Relief for homebuyers in 2023: Mortgage rates at lowest levels since September

AFP
Rural communities urged to flee east Australia bushfire
Australian authorities urged people in dozens of rural communities to leave home "immediately" Thursday to escape an out-of-control bushfire tearing through a national park.State emergency services warned residents to leave home immediately in more than two dozen mostly small rural communities, with populations ranging from as few as six to as many as several hundred.
AFP
Sri Lanka train memorial honours tsunami tragedy
Just inland from the crashing waves on Sri Lanka's palm-fringed shores, the train slowly came to a stop on Thursday -- marking the moment a deadly tsunami hit 20 years ago.Sri Lanka's Ocean Queen Express became a symbol of the biggest natural disaster to hit the South Asian nation in living memory, when the train was struck by the giant waves of December 26, 2004.
Reuters
China urges Philippines to return to 'peaceful development'
China's foreign ministry on Thursday urged the Philippines to return to "peaceful development", saying Manila's decision to deploy a U.S. medium-range missile system in military exercises would only bring the risks of an arms race in the region. On Tuesday, Philippine Defence Minister Gilberto Teodoro said the Typhon's deployment for joint exercises was "legitimate, legal and beyond reproach". Army chief Roy Galido said on Monday that the Philippines was also planning to acquire its own mid-range missile system.
AFP
S. Korea's opposition moves to impeach acting president
South Korea's opposition said Thursday it filed an impeachment motion against acting president Han Duck-soo, after he refused to appoint Constitutional Court judges to complete the process of removing his predecessor from office.If the court were to proceed with the impeachment process without the additional three judges, all six current judges would need to unanimously agree to remove Yoon from office.
AFP
Tears, prayers as Asia mourns tsunami dead 20 years on
Tearful mourners prayed on Thursday as ceremonies were held across Asia to remember the 220,000 people who were killed two decades ago when a tsunami hit coastlines around the Indian Ocean in one of the world's worst natural disasters.In Indonesia's Aceh Province, where more than 100,000 people were killed, a siren rang out at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque to kick off a series of memorials around the region, including in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, which the tsunami hit hours later.
Associated Press
South Korean opposition submits motion to impeach the country's acting president as strife deepens
South Korea’s main opposition party submitted a motion on Thursday to impeach the country’s acting leader over his reluctance to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies ahead of the court’s review of rebellion charges against impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol stemming from his short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3. The court appointments have stalled amid an intensifying dispute between the liberal opposition and Yoon’s conservative party, and the potential impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo may deepen the political paralysis that has halted high-level diplomacy and rattled financial markets.
Reuters
Factbox-Profiles of South Korea's Constitutional Court justices
The justices on the Constitutional Court, who must decide within 180 days whether to remove Yoon from office, have not always voted in the past based on perceived political leanings. The court should have nine justices, but the appointment of three new members has been held up by political infighting. Moon, 59, is currently acting chief justice of the Constitutional Court.
CNN
Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashes in Kazakhstan, leaving 38 dead, 29 survivors, officials say
An Azerbaijani airliner carrying 67 people crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, killing at least 38 who were on board, according to a Kazakh official.
Associated Press
Israeli strike kills 5 Palestinian journalists in Gaza, officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, the Health Ministry said early Thursday. The Israeli military said it had targeted a group of militants. The journalists were working for the local Quds News Network, which also reported the strike.
CNN
Accusations of genocide. Charges of corruption. Improbably, Netanyahu had a good year
The past year brought deaths, regional conflict, indictments and more. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ends it having transformed his standing in Israel.
AFP
'We couldn't find their bodies': Indonesian tsunami survivors mourn the dead
Under the shade of trees at a mass grave in Indonesia's Aceh province, survivors and mourners recited Islamic prayers, commemorating the deaths of tens of thousands killed when a tsunami decimated the area two decades ago.It is one of several prayer sites across western Indonesia -- including a grand mosque and other mass graves -- holding ceremonies that drew thousands of mourners who remember the December 26, 2004, tsunami.
Associated Press
Japan Airlines was hit by a cyberattack, delaying flights during the year-end holiday season
Japan Airlines said it was hit by a cyberattack Thursday, causing delays to more than 20 domestic flights but the carrier said it was able to stop the onslaught and restore its systems hours later. There was no impact on flight safety, it said. JAL said the problem started Thursday morning when the company's network connecting internal and external systems began malfunctioning.
Associated Press
Flooding took away the love of his life after 35 years without a day spent apart
Jerry and Sibrina Barrett never spent a day apart over 35 years. Living in Johnson City, they were barely aware that Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida on September 26. The next day it was raining heavily, so Sibrina went in late to her once-a-week cleaning job at the Impact Plastics factory.
AFP
Azerbaijan mourns 38 killed in plane crash in Kazakhstan
Azerbaijan began a national day of mourning Thursday after a passenger jet from the flag carrier crashed in western Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, killing 38 of the 67 people onboard.Azerbaijan Airlines reported that 67 people were on board the jet -- 62 passengers and five crew members.
Associated Press
Israel's plan to double the number of settlers in the Golan Heights is met with conflicting emotions
A dry mountain wind whipped through a cluster of Israeli flags at the entrance of a kibbutz in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, where the tranquility belies the tumultuous events unfolding nearby. Earlier this month, Syrian President Bashar Assad was ousted after nearly 25 years in power. Within hours, Israeli tanks rolled past a razor wire-reinforced fence into the Golan's demilitarized buffer zone in Syria, created as part of a 1974 ceasefire between the countries.
Reuters
China to build world's largest hydropower dam in Tibet
China has approved the construction of what will be the world's largest hydropower dam, kicking off an ambitious project on the eastern rim of the Tibetan plateau that could affect millions downstream in India and Bangladesh. The dam, which will be located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, could produce 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, according to an estimate provided by the Power Construction Corp of China in 2020. That would more than triple the 88.2 billion kWh designed capacity of the Three Gorges Dam, currently the world's largest, in central China.
Associated Press
A Syrian family recounts the horrors of the 2013 chemical attack near Damascus
A Syrian family that survived a 2013 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people near the country’s capital, Damascus, says the ordeal they experienced haunts them to this day. The Aug. 21, 2013 attack targeted several Damascus suburbs, including Zamalka, where the Arbeeni family lives. Government forces of then-President Bashar Assad were blamed for the attack.
Associated Press
A survivor of the worst gang attack on Haitian journalists says colleagues were cut down by bullets
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A survivor of the worst gang attack on Haitian journalists in recent memory described Wednesday seeing colleagues cut down by bullets and reporters with head and chest wounds going an hour or more without help. Two reporters and one police officer died in Tuesday's attack at the reopening of Port-au-Prince's biggest public hospital. Seven journalists covering the event were wounded.
Associated Press
Stock market today: Asian shares are mostly higher in thin post-Christmas holiday trading
Asian shares were mostly higher Thursday in thin post-Christmas holiday trading, while oil prices rose. Japan's Nikkei 225 index surged 1.1% to 39,568.06, on strong gains in retailers and tourism-related stocks after Japan agreed to ease visa conditions for Chinese tourists. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, a major department store group, gained 7.7%.
Associated Press
Former Presidential candidate in Taiwan, Ko Wen-je, indicted for corruption
Prosecutors in Taiwan indicted former presidential candidate and Taiwan People's Party founder Ko Wen-je on corruption charges Thursday, accusing him of taking bribes during his time as mayor of the island's capital. Ko, a former mayor of Taipei, is accused of accepting bribes related to a real estate development during his time in office, according to the prosecutors' statement. Core to the case is a development owned by Core Pacific City group in Taipei.

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