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An asteroid the size of a small truck will pass by Earth tonight, making one of the closest approaches to the planet ever recorded. Asteroid 2023 BU will zoom over the southern tip of South America at about 12.27am on Friday, only 2,200 miles above the Earth’s surface. It will be well within the orbit of the planet’s satellites, Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said.

Russia is drawing up proposals to build its first production plant for suicide drones as part of a plan for a fresh offensive in Ukraine, officials have told ITV News. A site has been identified for a factory where Iranian specialists will help the Russian military to construct 'unmanned aerial vehicles', designed to paralyse Ukraine's energy infrastructure and overwhelm its air defence systems during the Spring, when newly trained troops are expected to launch a new push. Construction work could begin at the factory "within weeks" said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The production of opium increased sharply in Myanmar after falling for seven years, according to the UN. It touched nearly 795 metric tonnes in 2022, nearly double the production in 2021 - 423 metric tonnes - the year of the military coup. The UN believes this is driven by economic hardship and insecurity, along with higher global prices for the opium resin that is used to make heroin. The coup plunged much of Myanmar into a bloody civil war that still continues.

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Travellers face severe delays as planes, trains and cars are halted due to snowstorms and high winds, as temperatures plummet to -20C. In Japan, the deaths of up to five people are being linked to the weather and thousands are forced to sleep in train carriages or stations.

The suspect, who has been arrested following the incident, was described by local media as wielding either a machete or a samurai sword as he allegedly attacked churchgoers in San Lorenzo parish in Algeciras.

Who is sending tanks to Ukraine? Germany has committed to sending one company of Leopard 2 A6 tanks, or 14 vehicles, to Ukraine after weeks of hesitation. Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said Germany would approve requests by other countries to do the same. The pressure on Mr Scholz mounted after Poland formally asked Germany to approve sending Leopard 2 tanks from Polish stocks to Ukraine. The goal is for Germany and its allies to provide Ukraine with a total of two battalions, or 88 tanks.

Aircraft giant Boeing will answer a fraud charge in court later over two plane crashes which killed 346 people. Both accidents were down to flaws in the flight control systems on the 737 Max aircraft which caused nosedives. Boeing was found to have failed to disclose information about the system but avoided a trial by agreeing to pay $2.5bn (£1.8bn) in fines and compensation. Relatives of those who died are trying to reopen the settlement. It means that for the first time, the company will be formally charged in court in relation to the two crashes, and will have to plead guilty or not guilty. Boeing has previously opposed reopening the agreement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ), saying to do so would be "unprecedented, unworkable and inequitable." It declined to comment on the arraignment. Boeing 737 Max aircraft were cleared to fly again in the US in 2020 and the UK and EU in 2021 after being grounded following the crashes in 2019.

The truck brand is developing a new small pickup, and prototypes have been caught on camera while being tested in the European Arctic. The vehicle is set to be called the Ram 1200 and initially built on the other side of the world in Brazil for global sale. The trucks in the photos are covered in camouflaging panels that make them look like cardboard SUVs, but underneath they are fully functional vehicles.

A man in Germany fatally stabbed two people and injured seven others on a train before police finally arrested him Wednesday. "It is terrible," Interior Minister of Schleswig-Holstein state Sabine Suetterlin-Waack told German public broadcaster NDR. "We are shocked and horrified that something like this has happened." The man, identified as 20 to 30 years old, boarded a train traveling from Kiel to Hamburg and attacked several passengers at around 3 p.m. before the train reached the Brokstedt station in northern Germany.

ITV News' Emma Burrows explores the speculation surrounding the Russian leaders' health and assesses what impact any illness he may be suffering could have on the war in Ukraine Is Vladimir Putin unwell? Does he have Parkinson's? Cancer? A chronic illness? Does he use body doubles? Could he even be dead?As the war in Ukraine has progressed, more and more rumours have swirled about the state of Putin's health.

The United States and Germany announced they are sending Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. CNN's John King speaks with Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling on when the tanks will be ready for use.