News roundup, 3 Jan 2024

- A warrant has been issued for the arrest of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. The president, who is suspended from his duties pending his impeachment trial, faces corruption charges; thousands of his supporters have vowed to protect him. 

- The FBI believes with a high degree of confidence that the man behind the truck attack in New Orleans was inspired by ISIS, though they believe he acted alone.

- The man who set off an improvised explosive device in a Cybertruck in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas was a US military veteran who served in Afghanistan. His motives have yet to be determined; he will not be available for questioning due to his having shot himself.

- The Manitoba government is working on legislation to address improve the integrity of elections, including a ban on disseminating false information about election officials and on the use of cryptocurrency, gift cards, or money orders for campaign donations.

- Nearly 90% of all new cars sold in Norway in 2024 were electric; EVs are expected to represent 50% of all vehicles on the road in that country within a couple of years.

- An appeals court has struck down the FCC's net neutrality regulations, saying the agency lacked the authority to regulate internet service providers as utilities.

- Winnipeg Police are investigating after six dead cats, showing clear signs of abuse, were found under a bridge in northwest Winnipeg. Disconcertingly, there is no indication that this is related to the cat killings in Point Douglas or the ones in Lord Roberts.

News roundup, 2 Jan 2025

- There was yet another aviation accident/incident on the weekend, when a de Havilland Dash 8, operated by PAL Airlines on behalf of Air Canada, landed at Halifax without its left main gear extended. Despite a fire breaking out, passengers were successfully evacuated without serious injury.

- The Jeju Air Boeing 737 that crashed at Muan International Airport in South Korea had passed a pre-flight inspection with no apparent issues prior to the fatal flight. The government has ordered that airline as well as another one, Aero K, to suspend operations while the matter is investigated; several safety violations not directly related to the crash have been found so far.

- There have been 16 major disease outbreaks on cruise ships in the last year; diseases include norovirus, salmonella, and pathogenic strains of E. coli. 

- Joe Biden has said that he could have won the election; he has, however, expressed regret for going along with advice to appoint Merrick Garland as attorney general. While I have my doubts that the first part is correct, Garland's failure to aggressively prosecute Trump seems worthy of regret.

- Finnish investigators have found a 100 km long seabed trail where the anchor of that Cook Islands-registered oil tanker seems to have been dragged, adding to suspicions that the undersea electrical cable to Estonia was the target of sabotage. Estonia has been trying to make its power grid independent of Russia, and many suspect that this didn't sit well with the Kremlin.

- Fifteen people are dead and around 30 injured following a vehicle attack on New Year's revellers in New Orleans on Wednesday morning. The driver, who was killed by police, was American-born, but a flag associated with ISIS/Daesh was found at the scene. Meanwhile in Las Vegas someone detonated a primitive device in a rented Cybertruck in front of the Trump Hotel in that city, killing the driver and injuring several other people; police are still investigating whether the two events are connected.