Today’s news LIVE: Jan 29 | Phone-tapping case: KCR served notice to appear before SIT

Small plane crashes in Colombia, killing all 15 people on board

A small plane crashed Wednesday in a rural area of Norte de Santander province in northeast Colombia, killing all 15 people on board, authorities said.

Satena, the state-owned airline that operated the flight, said local officials in the community of Curasica notified authorities about where the plane had gone down and a rescue team was deployed to “assess the condition of the passengers.” 

Colombia's Transportation Ministry later released a statement saying that “once the aircraft was located on site, authorities regrettably confirmed that there were no survivors.” The aircraft, which has a registration number of HK4709, took off at 11:42 am local time from the airport in Cucuta, the department's capital, bound for Ocana, a municipality surrounded by mountains, on a flight that typically lasts about 40 minutes.

The aircraft's final contact with air traffic control came minutes after takeoff, according to a statement released by Satena.

Amit Shah to attend Ajit Pawar's funeral in Baramati

The last rites of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, killed in a plane crash, will be held with full state honours on Thursday at Baramati in Pune district.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be among the leaders present at the funeral, his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said.

The last rites of Pawar (66) would be performed at the sports ground of Vidya Pratishthan in Baramati in Pune district around 11 am.

Pawar was killed on Wednesday morning after the chartered Learjet crashed near the Baramati airstrip, around 100 km from Pune. Two pilots, a flight attendant and a personal security officer were also killed in the accident.

On Thursday morning, the mortal remains of Ajit Pawar were taken from the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Hospital in Baramati, where they were kept overnight, to his Katewadi village near Baramati.

The funeral procession will begin at 9 am.

Delhi: Animal activists hold prayer meet over Telangana dog killings

 A 'terhvi' (13th day prayer ceremony) was held by animal welfare activists and environmentalists here to mourn the killing of community dogs in a recent mass killing incident in Telangana and to demand accountability and justice.

The ceremony was held at the India International Centre on January 27, according to an official statement. The prayer meet was attended by animal welfare activists, environmentalists, caregivers, legal experts and concerned citizens.

Several incidents of mass killings of stray dog were reported from districts in Telangana in January and December last year taking the toll to 1,200. The killings are suspected to have been carried out allegedly to fulfill promises made to villagers ahead of gram panchayat elections held in December 2025, to address the stray dog menace.

The Telangana incident has sent shockwaves across the country, highlighting the rising instances of organised violence against community animals and the failure to effectively implement existing animal protection laws, the statement said.

Rubio defends Trump on Venezuela while trying to allay fears about Greenland, NATO

Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave a full-throated defence Wednesday of President Donald Trump's military operation to capture then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, while explaining to US lawmakers the administration's approach to Greenland, NATO, Iran and China.

As Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee offered starkly different readings of the administration's foreign policy, Rubio addressed Trump's intentions and his often bellicose rhetoric that has alarmed US allies in Europe and elsewhere, including demands to take over Greenland.

In the first public hearing since the Jan 3 raid to depose Maduro, Rubio said Trump had acted to take out a major US national security threat in the Western Hemisphere.Trump's top diplomat said America was safer and more secure as a result and that the administration would work with interim authorities to stabilise the South American country.

“We're not going to have this thing turn around overnight, but I think we're making good and decent progress,” Rubio said. “We are certainly better off today in Venezuela than we were four weeks ago, and I think and hope and expect that we'll be better off in three months and six months and nine months than we would have been had Maduro still been there." 

Bessent warns Carney against picking fight before US-Canada-Mexico trade talks

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday warned Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that his recent public comments against US trade policy could backfire going into the formal review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the trade deal that protects Canada from the heaviest impacts of President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Carney used a high-profile speech last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to condemn economic coercion by great powers on smaller countries and since then he has as since sparred with Trump and Bessent about related trade issues.

Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 100 per cent tariff on goods imported from Canada over a trade deal Carney is pursuing with Beijing.

“I would not pick a fight going into USMCA to score some cheap political points -- either you're working for your own political career or you're working for the Canadian people," Bessent said during a CNBC interview.

Ajit Pawar's body identified through his wristwatch after crash: Eyewitnesses

A wristwatch, a constant companion of Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who was a stickler for punctuality, served as the sombre proof to identify him at the plane crash site in Pune district, eyewitnesses claimed.

Wreckage of the crashed Learjet, which was engulfed in flames, lay strewn when villagers rushed to the spot, barely 200 metres from the edge of a tabletop runway at Baramati airport. They claimed Pawar was identified by his wristwatch.

A viral video shows a person pointing at the wristwatch of a charred body, claiming the deceased person is Ajit Pawar. Notably, the clock is the poll symbol of the Nationalist Congress Party, led by the late Ajit Pawar.

The 16-year-old aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures Pvt Ltd, crashed while attempting a second landing approach at the airport, an uncontrolled airfield where traffic information is typically provided by instructors and pilots from local flying training organisations.

Politics over Ajit Pawar's death unfortunate: Shinde

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday decried politics over the death of his cabinet colleague Ajit Pawar and said the cause of the aircraft crash that killed the latter and four others was under investigation. He insisted that no one should spread rumours or give a different colour to this sensitive and tragic incident.

Pawar (66), who was also a Deputy Chief Minister, and four other persons on board a chartered aircraft were killed after it crashed barely 200 metres from the edge of a tabletop runway at Baramati airport in Pune district on Wednesday morning.

Speaking to reporters in Thane, Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, said with Pawar's demise, he has lost his "elder brother" who not only served as his colleague in different cabinets, but was also his deputy when he helmed the government from 2022 to 2024. "It is a very painful incident...very sad and unfortunate for Maharashtra. The aircraft accident will be probed," the former chief minister said.

A thorough inquiry will be carried out to ascertain the exact cause of the fatal crash. The role of the airline company, relevant agencies, technical experts, the captain, or related officials will be investigated, Shinde added. "However, it is not right to do politics or make allegations of a conspiracy in the name of this inquiry," Shinde said after visiting Baramati.

Accidental death report registered in plane crash that killed Ajit Pawar

Police registered an accidental death report (ADR) case in connection with the plane crash that killed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others in Baramati in Pune district on Wednesday, an official said.

Pawar (66) and four other persons on board a chartered aircraft were killed after it crashed barely 200 metres from the edge of a tabletop runway at the Baramati airport in the morning.

"We have registered an accidental death report (ADR) with the Baramati taluka police station," confirmed a senior police officer from the Pune rural police.

As per procedure, the ADR will be handed over to the Maharashtra Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which will conduct a probe based on findings of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)'s inquiry.

The AAIB, which functions under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has already taken over the probe into the crash. A CID official told PTI that in case of the death of an influential public representative or figure in an accident, the probe is carried out by the CID.

"We have not yet received any orders. However, it is likely that CID will receive the orders and will likely conduct the probe into the ADR registered with local police," he explained.