While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 13, 2025
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A family member cries upon hearing the news of her brother who died when an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed in Ahmedabad, India, on June 12.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Over 240 killed as Air India plane crashes into college hostel
More than 240 people were killed when an Air India plane bound for London crashed moments after taking off from the city of Ahmedabad on June 12, authorities said, in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, with 242 people on board, which was headed for Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital, had only one survivor after it crashed onto a medical college hostel during lunch hour.
The sole survivor is a British national of Indian origin and is being treated in a hospital, the airline confirmed.
The man told Indian media how he had heard a loud noise shortly after Flight AI171 took off.
Survivor of Air India crash jumped out of emergency exit
Ramesh Viswashkumar, the only known survivor out of the 242 people onboard an Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, had been sitting near an emergency exit of the London-bound flight and managed to jump out, police said.
Speaking from his hospital bed, the 40-year-old told Indian media that he was a British national and was travelling to Britain with his brother after visiting family in India.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital,” Mr Viswashkumar told the Hindustan Times.
Democratic US Senator forced to ground, handcuffed
Democratic US Senator Alex Padilla was shoved out of a room, forced to the ground and handcuffed by security after attempting to ask a question at a June 12 press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Mr Padilla said during the press conference, where Ms Noem was discussing protests in Los Angeles over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“Hands off,” Mr Padilla, 52, said, before he was ushered out of the room.
Ukrainian troops pushing back Russian forces in Sumy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 12 that Ukrainian forces were gradually pushing Russian forces out of the border Sumy region, where Moscow has established a foothold in recent weeks.
Russian forces have been moving into Sumy region since April when Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin called for the creation of a buffer zone after he said all Ukrainian troops had been evicted from a months-long incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region.
Both Russian and Ukrainian reports indicate that Russian forces have seized a series of villages in the region, which has for many months also come under heavy Russian air attacks. And Russian reports said Moscow’s troops were advancing in the area.
Emma Raducanu powers into Queen’s Club quarters
Emma Raducanu cruised into the quarter-finals at the Queen’s Club Championships with a 6-4 6-1 victory over Rebecca Sramkova on June 12 but fellow Britons Katie Boulter and Heather Watson were knocked out.
The stands at the Andy Murray Arena were packed for Raducanu’s victory as she became the lone Briton left in the tournament and will next play top seed and Paris Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.
Raducanu raced into a 5-0 lead as the 22-year-old looked at ease on the grass but Sramkova saved two set points in the sixth game, finding her range in a comeback that quickly gathered pace.
