China's satellite launch triggers
air raid alert in Taiwan
TAIPEI, Jan 09: Taiwan issued an islandwide air raid alert after a Chinese satellite flew over its southern airspace days before a crucial presidential election. Mobile phone users across the self-ruled island received a message warning them to "be aware for your safety". The "presidential alert" underlined jitters ahead of pivotal presidential and legislative elections on Saturday. China has long claimed Taiwan as part of its own territory and has been accused of interfering in the vote. — BBC
Magnitude-6.0 quake hits central Japan
TOKYO, Jan 09: A magnitude 6.0 earthquake off central Japan caused strong shaking on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, but no tsunami warning was issued. The earthquake struck off the Sea of Japan coast, rattling the same part of the country where a huge tremor on New Year's Day and its aftershocks caused widespread destruction, killing more than 200 people. — AFP
Private US lunar lander faces failure
WASHINGTON, Jan 09: A historic private mission to land on the Moon faced near-certain failure Monday after the spacecraft suffered a "critical loss" of fuel, dealing a major blow to America's hopes of placing its first robot on the lunar surface in five decades. Fixed to the top of United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan rocket, which was making its first flight, Astrobotic's Peregrine Lunar Lander blasted off overnight from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, then successfully separated from its launch vehicle. — AFP
2023 confirmed as world's hottest year
LONDON, Jan 09: The year 2023 has been confirmed as the warmest on record, driven by human-caused climate change and boosted by the natural El Niño weather event. Last year was about 1.48C warmer than the long-term average before humans started burning large amounts of fossil fuels, the EU's climate service says. Almost every day since July has seen a new global air temperature high for the time of year, BBC analysis shows. Sea surface temperatures have also smashed previous highs. The Met Office reported last week that the UK experienced its second warmest year on record in 2023. These global records are bringing the world closer to breaching key international climate targets. — BBC
Blast at Texas hotel leaves 21 injured
FORT WORTH, Jan 09: An explosion at a historic Texas hotel in Fort Worth on Monday blew out windows, littered downtown streets with large sections of debris from the building and injured 21 people, including one who was in critical condition, authorities said. The blast flung doors and entire sections of wall onto the road in front of the 20-story hotel, where authorities said rescue crews found several people trapped in the basement. Fifteen people were taken to hospitals, including six whose conditions were described as "semi-critical" by MedStar, which provides ambulances and emergency medical services in Fort Worth. —AP
US Navy sailor jailed for spying
NEW YORK, Jan 09: A US Navy sailor who admitted to providing sensitive military information to China has been jailed for more than two years. Wenheng Zhao, 26, pleaded guilty in October to passing on information to Chinese intelligence for bribes. Mr Zhao was a petty officer working at a California naval base. He passed on information about military exercises, operational orders and critical infrastructure from 2021 to 2023, US officials said. —BB
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