BRAZIL
Plane crash kills 10
A small plane on Sunday crashed into a Brazilian town that is popular among tourists, killing all 10 passengers on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, the Brazilian Civil Defense Agency said. The agency in a post on X said the plane hit the chimney of a home and then the second floor of a building before crashing into a mobile phone shop in a largely residential neighborhood of Gramado. More than a dozen people who were on the ground were taken to hospitals with injuries including smoke inhalation, with two said to be in critical condition. It is not immediately clear what caused the crash. Local media reported that the plane was piloted by Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, a Brazilian businessman who was travelling with his family to Sao Paulo. In a statement published on LinkedIn, Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that the 61-year-old was on the plane, adding that he was traveling with his wife, their three daughters, several other family members and another company employee, who perished in the crash. “In this moment of intense pain we are deeply thankful with the manifestations of solidarity and love that we have received from friends, colleagues and the community” the statement reads.
ITALY
Trevi Fountain reopens
Rome’s iconic Trevi Fountain reopened on Sunday after three months of renovations, just in time for the inauguration of the 2025 Jubilee Holy Year that is expected to draw millions of visitors. The renovation work on the 18th-century monument that is one of the Italian capital’s main attractions cost 327,000 euros (US$340,495). To avoid overcrowding, the monument would be limited to 400 visitors at a time. “This way visitors will have ample opportunity to observe it and understand the values it embodies,” said Claudio Parisi Presicce, Rome’s superintendent for cultural heritage. To manage the overwhelming number of visitors, and the huge crowd expected for the Jubilee, Rome City officials have been devising a plan to block off the area around the fountain. Visitors would be required to book online and pay 2 euros to enter. Once inside, they would have 30 minutes to enjoy the fountain. During the renovation work, visitors could make their traditional coin toss into a makeshift pool. City lore has it that tossing a coin into the Baroque fountain would ensure a return trip to Rome. The tradition generates an estimated 1.5 million euros annually, which has been donated to the Catholic charity Caritas for the past 15 years.
COOK ISLANDS
Passport proposal denied
New Zealand has rejected a proposal by the Cook Islands, a self-governing nation in free association with the larger Pacific country, to allow the creation of its own passports and citizenship, but said it could discuss independence. New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs spokesman Winston Peters said in a statement late on Sunday that a separate passport, citizenship and membership of the UN are only available to fully independent and sovereign countries. As such, the Cook Islands could access these things while it remains in free association with New Zealand and would need to become fully independent for it to do so, the spokesperson said. “If the goal of the government of the Cook Islands is independence from New Zealand, then of course that’s a conversation we are ready for them to initiate,” the spokesperson said. He added any decision on Cook Islands’ future would be made by referendum.
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
RSS