AUSTRALIA
Heat wave prompts fire alerts
Large parts of the country yesterday sweltered under heat wave conditions that prompted the nation’s weather forecaster to issue bush fire warnings in several states. In New South Wales, the most populous state, more than 50 fires were burning yesterday, and a total fire ban was in place for many areas, including Sydney, the state’s rural fire service said. The agency wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that more than 700 firefighters and incident management personnel were working statewide to fight blazes amid “widespread high and extreme fire danger.”
RUSSIA
Ex-Moscow official missing
A former Moscow councilor who was sentenced to seven years in jail for denouncing the conflict in Ukraine has disappeared from prison, his supporters said on Friday. Allies of Alexei Gorinov say he needs medical attention and that they are concerned about the state of his health. His case parallels that of Russia’s most famous political detainee, Alexei Navalny, who has not been seen since early this month. “Alexei Gorinov’s lawyers have been trying all week to get information about his health and whereabouts,” his support group said. “We can say that Alexei is not in penal colony No. 2 in Pokrov.”
CHINA
Race organizers sentenced
Organizers of a 2021 ultramarathon during which 21 runners died in extreme weather conditions have been sentenced to years in prison for their roles, state media reported. Five individuals involved in planning the ill-fated event were issued jail terms ranging from three years to five-and-a-half years by a court in Baiyin in Gansu Province, where the deaths occurred, state-run Xinhua news agency reported late on Friday. In May 2021, the 100km cross-country mountain race turned deadly as freezing rain, high winds and hail hit the competitors. The five defendants were convicted for “organizing a large-scale event that led to a significant safety incident,” Xinhua said.
UNITED STATES
Satanic display destroyed
A Satanic Temple display inside the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines was destroyed, with a former US Navy fighter pilot who was recently defeated in a statehouse election in Mississippi accused of causing the damage. The display, permitted by rules that govern religious installations inside the Capitol, has drawn criticism. The Satanic Temple on Thursday wrote on Facebook that the display, known as a Baphomet statue, “was destroyed beyond repair,” although part of it remains. Michael Cassidy, 35, of Lauderdale, Mississippi, was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, the Iowa Department of Public Safety said on Friday.
UNITED STATES
Ketamine killed ‘Friends’ star
Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine, the results of an autopsy on the 54-year-old Friends actor released on Friday showed. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said in the autopsy report that Perry also drowned in “the heated end of his pool,” but that it was a secondary factor in his Oct. 28 death, deemed an accident. People close to Perry told investigators that he was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy, an experimental treatment used to treat depression and anxiety. The medical examiner said the levels of ketamine in Perry’s body were in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery, and that his last treatment one-and-a-half weeks earlier would not explain those levels.
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
RSS