US official vows to ‘fix’ FAA after fatal collision

A police boat gathers wreckage along the Potomac River of American Airlines flight 5342, which crashed into the river after colliding with a US Army helicopter on approach to Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC, on January 30, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 31 January 2025
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US official vows to ‘fix’ FAA after fatal collision

  • US Transportation chief Sean Duffy hopes to put out initial plan shortly
  • President Donald Trump has directed an immediate assessment of aviation safety on Thursday

WASHINGTON: US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said late on Thursday he will soon announce a plan to reform the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a devastating collision between an American Airlines regional plane and an Army helicopter killed 67 people.

“I am in the process of developing an initial plan to fix the @FAANews. I hope to put it out very shortly,” Duffy said on X.

President Donald Trump who has harshly criticized diversity efforts at the FAA, directed an immediate assessment of aviation safety on Thursday.

Earlier, Trump said he had appointed a former senior aviation official as the acting head of the FAA — just one day after the deadliest US air disaster in more than 20 years.

The announcement came after an American Airlines regional passenger jet collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River near Reagan Washington National Airport.

Chris Rocheleau, a US Air Force veteran who worked at the FAA for more than 20 years, was previously chief operating officer of the National Business Aviation Association. Sources said Liam McKenna, who was the counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee, has also been named chief counsel at the FAA.

Rocheleau has been at the FAA since last week, the sources added.

Mike Whitaker, unanimously confirmed as the FAA administrator in October 2023, stepped down early from his five-year term on Jan. 20 when Trump took office and for 10 days the FAA declined to say who was running the agency on an acting basis. Trump has not yet named a permanent candidate to replace Whitaker.

Trump suggested that efforts to boost diversity at the FAA could have been a cause in the crash. At a White House press conference, he harshly criticized Pete Buttigieg, who headed the Transportation Department under President Joe Biden, saying, “he’s a disaster... He’s run it right into the ground with his diversity.”

Buttigieg blasted Trump on social media, calling his comments “despicable.”

“As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying. We put safety first, drove down close calls, grew Air Traffic Control, and had zero commercial airline crash fatalities out of millions of flights on our watch,” Buttigieg said.

 

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also criticized Trump’s comments.

“It’s one thing for Internet pundits to spew off conspiracies, it’s another for the President of the United States to throw out idle speculation as bodies are still being recovered,” Schumer said.

Former aides to Buttigieg say the diversity policy cited by Trump had been a long-standing policy and was in effect during Trump’s first term. Buttigieg could not immediately be reached for comment.

“I am not blaming the controller,” Trump added. He said he did not know if diversity was to blame but vowed to investigate. “So we don’t know, but we do know that you had two planes at the same level. You had a helicopter and a plane. That shouldn’t have happened.”

The FAA is about 3,000 controllers behind staffing targets and the agency said in 2023 it had 10,700 certified controllers, about the same as a year earlier.

As well as dealing with the aftermath of the Washington crash, Rocheleau will face key questions in his new role, including when to allow Boeing to boost production of the 737 MAX after a mid-air emergency in January 2024.


Western leaders visit Kyiv and pledge military support against Russia on the war’s 3rd anniversary

Updated 8 sec ago
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Western leaders visit Kyiv and pledge military support against Russia on the war’s 3rd anniversary

  • Three-year milestone drew more than a dozen Western leaders to Kyiv for commemorative events in a conspicuous show of support
  • Putin’s troops are making steady progress on the battlefield while Ukraine is grappling with shortages of troops and weapons

KYIV, Ukraine: Ukraine on Monday marked the bleakest anniversary yet of its war against the Russia invasion, with the country’s forces under severe pressure on the battlefield and US President Donald Trump’s administration apparently embracing the Kremlin in a reversal of US policy.
The three-year milestone drew more than a dozen Western leaders to Kyiv for commemorative events in a conspicuous show of support. They warned of the war’s wider implications for global security and vowed to keep providing billions of dollars in support for Ukraine as uncertainty deepens over the US commitment to help. Washington did not send any senior official to the occasion.
The fourth year of fighting could be pivotal as Trump uses his return to office to press for a peace deal.
“The autocrats around the world are watching very carefully whether there’s any impunity if you violate international borders or invade your neighbor, or if there is true deterrence,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed that sentiment. Canadians, he said, “believe deeply that it’s not just about Ukraine. It’s about the rules and the values and the principles of sovereignty, of independence, territorial integrity that protects every country in the world. All of us rely on those rules to be able to build peace and security.”
Some observers say Russian success in Ukraine could embolden China’s ambitions. Just as Moscow claims that Ukraine is rightfully Russian territory, China claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as its own. North Korea and Iran have also aided Russia’s war effort.
In a cascade of unwelcome developments for Kyiv, Trump has in recent days called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator, suggested Ukraine is to blame for the war and ended Russian President Vladimir Putin’s three-year diplomatic isolation by the United States. US officials have also indicated to Ukraine that its hopes of joining NATO are unlikely to be realized and that it probably won’t get back the land that Russia’s army occupies, which amounts to nearly 20 percent of the country.
Meanwhile, Putin’s troops are making steady progress on the battlefield while Ukraine is grappling with shortages of troops and weapons.
The guests in Kyiv and the leaders appearing by video had similar messages: Ukraine and its European partners must be consulted in any peace negotiations, Putin’s ambitions must be thwarted, and Europe must take on more of the burden for its own defense.
Alarm bells sound in Europe as Washington changes course
The shift in Washington’s policy has set off alarm bells in Europe, where governments fear being sidelined by the US in efforts to secure a peace deal. They are mulling how they might pick up the slack of any cut in US aid for Ukraine. The changes have also placed strain on transatlantic relations.
European Council President Antonio Costa on Sunday announced that he would convene an emergency summit of the 27 EU leaders in Brussels on March 6, with Ukraine at the top of the agenda.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are both visiting Washington this week.
EU foreign ministers on Monday approved a new raft of sanctions against Russia. The measures target Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of ships that it uses to skirt restrictions on transporting oil and gas, or to carry stolen Ukrainian grain. The EU said 74 vessels were added to its shadow fleet list.
Asset freezes and travel bans were imposed on 83 officials and “entities” — usually government agencies, banks or companies.
Britain, too, imposed new sanctions, targeting 107 businesses and individuals in what it says is its biggest package targeting Russia’s war machine since the early days of the conflict in 2022.
The measures take aim at Russia’s military supply chains, including companies in several countries — notably China — that Britain says are supplying machine tools, electronics and dual-use goods for Russia’s military.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his country would provide a 1 billion-euro ($1.04 billion) military systems package to Ukraine this year.
Starmer said Ukrainians’ voices “must be at the heart of the drive for peace,” while Trump’s intervention had “changed the global conversation” and “created an opportunity.”
“Russia does not hold all the cards in this war,” he said.
Coming off a victory in Sunday’s German elections, conservative leader Friedrich Merz — also a staunch backer of Ukraine — posted on X Monday: “More than ever, we must put Ukraine in a position of strength.”
“For a fair peace, the country that is under attack must be part of peace negotiations,” he wrote.
Diplomacy ramps up after record Russian drone attack
On Sunday, Russia launched its biggest single drone attack of the war, pounding Ukraine with 267 drones.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, insisted that the US cannot seal any peace deal to end the war without Ukraine or Europe being involved. She highlighted what she claimed were pro-Russian positions being taken up by the Trump administration.
“You can discuss whatever you want with Putin. But if it comes to Europe or Ukraine, then Ukraine and Europe also have to agree to this deal,” Kallas told reporters in Brussels, where she was leading a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
Kallas is scheduled to travel to Washington on Tuesday for talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the third anniversary was “a grim milestone.”
“More than 12,600 civilians killed, with many more injured. Entire communities reduced to rubble. Hospitals and schools destroyed,” he said in Geneva.
In a win for Ukraine, the United States on Monday failed to get the UN General Assembly to approve its resolution seeking to end the war without mentioning Russian aggression. The US draft resolution was amended by the assembly to add language making clear that Russia invaded its smaller neighbor in violation of the UN Charter.
Washington and Moscow draw closer

In other developments, Trump said Putin would accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine as part of a potential deal to end the war.
“Yeah, he will accept it,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I have asked him that question. Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for more war.”
Putin has previously said that European or US forces in Ukraine would be a major security issue for Russia. He has never publicly indicated that he would accept Western troops in Ukraine, and multiple Russian officials have indicated that would be a red line for Moscow.
Russia’s foreign ministry said Saturday that preparations for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin were underway, and US officials have said that they agreed with Moscow to reestablish diplomatic ties and restart economic cooperation.
At a virtual meeting with leaders of the Group of Seven economies also held Monday, Zelensky said Ukraine and the US are “working productively” on an economic agreement that would help lock them together. Trump attended the meeting.
“And, President Trump, we would really like to hear from you because all our people, all our families, are very worried. Will there be support from America? Will America be the leader of the free world?” Zelensky said.


EU and Israel resume dialogue with focus on Gaza’s future

Updated 47 min 27 sec ago
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EU and Israel resume dialogue with focus on Gaza’s future

  • Saar will co-chair a meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in the first such session since 2022

BRUSSELS: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called for a constructive dialogue but braced for criticism from some European countries as he arrived for talks on Monday in Brussels.

The Israeli minister is meeting senior European officials, reviving a dialogue with the EU as the bloc considers a role in the reconstruction of Gaza following last month’s fragile ceasefire deal.

“I’m looking for a constructive dialogue, an open and honest one, and I believe that this is what it will be,” Saar told reporters on arrival.

“We know how to face criticism,” he said, adding: “It’s okay as long as the criticism is not connected to delegitimization, demonization, or double standards ... but we are ready to discuss everything with an open mind.”

Saar will co-chair a meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in the first such session since 2022. 

Talks focus on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Israeli-Palestinian relations, and changing regional dynamics.

The Israeli foreign minister said that within the EU, “there are very friendly countries, and there are less friendly countries,” but Monday’s meeting showed a willingness to renew normal relations.

The attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel’s response exposed sharp divisions within the EU. 

While all members condemned the Hamas attacks, some staunchly defended Israel’s war in Gaza and others condemned Israel’s military campaign and its toll on civilians.

In February 2024, the leaders of Spain and Ireland sent a letter to the European Commission asking for a review of whether Israel was complying with its human rights obligations under the 2000 EU-Israel Association Agreement, which provides the basis for political and economic cooperation between the two sides.

But ahead of Monday’s meeting, the bloc’s 27 member countries negotiated a compromise position that praises areas of cooperation with Israel while also raising concerns.

At the meeting, the EU will emphasize both Europe’s commitment to Israel’s security and its view that “displaced Gazans should be ensured a safe and dignified return to their homes in Gaza,” according to a draft document seen by Reuters.

The Israeli offensive has killed at least 48,000 people, Palestinian health authorities say, leaving some hundreds of thousands of people in makeshift shelters and dependent on aid trucks.


Macron, Trump vow to work together on Ukraine, despite differences

Updated 24 February 2025
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Macron, Trump vow to work together on Ukraine, despite differences

  • Emmanuel Macron is representing the European Union as a whole during his visit
  • French leader aims to persuade Trump to continue some US support for Ukraine

WASHINGTON: French President Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump sought to smooth over a transatlantic rift on Ukraine Monday, with the US president eyeing a deal to end Russia’s invasion “within weeks” backed by European peacekeepers.
Hosting Macron at the White House on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion, Trump also said he expected Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky to visit this week or next, to sign a deal giving Washington access to Kyiv’s minerals.
Trump hailed Macron as a “very special man” as they shared one of their trademark macho handshakes in the Oval Office — with the French president seeking to use his ties with Trump to shore up support for Ukraine.
“I think we could end it within weeks — if we’re smart. If we’re not smart, it will keep going,” Trump said.
The US president added that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to “accept” European troops deployed in Ukraine as guarantors of a deal to end fighting.
Macron said that both leaders wanted a “solid long lasting peace,” proclaimed that Europe was ready to “step up” defense spending and reiterated that Europe was ready to deploy peacekeepers.
But he said he wanted “strong” US involvement in any such plan.
Both Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer — who is visiting the White House on Thursday — have said their countries are ready to contribute peacekeeping troops in Ukraine if there is a deal.

The friendly tone of the Oval Office meeting came despite many European nations fearing that Trump’s recent embrace of Russian talking points on Ukraine could herald the end of the 80-year-old transatlantic alliance.
Trump sent shock waves around the world when he declared his readiness to resume diplomacy with Russia and to hold talks about the future of Ukraine without the involvement of European allies or Kyiv.
It sent European leaders beating a path to Trump’s door, led by Macron. The two leaders earlier Monday dialed in together from the Oval Office to a call with the heads of the G7 leading economies and Zelensky.
The French president last week said he would tell the Republican: “You cannot be weak in the face of President Putin.”
Trump had hit back last Friday saying that both Macron and Starmer — the leaders of Europe’s two nuclear powers — had done “nothing” to try to end the Ukraine war over the past three years.
In recent days Macron has tried to coordinate a European response to Washington’s sudden policy shift.
At their meeting, the French leader would present his “proposals for action” to counter the “Russian threat,” an adviser to the president said. They will also hold a joint press conference.
Macron is representing the European Union as a whole during his visit, after meeting leaders across the continent, including Moscow-friendly Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the presidential adviser said.
The French leader aims to persuade Trump to continue some US support for Ukraine, respecting its sovereignty.

Macron and Starmer, who will visit Trump on Thursday, coordinated on messaging prior to the French president’s departure for the United States this weekend.
Britain and France have also discussed the deployment of European forces in Ukraine after a peace agreement is reached to deter Russia from future attacks.
“The idea is to deploy soldiers to a second line, not on the front line. This could be combined with a multinational operation, with non-European contingents,” said a French source close to the discussions.
Macron and Starmer are expected to ask Trump to provide “solid security guarantees” for the deployed forces, and possibly logistics or intelligence.
US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told reporters on Monday that “we expect to talk quite a bit about the security guarantees that Macron has put on the table.”
Trump and Macron would also discuss the thorny issue of trade with the European Union, with the US president threatening sweeping tariffs against the bloc, said Waltz.


Europeans win in UN clash with US over rival Ukraine resolutions

Updated 24 February 2025
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Europeans win in UN clash with US over rival Ukraine resolutions

  • European-backed resolution was approved ahead of vote on dueling US proposal
  • Majority of Arab countries abstained from voting

NEW YORK: The United States abstained on Monday in a United Nations vote on a resolution it drafted to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine after the General Assembly agreed to add language supportive of Kyiv to Washington’s text.
The vote was a victory for European nations concerned about US overtures to Russia by the administration of President Donald Trump in talks to end the war.
The original US draft was three paragraphs — mourning the loss of life during the “Russia-Ukraine conflict,” reiterating that the UN’s main purpose is to maintain international peace and security and peacefully settle disputes, and urging a swift end to the conflict and a lasting peace.
But European amendments added references to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the need for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in line with the founding UN Charter and reaffirmed the UN’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity.
“Multiple resolutions ... have demanded that Russia withdraw its forces from Ukraine. Those resolutions have failed to stop the war,” Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea said before the vote. “What we need is a resolution, marking the commitment from all UN member states to bring a durable end to the war.”
The amended US-drafted resolution won 93 votes in favor, while 73 states abstained and eight voted no.
The US push for UN action came after Trump launched a bid to broker an end to the war, sparking a rift with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and raising concerns among European allies that they could be cut out of peace talks. US and Russian officials met last Tuesday.
“This war has never been about Ukraine only. It is about a fundamental right of any country to exist, to choose its own path and to live free from aggression,” Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Betsa Mariana told the assembly before the vote.
The US put forward its text on Friday, pitting it against Ukraine and European allies who spent the past month negotiating with their own resolution. The General Assembly also adopted the resolution drafted by Ukraine and European countries on Monday with 93 votes in favor, 65 abstentions and 18 no votes.
Before the votes, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia praised Trump for realizing Zelensky is “not at all interested in having peace in his country because he’s clinging to power.”
“To make sure that this initiative is fully in line with the understandings arrived at during the Russian and American contacts at the highest levels, we introduce an amendment ... about the need to eliminate the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis,” Nebenzia told the assembly. “And this, by the way, was mentioned by President Trump several times.”
The 15-member Security Council is also set to vote on the same US text later on Monday. A council resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the US, Russia, China, Britain or France to be adopted.
Russia failed in an attempt on Monday to amend the US-drafted resolution in the General Assembly to include a reference to addressing the “root causes” of the conflict.


Daughter calls for UK to help British couple in their 70s detained by Taliban

Barbie and Peter Reynolds, 75 and 79, were detained by the Taliban’s interior ministry on February 1.
Updated 24 February 2025
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Daughter calls for UK to help British couple in their 70s detained by Taliban

  • Britain’s Foreign Office said on Monday it was “supporting the family of two British nationals who are detained in Afghanistan,” without providing further detail

LONDON: A British couple in their 70s who ran education programs in Afghanistan have been detained by the Taliban administration, their daughter said, urging the British government to do everything possible to secure their release.
Barbie and Peter Reynolds, 75 and 79, were detained by the Taliban’s interior ministry on February 1, their daughter Sarah Entwistle, who lives in central England, said.
Speaking to Times Radio on Monday, Entwistle said her parents had initially kept in touch via text messages following their detention — assuring their four children that they were fine — before losing all contact three days later.
“Our parents have always sought to honor the Taliban, so we wanted to give them the opportunity to explain their reasons for this detention. However, after more than three weeks of silence, we can no longer wait,” she said.
“We’re now urgently calling on the British consulate to do everything in their power to get us answers and to put as much pressure as they can on the Taliban for their release,” Entwistle added.
Britain’s Foreign Office said on Monday it was “supporting the family of two British nationals who are detained in Afghanistan,” without providing further detail.
The BBC, citing official Taliban sources, reported on Sunday that two British nationals believed to be working for a non-governmental organization in the central Afghan province of Bamiyan had been arrested. It cited one official as saying they had been arrested about 20 days ago after using a plane without informing local authorities.
Afghan authorities arrested four individuals — two British nationals, one Chinese-American and their interpreter, Abdul Mateen, a spokesman for the interior ministry, told Reuters.
The couple were arrested alongside a Chinese-American friend, Faye Hall, and a translator from their training business, Britain’s PA news agency reported.
Western countries including Britain and the United States shut their embassies and withdrew their diplomats as the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021.
Britain advises its nationals against any travel to Afghanistan, warning of the risks of being detained there.
The British couple had been running projects in schools in Afghanistan for 18 years, deciding to stay even after the Taliban seized power, the Sunday Times said.