Good morning.
A regional American Airlines jet carrying at least 60 passengers and four crew members has crashed after a midair collision with a US army Black Hawk helicopter while landing at Reagan national airport near Washington DC, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the Potomac River.
All takeoffs and landings from the airport near the capital were halted as helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene in search of survivors. Three soldiers were onboard the helicopter, a US official said.
The governing body for US figure skating confirmed that athletes, coaches and family members were on the flight, with the former world champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov among them.
What do we know so far about fatalities? At least 18 bodies have been recovered, according to CBS News, citing a police official, and scores more are feared dead.
What happens next? Search and rescue operations are continuing. Pete Hegseth, sworn in just days ago as Donald Trump’s defense secretary, posted on social media that an investigation had been launched by the army and the defense department.
This is a developing story. Follow our live blog here.
Israeli soldier held hostage by Hamas returned and further releases expected today
Three Israelis are due for release today under the terms of the ceasefire deal with Hamas. A soldier, Agam Berger, 20, has been handed over to the army by the Red Cross, the Israeli military confirmed. Arbel Yehoud, 29, and Gadi Mozes, 80, are expected to be released later today alongside five Thai nationals.
In exchange, Israel will free 110 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 children, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an NGO.
Meanwhile, Unrwa looks likely to be shut down today as Israel defied widespread international support for the agency. Unrwa said the move would “sabotage Gaza’s recovery and political transition”.
What’s the latest on displaced Palestinians in Gaza? For a third straight day, thousands of Palestinians in southern Gaza trekked by foot, motorbike and animal-drawn carts back to their homes in the war-ravaged north. The UN estimates more than 376,000 Palestinians have reached northern Gaza.
Trump orders opening of migrant detention center at Guantánamo Bay
Donald Trump has signed an executive order to prepare a huge detention facility at Guantánamo Bay that he said could be used to hold up to 30,000 immigrants deported from the US.
Trump said he wanted to use Guantánamo to “detain the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people”.
The US naval base outpost in Guantánamo Bay, in south-east Cuba, already has a facility used to house migrants and asylum seekers picked up at sea, which is separate from the high-security prison for foreign terrorism suspects.
How did critics of Guantánamo Bay respond? Amnesty International said Guantánamo had been a “site of torture, indefinite detention without charge or trial and other unlawful practices”, and that Trump should be using his authority to close the prison and not repurposing it for offshore immigration detention.
In other news …
Ukraine is reeling from the shock decision by the Trump administration to pause all US foreign aid, as a variety of projects in Ukraine – from military veteran rehabilitation programmes to independent media – have in effect been stopped overnight.
An avalanche in the French Alps has killed four Norwegian skiers, who were swept away by an off-piste torrent of snow and ice.
Meta has agreed to pay $25m to settle a lawsuit with Donald Trump related to suspending his accounts after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Stat of the day: Trump’s approval rating dips slightly to 45% after rush of executive orders
A Reuters/Ipsos poll has found 45% of Americans approve of Donald Trump’s performance as president, down slightly from 47% a week before, after an early rush of executive orders – including renaming the Gulf of Mexico and attacking birthright citizenship – proved fairly unpopular with Americans.
Don’t miss this: Israel and the delusions of Germany’s ‘memory culture’
Germany embraced Israel to atone for its wartime guilt. But, as Pankaj Mishra explores in a piece adapted from his book The World After Gaza, was this in part a way to avoid truly confronting its past?
… or this: How the students of Serbia rose up against the system
In Serbia, a country grappling with weak rule of law, many seek freedom from a government long seen as authoritarian. Students have led anti-government protests since November, leading to the resignation of the prime minister, Miloš Vučević. Some say they are the largest student-led protests in Europe since 1968.
Climate check: How Trump’s immigration crackdown will affect disaster recovery
Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown could cause chaos for communities trying to rebuild after devastating wildfires and floods, as the vast majority of skilled disaster restoration workers are immigrants. “There is absolutely no rebuilding without them,” said Saket Soni, the founder of Resilience Force.
Last Thing: an eye-popping day at a giant kids toy fair
Welcome to the Toy Fair, in London’s Kensington Olympia, where the world’s toy manufacturers converge to pedal their latest wares as retailers scour the endless stands for the hottest new trends, writes Oliver Wainwright. Here, the £3.4bn ($4.2bn) business of fun is taken very seriously indeed, with NDAs galore and not a child in sight.
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