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Authorities crack down on trade they says risks spiralling out of control – but operators say they are being targeted unfairly

On the edge of Piazza Navona, one of the grandest squares in central Rome, Barry and Linda, visitors from Texas in the US, stepped out of a golf cart. They planned to cross the square on foot, perhaps stopping to admire Lorenzo Bernini’s 17th-century Fountain of the Four Rivers, before being picked up by their driver at the opposite end.

The couple had already done a walking tour on day one of their trip, and had been so exasperated by a stifling three-hour shuffle along a corridor towards the Sistine Chapel on day two that by the third day they wanted to give their tired feet a rest.

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As a fan of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the Egyptian photographer was determined to capture his own ‘decisive moment’

Mirna Abass regards his small Egyptian city as “heaven for street, travel and documentary photography”. At the intersection of the Nile and the Mediterranean, the governorate of Damietta is home to Ezbet El Borg, a shipbuilding and fishing port. Abass describes it as “a colourful hub of daily fishing life; fishers and their nets, boats being built, maintained and painted”.

On the day he took this shot, Abass had joined a walk with the Egyptian Camera Crew photography club. Abass works as an agricultural engineer, but describes film and photography as his true passions. Henri Cartier-Bresson is one of his biggest inspirations, and he is often guided by the pioneering photographer’s concept of the decisive moment.

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Public outcry to punish the alleged perpetrators in the Cornell case misses the point – the only solution is political, legal and cultural equality of women

Sometimes a story is so so appalling, it captures the public’s attention, including the attention of people who don’t focus on the issue otherwise. Such is the case with the alleged 2024 gang rape at Cornell University.

For feminists who focus on violence against women or anyone who has ever cared about campus rape, the claims made in Jane Doe’s civil lawsuit against the alleged perpetrators may be unusual in its severity – but we know the statistics that show that somewhere between 20% and 25% of women college students will be the victim of a sexual assault (no statistics tell us what percentage of men students will be rapists).

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1. PQ sought meeting with U.S. officials in Washington, State Department says  Montreal Gazette
2. Tom Mulcair: A defining vote for Quebec. A turning point for Canada.  CTV News
3. Quebec votes 2026: Leaders make weekend push on day 38 of election campaign, two days before voting day  montreal.citynews.ca
4. CTV News Montreal Delivers Comprehensive Election Coverage on October 5 with Live Primetime Special, QUEBEC ELECTION 2026  Bell Media
5. Opinion: With a PQ majority in reach, Quebec federalists will need all the help they can get  theglobeandmail.com

The Cornell University gang rape allegation is the latest in a series of black marks for fraternities, leading critics to question why universities continue to support them.  

Fraternities, almost as old as the country itself, have been a staple at colleges for young men to come together with the stated goals of teaching leadership, community service and building friendships.  

But highly publicized incidents of sexual assault and hazing plague the groups, which could face a tough road to win back public trust. 

The alleged gang rape of a 20-year-old woman at the Chi Phi frat at Cornell in 2024 is the latest in a long list of incidents that have made the public wary of Greek life.  

A lawsuit filed last month by Jane Doe, the alleged victim who chose to remain anonymous, says on Oct. 20, 2024, she was coerced into alcohol and drugs at the fraternity and sexually assaulted by seven members.

During the alleged assault, one of the fraternity brothers sent a message to a Snapchat group for the frat saying there was "free p----" upstairs, according to a screenshot from the lawsuit.

The lawsuit targets Cornell, the Chi Phi fraternity, the victim's own sorority and the bar that served her alcohol at the beginning of the night when they allegedly knew she was underage.

Jud Horras, president and CEO of the Foundation for Fraternal Excellence, said the men accused of sexual assault and those who saw that message and did nothing to stop it engaged in "a complete failure of membership of their fraternal obligations."

"Expulsion from the fraternity, as well as suspension of the entire fraternity local chapter, is the exact right decisions that needed to happen," he added.

Meanwhile, in a less publicized incident across the country, a former Northern Arizona University frat leader was sentenced Wednesday to two months in jail over a hazing incident that resulted in the death of a pledge, one of at least three people this year who died from hazing incidents at fraternities. The victim's parents are reportedly calling for reforms to campus Greek life.

The data on hazing incidents and sexual assaults at frats is limited, with no conclusive nationwide numbers on whether the issue has become worse or how fraternities compare to other groups such as sports teams. 

But the Stop Campus Hazing Act passed in 2025 seeks to change that. Every Oct. 1, starting this year, institutions receiving federal student aid must publish their Annual Security Report and include hazing incident statistics, part of an effort to create the first national dataset showing the prevalence of hazing year-by-year.  

Elizabeth Allan, professor of higher education at the University of Maine and the founder of Stop Hazing, said her studies and interviews with students have shown her many involved in these situations don't support hazing but feel pressured by peers or alumni to keep "traditions" going.  

"We often hear from students that it's hard to change because the alumni of their organizations don't support change, and they come back to campus, and they want to see the old ways ... They didn't like being hazed themselves, and then when they became a leader in the organization, they tried to change, but they were outnumbered and often felt pressure from alums who, instead of being supportive of the change, reinforced the old ways," Allan said.  

"I think we could make a lot of headway toward prevention if students — if we could correct that misperceived norm," she added. "If students knew, 'Most of my peers agree with me that this is not good,' and they would feel more comfortable speaking out." 

It is estimated around 750,000 undergraduates are involved in fraternities and sororities across the country.

Backlash to incidents of sexual assault and hazing are often targeted at specific organizations, rather than Greek life in general.

Indiana University has placed five different frats on cease-and-desist, while Cornell disbanded Chi Phi in 2024 after Jane Doe's rape allegation came to light.

But some argue these punishments lack the oversight that would be needed to fix more structural problems.  

"I can't think of a fraternity that doesn't have some level of prevention education as a core function of their required experience. I think where the opportunity exists is that that it's got to move beyond compliance, and so what that really means is engaging in that type of education that's designed to transform and really challenge chapter culture, as opposed to just being a box that needs to be checked," said Jason Bergeron, executive director of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors.  

"The challenge, the real challenge for accountability is how that becomes not compliance focused, but becomes a part of really building positive chapter cultures and engaging in meaningful chapter change," he continued. 

Bergeron said the frats that succeed in changing their culture are the ones that engage with the Title IX professionals on their campus and invited diversity, equity and inclusion staff to their spaces.  

"I think it is a really important tool in inviting people in to sort of demystify how these conversations occur and how cultural change ultimately can occur within fraternities," he said. 

Those who support Greek life and fraternities say the negative headlines don't represent the thousands of men who take seriously their obligation to speak out and intervene during unlawful or dangerous situations.  

"The research is actually clear: Fraternity men do a better job at intervening than men who are not in a fraternity and holding peers accountable. That being said, there was a complete breakdown of the obligations of membership in this Cornell situation, and fraternity men across North America want to see those individuals held to the highest degree possible of individual accountability as a reinforcing message of just how much disgust they have in what happened," Horras said.  

But the long history of hazing and sexual assault leave some pessimistic that anything will fix the reputation frats have given themselves. 

"A good deal of the vitriol or the blame against fraternities seems pretty warranted to me," said Nick Syrett, author of "The Company He Keeps: A History of White College Fraternities" and chair and professor of gender and women's studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"I think the problem is the university trying to impose what we would think of as perfectly rational standards from above — it's not going to work unless the people who join the fraternities want to behave, and I don't see much evidence that lots of men joining fraternities do want to behave. They have sought out these organizations in part because of their reputations for drinking and partying and interactions with young women. So, I think it depends on the will of people to want to do the right thing," Syrett added. 

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.This article originally appeared on The Hill at https://thehill.com/homenews/education/6126503-cornell-rape-chi-phi-frat-greek-life/

1. PQ sought meeting with U.S. officials in Washington, State Department says  Montreal Gazette
2. Tom Mulcair: A defining vote for Quebec. A turning point for Canada.  CTV News
3. Quebec votes 2026: Leaders make weekend push on day 38 of election campaign, two days before voting day  CityNews Montreal
4. CTV News Montreal Delivers Comprehensive Election Coverage on October 5 with Live Primetime Special, QUEBEC ELECTION 2026  Bell Media
5. Opinion: With a PQ majority in reach, Quebec federalists will need all the help they can get  The Globe and Mail

• Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton starts second on the front row

• Kimi Antonelli in fourth, George Russell down in eighth

The wait has been long for Max Verstappen but when the Dutchman finally claimed his first pole position of the year he did it in no little style. Taking the top spot for Red Bull at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, Verstappen was all but untouchable.

However, what was of greatest import for the Formula One world championship was the gulf between the title leader, Kimi Antonelli, and his Mercedes teammate, George Russell. The latter, somewhat floundering in Sepang, is now in danger of losing further points he can ill afford in pursuit of the Italian.

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They are the support base for non-nationalist parties but are voting with their feet and not on ballot papers

On a perfect October morning in Sarajevo, the motivation for young people to be leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina in droves is not immediately apparent. The country’s capital is basking in the autumn sunshine and the pavement cafes in the shadow of the Sacred Heart Cathedral are packed. People lingering over coffee and cigarettes mix peacefully with the Swedish football fans in town for their team’s Nations League match.

But Sarajevo’s many charms have not been enough to keep young people in Bosnia. One local organisation that tracks emigration estimated that more than 600,000 people had left the country in the decade after the 2013 census, when the official population was 3.5 million.

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1. UAE says FlyDubai co-pilot attacked captain with axe in 'terrorist' act  Euronews.com
2. U.A.E. says co-pilot on FlyDubai plane that nearly crashed attacked captain with cockpit's crash axe  CBC
3. Axe-wielding FlyDubai co-pilot had been flagged over extremism concerns  Global News
4. FlyDubai Copilot Lost Earlier Job for Engaging With Extremism  Bloomberg.com
5. Flydubai captain says copilot asked to pray then struck him from behind; describes exactly how he opened cockpit door  The Times of Israel

1. UAE says FlyDubai co-pilot attacked captain with axe in 'terrorist' act  Euronews.com
2. Terrorist images found on Flydubai suspect’s social media  CNN
3. Trump thanks man who helped save Flydubai flight: ‘What a job he did, he’s a hero’  The Hill
4. U.A.E says co-pilot on FlyDubai plane that nearly crashed attacked captain with cockpit's crash axe  CBC
5. Flydubai co-pilot attacked captain with axe, UAE official says  BBC

Global energy prices have soared due to the US and Israel's war on Iran and Russia's war on Ukraine.

TEL AVIV — A Flydubai pilot attacked his fellow pilot using a crash axe and tried to take control of the aircraft’s flight controls in an attempted terrorist attack, an official in the United Arab Emirates said Saturday.

The name of the alleged attacker is Omani citizen Hamam al-Hammami, multiple sources from three agencies briefed on the investigation, and a diplomat in the Middle East, told NBC News. Authorities have not officially released the identity.

The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that al-Hammami had “previously been banned from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted radical ideological views.”

Oman Air did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether he previously worked for them.

Emirati officials are leading investigations into the mid-air incident, which occurred Wednesday on a flight carrying 174 mostly Israeli passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv. A crash was averted, according to eyewitnesses and Israeli officials, when crew and passengers were able to enter the cabin and subdue the alleged attacker.

“Investigations into the incident aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073 revealed that the co-pilot attempted to carry out a terrorist act,” UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al Shamsi said in an update on Saturday.

“The co-pilot began executing his plan during the flight, attacking the captain inside the flight deck using a crash axe and attempting to take control of the aircraft’s flight controls,” he said.

Al-Hammami was transferred from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi on Thursday, the Saudi Interior Ministry said. The statement said his health had “improved,” but his medical condition was unclear.

Al Shamsi said investigations were ongoing to “establish the full circumstances, motives, and any links related to the incident.”

Israeli Government Spokesman David Mencer said Friday that Israeli investigators would “join their Emirati counterparts in investigating this attempted mass murder and establishing precisely what happened, his motives and background.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday: “As time passes, the picture becomes clearer: the attacker had undergone Islamist radicalization. He came to crash the plane, along with its passengers.”

He did not say how he reached that conclusion, but added: “We are investigating whether he was sent, and whoever sent him will pay a very heavy price.”

Netanyahu’s spokesman Doron Spielman told NBC News that the alleged attacker “talks on his social media about killing Jews.”

The alleged victim of the axe attack, Indian national Capt. Smit Machchhar, spoke for the first time Friday from a hospital in Abu Dhabi.

Machchhar was widely praised for his efforts to prevent the plane from crashing, opening the cockpit door and allowing passengers and crewmembers to rush in.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Machchhar said he had been “severely injured” and “could sense that the aircraft was going down.”

“I was acting for my own life, but at the same time, I knew I couldn’t let all of them die,” he said on a video call released by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding that he told himself to “give just one last push” to the cockpit door.

The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi called Machchhar the “Indian braveheart,” saying in an X post Saturday that he “remains under excellent medical care & is recovering well.”

The Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Hamdan Bon Mohamad, posted photos to X after visiting Machchhar in hospital, kissing his head and shaking his hand. Machchhar, with one arm in a cast and medical dressings on his head, appears awake and smiling.

“From us, and from the leadership of the nation, he has our full appreciation and praise,” he wrote.

Ayelet Epstein, a 47-year-old Israeli, told NBC News that her 14-year-old daughter asked if they were going to die when they heard shouting and “a huge fall started.”

“I told her, no, I don’t think so, we’re going to be OK,” she said, adding that “I was trying to rationalize things in a hopeful way for her.”

Epstein thanked Machchhar “from the bottom of my heart” for saving their lives, lauding his bravery.

A Flydubai spokesperson said Saturday: “We recognise that there are many questions at this stage; however, the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation. We are therefore not in a position to comment further beyond our published statements.”

The spokesperson added: “We remain fully committed to supporting the ongoing investigation and are in close coordination with the relevant government authorities and regulators.”

President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday that there would be renewed strikes against Iran if it was behind the attack.

“You just ask them,” he said. “They know what happened. They’ll be hit very hard.”

There are no indications that Iran directed or was involved in the attack, a senior U.S. official briefed on the Israeli investigation told NBC News.

Raf Sanchez and Shira Pinson reported from Tel Aviv. Freddie Clayton reported from London. Tom Winter and Jonathan Dienst reported from New York.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

This article originally appeared on NBC News at https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/flydubai-pilot-attacked-captain-cockpits-crash-axe-attempted-terrorist-rcna601259

Accused pilot Hamam al-Hammami reportedly barred from flying in Oman due to concerns over extremist views.

Harrison Jones was killed after being struck by a Ford Transit Tipper outside his home in Llanfairfechan.

• India 211-6; Pakistan 192-6 in Twenty20 cricket final

• Captains refuse traditional pre-match handshakes

India’s men beat their fierce rivals Pakistan by 19 runs to complete a golden double in the Asian Games cricket after a pulsating final in front of a small but raucous crowd in Nagoya, Japan. The T20 world champions posted 211 for six in their 20 overs with Abhishek Sharma scoring 61 and Tilak Varma 51 not out, before Hasan Nawaz’s valiant 96 saw Pakistan come up short at 192 for six.

The neighbouring countries only meet in international tournaments and on neutral ground because of political tensions and the captains refused the normal handshakes before the match on Saturday. Afterwards, the jubilant India players paraded their national flag around the ground. The clash on a converted baseball field in Japan was new ground for even these rivals and their hundreds of millions of fans who were watching back home on television.

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