Home Blog Page 6

5 Americans Among 7 Killed in Kenya Helicopter Crash

By
Zipporah Njoki
-
0

A helicopter crashed in a remote, mountainous area of northern Kenya on Wednesday morning, killing all seven people aboard, including five Americans, authorities said.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft, a Eurocopter EC130 B4 registered as 5Y-GYM, went down around 9:13 a.m. local time in the foothills of Mount Ololokwe in Samburu County. Samburu Police Commander David Nkoroi confirmed later Wednesday that all seven people aboard, six passengers and the pilot, had died.

The U.S. State Department confirmed five of those killed were American citizens. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones on their loss,” a department spokesperson said, adding that the U.S. Embassy was in contact with local authorities and providing consular assistance.

What We Know So Far

Reports differed on the helicopter’s exact route, though later reporting has largely converged on one account. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority said the aircraft was flying toward the Ewaso Nyiro river, which flows through the Samburu National Reserve, when it crashed, an account echoed by multiple Kenyan outlets and later corroborated by a KCAA spokesperson cited in additional reporting. A single earlier report, citing the helicopter’s operator, had described the flight as originating from Suyian Conservancy, a 44,000 acre private wildlife refuge, en route to Ololokwe instead. Given that the Ewaso Nyiro route has since been confirmed by multiple independent sources, including the aviation authority directly, that account appears to be the more reliable version of the flight’s path.

The aircraft was operated by Lady Lori Helicopters, which said in a statement it was operating a charter flight carrying guests associated with travel company andBeyond. “Our deepest sympathies are with the guests, crew, their families and loved ones, and all those affected by this tragic accident,” the company said, adding that it was fully cooperating with the investigation.

Kenya’s Ministry of Roads and Transport, through its Air Accident Investigation Department, is leading the investigation into the crash’s cause. Kenya’s Red Cross said search and recovery efforts were hampered by difficult terrain and a fire at the crash site, prompting the deployment of an additional crew from Isiolo to reinforce the operation. Video footage verified by NBC News showed wreckage scattered across the foothills, with some debris still burning. Tropic Air Kenya, a local safari operator, said it dispatched two of its own helicopters to assist with search and rescue.

Among those confirmed killed was José Suárez, president and general manager of the Telemundo owned stations in Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers, Florida. He was identified in an internal memo to NBCUniversal employees signed jointly by News Group Chairman Cesar Conde, NBCU Local Chairman Valari Staab and Telemundo station group president Jose Cancela, according to a copy of the memo obtained by Variety. The memo described Suárez as a deeply respected leader and beloved friend and colleague across NBCU Local and NBCU News Group, adding that he brought energy, humor, warmth and a strong sense of purpose to his work and that his impact was felt far beyond the stations he led.

Before becoming a station leader, Suárez served as director of creative services and programming for WTVJ in Miami, part of a broader career spanning nearly 20 years across NBCUniversal that included leading stations in San Antonio, Sacramento, Fresno, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas prior to his role in Florida. Over the course of his career he received multiple industry honors, including a Lone Star Emmy, a Suncoast Emmy, three Cleveland chapter Emmys for daily newscast work, and multiple Associated Press awards.

Ecuador’s government confirmed that Michele Sensi-Contugi, director general of the country’s National Intelligence Center and a close associate of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, also died in the crash, along with his wife, Stephany Hollihan, who held both U.S. and Ecuadorian citizenship. The couple, who are survived by two children, had been visiting Kenya as tourists. Ecuador’s National Assembly said flags would fly at half-staff at parliament for three days in mourning.

One Kenyan outlet published a list of names it attributed to all seven victims aboard, but that list could not be corroborated by other news organizations and included details that directly conflict with confirmed reporting elsewhere, including listing a victim under a name and gender inconsistent with the multiply confirmed identity of José Suárez. Given those inconsistencies, that particular victim list should be treated with caution pending official confirmation from Kenyan or U.S. authorities.

The identities of the remaining victims had not been officially released as of the latest reporting.

Why This Matters

Mount Ololokwe, also known as Ol Donyo Sabache, has become an increasingly popular tourist destination in Kenya in recent years, drawn by its distinctive flat topped silhouette rising above the surrounding arid landscape and its popularity among photographers. That growing tourism relies heavily on domestic charter operators to ferry visitors to remote, scenic locations, a dependence that carries inherent risk given the region’s difficult terrain.

Wednesday’s crash adds to a pattern of increasingly frequent helicopter accidents in Kenya’s tourism sector. In February, a sitting legislator was among six people killed in a helicopter crash in a hilly area of western Kenya, underscoring recurring safety concerns tied to charter flight operations serving the country’s tourism industry.

The deaths of a senior Ecuadorian intelligence official and a prominent U.S. media executive in the same crash have drawn attention from two governments simultaneously, with both Washington and Quito issuing formal condolences and providing consular or diplomatic support to affected families.

What Happens Next

Kenyan investigators are continuing to examine the cause of the crash, with the Air Accident Investigation Department leading the formal inquiry. Authorities have not indicated when they expect to determine what caused the aircraft to go down.

Full identification of all seven victims is expected as next of kin notifications are completed and official statements from Kenyan authorities, the U.S. State Department and Ecuador’s government are finalized. Given the ongoing search and recovery challenges posed by the crash site’s difficult terrain, additional details about the circumstances of the accident may take time to emerge.

Reporting drawn from Fox News, NBC News, the Associated Press, the New York Post, Variety, Citizen Digital and Kenyans.co.ke

US and Canada Reach Last-Minute Deal to Pause 50% Tariffs

By
Omonigho Daibo
-
0

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was pausing 50 percent U.S. tariffs on 20 billion dollars worth of Canadian imports after the two countries reached a last-minute deal less than two hours before the tariffs were set to take effect.

Trump announced the three-day pause on his social media platform Truth Social, writing that Canada and the United States had reached a deal, subject to the finalization of documents. Had the tariffs taken effect as scheduled at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, they would have hit Canadian products ranging from hockey sticks to tongue depressors, regardless of whether those goods qualified for preferential treatment under the U.S. Mexico Canada trade agreement.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed the three-day delay in a statement about an hour after Trump’s announcement, saying substantial progress had been made while important work remained. Carney and Trump spoke twice by phone over the preceding two days, including a call Tuesday afternoon, as negotiators concluded weeks of intense and largely private talks.

What We Know So Far

A White House proclamation said Canada had committed to addressing U.S. concerns over duties affecting American dairy, alcohol and motor vehicle exports, measures the Trump administration considers discriminatory. Canada did not immediately confirm the specific contents of that commitment, and U.S. officials provided no further detail beyond the proclamation.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s office said the emerging deal would include comprehensive market access for American goods, economic security commitments and digital trade alignment provisions, among other elements. Existing U.S. auto tariffs had been a significant sticking point in the talks, according to two industry sources familiar with the negotiations.

The tariffs that were paused would have covered roughly 20 billion dollars in Canadian imports and were imposed under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a Great Depression era provision never previously invoked by any president. The provision allows tariffs of up to 50 percent on imports from countries found to have discriminated against U.S. businesses, requires no formal investigation to justify the levies, and places no limit on how long such tariffs can remain in place.

Canadian officials, including Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for U.S. trade, and chief trade negotiator Janice Charette, have been in Washington since the previous week for talks. On Monday, the Canadian delegation met for nearly two hours with Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Greer has repeatedly cited Canada’s retaliatory tariffs following earlier U.S. measures, Canada’s dairy supply management system, and some provinces’ refusal to stock U.S. liquor as central American grievances in the dispute.

Negotiators had also discussed reducing U.S. Section 232 tariffs on Canadian vehicles from 25 percent to 15 percent, with further reductions tied to the amount of U.S. content in each vehicle, according to sources familiar with the talks. A key point of contention involved how that American content should be calculated, with Washington pushing to count only U.S. produced content while Canada sought credit for broader North American content, including Canadian and Mexican parts. Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department issued new rules simplifying that certification process for automakers exporting from Canada and Mexico, reducing it from twice yearly to once annually, though automakers must re-certify vehicles’ American content by September 30 to claim deductions under the new cycle beginning December 1.

Trump also said in his social media post that the Keystone XL pipeline, a project former President Joe Biden canceled in 2021 following years of Indigenous and environmental opposition, might be revived, though he provided no further detail on that possibility.

What Authorities and Analysts Are Saying

Carney said in his statement that Canada remains focused on building a stronger, more independent and more competitive domestic economy even as negotiations continue.

Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding and a former U.S. trade official, said before the pause was announced that neither side genuinely wanted the tariffs to take effect, describing a strong push on both sides to find an off-ramp.

Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said the three-day delay offered businesses some relief but fell short of the certainty a signed interim agreement would provide, describing the situation as a limbo state that was not anyone’s preferred outcome and urging negotiators to finalize a deal quickly.

The Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. applauded Trump’s announcement in a statement, calling for a negotiated resolution that would return American spirits to retail shelves across all Canadian provinces and restore a zero tariff framework for the spirits sector.

Why This Matters

The last-minute pause reflects how much both countries stood to lose from a full tariff escalation. Nearly 72 percent of Canada’s goods exports last year went to the United States, and the two countries exchanged roughly 880 billion dollars in goods and services in the past year, making a sustained trade rupture costly for both economies. The Trump administration also faced political risk in imposing a substantial new tariff, since import taxes are typically paid by U.S. importers who often pass costs on to consumers through higher prices, a politically sensitive dynamic heading into November’s midterm elections amid existing voter frustration over the cost of living.

Trump’s approach to Canada represents a significant departure from the traditionally cooperative relationship between the two countries, marked by tariffs aimed at reshoring manufacturing and repeated remarks suggesting Canada become the 51st U.S. state. His reliance on Section 338, a previously unused Depression era provision, followed a Supreme Court ruling in February that struck down an earlier round of broad tariffs Trump had imposed by declaring the U.S. trade deficit a national emergency, a decision that forced the administration to seek alternative legal authority for future tariff actions.

Trade experts and industry officials had warned that the tariffs, had they proceeded, could have caused job losses and business closures in vulnerable Canadian sectors including lumber, wine and dairy, while also complicating the broader renegotiation of the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement. A Canadian government source said last week that Canada had kept all options on the table in case the tariffs took effect, including support for affected domestic industries and a possible suspension of bilateral trade talks, while expressing hope that the U.S. remained motivated to reach a deal.

What Happens Next

Negotiators now have three days to finalize the documents underlying the announced agreement, with both sides describing the current arrangement as a pause rather than a final resolution. Key unresolved issues include the specific terms of Canada’s commitments on dairy, alcohol and auto exports, as well as how tariff deductions tied to vehicle content will ultimately be calculated.

The broader renegotiation of the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement is expected to continue in parallel, with the threat of Section 338 tariffs likely to remain a source of leverage for the United States in seeking further concessions from Ottawa even after the immediate deadline has passed.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press and Reuters

Gold Mine Collapse in Central African Republic Kills 30

By
Zipporah Njoki
-
0

A gold mining site collapsed Tuesday in the western Central African Republic, killing at least 30 miners and leaving others believed trapped, authorities and residents said.

The collapse occurred at a low-tech, artisanal mining site in the Abba region of Nana-Mambere prefecture Tuesday morning, according to Florian Gaguende, one of the miners who survived. He said rescuers were continuing to search for additional miners believed trapped beneath the site, though he said the chance of finding any of them alive was diminishing.

Souleymane Bi, deputy mayor of the sub-prefecture, said rescuers and local residents worked over several hours to pull 30 bodies from the collapsed mine. He said injured miners were receiving treatment following the collapse.

What We Know So Far

Footage from the scene showed chaotic rescue efforts, with miners, many of them young men and women covered in mud, pulling a body from the pit as dozens of other workers gathered around the expansive site, some shouting for help. The scale of the site and the number of people involved in the informal rescue effort reflected the scope of the mining operation at the time of the collapse.

Bi called for outside assistance to help complete the rescue effort. “It is horrible and we are calling for help from organizations and all people of good will to help pull from the hole those who are unable to do so,” Bi said.

Government spokesman Evariste Ngamana expressed sympathy for victims’ families and said authorities were working to provide relief and assistance to those affected by the collapse.

Why This Matters

Collapses at artisanal mining sites are a recurring hazard in the Central African Republic, where several thousand people work in small-scale extraction mining, often as one of few available sources of income in rural areas. The work carries significant risk because miners typically operate without adequate protective equipment or structural safety measures, making fatal accidents a persistent and largely unaddressed danger within the country’s informal mining sector.

The scale of Tuesday’s collapse, with at least 30 confirmed deaths and additional miners still unaccounted for, underscores how quickly these low-tech operations can turn catastrophic, particularly given the reliance on manual rescue efforts by fellow miners and residents rather than specialized emergency equipment. The site’s location in a relatively remote western prefecture is also likely to have complicated the speed and scale of any official emergency response, leaving much of the initial rescue work to those already on site when the collapse occurred.

What Happens Next

Rescue efforts are continuing at the site, though officials have acknowledged that the odds of finding additional survivors are diminishing as time passes. Authorities have not said how many miners remain unaccounted for or when the search is expected to conclude.

Given the government’s call for outside assistance, additional support from humanitarian organizations or regional authorities may be needed to complete recovery efforts at the site. The incident is likely to renew attention to the safety conditions surrounding artisanal mining in the Central African Republic, though previous fatal collapses in the sector have not historically led to significant regulatory change.

Reporting drawn from ETV Bharat and the Associated Press

Philippine School Shooting Kills 2 Students in Manila

By
Zipporah Njoki
-
0
People stand outside Ateneo de Zamboanga University after a shooting that killed two people, in Zamboanga, southern Philippines, August 18, 2026. REUTERS/Nonoy Lacson

A high school student opened fire at a school campus in the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga on Tuesday, killing a fellow student before he died by suicide, officials said, in the country’s second fatal school shooting in about two months.

The shooting occurred at the high school building of Ateneo de Zamboanga University, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of students. Police identified the suspect as a grade 9 student, Mohammad Mael Jalani, who was carrying two pistols. Officials said two other people were injured in addition to the student who was killed.

People stand outside Ateneo de Zamboanga University after a shooting that killed two people, in Zamboanga, southern Philippines, August 18, 2026. REUTERS/Nonoy Lacson

Zamboanga City Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso said both fatalities were students, one of them the gunman, and that the weapon used was described as high powered. “As of now, we confirm that there are two fatalities,” Olaso said, adding that there were no further active shooters.

What We Know So Far

Police said the suspect fired at a teacher in a classroom but missed, then shot a student on the building’s fourth floor before going to the fifth floor, where he died. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the attacker had broadcast parts of the incident on Facebook Live beginning as he climbed the stairs, though only brief clips were captured before the stream ended.

Remulla said investigators plan to examine the suspect’s gaming and chat history as part of a broader forensic analysis aimed at understanding what led to the attack, cautioning that a complete answer would not be available until that review is finished.

One of the pistols the suspect carried belonged to his father, who served as the Bureau of Customs police commander in Zamboanga, according to Bureau of Customs Deputy Commissioner Nolasco Bathan. Bathan said he had recommended the father’s temporary suspension, noting he could face administrative charges for failing to properly secure a government issued firearm.

The high school building where the attack occurred sits on a secured section of campus, separate from the university’s main grounds, which house its college and professional programs. Ateneo de Zamboanga, one of the most prominent universities in the southern Philippines, suspended classes at all levels Tuesday and Wednesday following the attack.

Joe Darryl Jaron, a parent who had just dropped off his child at the school, said he heard gunshots and saw students screaming and running for safety shortly afterward. He recorded video of the panic and shared it on Facebook, calling for help as the situation unfolded.

Police said the situation was brought under control within hours and asked parents and guardians to remain calm and follow the school’s arrangements for picking up their children. National police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said authorities were still establishing the full circumstances of the incident and urged the public to avoid sharing unconfirmed reports, photos or videos that could cause unnecessary alarm.

What Authorities Are Saying

Olaso said officials do not want incidents like this to happen and that student safety remains a top priority for the university and city. Nartatez said the national police remain committed to the safety and wellbeing of the school community and thanked the school administration, parents, guardians and the public for their cooperation as authorities continued managing the response.

Why This Matters

Tuesday’s shooting marks the second fatal school attack in the Philippines within about two months, following a June shooting at a public high school in Tacloban City in which at least three students were killed and roughly 20 others wounded after two schoolmates opened fire on campus. Police arrested two students, ages 14 and 15, in connection with that earlier attack. Philippine authorities had pledged to strengthen school security nationwide following the Tacloban shooting, a commitment that did not prevent Tuesday’s attack in Zamboanga.

Firearm related crime is relatively common in the Philippines, driven partly by the widespread presence of unlicensed weapons, though school shootings specifically remain rare compared with the country’s broader gun violence patterns. The revelation that the suspect’s weapon came from his father’s government issued firearm adds a distinct layer of institutional accountability to the case, raising questions about firearm security protocols among law enforcement personnel and their families.

Philippine authorities separately took action following the Tacloban shooting to temporarily block an online gaming application called Gorebox, after investigators found one suspect in that earlier case was an avid user of the app, as officials continue examining whether online gaming or chat activity may play a role in fostering this kind of violence.

The shooting also comes less than two weeks after a separate, unrelated school shooting in Thailand, where a 14 year old killed his grandparents, five school staff members and a 12 year old girl in Nonthaburi province outside Bangkok. That attack prompted Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to pursue new restrictions on firearms in a country where gun ownership rates rank second in Asia behind Pakistan and far exceed those of its Southeast Asian neighbors. The near simultaneous timing of both incidents has drawn regional attention to school violence and firearm access across Southeast Asia.

What Happens Next

Philippine investigators are continuing a forensic review of the suspect’s background, including his gaming and chat history, to better understand what motivated the attack. Authorities have not given a timeline for when that analysis will be complete.

The Bureau of Customs is expected to pursue administrative proceedings against the suspect’s father over the firearm’s security, according to Bathan’s comments. Ateneo de Zamboanga University’s leadership is expected to reassess campus security measures once classes resume, following the two day suspension enacted in the attack’s immediate aftermath.

Reporting drawn from NBC News, Reuters and the Associated Press

 Helicopter Crash on Greek Island of Sifnos Kills 3

By
Omonigho Daibo
-
0

A private helicopter crashed on the Greek island of Sifnos on Monday, killing all three people aboard, fire brigade officials said.

The aircraft went down shortly after taking off from the island’s helipad in the Tholos area, killing the pilot and two passengers, officials said. The crash sparked a fire that ignited on impact, sending up a column of dark smoke visible in footage broadcast by local media, which showed the crash site on an arid hillside.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, and the identities and nationalities of those aboard had not been released as of the latest reports.

What We Know So Far

The aircraft was identified by one outlet as a Bell 206 helicopter. It came down in an inhabited area of the island, though no homes were struck, according to that report. Early accounts differed slightly on the condition of those aboard at the time rescuers arrived, with one outlet initially reporting the three occupants had been found unconscious, while other reports described all three as killed in the crash. That discrepancy reflected the fast moving nature of the initial response rather than a confirmed disagreement over the eventual outcome.

Local firefighting resources on Sifnos were limited, with two firefighters and a single fire engine initially working to contain the blaze at the crash site. A rescue team from the nearby island of Syros was dispatched by speedboat to assist with the emergency response, given the limited resources available on Sifnos itself.

Sifnos has a permanent population of about 2,600 people but has grown increasingly popular with tourists in recent years, making it one of several Greek islands that see substantial seasonal population increases during the summer travel season.

Why This Matters

Monday’s crash comes just weeks after a separate, unrelated helicopter collision during firefighting operations near Athens killed two crew members and left a third survivor. In that incident, a Greek and a Danish national aboard one helicopter were killed after a second helicopter, carrying a British and a Greek crew member, collided with it midair near Psatha in Attica, northwest of Athens. Footage of that collision showed the two aircraft crossing paths at low altitude before one helicopter’s rotor struck the underside of the other, sending it down in flames, while the second helicopter managed an emergency landing with both crew members surviving.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Konstantinos Tasoulas both paid tribute to the firefighters killed in that earlier collision, which occurred while crews battled a wildfire that ultimately destroyed more than 100 homes around Psatha.

Together, the two incidents highlight the elevated aviation risks accompanying Greece’s ongoing wildfire season, which has intensified following a summer marked by record breaking heat waves and unusually little rainfall, conditions scientists have linked to climate change. While destructive wildfires in France and Spain have shown signs of easing in recent weeks, Greece has seen new fires break out following a period of relative calm, keeping emergency aviation resources, including both firefighting and private helicopters, under sustained strain.

What Happens Next

Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of Monday’s crash, with further details expected as the rescue and recovery operation at the site develops. Confirmation of the victims’ identities is expected once next of kin notifications are complete.

Given Sifnos’s limited local emergency resources, the response to Monday’s crash relied on support from neighboring Syros, a dynamic likely to draw attention to broader questions about emergency response capacity across Greece’s smaller, tourist dependent islands as visitor numbers continue to grow during peak summer months.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press, Reuters, The Independent, eKathimerini and Greek City Times, citing Greek fire brigade officials.

BBC Seeks Trump Family Subpoena in Defamation Lawsuit

By
Emmanuel Paul
-
0

The BBC has asked a federal court in Florida for help obtaining documents and testimony from members of President Donald Trump’s family as part of his 10 billion dollar defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster, according to a court filing made public Friday.

BBC lawyers argued in the filing that Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner, and Donald Trump Jr. have personal knowledge and likely hold records relevant to Trump’s claims against the network. The broadcaster said it has been unable to serve subpoenas on the three because they are protected by Secret Service and other security personnel who do not accept subpoenas on their behalf.

Trump filed the lawsuit in December, accusing the BBC of defamation along with deceptive and unfair trade practices over how a 2024 documentary edited a speech he gave on January 6, 2021, before his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. The suit accuses the network of splicing together separate portions of the speech to intentionally misrepresent what Trump said, calling the edit a brazen attempt to influence the 2024 presidential election.

What We Know So Far

The BBC has previously apologized to Trump over the edit but maintains it did not defame him. In its filing, the network argued that testimony from the three family members is relevant to Trump’s claim that it would be materially false to suggest he incited violence on January 6.

Accounts differed on the specific details the filing cites regarding what Trump’s family members allegedly witnessed or did that day. One report said the filing states Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were present in the Oval Office while Trump was still revising his speech, and that Trump Jr. spoke directly with his father after violence broke out at the Capitol. A separate report said the filing instead claims Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were present when Trump spoke with then Vice President Mike Pence before the speech, and that Trump Jr. separately urged then White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to condemn the violence, while Kushner drafted a proposed statement condemning the events that was never used. These differing accounts of the filing’s contents had not been reconciled.

The BBC said it asked Trump to accept the subpoenas on his daughter and son in law’s behalf, or to direct the Secret Service to allow the subpoenas to be served directly, but he declined. The broadcaster has asked the court for permission to serve the subpoenas by email and certified mail instead. The presiding judge gave Trump’s legal team until Friday to respond to the request.

Reports also differed on the case’s scheduled trial date, with one account describing a trial provisionally set for February without specifying a year, and another specifying a trial date in February 2027, should the case proceed that far.

A federal judge in Florida separately granted Trump a temporary reprieve earlier this month from an order requiring him to disclose details of his business empire’s financial performance as part of the case. U.S. District Judge Roy Altman agreed to pause that order while considering an amended complaint from Trump that would narrow his claim of damage to both his business and his reputation.

What Authorities and Attorneys Are Saying

Trump’s legal team accused the BBC of trying to distract from what it called the network’s obvious liability, saying in a statement that the BBC intentionally defamed the president and was now seeking to harass him, his family and his supporters by abusing the deposition process.

A BBC spokesperson has said the corporation sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, while maintaining there is no valid basis for a defamation claim. The network’s earlier public apology described the edit as an error of judgment and said the program would not be broadcast again in its original form on any BBC platform.

Why This Matters

The dispute has already had significant internal consequences at the BBC, contributing to the resignation of the corporation’s director general, Tim Davie, and its head of news, Deborah Turness, in November of last year, underscoring how seriously the organization treated the fallout even while contesting the legal merits of Trump’s claim.

The attempt to compel testimony from Trump’s adult children and son in law represents an unusually direct legal effort to draw the president’s family into the litigation, and the difficulty serving them due to Secret Service protection illustrates a practical obstacle particular to lawsuits involving protected public officials and their immediate families. Whether the court grants the BBC’s request to serve subpoenas by email and certified mail could set a notable precedent for how litigants reach security protected family members in similar future cases.

The conflicting accounts of what the family members allegedly witnessed or did on January 6 also underscore how central their testimony could be to resolving a key factual dispute at the heart of the case: whether Trump’s actions and communications that day support or undermine his claim that portraying him as inciting violence was false.

What Happens Next

Trump’s legal team faces a Friday deadline to respond to the BBC’s request to serve subpoenas by alternative means. The court’s ruling on that request will determine whether the BBC can proceed with obtaining testimony from Ivanka Trump, Kushner and Trump Jr. ahead of trial.

The case’s broader timeline remains somewhat unclear given the discrepancy in reported trial dates, though both accounts point to a proceeding still well over a year away. In the meantime, the dispute over Trump’s business financial disclosures remains pending before Judge Altman as he considers Trump’s amended complaint narrowing the scope of his damage claims.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press, Sky News and NBC News

US and Canada Rush to Reach Trade Deal

By
Omonigho Daibo
-
0
Industry insiders say companies are opting to wait and see as the clock ticks down on U.S. President Donald Trump's latest deadline, rather than rushing shipments across the border to beat the buzzer. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump speak at a working luncheon during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

The United States and Canada are working to reach a trade agreement before punishing 50 percent tariffs on a range of Canadian goods take effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, though the two countries offered notably different assessments of how close a deal actually is.

Industry executives and trade specialists following the talks described the two sides as inching closer to an accord that could pair Canadian tariff concessions on energy, defense and critical minerals with a U.S. agreement to shelve the new tariffs and ease existing steel and aluminum duties. Those sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential negotiations.

Industry insiders say companies are opting to wait and see as the clock ticks down on U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest deadline, rather than rushing shipments across the border to beat the buzzer. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump speak at a working luncheon during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Canadian officials offered a more cautious picture. Dominic LeBlanc, the Canadian minister responsible for trade with the United States, told an advisory committee Friday that the two countries remain far from a draft agreement despite frequent meetings, according to a source briefed on the discussion. The source said Canadian negotiators described the two sides as quite far from an agreement Prime Minister Mark Carney could sign off on, adding that in negotiations of this kind nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.

What We Know So Far

The threatened tariffs, imposed under a rarely used provision of a 1930 law known as Section 338, would apply to a relatively narrow slice of Canadian trade, though sources differed on the precise scope. One account put the affected goods at about 5 percent of the 382 billion dollars in Canadian goods the U.S. imported last year, while another described the tariffs as covering nearly 20 billion dollars, or about 5.2 percent of Canada’s total exports to the U.S. Unlike many of Trump’s earlier tariffs, the new duties would apply even to products that currently qualify for preferential treatment under the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, adding a distinct layer of risk for Canada’s economy.

LeBlanc is in Washington with his chief trade negotiator and a team of officials, and has met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer four times over three weeks as the deadline approaches. His office said he plans to remain in Washington through the weekend as talks continue, with meetings occurring daily at a technical level, according to the briefed source.

Candace Laing, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and a member of the advisory committee LeBlanc briefed, said both sides are aiming for an interim agreement that would resolve both previously imposed U.S. tariffs and the looming 50 percent duties, with multiple meetings planned over the weekend. LeBlanc separately briefed Canada’s provincial and territorial trade ministers on the state of negotiations Friday.

Key sticking points include Canadian tariffs on U.S. autos, disagreements over how dairy quotas should be allocated, and the continued refusal of some Canadian provinces to stock U.S. alcohol on store shelves. Canada, for its part, wants the U.S. to lower its steel and aluminum tariffs, which currently stand at 25 percent under a separate national security related provision known as Section 232.

Beyond tariffs, the two countries are discussing broader cooperation on energy and defense, including potential Canadian participation in the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile shield program and purchases of F-35 fighter aircraft. The U.S. also wants greater access to Canadian critical mineral supplies as part of a broader effort to reduce dependence on China for those materials.

Canada could secure a politically significant win on lumber exports, with existing antidumping duties potentially dropping by around 10 percentage points as part of a routine annual Commerce Department review, according to industry executives.

What Authorities and Analysts Are Saying

Trade attorney Dan Ujczo, who is following the talks from Columbus, Ohio, said he remains optimistic that a resolution, in full or in part, will stave off the new tariffs, describing both countries as wanting a deal.

Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association in Toronto, warned that the tariffs could force Canada into political retaliation if a comprehensive deal isn’t reached, potentially setting back trade relations by years.

Jake Colvin, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, said the outcome could either build confidence toward broader renegotiation of the North American trade agreement or introduce new friction that spirals quickly, depending on how the talks conclude.

Beth Burke, head of the Canadian American Business Council, said the stakes extend well beyond abstract policy, carrying real consequences for both American and Canadian livelihoods.

Why This Matters

The dispute marks a significant deterioration in what had been a historically close and largely tariff free trading relationship between the two countries. Tension has built steadily over the past year, following Canada’s decision to retaliate against earlier Trump tariffs, provincial removal of U.S. wines and spirits from government run stores, and a 25 percent Canadian tariff on some U.S. autos that disrupted an industry accustomed to shipping partially finished vehicles across North American borders during production.

Trump has separately provoked Canadian anger with repeated remarks suggesting Canada become the 51st U.S. state, comments that have made an already strained relationship more politically charged. Carney has said all retaliation options remain on the table if new U.S. tariffs proceed, while also expressing a preference for a full settlement rather than a narrow, limited agreement.

An Oxford Economics study estimated that permanently higher tariffs resulting from a collapse of the broader North American trade agreement could cost the U.S. economy 1 trillion dollars over the next decade, underscoring the economic stakes extending well beyond the specific goods targeted by the Section 338 tariffs themselves.

A successful deal could also provide momentum for the broader renegotiation of the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, talks that have so far proceeded with Mexico but have not yet formally begun with Canada. A breakdown, by contrast, risks not only economic damage but also further erosion of political goodwill between the two countries at a moment when formal USMCA renegotiation talks have yet to even begin with Ottawa.

What Happens Next

Negotiators from both countries are expected to continue meeting through the weekend ahead of the Wednesday deadline, with Canadian officials describing daily technical level talks even as they characterize a final agreement as still distant. Whether the two sides can bridge that gap before tariffs take effect remains uncertain given the conflicting characterizations of progress offered by industry sources following the talks and Canadian officials briefing their own advisory committee.

If a deal is reached, it could set the stage for formal renegotiation of the North American trade agreement to begin with Canada, mirroring talks already underway with Mexico. If talks collapse and the tariffs take effect as scheduled, both sides have signaled the potential for further retaliation, raising the risk of a prolonged trade dispute between the two countries.

Reporting drawn from The Washington Post and Reuters

Ukraine Launches One of War’s Largest Drone Attacks on Russia, Killing 6, as Retaliatory Strikes Kill At Least 5 in Ukraine

By
Zipporah Njoki
-
0

Ukraine launched hundreds of drones across Russia on Sunday in one of its largest aerial attacks of the war, part of an intensifying campaign against Russian military and economic targets nearly four and a half years into Moscow’s full scale invasion.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it destroyed 822 Ukrainian drones overnight. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said about 600 drones were detected heading toward the Russian capital, with roughly 200 of those, about a third, destroyed over the Moscow region itself.

Casualty figures in Russia varied across reports and had not been fully reconciled. The Associated Press reported six deaths in Russia, while the BBC reported seven deaths nationwide. Broken down by region, the reported deaths included 1 in the Moscow region, 5 in the Rostov region, and 1 near Belgorod, a combined total of 7 that aligns with the BBC’s nationwide figure.

What We Know So Far

In the Moscow region, Governor Andrei Vorobyov said an 83 year old man was killed after a Ukrainian drone struck a private home, with additional injuries reported in the town of Podolsk. He also confirmed a Ukrainian strike sparked a fire at a warehouse belonging to Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, in the town of Koledino. Distance estimates for the warehouse’s location relative to Moscow varied between reports, ranging from about 15 to 28 miles from the city center. Video of the aftermath showed a large plume of smoke rising over the site.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Wildberries facilities in recent weeks, accusing the company of handling military related goods and framing the strikes as part of a broader effort to damage Russian economic infrastructure that Kyiv says underpins Moscow’s war effort.

In Russia’s Rostov region, Governor Yury Slyusar said a drone attack involving more than 150 drones targeted three towns, killing five people, damaging homes and a railway station, and sparking a forest fire. Ukraine’s military said it also struck a missile fuel production facility in the region overnight, a claim Russia did not immediately address. A separate drone strike on a bus near Belgorod killed one person, according to the regional governor.

Russian strikes on Ukraine over the same period killed at least 5 people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih killed 2 people and wounded 14 others, and that 1 additional person was killed in Sumy. Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said 2 people, a man and a woman, died when their home was struck. Fires broke out across Kyiv, wounding 6 people, including a child, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who said air raid sirens had sounded four times since Saturday night.

The mayor of Kryvyi Rih said a 44 year old man previously reported missing was later found dead in rubble there, though it is unclear from available reporting whether this death is the same as one of the 2 deaths Zelenskyy cited for Kryvyi Rih or an additional death not yet reflected in that count. The mayor also said 14 workers at a steel plant were wounded in the same strikes, matching the 14 wounded figure Zelenskyy separately cited. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had targeted a metallurgical plant in Kryvyi Rih, a steelworks it said was producing weapons components, the Kremenchuk oil refinery it said supplied fuel to Ukraine’s military, and several military industrial sites in Kyiv, including a manufacturing facility tied to Ukraine’s domestically produced Flamingo missiles. Russia separately said it struck a dry cargo vessel near Odesa that it claimed was carrying military equipment.

A strike on a book market in Kyiv’s Pochayna district destroyed stalls and merchandise. Valentina, 69, whose husband owned a stall there, told the BBC she recognized his books scattered on the ground and said she never expected the war to reach her family this directly. Nearby, vinyl record shop owner Luba, 42, said she lost stock worth roughly 500,000 hryvnias, describing many of the destroyed records as rare and irreplaceable.

Zelenskyy said Saturday that Ukraine had used Flamingo missiles to strike a rocket research and production center in Samara, Russia, located roughly 560 miles from the Ukrainian border, underscoring the growing range of Kyiv’s domestically produced weapons. He said 13 Ukrainian regions came under attack over the course of the week, with Russia launching more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs and 62 missiles during that period.

NATO Jet Downs Drone Over Romania

Romania’s Ministry of National Defense said a Spanish Air and Space Force F-18 fighter jet shot down a drone that entered Romanian airspace early Sunday. Surveillance systems detected the drone at 4:44 a.m. about 15 miles north of the city of Galati, near the border with Moldova, which sits between Ukraine and Romania. The ministry said the drone had entered from Moldovan airspace and was shot down at 5:01 a.m. after the Spanish aircraft, conducting NATO air policing duties, received engagement approval. Debris fell in an unpopulated area near the Ukrainian border. Officials did not specify the drone’s origin.

Romania’s acting Foreign Minister, Oana Toiu, said the Spanish deployment supporting the country had been scaled up at the request of Romania and NATO to reinforce the alliance’s eastern flank following prior drone incidents, marking Spain’s fourth such deployment. The incident follows a string of earlier episodes, including Romanian pilots shooting down three drones over three consecutive days in recent weeks using F-16 fighter jets, part of a broader pattern of dozens of drone incursions Romania has reported since Russia’s full scale invasion began, some of which have resulted in drones crashing and exploding on Romanian territory.

Why This Matters

The scale of Sunday’s Ukrainian drone attack, among the largest of the war, reflects Kyiv’s intensifying strategy of using long range drones and missiles to target Russian military industry, energy infrastructure and logistics hubs supporting the war effort, including civilian adjacent targets like Wildberries that Ukraine says serve military supply functions. The strikes are increasingly reaching deep into Russian territory, as illustrated by the Samara strike roughly 560 miles from the border, signaling growing confidence in the range and reliability of Ukraine’s domestically produced missile systems.

Zelenskyy’s remarks characterizing Russian strikes as deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, paired with vivid accounts from Kyiv shop owners who lost their livelihoods in the bombing, underscore how the war’s aerial phase increasingly affects ordinary economic life far from the front line, even as ground combat remains largely static along a lengthy front line with only marginal territorial changes for either side.

The Romanian drone incident adds to a growing pattern of spillover incidents affecting NATO territory near the Ukrainian border, highlighting the alliance’s reliance on rotating partner deployments, in this case Spanish fighter jets, to reinforce its eastern flank as such incursions continue.

What Happens Next

Both Russia and Ukraine appear positioned to continue trading long range strikes, with each side targeting the other’s military industrial capacity and logistics networks as ground combat remains largely stalled. Zelenskyy’s disclosure of the week’s full attack figures, including more than 1,500 drones and dozens of missiles launched by Russia, suggests the pace of aerial exchanges shows no sign of slowing.

Continued drone incursions into NATO territory near Ukraine’s borders, as seen in Romania, are likely to keep prompting alliance level responses, including further rotational deployments of partner aircraft to reinforce airspace monitoring and interception capacity along the eastern flank.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press, The Moscow Times, Reuters and the BBC

Teen Arrested in Virginia State University Shooting That Wounded 5

By
Omonigho Daibo
-
0

Police arrested a 19 year old found hiding in a dormitory closet at Virginia State University on Saturday in connection with an overnight shooting that left five people wounded, including one with critical injuries.

Chesterfield County Police identified the suspect as Camron Harris of Henrico, Virginia, and said he is not a student at the university. Four of the five people injured were also not VSU students, police said, with the victims ranging in age from 17 to 23. One of the injured, a 20 year old student, was treated and released from the hospital. The names of those wounded have not been released.

The shooting occurred just after 1:30 a.m. Saturday near the university’s Quad Annexes, where campus police and Chesterfield County officers found five people with gunshot wounds outside campus dormitories. The incident triggered a campus lockdown as students were preparing for the start of the new school year.

What We Know So Far

Police obtained eight felony warrants for Harris, including charges of malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive, and it was not immediately clear whether Harris had retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.

The university said in an earlier statement that authorities were searching for multiple suspects, though police provided no additional information Saturday evening about the status of that broader search beyond Harris’s arrest. University officials said earlier in the day that law enforcement did not believe there was an immediate threat to the campus community, and the lockdown was subsequently lifted.

Residence halls at the university had opened for students about a week before the shooting, with classes scheduled to resume Monday. Many students had just completed the university’s orientation program for incoming students, known as the New Trojans Experience.

A large law enforcement presence remained on campus Saturday morning. The university urged students to monitor their email for additional safety updates and information about support services. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office assisted Chesterfield County Police in the response, according to county officials.

What Authorities and the University Are Saying

Virginia State University said in a statement that it recognized the concern the shooting had caused among students, parents, alumni and the broader campus community, adding that student safety and wellbeing remained its highest priority.

Arthur Fridrich, the university’s former director of distance education, who lives near campus and visits regularly, described the shooting as heartbreaking for the community given its timing at the very start of the school year. “For those that were shot, my heart bleeds,” Fridrich said, adding that he hoped the victims would recover and not let the incident come to define their lives.

Why This Matters

Virginia State University is a historically Black university located in Ettrick, about 24 miles south of Richmond, and was the first fully state supported four year college for Black Americans. With about 5,700 students, most of them undergraduates, the university has worked in recent years to expand while also improving campus safety and preserving its historic character, according to Fridrich.

The timing of the shooting, occurring just as new and returning students settled into residence halls and completed orientation activities, adds to its impact on the campus community, striking at a moment typically associated with optimism and fresh starts for incoming students. Fridrich’s comments suggest the incident is likely to cast a lasting shadow over this particular class of students, regardless of how the criminal case unfolds.

The fact that four of the five people wounded were not enrolled at the university, and that the arrested suspect also had no student affiliation, raises questions about how the shooting unfolded and who its intended targets may have been, questions that remain unanswered pending further details from investigators.

What Happens Next

Harris faces prosecution on the eight felony warrants obtained by police, including malicious wounding and firearm charges. The status of the broader search for additional suspects referenced in the university’s earlier statement remains unclear, since police have not provided updates beyond confirming Harris’s arrest.

Classes are set to resume at the university Monday as scheduled, even as the investigation into the shooting continues. University officials are expected to continue communicating safety updates and support resources to students in the coming days as the community processes the incident heading into the new academic year.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press and CNN

5 Killed in Michigan Shooting Spree, Suspect Dead After Manhunt

By
Emmanuel Paul
-
0

A series of shootings across three locations in rural Missaukee County, Michigan, left five people dead Friday, along with the suspected gunman, following an extensive search involving two homes and a wooded area, Michigan State Police said.

Troopers responded around 11:40 a.m. to a report of a shooting at a home in Lake Township, about 170 miles northwest of Detroit, where they found three people dead and a 13 year old girl in critical condition after being shot four times. The girl managed to call 911 herself to report the shooting and identify the shooter before officers arrived, according to state police.

The suspect, identified as 39 year old Chad Hickman, had fled the property before troopers reached the scene. As a large scale search for him got underway, officers found a fourth victim dead at a separate home in the county.

What We Know So Far

At the first home, state police said officers found a 45 year old man, a 40 year old woman and a 16 year old boy dead, along with the wounded 13 year old girl. At a second home in Missaukee County, officers found a 53 year old man dead. Hickman’s vehicle was later located near Whitlock Lake, leading investigators to his body along with that of a 29 year old woman in a nearby wooded area.

State police spokesperson Lt. Ashley Miller said investigators could not yet determine whether Hickman died by suicide, pending autopsy results. She said authorities identified him as a suspect quickly but declined to say how, adding that his identity was never in doubt once officers began responding.

Names and relationships among the shooter and victims had not been officially released as of Saturday, pending family notification. However, a relative identified two of those killed in a Facebook post as Amanda Everitt, 40, and her 16 year old son, Eric. David Everitt, Amanda’s father and Eric’s grandfather, wrote that the world had lost two beautiful people, referring also to a third person clinging to life. He described the surviving 13 year old girl as a hero for managing to call 911 and identify the shooter despite being shot four times. The girl was hospitalized in critical condition Friday but was reported stable by Saturday.

Court records reviewed by the Detroit News show Hickman was convicted of misdemeanor fourth degree child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of children in a 2010 case brought by the Missaukee County Sheriff’s Department, for which he served a year in jail. That earlier case stemmed from a complaint by his former wife, Katie Hickman, who filed for divorce in September 2023 after the marriage significantly deteriorated, according to a 2025 written opinion from Judge Melissa Ransom. The judge noted it was uncontested that the marriage involved allegations of domestic violence attributed to both Hickman and his ex-wife, and the opinion cited Katie Hickman’s testimony describing the marriage as marked by control, coercion and fear.

What Authorities Are Saying

Miller said the situation was heartbreaking for the community and challenging for the investigators involved, adding that authorities remained committed to a thorough investigation and would provide updates as new information became available.

Describing the impact on the area, Miller said Missaukee County is a very small community that has been rocked and crushed by the incident, with residents searching for answers about why it happened.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she had been briefed on the shooting and was monitoring the situation, saying her thoughts were with the victims, their families and the Missaukee community.

Why This Matters

The scale of Friday’s violence, five victims across three separate locations plus the suspect, represents an unusually large casualty count for Missaukee County, a rural area of about 15,000 people in northern Michigan unaccustomed to this kind of coordinated violence. The tight knit nature of the community, as Miller described it, means the loss is likely to be felt broadly rather than confined to those directly connected to the victims.

The emergence of Hickman’s prior domestic violence history, including a decade old criminal conviction and more recent allegations raised during his 2023 divorce proceedings, adds important context to the case, suggesting a pattern of behavior that preceded Friday’s shootings by years. Whether investigators ultimately connect the shootings to the earlier domestic violence allegations remains part of the ongoing inquiry into a motive.

The survival of the 13 year old girl, despite being shot four times, and her ability to call 911 and identify the shooter, played a critical role in helping investigators respond quickly and ultimately locate Hickman, underscoring how her actions may have helped prevent additional violence during the manhunt that followed.

What Happens Next

Investigators worked through the night processing each of the shooting scenes, according to Miller, and the investigation into a possible motive remained ongoing as of Saturday. Authorities have not said when they expect to release the full names and relationships of the victims and suspect, or when the medical examiner’s findings on Hickman’s cause of death will be available.

The surviving 13 year old girl remained hospitalized in stable condition as of Saturday. Given the unresolved questions about motive and the connection, if any, between Friday’s shootings and Hickman’s documented history of domestic violence allegations, further details are expected to emerge as the investigation continues.

Reporting drawn from the Associated Press, NBC News, the New York Post and the Detroit News

1...567...987Page 6 of 987