By Victoria LUKOVENKO KYIV, Ukraine, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – Russian officials in the southern border city of Belgorod offered to evacuate worried residents on Friday, an unprecedented announcement that follows waves of fatal Ukrainian attacks. The Kremlin has tried to maintain a semblance of normalcy on the home front, but the recent strikes on Belgorod have brought the Ukraine conflict closer to home for Russians. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov’s assurance that scared civilians can relocate […]
International
Winter storm threatens travel chaos on US east coast
NEW YORK, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – Forecasters warned on Friday that a deluge of snow and wintery conditions could bring travel chaos to the US northeast this weekend, with some 25 million people subject to a storm warning. Several cities in the eastern United States including New York, the most-populous city in the country, have gone record periods without winter snowfall. But the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a winter storm warning that […]
India navy rescues Arabian Sea crew after hijack attempt
By Bhuvan BAGGA NEW DELHI, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – India’s navy said Friday it had rescued 21 crew members from a vessel in the Arabian Sea after a hijacking distress call, the latest attack on commercial shipping in the region. Last month the force deployed several warships into the sea to “maintain a deterrent presence” after a string of recent shipping attacks, including a drone strike near India’s coast which the United States has […]
Global maritime trade sails into geopolitical storm
By Antoine GUY, with Emeline Burckel in London PARIS, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – International maritime trade has hit stormy waters as attacks by Yemen’s Huthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea has reduced the availability of ships, causing freight rates to surge. Most large international shipping companies have decided to reroute trading to avoid the Red Sea and Suez Canal through which 12 percent of world trade usually passes. The Huthis say the […]
UN access at Ukraine nuclear plant curbed for safety: Russia
MOSCOW, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – Russia confirmed Friday it had blocked the UN’s nuclear watchdog from accessing parts of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant, but said it was for safety reasons. Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been on the ground monitoring the plant since September 2022, six months after it was captured by Moscow’s forces. Responding to an IAEA statement saying their team had been blocked from reactor halls, Renat Karchaa, […]
Nepal signs hydro energy export deal with India
KATHMANDU, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – Nepal signed a deal with India on Thursday for the Himalayan republic to export 10,000 megawatts of hydroelectricity over the next decade to its energy-hungry neighbour. More than four in five Nepalis did not have access to electricity in 2000, according to the International Energy Agency, but a dam building spree in the years since has helped connect nearly all of its 30 million people to the grid. It […]
Tesla to recall 1.6 mn cars in China to fix steering software: regulator
BEIJING, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – Tesla is recalling more than 1.6 million electric vehicles in China, the country’s market regulator said Friday, owing to software issues that could pose safety risks while driving. The recall — sparked by the discovery of problems with assisted driving functions and door-locking systems — will be conducted through remote ‘over-the-air’ (OTA) updates to the cars’ software. China is a vital component in US-based Tesla’s global layout, both as […]
Filipinos in Beirut urged to exercise caution after security incident
The Philippine Embassy in Beirut is urging Filipinos in Lebanon to exercise extreme caution following a security incident in the Dahye district on January 2nd, 2024. On January 2, a strike attributed to Israel in the southern suburbs of Beirut killed senior Hamas official, Saleh al- Arouri, raising fears of an extension of the conflict into Lebanon. The incident poses a significant threat to civilian safety, prompting the embassy to issue a travel advisory. Filipino […]
India navy says responding to Arabian Sea vessel hijack
NEW DELHI, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – India’s navy said Friday it was responding to the apparent hijacking of a cargo vessel in the Arabian Sea, the latest incident of attacks on commercial shipping in the region. Last month the force deployed several warships into the sea to “maintain a deterrent presence” after a string of recent shipping attacks, including a drone attack near India’s coast blamed on Iran by the United States. It comes […]
Japan quake death toll rises to 94 with 222 missing
By Harumi Ozawa and Natsuko Fukue in Tokyo ANAMIZU, Japan, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – Hampered by bad weather and damaged roads, Japanese rescuers searched Friday for 222 people still missing four days after a devastating earthquake as the death toll approached 100. Two elderly women were pulled from the rubble on Thursday, but hopes of finding other survivors after the 7.5 magnitude quake on New Year’s Day were fading with rain, snow and falling […]
China calls for ‘restraint’ from all parties after N. Korea shelling
BEIJING, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – China called Friday for “restraint” from all sides after Seoul said North Korea had fired an artillery barrage near two South Korean islands. “Under the current situation, we hope that all relevant parties maintain calm and restraint, refrain from taking actions that aggravate tensions, avoid further escalation of the situation, and create conditions for the resumption of meaningful dialogue,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters. Hours after the […]
URGENT: South Korea stages live fire drills on border island: Yonhap
SEOUL, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – South Korean marines on the border island of Yeonpyeong conducted live-fire artillery drills Friday, the Yonhap news agency reported, hours after North Korea staged an artillery barrage in the area. The troops held “live-fire artillery drills with K9 self-propelled howitzers,” Yonhap said, the first such drills in the area since both countries dropped a military accord in November. This is a developing story…





