UKRAINE
Russia bombards nation
A wave of Russian missiles on Tuesday hit Kyiv and other cities, killing at least 18 people and wounding more than 100, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed a forceful response. Rescue workers in Kharkiv — the country’s second-largest city, near Russia’s border — hauled survivors from shouldering piles of rubble as apartment blocks were set ablaze and toppled by the strikes, journalists reported. “Ordinary life is what Russia sees as a threat to itself. The state is a typical terrorist,” a somber Zelenskiy said in his evening address to the nation, adding that 130 people had been injured in the attacks. “The Russian war will inevitably be brought back home, back to where this evil came from, where it must be quelled,” Zelenskiy said.
AUSTRALIA
Storm gains strength
A tropical low slowly moving toward the country’s northeast yesterday reached cyclone strength and was expected to bring flooding into Queensland into the weekend. Tropical Cyclone Kirrily was moving west at 8kph and forecast to make landfall overnight. “After the cyclone crosses the coast, it’s likely to weaken to a tropical low, but have very high levels of rainfall associated with it,” Queensland Premier Steven Miles told a news conference in Brisbane. “And so depending on its path, that rainfall is likely to cause flooding in parts of the state.”
SINGAPORE
Thousands ensnared in scam
More than 6,300 people fell prey to “fake friend” scams last year and collectively lost an equivalent of nearly US$16 million, police said. Such scams involved contacting victims, pretending to be someone they know and asking for financial assistance. Police on Tuesday said in a statement that the scams had cost victims S$21.1 million (US$15.8 million) in losses from January to November last year. In the latest case, five Malaysians were extradited on Tuesday to Singapore over “fake friend” scam calls involving more than US$1 million in lost funds, police said in a statement.
UNITED STATES
Nose wheel falls off plane
The nose wheel of a Boeing 757 passenger jet operated by Delta Air Lines popped off and rolled away as the plane was lining up for takeoff over the weekend from Atlanta’s international airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said. A preliminary notice filed on Monday by the agency said that none of the 184 passengers or six crew members aboard was hurt in the incident at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The aircraft was lining up and waiting for takeoff when the “nose wheel came off and rolled down the hill,” it said.
FRANCE
Coal use falling: IEA
Renewables are set to displace coal as the top source of energy for electricity production globally next year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday. In its annual report on the electricity market, it said that renewables — in particular from solar panels — should see their share of total electricity production surpass one-third of the total, passing from 30 percent last year to 37 percent in 2026. If nuclear power, which the IEA sees hitting a record next year, is included, almost half of the world’s electricity would be generated by low-emissions sources by 2026, up from a share of just less than 40 percent last year.
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
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
‘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
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