The government of Zanzibar intends to construct the "Burj Zanzibar," a 28-storey timber skyscraper that will be the tallest green structure in the world. Its creators, a group of experts from the US, Switzerland, South Africa, Tanzania, Austria, and other countries, have declared it will be a significant environmental achievement for all of Africa as well as the tourist hotspot in the Indian Ocean. The “vertical green village” will occupy a plot in the seaside city of Fumba, a one-mile- wide eco-town designed by German engineers to entice tech workers. The Burj Zanzibar, which stands meaning tower in Arabic and is 96 metres tall, will establish a "new benchmark of building in the 21st century," according to the architects. It will provide 266 residences with ocean views for between £65,000 and £785,000 as well as swimming pools, office space, and balconies brimming with plants.
North Korea fired 3 ballistic missiles
North Korea has fired three short-range ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan, the latest launches in a year that has seen an unparalleled onslaught of missile tests by an increasingly belligerent Pyongyang. Japan’s Ministry of Defence said the first ballistic missile was fired on last Saturday morning shortly after 08:00am local time (23:00 GMT), the second was launched at approximately 08:14am (23:14 GMT), and a third missile took off a minute later. All three missiles were launched from Pyongyang's suburbs, reaching a maximum altitude of 100 kilometres (62 miles) and travelling for an estimated 350 kilometres (217 miles). According to the ministry and news agencies, the missiles landed in the Sea of Japan but outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone, a body of water that stretches outward from the country's shoreline by around 370km (200 nautical miles).
First female news anchor in America dies
Barbara Walters, one of the most visible women on U.S. television as the first female anchor on an American network evening news broadcast and one of TV's most prominent interviewers, died on Friday at age 93, her longtime ABC News home said.Walters, who created the popular ABC women's talk show "The View" in 1997, died at her home in New York, Robert Iger, chief executive of ABC's corporate parent, The Walt Disney Co., said in a statement. The circumstances of her death were not given.
Cambodian casino blaze kills 19, dozens more missing
A massive fire tore through a casino-hotel complex in a Cambodian town near the Thai border, killing at least 19 people and leaving up to 30 people missing. When the fire started, there were about 400 personnel and guests inside the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in Poipet, and up to 30 people are still unaccounted for. "The number of deaths may reach more than 20," said Sek Sokhom, head of the Banteay Meanchey provincial information department. Sixty people had been injured, he said.
Chaos at Manila airport in Philippines due to power failure
A power outage hit Manila airport in Philippines on New Year's Day, affected 300 flights and left thousands stranded. As per the media, over 65,000 people were stranded as a result of nearly 300 domestic and international flights at the Manila airport in the Philippines being either delayed, cancelled, or diverted. As a result of the power outage all flights in Philippine airspace, lost internet, radio, and communication capabilities.
Indian-American swears to serve as a county judge in Texas
Juli A. Mathew, an Indian-American Democrat, took the oath to serve a second term as a judge in Fort Bend County, Texas. Mathew, a native of Thiruvalla in the state of Kerala, was sworn in by videoconference from Bheemanady in Kasaragod and will keep her position as presiding judge for Fort Bend County Court Number 3 for another four years. She stood for re-election and defeated Republican Andrew Dornburg with 123,116 votes. Mathew defeated Republican Tricia Krenek in her 2018 election race for the court by a commanding 8.24 percent margin, becoming the first Indian-American woman elected to the bench in the US.
Iran issued notice on mandatory headscarf in cars
Iranian police have resumed warnings that women must wear mandatory headscarves even in cars, stated by media, as unrest continues following the death of Mahsa Amini. Protests have gripped since the September 16 death of Iranian-Kurdish Amini, 22, after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women.