pointed to substandard construction, experts have said.

The rescue operation was complex because vibrations in one place could affect other areas, officials said.

But the families of the missing agreed on Thursday for heavy equipment to be used, after the 72-hour “golden period” for the best chance of survival came to an end.

The rescue operation was complicated by an earthquake that struck overnight on Tuesday, briefly halting the search.

A coalition of unions, employers and religious groups filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to block President Donald Trump’s bid to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly-skilled foreign workers.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco is the first to challenge a proclamation Trump issued two weeks ago announcing the fee as the Republican president moves to further restrict immigration to the United States.

Plaintiffs include the United Auto Workers union, the American Association of University Professors, a nurse recruitment agency and several religious organisations. 

They argued that Trump’s power to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals does not allow him to override the law that created the H-1B visa programme.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, in a statement, said Trump’s administration engaged in lawful actions “discouraging companies from spamming the system and driving down American wages, while providing certainty to employers who need to bring the best talent from overseas.”

The programme allows US employers to hire foreign workers in speciality fields, and technology companies in particular rely heavily on workers who receive H-1B visas.

Critics of H-1Bs and other work visa programmes say they are often used to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labour. But business groups and major companies have said H-1Bs are a critical means to address a shortage of qualified American workers.

Employers who sponsor H-1B workers currently typically pay between $2,000 and $5,000 in fees, depending on the size of the company and other factors.

Trump’s order bars new H-1B recipients from entering the United States unless the employer sponsoring their visa has made an additional $100,000 payment. The administration has said the order does not apply to people who already hold H-1B visas or those who submitted applications before September 21.

Trump, in his unprecedented order, invoked his power under federal immigration law to restrict the entry of certain foreign nationals who would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.

He said that high numbers of lower-wage workers in the H-1B program have undercut its integrity and that the programme threatens national security, including by discouraging Americans from pursuing careers in science and technology. 

He said the “large-scale replacement of American workers” through the H-1B programme threatens the country’s economic and national security.

The plaintiffs argue that Trump has no authority to alter a comprehensive statutory scheme governing the visa programme and cannot, under the US Constitution, unilaterally impose fees, taxes or other mechanisms to generate revenue for the United States, saying that power is reserved for Congress.

“The Proclamation transforms the H-1B programme into one where employers must either ‘pay to play’ or seek a ‘national interest’ exemption, which will be doled out at the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security, a system that opens the door to selective enforcement and corruption,” the lawsuit said.

The groups argue that agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security’s US Citizenship and Immigration Services and US State Department, likewise adopted new policies to implement Trump’s proclamation without following necessary rulemaking processes and without considering how “extorting exorbitant fees will stifle innovation.”

The H-1B programme offers 65,000 visas annually to employers bringing in temporary foreign workers in specialised fields, with another 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees. The visas are approved for a period of three to six years.

India was by far the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71% of approved visas, while China was a distant second at 11.7%, according to government data.