Foreign News
Massive US crane to haul wreckage after deadly collapse of Baltimore bridge
The largest crane on the eastern US seaboard has arrived in Baltimore as part of a massive clean-up effort after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.
Shipments in and out of one of the country’s busiest ports are suspended while the wreckage hangs over the cargo ship that crashed into it.
The search for the bodies of four workers remains on hold because of the dangers of diving amongst the wreckage.
Some $60m (£48m) in federal emergency funds will go towards recovery efforts.
President Joe Biden said he is headed to Baltimore next week to view the crash’s fallout and speak to federal efforts.
The port is a main economic generator for the state of Maryland and a vital artery for imports and exports of US and global trade.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore said each stage of the recovery and salvage operation would be difficult. “We’re talking 3,000 to 4,000 tons of steel that’s sitting on that ship,” Mr Moore told reporters on Thursday.
The Dali container vessel – which is nearly as long as the Eiffel tower – remains on the water. Its 22-person crew, all Indian nationals, are reportedly still aboard.
The recovery has been further complicated by the amount of debris in the dark waters of the Patapsco River. Divers have been unable to see more than a foot or two in front of them.
The effort will be paid for by the US Army Corps of Engineers, which is sending several officials to oversee the efforts. US Navy contractors will also join the efforts, and they will be joined by more than 1,100 engineering specialists.
The largest crane on the eastern US seaboard, which can lift 1,000 tons, is being erected at the site on Friday. The crane, called the Chesapeake 1000, was built in 1972 and is 191 feet (58 metres) long. It will be followed by a smaller crane on Saturday.
Those involved in the operation must figure out how to cut debris from the bridge into pieces so they can be lifted by the crane, officials said.
It must be done carefully to ensure none of the hazardous material held in shipping containers atop the Dali spills into the river.
Some of those containers stored sheen, which is used in paint. A few have already broken open, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has said.
Authorities have deployed floating booms in an effort to corral any leaks.
Experts estimate it could take a month for the Port of Baltimore to reopen and years to rebuild the bridge. The incident investigation may take two years.
People in Baltimore are still reeling from the disaster.
(BBC)
The chief executive of the Washington Post is stepping down, the newspaper has announced, days after overseeing mass lay-offs.
William Lewis said it was the right time to leave, saying in a message to staff that was shared online that “difficult decisions” had been made to ensure the paper’s future.
On Wednesday the newspaper announced it was cutting a third of its workforce, dramatically scaling back its coverage of sport and international news.
The decision was condemned by many journalists and prompted criticism of the Post’s billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos. Executive editor Matt Murray said the cuts would bring “stability”.
Jeff D’Onofrio, who joined as chief financial officer of the newspaper last year, will serve as acting publisher and CEO, the Post said as it announced Lewis’s departure.
A former Dow Jones chief executive and publisher of the Wall Street Journal, Lewis was appointed to the role at the Washington Post in 2023.
He has faced criticism from subscribers and employees as he tried to reverse financial losses at the daily.
Hundreds protested in front of the paper’s headquarters in Washington DC on Thursday after the mass lay offs, which included the paper’s entire Middle East staff and its Kyiv-based Ukraine correspondent.
Marty Baron, the Post’s executive editor until 2021, said the cuts ranked “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations”.
The departure of Lewis marks the latest upheaval for the leading US newspaper, which has seen a series of staff cuts and controversial editorial decisions in recent years.
Shortly before the 2024 US presidential election, Bezos, the founder of Amazon, broke with decades of tradition by deciding the newspaper would not endorse a presidential candidate.
The newspaper had endorsed a candidate in most presidential elections since the 1970s – all of whom had been Democrats.
The move caused widespread criticism and led to the loss of tens of thousands of subscribers.
Meanwhile, the opinion editor resigned in February last year when Bezos decided to focus the paper’s comment section on “personal liberties and free markets”.
Bezos, who acquired the newspaper in 2013, said pieces opposing those views would not be published.
[BBC]
King Charles III and Queen Camilla will host Nigeria’s president in the country’s first state visit to the UK in 37 years, Buckingham Palace has announced.
Bola Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu have accepted an invitation to be guests of the King at Windsor Castle from 18 to 19 March.
State visits are considered a form of soft-power diplomacy, using the pomp of royal hospitality to strengthen relations with important international partners.
The last Nigerian state visit to the UK took place in 1989, when military ruler Gen Ibrahim Babangida travelled to meet the late Queen Elizabeth II for a four-day trip.
Although this will be Tinubu’s first formal state visit to the UK, he has already met the King since taking office following Nigeria’s disputed election in 2023.
Tinubu and his wife were received at Buckingham Palace in September 2024 and also held a bilateral meeting with the King on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai.
But a state visit allows for ceremonial pageantry aimed at elevating the occasion and demonstrating the importance with which the UK views those visiting.
The visit comes at a time of improving diplomatic and economic links between the UK and Nigeria – with trade between the two worth more than £8bn in the year to October, government figures show. This makes the African nation one of the UK’s most important partners in the continent.
In 2024, the two countries signed a new trade and investment partnership designed to expand opportunities for business.
The agenda for the March visit has not been disclosed, nor details of the events planned for it – but state visits typically include carriage processions and a state banquet, and usually coincide with visiting leaders having political meetings.
In 2025 alone, the King presided over three state visits – those of French President Emmanuel Macron, US President Donald Trump and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier – the first time the UK had held such a number in a single year since 1988.
The King has longstanding ties to Nigeria, a Commonwealth country, having expressed a love for Pidgin English and Nigerian Afrobeats music.
Before becoming monarch, he visited the country four times as the Prince of Wales – in 1990, 1999, 2006 and 2018. Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, joined him on the latter trip.
In 2023, the King’s Trust International – formerly the Prince’s Trust – officially launched in Nigeria, announcing a project aimed at tackling youth unemployment.
[BBC]
The co-owner of a Colorado funeral home where nearly 200 decaying bodies were found has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for corpse abuse.
Before Jon Hallford was sentenced, he apologised in court and listened to family members describe having nightmares about their loved ones decomposing in his care. They called him a “monster” who should rot in jail.
His ex-wife and co-owner Carie Hallford has pleaded guilty to similar charges and is awaiting sentencing.
The Return to Nature home, in the town of Penrose, Colorado, had given fake ashes to grieving relatives instead of their loved-ones’ remains. Prosecutors said 189 bodies were improperly stored in the building over four years.
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Business1 day agoZone24x7 enters 2026 with strong momentum, reinforcing its role as an enterprise AI and automation partner
-
Business5 days agoSLIM-Kantar People’s Awards 2026 to recognise Sri Lanka’s most trusted brands and personalities
-
Business6 days agoAll set for Global Synergy Awards 2026 at Waters Edge
-
Business1 day agoHNB recognized among Top 10 Best Employers of 2025 at the EFC National Best Employer Awards
-
Business5 days agoAPI-first card issuing and processing platform for Pan Asia Bank
-
Business1 day agoGREAT 2025–2030: Sri Lanka’s Green ambition meets a grid reality check
-
Editorial3 days agoAll’s not well that ends well?
-
Features3 days agoPhew! The heat …