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A driver rammed a car into a large crowd of revelers at a Christmas market in central Germany on Friday evening, killing at least two people and injuring more than 60 before he was arrested, authorities said. One of the dead was a young child, said Reiner Haseloff, premier of the state of Saxony-Anhalt. The incident took place in Magdeburg, the state capital, which is 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of Berlin. “It is a catastrophe for the city of Magdeburg, for the state and for Germany in general,” Haseloff said, adding that the death toll could rise given the severity of some of the injuries. Source link

Riyadh – Tyson Fury insisted that there would be no joking around ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, as both heavyweights were subdued during a bizarre press conference on Thursday. Usyk beat Fury in a split decision in Saudi Arabia in May to become a four-belt undisputed heavyweight champion, and the pair will meet once again at the same venue, Kingdom Arena, on Saturday in Riyadh with the WBC, WBO and WBA titles on the line. In a news conference before the bout, both fighters gave curt opening statements before engaging in a tense and drawn out faceoff that went on for over 11 minutes. Source link

Macao – Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday inaugurated a new Macao leader and called for the gambling hub to diversify its economy as the former colony marked 25 years since being returned to China. When the former Portuguese colony reverted to Chinese rule on December 20, 1999, Beijing promised that the city’s “capitalist system and way of life” would remain unchanged for 50 years. The city is now regarded by Beijing as a shining example of its “one country, two systems” model — in contrast with neighboring Hong Kong, which was rocked by sometimes violent pro-democracy protests until a Beijing-imposed national security law in 2020. Source link

Japan ramped up its warnings against currency speculation Friday after the yen slid to a five-month low following a hint from the central bank chief that he may wait longer than expected before raising interest rates. “The government is deeply concerned about recent currency moves, including those driven by speculators,” Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said on Friday. “We will take appropriate action if there are excessive moves in the currency market.” The yen regained some ground against the dollar after Kato’s remarks, strengthening to as much as ¥156.89 after earlier weakening to as much as ¥157.93. The Japanese currency strengthened a little further after currency chief Atsushi Mimura also backed up Kato with similar comments in the afternoon. Source link

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is considering 189 candidates for its Class of 2025, with Carmelo Anthony, Sue Bird and Maya Moore among the 39 first-time nominees. The Hall of Fame announced the candidates Thursday, along with revealing that its board of governors voted to update eligibility requirements. Previously, candidates in the player category had to be out of the game for three full seasons; the Hall brought that down to two. “To better recognize the distinguished careers of potential first-ballot nominees in a more timely manner, the Board has appropriately shortened the waiting period,” chairman Jerry Colangelo said in a statement. “We are excited about this change and believe that honoring individuals while their contributions are still fresh in people’s minds is both meaningful and impactful.” Source link

A 41-year-old man suspected of setting a fire that injured four people in a commercial building in Sapporo’s Susukino entertainment district last month succumbed to his injuries and died in the hospital on Thursday night, according to a report by the Sankei Shimbun. The fire broke out at approximately 3:20 p.m. on Nov. 26 in a girls bar, where men pay women to drink and talk with them. Among the injured were a woman in her 20s who worked at the bar, believed to be the suspect’s former girlfriend, and several patrons who sustained burns. Authorities believe the suspect poured a gasoline-like substance inside the bar before igniting it. Investigations revealed the suspect had a history of domestic violence against the injured woman. On Nov. 7, she sought help at a local police station, reporting that an argument over their breakup had escalated into an altercation. Police confirmed instances of violence, told the woman to move out of their shared residence the next day, and issued the man a verbal warning, advising the pair to avoid future contact. The man had made social media posts hinting at suicidal intentions in the days leading up to the incident. When officers visited him to address these posts, he reportedly stated, “I regret my actions. I have no intention of killing myself.” Police had planned to question him further upon his recovery from his burns. However, they still intend to submit the arson case to prosecutors and are committed to piecing together the events that led to the blaze. Information from Jiji added Source link

Rescuers say they have expanded a search for trapped survivors in quake-rocked Vanuatu to “numerous places of collapse” beyond the capital, as the reported death toll climbs to 10. The 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the main island on Tuesday, toppling concrete buildings in Port Vila and setting off landslides. It has damaged water supplies, knocked out mobile networks, halted operations at the capital’s main shipping port, and led to a suspension of commercial flights. Source link

The ruling coalition on Friday approved an annual tax reform proposal for the next fiscal year starting in April, including an increase of the tax-free income threshold from ¥1.03 million ($6,610) to ¥1.23 million, after signing an agreement to “continue talks in good faith” with its partial alliance partner, the Democratic Party for the People, following a rocky week of negotiations. Ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito bloc’s approval, the three parties’ secretaries-general signed a confirmation letter stating that discussions will resume for implementing their Dec. 11 agreement with the “aim” to raise the threshold to ¥1.78 million in the next fiscal year. “The proposal has been finalized with the amount of ¥1.23 million, causing the DPP tax chief to leave in the middle of our meeting (on Tuesday), which leaves us unable to implement the three-party agreement. To prevent that from happening, we confirmed that our talks will resume,” LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama told reporters Friday morning. Source link

Police arrested a 77-year-old man Thursday in connection with the fatal stabbing of a couple in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, and a nearby fire that destroyed multiple homes the previous day. Kaoru Sakamaki was initially arrested on charges of obstruction of official duties, after he allegedly attempted to flee after being apprehended by police on Thursday evening. Investigators plan to rearrest him on additional charges as they gather more evidence. Source link

IMPHAL, India – Indian militant groups that took refuge in Myanmar and fought in its civil war have been streaming back across the border to Manipur state this year, Indian security officers said, inflaming the bitter 19-month ethnic conflict there with weapons and battle-hardened cadres. This has led to an increase in violence between Manipur’s dominant and mostly Hindu Meitei community and the mainly Christian Kuki tribes — a conflict that critics say is the biggest law-and-order failure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 11-year-old government. Since May 2023, some 260 people have been killed in the fighting and more than 60,000 displaced. Nine Indian military and police officers, plus several politicians and rebel sources in Myanmar, described a conflict that is spreading to new areas as militants from the rival groups come across the border to Manipur. Source link