
New details in Air India crash probe shift focus to senior pilot, WSJ reports
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Air India did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

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Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
Trump sues Murdoch, Wall Street Journal over Epstein sex bombshell
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal for at least $10 billion Friday over publication of a bombshell article on his friendship with the infamous alleged sex trafficker of underage girls, Jeffrey Epstein. The defamation lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami, saw the 79-year-old Republican hitting back at a scandal threatening to cause serious political damage. 'We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS 'article' in the useless 'rag' that is, The Wall Street Journal,' Trump posted on Truth Social late Friday. The Journal reported Thursday that in 2003, the then-real estate magnate wrote a suggestive birthday letter to Epstein, illustrated with a naked woman and alluding to a shared 'secret.' The lawsuit, which also names two reporters, the Dow Jones corporation, and Murdoch's parent company News Corp. as defendants, claims that no such letter exists and that the paper intended to malign Trump with a story that has now been viewed by hundreds of millions of people. 'And given the timing of the Defendants' article, which shows their malicious intent behind it, the overwhelming financial and reputational harm suffered by President Trump will continue to multiply,' it said. Dow Jones, the Journal's longtime publisher, responded to Trump's libel suit Friday saying it is standing by the story. 'We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit,' a Dow Jones spokesperson said in a statement. In another bid to dampen outrage among his own supporters about an alleged government cover-up of Epstein's activities and 2019 death, Trump ordered US Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the unsealing of grand jury testimony from the prosecution against the disgraced financier. In a filing in New York, Bondi cited 'extensive public interest' for the unusual request to release what is typically secret testimony. Epstein, a longtime friend of Trump and multiple high-profile men, was found hanging dead in a New York prison cell while awaiting trial on charges that he sexually exploited dozens of underage girls at his homes in New York and Florida. The case sparked conspiracy theories, especially among Trump's far-right voters, about an alleged international cabal of wealthy pedophiles. Epstein's death — declared a suicide — before he could face trial supercharged the narrative. When Trump returned to power for a second term this January, his supporters clamored for revelations about Epstein's supposed list of clients. But Bondi issued an official memo this month declaring there was no such list. The discontent in Trump's 'Make America Great Again' base poses a rare challenge to the Republican's control of the political narrative in the United States. It remained unclear whether a court would authorize the unsealing of the grand jury testimony. But even if such material were made public, there is no assurance it would shed much, if any, light on the main questions raised in the conspiracy theories — particularly the existence and possible contents of an Epstein client list. Asked Friday by reporters if he would pursue the broader release of information related to the case, Trump did not answer. Trump was close with Epstein for years, and the two were photographed and videoed together at parties, although there has never been evidence of wrongdoing. The Wall Street Journal article published late Thursday was damaging because it indicated a shared interest in sex. The Journal reported that Trump had wished Epstein a happy 50th birthday in 2003 with a 'bawdy' letter, part of an album of messages from rich and well-known figures. According to the Journal, the Trump letter contained the outline of a naked woman, apparently drawn with a marker, and had the future president's signature 'Donald' mimicking pubic hair. It ends, according to the newspaper, with 'Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.' Trump reacted in a series of furious social media posts, saying 'it's not my language. It's not my words.' 'I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women,' he said. US media has published multiple drawings done by Trump in the past, with several dating to the early 2000s when he used his celebrity status to donate sketches for charity.


Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Al Arabiya
Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz's leave extended through Aug. 31 amid MLB gambling probe
Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz will remain on non-disciplinary leave through August 31 while he is the subject of a Major League Baseball gambling investigation. Ortiz's paid leave began on July 3 and was supposed to end on Friday before MLB and the MLB Players Association agreed to extend it. The team can continue to have contact with Ortiz, but he can't enter any of the Guardians facilities. The Guardians said in a statement they have been informed of the extension and will continue to fully cooperate with the investigation. The investigation is related to in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by Ortiz that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and his recent outing against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting-integrity firm and forwarded to MLB. The 26-year-old Ortiz is in his first season with Cleveland after he was acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh last December. The right-hander is 4-9 with a 4.36 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 16 starts this season. In four big-league seasons Ortiz is 16-22 with a 4.05 ERA and one save. Cleveland hosts the Athletics in a weekend series. The Guardians have won six of seven after a 10-game losing streak. The investigation into Ortiz comes a little more than a year after MLB suspended five players for gambling, including a lifetime ban for San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023. Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and three minor leaguers – San Diego pitcher Jay Groome, Arizona pitcher Andrew Saalfrank, and Philadelphia infielder José Rodríguez – received one-year suspensions. Umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by Major League Baseball in February for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the leagues investigation.

Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Al Arabiya
Explosion at police facility in US leaves three dead
An explosion at a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department training facility has killed three deputies, Fox News reported on Friday. The source of the explosion was still unknown, it said. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.