Latest news with #Africa
News.com.au
37 minutes ago
- General
- News.com.au
Horrifying moment plane corkscrews and nosedives into the sea as pilot feared dead
This is the terrifying moment a plane corkscrews into the sea leaving the pilot feared dead. Footage filmed by a witness from a nearby beach in Durban, South Africa, shows the moment the ZS-AEC Extra 300 aircraft plummets out of the sky on August 14. It shows the plane climbing and then banking before plunging into the waves just metres from the shore. Veteran pilot Andrew Blackwood-Murray, 61, was reportedly taking part in an airshow when the crash occurred. Rescue teams were immediately alerted by beachgoers who saw the plane fall from the sky. Parts of the wreckage have since been recovered, but the body of the pilot has not yet been found. Authorities have confirmed that the search is now a recovery mission rather than a rescue, and it is widely believed that Blackwood-Murray did not survive the crash. Officials have temporarily closed the beach to the public, urging residents and visitors to avoid the area while recovery operations remain underway. Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Sisa Majola confirmed that the crash happened during the aircraft's final display at the beachfront airshow shortly before 2pm. Tributes have poured in for Blackwood-Murray, described as a world-class pilot and a true gentleman within the aviation community. His wife Kyla paid an emotional tribute on Facebook, writing: 'It was the call I have been dreading my whole life. 'But I always said I would rather he go doing the things he loves the most. I just didn't realise he would have left so soon. 'He was my world. We did everything together and we had so many plans. We were going to grow old and be the most awesome geriatrics together. 'He has taken away the biggest piece of my soul and I don't know how I am going to live without my wingman. 'He brought me more joy than I ever imagined possible. He was always there for me helping me become the best version of myself. 'I am beyond heartbroken.' The search is ongoing.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Erasmus makes 10 changes to Springboks lineup after shocking Rugby Championship loss to Australia
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus made 10 changes to his starting XV for Saturday's second test against Australia as the Rugby World Cup champions bid to avenge a shocking 38-22 home loss to the Wallabies last weekend. The overhaul reflects strategic changes and the absence of injured skipper Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and both wingers from the Ellis Park defeat. Veteran center Jessie Kriel will stand in as captain for Kolisi and prop Ox Nche will be vice-captain, while Cheslin Koble, Damian de Allende and Willie le Roux return so the starting XV for the second round of the Rugby Championship. Kriel, Nche, Malcom Marx, Marco van Staden and Grant Williams are the only players retained for the starting lineup. Kriel and de Allende will combine in the Springboks midfield for the 38th time, and Handre Pollard returns at No. 10 to partner Williams in the halves. On top of the injuries, Erasmus said, "We also know where we went wrong against Australia last week, so we made a few changes that we believe will offer us what we need for this game. 'We are determined to get things right ... (and) it will be good for a few other guys to experience playing against one the top teams in the world, especially as we continue to build our squad depth." Erasmus said his full squad was 'all aligned' on where they need to lift after losing to the Wallabies at home for the first time since 2011. 'We are still hurting from that result, and the coaches and players are extremely disappointed with the way we played last week," he said. 'We let ourselves and the country down, so we have all the motivation we need to make things right.' The Wallabies sustained injuries in key positions and are expected to announce a match 23 on Thursday. ___ South Africa: Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, Jesse Kriel (captain), Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe, Handre Pollard, Grant Williams; Jean-Luc du Preez, Franco Mostert, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, R.G. Snyman, Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche. Reserves: Marnus van der Merwe, Boan Venter, Wilco Louw, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Kwagga Smith, Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. ___ AP rugby:
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Erasmus makes 10 changes to Springboks lineup after shocking Rugby Championship loss to Australia
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus made 10 changes to his starting XV for Saturday's second test against Australia as the Rugby World Cup champions bid to avenge a shocking 38-22 home loss to the Wallabies last weekend. The overhaul reflects strategic changes and the absence of injured skipper Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and both wingers from the Ellis Park defeat. Veteran center Jessie Kriel will stand in as captain for Kolisi and prop Ox Nche will be vice-captain, while Cheslin Koble, Damian de Allende and Willie le Roux return so the starting XV for the second round of the Rugby Championship. Kriel, Nche, Malcom Marx, Marco van Staden and Grant Williams are the only players retained for the starting lineup. Kriel and de Allende will combine in the Springboks midfield for the 38th time, and Handre Pollard returns at No. 10 to partner Williams in the halves. On top of the injuries, Erasmus said, 'We also know where we went wrong against Australia last week, so we made a few changes that we believe will offer us what we need for this game. 'We are determined to get things right ... (and) it will be good for a few other guys to experience playing against one the top teams in the world, especially as we continue to build our squad depth.' Erasmus said his full squad was 'all aligned' on where they need to lift after losing to the Wallabies at home for the first time since 2011. 'We are still hurting from that result, and the coaches and players are extremely disappointed with the way we played last week,' he said. 'We let ourselves and the country down, so we have all the motivation we need to make things right.' The Wallabies sustained injuries in key positions and are expected to announce a match 23 on Thursday. ___ South Africa: Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, Jesse Kriel (captain), Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe, Handre Pollard, Grant Williams; Jean-Luc du Preez, Franco Mostert, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, R.G. Snyman, Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche. Reserves: Marnus van der Merwe, Boan Venter, Wilco Louw, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Kwagga Smith, Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. ___ AP rugby:
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News
By Alex Crawford, special correspondent, in Somalia The roof of the cave where Islamic State militants sat cooking their food is still charred black. We see porcupine quills scattered around, giving an indication of what the extremists last ate here. There's a rough toilet, sleeping areas and a treasure trove of evidence about their lives on recovered phones and SIM cards. Porcupine quills litter the floor - evidence of a meal Porcupine quills litter the floor - evidence of a meal
We are standing in the same spot where Islamic State militants were camped very recently – and where they held territory and ruled over the terrified communities below. These are just some of the hundreds of caves and mountain hideouts the Somali forces have discovered and routed in their offensive against the militants who've set up base in the north of the country. The semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northern Somalia is the unlikely global headquarters of a resurgent Islamic State, according to the Somalis and US commanders. The evidence the Somali soldiers are uncovering points to a terror group that has evolved, adapted and is able to operate from remote mountain caves with devastating effect. ISIS once held swathes of land in Iraq and Syria right up until 2019. The international community believed it had been crushed or at least critically wounded, but it is still very much alive and operating in northern Somalia...
CNN
3 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Analysis: Did Trump really end six — or seven — wars?
Donald Trump The Middle East AsiaFacebookTweetLink Follow President Donald Trump is not just trying to end the vicious war in Ukraine. He's claiming he's already ended almost one war for each month of his second term — spanning the Middle East; Africa; and Central, South and Southeast Asia. 'I've done six wars — I've ended six wars,' Trump said in his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders on Monday. 'Look, India-Pakistan, we're talking about big places, you just take a look at some of these wars. You go to Africa and take a look at them.' The White House proclaimed in a statement this month that 'President Trump is the President of Peace,' listing a total of seven claimed bilateral agreements between Armenia and Azerbaijan; Cambodia and Thailand; Israel and Iran; India and Pakistan; Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Egypt and Ethiopia; and Serbia and Kosovo, as well as the Abraham Accords, a normalization pact signed in Trump's first term between Israel and some Arab states. On Tuesday, the president told 'Fox and Friends' that 'we ended seven wars.' Some of this is classic Trumpian hyperbole. And the president's team is scanning the globe looking for fires to extinguish to claim quick wins for his transparent campaign for a Nobel Peace Prize. Trump hasn't suddenly reinvented American foreign policy. Every administration works to halt wars and to advance US interests. Most don't take constant victory laps — indeed, such triumphalism can often destroy quiet diplomacy. Yet Trump has saved lives. In some cases, he's used presidential power in novel ways to stop sudden conflicts from escalating into full-scale wars. But his success raises new questions that also apply to Ukraine. Is Trump in it for the long haul or just for deals he can hype, much as he licensed products as a businessman and stamped his name on them? And will Trump's evisceration of the US Agency for International Development and downsizing of the State Department deprive him of the tools the US needs to turn breakthroughs into lasting peace agreements that solve underlying causes of wars? Trump kept insisting Monday — as he tried finesse his adoption of Russia's opposition to an immediate Ukraine ceasefire — that he was more interested in final deals. Ironically however, some of his 'six wars' deals are closer to ceasefires than peace agreements that permanently end generational disputes. And in the case of Iran and Israel, Trump's claims to have made peace after their 12-day conflict are complicated by US involvement in strikes against Tehran's nuclear program. While an informal truce is in place, there's no sign a slow-boiling state of war involving all three nations since Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979 will end. Trump is also conveniently forgetting his failed attempt to end the war between Israel and Hamas. And global outrage over reports of widespread starvation in Gaza and the president's staunch support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could thwart his hopes for a Nobel Prize — whatever happens with Ukraine. His record is also blotted by the failure of his first-term peace efforts with North Korea. Leader Kim Jong Un now has more nuclear weapons than before Trump offered him fruitless, photo-op summits. Some of Trump's biggest successes have been behind the scenes. 'I'm struck by the fact that the ones that were helpful, especially India-Pakistan, were conducted in a professional way, quietly, diplomatically … laying the ground and finding common ground between the parties,' said Celeste Wallander, a former assistant secretary of defense who is now with the Center for a New American Security. The most recent triumph was a joint peace declaration signed by Armenia and Azerbaijan on their long-running conflict in the Caucasus. The agreement, inked at a lavish White House ceremony, commits the two former Soviet republics to recognizing each other's borders and to renouncing violence against the other. But complex negotiations loom on knotty constitutional and territorial issues before a full peace agreement. This deal is notable for two things — the way foreign states flatter Trump to get what they want, and an imperialistic streak in much of his peacemaking. The rivals, for instance, agreed to open a transportation corridor to which the US will have full development rights and to call it the 'Trump Route for Peace and Prosperity.' Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev declared, 'President Trump, in six months, did a miracle.' This is smart deal for the US as it counters the influence of rival powers Russia and Iran in the region. But it will need Trump's constant attention. 'Wishes and verbal declarations are not enough,' two former US ambassadors to Azerbaijan, Robert Cekuta and Richard Morningstar, wrote in a recent Atlantic Council commentary. They called on Trump to deploy officials from the State Department, the Commerce Department and other agencies to lock in the agreement. Another of Trump's recent triumphs came in Southeast Asia, where he threatened to shelve trade deals with both Thailand and Cambodia to halt a border war last month that killed at least 38 people. The leverage pressed home in calls to leaders of each country was effective, and it might not have occurred to another president. But Trump didn't work alone. The agreement was brokered by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knew the drill, however. He nominated Trump for the Nobel Prize for 'extraordinary statesmanship.' Pakistan took a similar step, as part of a successful diplomatic offensive to win over Trump and to disadvantage its nuclear-armed rival India after the president intervened in a border clash in May. But the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an erstwhile Trump buddy, dismissed Washington's claims of a pivotal role. And other states, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Britain, were also involved. Trump's claims to have ended a war are selective. The agreement is fragile and doesn't solve the territorial dispute that sparked the fighting — over the Himalayan region of Kashmir, which has caused three full-scale wars. Trump has proclaimed a 'glorious triumph for the cause of peace' in a deal brokered between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This contains important first steps on recognizing borders, renouncing war and disarming militia groups. However, no one expects the conflict to end soon, since the main Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has rejected the agreement. Some analysts see the initiative, also brokered by Qatar, as a US attempt to secure mineral rights as part of an African 'great game' against China. Trump's claim to have brokered peace between Egypt and Ethiopia is a stretch. He's referring to a dispute over a Nile dam in the latter nation that Egypt fears will reduce the flow in its share of the key strategic waterway. He has called for a deal over the dam, but no binding agreement has been reached. The White House claims on Serbia and Kosovo originate in Trump's first term, when the rivals agreed to economic normalization steps. But they still don't have diplomatic relations, 17 years after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. And recent normalization efforts have involved the EU more than the Trump team. In many ways, Trump's claims to have ended six or seven wars are typical of a presidency that claims massive wins that often add up to less than what they seem. But there are real achievements in his record, and the possibility of genuine long-term breakthroughs if Trump can maintain application and patience. That's a good lesson for his nascent Ukraine peace drive. This article and headline have been updated with additional reporting.
