PHILIPPINES
Doctor wins award
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, a Vietnamese doctor who has helped seek justice for people affected by “Agent Orange” — a defoliant dioxin used by US forces during the Vietnam War — was among this year’s winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards announced yesterday. Nguyen carried out extensive research into the long-term effects of Agent Orange, which she first encountered in the late 1960s as a medical intern when she helped deliver babies with severe birth defects as a result of the lingering effect of the highly toxic chemical, the awards body said. “Her work serves as a dire warning for the world to avoid war at all costs as its tragic repercussions can reach far into the future,” the Magsaysay foundation said. Other winners included Indonesian Farwiza Farhan, for her work to help lead a group to protect the Leuser Ecosystem on Sumatra Island; and Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki for his work to create animated films for children.
ARMENIA
Lightning strikes plant
A lightning strike on Friday caused the shutdown of the nation’s single nuclear power plant, Interfax news agency reported yesterday, citing local authorities. The plant was hit at 9:55pm and was disconnected from the grid, the report cited the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure as saying. The plant is about 25km outside the capital, Yerevan. “The reason was a lightning strike, which caused the station’s safety systems to switch it into safe shutdown mode,” the ministry said.
IRAQ
ISIS members killed
A joint operation by US and Iraqi forces killed 15 members of the Islamic State (ISIS) group in western Iraq, Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Friday. The raid targeted Islamic State leaders and was carried out on Thursday morning, resulting “in the death of 15 ISIS operatives” with “no indication of civilian casualties,” CENTCOM said on X. It said the Islamic State group members were “armed with numerous weapons, grenades and explosive ‘suicide’ belts.”
GERMANY
Stoltenberg defends Ukraine
Ukraine was fully within its rights to launch its offensive into Russia’s Kursk border region as an act of self-defense, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told German newspaper Die Welt. “Ukraine has a right to defend itself and according to international law, this right does not stop at the border,” Stoltenberg said in an interview published yesterday. “The Russian soldiers, tanks and bases there [in Kursk] are legitimate targets under international law.”
UNITED STATES
Suspect dies in crash
A man suspected of abducting a nine-year-old girl from a New York City supermarket and sexually assaulting her in his car was killed on Friday when he crashed while fleeing police, authorities said. Officers tried to pull over the 64-year-old suspect’s car in the early afternoon in Queens, New York Police Department Assistant Chief Jason Savino told a news conference. With police in pursuit, the driver ran a stop sign and struck another vehicle. He died at a hospital. The driver of the other vehicle sustained minor injuries. Police said the man approached the girl in the Key Food store Thursday evening while her grandmother was using the restroom. He told the girl to get in front of him, grabbed her hair and “forcefully” led her outside, Savino said. He then pushed the girl into his car, drove a short distance, assaulted her and left her on the street.
The Burmese junta has said that detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is “in good health,” a day after her son said he has received little information about the 80-year-old’s condition and fears she could die without him knowing. In an interview in Tokyo earlier this week, Kim Aris said he had not heard from his mother in years and believes she is being held incommunicado in the capital, Naypyidaw. Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was detained after a 2021 military coup that ousted her elected civilian government and sparked a civil war. She is serving a
REVENGE: Trump said he had the support of the Syrian government for the strikes, which took place in response to an Islamic State attack on US soldiers last week The US launched large-scale airstrikes on more than 70 targets across Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s vow to strike back after the killing of two US soldiers. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” The US Central Command said that fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery targeted ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned
Seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed and a calf was injured when a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in India’s northeastern state of Assam early yesterday, local authorities said. The train driver spotted the herd of about 100 elephants and used the emergency brakes, but the train still hit some of the animals, Indian Railways spokesman Kapinjal Kishore Sharma told reporters. Five train coaches and the engine derailed following the impact, but there were no human casualties, Sharma said. Veterinarians carried out autopsies on the dead elephants, which were to be buried later in the day. The accident site
RUSHED: The US pushed for the October deal to be ready for a ceremony with Trump, but sometimes it takes time to create an agreement that can hold, a Thai official said Defense officials from Thailand and Cambodia are to meet tomorrow to discuss the possibility of resuming a ceasefire between the two countries, Thailand’s top diplomat said yesterday, as border fighting entered a third week. A ceasefire agreement in October was rushed to ensure it could be witnessed by US President Donald Trump and lacked sufficient details to ensure the deal to end the armed conflict would hold, Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow said after an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The two countries agreed to hold talks using their General Border Committee, an established bilateral mechanism, with Thailand
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