News & Current Events

[ad_1] A sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson river near the New Jersey shore on Thursday, killing all six people on board — including a Spanish family of five and the pilot, a US navy veteran. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading the probe, which is still in its early stages. Authorities say the aircraft broke apart mid-air, and some key parts are still missing. This incident is part of a series of aviation accidents in the US in recent months, raising broader concerns about air travel safety in the country.A sudden tragedy The crash happened less than 20 minutes after take-off from a Manhattan heliport. Witnesses described smoke pouring from the aircraft and parts falling into the Hudson river before the helicopter slammed into the water. Divers and rescue boats rushed to the scene and recovered the […]

[ad_1] In a major policy shift, the United States' air force academy has removed race, gender, and ethnicity as factors in its admissions process. This move comes after a lawsuit alleged that the institution’s approach to building class diversity was discriminatory. According to a justice department court filing on Friday, the decision was formalised in early February, reported New York Times. Gwendolyn R DeFilippi, the acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, issued a memorandum ending any admissions goals or quotas based on identity categories. The policy applies to academic admission, career fields, and overall class composition. The Colorado-based Air Force Academy is the second US military institution to make such a change this year. The US naval academy announced a similar revision last month. Its superintendent, Vice Admiral Yvette M. Davids, stated in February […]

[ad_1] Spain's RTVE has urged the EBU to debate Israel's Eurovision participation due to the Gaza war, prompting the EBU to acknowledge concerns while affirming all members' eligibility. The contest, set in Basel, faces protests over Israel's inclusion, with Yuval Raphael representing the nation amidst the ongoing conflict that began on October 7, 2023. Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE has asked the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to open a debate on whether Israel should take part in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest due to its role in the Gaza war. In a statement on Friday, RTVE said it had written to the EBU, which organises the contest, to raise the issue of Israel’s participation through its public broadcaster KAN, reported news agency AFP. The EBU responded by saying it appreciated the “deeply held views” surrounding the Middle East conflict but added […]

[ad_1] Vladimir Putin and Andrei Kozyrev (File photo) Russia's justice ministry said on Friday that it has designated Andrei Kozyrev — a former foreign minister and prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin — as a "foreign agent". The Yeltsin-era minister responded to this labelling by calling it "the stupidity of the regime."According to Reuters, Kozyrev, 74, was the first foreign minister of post-Soviet Russia, serving under President Boris Yeltsin in the early 1990s when the country maintained relatively warm ties with the West. Now residing in the United States since 2010, Kozyrev has become an outspoken critic of Kremlin policies and Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.In 2022, after the start of the war in Ukraine, Kozyrev publicly called on his former colleagues in the Russian foreign ministry to resign in protest.The justice ministry accused Kozyrev of spreading false information about […]

[ad_1] Denmark PM Mette Frederiksen (AP file photo) Denmark started the process of approving a new defence agreement with the United States that will allow American troops to be stationed on its mainland. The Danish parliament held the first of three readings of the bill on Friday, with a final vote expected by the end of June, says news agency Reuters.According to The Local, the deal gives the US military access to three Danish airbases—Aalborg, Karup, and Skrydstrup—all located in the Jutland region. The significant shift in Denmark’s defence policy is due to the heightened tensions in Europe because of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. Local media Jyllands-Posten, reports that the deal could see armed private security firms, working for the US military, stationed in Denmark. The potential presence of foreign armed personnel has raised eyebrows. The agreement is expected […]

[ad_1] Lt. Gen. John Caine (Retired) (AP Photo) On Friday, the Senate confirmed retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, nearly two months after President Donald Trump dismissed his predecessor. Trump nominated Caine for the position in February, following the abrupt firing of Gen. CQ Brown Jr., who had served as chairman and was the second Black general to hold the role. The dismissal was part of the administration’s broader efforts to remove military leaders who supported diversity and equity initiatives within the ranks. The confirmation vote for Caine passed with a 60-25 tally in the Senate, just before lawmakers left for a two-week recess. A highly decorated F-16 pilot, Caine has held leadership roles in several special operations commands and some of the Pentagon’s most classified operations. He […]

[ad_1] Luigi Mangione’s lawyers slam Trump admin’s push for death penalty in UnitedHealthcare CEO murder case (Picture credit: AP) Lawyers for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a shocking daylight attack in December 2024, are urging a federal judge to block the Trump administration from pursuing the death penalty, calling it a "political stunt" motivated by the president’s crime agenda.According to news agency AFP, in a court filing submitted Friday in Manhattan federal court, Mangione’s defence team sharply criticised attorney general Pam Bondi, who earlier this month directed federal prosecutors to seek capital punishment in the high-profile case. Bondi labelled the killing “an act of political violence” and claimed it aligned with US President Donald Trump’s pledge to “Make America Safe Again” by cracking down on violent crime.Mangione's lawyers argued the government had […]

[ad_1] ‘New artwork at White House’: Donald Trump’s new painting replaces Barack Obama's portrait in foyer The White House on Friday swapped the portrait of former US President Barack Obama from a prominent spot in the foyer of the State Floor with a new painting of US President Donald Trump, depicting the dramatic aftermath of the assassination attempt on him last summer. According to news agency AP, the decision, made without public notice, has again highlighted Trump’s break with long-standing White House traditions.The painting, by artist Marc Lipp, captures the moment Trump raised his fist and shouted “fight, fight, fight!” after being grazed by a bullet during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July 2024, a phrase that went on to become a defining slogan of his reelection bid. The White House unveiled the painting on X with the […]

[ad_1] <p>Mahmoud Khalil can be deported out of US, a judge ruled. <br></p> An immigration judge in Louisiana on Friday ruled that Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil can be deported out of the country as a national security risk. Khalil's case was one of the first and major immigration crackdown cases of the Donald Trump administration and all eyes were on today's judgement. The government’s contention that Khalil’s presence in the United States posed “potentially serious foreign policy consequences” was enough to satisfy requirements for his deportation, Immigration Judge Jamee E. Comans said at the conclusion of a hearing. Comans said the government had “established by clear and convincing evidence that he is removable.”Lawyers for Khalil said they plan to keep fighting and will seek a waiver. And a federal judge in New Jersey has temporarily barred Khalil’s deportation.Khalil's arrest […]

[ad_1] <p>The pilot of the doomed helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River has been identified as 36-year-old Sean Johnson. <br></p> The pilot of the private helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday was identified as 36-year0old Sean Johnson, who was a Navy SEAL veteran and a former celebrity bodyguard. The pilot died along with the five members of the family of Agustin Escober, an executive of Siemens who came to New York from Barcelona to celebrate one of his children's birthday. Johnson, who recently moved to New York City to continue his aviation career, was operating a Bell 206 on Thursday as part of a sightseeing tour for a family of five from Barcelona. He previously lived in states including Illinois, Virginia and Montana."I'm just at loss for words. I don't even know what happened,' Johnson's wife, […]