News Wrap: Russia pounds Ukraine with 90 drones during early hours of new year

Geoff Bennett:

Russian forces pounded Ukraine today with a record 90 drones during the early hours of the new year.

The barrage struck Lviv in the West and Odesa in the south, and it followed a weekend of intensive new Russian aerial assaults. In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin blamed it on Ukraine's attack on a Russian border city on Saturday that reportedly killed 25 people.

Vladimir Putin, Russian President (through interpreter):

What is the point of what they are doing? They want firstly to intimidate us and then create some kind of uncertainty inside our country. For our part, we will increase our strikes. Undoubtedly, this is a crime against the civilian population and will not go unpunished.

Geoff Bennett:

Russian officials said Ukrainian forces also shelled parts of Russian-occupied Donetsk today, killing at least four people and wounding 13 others.

Central Japan's strongest earthquake in more than 40 years rocked the region today, killing at least four people. It was centered on the Noto Peninsula along the Sea of Japan and it triggered tsunami warnings, but they were later downgraded. Still, nearly 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate. The quake also struck scores of homes and businesses and sparked fires.

A court in Bangladesh has convicted Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus of violating labor laws at his nonprofit telecom company. He appeared in court today and was sentenced to six months in jail, but granted bail for now. Protesters outside the court claimed he is being prosecuted for political reasons. Yunus gained recognition for pioneering microloans to alleviate poverty.

And this first day of 2024 has brought parades and football here at home and other time-honored festivities the world over. In Taiwan, dazzling fireworks lit up the Taipei Tower at midnight. In the Netherlands, hardy souls charged into the new year with an ice cold plunge in the North Sea.

And at London's New Year's Day parade, thousands lined up to see fleets of carriages, iconic British cars and a bobby balloon go by.