Schoolbus accident

A bus carrying children to school in southern Germany hit multiple cars and then slammed into* the side of a building, injuring 48 people on January 16, police said.

The injured were 43 children and the bus driver, as well as other adults who were aboard the bus.

The bus crashed just after 7 a.m. as it was driving around a left-hand bend in the road in Eberbach.

Ex-CIA officer arrested

A former CIA officer has been arrested and charged with illegally retaining* classified records, including names and phone numbers of covert* CIA assets.

Jerry Chun Shing Lee, 53, was arrested on January 15 after arriving at JFK International Airport. According to court documents, Lee, a Hong Kong resident, served in the CIA from 1994 to 2007 as a case officer. He worked in a variety of overseas offices and was trained in surveillance detection*, recruiting and handling classified material.

Two Koreas to march together in Seoul

South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) have agreed to jointly march at the opening ceremony of the South Korea-hosted Winter Olympics and to cheer together for both athletes of the two Koreas during the Olympic games, Seoul’s unification ministry* said on January 17.

The agreement was reached after a vice ministerial-level dialogue between the two Koreas, which was held in South Korea.

US Government shutdown

The U.S. Government shutdown headed into its third day after moderate senators failed to produce a compromise* on immigration and spending.

The effects of the shutdown over the weekend were relatively limited: halting trash pickup on National Park Service property, canceling military reservists’ drill plans, and switching off some government employees’ cellphones.

The shutdown means that hundreds of thousands of workers will stay home and key federal agencies will be affected. Passport and visa applications will go unprocessed, federal contractors will see payments delayed, and the Internal Revenue Service will slow its preparations for the coming tax season.

Gunmen assault in Kabul

Gunmen assault* the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, killing at least five people, including a foreigner, and setting off a 12-hour gunbattle* with security forces that continued on Monday morning.

Six other people, including three security forces, were reported wounded, and more than 150 people, including 41 foreigners, have been rescued from the hotel.

The bodies of three attackers were recovered as security forces continued to clear the landmark building.(SD-Agencies)