Plane crashes in Brazil's Sao Paulo state, all 61 on board killed

A plane with 61 people aboard crashed in a fiery wreck in a residential area of a city in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state Friday, the airline said, but it was not immediately clear how many people were injured or killed.

A regional turboprop plane crashed near Sao Paulo in Brazil on Friday, killing all 61 people on board, the airline said.

Regional carrier Voepass said the plane, bound for Sao Paulo's international airport, took off from Cascavel, in the state of Parana, and crashed at around 1:30 p.m. (1630 GMT) in the town of Vinhedo, some 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo.

Video shared on social media showed the ATR-72 aircraft spinning out of control as it plunged down behind a cluster of trees near houses, followed by a large plume of black smoke.

Nearby resident Daniel de Lima said he heard a loud noise before looking outside his condominium in Vinhedo when he saw the plane in a horizontal spiral.

"It was rotating, but it wasn't moving forward," he told Reuters. "Soon after it fell out of the sky and exploded."

Police stand along the street leading to the gated community where a plane crashed in Sao Paulo state, Brazil, Friday, August 9, 2024 [Andre Penner/AP Photo]

City officials at Valinhos, near Vinhedo, said there were no survivors and only one home in the local condominium complex had been damaged while none of the residents were hurt.

"I almost believe the pilot tried to avoid a nearby neighborhood, which is densely populated," de Lima said.

Authorities did not immediately say what had caused the crash, though the head of Brazilian aviation accident investigation center Cenipa said that the plane's so-called "black box" containing voice recordings and flight data had been recovered from the site.

The video of the crash showed clear weather, with the forecast for the area calling for light rainfall and winds of 10 km per hour (6 mph).

John Hansman, a professor in the department of aeronautics and astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reviewed some of the footage shared on social media and without having reviewed flight data said the crash did not appear to have been caused by weather.

"It may have been an engine failure on one side that was mismanaged by the crew," he said. "It could be the thrust of the remaining engine that started the rotation downward."

The news outlet Globo shared images of the flaming wreckage of the plane in the state of Sao Paulo. The Associated Press reported that a video obtained from a bystander and verified by the news agency showed at least two bodies amidst the ruins of the plane.

“It just dropped out of the sky, fell on top of a house; luckily, there was nobody in the house,” Al Jazeera correspondent Monica Yanakiew reported from Rio de Janeiro. “But by the images we’ve been seeing, everyone is really likely to be dead, because the plane was totally destroyed.”

Yanakiew added that the incident is being described as the worst of its kind in modern Brazilian history.

Firefighters, military police, and the country’s civil defence authority have despatched workers to the site of the crash, which has been sealed off by authorities.

“The general director of the Federal Police, Andrei Passos, reported that an investigation and forensics team, with experts in identifying disaster victims,” Globo reported. The outlet also said Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas is travelling to the site of the crash.

The air traffic tracker Flightradar24 said in a social media post that the aircraft was an ATR72-500 built in 2010 and was en route to Sao Paulo from the Cascavel airport in the southern state of Parana.

Watch Russian Forces Neutralize Ukrainian Armored Columns Near Kursk With Artillery & Lancet Drones

©Sputnik/Russian Defense Ministry/Go to the mediabank

Russian forces in southern Kursk Region destroyed five Stryker APCs near Yuzhnoye and a military column, including a tank and four APCs, near Martynovka, as reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense. The ministry stated that they are continuing to repel Ukrainian invasion attempts.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has released a video showing the destruction of Ukrainian armored vehicles and personnel by guided missiles and artillery in the border area of the Kursk region. The footage shows army aviation helicopter crews destroying armored vehicles and personnel with guided missiles and artillery fire as the enemy's combat equipment took cover in a forested area.

Additionally, the ministry published a video of a Ukrainian tank and armored vehicle being destroyed by Lancet drones in the border area of the Kursk region.

📹Russian troops continue to destroy Ukrainian armored vehicles and manpower in the border area of the Russian Kursk region.

Using Lancets, artillery and guided missiles launched from a helicopter, Russian troops successfully hit Ukrainian tanks and armored vehicles. pic.twitter.com/S7ZtjRkMbt

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) August 9, 2024

On the morning of August 6, Ukrainian units numbering up to 1,000 troops attempted to seize a portion of the Sudzhansky district in the Kursk region. According to the Ministry of Defense, over two days, they lost 660 soldiers and 82 units of armored vehicles, including eight tanks, 12 armored personnel carriers (BTRs), six infantry fighting vehicles (BMPs), and 55 other armored vehicles.

According to the Investigative Committee, during the attempted invasion, several dozen Russian civilians, as well as military personnel, were injured. Acting Deputy Governor of the Kursk region Andrey Belostotsky reported that four people were killed, and the number of injured children has increased to nine.

Russian Forces Continue to Repel Ukraine's Attempted Invasion of Kursk Region

Earlier in the day, the Russian Army's Sever (North) Battlegroup and the approaching reserves prevented attempts by Ukrainian forces to raid deep into Russian territory.

©Sputnik/Stanislav Krasilnikov/Go to the mediabank

The Russian Armed Forces continue to tackle the Kiev regime’s attempted invasion of Russia’s Kursk region, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has said in a statement.

Earlier on Friday, forces including those from the Sever (North) Battlegroup inflicted fire damage on Ukrainian troops and equipment in the areas of Darino, Gogolevka, Melovoy, and Nikolsky settlements, and the western outskirts of Sudzha, according to the MoD.

In the Yuzhny area, the Russian combat aviation destroyed five Ukrainian Stryker armored personnel carriers, while in the settlement of Martynovka, Russian forces eliminated a Ukrainian column comprising of a tank, four armored personnel carriers and a Kozak armored combat vehicle.

📹Russian troops continue to destroy Ukrainian armored vehicles and manpower in the border area of the Russian Kursk region.

Using Lancets, artillery and guided missiles launched from a helicopter, Russian troops successfully hit Ukrainian tanks and armored vehicles. pic.twitter.com/S7ZtjRkMbt

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) August 9, 2024

Russian warplanes and missile forces have meanwhile defeated Ukrainian reserves in the territory of the Sumy region.

During the day, Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 280 militants and 27 armored vehicles, including four tanks, five armored personnel carriers, 18 armored combat vehicles, as well as six vehicles, a 155 mm M777 howitzer, a 155 mm self-propelled artillery "Krab" and a 152 mm D-20 gun.

In total, during the fighting in the Kursk region, they have lost up to 945 military personnel and 102 armored vehicles, including 12 tanks, 17 armored personnel carriers, six infantry fighting vehicles, 67 armored combat vehicles, as well as 12 vehicles, two self-propelled fire launchers of the Buk M1 anti-aircraft missile system, and three field artillery guns, per the MoD.

On Tuesday, the MoD said that Ukrainian forces had launched an offensive to seize territory in the Kursk region. The next day, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said Russia’s air, missile and artillery strikes had prevented about 1,000 Ukrainian troops from advancing deep into Russian territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part, underscored that the Kiev regime had undertaken another large-scale provocation and was firing indiscriminately at civilian targets.

Russian Rights Council to Ask Int'l Organizations to Recognize Kursk Attacks as Terrorism

Russia's Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights will appeal to international organizations to recognize Kiev's actions in Russia's Kursk Region as terrorist, its head Valery Fadeyev said on Friday.

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"I am preparing an appeal to the relevant international organizations, including human rights organizations, with a demand to recognize the terrorist nature of the actions of the Kiev regime in the Kursk Region," Fadeyev said in a post on the council's Telegram channel.

Civilian casualties among the region's population are not accidents, but cold-blooded murders, the council's head also said.

"Those are obvious crimes, as under the rules of war, soldiers are required, when possible, not to harm religious, scientific and artistic facilities. The shelling of the [Goralsky St. Nicholas] monastery was evidently deliberate," Fadeyev added.

The Geneva Convention directly prohibits targeting the civilian population and facilities, therefore the actions of the Ukrainian military qualify as violations of the Geneva Convention and war crimes, he said.

On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces had launched an offensive to seize territory in the Kursk Region. The next day, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said the advance deep into Russian territory had been halted.

Commenting on the Kursk Region attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev of launching a large-scale provocation. He also said that Ukrainian troops had shelled Russian regions indiscriminately, firing at civilian infrastructure and ambulances.

Video - Russia accumulating forces in Kursk Region

Source: The Russian Ministry of Defense

Russia’s Defense Ministry has announced the deployment of additional weapons and equipment to Kursk Region, where its forces are actively fighting Ukrainian troops who launched an incursion in the area earlier this week.

The ministry released footage showing the equipment moving in columns across the region, stating that the reinforcements include BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket systems, towed artillery pieces, tanks, heavy tracked vehicles, as well as Ural and KamAZ vehicles.

The equipment is set to be used against Ukrainian formations operating in the Sudzhansky district of Kursk Region, which appears to have been the primary target of Kiev’s forces.

Ukraine launched the risky cross-border attack inside Russian territory on Tuesday morning, sending in up to 1,000 troops backed by dozens of Western-supplied tanks and armored personnel carriers, according to Moscow.

The Ukrainian leadership has said the primary goal of the operation was to induce “fear” in the hearts of the Russian population. Vladimir Zelensky has also claimed that the application of “just force” would bring a “just peace” with Russia closer.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the incursion as a “large-scale provocation” and has accused Kiev of “indiscriminately” targeting civilians, residential buildings, and ambulances. At least five civilians have reportedly been killed in the attack so far, and 21 have been injured, including six children, according to local officials.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have continued to inflict heavy casualties on the invading Ukrainian troops. Kiev has lost up to 945 soldiers as well as 102 armored vehicles in the attack, including 12 tanks and 17 armored personnel carriers, according to an update by the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday.

On Wednesday, the chief of Moscow’s General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, reported that the Ukrainian incursion had been halted by the Russian military and that the operation to expel the invaders was underway.

MOD video shows winged bombs hit Ukrainian positions in Russia’s Kursk Region

Russia is using Sukhoi Su-34 multipurpose fighter jets to fend off the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk Region, the Defense Ministry said on Friday, showcasing the capabilities of the supersonic aircraft with video footage.

The short clip shows the deployment of air bombs upgraded for precision strikes with glide kits, which allow the striking of targets from afar, keeping combat planes out of the range of enemy air defenses.

The video includes footage of two separate twin strikes by the powerful weapons, which, the ministry said, hit Ukrainian troops and military hardware in the border areas of Kursk Region.

Kiev launched the high-risk attack inside Russian territory on Tuesday morning. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has claimed that the application of “just forces” would bring closer a “just peace” with Russia.

His aide Mikhail Podoliak has described the goal of the operation as that of instilling fear among the public. He has claimed that Russians do not respond to anything else.

Russian civilians have fled the border areas of Kursk Region en masse, as Ukrainian forces were deliberately targeting them during the onslaught, according to the regional government.

The Russian military has estimated that its opponent lost up to 945 troops and 102 pieces of heavy weaponry in its operation. In the past 24 hours, the expeditionary force suffered 280 casualties, according to a Friday update.

German heavy armor back to fields of Kursk Region after 80 years – media

FILE PHOTO: German Marder infantry fighting vehicles
©Global Look Press/Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert

German-made heavy armor pieces are rolling through the fields of Russia’s Kursk Region again, some 80 years since one of the biggest battles of WWII in the same area, Bild wrote on Thursday, reporting on Kiev’s cross-border incursion.

The German tabloid, citing videos posted online, said that several Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) have been spotted among the equipment used by the Ukrainian military in its offensive, launched early on Tuesday. The media outlet pointed to footage published by the Russian Defense Ministry, which shows IFVs being hit with Russian kamikaze drones.

Thursday morning, the ministry published a clip showing the destruction of at least three Marder vehicles by Russian Lancet drones, among other strikes on Ukrainian military equipment. The armor pieces were hit while moving along dirt roads and through a wooded area.

Posting on X (formerly, Twitter), Bild journalist Julian Ropcke said all three Marders “fell victim” to Russian strikes just a few kilometers from the border – as the Ukrainian forces had sent them into battle “without adequate air defense.”

The news of German-made weapons being used in an attack on Russia’s internationally recognized Russian territory has prompted a mixed reaction in Germany. The head of the German parliament’s Defense Committee, Markus Faber, stated he had no issues with the development. Any weapons handed over to Kiev cease to be German and become Ukrainian ones, he told the Funke Media Group. He also described the territory of both Ukraine and Russia as a “war zone.”

“This is a highly dangerous development,” said Sahra Wagenknecht, the head of the newly formed BSW Party and a former Left Party leader. Chancellor Olaf Scholz should call the Ukrainian leadership and “demand that no German weapons be used in [attacks] on the Russian territory,” she added. Back in 1943, Soviet troops clashed with the Nazi forces on the fields of the Kursk Region in what has since become known as the Battle of Kursk. It was one of the deadliest episodes of World War II and one of the largest tank battles in history.

Nazi Germany sought to achieve victory at the time by fielding its then brand-new armor pieces, including Panther and Tiger tanks as well as Ferdinand tank destroyers. The battle involved thousands of tanks on both sides, ended with the Soviet forces inflicting a defeat on the Nazi troops.

Up to 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been involved in the incursion into Kursk Region this week, supported by armor that included several US-made Stryker armored fighting vehicles, as well as artillery and drones, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.

Kiev’s forces have lost some 660 soldiers and 82 armor pieces, including eight tanks, 12 armored personnel carriers and six infantry fighting vehicles since the start of their operation, according to estimates provided by the ministry on Thursday. Moscow’s forces have stalled the Ukrainian troops’ offensive and prevented them from getting deeper into the region, the Russian authorities said.

WATCH Russia drop high-precision bombs on Ukrainian incursion forces in Kursk

The Russian Defense Ministry has released drone footage showing glide bombs hitting Ukrainian forces during their incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region.

The video showed two strikes using FAB-500 bombs – a munition initially designed to be unguided – fitted with a modern Universal Correction and Guidance Module winged upgrade kit, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Two blasts in a patch of woodland next to a road can be seen in the collated drone footage, seen from two different angles. The munitions were deployed from supersonic multifunctional Su-34 fighter-bombers, which carried out strikes against Ukrainian forces and their military equipment, according to the statement.

“Having received confirmation from reconnaissance that the targets had been destroyed, the crews returned safely to the deployment airfield,” the Defense Ministry said. Russian glide bombs have seen more extensive use in the Ukraine conflict in the past year, with Kiev’s sources often describing them as “devastating” in their statements to Western media.

Early on Tuesday, Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region. The Ukrainian leadership said on Thursday that one of the objectives of the assault is to sow “fear” into the hearts of the Russian population, in order to lower support for their government and eke out a stronger negotiating position.

Russian President Vladimir Putin dubbed the push as a “large-scale provocation,” accusing Kiev of conducting “indiscriminate strikes” on civilians, civilian buildings and ambulances. Multiple videos circulating online in the past two days appear to show Ukrainian troops firing on civilian cars.

According to an early statement from the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev’s assault was carried out by forces numbering up to a thousand, supported by tanks and artillery. A ministry spokesman later reported that Kiev’s advance had been stopped.

Ukrainian forces lost up to 400 service members dead or wounded, as well as 32 units of heavy equipment in the Kursk Region over the course of the day, a ministry statement said on Thursday evening. In total, Kiev has lost more than 660 troops and 82 pieces of heavy equipment in the incursion, it added.

IAEA does not see threats to Kursk power plant nuclear safety

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) does not see reasons for concerns regarding nuclear safety of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant amid the attack of the Ukrainian army against the Kursk Region.

"The IAEA is following reports about recent developments and has channels of communication open to both sides of the conflict. At this point there is no reason for concern with regard to nuclear safety and security," agency’s press service told TASS.

©Kursk NPP Communications Office/TASS

"IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi reiterates that all nuclear power plants, regardless of where they are situated, should never be a target of an armed attack," the press service added.

The large-scale attack of the Ukrainian armed forces against the Kursk Region was launched on August 6.

Indonesia celebrates bringing Homes two Olympic golds

Veddriq Leonardo (L) and Rizki Juniansyah won gold for Indonesia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.(AP: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi and Kin Cheung)

Indonesia brought home two gold medals at the Paris Olympic Games on Thursday, with wins in speed climbing and men's weightlifting.

Veddriq Leonardo won a gold medal in the men's speed climbing, the first win for Indonesia at the Games, and later that day, Rizki Juniansyah won the men's 73kg Olympic weightlifting title, bringing another gold home.

Juniansyah lifted a total of 354kg, setting the Olympic record in the clean and jerk as China's reigning champion Shi Zhiyong failed to finish.

Rizki Juniansyah celebrates after finishing first to win the gold medal during the men's 73kg weightlifting event at the 2024 Olympics.(AP: Kin Cheung)

He lifted 155kg in the snatch to put himself in a good position and then strained every sinew in the second round of the clean and jerk with a 199kg lift that secured gold.

"I am happy, proud and very emotional winning this, my first gold medal and creating history. Thank you to all the Indonesians for their support, to those who are watching at home," Juniansyah told reporters.

"There are no words that can describe how I am feeling. You saw me crying because it's been such an emotional and beautiful experience and I am already looking towards the future."

Rizki Juniansyah set an Olympic record in the clean and jerk.(AP: Kin Cheung)

Leonardo's win gave speed-climbing powerhouse Indonesia their first Olympic gold in a sport other than badminton, and only their ninth since the country's first appearance at the Games in 1952.

Leonardo improved his time with each race starting with the quarter-final, ultimately beating China's Wu Peng by two-hundredths of a second with a personal best of 4.75 seconds.

"I feel very happy, very joyful," Leonardo said.

"My heart raced [in the competition], but I stayed focused and finished it."

Veddriq Leonardo won Indonesia's first gold medal for the 2024 Olympic Games.(AP: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

He is a three-time World Cup champion and the first speed climber to break the five-second barrier.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo took to social media platform X to congratulate Leonardo.

"The Paris 2024 Olympics has brought new pride to Indonesia, thanks to Veddriq Leonardo, our proud speed climbing athlete, who secured Indonesia's first gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics," he wrote.

Sport climbing made its Olympics debut in Tokyo in 2021 but speed was controversially combined with the boulder and lead disciplines, which require a completely different skill set.

'Targeted Harassment': Scott Ritter Blasts Raid on His Home as US Gov 'Fishing Expedition'

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The former USMC intelligence officer's home was raided Wednesday over allegations he had violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires anyone who acts on behalf of a foreign nation to register as such to the US government. However, individuals accused of such a violation are typically notified by letter, not a raid.

The recent raid carried out on the New York home of former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter was another chapter in the US government's harassment campaign against him and his family, he said.

"It's a fishing expedition. It's harassment," Ritter told Radio Sputnik's Critical Hour on Thursday, noting that the US government's end goal is to discredit him in the eyes of the public as he continually works to shed light on US policy.

Within the more than two dozen boxes that were carried out of Ritter's home were documents that substantiated his findings that Iraq never had weapons of mass destruction, a key claim that encouraged the US to undertake its invasion of the Middle Eastern nation in 2003.

"This is the archive that backs up my allegations, my assertions that Iraq didn't have weapons of mass destruction, that the US policies ... that accused Iraq of such were premised on a lie. It's an archive that I was relying upon to write a book that's in draft form right now, and they seized that archive," Ritter told show hosts Dr. Wilmer Leon and Garland Nixon, adding that the confiscation of those documents were out of the scope of the search warrant.

"This is not about FARA. It literally isn't. This is targeted harassment. This is a frontal assault on free speech and free press."

Touching on how the legal system has outlined that sharing a viewpoint with a foreign government does not equate the status of foreign agent, Ritter recalled he had told one of the agents on the scene that his "main premise is stopping a nuclear war" and less about throwing his support behind another government.

"My main premise is to, you know, support diplomacy over militarism, to promote dialogue instead of confrontation, you know, and to promote arms control instead of an arms race," he said. "If this is a crime in America, then convict me and throw the key away. But it's not. Having acted as a journalist for some 20 years now, Ritter has published works in numerous publications that include the Washington Post and the New York Times. Ritter told Nixon that he's no different than any other journalist being paid for their work.

"But they're trying to twist this into somehow saying that I am in the employ of the Russian government, and that I am acting on instructions from the Russian government. The good news is that nothing they seized will back up these assertions. The bad news is I don't think it matters," he said.

"They kept saying you're trying to shape the opinion of the American people. You're damn right I'm trying to shape the opinion of the American people. Everybody engaged in journalism is doing this. This is what you're supposed to do to empower people with knowledge and information, fact-based knowledge and information so they can make their own decisions. The most dangerous thing in a democracy like America is a knowledgeable citizen, a citizen empowered with information to make an informed, you know, choice on election day, not dumb sheep being herded down the path."

"This is harassment designed to silence me. It's designed to intimidate me. And for everybody listening, understand this is a frontal assault on the Constitution of the United States," Ritter stressed. "A frontal assault on free speech. A frontal assault on the free press."

"Free speech isn't free if when you execute your right to speak freely, you get raided by the FBI. And a free press cannot exist if, carrying out your journalistic duties, you are accused because of the position you take of, you know, working for an entity because these positions have to clash with the official policy objectives of the United States."

Asked if the raid was tied to the June seizure of his passport or a recent event he attended in New York to discuss his latest work and efforts to encourage an ease of tension between the US and Russia, the former intelligence officer admitted "they're all connected."

Ritter detailed he had planned additional trips to Russia later this year that would help to gain information that would help "empower the American audience about, you know, the reality of Russia and the danger of American policy."

"The United States government did not want any of these trips to happen. They seized my passport and now they're just extending the harassment," he said. "They fear what I'm doing, and they fear what we are doing and this is what happens when governments get afraid of their own citizens. Citizens who, again, I remind everybody, are simply executing their rights of free speech and, as a journalist, my participation in the free press."

"I never want to be a foreign agent. I'm not acting as one and I don't want to act as one. I will never represent another country. I represent America, only America," he continued. "I believe in the potential of my country to be that which we, you know, purport to be, what we want to be, and I recognize that we're not there and one of the reasons we're not there is because of the policies of my government."

"And, therefore, as an American citizen, it is my duty to speak out and shine a light on where I think my government is going wrong so that we, the people, can take corrective action and get the government back on track because the government serves us, we don't serve the government."