VENEZUELA
Helicopter crash kills seven
Seven military officers were on Saturday killed when their helicopter crashed outside Caracas, President Nicolas Maduro said. The chopper had left the capital in the morning headed for San Carlos in the country’s northwest when it went down in a mountainous area of the El Hatillo municipality, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement. On Twitter, Maduro mourned the loss of “seven worthy officers of the country.” They included two majors, three captains and two lieutenant colonels. The ministry was launching an investigation into the crash. Maduro was in San Carlos on Saturday, leading military exercises with top brass and more than 5,000 troops.
GAZA
Erdogan slams bombing
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has attacked what he called “Israeli terrorism” after the Gaza office for the Turkish state-run news agency was destroyed during the latest round of hostilities between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants. “We strongly condemn Israel’s attack against Anadolu Agency’s office in Gaza,” Erdogan said on Twitter. “Turkey and Anadolu Agency will continue to tell the world about Israeli terrorism and atrocities in Gaza and other parts of Palestine despite such attacks.” The Israel Defense Forces said it had bombed a building in Gaza City containing Hamas military intelligence and general security offices. During the weekend, more than 430 rockets were fired out of Gaza, which Israel said it responded to with 200 air and tank strikes. One Israeli civilian and six Palestinians, including two militants, had been killed, officials on both sides said.
NETHERLANDS
Curacao on measles alert
The Dutch territory of Curacao said on Saturday it would do what was needed to prevent measles spreading from a Scientology cruise ship, after a crew member came down with the disease. The Freewinds, which left the Caribbean island of St Lucia on Friday, arrived back in its home port of Curacao on Saturday. There were about 300 people aboard the ship, according to Saint Lucia authorities. The Curacao government said it would “take all necessary precautions to handle the case of measles on board of the Freewinds,” including vaccinations. “An investigation will also be done to determine who will be allowed to leave the ship without [posing] a threat to the population of Curacao,” it said in a statement. The church’s teachings do not oppose vaccination, but followers consider illness a sign of personal failing and generally avoid medical interventions.
UNITED STATES
Factory explosion kills two
An explosion and fire at an Illinois silicone factory on Saturday claimed a second victim when an employee taken to a hospital after the blast died, a local coroner confirmed. The official death toll is expected to rise to four as authorities suspended the search for two other bodies believed to be in the rubble. Crews suspended their search due to concerns about the stability of the structure, and Waukegan Fire Marshal Steven Lenzi said they would not resume searching until what remains of the plant is torn down. The four believed dead were among nine employees who were inside AB Specialty Silicones in Waukegan, about 80km north of Chicago, when the explosion occurred at about 9:30pm on Friday, Lenzi said. Four people were taken to hospitals and two declined treatment. The blast was heard kilometers away and the force shredded the plant, leaving little more than the skeleton of the building standing.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number