logo
Mantashe corrects draft mining bill to remove BEE for exploration

Mantashe corrects draft mining bill to remove BEE for exploration

News24a day ago

Shelley Christians/Reuters
Be among those who shape the future with knowledge. Uncover exclusive stories that captivate your mind and heart with our FREE 14-day subscription trial. Dive into a world of inspiration, learning, and empowerment. You can only trial once.
Start your FREE trial now

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Air India Flight to London Crashes, 242 On Board Feared Dead
Air India Flight to London Crashes, 242 On Board Feared Dead

Yahoo

time23 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Air India Flight to London Crashes, 242 On Board Feared Dead

Wreckage of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner lies at the site where the Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, on June 12, 2025. Credit - Amit Dave—Reuters A passenger plane heading to London, England, carrying 242 people, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India, on Thursday. Footage shows the Air India Boeing 787-8 plane flying low above a residential area before crashing, resulting in a ball of flames emerging from the impact site. Police believe there are no expected survivors from the crash, per the Associated Press. Local media has reported that the plane crashed into local medical college accommodation, south-west of Ahmedabad's airport. Five people at the accommodation building are believed to have been killed in the crash, as well as many others injured. Air India confirmed on Thursday morning that the passenger aircraft was carrying 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. The plane took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 1:38 p.m local time. Initial warning signs came after Air India announced the aircraft had been 'involved in an accident.' FlightRadar, which displays live updates for flights worldwide, shows that the path of the plane ended shortly after takeoff. The signal with the aircraft was reportedly lost at around 625 ft. A large ball of flames could be seen rising from the crash site, followed by clouds of dark smoke as emergency services rushed to the scene. Images of the crash site show extensive damage to buildings in the vicinity, with charred rubble and parts of the plane scattered across the landscape. The rear of the aircraft could be seen partially intact on top of a nearby building. There were 242 people onboard the Air India plane, including 10 crew according to local media. The flight was scheduled to land at London's Gatwick Airport at approximately 6:25 p.m. local time on Thursday evening, according to the airport. Aviation expert Julian Bray has said that the pilot made a mayday call before the crash, indicating that the crew was aware of a problem with the aircraft. Local news outlet NDTV is reporting that pilot Sumeet Sabharwal had 8,200 hours of flight experience, and co-pilot Clive Kundar had 1,100 hours, citing the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. It is also the first ever Boeing 787-8 plane to crash, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. A Boeing spokesperson has provided an initial response, saying: "We are aware of initial reports and are working to gather more information." However, generally speaking, Boeing has a history of high-profile crashes. This latest incident comes a month after the aircraft company agreed to pay $1.1bn in a deal with the U.S. Department of Justice to avoid prosecution over two crashes in 2018 and 2019 that together killed 346 people. Just hours after the most recent crash, as of around 4 p.m. local time, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport has reopened and is operational once again, according to India's civil aviation ministry. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the crash a 'tragedy' and said he is 'stunned and saddened.' 'It is heartbreaking beyond words. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it. [I] have been in touch with Ministers and authorities who are working to assist those affected,' he said in a statement via social media. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also offered his condolences, calling the situation 'devastating.' 'I am being kept updated as the situation develops, and my thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time,' Starmer said. King Charles III has offered his 'deepest possible sympathies' in an official statement. 'My wife and I have been desperately shocked by the terrible events in Ahmedabad this morning. Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathies are with the families and friends of all those affected,' His Majesty said. 'I would like to pay a particular tribute to the heroic efforts of the emergency services and all those providing help and support at this most heartbreaking and traumatic time.' India's Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said he is 'deeply shocked and saddened' by the incident, adding that 'all aviation and emergency response agencies have been directed to take rapid and coordinated action.' Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney relayed that he was 'devastated' to learn of the incident. 'My thoughts are with the loved ones of everyone on board. Canada's transportation officials are in close contact with counterparts and I am receiving regular updates as the response to this tragedy unfolds,' he said. Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro also reacted to Thursday's crash. 'It was with deep dismay that I learned of the tragic plane crash in India, in which seven citizens with Portuguese nationality were travelling,' he said. 'On behalf of myself and the Government, I would like to express my condolences and deep solidarity with the families of the victims.' Contact us at letters@

Families and survivors have waited 9 years for Orlando to build a memorial for Pulse shooting victims. Now the city is moving forward with plans
Families and survivors have waited 9 years for Orlando to build a memorial for Pulse shooting victims. Now the city is moving forward with plans

CNN

time38 minutes ago

  • CNN

Families and survivors have waited 9 years for Orlando to build a memorial for Pulse shooting victims. Now the city is moving forward with plans

For nearly a decade, the community in Orlando has been working to find a way to memorialize the 49 people who were killed when a gunman opened fire on Latin night at a popular gay nightclub, making it the worst mass shooting in modern US history at the time. Now, as the city marks the nine-year anniversary of the tragedy at Pulse on June 12, city leaders and local activists say they have renewed hope that construction of a permanent memorial site will begin next June. City engineers are currently reviewing proposals from design firms with plans to award a contract this summer. The conceptual site design – created by an 18-member advisory board of survivors, loved ones of victims and community leaders – includes a memorial and reflection space, a survivors' tribute wall, a private gathering space for personal reflection, a walkway with columns honoring the 49 victims on rainbow glass panels, a healing garden and a visitor's center. The Pulse Memorial is set to be completed by the end of 2027, according to the city. Admission to the memorial will be free, city officials say. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who has been mayor since 2003, said he believes it's important to honor the victims and survivors. 'I think from the time it happened we knew that we wanted to memorialize the victims of the tragedy and have a place to reflect on what happened and to honor them,' Dyer told CNN. 'Hopefully that is what we will be able to achieve with the memorial, and I think it's important that it's on the site where it took place.' The building that housed the club will be demolished, Dyer said. Family members of the victims and survivors were able to walk through the building for the first time on Wednesday. 'For whatever closure and peace of mind that may provide somebody, we wanted to make that available,' Dyer said. The city acquired the land where Pulse sits from the club's owners in December 2023 for $2 million, a city spokeswoman said. The club owners had formed a non-profit called the onePulse Foundation following the shooting with the intention of raising funds to build a memorial and museum in honor of the victims, Dyer said. The foundation raised more than $20 million in the seven years it operated, according to CNN affiliate WFTV. Dyer said the money raised was largely spent on salaries of foundation workers. The foundation's plans for both a memorial site and a museum that would cost at least $50 million to build proved to be 'very hard to achieve,' Dyer said. The onePulse Foundation dissolved in December 2023, according to WFTV. 'The magnitude that needed to be raised to create a museum overwhelmed the memorial process,' Dyer said. Nancy Rosado, an advisory committee member and community activist, said the lack of progress on building the museum for nine years became a 'sticking point to healing' for survivors and the family and friends of victims. Rosado, who offered grief counseling to many of the families impacted by the massacre, said people wanted to see their loved ones memorialized and have the trauma they endured from the shooting recognized in a meaningful way. The city, she said, surveyed families and victims on what they wanted the memorial site to include. One shared goal of the advisory committee was to ensure that the memorial honored both the gay and Latino communities who felt at home at the club before the shooting. 'I believe this will move them forward,' Rosado said. 'Let's get this component settled so you have a place to go to express your grief or to express joy at seeing your son or daughter's name or your friend's name on a wall. These elements are so healing and I'm really happy that we are at this particular point.' Brandon Wolf, who survived the Pulse shooting after hiding in a bathroom, said it's past time for the community to have a 'respectful, permanent place to pay their respects.' Wolf lost his two best friends, Christopher Andrew Leinonen and Juan Ramon Guerrero, in the attack. 'I am looking forward to a space that is worthy of the memory of my best friends – one where I can feel close to them and reflect on why we have to continue doing the work to honor them with action,' said Wolf, who is also national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. But some families and community advocates say they oppose the advisory committee's design plan for a memorial site. Zachary Blair, co-founder of the grassroots group Pulse Families and Survivors for Justice and a former Pulse patron, said he is disappointed that it's been nine years since the shooting and the city still has no permanent memorial for the victims of the tragedy at Pulse. Blair said he created his group and started speaking out in 2019 when he learned the onePulse Foundation wanted to build a multi-million dollar museum. He said many families and survivors were against the museum because they believed it was 'turning a massacre into a tourist attraction.' When onePulse dissolved in 2023, Blair said there was even more frustration that the foundation had raised millions of dollars, yet it still didn't build anything to memorialize those impacted by the attack. 'It's awful and it shows how much of a failure these people are,' Blair said. In a statement published by CNN affiliate WESH in 2023, the onePulse board said it was 'challenged by unexpected and definitive events, among them the inability to secure a full donation of the Pulse nightclub site from the property owners and a global pandemic that brought with it critical limits and many unanticipated consequences, that ultimately impacted our fundraising efforts.' 'These unanticipated challenges have led the Trustees to vote late yesterday to initiate the transfer of our assets and the dissolution of the Foundation,' the statement read. Blair said his group still believes the city's current memorial design is 'too garish, it's too touristy.' 'It's not a somber, reflective, dignified space where families and the public can come to pay their respects,' he said. Christine Leinonen, Christopher Andrew Leinonen's mother, said she believes the existing plan is more of a tourist attraction that the city is using to bring in revenue from visitors spending money in Orlando. Leinonen, also a co-founder of Pulse Families and Survivors for Justice, said she would prefer an outdoor memorial park with trees and a walking path. She said she applied to join the city's advisory committee but was not selected. 'We want a simplified, dignified, free, easy space,' Leinonen. 'A place where people can stop by while they are out walking. Let's not take a mass shooting … and make it into your form of collecting tourist dollars.' Dyer acknowledged that there has been some division among families and survivors on how the Pulse memorial site should look. He called claims that the site will be a tourist attraction 'misinformation.' Rosado said she feels confident the current plans for the memorial will be successful. 'Right now, people have such little faith and are braced for a shoe to drop somewhere along the line,' Rosado said. 'But I have a lot of faith that at this stage of the game with all the fanfare and all the commitment and time invested in this that we are going to see this memorial be a fitting tribute to those we lost that day.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store