At least nine people died in a stampede at a shopping mall in Uganda on New Year’s Eve. Crowds rushed to see a fireworks display at the Freedom City Mall, located near the capital, Kampala. In the stampede, several people became stuck in a narrow corridor and suffocated to death, according to a police statement. The deceased included a 10-year-old boy.
Anita Pointer of the Grammy-winning Pointer Sisters died on Saturday at age 74 of cancer. Pointer was surrounded by family at her Beverly Hills home when she died. The Pointer Sisters had a string of pop, country, and R&B hits in the 1970s and ’80s, including “I’m So Excited,” “Jump (For My Love),” and “Fire.”
The combined value of the world’s sovereign wealth and public pension funds has fallen for the first time ever, by $2.2tn, according to an annual study by Global SWF. The value of assets managed by sovereign wealth funds fell to $10.6tn from $11.5tn, while those of public pension funds dropped to $20.8tn from $22.1tn.
Authorities in the Philippines halted flights in and out of Manila on New Year’s Day due to a malfunction of air traffic control, which also prevented airlines bound to other destinations from using the country’s airspace. This incident affected around 56,000 passengers and resulted in 282 flights being delayed, cancelled or diverted. The Transportation Secretary blamed a power outage for the breakdown.
China’s home prices fell at a faster pace in December, reflecting persistently weak demand amid rising COVID-19 cases and adding pressure on the faltering economy, according to a survey by China Index Academy. Home prices in 100 cities declined 0.08% MoM in December, falling for the sixth month in a row. Among the 100 cities, 68 saw a fall in monthly prices.
Iranian police detained several top-tier football players in a raid on a party on New Year’s Eve where alcohol was served in violation of Islamic laws. It is reported that the players were released except for one person who is not a soccer player. A case has been filed against those detained and details will be released later.
A worker was killed in an incident involving an American Airlines regional carrier flight at Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama. The FAA and NTSB will investigate. The flight was operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines. The victim was a ground crew member for Piedmont Airlines, another American regional subsidiary. American Airlines said it was “devastated” by the accident.
Eurozone wages are growing more quickly than expected, says ECB President Christine Lagarde. The ECB has raised interest rates by 2.5 percentage points since July in a bid to address high inflation and has promised further policy tightening at future meetings as longer-term price growth expectations have risen above its 2% target. Lagarde says the bank must “take the necessary measures” to lower inflation, currently at almost 10%, to its target of 2%.
Acting Brazilian President Hamilton Mourao criticized outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro in a New Year’s speech for allowing anti-democratic sentiment to thrive and for environmental backsliding. Bolsonaro has faced criticism for his silence following his defeat in the country’s most contentious election in a generation, which has led to riots and a foiled bomb plot in the capital, Brasilia.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has offered China “necessary assistance” to help it deal with a surge in COVID-19 cases, but has said that Chinese military activities near the island are not beneficial to peace and stability. Taiwan and China have repeatedly sparred over their respective measures to control the spread of COVID-19.