All 64 people aboard an American Airlines jet were killed, after colliding with an Army helicopter in what was likely to be the worst US aviation disaster in almost a quarter century. Bodies were still being pulled from the wreckage at the time of writing. At least 28 bodies have been pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River so far, as recovery operations continue.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision. Officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet coming from Wichita, Kansas, was making a routine landing when the helicopter flew into its path. Passengers on the flight included a group of figure skaters, their coaches and family members who were returning from a development camp that followed the US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita. The Army Blackhawk appeared to be flying about 100 feet above max altitude allowed for its flight path. The American Airlines jet, a Bombardier CRJ700.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda said his country was ready for "confrontation" and rejected criticism over his backing for M23 rebels who were pushing south in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after capturing the major city of Goma. M23 rebels, with support from Rwandan troops, marched into Goma earlier this week and are now advancing toward Bukavu, capital of neighboring South Kivu province, in the biggest escalation since 2012 of a decades-old conflict.

Rwanda is facing an international backlash over its actions in eastern Congo, where it has repeatedly intervened either directly or through allied militias over the past 30 years in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. But the chorus of condemnation, which has included Germany canceling aid talks with Rwanda and Britain threatening to withhold $40 million of annual bilateral assistance, was having no apparent effect on the ground. France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot arrived Thursday in Congo's capital Kinshasa, where he was due to meet President Felix Tshisekedi.

At least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the world's largest religious gathering early Wednesday, police said, as millions of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred waters during the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India. Police officer Vaibhav Krishna in Prayagraj city said another 60 injured were rushed to hospitals. Wednesday was a sacred day in the six-week Hindu festival, and authorities expected a record 100 million devotees to engage in a ritual bath at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.

Hindus believe that a dip at the holy site can cleanse them of past sins and end the process of reincarnation. The stampede happened when pilgrims tried to jump barricades erected for a procession of holy men, Uttar Pradesh state's top elected official, Yogi Adityanath, said in a televised statement. Indian authorities took more than 16 hours to release casualty figures, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the incident "extremely sad."

A man who sparked violent protests after burning copies of the Quran has been shot dead in Sweden. Salwan Momika was killed in an apartment in Södertälje, Stockholm, on Wednesday (Jan. 29) evening, prosecutors told the BBC. Unrest broke out after Momika set fire to a copy of Islam's holy book outside Stockholm Central Mosque in 2023.

Stockholm police said in a statement that five people had been arrested after a man in his 40s was shot dead overnight. Officers were called to a suspected shooting at an apartment in Hovsjö around 23:11 local time (22:11 GMT) on Wednesday. The man, who has not been named by police, was found with gunshot wounds and taken to hospital. The force announced he had died on Thursday morning. Local media reported that Momika had been livestreaming on social media around the time he was shot. Swedish police had given Momika permission for the protest in accordance with the country's free-speech laws.