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Alpine Glacier Chunk Detaches, Killing Hikers

This Sept. 22, 2018 file photo shows the Baishui Glacier No.1 on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the southern province of Yunnan in China. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
This Sept. 22, 2018 file photo shows the Baishui Glacier No.1 on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the southern province of Yunnan in China. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
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Alpine Glacier Chunk Detaches, Killing Hikers

This Sept. 22, 2018 file photo shows the Baishui Glacier No.1 on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the southern province of Yunnan in China. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
This Sept. 22, 2018 file photo shows the Baishui Glacier No.1 on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the southern province of Yunnan in China. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)

A large chunk of Alpine glacier broke loose Sunday afternoon and slid down a mountainside in Italy, sending ice, snow and rock slamming into hikers on a popular trail on the peak killing at least five and injuring eight, authorities said.

Italian RAI state television said the fatalities numbered six, but that death toll couldn't immediately be confirmed. It wasn't immediately known how many hikers might be missing.

The National Alpine and Cave Rescue Corps tweeted that the search of the area of Marmolada peak involved at least five helicopters and rescue dogs.

“There are five dead among the people hit by the detachment of the serac,'' the emergency service's tweet said, referring to a technical term for a pinnacle of a glacier. “There are eight injured, two of them in grave condition.”

The SUEM dispatch service, which is based in the nearby Veneto region, said 18 people who were above the area where the ice struck will be evacuated by the Alpine rescue corps.

The dispatch service said the avalanche consisted of a “pouring down of snow, ice and rock.”

Marmolada, towering about 3,300 meters, is the highest peak in the eastern Dolomites.

"A breaking away of rock provoked the opening of a crevasse on the glacier, leaving about 15 people involved,'' the emergency dispatchers tweeted.

According to The Associated Press, the Alpine rescue service said in a tweet that the segment broke off near Punta Rocca (Rock Point), “along the itinerary normally used to reach the peak.”

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the section of ice to break away and rush down the peak's slope. But the intense heat wave gripping Italy since late June could be a factor, Walter Milan, an Alpine rescue service spokesperson told RAI state TV.

“The heat is unusual,'' Milan said, noting that temperatures in recent days on the peak had topped 10 C (50 F). “That's extreme heat" for the peak, Milan said. “Clearly it's something abnormal.”

The injured were flown to several hospitals in the regions of Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto, according to rescue services.

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Varieties

Massive Winter Storm Across the US Brings Ice, Frigid Temperatures

A person walks across a street during a winter storm in Philadelphia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
A person walks across a street during a winter storm in Philadelphia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Massive Winter Storm Across the US Brings Ice, Frigid Temperatures

A person walks across a street during a winter storm in Philadelphia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
A person walks across a street during a winter storm in Philadelphia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A massive winter storm continued Sunday morning, dumping sleet, freezing rain and snow across the South and up through New England, bringing frigid temperatures, widespread power outages and treacherous road conditions.

The ice and snowfall were expected to continue through Monday in much of the country, followed by very low temperatures, causing “dangerous travel and infrastructure impacts” to linger for several days, the National Weather Service said.

Heavy snow was forecast from the Ohio Valley to the Northeast, while “catastrophic ice accumulation” threatened from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, The AP news reported.

“It is a unique storm in the sense that it is so widespread," weather service meteorologist Allison Santorelli said in a phone interview. "It was affecting areas all the way from New Mexico, Texas, all the way into New England, so we’re talking like a 2,000 mile spread.”

As of Sunday morning, about 213 million people were under some sort of winter weather warning, she said. The number of customers without power was approaching 800,000, according to poweroutage.us, and the number was rising.

Tennessee was hardest hit with more than a quarter of a million customers out, and Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi all had more than 100,000 customers in the dark.

More than 10,000 flights had already been canceled Sunday and another 8,000 have been delayed, according to the flight tracker flightaware.com. The biggest hubs hit so far were in Philadelphia, Washington, Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina, New York and New Jersey.

Even once the ice and snow stop falling, the danger will continue, Santorelli warned.

“Behind the storm it’s just going to get bitterly cold across basically the entirety of the eastern two-thirds of the nation, east of the Rockies," she said. That means the ice and snow won't melt as fast, which could hinder some efforts to restore power and other infrastructure.

President Donald Trump had approved emergency declarations for at least a dozen states by Saturday, with more expected to come. The Federal Emergency Management Agency pre-positioned commodities, staff and search and rescue teams in numerous states, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

Nashville and the surrounding area was seeing ice accumulations of half an inch or more, with icicles hanging from power lines and overburdened tree limbs crashing to the ground.

"We typically say that once you start seeing, you know, roughly a half an inch of ice, that’s when you’re going to start seeing the more widespread power outages,” Santorelli said.

In Oxford, Mississippi, police on Sunday morning used social media to tell residents to stay home as the danger of being outside was too great. Local utility crews were also pulled from their jobs during the overnight hours.

“Due to life-threatening conditions, Oxford Utilities has made the difficult decision to pull our crews off the road for the night,” the utility company posted on Facebook early Sunday.

“The situation is currently too dangerous to continue,” it said. “Trees are actively snapping and falling around our linemen while they are in the bucket trucks. We simply cannot clear the lines faster than the limbs are falling.”

Icy roads also made travel dangerous in north Georgia.

“You know it's bad when Waffle House is closed!!!” the Cherokee County Sheriff's office posted on Facebook with a photo of a shuttered restaurant. Whether the chain's restaurants are open — known as the Waffle House Index — has become an informal way to gauge the severity of weather disasters across the South.

Varieties

Saudi Media Forum Signs Partnership Agreement with Expo 2030 Riyadh as 'Partner of the Future'

Saudi Media Forum Signs Partnership Agreement with Expo 2030 Riyadh as 'Partner of the Future'
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Saudi Media Forum Signs Partnership Agreement with Expo 2030 Riyadh as 'Partner of the Future'

Saudi Media Forum Signs Partnership Agreement with Expo 2030 Riyadh as 'Partner of the Future'

The Saudi Media Forum has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Expo 2030 Riyadh Company, naming it the “Partner of the Future” for the forum’s fifth edition, scheduled to take place in Riyadh from February 2 to 4.

The partnership reflects a shared vision to enhance the Kingdom’s global image and highlight Expo 2030 Riyadh as one of the nation’s most ambitious projects aligned with Saudi Vision 2030.

Under the agreement, both parties will leverage the forum's position as a leading platform for media professionals, content creators, and opinion leaders to showcase Expo 2030 Riyadh’s narrative, milestones, and future outlook.

The collaboration also includes developing high-quality media content and joint initiatives to strengthen the Expo’s local and international presence, reflecting the Kingdom’s ambitions and its growing role in shaping the future of media and global development.

The Saudi Media Forum is a premier annual gathering of media professionals and decision-makers, aimed at exploring challenges and opportunities shaping the industry locally and regionally. Held under the theme “Media in a World in the Making,” the forum brings together prominent media figures and leaders to discuss key trends and issues facing the sector in a rapidly evolving global landscape, SPA reported.

The fifth edition of the forum will feature more than 150 dialogue sessions and over 300 speakers, positioning it as a landmark event in a year of media transformation. The event reflects the Kingdom’s dynamic cultural and developmental momentum, marked by a growing calendar of specialized events and an openness to global engagement.

As part of the partnership, Expo 2030 Riyadh Company will participate in the forum, presenting its key objectives and latest developments, and highlighting its journey from vision to reality, enhancing its local and international presence and solidifying its position as an ambitious national project embodying the Kingdom's vision for the future.

Varieties

Belgian Police Tracking the Crooks Who Would Be King

King Philippe of Belgium arrives at a New Year reception hosted by him and Queen Mathilde of Belgium for the Permanent Representatives and Heads of Mission to the North Atlantic Council, members of the International Secretariat, Military Representatives to NATO, and General Officers of SHAPE, at the Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium, 15 January 2026. (EPA)
King Philippe of Belgium arrives at a New Year reception hosted by him and Queen Mathilde of Belgium for the Permanent Representatives and Heads of Mission to the North Atlantic Council, members of the International Secretariat, Military Representatives to NATO, and General Officers of SHAPE, at the Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium, 15 January 2026. (EPA)
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Belgian Police Tracking the Crooks Who Would Be King

King Philippe of Belgium arrives at a New Year reception hosted by him and Queen Mathilde of Belgium for the Permanent Representatives and Heads of Mission to the North Atlantic Council, members of the International Secretariat, Military Representatives to NATO, and General Officers of SHAPE, at the Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium, 15 January 2026. (EPA)
King Philippe of Belgium arrives at a New Year reception hosted by him and Queen Mathilde of Belgium for the Permanent Representatives and Heads of Mission to the North Atlantic Council, members of the International Secretariat, Military Representatives to NATO, and General Officers of SHAPE, at the Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium, 15 January 2026. (EPA)

A band of crooks have been passing themselves as Belgian royalty over the past year to get money out of foreign dignitaries and business leaders, Belgian investigators said Saturday.
The gang has used emails, phone calls and fake videos generated by artificial intelligence to set their traps, federal prosecutors said Saturday.
The as-yet unidentified gang has been operating since early 2025, using phone calls and the WhatsApp messaging to pass themselves off as King Philippe or key members of his staff in their attempts to talk people out of their money.
They choose their targets based on their possible links to the royal family, said prosecutors.
"Fortunately, most victims quickly caught on to the deception," said the prosecutors office in a statement.
In one case, however, the gang did manage to get a person to transfer a sum of money, they added.
As well as foreigners and business leaders, the gang also tried their luck with Belgian families close to the country's royals.
Then in a fresh wave of activity this month, they sent out invitations to Belgian business executives for a video interview, trying to pass themselves off as the king.
"The images in this video interview were probably generated by artificial intelligence," said prosecutors.
Some executives were honored with invitations to entirely fictitious gala dinners, with requests to pay sponsorship fees for the nonexistent event.
Federal prosecutors said they were investigating the attempted frauds with the help of specialist teams in the federal police.