US FLIGHTS RESUME AFTER BEING GROUNDED DUE TO A TECHNICAL GLITCH

US flights were slowly beginning to resume departures after Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) scrambled to fix a system outage overnight that impacted thousands of flights on Wednesday morning.

The FAA had earlier it had ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures after its pilot alerting Notice to Air Missions system went out. The FAA said departures were resuming at Newark and Atlanta airports “due to air traffic congestion in those areas. We expect departures to resume at other airports at 9 am ET.” Flights already in the air were allowed to continue to their destinations.

US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the FAA system outage, press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Twitter.

There is no evidence of a cyber-attack at this point, but the president has asked for an investigation, she said.

The FAA said it was working to restore a system that alerts pilots to hazards and changes to airport facilities and procedures that had stopped processing updated information.

“The FAA is still working to fully restore the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system following an outage. While some functions are beginning to come back on line, National Airspace System operations remain limited,” the FAA said on Twitter.

A total of 32,578 flights were delayed within, into or out of the United States as of 8:07 am ET (1255 GMT), flight tracking website FlightAware showed, without citing reasons.

Another 409 within, into or out of the country were also canceled.

WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL PASSPORTS 2023 LIST IS OUT

The world's most powerful passports list as per the Henley Passport Index for the year 2023 has been released by the London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners based on the data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

"The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations, giving users the most extensive and reliable information about their global access and mobility," it said.

Japan ranked as the world's most powerful passport while Singapore and South Korea jointly occupied the second spot. Germany and Spain ranked as the third most powerful passports in the world.

World's Most Powerful Passports 2023

1.         Japan - 193

2.         Singapore, South Korea - 192

3.         Germany, Spain - 190

4.         Finland, Italy, Luxembourg -189

5.         Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden - 188

6.         France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom -187

7.         Belgium, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United States - 186

8.         Australia, Canada, Greece, Malta - 185

9.         Poland, Hungary - 184

10.       Lithuania, Slovakia - 183

India ranked in the 85th position. With this, India gives visa-free entry to 59 destinations worldwide. Earlier in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, India ranked at 82nd spot, 84th, 85th and 83rd respectively.

DIRTY BOMB FEARS AFTER URANIUM IS FOUND IN CARGO PACKAGE FROM PAK AT HEATHROW

London: A shipment of uranium that can be used to make a dirty bomb or carry out a nerve agent attack has been discovered at Heathrow airport within a cargo package originating from Pakistan.

The uranium arrived on an Oman Air passenger jet from Muscat at Terminal 4, according to Sun newspaper, but it originated in Pakistan. It was destined for Iranian nationals living in the UK. Border Force at Heathrow detected the uranium in the shipment during routine scanning, when the package emitted a radioactive signal whilst being transported to a freight shed. The nuclear material had travelled in the hold of the passenger aircraft and was apparently not detected by airport authorities in Oman. Counter-terrorism forces are now investigating.

Chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told Mail Online: “Uranium is used in nuclear power stations when unenriched and is the basis of most nuclear weapons once it is enriched. Pakistan is a nuclear-capable country. Uranium doesn’t have other uses, such as in X-ray machines, so the fact uranium has turned up, it would appear in a very small amount, is a huge concern, but the main thing is we have stopped it being used for nefarious purposes like a dirty bomb. ” In a separate interview with Sky News, he said Iran was nuclear-capable and said during the war in Ukraine, Russian President Putin has threatened to use tactical nuclear weapons and dirty bombs. “There arebad people who want to do us harm in this particular manner,” he said.

A former counter-terrorism head in the ministry of defence, Maj Gen Chip Chapman, told Times Radio: “This could have been used in a radiological sense, like the radiological attack on Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. This could be just something as simple as dangerous air cargo but it could be more malign, like a dirty bomb. It could have been this was going to a front company for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force,” he said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is set to be officially declared a terrorist group by Britain after MI5 uncovered at least 10 potential plots to kidnap or kill British orUK-based people last year.

BLAST OUTSIDE AF FOREIGN MIN WHERE CHINESE TEAM WAS TO MEET KILLS 5

Kabul: At least five people were killed and dozens wounded by a suicide bomber near the Afghan foreign ministry in Kabul on Wednesday, where a Chinese delegation had been due to meet, officials and witnesses said. A nearby hospital said over 40 people were wounded and Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said the official confirmed death toll was five. Earlier, Ustad Fareedun, an official at the Taliban-run information ministry, had said that 20 people were killed. He said the bomber had planned to enter the foreign ministry but failed.

The UN and several countries, including Pakistan and the UK, condemned the attack. “The UK rejects such senseless and indiscriminate acts of violence,” said Hugo Shorter, the charge d’affaires for the UK mission to Afghanistan.

The blast hit at about 4pm local time (5pm IST), Zadransaid. A photo of the area, confirmed by official sources, showed at least nine dead or wounded lying outside the ministry.

No group claimed responsibility. At least five Chinese nationals were wounded last month when gunmen stormed a hotel popular with Chinese businessmen in Kabul. That raid was claimed by IS.

OMICRON XBB.1.5 MAY BE DRIVING CASES, SAYS WHO

Geneva: The WHO said on Wednesday that the XBB. 1. 5 Omicron sub-variant of Covid-19 may be spurring more cases. “Based on its genetic characteristics and early growth rate estimates, XBB. 1. 5 may contribute to increases in case incidence,” the WHO said after aJanuary 5 technical meeting. However, it said that it had only “low confidence” in the assessment as data was mostly coming from just one country, the US, which has provided more than 80% of sequences.

PUTIN AND RAISI DISCUSS ENERGY AND TRANSPORT IN TELEPHONE CALL

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed energy and transport projects with Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi in a telephone call on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.

Moscow and Tehran have moved to forge closer relations after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine last February, prompting sweeping Western sanctions. Russia and Iran, which is also under Western sanctions, are among the world’s largest oil exporters. “The presidents spoke in favour of the consistent implementation of mutually beneficial projects in the energy, transport and logistics sectors,” the Kremlin said in a readout of the call.

It added that the two countries hoped for a “normalisation” of the situation in Syria, and to “restore” the country’s territorial integrity.

BANGLADESH PROTESTERS DEMAND PM’S RESIGNATION

Huge crowds swarmed the streets of Bangladesh’s capital on Wednesday to demand Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation and fresh elections, with public anger mounting over rising food and fuel costs.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and other opposition allies staged rallies in Dhaka and nine other cities — the latest of several demonstrations in recent months that have occasionally been quelled by police violence.

The Bangladeshi taka has depreciated by up to 25%, driving up the cost of food imports and making life harder for the country’s poorest citizens.

UKRAINE WAR: SERGEI SUROVIKIN REMOVED AS COMMANDER OF UKRAINE INVASION FORCE

President Vladimir Putin has removed Russia's top commander in Ukraine, just three months after he was installed.

Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov will now lead what Mr Putin terms a "special military operation".

Gen Gerasimov replaces Sergei Surovikin who has overseen recent brutal attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

The reshuffle comes as Russians claim they are making progress in eastern Ukraine after suffering a series of military defeats in recent months.

Russia launched its invasion into Ukraine on 24 February.

Gen Gerasimov, who has been in post since 2012, is the longest-serving Russian chief of general staff of the post-Soviet era.

Gen Surovikin - now his deputy - has been dubbed "General Armageddon" for his brutal tactics in previous wars, including Russia's operations in Syria and the heavy bombardment of the city of Aleppo in particular.

JAPAN, S KOREA PROTEST CHINA VISA STOPPAGE

Tokyo: Japan and South Korea defended their public health restrictions on travellers from China on Wednesday, a day after China stopped issuing new visas in both countries in apparent retaliation. South Korean foreign minister Park Jin said he finds it “regrettable” that China stopped issuing short-term visas to South Koreans and called for China to align its pandemic steps with “scientific and objective facts. ” According to South Korea’s Disease Control and Prevention Agency, about 17% of the 2,550 shortterm travellers from China from Jan 2 to Tuesday have tested positive. Japanese chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno criticised China for “one-sidedly” restricting visa issuances to Japanese nationals “because of a reason that is not related to Covid measures. ” According to health ministry data, about 8% of 4,895 passengers tested positive upon arrival from Dec 30 to Jan 5, and most travellers were from China.

SIX STABBED AT PARIS STATION, ATTACKER HELD

Paris: An attacker wounded six people in an unprovoked blade attack in Paris’ busy Gare du Nord train station on Wednesday morning before being shot and wounded by police, France’s interior minister said, praising the swift intervention of police for helping prevent any fatalities.

The suspect attacked several people, including a police officer, with a “bladed weapon” during the morning rush hour, interior minister Gerald Darmanin said. He said the unnamed assailant was currently “between life and death” in hospital after being shot in the chest, French media reported. Darmanin thanked the police “for their effective and courageous reaction”. He noted how the suspect was neutralised within one minute of attacking his first victim. “At 6. 42am (local time), the first acts were described. At 6. 43, the police used their administrative weapon after his passage of violence,” he said.

Darmanin said the attacker’s weapon was “not a knife” but likely a homemade weapon. He said the suspect was reported not to have said anything during the assault and that investigators have not discovered any extremist links.

FABELMANS, BANSHEES WIN TOP AWARDS AS HOLLYWOOD RE-EMBRACES GOLDEN GLOBES

The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg’s movie inspired by his teen years, and dark comedy The Banshees of Inisherin landed the top movie awards at the Golden Globes on Tuesday as Hollywood returned to a show that had been knocked off television by scandal.

The Fabelmans was named best movie drama at the star-studded ceremony in Beverly Hills. Banshees of Inisherin, the story of feuding friends on an Irish island, won best movie musical or comedy.

The honours are likely to give both movies a boost on the road to the Academy Awards in March. Mr. Spielberg, who also won best director, based The Fabelmans on his real life as a teenager dealing with his parents’ marital struggles and anti-Semitism.

Celebrities and broadcaster NBC had abandoned the 2022 Globes because of ethical wrongdoings at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the group that hands out the awards.

The future of the Globes was thrown into doubt after a 2021 Los Angeles Times investigation revealed the organisation had no Black journalists in its ranks. Some members were accused of making sexist and racist remarks and soliciting favours from celebrities and movie studios.

A larger, more diverse membership and other changes by the HFPA persuaded many of the biggest movie and TV stars to support this year’s ceremony, which often provides publicity for winners’ and nominees’ and often boosts their chances at the Oscars.

SCIENTISTS SOUND ALARM AS OCEAN TEMPS HIT NEW RECORD

Paris: The world’s oceans, which have absorbed most of the excess heat caused by humanity’s carbon pollution, continued to see record-breaking temperatures last year, a study published on Wednesday said.

Oceans absorb about 90% of the excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions, shielding land surfaces but generating huge, long-lasting marine heatwaves that are already having devastating effects on underwater life. The study, by researchers in China, US, Italy and New Zealand, said 2022 was “the hottest year ever recorded in the world’s oceans” . Heat content in the oceans exceededthe previous year’s levels by about 10 Zetta joules — equivalent to 100 times the electricity generation worldwide in 2021, the authors said. “The oceans are absorbing most of the heating from human carbon emissions,” the study noted.

Increasing water temperatures and ocean salinity — also at an all-time high — contribute to a process of “stratification”, where water separates into layers that don’t mix. This has wide-ranging implications because it affects the exchange of heat, oxygen and carbon between the ocean and atmosphere, with effects including a loss of oxygen in the ocean.

UGANDA DECLARES END TO EBOLA OUTBREAK WHICH CLAIMED 55 LIVES

Uganda on Wednesday declared an end to an Ebola virus outbreak that emerged almost four months ago and claimed the lives of 55 people. The move was confirmed in a statement issued by the WHO, whose chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed the East African country’s “robust and comprehensive response”.