INDIA
Death toll hits 77
At least 77 people are confirmed dead in the floods that hit the northeast, authorities said yesterday, with destroyed roads and bridges leaving thousands more still cut off despite waters receding. Violent torrents struck Sikkim state on Wednesday after a high-altitude glacial lake suddenly burst. “A total of 29 bodies have been retrieved from different parts of Sikkim,” Sikkim State Relief Commissioner Anilraj Rai said. In neighboring West Bengal state, Jalpaiguri District police said that another 48 bodies had been recovered. More than 100 people are still missing, official figures showed.
UKRAINE
Shelling wounds dozens
Russian shelling on residential areas of Kherson overnight wounded almost a dozen people including nine-month-old baby, local authorities said yesterday. Kyiv took back the regional capital of Kherson in November last year, but the southern city remains within reach of Russian fire. “Kherson experienced another terrible night” as Russian forces “repeatedly shelled the city and settlements,” Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. “Eleven residents were injured. A 27-year-old woman and her nine-month-old daughter were hospitalized in moderate condition,” he added. Among the wounded was a 33-year-old Red Cross medic who was hospitalized.
MYANMAR
Suu Kyi appeals denied
The Supreme Court has rejected appeals against six corruption convictions for jailed former state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, media reports said. In detention since the military toppled her government in a 2021 coup, Aung San Suu Kyi faces 27 years in prison. She is appealing dozens of convictions for crimes ranging from treason and bribery to contraventions of the telecommunications law. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has denied wrongdoing. The junta recently granted a partial pardon that shaved six years off her prison sentence, a move that critics, including her son, said meant nothing.
GUATEMALA
OAS names representatives
The Organization of American States (OAS) on Saturday named the representatives that are to lead its mission to mediate between officials and street protesters seeking an orderly transfer to power to President-elect Bernardo Arevalo, a statement published on X, formely known as Twitter, said. OAS President Luis Almagro late on Friday said that he accepted the invitation from Guatemala City that asked to achieve “consensus among different sectors” of the country. Former Uruguayan minister of defense Luis Rosadilla and the OAS Secretary of Access to Rights and Equity Maricarmen Plata are to lead the mission. Tens of thousands took to the streets this week, demanding the resignation of powerful senior prosecutors accused of working to undermine Arevalo’s ability to take office.
UNITED STATES
Lottery climbs to US$1.55bn
The Powerball jackpot on Saturday climbed to an estimated US$1.55 billion after no one matched the game’s six numbers and won the giant prize. The numbers drawn on Saturday night were: 47, 54, 57, 60, 65 and red Powerball 19. The US$1.55 billion prize is for a sole winner who is paid through an annuity, with annual checks over 30 years. Most jackpot winners opt for cash, which for the next drawing tonight would be an estimated US$679.8 million. The jackpot is the world’s fourth-largest lottery prize after rolling over for 34 consecutive drawings.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
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