Russian missile and drone strikes targeted Ukraine's energy sector, causing widespread damage and leaving thousands without heating in freezing temperatures, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The attacks, described as "the most powerful blow" this year by private energy company DTEK, hit power plants and infrastructure in Kyiv and other locations as temperatures plummeted to -20C (-4F).
According to Sarah Rainsford, BBC's Eastern and Southern Europe correspondent in Kyiv, the strikes involved a record number of ballistic missiles. More than 1,000 tower blocks in the capital were left without heating, and a power plant in Kharkiv was damaged beyond repair.
In other news, former US President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to testify in the congressional investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, days before a vote on whether to hold them in criminal contempt for refusing to appear before the House Oversight Committee. Sakshi Venkatraman of BBC reported that the depositions would mark the first time the Clintons have testified in the investigation. Bill Clinton, who was acquainted with Epstein, has denied knowledge of his sex offending and stated he cut off contact two decades ago.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) removed thousands of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation from its website after victims said their identities had been compromised. According to Reuters, lawyers for Epstein's victims said the lack of redactions in the files released on Friday had "turned upside down" the lives of nearly 100 survivors. The release included email addresses and nude photos in which the names and faces of potential victims could be identified. Survivors issued a statement calling the disclosure "outrageous" and said they should not be "named, scrutinized."
In Australia, a 13-year-old boy, Austin Appelbee, was hailed for his bravery after swimming for hours to get help for his family, who were swept out to sea. Flora Drury of BBC reported that Austin swam for four hours after his mother, Joanne, brother, Beau, and sister, Grace, were left clinging to two paddleboards miles out to sea off Australia's west coast. Austin told the BBC, "I didn't think I was a hero - I just did what I did." His mother feared he too may not have made it.
In the technology sector, the French offices of Elon Musk's X were raided by the Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit as part of an investigation into suspected offences, including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child pornography, according to Liv McMahon, Technology reporter for BBC. The prosecutor's office also said both Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino had been summoned to appear at hearings in April. Separately, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) announced a probe into Musk's AI tool, Grok, over its "potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content." X has yet to respond to either investigation.
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