Asteroid burns over Philippines, deadly strike in West Bank

It happened while you were sleeping. Here is what global agencies reported on the night from Wednesday to Thursday.

• NASA reported that a one-yard asteroid burned up in the Earth's atmosphere over the Philippines, near the island of Luzon. The asteroid did not cause any damage, but its burning moment in the atmosphere looked spectacular. Videos on social media show a suddenly flashing fireball. The European Space Agency reminded that this is only the ninth time in human history that an asteroid on a collision course with Earth has been observed. CNN reports that asteroids of this size hit the Earth on average every two weeks but are rarely noticeable.

• Five Palestinians were killed, and one was seriously injured in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a result of an Israeli attack - reported the Palestinian Red Crescent on Thursday. According to this source, the attack occurred in the town of Tubas in the northern part of the West Bank. "Five people were killed and one was seriously injured in an attack on a car in Tubas," - stated the Red Crescent's communiqué. The Israeli army, on the other hand, reported on Telegram that it had carried out "three precision strikes aimed at terrorists posing a threat" to soldiers.

• Over 30 people were injured in clashes with the police during another consecutive protest of pensioners and leftist organisations in the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. Protesters set a waste container on fire, and the police used tear gas. Among the injured are eight media workers and nine police officers; two people were detained. Pensioners and leftist groups are protesting against President Javier Milei's veto of a law that will increase the revaluation of pensions. The bill smoothly passed both houses of Congress, but the president claims there is no money for the raises.

• The Federal Court of the Southern District of New York accused employees of the Russia Today television network, the Kremlin's media arm, of transferring multimillion-dollar funds to the American media "Company 1". This was supposed to influence the upcoming elections in the USA. Several people associated with Russian media have been sanctioned.

• President Joe Biden said on Wednesday, commenting on the massacre at a high school in Georgia, that students across the country are learning how to hide instead of how to write and read; we cannot accept this as usual. Vice President Kamala Harris called for an "end to the epidemic" of shootings. Biden called on Republicans in Congress, who have so far opposed further restrictions on access to firearms, to cooperate with Democrats on "common-sense" regulations.

• The Helsinki-Vantaa airport terminal is chaotic during rush hours. On Wednesday evening, passing through the security checkpoint took two or more hours. Almost every other passenger had a larger amount of liquid or a container with contents treated as liquid, such as sunscreen or hair gel.