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US extends ban on flights to Haiti’s capital as gang violence surges

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has extended a ban on U.S. flights to Haiti’s capital until March as gang violence persists.

The ban means that commercial operators and U.S. registered civilian aircraft can’t fly below 10,000 feet (around 3,000 meters) in Port-au-Prince and nearby areas, including parts of central Haiti.

The FAA first halted such flights in November 2025 after gunmen shot at a Spirit Airlines flight as it was landing at Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport. A flight attendant received minor injuries and other commercial planes on the ground were hit.

The FAA has extended its ban several times since that incident, a move that continues to isolate Port-au-Prince from the rest of the country.

The latest extension was implemented on Tuesday and will remain in place until March 2.

Police and a U.N.-backed gang suppression force are trying to quell gangs that control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince and swaths of land in Haiti’s central region.

Driscoll offers no reason for his exit as Army secretary but says Wednesday is his last full day

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dan Driscoll has announced that his last full day as U.S. Army secretary is Wednesday, but his social media post offered no explanation for why he is stepping down after 18 months as the service's civilian leader. Driscoll is a friend of Vice President JD Vance and has good relationships with both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. But tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have been widely reported, and some of Driscoll's allies in the Army were ousted this year by President Donald Trump's Pentagon chief. Driscoll spoke with Trump on the current state of the Army before he submitted his resignation this week, The Associated Press has reported. Any concerns were absent from Driscoll's post on X late Tuesday night, which was his first public statement since the White House confirmed his departure Monday. Driscoll said it has been “the honor of a lifetime” to serve as Army secretary under Trump and Hegseth.
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