NEPAL’S DEADLIEST PLANE CRASH FOR 3 DECADES – At least 68 people, including an Australian, have died. The Yeti Airlines flight went down near the airport of the tourist town Pokhara with 72 people onboard – none are expected to have survived. An investigation will commence, but experts say Nepal’s aviation industry has inadequate training and maintenance standards.

CHINA’S COVID SURGE CLAIMS 60,000 LIVES – Actually, the death toll from 8 December-12 January was 59,938, according to the first official update since the country dropped the restrictions of its strict zero-Covid policy. Local officials say they’re past the peak, but World Health Organization continues to have issues with China’s reporting.

IRAN’S REGIME CALLED ‘BARBARIC’ – UK PM Rishi Sunak is outraged by the execution of Alireza Akbari in Iran. He was a dual British-Iranian man arrested in 2019 and convicted of spying for the UK after a career as a consultant to the Iranian government on nuclear talks with the West and a former deputy defence minister. A family member says it signifies a “desperate” regime.