Briefly

AUSTRALIA

Canberra, Tokyo to sign 'historic' security pact

Japan and Australia will sign a treaty on Thursday to increase military and security cooperation, in a move that has been hailed as "historic". Scott Morrison and Fumio Kishida, the prime ministers of the two countries, will hold a virtual summit to sign the agreement, which Morrison said "will underpin greater and more complex practical engagement between the Australian Defense Force and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces". In September, Australia signed the so-called AUKUS trilateral security pact with the United States and Britain under which those two countries pledged to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines. The deal has upset many countries.

UNITED STATES

Groping charge against ex-governor dropped

Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo will not face criminal prosecution over an allegation that he fondled an aide, after a prosecutor said on Tuesday that he could not prove the case. Three days before Cuomo was due to answer the misdemeanor charge in court, Albany County District Attorney David Soares asked a judge to dismiss a criminal complaint the county sheriff filed in October. Soares did not detail why he felt it would be tough to win a conviction. The charges against Cuomo were based on allegations by Brittany Commisso, one of the governor's executive assistants, before he resigned amid sexual misconduct allegations in August.

Snowstorm strands drivers for 24 hours

The snowstorm is over, but travel misery lingered. Drivers on a major highway outside Washington reported on Tuesday they were stuck in their cars in freezing weather for 24 hours or more. As families tried to return home from the long New Year weekend, I-95 in Virginia was dangerously icy, gas tanks were running low and there was no help in sight for hours, drivers said. Aerial footage showed seemingly endless lines of cars and trucks, bumper to bumper, that were stranded overnight on a stretch of highway that is notorious for traffic jams even in good weather.

TANZANIA

10 dead after boat capsizes off Zanzibar

An official in Tanzania's semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar said 10 people died when their boat capsized as they were traveling to attend a funeral. Regional Commissioner of South Region Mattar Zahor said nine other passengers were rescued and treated after the accident on Tuesday night near Kisiwapanza, an islet adjacent to Mkoani district. There are others still missing. While rescue work was paused due to high winds, "our search team will do the best it can to make sure we find them", Zahor said. Rough seas and overloading are suspected reasons in the capsizing.

Agencies - Xinhua