Diversity blamed for plane collision
On Wednesday evening a passenger plane collided with a military helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington D.C., resulting in an estimated 67 fatalities.
The American Airlines plane was carrying 64 people including members of the national American ice-skating team, while the helicopter was manned by 3 US soldiers.
As of now, the cause of the collision has still not been discovered, as the survivor search party along the river was called off on Thursday morning. The wreckage is currently being dragged out of the river, and it is expected more information will be provided in the coming days.
However, the reaction by President Trump has made headlines as he has set out his own thoughts behind the collision. Trump attended the press conference only 14 hours after the crash and proceeded to address the country in grieving.
Trump then followed up with a series of bizarre accusations towards the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) who oversee running Air Traffic Control in America.
He suggested that diversity hiring may have had a role in the crash, which is a system in place to aid the job opportunities for the communities such as the less abled and ethnic minorities.
The investigation is still in its early stages, and it is extremely unlikely that diversity hiring had any role in this tragic accident.
Trump has yet again been called out for lying by the media and other politicians, yet he remains adamant in his opinions and his attacks towards other groups.
Trump’s plans for immigrant prison
President Trump has come out with another controversial suggestion, less than 2 weeks into his premiership, planning to send immigrants to Guantanamo Bay. Immigration was a major factor for his election campaign, so naturally he has begun to set out his plans for the next 4 years.
Controversially, the American government have sent illegal immigrants to the prison in Cuba for years. However, Trump has increased this to an estimated 30,000 quota, deporting immigrants to the prison for an indefinite amount of time.
In an interview he stated his reasoning that, “Some of them are so bad we don’t even trust the countries to hold them, because we don’t want them coming back”.
Guantanamo Bay is notorious for torture, awful holding conditions, and being outside the jurisdiction of constitutional rights. It has been used to hold terrorists, war prisoners and murderers, yet now it is going to be transformed into an immigration camp.
Trump also outlined plans to renovate the prison camp to be able to accommodate the massive upsurge of detainees, putting ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in charge of the prison.
Although it is continuing a used method of deportation, this level of mass imprisonment of immigrants is a shock to American politics.
It is only the start of Trumps immigration plans, and as Humanitarian groups are vocally opposing this suggestion, he is showing no signs of slowing down.
Far-Right march on London
On Saturday a rally was held in support of Tommy Robinson, a vocal far right leader, and in opposition to the current Labour government. Thousands turned out for the march waving England flags before marching towards Westminster. Chants were heard of ‘Free Tommy Robinson’ and ‘Stop the boats’.
Tommy Robinson was arrested last month for skipping bail, on charges unrelated to his speeches and political activities. However his supporters and Elon Musk are convinced that he is being held as a political prisoner.
A counter rally was set up by the organisation Stand Up to Racism, and was kept separate by the metropolitan police force.
6 people were arrested for either violent offences or by crossing the boundary to a counter demo, although the days events went by rather peacefully.
In the aftermath of the violent far right riots in summer, it is unsurprising that there is still support for Robinson and his anti-immigration policies.
That is all for this week, we will keep you updated as new political stories roll in.
