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House Votes to Begin Impeachment Inquiry into Biden

Joseph Ziegler, an IRS Agent, seated at left, and IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, right, wait to testify on the Hunter Biden investigation, as the House Ways and Means Committee takes a vote during their hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Joseph Ziegler, an IRS Agent, seated at left, and IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, right, wait to testify on the Hunter Biden investigation, as the House Ways and Means Committee takes a vote during their hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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House Votes to Begin Impeachment Inquiry into Biden

Joseph Ziegler, an IRS Agent, seated at left, and IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, right, wait to testify on the Hunter Biden investigation, as the House Ways and Means Committee takes a vote during their hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Joseph Ziegler, an IRS Agent, seated at left, and IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, right, wait to testify on the Hunter Biden investigation, as the House Ways and Means Committee takes a vote during their hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

All eyes turned Wednesday night to the US House of Representatives which passed a resolution to formally authorize its ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Republicans are stepping up their efforts to formalize an impeachment inquiry into the President.
The Republican-controlled chamber approved 221-212 in a party-line vote, directing three House committees to continue their investigations to support Republicans' claims that Biden was directly involved and benefited from his son and brother's foreign business dealings.
With this move, Republicans officially launch a fierce electoral campaign season ahead of the 2024 elections during which they are expected to accuse the US President of corruption and exploiting his position to enrich his family.
“We’re not going to prejudge the outcome of this because we can’t,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Tuesday when commenting on the House vote. “It’s not a political calculation. We’re following the law and we are the rule of law team and I’m going to hold to that.”
And while the impeachment efforts target the President, the star of the probe remains his son, Hunter. Republicans seek to link Hunter's business deals with foreign countries to decisions his father made during his service as Vice President between 2008 and 2016.
They are therefore eager to question Hunter over his business dealings, and are also interested in the other cases he faces in US courts related to tax evasion and illegal gun possession.
Hunter Biden, who has described his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, has also been the subject of a years-long criminal investigation.
He faces federal charges that he lied about his drug use while buying a handgun and separate charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. He has pleaded not guilty to the gun charges, and his lawyer says he has repaid his taxes in full.
Earlier on Monday, Hunter Biden defied a committee subpoena to testify behind closed doors — saying he would testify only in public.
Last summer, one of Hunter’s former business partners, Devon Archer, told the House Oversight Committee that Hunter repeatedly put his father, then Vice-President, on speaker phone when talking to his partners, so that he could listen to the content of the conversation.

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World

Trump Gives Iran 48 Hours to Make Deal or Face ‘Hell’

Officials and media representatives gather around the damaged building of the Shahid Beheshti University following a strike, in Tehran on April 4, 2026. (AFP)
Officials and media representatives gather around the damaged building of the Shahid Beheshti University following a strike, in Tehran on April 4, 2026. (AFP)
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Trump Gives Iran 48 Hours to Make Deal or Face ‘Hell’

Officials and media representatives gather around the damaged building of the Shahid Beheshti University following a strike, in Tehran on April 4, 2026. (AFP)
Officials and media representatives gather around the damaged building of the Shahid Beheshti University following a strike, in Tehran on April 4, 2026. (AFP)

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Tehran had 48 hours left to cut a deal or face "all Hell", as US and Iranian forces scrambled to find a downed American airman.

Trump's latest threat came after a strike near an Iranian nuclear power plant prompted evacuations, and as Tehran announced fresh attacks in the region, with the Revolutionary Guards saying they hit a commercial ship in Bahrain.

The war erupted more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, triggering a retaliation that has spread the conflict throughout the Middle East and convulsed the global economy -- particularly due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil and gas.

"Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT," Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to an ultimatum issued on March 26.

"Time is running out -- 48 hours before all Hell will reign (sic) down on them."

Tehran said on Friday it had shot down an F-15 warplane and US media reported United States special forces had rescued one of its two crew members, with the other still missing.

Iran's military also said it downed a US A-10 ground attack aircraft in the Gulf, with US media saying the pilot of that plane was rescued.

The local Mehr news agency on Saturday quoted the deputy governor of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, Fattah Mohammadi, as saying the search for the missing pilot involved "presence of popular forces and tribesmen alongside military forces and is still ongoing".

He added that "last night, people fired at enemy helicopters with rifles and did not allow them to land".

Images posted on social media and verified by AFPTV showed Iranian police firing at a US helicopter in southwestern Iran as US forces searched for the airman.

Mohammad Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, mocked the Trump administration, saying the "war they started has now been downgraded from 'regime change' to 'Hey! Can anyone find our pilots?'"

"What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses."

Retired US brigadier general Houston Cantwell, who has 400 hours of combat flight experience, said a pilot's training would likely kick in before he or she parachuted to the ground.

"My priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don't want to be captured," he told AFP.

- Bushehr nuclear plant -

A strike near Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant on Saturday killed a guard and led Russia, which partly constructed the facility and helps operate it, to announce it was evacuating 198 workers.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that continued attacks on the plant on the southern coast could eventually lead to radioactive fallout in the region.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote on X that no increase in radiation levels had been reported at the site, but nonetheless voiced "deep concern" at what he said was the fourth such strike in recent weeks.

"NPP (nuclear power plant) sites or nearby areas must never be attacked," he said.

There were also more strikes on Tehran, where an AFP journalist saw a thick haze of grey smoke covering the skyline.

"This war wasn't for freedom... we just ended up trapped with something even more savage," 31-year-old Faezeh told AFP via messenger app from Tehran.

"They bomb randomly, there's no sign of any specific target these recent days."

Maryam, a 35-year-old from Khansar in Isfahan province said Iranians are divided between those hoping for an end to their government and those more fearful of economic disaster.

"I'm honestly really scared about our future," she told AFP. "Things are a disaster right now. Mass layoffs, widespread shutdowns... everything feels overwhelming."

Strikes by all sides have increasingly targeted economic and industrial sites, raising fears of wider disruption to global energy supplies.

US-Israeli strikes on Saturday hit a petrochemicals hub, a cement plant and a trade terminal on the Iran-Iraq border, where one person was reported killed.

Iran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Israel and US allies in the Gulf.

Shrapnel from intercepted drones injured four people in Bahrain on Saturday, and two buildings in Dubai were hit by debris, including one housing the US cloud computing firm Oracle, authorities said.

- Beirut explosions -

On another front, the Israeli military said Friday it had struck more than 3,500 targets across Lebanon in the month since the latest round of fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah began.

Lebanese state media reported that Israel destroyed a bridge in the Bekaa region, and local media said a second bridge was also hit, after Israel said it would strike them.

An AFP journalist heard two loud explosions in Beirut early Saturday and saw smoke billowing from one of them.

A hospital in the coastal Lebanese city of Tyre was damaged by Israeli strikes on nearby buildings that wounded 11 people, the health ministry said.

The Israeli military later issued an urgent evacuation warning to residents of the city ahead of more planned strikes.

Tens of thousands of people have left Tyre, but around 20,000 remain, including 15,000 displaced from surrounding villages.

World

Iran, US Race to Find Crew Member of Crashed American Fighter Jet

A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026. US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026. US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran, US Race to Find Crew Member of Crashed American Fighter Jet

A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026. US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026. US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS

Iranian and American forces raced each other Saturday to recover a crew member from the first US fighter jet to go down inside Iran since the start of the war.

Tehran said it had shot down the F-15 warplane and US media reported United States special forces had rescued one of its two crew members, with the other was still missing.

Iran's military also said it downed a US A-10 ground attack aircraft in the Gulf, with US media saying the pilot of that plane was rescued, reported AFP.

The war erupted more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, triggering retaliation that spread the conflict throughout the Middle East, convulsing the global economy and impacting millions of people worldwide.

US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the loss of the F-15, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "The president has been briefed."

President Donald Trump told NBC the F-15 loss would not affect negotiations with Iran, saying: "No, not at all. No, it's war."

On Saturday, there were fresh strikes on Israel, Lebanon and Iran, as well as on Gulf states.

An AFP journalist saw a thick haze of grey smoke covering Tehran's skyline after hearing several blasts over the capital. It was not immediately clear what had been targeted.

- 'Valuable reward' -

A spokesperson for the Iranian military's central operational command earlier said "an American hostile fighter jet in central Iranian airspace was struck and destroyed by the IRGC Aerospace Force's advanced air defense system".

"The jet was completely obliterated, and further searches are ongoing."

An Iranian television reporter on a local official channel said anyone who captured a crew member alive would "receive a valuable reward".

Retired US brigadier general Houston Cantwell, who has 400 hours of combat flight experience, said a pilot's training would likely kick in before he or she parachutes to the ground.

"My priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don't want to be captured," he told AFP.

Mohammad Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, mocked the Trump administration.

He wrote on X: "After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from 'regime change' to 'Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?'

"Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses."

World

Explosion Hits Pro-Israel Center in the Netherlands

Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Explosion Hits Pro-Israel Center in the Netherlands

Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)

A blast hit a pro-Israeli center in the Netherlands, police said Saturday, adding it caused minimal damage and no injuries.

A police spokeswoman told AFP no one was inside the site run by Christians for Israel, a non-profit, in the central city of Nijkerk when the explosion went off outside its gate late on Friday.

An investigation was ongoing.

The incident comes after a string of similar night-time attacks on Jewish sites in the Netherlands and neighboring Belgium in recent weeks that has heightened concerns in the wake of the war in the Middle East.