Elevator plummets at a platinum mine in South Africa, killing 11, injuring 75

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A mine operator says an elevator suddenly dropped approximately 656 feet while carrying workers to the surface in South Africa, killing 11 and injuring 75. It happened Monday at the end of the workers’ shift at the mine in the city of Rustenburg. The injured workers were hospitalized, with 14 in critical condition. The Impala Platinum Holdings CEO said it was the darkest day in the company’s history. The cause of the elevator fall was being investigated. South Africa is the world’s largest producer of platinum. Government data show deaths at mines have decreased in the last two decades.

127 Malaysians, suspected to be victims of job scams, rescued from Myanmar fighting

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — More than 120 suspected victims of job scams have been rescued after being stranded by fighting in northern Myanmar between the military and armed ethnic groups, Malaysia’s government said. The number of Malaysians rescued surged from an initial 26 to 127 in the past few days, Foreign Minister Zambry Abd Kadir told local media late Monday before flying to New York. He said they are in a safe location and the government hoped to fly them home by Thursday.

Russian court extends detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian media say a court in Moscow has extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, until Jan. 30. The hearing took place on Tuesday behind closed doors because authorities say details of the criminal case against the American journalist are classified. Gershkovich was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. Russia’s Federal Security Service alleged he acted on the instructions of the American side and “collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”

41 Indian construction workers rescued from collapsed tunnel

UTTARKASHI, India (AP) — Forty-one construction workers emerged dazed and smiling Tuesday from a collapsed tunnel in northern India where they had spent the last 17 days — a happy ending to an ordeal that had gripped the country and led to a massive rescue operation that overcame several setbacks. Locals, relatives and government officials erupted in joy, set off firecrackers and shouted “Bharat Mata ki Jai” — Hindi for “Long live mother India — as happy workers walked out after receiving a brief checkup by doctors. Officials hung garlands around their necks as the crowd cheered.