NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Garage fire: An estimated 1,400 cars were destroyed in a huge fire that raged through a seven-story parking garage in the northern English city of Liverpool. The fire next to Echo Arena started Sunday and was brought under control by Monday morning. There were no reported injuries. Officials set up a shelter to help the many people who could not get home because their cars had been burned. Witnesses said vehicles seemed to explode every couple of seconds when the fire was at its peak. They said it appeared to start in the engine of an older vehicle and quickly spread. Nearby apartments were evacuated because of the heavy smoke.
2 Deadly crash: A prominent British businessman and his family were identified Monday as victims of a seaplane crash in Australia. Compass Group CEO Richard Cousins, his fiancee, her daughter and his two sons died Sunday when the singleengine plane sank rapidly after crashing into the Hawkesbury River near Sydney. Australian pilot Gareth Morgan from the tour company Sydney Seaplanes also died in the crash. Cousins had recently been recognized by the Harvard Business Review for his performance as CEO of the multinational catering company. The 58-year-old planned to step down from his post in March. Sydney Seaplanes has suspended its flights while the crash is investigated.
3 Trump tweet: President Trump slammed Pakistan for “lies & deceit” in a New Year’s Day tweet that said Islamabad had played U.S. leaders for “fools.” “No more,” Trump tweeted. The president said the U.S. has given Pakistan $33 billion in the last 15 years, yet Afghanistan and the U.S. have long accused Pakistan of providing havens for militants. Pakistan had no official comment, but Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif tweeted that his government was preparing a response that “will let the world know the truth.” Pakistan’s Geo Television quoted Asif as saying: “We have already said ‘no more’ to America, so Trump’s ‘no more’ has no importance. We are ready to give all account for every single penny to America in public.”
4 Yemen fighting: Witnesses and security officials say Saudi-led coalition air strikes killed at least 23 people Monday in the port city of Hodeida. A blaze erupted in a market after a strike targeted a nearby gas station, they said. International rights groups have accused the coalition of bombing civilian gatherings, markets, hospitals and residential areas across Yemen since the beginning of its air campaign against Iran-backed rebels, known as Houthis, in March 2015. The war has killed more than 10,000 civilians and pushed the Arab world’s poorest country to the brink of famine.
5 Papal message: Pope Francis on Monday recommended jettisoning life’s “useless baggage” in 2018, including what he called “empty chatter” and banal consumerism, and focus instead on building a peaceful and welcoming world, particularly for refugees and migrants. Francis offered his reflections on paring down nonessentials as he celebrated New Year’s Day Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and later greeted about 40,000 people in St. Peter’s Square. The Catholic Church designates Jan. 1 as World Peace Day, and in his comments after Mass to the crowd in the square outside the basilica, Francis noted that this year’s focus of the day was the search for peace by refugees. In recent years, hundreds of thousands of migrants have crossed the Mediterranean from northern Africa to reach European shores.