NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
Avalanche deaths: An avalanche killed a skier Sunday in the Dolomite Mountains, the fourth avalanche fatality in the Italian Alps in 24 hours. Italian state TV said the skier was among four people struck by the avalanche near a mountain refuge. A day earlier, a wall of snow crashed into a group of German skiers in the Senales valley of Bolzano province, killing two 7yearold girls and the mother of one of them. Prosecutors say they are investigating whether that slope should have been closed, given the high risk of avalanches. Strong winds have raised the danger of avalanches at Italian ski areas, which are crowded with holiday vacationers.
Chile protests: Chile’s National Institute of Human Rights is calling for an investigation into the electrocution death of a man during antigovernment demonstrations. The death during clashes between police and protesters Friday raised the number of those killed during protests that started in October to at least 27. The man who died was electrocuted after falling into a pit during chaotic street scenes in Santiago, according to police and local media. The death happened during a protest in Plaza Italia, a focal point of unrest in the capital. The demonstrations started over an increase in the subway fare and eventually encompassed grievances about pensions, education, health care and other issues.
Privacy breach: British officials have apologized after mistakenly publishing the home addresses of more than 1,000 people who received special honors, including singers Elton John and Olivia NewtonJohn. The addresses were published online for about an hour late Friday when the Cabinet Office posted the recipients of New Year’s Honors, including knighthoods. “The information was removed as soon as possible,” the Cabinet Office said in a statement. The list included Oscarwinning director Sam Mendes of “American Beauty” and James Bond fame, who was made a knight along Steve McQueen, director of “12 Years a Slave,” winner of the Oscar for best picture.
Retaliatory strike: U.S. forces carried out military strikes in Iraq and Syria targeting a militia blamed for an attack that killed an American contractor, defense officials said Sunday. U.S. forces conducted “precision defensive strikes” against five sites of Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iranbacked Iraqi militia, the Defense Department said in a statement. The U.S. blames the militia for a rocket barrage Friday that killed a U.S. defense contractor at a military compound near Kirkuk, in northern Iraq. Officials said attackers fired as many as 30 rockets in Friday’s assault. The strikes carried out by the United States will limit the group’s ability to carry out future attacks on Americans and their Iraqi government allies, the Pentagon said. The Defense Department gave no details on how the strikes were conducted.
Taiwan politics: President Tsai Ingwen said Sunday that the selfgoverning island’s democracy remains under direct threat from rival China, underscoring her calls for closer ties with the U.S. and other allies. Tsai spoke at a debate against Han Kuoyu of the main opposition Nationalist Party and veteran politician James Soong of the People’s First Party. Elections for president and the legislature are set for Jan. 11. Most polls show Tsai leading in her quest for a second term. Tsai has taken the lead, partly in response to the crackdown on prodemocracy protests in Hong Kong. China governs the semiautonomous city under a “one country, two systems” framework that it has also proposed for Taiwan, but which has been overwhelmingly rejected by the island’s nearly 24 million people.