Briefly

THE PHILIPPINES

9 missing as typhoon death toll rises to 47

The official death toll from Typhoon Phanfone has risen to 47 and is likely to keep rising as nine more people are reported missing, the government said on Monday. Police and local officials said most of the deaths were due to drowning, falling trees and accidental electrocution. Typhoon Phanfone, which made landfall on Tuesday afternoon in Eastern Samar Province, left a trail of destruction as it barreled through towns and villages across the central Philippines and parts of Mindanao.

URUGUAY

4 arrested in $1b-plus cocaine seizure

Four people were arrested for possible ties to the more than $1 billion worth of cocaine seized in recent days in Uruguay, the largest drug bust in the history of the South American country. The arrests took place on Saturday, news outlets reported. Authorities found 5.9 tons of cocaine, 4.4 tons of which was packed into cargo containers in the coastal port of Montevideo, said Attorney General Enrique Rodriguez. He did not say where the drugs were destined. Multiple news outlets reported it was being sent to Africa. The men accused of exporting the drug operate a soybean business, the Uruguayan customs agency said on Friday.

AUSTRALIA

Heatwave reignites bushfire crisis

Extreme weather reignited the bushfire crisis across Australia on Monday, with emergency warnings in four states as soaring temperatures and strong winds fanned infernos. Wind gusts of above 100 km/h battered southeastern Australia while temperatures over 40 C made firefighters' task extremely difficult. Around 30,000 people in the Victoria State region of East Gippsland were told to evacuate as out-of-control fires threatened communities there. Popular with hikers, campers and families, especially during the Christmas holiday period, the Gippsland Valley area is not affected by bushfires spread more than 15,000 square kilometers.

ITALY

Avalanche kills skier, 4th fatality in 24 hours

An avalanche has killed a skier in the Dolomite Mountains, the fourth avalanche fatality in the Italian Alps in 24 hours. Italian state TV said the skier was among four people struck by an avalanche near a mountain refuge Sunday morning. A day earlier, a wall of snow crashed into a group of German skiers in the Senales Valley of Bolzano Province, killing two 7-year-old girls and the mother of one of them. Prosecutors say they are investigating whether that slope should have been closed to the public that day, given a high risk of avalanches. Strong winds have raised the danger of avalanches in Italian Alpine ski areas, which are crowded with vacationers during the holidays.

ANTARCTICA

First to row across Drake Passage

As freezing water thrashed their rowboat in some of the most treacherous waters in the world, six men fought for 13 days to make history, becoming the first people to traverse the infamous Drake Passage by nothing other than sheer manpower. They dodged icebergs, held their breaths as giant whales breached near their small boat and rode building-sized waves while rowing 24 hours a day toward Antarctica. The team of men from four countries finished crossing the Drake Passage on Wednesday just under two weeks after pushing off from the southern tip of South America. Besides the threat to their lives, the men labored under grueling conditions. Their 9-meter rowboat had to be in constant motion to avoid capsizing. That meant three men would row for 90 minutes while the other three rested while cold and wet.

Xinhua