WAHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden cast Republicans as representing the party of “chaos and catastrophe” on Thursday and sharply criticized their refusal to approve an increase in the U.S. debt ceiling unless they get a deal on spending cuts. In an impassioned speech at a steamfitters union hall in Virginia, Biden launched attack after attack on Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives, saying some of their proposals are dangerous for the American economy. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, has vowed not to approve a debt ceiling increase unless Biden and his fellow Democrats reach a negotiated deal with Republicans on cutting future government spending. Of Republicans aligned with former President Donald Trump, Biden said: “They seem intent on being the party of chaos and catastrophe.”

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BEIJING (Reuters) - Five Chinese citizens were among the victims in a shooting in the California town of Half Moon Bay, the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco said. The Half Moon Bay shooting on Monday, in which seven people died, was the second of two gun rampages in California in recent days in which a total of 18 people were killed. “The Consulate General is in communication with the relevant U.S. authorities to follow up on the progress of the investigation,” a spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the Consulate General strongly condemned the violence.

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MOSCOW (Al-Jazeera) - Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has met Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki in Asmara during the Russian diplomat’s second tour of Africa. The visit comes after Lavrov visited officials in South Africa, one of his country’s most important allies on the continent, where on Monday he pushed back at criticisms over joint naval drills between Russia, China and South Africa scheduled for next month. The discussion centered on the dynamics of the war in Ukraine and the enhancement of bilateral ties in energy, mining, information technology, education and health sectors, said Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Meskel late on Thursday.

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ISLAMABAD (Al-Jazeera) – At least 18 people have died in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi in the past 16 days, allegedly due to toxic chemicals from factories in the area. A statement from the Health Department of Sindh province confirmed the deaths in the Ali Muhammad Goth neighborhood in Karachi’s Keamari district from January 10 to January 26. “As per initial investigation the cause of these deaths are some chemicals which caused some interstitial lung disease,” the statement said. “Medical camps for the treatment of pneumonia have also been established in affected area. Further investigations are under process.”

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GOMA, Congo (AP) — Fighting intensified around a town in eastern Congo Thursday as a rebel group seeking to expand the territory it controls increased pressure on government troops defending it, forcing hundreds of civilians to flee their homes. By evening it was unclear who controlled Kitchanga in North Kivu province. Videos on social media appeared to show fighters in the M23 group celebrating and claiming they’d captured the town. It was impossible to independently verify their authenticity. Congo for months has accused neighboring Rwanda of supporting the M23 group — whose origins lie in the region’s ethnic fighting — and powerful voices in the West have openly agreed. Rwanda denies backing the group, which is one of dozens operating in mineral-rich eastern Congo.