Rescuers comb through rubble after deadly Russian strikes across Ukraine - CNA

MATERNITY WARD "SEVERELY DAMAGED"

The strikes targeted at least six Ukrainian regions including Kharkiv in the northeast, Lviv in the west, Dnipro in the east and Odesa in the south.

In Dnipro, a maternity hospital was "severely damaged" but staff and patients managed to shelter in time, the health ministry said.

There were 12 women in labour and four newborns inside when it was struck, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Sergiy Lysak, said on Friday.

Lysak also reported six killed and 28 wounded in strikes on a shopping mall, private houses and administrative buildings.

Kharkiv faced around 20 strikes, which killed three employees at a civilian enterprise and wounded 11, governor Oleg Synegubov said on Friday.

In Zaporizhzhia, on the shores of the Dnipro river, governor Yuriy Malashko reported seven dead and 13 wounded according to a Friday toll.

In the Odesa region, which has seen renewed attacks since the summer, four people were killed.

Strikes over Lviv in western Ukraine are much more rare, but the region was not spared on Friday.

One person was killed and 15 wounded as blocks of flats and two schools were damaged, the interior ministry said.

Separately, local Russian officials said Saturday at least four people including three children were killed by Ukrainian strikes in the border regions of Belgorod and Bryansk over the past 24 hours.

Belgorod is about 30km from the border with Ukraine and has been repeatedly targeted by what Russia says is indiscriminate shelling by Kyiv's forces.

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2023-12-30 14:46:00Z
CBMiYGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvdWtyYWluZS1ydXNzaWEtYXR0YWNrLW1pc3NpbGUtZHJvbmUtc3RyaWtlcy1kZWMtMjktNDAxNzk0MdIBAA

Probe into Malaysia's ex-finance minister Daim based on Pandora Papers: Anti-graft agency - CNA

KUALA LUMPUR: The corruption investigation against Malaysia's former finance minister Daim Zainuddin was based on information obtained from the Pandora Papers, the country's anti-graft agency said on Saturday (Dec 30).

The probe started in February, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said, a day after Mr Daim broke his silence on the matter and accused Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of initiating a "political witch-hunt".

He also criticised MACC chief Azam Baki for unprofessional conduct, such as making “various prejudicial comments" against him in public while investigations are still ongoing. 

In a statement on Saturday, the anti-graft agency said Mr Daim's comments have "caused confusion and misunderstanding to the general public".

"First of all, the MACC has never at any point raised or issued any official statement accusing Daim of committing any offences," the agency said, as quoted by the Star.

"In the case of Daim, the MACC opened an investigation paper in February 2023 based on information from the Pandora Papers."

The Pandora Papers are a trove of documents, leaked in 2021, that revealed the hidden wealth of world leaders, billionaires and celebrities who used offshore companies to acquire mansions, private jets and stakes in companies.

Mr Daim said in the wake of the leak that his business dealings, as revealed in the Pandora Papers, were legitimate. He added that he was a “successful and wealthy” businessman long before he entered politics and that taxes had been fully paid for his businesses and income. 

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2023-12-30 09:23:29Z
CBMifWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vYXNpYS9kYWltLXphaW51ZGRpbi1tYWxheXNpYS1hbnRpLWdyYWZ0LXByb2JlLWV4LWZpbmFuY2UtbWluaXN0ZXItcGFuZG9yYS1wYXBlcnMtbWFjYy00MDE3NjYx0gEA

China eases visa application for US tourists - CNA

BEIJING: China will simplify visa applications for tourists from the United States from Jan 1, cutting the documents required, according to a notice on Friday (Dec 29) on the website of the Chinese embassy in Washington.

The move is the latest by China to revive tourism and boost the world's second-largest economy following a slump during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tourist visa applicants in the US will no longer need to submit air ticket bookings, hotel reservations or an invitation letter, the embassy's notice said. 

Beijing earlier cleared the way for passport holders from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia to visit the country without visas from Dec 1.

Visa-free treatment will run for 12 months, during which tourists from those six countries can visit China for up to 15 days.

China also expanded its visa-free transit policy to 54 countries in November.

The number of inbound tourists to the country plummeted during the pandemic due to the country's strict COVID-19 control policies.

International flights to China have picked up since Beijing dropped COVID-19 restrictions a year ago but are still only at 60 per cent of 2019 levels.

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2023-12-30 08:27:36Z
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McDonald's Malaysia sues Israel boycott movement for US$1.3 million in damages - CNA

KUALA LUMPUR: McDonald's Malaysia has sued a movement promoting boycotts against Israel for "false and defamatory statements" that it says hurt its business.

It is seeking damages amounting to 6 million ringgit (US$1.3 million).

Malaysia, a majority-Muslim country, is a staunch supporter of the Palestinians, and some Western fast food brands in the country, as in some other Muslim nations, have been targeted by boycott campaigns over Israel's military offensive in Gaza.

Gerbang Alaf Restaurants (GAR), which is the licensee of McDonald's in Malaysia, is suing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Malaysia movement for a series of social media postings allegedly linking the fast food franchise, among other companies, to Israel's "genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza".

According to a writ of summons dated Dec 19 sighted by Reuters, Gerbang Alaf Restaurants alleged that BDS Malaysia incited the public to boycott McDonald's Malaysia, which led to a loss of profit and job cuts, among other damages, due to closures and shortened operating hours of its outlets.

McDonald's Malaysia confirmed it filed the suit against BDS Malaysia to protect its "rights and interests", it said in a statement on Friday (Dec 29).

In response, BDS Malaysia said it "categorically denies" defaming the fast food company and would leave the matter to the court.

The BDS movement aims to end international support for Israel's "oppression of Palestinians" and pressure Israel to comply with international law.

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2023-12-30 05:50:00Z
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Russia's missile strikes on Ukraine leave at least 30 dead, 160 wounded - CNA

MATERNITY WARD "SEVERELY DAMAGED"

The strikes targeted at least six Ukrainian regions including Kharkiv in the northeast, Lviv in the west, Dnipro in the east and Odesa in the south.

In the capital Kyiv seven people were killed, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, with damage to the building of Lukyanivska metro station located near the Artyom arms factory that Russia said it targeted early in the war.

Work was still ongoing to rescue people stuck under the rubble of the warehouse in the Shevchenko district in the afternoon, according to the city administration.

AFP journalists in Kyiv earlier saw firefighters wearing oxygen masks tackling a fire a 3,000 square metres (32,300 square feet) warehouse in the northern Podil district.

Damage to civilian facilities was also reported in other parts of the country.

The northeastern city of Kharkiv faced around 20 strikes, killing three employees at a civilian enterprise and wounding 11, governor said Oleg Synegubov.

In Dnipro in southern Ukraine, the health ministry said a maternity hospital had been "severely damaged" but the staff and patients had managed to shelter in time.

Six were killed and 28 wounded said Sergiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region where a shopping mall, private houses and administrative buildings were hit.

Lysak said there were 12 women in labour at the maternity hospital and four newborns when it was struck.

In Zaporizhzhia, on the shores on the Dnipro river, governor Yuriy Malashko reported seven dead and 13 wounded.

In the Odesa region, which has seen renewed attacks since the summer, four people were killed.

Earlier in the day, an AFP photographer saw firefighters extinguishing a blaze in a high-rise building, smoke pouring out of a hole blown in the facade, and the air thick with dust.

Strikes over Lviv in the West of Ukraine are much more rare, but the region was not spared on Friday.

One person was killed and 15 wounded as high-rise blocks of flats and two schools were damaged, the interior ministry said.

Zelenskyy said he had visited the town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, which has become a key battle site since Ukraine's counteroffensive failed to pierce through Russia's defensive lines.

"This is one of the most difficult areas of the front line," he wrote on Telegram, along with a video of him in front of a sign with the name of the town, giving medals to soldiers.

"I thank all those who are at the first line (of fire) for their service, for this year during which the entire country survived thanks to its soldiers," he said.

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2023-12-29 17:35:00Z
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Former vice-chair of China's banking regulator handed life sentence - CNA

BEIJING: A former vice-chairman of China's banking regulator has been sentenced to life imprisonment, state media reported on Friday (Dec 29), the latest target in a crackdown on corruption in the second-largest economy's finance sector.

Beijing launched a sprawling campaign to counter graft in 2012, following the ascension of leader Xi Jinping to the top of the governing Communist Party.

Since then, some 4.8 million party officials have been investigated, according to the latest official figures from June 2022.

Such investigations generally result in convictions and are suspected of serving as a tool for sidelining political figures seen as opposing Xi.

Cai Esheng was found guilty of accepting 407 million yuan (US$57.5 million) in bribes while in office, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing a decision by a court in Zhenjiang.

He was also said to have taken an additional 110 million yuan in bribes after retiring.

CCTV reported he was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, which will be commuted to life in prison.

Born in 1951, Cai spent most of his career in finance and served for eight years as a vice-chairman of the country's banking regulator.

Now retired, he came under scrutiny in 2021 with the launch of an investigation into "serious violations of discipline and the law" - wording that typically designates acts of corruption or embezzlement.

The former executive also served as a senior Communist Party representative to the banking regulator.

The conviction comes during a particularly active period for the crackdown on China's finance sector.

On Thursday, a former head of China's central bank was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for corruption.

A legislative gathering on Friday saw the adoption of an amendment that provides tougher penalties for corruption, according to state news agency Xinhua.

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2023-12-29 15:01:00Z
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Russia launches massive missile attack on Ukraine, 12 dead: Kyiv - CNA

Ukraine has been warning for weeks that Russia could be stockpiling missiles to launch a major air attack on the energy system. Last year millions of people were plunged into darkness when Russian strikes pounded the power grid.

Five people were killed in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk where missiles hit a shopping centre, a privately-held home and a six-storey residential building.

One person was confirmed dead at a warehouse in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, revising down an earlier toll of two. Residential buildings and an uninhabited building were also hit, a senior military official said.

Three people were killed in the Black Sea port city of Odesa and at least 15 were wounded, including two children, as missiles hit residential buildings, the regional governor said.

In Lviv region, which borders NATO member Poland, missile impacts were confirmed at an unnamed critical infrastructure facility, the president's office said.

One person was killed in a damaged multi-storey residential building in the city of Lviv, the regional governor said. Three schools and a kindergarten were also damaged, the mayor said.

In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, a missile strike damaged a warehouse, industrial facility, a medical facility and a transport depot, the regional governor said. One person was killed and 11 other were injured, he said.

Missiles hit several infrastructure facilities in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia and one person was killed, the interior minister said.

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2023-12-29 09:18:00Z
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