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- Wingsuit pilot dies after 1,000ft mountain dive at 120mph
- US Forces Boldly Capture Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker Marinera in Atlantic
- US Spy Planes Gathering at RAF Bases in the UK
- UK Faces Heavy Snowfall as Storm Goretti Hits: What to Expect
- Who is Delcy Rodriguez, the Trump-supported new leader of Venezuela?
- Urgent hunt for Brit who disappeared in Thailand after video call with family
- Heavy Snowfall Leads to Widespread School Closures
- Ukraine Fabricates Attack on Putin’s ‘Personal Rival’ to Finance War Efforts
Daredevil wingsuit pilot killed after diving off 1,000ft mountain and crashing at 120mph: Extreme sports can be deadly, as this tragic accident shows.
The israelis commit 3 massacres against families in Gaza, resulting in 19 people being killed & 91 injuries arriving at hospitals in the last 24 hours
Chris Kaba’s mother asked to extend the judicial decision not to allow the press to report on Kaba’s criminal background.
She DID push for the officers name to be made public, however.
Austerity is a political choice.
Children & pensioners are being pushed into poverty while billionaire wealth skyrockets.
Ahead of the Budget, we’ve written to the Chancellor demanding wealth taxes to fund public services & put the needs of the many over the greed of a few👇🏽
The US dollar has rallied to its strongest level since August, boosted by a recent string of strong economic data and investor bets that Donald Trump’s chance of winning the presidential election is on the rise. https://on.ft.com/4eTWfqf
Meta Platforms took down accounts on Threads and Instagram that track the private jet travel of famous figures including Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian and others
January 8, 2026
1:14 pm
TL:DR
- Acclaimed wingsuit pilot Brendan Weinstein, 32, died after crashing into rocks off Table Mountain, South Africa.
- He completed over 1600 wingsuit flights but failed to pull up in time during a challenging jump.
- Tourists witnessed the accident around 9am; he crashed at 120mph just 10 seconds after jumping.
- Weinstein concealed his gear from cable car staff and did not consult local jumpers beforehand.
- He leaves behind a partner, Kivia Martins, and a baby son, Eiger.
Daredevil wingsuit pilot killed after diving off 1,000ft mountain and crashing at 120mph
One of the world’s most renowned wingsuit pilots has died after diving off a famous South African mountain and hitting rocks below. Rescue crews were unable to save him.
Daredevil Brendan Weinsten, 32, did not manage to pull up in time and was seen by tourists smashing into large boulders close to Table Mountain in South Africa.
Pilot Weinstein – who leaves behind partner Kivia Martins and a baby son, Eiger – had travelled to Cape Town alone to do the difficult flight.
It’s believed the Red Bull star took a cable car to the top, hiding his parachute and wingsuit from staff who would have stopped him if they had seen them.
He then walked to the spot where he jumped around 9am, and was spotted by dozens of American and British tourists who witnessed him fall.
Weinstein, originally from Utah, had completed over 1600 wingsuit flights, 800 base jumps and 1000 parachute jumps and was a world expert.
He crashed into the rocks below 10 seconds after jumping
But on Monday morning, when he dived off the 1086m high Table Mountain, he crashed at a speed of 120mph.
Wilderness Search & Rescue and SanParks rangers were alerted and sent teams along with a helicopter to search the front of the mountain for his body.
The severely injured pilot was found at 10am and airlifted by helicopter off Table Mountain to an ambulance surrounded by tourists on the road below.
Former South African skydiver Jeff Ayliffe says the jump was highly technical and that Weinstein had reportedly flown directly from the US to the site without consulting local base jumpers.
He said: ‘Brendan hadn’t contacted any of the local base jumping fraternity to speak to them about this exit point, and this exit point has been jumped many times successfully.
‘It is a very technical jump, however, and it had very sad consequences. Brendan Weinstein is considered one of the most experienced base jumpers in the world, and he has a huge following in America.
‘His technical ability is incredible; he’s done many, many jumps. This is only our third base jumping death in South Africa.’
January 8, 2026
1:14 pm
January 7, 2026
3:17 pm
TL:DR
- The US military seized the oil tanker Marinera, linked to Russia and Venezuela, for violating US sanctions.
- The operation was conducted in the North Atlantic, based on a federal court warrant.
- Marinera attempted to evade US blockade; formerly named Bella-1, it was re-flagged with Russian insignia.
- Another tanker, Sophie, was also seized for carrying Venezuelan oil.
- US officials reaffirmed the effectiveness of the blockade against sanctioned Venezuelan oil globally.
US forces dramatically seize Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera in Atlantic | News World
A US military helicopter hovering over the oil tanker in the Atlantic
An oil tanker linked to both Russia and Venezuela has been seized by US forces in the Atlantic.
The US European Command, headquartered in Germany, confirmed today the seizure of the Marinera for ‘violations of US sanctions’.
It said in a statement on X: ‘The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a US federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro.’
This comes as part of Donald Trump’s aggressive push to dictate oil flows in America’s backyard.
The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic.
Marinera, formerly called Bella-1, is under US sanctions and has spent at least two weeks attempting to evade a US blockade near Venezuela.
Ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic showed the tanker nearing Iceland’s exclusive economic zone today.
It holds such importance to the Kremlin that it deployed a submarine and other vessels to escort it across the Atlantic.
The ship began its journey in Iran and was bound for Venezuela to pick up oil, part of the so-called shadow fleet that moves oil for Russia, Iran, and Venezuela despite mounting US and allied sanctions.
After it left the Caribbean, its name was changed from Bella-1 to Marinera, and it adopted the Russian flag.
Further data from TankerTraffic shows the vessel making a sudden turn southbound, also slowing down.
The incident follows a disputed boarding attempt in late December. The US Coast Guard tried to intercept Bella-1 near Venezuela on December 21, but its crew refused to allow personnel aboard.
In the days that followed, the ship changed its identity and the crew painted a Russian tricolour on the hull.
A US vessel pictured near the Marinera in the Atlantic.
The second tanker, Sophie, was seized in the early hours of this morning.
By January 1, it had been officially renamed to Marinera and listed in the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.
RAF planes are understood to have been involved in the US operation and British airbases were used as the launchpad for US war planes for the mission to try to board the vessel.
No 10 said it would not comment on speculation.
A statement said: ‘We don’t comment on the operational activity by other nations, including third-party use of UK bases.’
Starmer calls this speculation
The US seized another shadow fleet tanker Sophia in the Caribbean Sea in the early hours of this morning, with authorities saying that it was carrying oil from Venezuela.
Responding to the success of the operations, US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said that the US blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil is in effect ‘anywhere in the world.’
‘The blockade of sanctioned and illicit Venezuelan oil remains in FULL EFFECT – anywhere in the world,’ he wrote on X.
The move comes just days after US special forces swooped into Caracas before dawn on Saturday in a deadly raid to abduct Nicolas Maduro and take him to the US.
MARINERA (9230880) just made a sudden southbound turn at 11:26 UTC at 60.9386, -16.37014. Decelerated from 9kn to 8kn speed. pic.twitter.com/dH8BnpF6r5
— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) January 7, 2026
The US military turned him over to federal authorities for prosecution on charges involving alleged drug trafficking.
Top Venezuelan officials have called Maduro’s capture a kidnapping and have accused the US of trying to steal the country’s vast oil reserves, estimated to be the largest in the world.
In turn, Trump and top US officials have accused Venezuela of stealing US oil, in an apparent reference to the country’s nationalization of its energy sector in several waves over the past half-century.
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