Havana plane crash leaves more than 100 dead
More than 100 people have died after a Boeing 737 airliner crashed near Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuban state media say. Three people have survived but are in a critical condition, Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma reported. The plane was carrying 110 passengers and crew, according to the Mexican firm from which the plane was leased. Two days of national mourning have been declared, after Cuba’s worst air disaster since the 1980s. The Boeing 737-201 crashed at 12;08 (16:08 GMT) on Friday, shortly after taking off from Havana on an internal flight to Holguin in the east of…
Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr bloc wins Iraq elections
An alliance headed by the former Shia militia chief Moqtada Sadr has won the parliamentary elections in Iraq. Final results released by the electoral commission give his Saeroun bloc 54 seats, with current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in third place with 42. Mr Sadr, a long-term adversary of the United States, cannot become prime minister himself as he did not stand as a candidate. But he is expected to play a major role in forming the new government. Mr Sadr has reinvented himself as an anti-corruption champion after making his name as a militia chief fighting US forces after the…
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott: ‘We need to do more than just pray for the victims and their families’
Hours after the most recent mass killing in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott went to the city where it happened just outside of Houston and said that unity and faith might not be enough to curb the shootings in his state. The Republican governor, a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, inched toward exploring a new approach to gun safety. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas and a politician with an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association, stood beside him. “We need to do more than just pray for the victims and their families,” Abbott said. “It’s time in Texas that we take action to step…
Donald Trump says he will meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore
WASHINGTON — President Trump announced Thursday that he will meet North Korea’s June 12 in Singapore. The announcement capped weeks of negotiations that began when Trump announced March 8 he had accepted Kim’s invitation as delivered by South Korea government officials. While teasing the announcement in recent days, Trump has said he would continue urging China and other nations to cut off economic aid to North Korea until it agrees to give up its nuclear weapons programs. “A lot of things can happen,” Trump said Wednesday. “A lot of good things can happen. A lot of bad things can happen. I…
Trump tells FBI: ‘I have your back 100%’
US President Donald Trump supports the FBI “100%”, he told law enforcement leaders during a graduation ceremony at the agency’s Virginia headquarters. His visit comes only days after he referred to the agency as “in tatters” and “the worst in history”. During his remarks, Mr Trump heaped praise on the FBI, which critics say has grown more politicised since the 2016 election. Earlier he vowed to “rebuild the FBI… bigger and better than ever”. “The president of the United States has your back 100 percent,” he said on Friday at the FBI’s National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. “By the way,…
Mueller requests emails from Trump campaign data firm: report
Special counsel Robert Mueller‘s office has reportedly requested information from Cambridge Analytica, the data firm utilized by the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential race. The Wall Street Journal reports that Mueller’s team has requested all emails from employees at the firm who worked with the campaign. The request, which wasn’t previously known, was voluntary, as was another request the firm complied with from the House Intelligence Committee, the newspaper reported. Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix also interviewed with the House Intelligence Committee over video call this week, according to the report. Nix was reported earlier this year to have been in contact with top…
GOP changes child tax credit in bid to win Rubio’s vote
The final Republican tax bill will increase the amount of the refundable child tax credit to $1,400, Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) told reporters Friday, as leaders seek to win the vote of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). The refundable amount was $1,100 in the Senate-passed tax bill, but Rubio on Thursday said that wasn’t good enough. He has threatened to vote against the bill unless the refundable amount of the credit is increased. It’s unclear whether the change will be enough to satisfy him. A spokeswoman for Rubio said they had not yet seen the text of the bill, but warned that unless the percentage of the refundable credit is significantly…
Trump Jr. is berated for tweet about ‘Obama’s FCC’ chair, net ‘neutality’
Donald Trump Jr. leaves the Senate Intelligence Committee on Dec. 13, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Tasos Katopodis, Getty Images) Twitter users pounced on Donald Trump Jr. Thursday for a tweet about the debate over net neutrality that featured a prominent typo and an apparent misconception about which president appointed the current chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. “I would pay good money to see all those people complaining about Obama’s FCC chairman voting to repeal #NetNeutality (sic) actually explain it in detail,” the president’s eldest son tweeted. “I’d bet most hadn’t heard of it before this week.” Donald Trump Jr. ✔@DonaldJTrumpJr…
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to marry on 19 May 2018
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding will be held on Saturday 19 May 2018, Kensington Palace has announced. The couple confirmed their engagement last month and said the ceremony would take place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. The Royal Family will pay for the wedding, including the service, music, flowers and reception. Kensington Palace has confirmed the couple will be spending Christmas together at Sandringham with the Queen. Skip Twitter post by @KensingtonRoyal View image on Twitter Kensington Palace ✔@KensingtonRoyal His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales and Ms. Meghan Markle will marry on 19th May 2018. Today’s announcement follows earlier…
Walt Disney buys Murdoch’s Fox for $52.4bn
The deal includes Fox’s 39% stake in satellite broadcaster Sky, and the 20th Century Fox film studio, Disney announced. Fox’s remaining assets, including Fox News and Sports, will form a new company. The deal ends more than half a century of media expansion by Fox owner Rupert Murdoch, who is 86 years old. Simon Jack: Why is Disney buying Fox? He turned a single Australian newspaper he inherited from his father at the age of 21 into one of the world’s largest news and film empires. Mr Murdoch will still retain control of News Corp, the news publishing group that split…
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