RUSSIA
Presidential race closes
Registration of candidates for next month’s presidential election has closed, TASS reported yesterday, with a list including President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to win, and three politicians who all support Moscow’s war in Ukraine. The list did not include the anti-war candidate Boris Nadezhdin after the Central Election Commission on Thursday barred him from running, saying it had found flaws in the collection of signatures required for the support of his candidacy. The commission registered Vladislav Davankov, deputy chair of the Russian Duma and a member of the New People caucus; Leonid Slutsky, the leader of the Kremlin-loyal ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party; and the Communist Party nominee, Nikolai Kharitonov.
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
Oil spill after shipwreck
Emergency workers were on Saturday scrambling to clean up a massive oil spill after a mystery vessel ran aground near the Caribbean island, casting a pall over Carnival tourism. At least 15km of coastline have been affected in Tobago and authorities were poised to declare a national emergency, Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Farley Augustine told reporters. Environmental officials said the spill has damaged a reef and Atlantic beaches, boding ill for the island’s resorts and hotels. The government might elevate the accident to a Level 3 disaster, Augustine said, adding: “Everything indicates that we are going in that direction.” The mystery vessel, identified as The Gulfstream, capsized on Wednesday off the coast of the Cove Eco-Industrial Park in southern Tobago, and currents have dragged the boat shoreward. When sighted on Wednesday, the ship was sailing under an unidentified flag and made no emergency calls. Emergency Management Agency said there were no signs of life on the vessel, whose cargo was initially believed to consist of sand and wood.
UNITED KINGDOM
King thanks well-wishers
King Charles III on Saturday expressed his “heartfelt thanks” to well-wishers, in his first statement since being diagnosed with cancer. In a message to the public on X, the 75-year-old monarch added that it was “equally heartening” to hear how sharing his diagnosis has helped promote understanding of the condition. “I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks for the many messages of support and good wishes I have received in recent days,” Charles wrote. “As all those who have been affected by cancer will know, such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement.”
UNITED STATES
Reward for dead wolves info
A federal agency is offering a US$50,000 reward for information about the deaths of three endangered gray wolves from the same pack in southern Oregon. The collars from two gray wolves sent a mortality signal on Dec. 29. State wildlife officials responded and found three dead wolves, two with collars and one without, the Fish and Wildlife Service said in a statement. The collared wolves were an adult breeding female and a subadult from the Gearhart Mountain Pack. The other wolf killed was also a subadult. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said it is aware of seven wolves remaining in the pack, including a breeding male. Officials did not indicate in the statement how the wolves died. A phone message left Saturday seeking more information was not immediately returned.
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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