VIETNAM
Flash flooding kills five
Flash flooding killed five people, damaged hundreds of homes and destroyed crops, disaster authorities said yesterday, after Tropical Storm Trami dumped heavy rain across the country. Trami made landfall on Sunday after tearing through the Philippines, where it killed more than 100 people. Five people died in Quang Binh Province and five others were injured, the Ministry of Agriculture said in an online report. More than 300 houses and nearly 1,300 hectares of crops were damaged, the ministry added.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
COP29 boycott announced
Port Moresby yesterday said that it would boycott this month’s UN climate summit, branding the negotiations a “waste of time,” full of empty promises from big polluters. While many have criticized the annual COP summit, it is rare for any government to so totally dismiss the UN’s premier climate talks. “There’s no point going if we are falling asleep because of jet lag because we’re not getting anything done,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Justin Tkatchenko told reporters ahead of this month’s COP29 summit in Azerbaijan. “All the big polluters of the world promise and commit millions to assist in climate relief and support. And I can tell you now it’s all going to consultants. COP is a total waste of time,” Tkatchenko said. “We are sick of the rhetoric as well as the merry-go-round of getting absolutely nothing done over the last three years. We are the third-biggest rainforest nation in the world. We are sucking up the pollutants of these major countries. And they are getting away with it scot-free.”
UNITED STATES
Snow falls in Hawaii
Snow fell on Hawaii’s tallest peak this week. The summit area of Mauna Kea, which is 4,207m above sea level, on Big Island got about 5cm of white powder. Temperatures there can drop below freezing year-round, creating the potential for snow during any month.
UNITED STATES
Police seek ballot arsonist
A man suspected of setting fires in election ballot drop boxes in Oregon and Washington state is an experienced metalworker and might be planning additional attacks, authorities said on Wednesday. Investigators believe the man who set the incendiary devices at ballot boxes in Portland, Oregon, and nearby Vancouver, Washington, had a “wealth of experience” in metal fabrication and welding, Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner said. The way the devices were constructed and the way they were attached to the metal drop boxes showed that expertise, Benner said. Authorities described the suspect as a white man, aged 30 to 40, who was driving a black or dark-colored Volvo S-60. The incendiary devices were marked with the message “Free Gaza,” a law enforcement official said on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.
MEXICO
Top judges to resign
Eight of the 11 Supreme Court judges have submitted their resignations following judicial reforms, the top court said on Wednesday. In a move that has sparked diplomatic tensions and opposition street protests, the nation is set to become the only one in the world to allow voters to choose all judges, at every level, starting next year. The eight justices declined to stand for election in June next year, the court said in a statement.
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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