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Germany

Drifting Russian tanker secured

A tugboat has stopped a tanker carrying around 99,000 metric tons of oil from Russia from drifting out of control off Germany’s Baltic Sea coast near the island of Ruegen, emergency services said. The 274-metre (899-foot) Panama-flagged tanker, called Eventin, and travelling from Russia to Egypt, had been drifting slowly and unable to manoeuvre since earlier on Friday, Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said. A tugboat was holding it in position and others were en route, CCME said, adding it was evaluating next steps. Evacuation of the 24-member crew was not necessary, it said.

Reuters

Ukraine

Honour your promises, says Zelensky

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskhy as called on allies to honour all promises to supply Ukraine with weapons, including those to counter Russian air attacks. Zelensky said that over the past week Russian forces had launched hundreds of strikes on Ukraine and nearly 700 aerial bombs and over 600 attack drones were used. Ukrainian air defences downed 60 out of 94 drones launched by Russia overnight, the air force said. It said that 34 drones were “lost”, in reference to Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones.

Reuters

Africa

Island voters decide next parliament

Voters in Comoros were heading to the polls to elect the Indian Ocean archipelago’s 33-seat parliament, a year after the re-election of President Azali Assoumani in a poll which the opposition alleged was marred by widespread irregularities. Officials from the ruling party have denied those allegations.

Reuters

Aviation

Russian airport puts freeze on flights

Pulkovo airport in Russia’s St Petersburg has halted operations due to heavy snowfall, the airport has said. At around 0830 local time (0530 GMT) the airport announced it was halting all flights and planned to resume operations shortly. However, this has been postponed until weather conditions improve. Artyom Korenyako, a spokesman for the national aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia, wrote in his Telegram account that as of 1235 local time 33 planes bound for St Petersburg had been redirected to alternate airports, primarily in Moscow.

Reuters

Military

Paratroopers leap into new year

Paratroopers from Japan’s Self Defence Force (JSDF) jumped hundreds of metres from aircraft with their American counterparts for their annual New Year’s drills. Officially titled the “New Year Jump,” according to JSDF officials, the drill, which is held at the Narashino Exercise Area in central Japan’s Funabashi, is the first Japan-US paratrooper exercise of 2025, which also involved paratroopers from other allies of Japan, including the Philippines and Canada.

Reuters

Technology

Bio Leg lends support to amputees

At CES 2025, the Bio Leg robotic prosthetic knee is being hailed as a game-changer for amputees, offering an advancement over traditional passive prosthetics. Unlike standard models, the Bio Leg incorporates a system of sensors, motors, and a battery that work in real-time to support the user’s movements. “This one has muscle. That makes a big difference. This muscle can have patient do some things they couldn’t do,” said Xiojun Sun, CEO of Bio Leg.

Reuters

Accident

5 hours ago

Six killed in restaurant blast

Six people died when a propane-butane cylinder exploded at a restaurant in the northwest Czech city of Most, setting the building on fire, emergency services said on Sunday. Eight people were injured in the fiery blast that occurred late on Saturday evening, and 30 people were evacuated from the restaurant and surrounding buildings, the Czech fire rescue service said on X social media platform. ”According to initial information from witnesses, a heater overturned, causing a fire,“ the fire brigade said.

Reuters

5 hours ago

Politics

6 hours ago

Elon Musk: Trump’s champion

After winning the election, US President-elect Donald Trump named Elon Musk to a role aimed at creating a more efficient government, handing even more influence to the world’s richest man who donated millions of dollars to helping Trump get elected. Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will co-lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency, an entity US President-elect Donald Trump indicated will operate outside the confines of government. The move by Trump handing even more influence to the world’s richest man who donated millions of dollars to helping Trump get elected.

Reuters

6 hours ago

Fire

Rescuers care for Pasadena pets

Donations have poured in for the rescued animals, veterinarians, and workers at Pasadena Humane since the Southern California wildfires began last Tuesday (January 7). Video from Pasadena Humane showed the rescued animals, donations, and people working tirelessly to save the animals. Animal facilities, veterinarians and rescue organisations have taken in and assisted dogs, horses, donkeys, goats, sheep and other creatures that were displaced by the ongoing fires along with their human owners.

Reuters

Iran

Trump envoy urges pressure on Iran

The world must return to a policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran to turn it into a more democratic country, US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg told an Iranian opposition event in Paris. Trump has vowed to return to the policy he pursued in his previous term that sought to wreck Iran’s economy to force the country to negotiate a deal on its nuclear programme, ballistic missile programme and regional activities.

Reuters

Migration

Tunnel found at Mexico border

US Border Patrol agents have discovered a sophisticated smuggling tunnel that crosses from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas. The tunnel, equipped with lighting and ventilation, was found after removing a metal plate covering its entry hole, connecting the Mexican side of the border with the storm drain system of the Texan city, according to the US Border Patrol. Mexican and US authorities collaborated in the operation.

Reuters

South Korea

Yoon to skip first impeachment trial hearing

South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol will not attend the first formal hearing of the trial to determine if he is removed from office or reinstated because of concerns about his safety. The Constitutional Court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is planning a new attempt to take Yoon into custody over a separate case relating to his failed attempt to impose martial law in early December.

Reuters

Germany

Merz: Trump not impressed by Scholz

Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leader Friedrich Merz has criticised Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a party convention in Hamburg for his strategy for dealing with future US president Donald Trump. “Moralising” would not help and impress Trump, he said after the CDU federal executive board closed its closed-door meeting in Hamburg. “Moralising from Germany has never made an impression in America and has usually had the opposite effect,“ said the opposition leader.

Reuters

Israel

13 hours ago

Minns calls out escalation in anti-Semitic crime

NSW premier Chris Minns says an attack on a Sydney synagogue marked an escalation in anti-Semitic crime in the state, after police said the attack was attempted arson. Australia has seen a series of anti-Semitic incidents in the last year, including graffiti on buildings and cars in Sydney, as well as an arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne that police ruled as terrorism. In the latest incident, police were notified of anti-Semitic graffiti on a synagogue in the inner suburb of Newtown early on Saturday.

Reuters

13 hours ago

Germany

14 hours ago

Scholz strikes hopeful tone

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged to lead the SPD to victory in the upcoming general election on February 23. “So we will fight,“ Scholz said at the Social Democrats’ special party conference in Berlin. “I’ll do everything I can to ensure...

Reuters

14 hours ago

Politics

15 hours ago

Trump prosecutor Smith resigns

US Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led the federal cases against Donald Trump on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat and mishandling of classified documents, has resigned, as the Republican president-elect prepared to return to the White House. Smith resigned on Friday from the Department of Justice, according to a court filing to US District Judge Aileen Cannon, asking her to lift a court order she issued blocking release of his final report. Notice of Smith’s resignation came in a footnote in the filing, which said the Special Counsel had completed his work, submitted his final confidential report on January 7, and “separated” from the Justice Department on January 10.

Reuters

15 hours ago

Middle East

Trump envoy, Netanyahu meet amid ceasefire push

US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid a push to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, Netanyahu’s office says. After the meeting, Netanyahu dispatched a high-level delegation which included the head of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency to Qatar in order to “advance” talks to return hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

Reuters

Ukraine

North Korean soldiers captured

Ukraine has captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region, President Volodymyr Zelensky says – the first time Ukraine has announced the capture of North Korean soldiers alive since their entry into the war last autumn. North Korean regular troops entered the war on Russia’s side in October, according to Kyiv and its western allies, who initially estimated their numbers at 10,000 or more. Zelensky said that the soldiers had been brought to Kyiv and were communicating with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the country’s domestic intelligence agency.

Reuters