Free Republic

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in the Iranian capital Tehran, according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps and Hamas on Wednesday, a major escalation that deepens fears of an all-out war in the Middle East. Haniyeh is the second leader of an Iran-backed militant group reported to have been assassinated in recent days. His death represents a significant blow to Hamas, eliminating its most public figure who headed up the group’s political operations while living overseas. In a statement, Hamas accused Israel of targeting Haniyeh and his bodyguard in a “strike” on where he was staying in Tehran,...

China's Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) said they have identified 120 of the victims using DNA testing, including 114 passengers and six crew members. Monday's crash of the Boeing 737-800 plane marks China's worst air disaster in more than a decade. Flight MU5735 was en route from the southwestern city of Kunming to Guangzhou with 123 passengers and nine crew members on board, when it lost contact over the city of Wuzhou, the CAAC said in a statement. The recovery of the flight data recorder, along with the cockpit voice recorder discovered on Wednesday and sent to Beijing for analysis, should...