Syriza expected to win in Greece on anti-austerity tenets
The radical leftist Syriza party is set to win Greece’s snap polls, exit polls showed Sunday, on the back of a promise to roll back crippling austerity measures in the country and face down international creditors. It could gain 35.5%-39.5% of the vote, well ahead of the conservative New Democracy party of outgoing Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on 23%-27%. If confirmed, Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras will be the head of the first eurozone government to oppose the bailout conditions imposed by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
Militant attack cuts off power supply to 140 million in Pakistan
A militant attack on a transmission tower in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province early on Sunday caused a massive blackout that affected more than 140 million people. By mid-morning, officials had managed to restore supply to about half of those affected, with full power being restored late in the evening. The attack served to highlight the dismal state of the country’s electric grid, which often results in long outages.
Over 30 Filipino commandos killed in clash with Islamic insurgents
More than 30 police commandos were killed in a clash with Muslim insurgents in southern Philippines on Sunday. The commandos were searching through the remote village of Tukanalipao looking for a suspected terrorist when ran into the Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters, who were quickly joined by other insurgents in overpowering the commandos.
Sunken AirAsia flight’s fuselage deemed too fragile to be lifted out
The Indonesian admiral placed in charge of lifting the fuselage of sunken AirAsia flight QZ8501 said the body might be too fragile for the operation. The announcement came after an attempt to raise it failed after the body kept breaking into pieces. An earlier attempt to recover the fuselage had failed after one of the tethering ropes snapped. The current total of recovered bodies from the flight is 69, out of a total of 162. The complete investigation into the crash is expected to take months, although a preliminary report is expected to be filed next week.
New York braces for worst snowstorm in more than a century
The US National Weather Service announced on Sunday that a potentially historic blizzard was headed for the country’s northeast, and could dump 60 cm-90 cm of snow on Monday in a region that has been largely spared this winter. Hundreds of flights are expected to be cancelled as powerful winds are expected to blow through Tuesday. New York City’s mayor Bill de Blasio also asked residents prepare for the worst. The last such snowstorm occurred back in 1872, although another storm came close to being equally severe in 2006.
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The radical leftist Syriza party is set to win Greece’s snap polls, exit polls showed Sunday, on the back of a promise to roll back crippling austerity measures in the country and face down international creditors. It could gain 35.5%-39.5% of the vote, well ahead of the conservative New Democracy party of outgoing Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on 23%-27%. If confirmed, Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras will be the head of the first eurozone government to oppose the bailout conditions imposed by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
Militant attack cuts off power supply to 140 million in Pakistan
A militant attack on a transmission tower in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province early on Sunday caused a massive blackout that affected more than 140 million people. By mid-morning, officials had managed to restore supply to about half of those affected, with full power being restored late in the evening. The attack served to highlight the dismal state of the country’s electric grid, which often results in long outages.
Over 30 Filipino commandos killed in clash with Islamic insurgents
More than 30 police commandos were killed in a clash with Muslim insurgents in southern Philippines on Sunday. The commandos were searching through the remote village of Tukanalipao looking for a suspected terrorist when ran into the Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters, who were quickly joined by other insurgents in overpowering the commandos.
Sunken AirAsia flight’s fuselage deemed too fragile to be lifted out
The Indonesian admiral placed in charge of lifting the fuselage of sunken AirAsia flight QZ8501 said the body might be too fragile for the operation. The announcement came after an attempt to raise it failed after the body kept breaking into pieces. An earlier attempt to recover the fuselage had failed after one of the tethering ropes snapped. The current total of recovered bodies from the flight is 69, out of a total of 162. The complete investigation into the crash is expected to take months, although a preliminary report is expected to be filed next week.
New York braces for worst snowstorm in more than a century
The US National Weather Service announced on Sunday that a potentially historic blizzard was headed for the country’s northeast, and could dump 60 cm-90 cm of snow on Monday in a region that has been largely spared this winter. Hundreds of flights are expected to be cancelled as powerful winds are expected to blow through Tuesday. New York City’s mayor Bill de Blasio also asked residents prepare for the worst. The last such snowstorm occurred back in 1872, although another storm came close to being equally severe in 2006.
