التصنيف: أخبار

Three people have been killed in a ski-helicopter crash in a remote area of Canada.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in west-central British Columbia said seven people were aboard the helicopter, with four others left badly hurt.

The helicopter was carrying a group of skiers on Monday and went down near Terrace, a town of about 12,000 residents in the Skeena region of British Columbia, about 70 miles east of the Alaska border.

Police said the aircraft was one of three helicopters on a backcountry ski trip.

British Columbia premier, David Eby, said in a social media post that news of the crash is “heartbreaking” and people in the province are thinking of the families of those who died, as he thanked the emergency services.

Canadian authorities, including British Columbia’s coroners’ service, the Transportation Safety Board and WorkSafeBC, are also involved in the investigation into the crash.

Investigators are set to be flown to the remote site to probe the scene today.

The victims have not yet been named, as authorities notify their next of kin.

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The tour operator Northern Escape Heli-Skiing, whose website promotes trips featuring “big mountain, backcountry skiing at its finest”, said it was working with authorities to support the investigation into the cause of the incident.

“Helicopter accidents are rare but do pose a risk to people who heli-ski in the mountains and backcountry,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement.

The company “takes every precaution to minimise the risks while being in the backcountry… however, similar to many outdoor activities, it’s impossible to eliminate 100% of the risks posed,” the spokesperson added.

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The chief executive of an American airline company has said internal checks found “many” loose bolts on their Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes.

Ben Minicucci, the head of Alaska Airlines, told Sky News’s US partner network NBC News that he was “angry” about an incident on 5 January when a panel on one of the company’s planes blew out mid-air on a flight carrying 177 people.

“I’m more than frustrated and disappointed,” he said.

“I am angry. This happened to Alaska Airlines. It happened to our guests and happened to our people.

“My demand on Boeing is what are they going to do to improve their quality programmes in-house.”

Mr Minicucci, who became president of Alaska Airlines in 2016, said he was “incredulous” that something like the 5 January incident could even happen.

It prompted new in-house inspections in Alaska Airlines which found more loose bolts.

“I knew that this was an issue out of the [Boeing] factory,” he said. “There was no question in my mind.”

“And it’s clear to me that we received an airplane from Boeing with a faulty door. Now the NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board] investigation is going to figure out why that was a faulty door, whether it was bad installation, missing hardware, a manufacturing issue, but there’s no doubt that Alaska received an airplane off the production line with a faulty door,” he said.

After the panel blew out, the US Federal Aviation Administration ordered all Boeing Max 9 planes grounded and launched a safety investigation.

The agency announced an audit of Boeing’s Max 9 production line and suppliers “to evaluate Boeing’s compliance with its approved quality procedures”.

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It is also subjecting Boeing, as well as its third-party suppliers, to increased monitoring.

With no announcement on when Boeing-made planes can return to service, Alaska Airlines has spent weeks cancelling and rearranging its schedule, leaving thousands of passengers scrambling for flights.

United Airlines has also said it found additional loose bolts on its Max 9 planes.

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In a statement, Boeing said: “We have let down our airline customers and are deeply sorry for the significant disruption to them, their employees and their passengers.

“We are taking action on a comprehensive plan to bring these airplanes safely back to service and to improve our quality and delivery performance.

“We will follow the lead of the FAA and support our customers every step of the way.”

Donald Trump has won the Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire, NBC News has projected.

The result is a setback for former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley who invested significant time and financial resources into winning the state.

She is the last major challenger in the race after Florida governor Ron DeSantis ended his presidential bid over the weekend.

Ms Haley said after the result: “This race is far from over. There are dozens of states still to go.”

She congratulated Mr Trump on his victory, adding “he earned it”.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden also won in the Democratic New Hampshire primary even though he was not on the ballot.

His supporters mounted a write-in campaign on his behalf to avoid a loss, even though the contest awards no delegates because it violates the national party rules he pushed for.

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Turkey’s parliament has approved Sweden’s application to join NATO – lifting a key barrier to its entry into the military alliance.

The decision means Hungary is the only NATO member yet to ratify Sweden’s application after 20 months of delays.

Sweden’s membership would enhance the military alliance’s defences in the Baltic Sea region facing Russia.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on the social media site X after the decision: “Today we are one step closer to becoming a full member of NATO. Positive that the Grand General Assembly of Türkiye has voted in favour of Sweden’s NATO accession.”

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has also welcomed the Turkish parliament’s decision to ratify Sweden’s membership bid and called on Hungary to follow suit.

“I also count on Hungary to complete its national ratification as soon as possible,” he said in a statement late on Tuesday.

“All NATO allies agreed (at the summit) in Vilnius to invite Sweden to join our alliance, and Sweden has fulfilled its commitments. Sweden’s membership makes NATO stronger and all of us safer.”

United States national security adviser Jake Sullivan wrote on X following the decision in Turkey: “This has been an important priority for (President Joe Biden).

“Sweden is a strong, capable defence partner whose membership in NATO will make the US and the Alliance safer and stronger.”

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Western allies were frustrated by application delays

Turkey had been stalling Sweden’s accession into NATO for more than a year, accusing the country of being too lenient towards groups the Turkish government regards as security threats.

The NATO member had been seeking concessions from Sweden, including a tougher stance toward Kurdish militants and members of a network Turkey blames for a failed coup in 2016.

Turkey has also been angered by a series of demonstrations by supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Sweden as well as Koran-burning protests in the country that angered Muslim nations.

However, Turkey’s parliament approved Sweden’s NATO membership bid on Tuesday following more than four hours of debate.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, its nationalist MHP allies, and the main opposition CHP voted 287-55 in favour of the bid in the general assembly, while opposition nationalist, Islamist and leftist parties voted against it.

Mr Erdogan will sign the bill into law, likely in the coming days, thus ending a lengthy process that has both frustrated some of Turkey’s Western allies and enabled it to extract concessions.

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Swedish prime minister invited to Hungary

Turkey’s decision comes after Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, said on Tuesday he had invited Mr Kristersson to visit Hungary and negotiate over Sweden’s NATO ambitions.

No specific date was proposed for the visit.

Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, told reporters on Tuesday the aim of the visit would be to “build trust”.

Hungary’s parliament is in recess until around mid-February.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told Swedish news agency TT there was no reason “to negotiate in the current
situation, though… we can have a dialogue and continue to discuss questions”.

Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 in a historic shift in its security policy prompted by Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine in February that year.

While opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkey has criticised Western sanctions on Moscow.

For its part, Russia has cautioned that it would respond if NATO bolstered military infrastructure in Sweden and Finland – with the latter becoming an official member of the military alliance in April 2023.

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The brother of two men still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza has said his life “stopped on 7 October”, the day his loved ones were taken.

Liran Berman said he “needs his little brothers home” as he spoke on behalf of the families and loved ones of more than 130 hostages who remain in Gaza.

The brothers were taken from their house in southern Israel, during the widespread attack by Hamas that left around 1,200 Israelis dead.

“No one can feel what we feel, no one can understand the suffering, our lives stopped on 7 October,” he said, speaking on Sky News’s The World With Yalda Hakim programme.

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Mr Berman appeared alongside Ziv Abud, who was with her boyfriend, Eliya Choen, when he was taken from the Nova music festival in southern Israel also on that fateful day at the beginning of October last year.

She recalled the “terrifying” ordeal that occurred at the festival, and how she saw her nephew murdered in front of her eyes.

“After they took Eliya they [Hamas] came back to our shelter to finish the job, they took a gun and began to shoot everybody,” she said, adding: “I don’t know how I am here.

“I sat with more than 16 dead bodies in front of me for six hours.

“I am strong now for Eliya as I want him back, but what happened on 7 October was terrifying.”

Both Mr Berman and Ms Abud called for another humanitarian ceasefire in order for their loved ones to be released, similar to the pause in fighting back in November that allowed for the release of Israeli women and children in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

“We were happy to have some loved ones back but we are pushing for a second deal,” Mr Berman said.

“We will take a ceasefire now, a humanitarian ceasefire to release our loved ones, but there needs to be an end to Hamas governing in Gaza. The Palestinians are suffering because of Hamas.”

More than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel invaded the territory after 7 October, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there.

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When asked if they would accept a ceasefire without Israel defeating Hamas, Mr Berman added: “Of course, we want the war to end, we didn’t want this war. Nobody wants to live in conflict.”

Ms Abud added: “We need world pressure, it is not just Israeli issues. It is a world conflict.”

The appeal comes a day after dozens of family members of the remaining hostages stormed a meeting in the Israeli parliament to demand action be taken to release their relatives.

One woman held up pictures of three family members after entering a finance committee meeting in the Knesset, saying: “Just one I’d like to get back alive, one out of three!”

“I cannot blame them,” Mr Berman said when asked what his reaction was to the protest, adding: “If I was there I may have done the same.”

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