Overnight international incidents: fire, hostages, landslide, asylum law

It happened while you were sleeping. Here’s what global agencies reported overnight from Monday to Tuesday.

• A fire department helicopter has crashed in Reggio di Calabria, in the south of Italy. The pilots managed to save themselves before the aircraft hit the runway. The S64 helicopter was returning from a forest fire extinguishing operation. The aircraft caught fire during landing. The helicopter, which was still moving, tipped over to the side and burst into flames.

• Sacrificing the lives of hostages for politics is not only a criminal act; it is treason in the full sense of the word, said Mati Dancyg, son of Israeli-Polish historian Alex Dancyg, who perished in Hamas captivity. He accused the Israeli government of not reaching a deal with Hamas to save the hostages due to political reasons. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to "obstruct and sabotage all chances of reaching an agreement, as he has chosen to save his rotten government instead of saving the lives of Israeli citizens, whose abduction he is himself responsible for," said Mati Dancyg, quoted by the Times of Israel portal.

• At least 55 people died on Monday due to a landslide in the Gofa district in the southern part of Ethiopia, local authorities reported, adding that women and children were among the victims. The Gofa Communications Department warned that "the death toll could still rise".

• In Finland, a special law temporarily suspending the acceptance of asylum applications at the eastern border has come into effect. It also talks about deporting those migrants who manage to cross into Finnish territory via Russia. "This law aims to counteract orchestrated migration. It is not an immigration or asylum policy law," explained Interior Minister Mari Rantanen, on the Yle television programme. The minister represents the national-conservative "Finns" (PS) party, known for years for its anti-immigrant rhetoric. "This is a border law reform that we have been advocating for years," the party stated on social media.