International from Wednesday, January 7th, 2026

Electricity was restored to southwestern Berlin on Wednesday after a suspected arson attack on a power station by leftist activists caused a blackout for tens of thousands of households, the longest outage in the German capital since World War Two.

The US seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker that was being shadowed by a Russian submarine on Wednesday, after pursuing it for more than two weeks across the Atlantic as part of Washington's efforts to block Venezuelan oil exports.

Western Europe braced for more snow and ice on Wednesday, with the first named storm of the year hitting the continent's Atlantic coast.

Australia’s south sweltered through a brutal heatwave on Wednesday that delivered temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in some cities, triggering health warnings, straining power grids and causing bushfires to flare.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday that much progress had been made in restoring trust with Beijing, and that he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to play a role in mediating Seoul's efforts to engage North Korea.

A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the Philippines' southern islands on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, and there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Israel and Syria agreed during US-mediated talks in Paris to set up a communication mechanism to coordinate on security, intelligence and commercial issues, the three countries said in a joint statement released on Tuesday by the State Department.