AnewZ Morning Brief - January 30th, 2025

Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for January 30th, covering the latest developments you need to know.

1. Plane collides with military helicopter in mid-air outside US capital

A regional plane collided in midair with a military helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C.

“A PSA Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet collided in midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter while on approach to Runway 33 at Reagan Washington National Airport around 9 p.m. local time," the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.

2. Ahmed al Sharaa officially named Syria's transitional president, with existing military factions, parliament, Constitution dissolved

Syria’s military operations administration announced Wednesday the appointment of Ahmed al-Sharaa as transitional president, the repeal of the 2012 Constitution and the dissolution of the former regime’s parliament, army and security agencies.

It came in landmark moves in the wake of the fall of the Baath regime in December.

3. Azerbaijan Successfully Concludes Municipal Elections, Says CEC

Azerbaijan’s municipal elections were conducted successfully across all districts, Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Mazahir Panahov announced at a briefing on Tuesday.

Voting concluded at 19:00 (GMT+4) on January 29, with a total voter turnout of 31.45%, as 1,874,810 voters participated in the elections.

4. Trump to prepare facility at Guantanamo for 30,000 migrants

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will order the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security to prepare a migrant detention facility at Guantanamo Bay for as many as 30,000 migrants.

The U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, already houses a migrant facility - separate from the high-security U.S. prison for foreign terrorism suspects - that has been used on occasion for decades, including to hold Haitians and Cubans picked up at sea.

5. Plane crash in South Sudan kills 20 oil workers

A small aircraft carrying oil workers in South Sudan's Unity State crashed on takeoff from its oilfield airport on Wednesday, killing 20 people, the region's information minister said.

The plane had departed for the capital Juba when it went down, Gatwech Bipal said. The passengers were oil workers of the Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC), a consortium that includes China National Petroleum Corporation and state-owned Nile Petroleum Corporation, he said.

6. Meta to pay $25 million to settle Trump's 2021 lawsuit over suspended accounts

Meta Platforms on Wednesday said it has agreed to pay about $25 million to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump over the company's suspension of his accounts after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol.

Trump filed lawsuits against Twitter Inc, now known as X, Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc's, as well as their chief executives in July 2021, alleging they unlawfully silence conservative viewpoints.

7.US Fed keeps interest rate constant, as expected

The US Federal Reserve kept the benchmark policy rate at 4.25%-4.5% on Wednesday, as widely expected.

The Fed said in a statement that recent indicators suggest economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace and the unemployment rate has stabilized at a low level.

8. Armenian, Georgian Foreign Ministers Hold Talks in Yerevan

rmenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Georgian counterpart, Maka Bochorishvili, have begun one-on-one negotiations in Yerevan, Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ani Badalyan confirmed.

The discussions come ahead of a scheduled joint press conference, where the ministers are expected to share details of their talks. Further updates on the meeting’s agenda and outcomes are anticipated.