NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 Drone strike: Two missiles fired from a U.S. drone struck a home near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, killing two militants from the Haqqani network, officials in Islamabad said Wednesday. Local police chief Ameer Zaman Khan said the strike took place in Dapa Mamuzai village near Pakistan’s Kurram tribal region. Two intelligence officials identified the slain militants as commander Ahsanullah and Nasir Mehsud. They said the men were from the Haqqani network of the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan considers U.S. drone strikes a violation of its sovereignty, while the U.S. accuses Pakistan of providing safe havens for militants, a charge Pakistan denied saying it acts against militants without discrimination.
2 Yemen conflict: U.N. sources said Wednesday that Yemen’s Houthi rebels have banned over 35 U.N. and international agencies and relief groups from working in the territory under their control, allegations denied by a rebel spokesman. A ban would make it even harder to respond to what the U.N. says is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. A Saudi-led coalition has been at war with the Iran-allied Houthis since 2015 and has severely restricted the import of aid and other vital goods. The war has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced 2 million and helped spawn a cholera epidemic.
3 Government resigns: The new Czech minority government led by populist billionaire Andrej Babis resigned on Wednesday after it failed to win a mandatory confidence vote in Parliament last week. Babis submitted the resignation to President Milos Zeman on Wednesday. Zeman, Babi’s ally, accepted it and immediately asked Babis to try to form a new government again. He said he will swear him in as prime minister as soon as February if he fails to get re-elected as president. Any new government has to win a parliamentary confidence vote to rule. Babis, who has already acknowledged the next government might not include him, has started a new round of talks with eight other parties that have parliamentary seats.
4 Volcano eruption: An erupting Philippine volcano belched red-hot lava and clouds of ash and debris at least four times Wednesday, prompting the number of displaced villagers to swell to more than 74,000 and causing officials to brace for a humanitarian emergency they fear could last for months. Mount Mayon has been acting up for more than a week, ejecting ash and lava fountains up to 1.8 miles from the crater in a picturesque but increasingly dangerous eruption. There have been no reports of injuries and law enforcers have struggled to keep villagers and tourists from sneaking into danger zones. Pyroclastic flows — superheated gas and volcanic debris that could incinerate anything in their path — reached 3 miles from the crater in one area.
5 “Vulgar” name: European Union court has ruled that a Germany company can’t trademark the name of one of the country’s most successful movie franchises because of its vulgar title. Constantin Film Produktion GmbH had sought to protect its rights to merchandise related to the school comedy “Fack Ju Goehte.” Six million people paid to see the movie’s third installment, topping cinema charts in Germany last year. Judges at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on Wednesday upheld a decision by the European Union Intellectual Property Office that the name is too similar to a vulgar English phrase, which might cause offense.