World
Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda leader, killed in US airstrike
Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda leader and one of the alleged masterminds of the 9/11 terrorist attack, has been killed in Afghanistan by a US airstrike.
President Joe Biden disclosed this in a speech at the White House on Monday night.
“Justice has been delivered. And this terrorist leader is no more. No matter how long it takes, no matter where you hide — if you are a threat to our people, the United States will find you and take you out,” Biden said.
Zawahiri was located earlier this year after a search for decades. He had moved to downtown Kabul, Afghanistan, to reunite with members of his immediate family, Biden revealed.
According to Biden, the airstrike was carefully planned and recorded no civilian casualties.
“After carefully considering the clear and convincing evidence of his location, I authorized a precision strike that would remove him from the battlefield once and for all,” the US president said.
“This mission was carefully planned and rigorously minimized the risk of harm to other civilians. And one week ago, after being advised that the conditions were optimal, I gave the final approval to go get him, and the mission was a success. None of his family members were hurt, and there were no civilian casualties.”
Barrack Obama, former president of the US, lauded Biden’s efforts, describing the counter-terrorism attack as a tribute to the current president’s leadership.
“More than 20 years after 9/11, one of the masterminds of that terrorist attack and Osama bin Laden’s successor as the leader of al-Qaeda – Ayman al-Zawahiri – has finally been brought to justice,” he said in a tweet.
“It’s a tribute to president Biden’s leadership, to the members of the intelligence community who have been working for decades for this moment, and to the counterterrorism professionals who were able to take al-Zawahiri out without a single civilian casualty.”
“Tonight’s news is also proof that it’s possible to root out terrorism without being at war in Afghanistan. And I hope it provides a small measure of peace to the 9/11 families and everyone else who has suffered at the hands of al-Qaeda.”
Zawahiri was said to be involved in the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000, which killed 17 American sailors and wounded dozens more, and the bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania which led to the death of many.
World
Former US President Bill Clinton hospitalised with fever
Bill Clinton, the former US president who has faced a series of health issues over the years, was admitted to hospital Monday in Washington after developing a fever, his office said.
“President Clinton was admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center this afternoon for testing and observation after developing a fever,” the 78-year-old’s deputy chief of staff Angel Urena said on social media platform X, adding Clinton “remains in good spirits.”
Bill Clinton was previously hospitalized for five nights in October 2021 due to a blood infection.
In 2004, at age 58, he underwent a quadruple bypass operation after doctors found signs of extensive heart disease. He had stents implanted in his coronary artery six years later.
The health scare motivated him to make lifestyle changes, including adopting a vegetarian diet, and he has since spoken publicly about his efforts.
Clinton’s health last made headlines in November 2022 when he tested positive for Covid-19. He said at the time that his symptoms were “mild” and he was “grateful to be vaccinated and boosted.”
Clinton, who led the United States for two presidential terms from 1993-2001, is the second-youngest living US president, after 63-year-old Barack Obama.
He was born mere months after fellow former US president George W. Bush and President-elect Donald Trump.
Though his prosperous time in office was marred by scandals, he has enjoyed a second life in the two decades after his presidency, which has seen him venture into numerous diplomatic and humanitarian causes.
World
Trump dismisses claims of handing presidency to Musk as ‘hoax’
Could Elon Musk, who holds major sway in the incoming Trump administration, one day become president? On Sunday, Donald Trump answered with a resounding no, pointing to US rules about being born in the country.
“He’s not gonna be president, that I can tell you,” Trump told a Republican conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
“You know why he can’t be? He wasn’t born in this country,” Trump said of the Tesla and SpaceX boss, who was born in South Africa.
The US Constitution requires that a president be a natural-born US citizen.
Trump was responding to criticism, particularly from the Democratic camp, portraying the tech billionaire and world’s richest person as “President Musk” for the outsized role he is playing in the incoming administration.
As per ceding the presidency to Musk, Trump also assured the crowd: “No, no that’s not happening.”
The influence of Musk, who will serve as Trump’s “efficiency czar,” has become a focus point for Democratic attacks, with questions raised over how an unelected citizen can wield so much power.
And there is even growing anger among Republicans after Musk trashed a government funding proposal this week in a blizzard of posts — many of them wildly inaccurate — to his more than 200 million followers on his social media platform X.
Alongside Trump, Musk ultimately helped pressure Republicans to renege on a funding bill they had painstakingly agreed upon with Democrats, pushing the United States to the brink of budgetary paralysis that would have resulted in a government shutdown just days before Christmas.
Congress ultimately reached an agreement overnight Friday to Saturday, avoiding massive halts to government services.
World
Seven confirmed dead in Western Mexico plane crash
At least seven people died when a light aircraft crashed Sunday in a heavily forested area of Jalisco in western Mexico, local authorities reported.
The aircraft, a Cessna 207, was flying from La Parota in the neighbouring state of Michoacan.
Jalisco Civil Protection said via its social media that the crash site was in an area that was difficult to access.
Initial authorities on the scene “reported a preliminary count of seven people dead,” who haven’t been identified yet, according to the agency.
“A fire was extinguished and risk mitigation was carried out to prevent possible additional damage,” it added.
Authorities said they were awaiting the arrival of forensic investigators to remove the bodies and rule out the presence of additional victims.
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