Twenty missing after falling from boat in rough seas off Libya’s coast
Small vessel tilted after taking in water, according to seven survivors who reached Italian island of Lampedusa
Twenty people are missing after falling into the sea from a tilting boat after it started to take in water in rough seas about 20 miles off the coast of Libya, according to survivors.
Carrying 27 passengers, the six-metre boat had left Zuwara in Libya at 10pm on Monday. Despite the waves, seven people managed to continue the journey on the rickety vessel before being found by an Italian police patrol boat on Tuesday night close to the southern island of Lampedusa.
Continue reading...Mitch McConnell’s legacy: A ‘grim reaper’ for US bipartisanship?
McConnell is set to step down as the longest-serving Senate leader. Experts say he made the chamber into a battlefield.
Reward of up to $1.9 million offered after “brazen” heist of jewelry in London – CBS News
- Reward of up to $1.9 million offered after "brazen" heist of jewelry in London CBS News
- More than $12 million worth of jewelry and Hermes bags stolen from London home CNN
- Burglar who stole £10m worth of jewellery from London mansion broke in through bathroom window The Guardian
- Jewel raid victims offer up to £1.5m in rewards Yahoo! Voices
- Primrose Hill burglar crept through house 'like Spiderman' to raid Shafira Huang's home The Telegraph
Ukraine ends supply of Russian gas to Europe – CNN
- Ukraine ends supply of Russian gas to Europe CNN
- Why Did Ukraine Halt the Flow of Russia’s Natural Gas to Europe? The New York Times
- Russian Gas to Europe Stops Flowing After Ukraine Refuses to Renew Pipeline Deal The Wall Street Journal
- Russia’s gas supply to Europe halted after Ukraine transit deal expires The Washington Post
- Explainer: What happens when Russian gas supply to Europe via Ukraine ends? Reuters
Russia warns of severe environmental damage as oil from damaged tankers washes up on beaches – Yahoo! Voices
- Russia warns of severe environmental damage as oil from damaged tankers washes up on beaches Yahoo! Voices
- Russia Says Oil Spill ‘Critical’ as Crimea Declares Emergency The Moscow Times
- Russian authorities plan to raise ships sunk in Kerch Strait in early summer Ukrinform
- Thousands of Russians have volunteered to clean Black Sea beaches and save local wildlife following a disastrous oil spill. Here’s what workers are saying. Meduza
- Russia declares federal emergency over Black Sea oil spill Reuters
Damascus Uncorked: Syria Throws a New Year’s Party for the Ages – The Wall Street Journal
- Damascus Uncorked: Syria Throws a New Year’s Party for the Ages The Wall Street Journal
- Throngs of Syrians celebrate New Year in a Damascus freed from Assad FRANCE 24 English
- A new year dawns on a Middle East torn by conflict and change The Associated Press
- Fireworks light up night sky in central Damascus as Syrians celebrate arrival of new year post-Assad Yahoo! Voices
- APTOPIX New Year's Eve Syria Corsicana Daily Sun
Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine cease as transit agreement expires
Ukraine president hails ‘one of Moscow’s biggest defeats’ as deal’s end brings power cuts in breakaway Moldovan region
Russian gas has stopped flowing to Europe via Ukraine, ending a major energy route that goes back to Soviet times and had even survived three years of full-scale war between the two states.
Ukraine cut off the transit route after an agreement signed in 2019 expired in the early hours of New Year’s Day, marking a new milestone in Europe weaning itself off Russian gas supplies over the past few years, and prompting immediate power cuts for hundreds of thousand of people in a breakaway region of Moldova.
Continue reading...New Year’s Eve fireworks explosion kills three people in Hawaii
Accident that also critically injured more than 20 others occurred just before midnight outside a Honolulu home
A New Year’s Eve fireworks explosion in a Honolulu-area neighborhood killed at least three people and critically injured more than 20 others, authorities say.
The accident occurred just before midnight outside a home, the Honolulu fire department said in a statement.
Continue reading...Moldova faces energy crisis as flow of Russian gas ends – BBC.com
- Moldova faces energy crisis as flow of Russian gas ends BBC.com
- Russia cuts off gas to Moldovan separatists, risking humanitarian crisis POLITICO Europe
- ‘No heating, no light': Moldovans fear looming energy shortage as Russia halts gas supplies The Associated Press
- Russian Gas Halt Leaves Transnistria Without Heating Amid Winter Freeze The Moscow Times
- Russia cuts off gas supplies to Transnistria Yahoo! Voices
Automatic voter registration may be an answer to UK’s troubling turnout gap
Experts say evidence from abroad shows AVR is effective – and it’s one of several proposals to try to boost voting
A healthy democracy depends on people participating in it. In the UK, the proportion of people doing so is falling. Voter turnout in general elections stayed above 70% from 1945 through to 1997, hitting more than 80% in 1950 and 1951. But it collapsed to 59.4% when Tony Blair won his second term in 2001, and though it rose again between 2010 and 2019, it has not reached the 70% mark since 1997. In the 2024 election, turnout fell to 59.7%.
The decline has been acute enough to trigger concern among Labour officials. Before July, the Guardian revealed they were drawing up plans to introduce automatic voter registration (AVR). In the election, when it came around, just 52% of adults living in the UK exercised their right to vote – the lowest proportion since universal suffrage was introduced. Crucially, this statistic counts all adults eligible to vote in the UK, not just those registered on the electoral roll.
Continue reading...Turnout inequality in UK elections close to tipping point, report warns
IPPR says elections could lose legitimacy because of falling turnout among groups such as renters and non-graduates
UK elections are “close to a tipping point” where they lose legitimacy because of plummeting voter turnout among renters and non-graduates, an influential thinktank has said.
Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that the gap in turnout between those with and without university degrees grew to 11 percentage points in the 2024 general election – double that of 2019.
Lowering the voting age to 16.
Implementing automatic voter registration.
Introducing a £100,000 annual cap on donations to political parties.
Creating an “election day service”.
Continue reading...Moldova faces energy crisis as flow of Russian gas ends
Russian gas has stopped passing through Ukraine after a five-year deal expired, leaving Moldova at risk of a crisis.
Moldova faces energy crisis as flow of Russian gas ends
Russian gas has stopped passing through Ukraine after a five-year deal expired, leaving Moldova at risk of a crisis.
Romania, Bulgaria drop EU border checks, join Schengen – DW (English)
- Romania, Bulgaria drop EU border checks, join Schengen DW (English)
- Romania and Bulgaria become full members of EU's Schengen zone Reuters
- Romania, Bulgaria join borderless Schengen zone after 13-year wait Al Jazeera English
- Ceremonies mark full membership of Bulgaria and Romania in Europe's Schengen travel zone The Associated Press
- Two Balkan nations ring in the new year by joining the Schengen Zone, ending a 13-year wait The Economic Times
What It’s Truly Like to Sleep in a Damp, Frigid Tent: A Report From Gaza – Drop Site News
- What It’s Truly Like to Sleep in a Damp, Frigid Tent: A Report From Gaza Drop Site News
- Updates: Israel continues to block Gaza aid; heavy rains flood tent camps Al Jazeera English
- Gaza newborn freezes to death, twin fights for his life after rain floods tent The Times of Israel
- Video. In central Gaza, rain floods the tents of displaced Palestinians Euronews
- Rainstorms uproot Gaza tents, leave children 'freezing and hungry' Middle East Eye
‘Pure evil’: politicians condemn New Orleans attack as White House offers support
Biden briefed by FBI as Trump appears to refer to suspect as foreign national even though identity has not been confirmed
Political reaction to the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans that is being investigated as a terrorist incident, came swiftly on Wednesday, with the White House saying that Joe Biden had been briefed by senior leadership at the FBI and by the leadership of the Department of Homeland Security.
The president also spoke by phone this morning with the New Orleans mayor, LaToya Cantrell, “to offer full federal support” according to the White House.
Continue reading...Ukraine halts supply of Russian gas to Europe
Ukraine ends agreement to allow gas to flow through its pipelines, with European supplies set to be tested as cold weather forecast later this week
Ukraine has halted Russian gas supplies to European customers through its pipeline network, almost three years into Moscow’s all-out invasion.
The move comes after a prewar transit deal expired during the final hours of 2024 and as the continent braces itself for a plunge in temperatures that could hasten the drain on gas reserves.
Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, confirmed on Wednesday morning that Kyiv had stopped the transit “in the interest of national security” after Russia refused to alter its stance on the war.
“This is a historic event,” he said in an update on the Telegram messaging app. “Russia is losing markets and will incur financial losses. Europe has already decided to phase out Russian gas, and [this] aligns with what Ukraine has done today.”
It’s time to get serious about stamp duty on shares, a terrible advert for London
The number of listed companies fleeing can’t be ignored – cutting or abolishing the tax could revive the capital market
Last year was another depressing one for departures from the London stock market. Back in January, it was Flutter heading for the exit. The owner of Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet got itself a secondary listing in the US and said it would quickly convert it into the primary one, which it did in May.
When December arrived, we were still on the same theme. Ashtead Group, the £27bn construction rental company that has been listed in London since 1986, announced plans to shift its primary listing to New York. Other escapers include Just Eat Takeaway, which is off to Amsterdam.
Continue reading...Webcam appears to show police running to New Orleans attack scene
The moment was captured on a webcam in the French Quarter of the city, moments after the attack happened.