PALAU
Migrant deal inked
The Pacific nation has agreed to accept up to 75 non-American migrants from the US under a deal worth US$7.5 million, the two countries said on Wednesday. Under a new memorandum of understanding, Palau is to let up to 75 third-country nationals from the US live and work on the archipelago, officials said. In return, the US would grant it US$7.5 million for public service and infrastructure needs. “Palau would have to agree on a case-by-case basis as to individuals who will be arriving in Palau under the arrangement,” the Pacific nation said in a statement.
Photo: AP
TANZANIA
Rescue goes wrong
Five people died after a helicopter crashed on Mount Kilimanjaro on Wednesday evening. Police said that the helicopter was on a rescue mission to pick up people on the mountain. Two foreigners, who police said had been picked up in a medical evacuation, were among those killed. A local doctor, a tour guide and a pilot were also killed in the crash. Kilimanjaro Regional Police Commander Simon Maigwa told journalists the aircraft belonged to the Kilimanjaro Aviation company, which conducts medical evacuation services, among others. Investigations were ongoing to determine what caused the crash.
UNITED STATES
Lottery win tops US$1.8bn
A Powerball player in Arkansas won a US$1.817 billion jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing, ending the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner. The winning numbers were 04, 25, 31, 52 and 59, with the Powerball number being 19. The jackpot was the second-largest in the nation’s history and the largest Powerball prize of this year.
REVENGE: Trump said he had the support of the Syrian government for the strikes, which took place in response to an Islamic State attack on US soldiers last week The US launched large-scale airstrikes on more than 70 targets across Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s vow to strike back after the killing of two US soldiers. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” The US Central Command said that fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery targeted ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned
‘POLITICAL LOYALTY’: The move breaks with decades of precedent among US administrations, which have tended to leave career ambassadors in their posts US President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered dozens of US ambassadors to step down, people familiar with the matter said, a precedent-breaking recall that would leave embassies abroad without US Senate-confirmed leadership. The envoys, career diplomats who were almost all named to their jobs under former US president Joe Biden, were told over the phone in the past few days they needed to depart in the next few weeks, the people said. They would not be fired, but finding new roles would be a challenge given that many are far along in their careers and opportunities for senior diplomats can
Seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed and a calf was injured when a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in India’s northeastern state of Assam early yesterday, local authorities said. The train driver spotted the herd of about 100 elephants and used the emergency brakes, but the train still hit some of the animals, Indian Railways spokesman Kapinjal Kishore Sharma told reporters. Five train coaches and the engine derailed following the impact, but there were no human casualties, Sharma said. Veterinarians carried out autopsies on the dead elephants, which were to be buried later in the day. The accident site
RUSHED: The US pushed for the October deal to be ready for a ceremony with Trump, but sometimes it takes time to create an agreement that can hold, a Thai official said Defense officials from Thailand and Cambodia are to meet tomorrow to discuss the possibility of resuming a ceasefire between the two countries, Thailand’s top diplomat said yesterday, as border fighting entered a third week. A ceasefire agreement in October was rushed to ensure it could be witnessed by US President Donald Trump and lacked sufficient details to ensure the deal to end the armed conflict would hold, Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow said after an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The two countries agreed to hold talks using their General Border Committee, an established bilateral mechanism, with Thailand
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