PALAU
Surangel Whipps Jr. was re-elected president of Palau for a second term, defeating his brother-in-law Tommy Remengesau in the 5 November election. The archipelago, among Taiwan's few allies, is home to 18,000 people and stretches between the Philippines and the US military base in Guam. This year it renewed an agreement with Washington under which it grants its air and sea space to the US in exchange for USD 890 million in economic assistance to be received over 20 years.
YEMEN
The Pentagon confirmed that several US warships were hit by Houthi attacks while sailing in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait off the coast of Yemen. The pro-Iranian group claimed to have attacked the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and two destroyers. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces reported that they ‘successfully’ shot down all drones and missiles launched by the Houthis.
INDONESIA
Several airlines have cancelled flights between Australia and the Indonesian island of Bali due to dangerous ash clouds from a Lewotaobi Laki-laki volcano that could reach Australia's northern shores today and in the coming days. A major eruption last week killed 10 people.
THAILAND
Thai authorities dismantled nine centres involved in the illegal creation of bitcoin. Two suspects were indicted for stealing $280,000 worth of electricity using modified meters. Large amounts of energy are required to produce bitcoins. The value of the digital currency rose to 80 thousand dollars with the election of Trump.
PAKISTAN
A bus carrying 27 passengers on their way to a wedding procession crashed into the Indus River in northern Pakistan, killing 14 people, local authorities in the Gilgit Baltistan region reported. Another 12 passengers are reported missing and one survivor.
JAPAN
Japan's nuclear watchdog has determined that a reactor in the country's central area has failed the overhaul tests required for restart. It is the first such case since the authority was created following the Fukushima disaster in 2011. For the rector in question, the supervisory authority has not ruled out the possibility that the reactor is above an earthquake fault.
RUSSIA
Elderly Chechen inhabitants in the city of Leninaul in Dagestan, called Aktaš-Aukh in Chechen, have addressed Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov with the request not to allow their land, disputed since Stalin's time, to be allocated to veterans of the war in Ukraine for building purposes, according to the blog of the opponent Tumso Abdurakhmanov.
