Early Start's new website
Two hot air balloons collide in mid air killing at least 1 person
At least one person was killed early this morning when two hot air balloons collided in mid air. The crash happened in central turkey. The balloons were flying above several volcanoes at the time. At least 18 people were injured in the crash.
READ MORE: Hot air balloons collide in Turkey, killing 1 and injuring 18
Nelson Mandela hospitalized with a lung infection at midnight on Thursday – Errol Barnett reports
Former South African President Nelson Mandela was admitted to hospital after a recurrence of a lung infection, the South African president's office said Thursday.
The Nobel laureate was admitted to hospital on Wednesday night.
"Doctors are attending to him, ensuring that he has the best possible expert medical treatment and comfort," President Jacob Zuma's office said in a statement.
"We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family, and to keep them in their thoughts," the statement said.
Madiba refers to his affectionate clan name, which is widely used in the nation.
READ MORE: Nelson Mandela back in hospital with lung infection
President Obama spends final day of historic Mideast journey at holy sites in Israel before last stop in Jordan
After putting himself in the middle of the historic tensions between Israelis and Palestinians this week, U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday wraps up his first trip to Israel since becoming president. He then moves on to another of America's closest allies in the region - Jordan, a military and intelligence partner, which has been facing trying times.
Obama is devoting his last hours in Israel and the Palestinian territories to cultural endeavors.
With Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president and Secretary of State John Kerry visited the grave of Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, where Obama placed a stone on top of the tomb.
From there, the delegation went to the grave of Yitzhak Rabin, the former Israeli Prime Minister who was assassinated in 1995. Obama also laid a wreath and a stone there. The stone for Rabin's grave came from the grounds of the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial in Washington.
Obama and the Israeli leaders also visited the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, where the president turned up the "eternal flame" of remembrance of the 6,000,000 Jewish victims of Nazi death camps in World War II.
Before continuing on to the last stop of his trip, Obama with visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which is on the West Bank, with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Obama then travels to Jordan, where he will meet with King Abdullah II, who has faced harsh criticism lately from his country's people.
READ MORE: Obama travels from Israel and Palestinian lands to Jordan
Fmr. Ambassador Holliday: President Obama's meeting with Palestinian President Abbas 'a significant visit'
Today, President Obama is in the West Bank city of Ramallah for the second leg of his historic Middle East visit. He is meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the possibility of reviving peace talks in the region. The president has said he is prepared to listen, and hasn't come with a peace plan. The two leaders will talk at a working lunch and will then address the media.
But the trip is already marred by violence. Two rockets fired from Gaza landed in the southern Israel city of Sderot hours earlier, while the president was about 60 miles away in Jerusalem. There are reports of property damage but no injuries.
Stuart Holliday, president and CEO of the Meridian International Center and fmr. former U.S. Ambassador special political affairs to the UN Security Council, weighs in on Obama’s meeting with Abbas today and how the attacks may have affected it. Holliday says the rocket attacks are a reminder that the Palestinian Authority does not control Gaza and that the Palestinian government is divided, highlighting "the weakness that we face in terms of the talks restarting."
Holliday calls the president's trip a significant visit, but notes that the Palestinians are very skeptical about what the president hopes to accomplish. “I think it's a mixed bag,” Holliday says. “But I do believe that they would view the president's visit, and the look for any opportunity to get these talks restarted. And of course, they've been on the sidelines, waiting for what they see as a critical issue, for these settlements to halt. Whereas Israelis have said, look, ‘we're ready to talk at any point as long as you don't put preconditions on these talks.’”
VIDEO: President Obama arrives in Ramallah for visit with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
President Obama arrives in Ramallah for his first visit to the West Bank since becoming President of the United States.
Jessica Yellin is live from Ramallah. John King is live from Jerusalem.
MYB: Markets jittery with news Cyprus bailout is in jeopardy
Christine Romans is minding your business with the latest on U.S. stock futures and world markets. For Wall Street, it’s all about conditions in Europe this week. Stock futures are up right now, but the possible bailout for the tiny island nation of Cyprus has raised concerns in the market. “The Dow was whipsawed yesterday in this country because we're watching what happens there,” Romans reports.
“If Cyprus doesn't get a bailout, it could go bankrupt, exit the Euro-zone and lead to financial instability at exactly the wrong time for the world economy.” A big part of the $13 billion plan, a major bank fee, was rejected last night after protests in Cyprus. “And now a bailout of the country is in jeopardy.”
MYB: Cyprus bailout news leads to markets sell-off worldwide – Alison Kosik reports
Alison Kosik is minding your business this morning with the latest on U.S. stock futures and world markets.
Stocks around the world are selling off, and “you’re seeing the markets react right now,” Kosik reports.
“This is all about a little tiny island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, about the size of Rhode island, called Cyprus.” While it only accounts for 0.2% of GDP for the European Union, Cyprus needs a bailout and this is causing a massive ripple effect across the globe, Kosik says.
Delhi rape suspect dies in jail, family suspects foul play – Sumnima Udas reports
One of the men accused of gang raping and fatally beating a woman on a New Delhi bus was found dead in his jail cell Monday.
Police say Ram Singh hanged himself. But his lawyer and parents claim he was murdered.
"There was no reason for him to commit suicide. There is some foul play," Singh's attorney V.K. Anand said.
Singh was housed in New Delhi's Tihar Prison. Last year, the prison recorded 18 deaths, including two suicides, according to CNN affiliate CNN-IBN.
CNN's Sumnima Udas reports on the latest in the story on "Early Start" this morning.
READ MORE: India rape suspect found dead in jail cell. Police say suicide; parents allege murder
On Twitter
