logo
Defenceless dead: Media rush to blame Air India pilot

Defenceless dead: Media rush to blame Air India pilot

Malaysiakini20-07-2025
COMMENT
| The ink is barely dry on the preliminary report into the tragic June 12 crash of Air India Flight 171 - a Boeing 787 Dreamliner that plunged into a medical college housing block in Ahmedabad just seconds after takeoff - and already, parts of the British press have done what they do best: smear the dead to save the powerful.
A total of 260 lives were lost, including everyone onboard except one British national, and several on the ground.
And yet, instead of waiting for a thorough, fact-based conclusion, journalists have gleefully latched onto a single ambiguous cockpit exchange to paint a dead man - Captain Sumeet Sabharwal - as the architect of his demise.
According to investigators and US officials...
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ghislaine Maxwell moved to Texas prison amid Epstein case scrutiny
Ghislaine Maxwell moved to Texas prison amid Epstein case scrutiny

The Sun

time3 hours ago

  • The Sun

Ghislaine Maxwell moved to Texas prison amid Epstein case scrutiny

WASHINGTON: Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted accomplice of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, has been relocated from a Florida prison to a minimum-security federal facility in Texas, according to the Bureau of Prisons. The transfer follows a rare two-day interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last week, though details of their discussion remain undisclosed. Maxwell's lawyer, David Markus, confirmed she cooperated fully during questioning. The British socialite, serving a 20-year sentence for recruiting underage girls for Epstein, has reportedly sought a pardon from former President Donald Trump, a longtime associate of Epstein. The Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas, where Maxwell is now held, houses 635 female inmates. The move comes amid growing scrutiny over Epstein's connections, with Trump recently claiming he distanced himself from Epstein after the financier allegedly 'stole' employees from Mar-a-Lago. Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's accusers who died by suicide in April, was among those allegedly targeted. Her family has urged Trump against pardoning Maxwell, calling her a 'monster who deserves to rot in prison.' - AFP

Epstein accomplice Maxwell moved to minimum security Texas prison
Epstein accomplice Maxwell moved to minimum security Texas prison

New Straits Times

time5 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

Epstein accomplice Maxwell moved to minimum security Texas prison

WASHINGTON: Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been moved from a prison in Florida to a minimum security facility in Texas, the Bureau of Prisons said Friday, triggering an angry reaction from some of their victims. No reason was given for Maxwell's transfer but it comes a week after a top Justice Department official met with her to ask questions about Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for allegedly sex trafficking underage girls. "We can confirm Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan in Bryan, Texas," a Bureau of Prisons spokesman said. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, interviewed Maxwell for two days at a Florida courthouse last week in a highly unusual meeting between a convicted felon and high-ranking Justice official. Blanche has declined so far to say what was discussed but Maxwell's lawyer, David Markus, said she answered every question she was asked. Maxwell has offered to testify before Congress about Epstein if given immunity and has also reportedly been seeking a pardon from Trump, a one-time close friend of Epstein. She had been subpoenaed to give a deposition to the House Oversight Committee on Aug 11, but Politico reported Friday it had been postponed indefinitely. The former British socialite is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in 2021 of recruiting underage girls for Epstein. Two women who said they were sexually abused by Epstein and Maxwell and the family of another accuser who recently committed suicide condemned the prison transfer. "It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received," Annie and Maria Farmer and the family of Virginia Giuffre said in a statement Friday. "Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency," they said. "Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas," they said. "This move smacks of a cover-up. The victims deserve better." Tim Hogan, a senior Democratic National Committee advisor, also denounced what he alleged was a "government cover-up in real time." "Donald Trump's FBI, run by loyalist Kash Patel, redacted Trump's name from the Epstein files – which have still not been released," Hogan said. "While Trump and his administration try to cover up the heinous crimes included in those files, they're simultaneously doing favors for convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell." Trump is facing mounting demands from Democrats and many of his conspiracy-minded Make America Great Again supporters to be more transparent about the case of the wealthy and well-connected Epstein. Trump's supporters have been obsessed with the Epstein case for years and have been up in arms since the FBI and Justice Department said last month that Epstein had committed suicide while in jail, did not blackmail any prominent figures, and did not keep a "client list." The president raised further questions this week as he told reporters he fell out with Epstein after the financier "stole" female employees from the spa at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. One of those girls was Giuffre, who accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave and committed suicide at her home in Australia in April.

UK ninja sword ban begins as 1,000 weapons surrendered in knife crime crackdown
UK ninja sword ban begins as 1,000 weapons surrendered in knife crime crackdown

New Straits Times

time18 hours ago

  • New Straits Times

UK ninja sword ban begins as 1,000 weapons surrendered in knife crime crackdown

LONDON: At least 1,000 weapons have been surrendered under a British government amnesty launched last month to combat knife crime, the Interior Ministry announced today, as a new ban on ninja swords came into effect. Overall, knife crime in England and Wales has risen 87 per cent over the past decade, with 54,587 offences recorded last year alone, a two per cent rise from 2023 and among the highest rates in Europe. On July 29, 2024, a teenager attacked a Taylor Swift-themed children's dance event in the northern English town of Southport, killing three girls and stabbing 10 people in one of Britain's most harrowing knife assaults. Since then, the government has pledged tougher age checks for knife buyers, warned social media firms they could face fines for failing to curb sales and promotion of weapons, and banned zombie-style knives, machetes and ninja swords. Over the month of July this year, the government urged young people to drop off weapons, including bladed ones, at "amnesty" bins or a mobile van -- part of efforts to control knife crime, particularly when it involves youths. The government said at least 1,000 weapons have been handed in. A mobile van will be deployed at the Notting Hill Carnival in London later this month in response to past knife-related violence by a small number of attendees. It is unclear whether the "amnesty" bins will stay in place once the month-long campaign comes to an end. Charities and experts call the government's efforts a step forward but say they fail to address the root causes. The Interior Ministry said that knife-related robberies have fallen in seven highest-risk areas, dropping from 14 per cent of all robberies in the seven highest-risk areas in the year ending June 2024 to six per cent in the same period to June 2025. The ban on buying and selling ninja swords is part of the government's pledge to introduce Ronan's Law, named in honour of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was fatally stabbed with a ninja sword in 2022. Campaigner Martin Cosser, whose son was killed in a knife attack two years ago, previously told Reuters that the issue was not just about the weapon itself, but about the "emotional drivers" that lead people to carry knives in the first place. — REUTERS

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store