Daily World Briefing, Jan. 2

Swiss bar fire kills around 40, injures more than 110 at Crans-Montana resort

Around 40 people were killed and more than 110 others injured after a fire broke out at a bar in the Crans-Montana ski resort in Valais Canton in southwestern Switzerland, local police said on Thursday.

Valais Canton Police Chief Frederic Gisler confirmed the casualty figures at a second press conference held in the afternoon.

"We are counting around 40 people who have died and 115 injured, most of them seriously," Gisler told reporters.

8 killed in U.S. attack on alleged drug boats in E. Pacific

The U.S. military said on Wednesday that five boats suspected of transporting drugs were destroyed in international waters in the eastern Pacific over two days, killing eight men aboard, while others jumped overboard, according to the U.S. Southern Command.

Under the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted "kinetic strikes" against three vessels operated by "Designated Terrorist Organizations" on Monday, and two vessels on Wednesday, the command said on its website.

Three people in the first vessel were killed in the first strike on Monday, the command said, adding, "The remaining narco-terrorists abandoned the other two vessels, jumping overboard and distancing themselves before follow-on engagements sank their respective vessels."

24 killed, 50 injured following Ukraine's drone strikes on Kherson region

At least 24 people were killed and more than 50 others injured after three Ukrainian drones hit a cafe and a hotel in Kherson on Wednesday night, local authorities said.

The attack occurred as civilians were gathering to celebrate the New Year, Vladimir Saldo, head of the Kherson region, said in a post on Telegram.

"Many people were burned alive," Saldo said, noting that one of the drones carried an incendiary mixture, which triggered a massive fire at the scene. Firefighters were only able to fully extinguish the blaze by early Thursday morning.

Flooding kills 12, injures 11 in Afghanistan

At least 12 people were killed and 11 others injured after heavy rainfall and snowfall triggered severe flash floods across multiple provinces in Afghanistan over the past three days, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority said on Thursday.

Hafiz Mohammad Yusuf Hammad, spokesman for the authority, said the disaster struck Kapisa, Parwan, Daykundi, Uruzgan, Kandahar, Helmand, Badghis, Faryab, Badakhshan, Herat and Farah provinces.

The mishap also caused extensive property damage, destroying or partially damaging 1,859 homes and washing away 209 km of rural roads, Hammad added.

Ecuador's president declares state of emergency in 9 provinces, 3 municipalities to quell violence

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has declared a new 60-day "state of emergency" in nine provinces and three municipalities as an increase in criminal violence has caused serious internal commotion, local media said on Thursday.

The decree, signed on Wednesday by the president, has been in force since Thursday in the provinces of Guayas, Manabi, Santa Elena, Los Rios, El Oro and Esmeraldas in the coastal region, in the central-northern provinces of Pichincha and Santo Domingo, as well as in Sucumbios province in the Amazon region.

The measure is also applied in the municipality of La Mana in the central province of Cotopaxi, along with the municipalities of Las Naves and Echeandia in the Andean province of Bolivar.■