World News: Pope Francis Condemns Trump's Mass Deportation Plans

This is the World Now, bringing you the latest stories from around the globe.

Pope Francis has strongly criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's plans, for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.

He described the plans as "a disgrace" in an interview on Italian television on Sunday, ahead of Trump's inauguration.

Speaking from the Vatican, the Pope emphasized the human cost of the plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants from the United States.

He said, "This is not the way to solve things."

President Trump is starting off his second term with several executive orders, including ones to accelerate deportations and enhance border security.

In response, Pope Francis urged world leaders to focus on addressing the root causes of migration rather than punishing vulnerable people.

Despite his criticisms, the Pope extended a congratulatory message to President Trump on Monday, the day of his inauguration, praying that Trump's "leadership fosters unity and compassion in addressing global challenges."

In Taiwan, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck the southern region early on Tuesday, leaving 15 people with minor injuries.

Taiwan's Central Weather Administration recorded, the quake struck at 12:17 a.m. roughly 38 kilometers southeast of Chiayi county hall, and with a depth of 9.7 kilometers.

A 5.2-magnitude aftershock also occurred over an hour after the initial quake.

The tremor resulted in 15 minor injuries, with six people rescued from a collapsed house in Nanxi District, Tainan City.

Workers in this district, including those in the TSMC factory, have reportedly been evacuated.

Last April, Taiwan suffered its strongest earthquake in 25 years, a 7.4 magnitude quake near Hualien City that led to at least 18 deaths.

Tanzania's president confirmed on Monday that one out of more than 20 samples taken in the north of the country had tested positive for the infectious Marburg disease.

That validated a WHO report on the 14th of this month, in which it said it suspected an outbreak of Marburg in Tanzania's Kagera region, following eight deaths manifesting symptoms in line with the virus.

Initially, Tanzanian health officials denied the presence of the virus, citing negative test results.

Marburg virus, similar to Ebola, is a highly contagious pathogen that causes high fever and bleeding and has a fatality rate of up to 90%.

In the U.S., on the eve of her husband's inauguration as President, Melania Trump introduced her own cryptocurrency, the $MELANIA meme coin.

She posted on X on Sunday that "The Official Melania Meme is live."

The announcement follows Donald Trump's launch of his own meme coin ahead of his inauguration.

According to CoinMarketCap, Trump's meme coin has a total market value of about 12 billion US dollars, while Melania's meme coin stands at around 1.7 billion US dollars.

Despite previously calling cryptocurrency a scam,

Trump became the first presidential candidate to accept digital assets as donations during his 2024 election campaign.

Choi Chi-hee, Arirang News.