Heatwave triggers health warnings, strains power grids
Sydney — Australia’s south sweltered through a brutal heatwave on Wednesday that delivered temperatures above 40°C in some cities, triggering health warnings, straining power grids and causing bushfires to flare.
Meteorologists said the conditions were at their worst in six years, when catastrophic bushfires destroyed wide swathes of southeastern Australia, killing 33 people, in what became known as the Black Summer.
The nation’s weather bureau issued severe or extreme heat warnings for the states of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. It also warned of extreme fire danger across Victoria and South Australia. Reuters
Western Europe braces for storm Goretti disruptions
Brussels — Western Europe braced for more snow and ice on Wednesday, with the first named storm of the year hitting the continent’s Atlantic coast.
More flights were cancelled, train services disrupted and roads blocked as storm Goretti advanced across the region.
Heavy snow hit the Paris region as daylight broke, while the south of Britain is likely to be most heavily affected on Thursday and Friday. Cold weather warnings covered vast parts of France and Britain on Wednesday.
French weather agency Meteo France warned of snowfalls extending across the northern half of the country on Wednesday. Britain’s Met Office said ice warnings would remain in Scotland but would be lifted later in the morning in most of England and Wales. Reuters
Zelensky’s envoy hails ‘concrete results’ at Paris talks
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top adviser hailed “concrete results” on Wednesday as talks in Paris on peace and security guarantees for Ukraine entered their second day, vowing Kyiv’s national interests would be protected.
Ukraine is seeking strong backing from allies in the event of a ceasefire with Russia while also pushing back on a Kremlin demand that it give up its eastern Donbas region in exchange for peace.
“Not all information can be public, but there are already concrete results, [and] our work continues,” Kyrylo Budanov, who was appointed head of Zelensky’s office last week, said on the Telegram app. “Ukrainian national interests will be defended.”
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff said separately on Tuesday that land options had been discussed during the Paris talks and would continue. Reuters
Japan halts nuclear plant screening over data misconduct
Tokyo — Japan’s nuclear regulator on Wednesday said it was halting the screening needed to restart Chubu Electric Power’s only nuclear power plant, two days after the company reported inappropriate seismic data handling for the regulatory review.
The watchdog’s move stalls Chubu’s effort to resume two reactors at its Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station on the Pacific coast that have been idled since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, while nuclear plants restart in other parts of Japan.
“This is fabrication of critical inspection data, which I clearly consider misconduct,” Nuclear Regulation Authority chair Shinsuke Yamanaka told a regular commissioner meeting. Reuters
US adds 25 countries to expensive visa bond list
Washington — US President Donald Trump’s administration has put 25 more countries on a list of nations whose citizens could be required to post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply for entry into the US, the state department website showed on Tuesday.
The list mostly included countries from Africa, Latin America and South Asia. It had a total of 38 countries as of Tuesday. The policy for the newly added nations will go into effect on January 21, the state department website said.
Venezuela, whose toppled leader Nicolas Maduro was seized by US forces over the weekend and brought to New York, was also included in the list. Reuters
Nigerian court grants bail to former justice minister
Abuja — A Nigerian court on Wednesday granted bail to former attorney-general and minister of justice Abubakar Malami, held for a month on money laundering and abuse of office charges, and adjourned his trial to February 17.
Malami, who served as the country’s top law officer under former President Muhammadu Buhari, was arrested by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency in December and charged with 16 counts of money laundering.
Prosecutors say Malami syphoned public funds between 2015 and 2023 and laundered the cash through associates — including his son and wife, Hajia Asabe Bashir — and property deals.
All three accused have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Reuters
India’s GDP growth forecast raised to 7.4%
New Delhi — India’s economy is expected to grow 7.4% in the fiscal year ending in March, the National Statistics Office said on Wednesday, above the government’s initial projection of 6.3%-6.8%.
India’s first advance estimate of GDP, which will undergo revisions over time as data coverage improves, will be used as a base for the federal budget due to be announced on February 1.
The Indian economy grew 6.5% in 2024/25 and 9.2% in 2023/24. Reuters
