US shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon
US military fighter aircraft shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it floated off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, drawing to a close a dramatic saga that shone a spotlight on worsening Sino-US relations.
“We successfully took it down, and I want to compliment our aviators who did it,” President Joe Biden said.
Mr Biden said he had issued an order on Wednesday to take down the balloon, but the Pentagon had recommended waiting until it could be done over open water to safeguard civilians from debris crashing down to Earth from thousands of metres above commercial air traffic.
Multiple fighter and refuelling aircraft were involved in the mission, but only one – an F-22 fighter jet from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia – took the shot at 2.39pm (3.39am on Sunday, Singapore time), using a single AIM-9X supersonic, heat-seeking, air-to-air missile, a senior US military official said.
Ukraine says latest Russian assault on Bakhmut beaten back
Ukraine said it had fought off a fresh Russian assault on the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut on Saturday, as it endured a fresh wave of shelling in the disputed Donetsk region.
Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, recovered the bodies of two British volunteers, killed trying to help evacuate people from the eastern warzone.
And the southern city of Odesa suffered a massive power cut affecting half a million households after an accident at a war-damaged electrical substation.
Goodbye Iowa! Democrats approve Biden primary calendar
The Democratic National Committee on Saturday approved President Joe Biden’s shakeup of the party’s 2024 primary calendar, giving Black voters a greater say in the nominating process and carving an easier path for Mr Biden’s expected re-election bid.
The party’s vote on Saturday replaces the famed Iowa caucuses as the first in the nation with South Carolina, a state with significantly more Black voters and one that saved Mr Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. It would be followed by New Hampshire and Nevada one week later, and then by primaries in Georgia and Michigan.
The move faced opposition from leaders in Iowa and New Hampshire, who are being pushed down the nominating calendar.
Avalanches in Austria, Switzerland kill five
Avalanches in Austria and Switzerland have left five people dead, leading officials to warn on Saturday of the risks posed by particularly unstable snow cover.
Three of those killed were visiting Austria’s Alpine regions.
Austrian news agency APA reported that one victim was a 17-year-old New Zealander who was skiing off-piste. On Friday, a 32-year-old Chinese man, who was also said to be skiing away from the designated routes, died in an avalanche in the resort of Soelden.
Football: Sorry Liverpool thrashed 3-0 at Wolves
Relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers humiliated Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool on Saturday with a comfortable 3-0 win over the misfiring Reds, who are yet to win in the Premier League this year.
In their best performance of the season, Wolves cut through Liverpool’s shaky defence from the off, missing two good chances before a Hwang Hee-Chan cutback went in off the heel of Joel Matip for a fifth minute own goal.
Minutes later, debutant Craig Dawson lashed in the second unmarked from close range after the ball bounced off Cody Gakpo in another spell of sloppy defending by the visitors.
