MOSCOW — An explosion and a fire involving two tanker ships near the contested Kerch Strait, the waterway separating Crimea from mainland Russia, left at least 11 sailors dead on Monday and several missing, according to Russian news reports.
Although the exact cause of the episode that ignited the tankers was not immediately known, fuel from one was being transferred to the other, the Russian news agency RIA said. Initial reports suggested that a fire and an explosion on one ship had spread to the second. The sailors killed were from India and Turkey, the reports said, with 12 survivors jumping into the water.
Some 10 ships were involved in rescue operations, according to Interfax, another Russian news agency, which said the press service of the country’s Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport announced the toll of victims and survivors.
Television footage from the shore showed flames erupting and thick black smoke engulfing the ships.
Both tankers were registered in Tanzania and were anchored just off the southern shore of the Crimean Peninsula and just outside the Kerch Strait.
The strait has become another sticking point in relations between Russia and Ukraine since Russia seized the peninsula in 2014. It has invested some $7.5 billion in building a spectacular bridge and road network to connect the peninsula to the mainland.
Philippine vote could finally bring peace to restive region
Some 2.8 million people in the Philippine region of Mindanao are taking part in a historic referendum that could see peace come to the island group after 50 years of unrest.
Monday's vote asks the majority Muslim population whether they back a plan by separatists and the government to create a new self-administered region known as Bangsamoro.
The Bangsamoro Organic Law is the product of years of peace negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group in the country.
MILF has fought for decades against the Philippine army for greater autonomy and control over the island's natural resources, CNN Philippines reported.
The formation of a new Muslim autonomous region could bring a peaceful resolution to the protracted conflict, which has claimed more than 120,000 lives since the 1970s.
President Rodrigo Duterte, who was mayor of the Mindanao city of Davao before he took office, formally signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law in July 2018.
If the public ratify the law, the landmark legislation will abolish the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to make way for the creation of a new autonomous Bangsamoro region, according to CNN Philippines.
Passengers stuck on United flight in frigid cold for more than 14 hours
Passengers aboard a United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Hong Kong were left stuck on the ground for more than 14 hours in frigid weather with a dwindling supply of food.
The nightmarish incident began when the 3:05 p.m. flight was diverted to the Goose Bay Airport in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador due to a medical emergency. The plane landed there at 9:31 p.m. AST, and medical personnel met the aircraft and a passenger was taken to a local hospital.
But as the flight was set to take off again, it experienced a mechanical issue.
That's when the waiting began.
Passengers were not allowed to leave the airplane because the Goose Bay Airport did not have a customs officer on duty during the overnight hours. Saturday bled into Sunday, and still the flight remained grounded.
Sonjay Dutt, a passenger on the plane, said on Twitter that the plane's door had broken and that they were stuck on board as the weather dipped to negative-20 degrees outside. Unable to leave for hours upon hours, he began tweeting at United for help, saying that they were running low on food.
On Sunday morning, Goose Bay officials brought on donuts and coffee from Tim Hortons, the classic Canadian fast food restaurant.
Finally, after more than 14 hours, Mr. Dutt was able to get off the plane with the rest of the passengers.
Scholars and ex-diplomats warn of chill after Canadians detained in China
BEIJING — Warning that China’s arrest of two Canadians has created a dangerous chill for people working on policy and research in that country, more than 100 academics and former diplomats have signed an open letter calling for the two men to be immediately freed.
Made public Monday, the letter was an international cry of concern from people who work and study in China, saying the arrests threaten the flow of ideas with Chinese academics and officials that is essential for policy work and research aimed at narrowing international rifts.
The letter warned China that the detentions will result in “greater distrust.”
Its signatories included 27 diplomats from seven countries and 116 scholars and academics from 19 countries.
The Chinese police detained the two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, last month as officials in Beijing scrambled to press Canada to free Meng Wanzhou, a Chinese technology executive, arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1, and held for possible extradition to the United States on fraud charges.
Also in the world …
Kenyan police say gunmen opened fire on Chinese construction facilities in an eastern area, days after Islamic extremists claimed responsibility for a deadly attack in Nairobi. … Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo will make an unwanted trip back to Madrid on Tuesday and is expected to plead guilty to tax fraud. …
First Published: January 22, 2019, 6:35 a.m.
