BEIJING — One Chinese tourist was killed and another injured after their jet skis collided off Thailand’s Phuket island on Tuesday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing China’s embassy in Thailand.
The cause of the incident was being investigated, CCTV said. This marks the second incident involving Chinese tourists near Phuket in just two days.
Thailand is a popular destination for Chinese tourists who are set to travel during the upcoming Lunar New Year break.
On Monday, a catamaran carrying 33 Chinese and 5 crew members capsized off the coast of Koh Racha island north of Phuket, CCTV reported.
All those on board were rescued with no casualties, the report said.
Last year, Chinese tourists accounted for the largest group of visitors to Thailand, with 6.7 million visits to the Southeast Asian country.
MOSCOW — Moscow said on Tuesday that Ukraine had fired six U.S.-made ATACMS ballistic missiles, six UK-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles and at least 146 drones into Russia in an attack that it said would not go unanswered.
After Ukraine first launched ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles into Russia last year, Moscow responded on Nov. 21 by launching a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile known as “Oreshnik”, or Hazel Tree, at Ukraine.
Russia’s defence ministry said it had shot down all of the Western missiles fired by Ukraine at the Bryansk region, as well as 146 drones outside the war zone. It said two more Storm Shadows had been shot down over the Black Sea.
“The actions of the Kyiv regime, supported by its Western curators, will not go unanswered,” the defence ministry said.
President Vladimir Putin said in November that the Ukraine war was escalating towards a global conflict after the United States and Britain allowed Ukraine for the first time to launch their missiles deep inside Russia.
President-elect Donald Trump has pushed for a ceasefire and negotiations to end the war quickly, leaving Washington’s long-term support for Ukraine in question.
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has left tens of thousands of dead, displaced millions and triggered the biggest crisis in relations between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
DRONE ATTACK
The drone attack on Russia was one of the biggest to date.
Roman Busargin, governor of the Saratov region about 720 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow, said the cities of Saratov and Engels, on opposite banks of the Volga River, had been subjected to a mass drone attack and there was damage to two industrial sites. Schools had shifted to remote learning, he said.
Ukraine attacked the same region last week and claimed to have struck an oil depot serving an airbase for Russian nuclear bomber planes, causing a huge fire that took five days to put out.
The drone attack struck a munitions storage facility holding guided bombs and missiles at the Engels airbase in Russia’s Saratov region as well as other targets, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine said on Tuesday.
The attack caused a large fire at the Aleksinsky chemical plant in the Tula region and a fire at the Saratovsky oil refinery, while the Bryansk chemical plant was also hit, the source said. Reuters could not independently verify the claims of damage.
The source said there had been subsequent detonations at the Bryansk chemical plant as well as a large fire. The operation was conducted by the SBU and Ukraine’s defence forces, the Ukrainian source told Reuters from Kyiv.
Flight restrictions were imposed at airports in Kazan, Saratov, Penza, Ulyanovsk and Nizhnekamsk, Russia’s aviation watchdog said.
ANKARA — A multi-vehicle chain collision involving two minibuses and two worker-carrying buses left 31 people wounded on Tuesday in Ankara, Türkiye’s capital, reported the Anadolu Agency.
The accident took place in the Cubuk district and resulted in injuries to the 31 people, who were transported to local hospitals.
The conditions of the injured are stable and not life-threatening, Anadolu reported.
NEW DELHI — At least six Indian army troopers were injured on Tuesday in a landmine blast on the Line of Control (LoC) in Indian-controlled Kashmir, multiple local media reports said.
The blast went off near Khamba Fort area of Nowshera sector in Rajouri district, about 222 km southwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
“One of the soldiers accidentally stepped over a landmine, which triggered the blast,” a local newsgathering agency quoting officials said. “The wounded have been shifted to a hospital.”
LOS ANGELES — As multiple wildfires continue to rage in Los Angeles, a growing controversy has emerged surrounding the hiring of private firefighters by affluent residents.
“Does anyone have access to private firefighters to protect our home? Need to act fast here. All neighbors’ houses burning. Will pay any amount,” Keith Wasserman, a co-founder of a real estate investment firm, wrote on X.
About 45 percent of all firefighters working in the United States today are employed privately, according to Deborah Miley, executive director of the National Wildfire Suppression Association, which represents more than 300 private firefighting groups.
“A two-person private firefighting crew with a small vehicle can cost 3,000 U.S. dollars a day, while a larger crew of 20 firefighters in four fire trucks can run to 10,000 dollars a day,” Bryan Wheelock, vice president of Grayback Forestry, a private firefighting company in Oregon, told The New York Times.
But as these companies rack up cash, the ones who hire them are taking heat from ordinary folk — more than 100,000 of whom have been forced to flee, leaving their houses under the protection of the overwhelmed public fire department.
Private firefighting units have been a controversial topic in recent years, becoming a symbol of access for the wealthy and drawing criticism for heightening class divides during disasters, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Access to water — in particular, whether private firefighters should be able to tap public hydrants during a wildfire — is another consideration, and has been a recurrent concern among critics of private firefighting, reported The New York Times.
“When we see groups like this come in, we don’t consider them an asset — we consider them a liability,” said Brian Rice, president of California Professional Firefighters, which represents 35,000 firefighters.
JERUSALEM — Yemen’s Houthi forces fired a missile at Israel early on Tuesday, triggering sirens in wide areas, including Tel Aviv and some Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, according to an Israeli military statement.
“Several attempts were made to intercept the missile,” the military said, adding, “It was likely intercepted.”
No injuries were reported, but the attack caused property damage. The police said in a statement that homes in Mevo Beitar and Tzur Hadassah on the outskirts of Jerusalem were damaged. An image released by the police showed a missile fragment embedded in the roof of a residential home.
Bomb disposal units and additional police forces are operating in the area to assess the damage and secure the site.
The attack came a day after Houthi forces launched a drone and a ballistic missile toward Israel, both of which were intercepted.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have been carrying out missile and drone attacks on Israel and disrupting “Israeli-linked” shipping in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians amid their ongoing conflict with Israelis in the Gaza Strip.
VLADIVOSTOK — An Amur tiger attacked and killed a man in Primorye Territory in Russia’s Far East area, local media reported on Tuesday.
The incident happened near the village of Zimniki in the Dalnerechensky District, about 480 km northeast of the city of Vladivostok, Philipp Shutov, Primorye’s deputy minister of forestry, environmental protection, wildlife and natural resources, was quoted as saying by Russia’s TASS news agency.
“Police officers and hunting supervision specialists are currently working at the site,” Shutov said in a video statement.
The Amur tiger, with a population of about 750, is listed as Endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
LIMA — At least 17 miners were trapped in a small gold mine in northwestern Peru’s La Libertad department after a group of illegal miners attacked the mine on Sunday morning, said the state news agency Andina on Monday.
The illegal miners blew up a high-tension tower at the mine, which caused it to collapse. Rescuers have deployed equipment to carry out rescue operations. At present, the missing 17 miners have not been found, according to local media.
Peru is rich in gold, silver, copper, and other mineral resources. The Peruvian government has been working to crack down on illegal mining activities.
LHASA — A total of 3,614 aftershocks had been detected as of 8 a.m. Tuesday since the 6.8-magnitude earthquake which jolted Dingri County in southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region last week, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.
Most aftershocks were below 3.0 magnitude, the center revealed.
The two strongest aftershocks, one of 4.9 magnitude and another of 5.0 magnitude, occurred on Monday night — toppling some houses in the county, local authorities said.
“As residents had earlier moved to tents and prefab houses, no casualties have been reported so far,” said Tashi Dondrup, county head of Dingri.
On Jan. 7, the 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit Dingri, home to the northern base camp of the world’s highest peak, Mount Qomolangma, claiming 126 lives.
SYDNEY — Nine beaches in Sydney, including well-known Manly beach, were closed to bathers on Tuesday after small white and grey balls of debris washed up on the shores at the height of the summer holiday season.
Northern Beaches Council said it was working on safely removing the matter. Most of the samples of the ball-shaped debris were the size of marbles, with some larger, it said in a statement.
Sydney’s ocean beaches, famed for golden sand and clean water, draw tourists from around the globe.
Beachgoers were advised to avoid Manly, Dee Why, Long Reef, Queenscliff, Freshwater, North and South Curl Curl, North Steyne and North Narrabeen beaches until further notice and keep away from the material while the clean-up and investigations continued.
Authorities said they were working closely with the state’s environmental agency to collect samples of the debris for testing.
Last October, several beaches including the iconic Bondi east of downtown Sydney were shut after thousands of black balls appeared on the shores.
An inquiry later found that those balls were formed from fatty acids, chemicals similar to those in cosmetics and cleaning products, as well as hair, food waste and other materials associated with wastewater.
SEOUL — North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, marking Pyongyang’s latest show of force just days ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office.
The missiles travelled about 250 km (155 miles) after lifting off at around 09:30 am (0030 GMT) from Kanggye, Jagang Province, near the country’s border with China, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
“We strongly condemn the launch as a clear provocation that seriously threatens the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula,” the JCS said, warning the North against “misjudging” the situation and vowing to “overwhelmingly respond” to any additional provocations.
South Korea’s Acting President Choi Sang-mok also condemned the launch as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and said Seoul would sternly respond to North Korea’s provocations.
Seoul’s presidential office said its national security council held a meeting to review the situation and pledged an airtight posture.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said he was aware of the missile test, and Tokyo was taking all possible measures to respond through close cooperation with Washington and Seoul, including real-time sharing of missile warning data.
The launch came about a week after the North fired what it claimed was a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile, which was its first missile test since Nov. 5.
The latest missile firing also occurred during a visit to Seoul by Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Iwaya condemned the North’s nuclear and missile development on Monday and pledged to boost security ties following talks in Seoul.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while visiting Seoul last week, also called for further strengthening of bilateral and trilateral cooperation involving Tokyo to better counter Pyongyang’s growing military threats.
Tuesday’s launch occurred days before the inauguration of Trump, who held unprecedented summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his first term and has touted their personal rapport.
South Korean lawmakers, after being briefed by the National Intelligence Service, said on Monday that Pyongyang’s recent weapons tests were partly aimed at “showing off its U.S. deterrent assets and drawing Trump’s attention” after vowing “the toughest anti-U.S. counteraction” at a key year-end policy meeting last month.
Israeli soldiers are seen at a staging ground near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP)
JERUSALEM — Yotam Vilk says the image of Israeli soldiers killing an unarmed Palestinian teenager in the Gaza Strip is seared in his mind.
An officer in the armored corps, Vilk said the instructions were to shoot any unauthorized person who entered an Israeli-controlled buffer zone in Gaza. He saw at least 12 people killed, he said, but it is the shooting of the teen that he can’t shake.
“He died as part of a bigger story. As part of the policy of staying there and not seeing Palestinians as people,” Vilk, 28, told The Associated Press.
Vilk is among a growing number of Israeli soldiers speaking out against the 15-month conflict and refusing to serve anymore, saying they saw or did things that crossed ethical lines. While the movement is small — some 200 soldiers signed a letter saying they’d stop fighting if the government didn’t secure a ceasefire — soldiers say it’s the tip of the iceberg and they want others to come forward.
Their refusal comes at a time of mounting pressure on Israel and Hamas to wind down the fighting. Ceasefire talks are underway, and both President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have called for a deal by the Jan. 20 inauguration.
Seven soldiers who’ve refused to continue fighting in Gaza spoke with AP, describing how Palestinians were indiscriminately killed and houses destroyed. Several said they were ordered to burn or demolish homes that posed no threat, and they saw soldiers loot and vandalize residences.
Soldiers are required to steer clear of politics, and they rarely speak out against the army.
After Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel quickly united behind the war launched against the militant group.
Divisions here have grown as the war progresses, but most criticism has focused on the mounting number of soldiers killed and the failure to bring home hostages, not actions in Gaza.
International rights groups have accused Israel of war crimes and genocide in Gaza. The International Court of Justice is investigating genocide allegations filed by South Africa.
The International Criminal Court is seeking the arrests of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
Israel adamantly rejects genocide allegations and says it takes extraordinary measures to minimize civilian harm in Gaza.
The army says it never intentionally targets civilians, and investigates and punishes cases of suspected wrongdoing. But rights groups have long said the army does a poor job of investigating itself.
The army told AP it condemns the refusal to serve and takes any call for refusal seriously, with each case examined individually. Soldiers can go to jail for refusing to serve, but none who signed the letter has been detained, according to those who organized the signatures.
Soldiers’ reactions in Gaza
When Vilk entered Gaza in November 2023, he said, he thought the initial use of force might bring both sides to the table. But as the war dragged on, he said he saw the value of human life disintegrate.
On the day the Palestinian teenager was killed last August, he said, Israeli troops shouted at him to stop and fired warning shots at his feet, but he kept moving. He said others were also killed walking into the buffer zone — the Netzarim Corridor, a road dividing northern and southern Gaza.
Vilk acknowledged it was hard to determine whether people were armed, but said he believes soldiers acted too quickly.
In the end, he said, Hamas is to blame for some deaths in the buffer zone — he described one Palestinian detained by his unit who said Hamas paid people $25 to walk into the corridor to gauge the army’s reaction.
Some soldiers told AP it took time to digest what they saw in Gaza. Others said they became so enraged they decided they’d stop serving almost immediately.
Yuval Green, a 27-year-old medic, described abandoning his post last January after spending nearly two months in Gaza, unable to live with what he’d seen.
He said soldiers desecrated homes, using black markers meant for medical emergencies to scribble graffiti, and looted homes, looking for prayer beads to collect as souvenirs.
The final straw, he said, was his commander ordering troops to burn down a house, saying he didn’t want Hamas to be able to use it. Green said he sat in a military vehicle, choking on fumes amid the smell of burning plastic. He found the fire vindictive — he said he saw no reason to take more from Palestinians than they’d already lost. He left his unit before their mission was complete.
Green said that as much as he loathed what he witnessed, “the cruelty was at least in part provoked by the havoc wreaked by Hamas on Oct. 7, which people can forget.”
He said he wants his actions in refusing to serve to help break the vicious cycle of violence on all sides.
The soldiers’ refusal as an act of protest
Soldiers for the Hostages — the group behind the letter troops signed — is trying to garner momentum, holding an event this month in Tel Aviv and gathering more signatures. A panel of soldiers spoke about what they’d seen in Gaza. Organizers distributed poster-size stickers with a Martin Luther King Jr. quote: “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”
Max Kresch, an organizer, said soldiers can use their positions to create change. “We need to use our voice to speak up in the face of injustice, even if that is unpopular,” he said.
But some who fought and lost colleagues call the movement a slap in the face. More than 830 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the war, according to the army.
“They are harming our ability to defend ourselves,” said Gilad Segal, a 42-year-old paratrooper who spent two months in Gaza at the end of 2023. He said everything the army did was necessary, including the flattening of houses used as Hamas hideouts. It’s not a soldier’s place to agree or disagree with the government, he argued.
Ishai Menuchin, spokesperson for Yesh Gvul, a movement for soldiers refusing to serve, said he works with more than 80 soldiers who have refused to fight and that there are hundreds more who feel similarly but remain silent.
Effects on soldiers
Some of the soldiers who spoke to AP said they feel conflicted and regretful, and they’re talking to friends and relatives about what they saw to process it.
Many soldiers suffer from “moral injury,” said Tuly Flint, a trauma therapy specialist who’s counseled hundreds of them during the war. It’s a response when people see or do something that goes against their beliefs, he said, and it can result in a lack of sleep, flashbacks and feelings of unworthiness. Talking about it and trying to spark change can help, Flint said.
One former infantry soldier told AP about his feelings of guilt — he said he saw about 15 buildings burned down unnecessarily during a two-week stint in late 2023. He said that if he could do it all over again, he wouldn’t have fought.
“I didn’t light the match, but I stood guard outside the house. I participated in war crimes,” said the soldier, speaking on condition of anonymity over fears of retaliation. “I’m so sorry for what we’ve done.”
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles is bracing for worsening scenario of wildfires as high winds forecast to create “extremely dangerous” weather conditions across coastal Southern California.
Thousands of firefighters battled wildfires in Los Angeles County on Monday, since the flames started ravaging the city last Tuesday.
The fierce wildfires, fueled by severe drought conditions and strong winds, scorched over 40,500 acres and destroyed more than 12,300 structures as of Monday.
The Palisades Fire, the largest one, was 14 percent contained, and the Eaton Fire, the second largest, was 33 percent contained as of Monday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
At least 25 people have died and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires rage across the Los Angeles area.
About 92,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders, and another 89,000 are under evacuation warnings, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters on Monday.
More than 80,000 customers in California are without power as Southern California Edison starts shutting off power in parts of Southern California ahead of the next wind event, which begins Tuesday.
High winds are forecast to pick up again Monday through Wednesday, with gusts up to 70 miles an hour creating “extremely dangerous fire weather conditions” across coastal Southern California, said the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS).
“Conditions are favorable for very rapid fire spread and extreme fire behavior, including long range spotting, which would threaten life and property,” NWS said on X.
NWS issued a “particularly dangerous situation red flag warning” for parts of Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties through Wednesday.
The red flag warning signals fire danger.
The fires were predicted to become the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, and the death toll would likely rise, California Governor Gavin Newsom said Sunday.
“I think it will be in terms of just the costs associated with it, in terms of the scale and scope,” Newsom told reporters. “I’ve got search-and-rescue teams out. We’ve got cadaver dogs out. And there’s likely to be a lot more.”
Los Angeles police authorities have made 34 arrests in wildfire-ravaged areas, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Monday.
Those arrests were related to burglary, looting, illegal drone operations, people entering restricted areas with guns and narcotics, and curfew violations, Luna said.
The announcement of Oscar nominees for the 2025 Academy Awards was delayed again due to Los Angeles wildfires, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Monday.
As fires continue to burn, the academy has extended the voting period and postponed again the nominations announcements to Jan. 23.
“Due to the still-active fires in the Los Angeles area, we feel it is necessary to extend our voting period and move the date of our nominations announcement to allow additional time for our members,” academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang said in a joint statement.
BEIRUT — Nawaf Salam, president of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, was named Lebanon’s new prime minister and tasked with forming a new government on Monday, the Lebanese presidency announced in a statement.
The appointment followed Salam’s garnering of 84 out of 128 parliamentary votes during binding consultations conducted by President Joseph Aoun.
According to the statement, President Aoun summoned Salam to assign him the role. However, Salam is currently abroad and is scheduled to return on Tuesday.
Under Lebanon’s prevailing political norms, the position of prime minister is traditionally held by a Sunni Muslim, while the president is always a Maronite Christian, and the parliamentary speaker is a Shiite Muslim.
Born into a prominent political family in 1953, Salam is a Sunni Muslim. His uncle, Saeb Salam, served as prime minister multiple times before Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, and his cousin, Tammam Salam, held the same position from 2014 to 2016.
Salam holds a master’s degree in law from Harvard University and two doctorates — in history and political science — from the Sorbonne University. He also served as Lebanon’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations from 2007 to 2017.
Salam’s appointment comes as Lebanon emerges from a 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. In addition to post-conflict reconstruction, the country faces significant challenges, including deep economic woes.
Protesters attend a demonstration during a nationwide strike against the Belgian government’s pension reform, in Brussels, Belgium, January 13, 2025. REUTERS
BRUSSELS — A nationwide strike in protest against possible pension reforms crippled air and rail traffic in Belgium on Monday and many schools remained shut.
Almost half of all flights at Brussels airport were cancelled as luggage handlers, security and other ground staff went on strike, while national train operator NMBS said it was running only a limited number of trains throughout the country.
Public transport in the capital Brussels was also heavily impacted.
Schools were shut with tens of thousands of teachers expected to join a national rally in Brussels to protest pension reforms that are being discussed by parties trying to form a new government following the June 2024 election.
Government formation talks have dragged on for months without any real progress, as the five parties at the table continue to disagree on government finances and the contested pension reforms.
LHASA — A 5.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Dingri County of Xigaze in southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region at 8:58 p.m. Monday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).
The epicenter was monitored at 28.45 degrees north latitude and 87.52 degrees east longitude. The quake struck at a depth of 10 km, said a report issued by the CENC.
It is the strongest aftershock since a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the county on Jan. 7, according to the regional earthquake bureau.
No casualties have been reported so far and further investigation is underway, said Tashi Dondrup, county head of Dingri.
Firefighters extinguish a fire as the Palisades Fire, one of several simultaneous blazes that have ripped across Los Angeles County, burns in Mandeville Canyon, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 12, 2025. REUTERS
LOS ANGELES — As thousands of firefighters are battling the raging wildfires in Los Angeles County, politically-motivated finger-pointing has set in. More than 110,000 signatures have been gathered as of Sunday demanding the resignation of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Started by a user identified as “Frustrated Californian,” the petition posted on the Change.org accuses Bass of “gross mismanagement” and a lack of leadership during the crisis.
The petition points to Bass’ diplomatic trip to Ghana, which took her out of the country when the fires erupted on Jan. 7. It also criticizes the city’s preparation and resource allocation, including water shortages and underfunding of critical resources.
Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Chief Kristin Crowley blasted the 17-million budget cut on CNN on Friday, saying that she had warned the city for three years that the department has been underfunded and under-resourced.
However, Bass countered these claims, arguing that under her administration, the fire department’s budget was actually increased by 7 percent overall.
City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo supported Bass’ stance, saying that emergency resources remained fully-funded despite cuts in other areas.
The Los Angeles Times said Sunday that the claim was not so fair to the Democratic mayor since the municipal budget has been overwhelmed by a growing number of demands for public health, social services, housing crisis, drought, earthquakes, wildfires and more, causing greater demand for fewer resources.
To prioritize necessary increases in firefighter salaries, Bass had initially proposed a 2.7-percent reduction (23 million U.S. dollars) in the LAFD budget for 2024-2025, primarily by putting a cap on some new equipment purchases.
But Bass and the City Council subsequently went on to approve significant firefighter pay increases amounting to 53 million dollars and an additional 58 million dollars for new firetrucks and equipment, all of which amounted to an LAFD budget increase of over 7 percent.
Despite an overall budget increase, a few areas in the department faced cutbacks while others went up. According to Kristin Crowley, there was a reduction of 7 million dollars in overtime staffing, or “v-hours”, which affected radio testing, pilot training and brush clearance inspections, essential for mitigating fire risks.
However, escalating costs, including overtime pay and pension contributions, have strained the city’s finances. Critics worried that employee raises, while necessary, may force further operational cutbacks. Watchdog groups and fire department representatives warned of a worsening budget crunch, especially as emergencies demand additional resources.
The ongoing wildfires, particularly the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires, are intensifying scrutiny of the city’s emergency preparedness.
The unprecedented wildfire outbreak highlighted vulnerabilities in Los Angeles City and County water infrastructure as firefighting efforts were hindered by low water pressure and dry fire hydrants caused by the unusual need to use too many fire hydrants at once to combat multiple fires.
Martin Adams, a former manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP), emphasized that the local water systems were not designed to support such massive and unusual wildfire responses, raising questions about what future investments might be needed in water infrastructure.
Since 71-year-old Bass has only been in office for two years, critics were also quick to blame prior administrations for decades of insufficient investment in fire and water infrastructure and for failing to adapt systems to escalating climate risks.
Some local officials are calling for a commission of inquiry to recommend urgent upgrades to water infrastructure and building codes for fire-prone areas.
In response to the water system failures, California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered an investigation into the causes of hydrant shortages and infrastructure gaps.
Experts suggested that improving water storage and pressure zones in hillside communities could mitigate future wildfire risks, though such investments would require significant funding. Others argued that even expanded infrastructure might not suffice against fires of the scale and intensity currently being experienced.
“Mother Nature is not to be trifled with,” Los Angeles resident, Cyndy P. told Xinhua Sunday.
“Let’s not kid ourselves, we are reaching the perfect storm in LA of over-building, drought, budget crunches and infrastructure inadequacies where no amount of money you throw at the problem is going to be able to handle an environment that is careening out of control from global warming,” she said.
JAKARTA — A gas explosion killed two people and severely destroyed five neighboring houses in the Indonesian province of East Java on Monday.
According to a preliminary report, the incident took place in a house belonging to a local police officer situated in Sumolawang village in Mojokerto region at around 8: 30 a.m. The deceased victims are a mother and an infant, killed after being hit by house debris, the report said.
The house’s owner and his family were not at the location when the incident occurred.
An investigation team from Mojokerto Police and the provincial police is currently investigating the main cause of the explosion.
“We are still investigating the exact cause of the explosion. We have secured some items found at the scene for further examination,” Mojokerto Police Chief Ihram Kustaro told local media.
Southern Japan was hit by a strong earthquake on Monday in a region that had been the subject of the nation’s first ever megaquake advisory last year.
A quake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 struck the Kyushu region on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The JMA was investigating whether the quake was related to the Nankai Trough, NHK said.
The Nankai Trough, where the Philippine Sea Plate is subducting under the Eurasia Plate at the bottom of the sea off the southwest coast of Japan, produces massive earthquakes around every 100-150 years. Strong quakes nearby are seen as a potential indication that a megaquake could be more likely.
The JMA in August issued a week-long advisory for a “relatively higher chance” of a megaquake as powerful as magnitude 9 after a magnitude-7.1 quake hit the country’s southwest.
After Monday’s quake, tsunami advisories for waves of a maximum height of 1 metre were issued for the southern prefectures of Miyazaki and Kochi. A 20-centimetre tsunami was later recorded reaching Miyazaki city, public broadcaster NHK reported.
There were no abnormalities reported at the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant in western Japan or the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Kagoshima prefecture, NHK said, referring to the two plants nearest to where the quake occurred.
