GENEVA, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Several dozen people are feared dead and around 100 injured Thursday after an explosion and a fire at a bar in the Crans-Montana ski resort in Valais Canton of southwestern Switzerland, local police said.
Those injured in the blast and subsequent fire suffered serious injuries and were taken to hospitals in Sion, capital of Valais canton, as well as in other cities, Valais Canton Police Chief Frederic Gisler said at a press conference.
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the explosion, but authorities have ruled out an attack. (Switzerland-Resort-Explosion)
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MOSCOW -- Russian air defenses have downed 250 drones over the past day, including 12 targeting the Moscow region overnight, Russia's Defense Ministry said Thursday.
The air defenses also shot down one guided aerial bomb and a Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft, the ministry said. (Russia-Ukraine-Drones)
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MANILA -- At least 22 people were injured when a grenade exploded in a residential area in Cotabato province in southern Philippines, shortly after midnight on Thursday, local police said.
Police said two men riding on a motorcycle lobbed the fragmentation grenade at the crowd as residents were welcoming the New Year along the national highway in Matalam town. (Philippines-Grenade Blast)
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KABUL -- 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. (Afghanistan-Floods-Kills) ■
