airlift

9 Stories

They Handed Their Baby Over the Fence. 2 Months Later, No Word

Afghan mom and dad handed infant to US troops at Kabul airport in August, haven't seen baby since

(Newser) - On Aug. 19, Mirza Ali Ahmadi, his wife, and five children headed to the Kabul airport, hoping to flee the country as the Taliban wrested control of Afghanistan. Of the family of seven, however, just six ended up on an evacuation flight to Qatar, then to Germany and the US,...

On Lava-Covered Island, a Last-Ditch Rescue

Drone will swoop in to try to save several dogs trapped in yard on La Palma

(Newser) - It's a precarious mission in Spain's Canary Islands, one that will require "calm and concentration," but the drone is ready. So says Aerocamaras, the company that will try to rescue several dogs trapped in a yard by lava on La Palma, where a volcano eruption that...

Why Switzerland Airlifts Its Cows

It's not just about helping the cows, it's about helping the land: Aeon

(Newser) - The sight of a cow flying through the air isn't so rare in Switzerland: When a cow is injured—or dead—a helicopter may arrive to bring it to safety, or, if dead, to incineration. The practice, Aeon reports, isn't just about caring for our bovine friends, or...

National Guard Airlifts Supplies to Vermont Towns

12 communities blocked by floodwaters

(Newser) - Supply-laden National Guard helicopters today sped to 12 Vermont towns blocked by floodwaters and damage following Hurricane Irene. Vermont was hit with up to 11 inches of rain in what the governor called the worst flooding in a century. Thirty trucks’ worth of FEMA relief supplies arrived at the state’...

US Resumes Haiti Medical Airlifts

Some patients will go to other states, Caribbean countries

(Newser) - Military airlifts of injured Haitians to US hospitals are set to resume today after a five-day suspension in the wake of complaints that Florida hospitals were overwhelmed and needed help footing the bill. In the struggle to aid the estimated 200,000 people injured in the earthquake, the flight suspension...

Haiti Slows Adoptions Amid Trafficking Fears

Prime minister will now personally approve transfer of any child

(Newser) - Haiti is dramatically slowing airlifts and adoption proceedings for Haitian orphans out of fear of human trafficking. Adoptions were fast-tracked after the recent quake to make room in orphanages, but now the government is concerned that children with living family may be sent abroad or scooped up by traffickers and...

After Haiti Quake, Immigration Debate Rumbles

Advocates want US to soften its stance

(Newser) - The disastrous situation in Haiti has sparked calls for the US to soften its stance on Haitian immigration, particularly in respect to severely injured children and those with family members here. Though the US will allow Haitians already in the country illegally to stay for 18 months and will fast-track...

Forget Snakes: Penguins Get Their Plane Ride

Flightless birds fly home with a little help from Brazil

(Newser) - The wayward penguins marooned on Brazil's beaches got a one-way ticket home over the weekend, but ferrying hundreds of birds 2,000 miles is no simple feat, explains Nina Shen Rastogi in Slate. After being fed and tagged, 399 Magellanic penguins were crated and loaded aboard an Air Force plane...

Analysts Urge Washington to Invade Burma

Others advise against forcing aid on devastated country

(Newser) - Analysts and aid workers appalled by Burma’s attitude to foreign aid are urging Washington to invade, Time reports. One observer has called for the US to airlift food regardless of the junta’s restrictions; a retired general wants China to pacify Burma about US aid, or Thailand to paint...

9 Stories
Most Read on Newser