By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Barely 72hours after American airlines collided with military helicopter in the US, a medical transport jet carrying a child patient, her mother, and four crew members cr+shed into a Philadelphia neighborhood shortly after takeoff Friday evening, igniting a massive fir£ that engulfed several homes.

The Learjet 55, operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, exploded upon impact, sending a fireball into the sky. Officials have not confirmed any survivors or reported whether there were casualties on the ground. All six passengers were from Mexico, and the child was returning home after receiving treatment in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro described the cr+sh as an “awful aviation disaster” and said fatalities were expected.

The plane took off at 6:06 p.m. from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, disappearing from radar minutes later at 1,600 feet (487 meters). A doorbell camera captured the moment it plummeted and exploded near Roosevelt Mall in the Rhawnhurst neighborhood.

Witnesses described a deafening roar followed by an orange fireball and thick black smoke.

Jet Rescue, based in Mexico, provides global air ambulance services and previously transported baseball legend David Ortiz after he was shot in the Dominican Republic. This marks the company’s second fatal cr+sh in 15 months; in 2023, five crew members d+ed when one of its planes cr+shed in Mexico.

The cr+sh came just days after another deadly U.S. aviation acc+dent, when an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter collided over Washington, D.C., k+lling all on board.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating, with officials set to arrive at the crash site Saturday.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

A former President of Germany, Horst Koehler, who served as head of state from 2004 to 2010, is dead.

Köhler, who was head of state from 2004 to 2010, died Saturday morning in Berlin after a short illness, surrounded by his family, the office of current German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement.

Köhler was little known to most Germans and a stranger to front-line politics before he won the presidency.

His nomination was greeted by the mass-circulation daily Bild with the headline “Horst Who?”

However, he built up high popularity ratings once on the job, something that he achieved in part by positioning himself as an outsider to the country’s political elite.

He occasionally refused to sign bills into law due to constitutional concerns and didn’t always make himself popular with the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose choice he was for the presidency — a largely ceremonial job but often seen as a source of moral authority.

Kohler elected before Merkel came to power, at a time when Germany was struggling to come to terms with labor market reforms and welfare state cuts.

He said Germans must not rest on past achievements, and said he was “deeply convinced Germany has the strength for change.”

In July 2005, Köhler agreed to dissolve parliament and grant struggling then-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder an unusual early election.

He declared that Germany faced “giant challenges” and that “our future and the future of our children is at stake.”

Merkel won power, but nearly blew a huge poll lead after her talk of deeper reform turned off voters. Köhler also talked less of economic change in later years and was strongly critical of financial markets during the banking and economic crisis — describing them as a “monster” that hadn’t yet been tamed.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

A United States-based Nigerian woman, Abayomi Whint, has been sworn in as a judge for the Kings County New York Civil Court.

This was disclosed in a video tagged, ‘Welcome to the bench, Your Honor!’ via her Instagram page on January 23, 2025.

Whint was among the eight candidates elected as judges in Brooklyn, in November 2024.

In the video, Whint, who was sworn in at Brooklyn Law School, took the oath of office to the cheers of her family members and friends, who were dressed in white and green.

She said, “…to discharge the duties of the office of judge for the Kings County New York Civil Court, according to the best of my ability. So help me God.”

Whint practised law primarily in the public sector for over 20 years.

She is an experienced litigator, certified mediator, and arbitrator who specialises in conflict resolution.

Also, Whint participated in organisational leadership, fostering cultures of belonging, team building, and the application of restorative practices as a ReRestortative Circle Keeper.

According to her LinkedIn profile, “she views justice not merely as a concept but as an active commitment to fairness, equity, and truth in every decision.”