AFGHANISTAN
Explosion kills three
The Islamic State group yesterday claimed responsibility for a blast on Tuesday that targeted a vehicle in eastern Kabul, killing at least three people. Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran yesterday said that three people were killed and four wounded by a bomb hidden in a cart near a minivan in the east of the capital. Police had detained a suspect who had confessed his involvement, Zadran said. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility on its Telegram channel, saying it had “detonated an explosive device on a vehicle transporting employees of the Pul-e-Charki prison,” killing nearly 10 people.
GERMANY
Rail strike begins
Commuters faced train cancelations across the country from yesterday as a three-day nationwide rail strike adds to travel chaos in Europe’s largest economy, where ongoing farmers’ protests have also snarled road traffic. The GDL train drivers’ union began its main strike in the early hours of yesterday, following one by cargo train drivers who walked out on Tuesday evening. The strikes are to continue until tomorrow evening, forcing national rail operator Deutsche Bahn to run only stripped-back emergency timetables. The company said the strike action would affect the travel plans of millions and encouraged people to cancel or postpone travel that is not essential. The long-running row over pay and working hours has flared up again following a truce over Christmas, with the GDL seeking a 35-hour week on current wages. Deutsche Bahn has offered flexibility on working hours, but refused to reduce them without a pay cut.
SLOVENIA
Five cavers rescued
Rescue personnel on Monday successfully extracted five people who had been trapped in a cave for more than two days because of high water levels. “It is a day of happiness, it’s a day of life,” said Sandi Curk with the Slovenian civil protection service after water levels receded inside the Krizna Jama cave, making the rescue possible. Those rescued are in good spirits, said Igor Benko, head of the Speleological Association of Slovenia. None needed medical help and all have taken the ordeal well, a doctor said. “I think we were lucky it all ended like this,” the doctor said. The family of three adults and their two guides, all from Slovenia, did not attend the news conference. They got stuck in the cave on Saturday because of heavy rainfall. The 8km cave system with a string of emerald-colored underground lakes is accessible only by boat and raft and with a guide. The five were in a dry area about 2km inside the cave. A team of six divers carried out the hours-long rescue operation, bringing them out in a small boat.
CHINA
Lunar mission advances
The National Space Administration yesterday said that its latest lunar explorer had arrived at the launch site in preparation for a mission to the moon in the first half of this year. State broadcaster China Central Television posted photographs on its Web site of the unit under wraps as it was unloaded from a large cargo airplane earlier this week and then transported by flatbed truck to the Wenchang launch site on Hainan Island. The agency said that pre-launch tests would be carried out on its Chang’e-6 probe. The mission’s goals include bringing back samples from the far side of the moon.
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
Former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said if US President Joe Biden had ended his re-election bid sooner, the Democratic Party could have held a competitive nominating process to choose his replacement. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said in an interview on Thursday published by the New York Times the next day. “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary,” she said. Pelosi said she thought the Democratic candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, “would have done
Farmer Liu Bingyong used to make a tidy profit selling milk but is now leaking cash — hit by a dairy sector crisis that embodies several of China’s economic woes. Milk is not a traditional mainstay of Chinese diets, but the Chinese government has long pushed people to drink more, citing its health benefits. The country has expanded its dairy production capacity and imported vast numbers of cattle in recent years as Beijing pursues food self-sufficiency. However, chronically low consumption has left the market sloshing with unwanted milk — driving down prices and pushing farmers to the brink — while
RSS