Reuters, Washington
A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a “freedom of navigation” operation on Friday, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials told Reuters.
Friday’s operation was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters.
Firecracker factory fire kills 5 in India
AP, Patna
A big explosion ignited a fire at an illegal firecracker factory in an eastern Indian town, killing at least five workers and injuring another 12, police said Friday.
Police officer Sudhir Kumar Porika said the injured have been hospitalized, five of them in critical condition.
The dead included three children of the factory operator, who was running it without a license in a rented home in Biharsharif, a town 70 kilometers (45 miles) southeast of Patna, the capital of Bihar state.
World’s carbon emissions on the rise again: IEA
AFP, Paris
Harmful carbon emissions from energy rose in 2017 for the first time in three years, the International Energy Agency said Thursday, proof that the world’s efforts to fight climate change are falling short. Strong economic growth pushed global energy demand up by 2.1 percent last year, the Paris-based IEA said in a report.
Some 70 percent of those additional needs were met by fossil fuels oil, gas and coal, pushing global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions up by 1.4 percent, after three years of remaining flat.
Fire kills 13 in Vietnam
AP, Hanoi
Residents startled awake by loud noise and smoke signaled for help with lit mobile phones and crawled onto cranes from their balconies to escape a fire Friday at a large condominium complex in southern Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. At least 13 people were killed and 28 injured, with police saying it was unclear if anyone was missing.
State media quoted the city’s police and fire department as saying police rescued more than 100 residents while more than 1,000 escaped the fire themselves.
Putin declared winner in Presidential vote
AP, Moscow
Russian electoral officials have officially declared incumbent President Vladimir Putin the winner of last Sunday’s election. The Central Election Commission on Friday issued final results, showing that Putin won nearly 77 percent of the vote. Communist candidate Pavel Grudinin came second with nearly 12 percent.
The vote was tainted by widespread reports of ballot-box stuffing and forced voting. Ella Pamfilova, chairwoman of the Election Commission, said at the commission’s session on Friday that the vote was free and fair.
