Authorities reported that Six people, including three children, were killed after a helicopter carrying a family of tourists crashed into the Hudson River in New York. According to the Mayor Eric Adams, the family of five was from Spain and the sixth person was the pilot, All were onboard the helicopter at the time of the crash. “Our hearts go out to the families,” Adams said. New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the identities of the victims will not be released until the families are notified. The cause of the crash is under investigation. Video footage of the incident...

Rita Daniels learned at 9 that she is the great-great-great-grandniece of famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who led countless enslaved Africans to freedom through the Underground Railroad. It was a moment that changed how she viewed herself and American history for the rest of her life. So when Daniels, now 70, learned in recent days that the National Park Service drastically altered its webpage on Tubman and the Underground Railroad in February, she was devastated. “It tore me apart when I saw the news clip flash across my phone,” said Daniels, who recently co-authored a book about Tubman’s life.  In elementary school, Daniels was...

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today the creation of an annual competitive Academy Award for achievement in stunt design, beginning with the 100th Academy Awards in 2028 for films released in 2027. Director and producer David Leitch (“The Fall Guy,” “Bullet Train,” “Deadpool 2”) led the initiative on behalf of the stunt community to institute the new official Oscar category. Leitch and stunt coordinator and designer Chris O’Hara of Stunts Unlimited and others made several presentations to the Academy, leading to the Board of Governors approving the new awards category today “Since the...

The US Supreme Court has instructed the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to a mega-jail in El Salvador. The court partly granted and partly rejected an emergency request filed by the Justice Department contesting a judge’s order that Kilmar Abrego Garcia be retrieved from a prison in El Salvador where he was sent March 15 along with men alleged to be Venezuelan gang members. The Trump administration has conceded that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported due to an “administrative error”, but appealed against a district court’s order to “facilitate and effectuate” his return...

The Chief Imam of Lagos Central Mosque has locked up all the offices in the Central Mosque with the aid of bouncers and fierce looking hanger-ons, on Tuesday 7 April, 2025, thereby preventing administrative staff from doing their work and Executive Council and its important committees from having their meetings. This recent development followed the Chief Imam’s letter to the Executive Council, on April 7, 2025, notifying that he would be taken over administrative activities of the Central Mosque “in compliance with the court order” issued by Hon. Justice Edward Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos on February...

Kenya’s national high-school drama competition has been overshadowed by drama of its own after police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd that had gathered to watch a controversial play. Echoes of War highlights the role of digital media in government and the power of youth in changing society – with close parallels to Kenya’s current political situation. It was initially disqualified from the drama festival under unclear circumstances, but a High Court ruling overturned the decision and ordered it to be included. Tensions flared in the western town of Nakuru on Thursday morning when students stormed out of the...

Zimbabwe’s government has announced an initial pay-out of US$3m (£2.3m) to white farmers whose farms were seized under a controversial government programme more than two decades ago. It is the first payment to be made under the 2020 compensation agreement signed between the state and the local white farmers in which Zimbabwe committed to pay $3.5bn (£2.6bn) for seized farmland. Thousands of white farmers were forced from their land, often violently, between 2000 and 2001. The seizures were meant to redress colonial-era land grabs but contributed to the country’s economic decline and ruined relations with the West. The payment announced...