The US military on Thursday said it killed two alleged drug traffickers in a strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific, bringing the death toll from Washington’s campaign to at least 128. “Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the US Southern Command said in a post on X. It said “...
The US military on Thursday said it killed two alleged drug traffickers in a strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific, bringing the death toll from Washington’s campaign to at least 128. “Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the US Southern Command said in a post on X. It said “no US military forces were harmed” in the operation. President Donald Trump’s administration began targeting alleged smuggling boats in early September, insisting it was effectively at war with alleged “narco-terrorists” operating out of Venezuela. But it has provided no definitive evidence that the vessels are involved in drug trafficking, prompting heated debate about the legality of the operations, which have expanded from the Caribbean to the Pacific. In January, the US military carried out another strike in the eastern Pacific, killing two alleged drug traffickers. Last week, relatives of two Trinidadian men killed last year in a strike on a boat the military said was carrying drugs filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the US government. It is the first such case to be brought against the Trump administration over its missile strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
A sewage leak in New Zealand’s capital Wellington has been described by local authorities as an “environmental disaster,” with repairs to the city’s wastewater treatment plant expected to take months. Residents of Wellington have been advised not to enter the water, collect seafood or even walk their dogs on local beaches. On Wednesday, the lower floors of the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant ...
A sewage leak in New Zealand’s capital Wellington has been described by local authorities as an “environmental disaster,” with repairs to the city’s wastewater treatment plant expected to take months. Residents of Wellington have been advised not to enter the water, collect seafood or even walk their dogs on local beaches. On Wednesday, the lower floors of the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant were completely flooded after heavy rain caused sewage to back up into the 1.8km outfall pipe that normally discharges treated wastewater into Cook Strait, according to Wellington Water. As a result, untreated sewage began flowing through a shorter five-metre outfall pipe into the waters off Wellington’s south coast. Wellington Water chief executive Pat Dougherty said around 70 million litres of raw wastewater had leaked into surrounding waters, New Zealand’s 1News reported. Dougherty said he was “at a loss” to explain why the outfall pipe failed, adding: “The outfall pipeline has more capacity than the treatment plant itself, it’s designed to be the one thing that works whatever happens.” Wellington mayor Andrew Little on Thursday described the leak as a “catastrophic failure,” saying: “This is a sewage plant processing the sewage for a big city, and it has completely failed, it just completely stopped.” In a Facebook update on Friday morning, Wellington Water said it had partially restored operation of the long outfall pipe and the screening system, which removes sanitary pads and wet wipes from wastewater. The company said it was currently able to pump “900 litres per second of wastewater through the long outfall pipe,” noting: “This is most of the wastewater during an average day, but during peak flows throughout the day we will need to use the short outfall pipe.” “Discharging screened wastewater out to sea via the 1.8km long outfall pipe allows for greater dilution of the wastewater in the Cook Strait,” the company said, adding: “This reduces the amount of untreated w...
Shares of the membership-based retailer are crushing the market this year. The market is on edge year to date, to say the least. As of this writing, the S&P 500's return so far in 2026 is about flat. But that stat doesn't show the carnage in some corners of the market. Many software-as-a-service stocks, for instance, have been crushed. In recent trading days, the market seems to be losing its appe...
Shares of the membership-based retailer are crushing the market this year. The market is on edge year to date, to say the least. As of this writing, the S&P 500's return so far in 2026 is about flat. But that stat doesn't show the carnage in some corners of the market. Many software-as-a-service stocks, for instance, have been crushed. In recent trading days, the market seems to be losing its appetite for riskier growth stocks and is instead turning to steadier, more durable companies like Costco (COST +1.11%). Shares of membership-based wholesale retailer Costco have risen about 15% year to date, crushing the market, as investors appreciate the company's ability to consistently grow in just about any environment. Its combination of low prices, a membership model, and a large share of sales from everyday essentials that keep its members coming back exemplifies the type of business investors appreciate during periods of uncertainty. Is the stock's momentum in 2026 just the start? Or, put another way, is Costco stock a buy today? Steady sales growth Earlier this week, Costco gave investors another glimpse into its sales momentum. Per usual, it's impressive. Sales for its retail month of January rose 9.3% year over year. These sales were fueled by a 7.1% increase in same-store sales, or sales growth at stores open for more than a year. Excluding the impact of changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange, Costco's same-store sales rose 6.4% year over year. Importantly, Costco's adjusted same-store sales growth for the period accelerated from 6.2% growth in December. But investors should keep in mind that the month could have benefited from severe winter storms that swept over the U.S. during the period. Still, the point is that Costco's sales growth remains both robust and steady. Perhaps even more exciting was the company's growth in digitally enabled sales, which Costco defines in its annual report as "sales delivered to members that are initiated through a digital...
Dozens of people have died in Japan after record-breaking snowfall blanketed northern regions of the country, while officials warned that warmer temperatures could trigger a new wave of accidents. Authorities said 35 people had died in snow-related incidents across Japan since 20 January, with almost 400 injured, 126 of them seriously. Most of the deaths were among people who fell while trying to ...
Dozens of people have died in Japan after record-breaking snowfall blanketed northern regions of the country, while officials warned that warmer temperatures could trigger a new wave of accidents. Authorities said 35 people had died in snow-related incidents across Japan since 20 January, with almost 400 injured, 126 of them seriously. Most of the deaths were among people who fell while trying to clear snow from their roofs or around their homes. Perilous conditions created by heavy snowfall have also affected foreign travellers. On Wednesday, a 27-year-old man from Melbourne, identified by the ABC as Michael Hurst, died after collapsing and falling while skiing with several other people at the ski resort where he worked in Niseko on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido. His death came days after a 22-year-old woman from Queensland – identified by Australian media as Brooke Day – died at a resort in Nagano prefecture after her backpack got caught in a ski lift and she was left hanging mid-air. Most of the incidents reported over the past two weeks have occurred in areas near the Sea of Japan, which are experiencing unusually heavy snowfall due to a cold air masses arriving from the Arctic. This winter has brought chaos to 15 of the country’s 47 prefectures (counties), with snow reaching 6.5 feet (2m) in depth in some places. It left more than 1,700 homes without electricity in Aomori prefecture and caused the cancellation of regular and bullet train services. The local governor, Soichiro Miyashita, said this week that emergency vehicles were struggling to get through to people in difficulty, forcing emergency workers carrying stretchers to search for them on foot. “We anticipate some roads might get blocked off, and so we are consulting with services that can help with ambulances and fire trucks to get through to their destinations,” Miyashita told reporters. View image in fullscreen Sustained snow since late January has buried northern communities like Aomori u...
Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara said on Friday that the credit rating outlook downgrade by rating agency Moody’s highlighted the need for institutional reform and policy consistency. The agency’s affirmation of Indonesia ’s investment grade reflected confidence in the country’s long-term prospects, it said, adding that it would continue to operate professionally, accountably ...
Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara said on Friday that the credit rating outlook downgrade by rating agency Moody’s highlighted the need for institutional reform and policy consistency. The agency’s affirmation of Indonesia ’s investment grade reflected confidence in the country’s long-term prospects, it said, adding that it would continue to operate professionally, accountably and transparently as the country’s sovereign fund Indonesian stocks and currency traded weaker in early trade on Friday after Moody’s lowered the country’s credit rating outlook, the latest jolt in a turbulent start to the year for Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Advertisement The main stock index slipped more than 2 per cent while the rupiah dropped as much as 0.33 per cent to 16,880 a dollar, its lowest since January 22. Indonesia’s top economic minister vows capital market reforms Indonesia’s top economic minister vows capital market reforms Moody’s said on Thursday it had cut Indonesia’s credit rating outlook to negative from stable, citing reduced predictability in policymaking days after MSCI flagged transparency issues that triggered a market rout of more than US$80 billion. Advertisement The global ratings agency cited concerns about policy effectiveness and signs of weakening governance, trends that it said could erode Indonesia’s long-established policy credibility if they persisted.