Raf Sanchez
Verified
As seen in:
NBC News,
MSN,
MSN Canada,
MSN India,
MSN UK,
Business Insider,
MSN South Africa,
The Telegraph,
Yahoo Canada,
Yahoo News,
Yahoo News UK
and
Foreign Correspondent @NBCNews | Covering Middle East + beyond | raf.sanchez@nbcuni.com | IG: instagram.com/rafsanchez.nbc
Articles by Raf Sanchez
Protests erupt in Spain after train crash kills dozens
URDA, Spain — Spain began three days of mourning Thursday after at least 69 people were killed and dozens more injured in the country's deadliest train crash in decades. But anger is mounting about the alleged incompetence that allowed the accident to happen and protesters clashed with police overnight outside the country's transport ministry.
Early indications suggest Flydubai co-pilot acted alone in attack, officials say
Early indications suggest Flydubai co-pilot acted alone in attack, officials say
Primeros indicios apuntan a que copiloto de Flydubai actuó solo en ataque, según funcionarios Original
TEL AVIV — Los primeros indicios sugieren que el copiloto de Flydubai acusado de atacar al capitán e intentar tomar el control de un avión con destino a Israel actuó solo, en lugar de formar parte de una organización más grande o actuar en nombre de un gobierno extranjero, según varios funcionarios estadounidenses al tanto de la investigación y un exfuncionario de seguridad israelí que hablaron con NBC News.
Early indications suggest Flydubai co-pilot acted alone in attack, officials say Original
Oct. 4, 2026, 3:03 PM EDT By , and TEL AVIV — Early indications suggest the Flydubai co-pilot accused of attacking his captain and trying to seize control of an Israel-bound plane acted alone, rather than as part of a larger organization or on behalf of a foreign government, multiple U.S. officials briefed on the investigation and a former Israeli security official told NBC News. The U.S. officials cautioned that the investigation into Wednesday’s midair attack remains at an early stage.
‘Daddy, we don’t want to die’: Daughters’ words pushed Flydubai passenger to confront attacker
Tzvika Manes, one of the passengers who stormed the cockpit on the Flydubai flight on Wednesday.
El copiloto que atacó al capitán de Flydubai utilizó un hacha de emergencia de la cabina en un intento de atentado terrorista
|
Oct. 3, 2026, 11:13 AM EDT Por Raf Sanchez, Shira Pinson, Freddie Clayton, Tom Winter y Jonathan Dienst — NBC News TEL AVIV — Un piloto de Flydubai atacó a su compañero con un hacha de emergencia e intentó tomar el control de los mandos de vuelo de la aeronave en un intento de atentado terrorista, según informó el sábado un funcionario de Emiratos Árabes Unidos.
By Raf Sanchez Verified, Shira Pinson Verified, Freddie Clayton, Tom Winter Verified, Jonathan Dienst Verified
|
Telemundo
Verified
Flydubai pilot attacked captain with cockpit’s crash axe in attempted terrorist attack, UAE says
Flydubai pilot attacked captain with cockpit’s crash axe in attempted terrorist attack, UAE says
Flydubai pilot attacked captain with cockpit's crash axe in attempted terrorist attack, UAE says
A Flydubai pilot attacked his fellow pilot using a crash axe and tried to take control of the aircraft’s flight controls in an attempted terrorist attack, officials in the United Arab Emirates said Saturday. Emirati officials are leading investigations into the mid-air incident, which occurred Wednesday on a flight carrying 174 mostly Israeli passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
Live updates: Trump releases taxpayer-funded PSA resembling 2024 campaign ad
TRUMP ADS: The Trump administration released a new taxpayer-funded ad as part of its public service announcement campaign that is nearly identical to one of President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign ads.
Bomb Squad Searching Vans Near U.S. Air Base in Britain As Five Men Arrested on Terrorism Charge
LONDON — British police arrested several men on suspicion of terrorism and explosives offenses Sunday and evacuated homes near an air base that the U.S. Air Force had been using to facilitate strikes on Iran. A major incident was declared, with a massive emergency presence seen around RAF Fairford, which is about 90 minutes outside London, close to the village of Whelford in western England.
Solar eclipse live updates: Path of totality to cross parts of Europe within hours
A total solar eclipse will be visible today from Spain, a small part of Portugal, Greenland, Iceland and northern Russia — the first time since 1999 that mainland Europe will be treated to the spectacle. Totality — when the moon fully blocks the sun — will mostly occur in the evening. In Reykjavík, Iceland, totality will begin at 5:48 p.m. (1:48 p.m. ET). In Valencia, Spain, it will start at 8:32 p.m. (2:32 p.m. ET).
Total eclipse craze grips Europe as masses assemble for rare view of ‘magic’ moment
Total eclipse craze grips Europe as masses assemble for rare view of ‘magic’ moment Around 450,000 tourists are expected to descend on Spain for Wednesday’s event, vying for the best views of the first total solar eclipse visible from Europe since 1999.
In France’s beloved vineyards, raging wildfires threaten a way of life
Europe A forest fire rages in Saint-Jean-d'Illac, not too far from Bordeaux, France.Romain Perrocheau / AFP via Getty Images July 31, 2026, 1:27 PM EDT By and CANÉJAN, France — Green leaves and young grapes have staff at the Château de Rouillac vineyard hopeful for a vintage year. But a little over 12 miles away from the 17th-century estate lies a hellscape of blackened trees and scorched earth ravaged by a megafire that has torn through the region around the city of Bordeaux. Just a moment.
On the frontline battling France’s huge wildfire, four times the size of Paris
On the frontline battling France’s huge wildfire, four times the size of Paris In the face of intense heat and strong winds, a dry field or a parched tree is potential kindling for a new outbreak, with the fire’s spread unpredictable.
France braces for huge fires to spread as temperatures top 100F
France braces for huge fires to spread as temperatures top 100F In a crisis spanning large parts of Europe, fire crews in Spain, Italy and Greece were also fighting blazes on the world’s fastest-warming continent.
Pope Leo to hold iconic mass at Spain’s Sagrada Família cathedral
June 9, 2026, 10:27 AM EDT BARCELONA, Spain — Pope Leo XIV will hold Mass at Barcelona’s iconic La Sagrada Familia on Wednesday where he will offer a papal blessing to the highest spire of what is now the tallest church in the world. Sagrada Familia’s distinctive Modernist basilica has been under construction for more than 140 years but, in February, work finally finished on the central Tower of Jesus Christ, which stands at 566 feet high and is crowned with a gigantic five-story ceramic cross.
Why a luxury resort plan by Trump’s son-in-law sparked mass protests in Albania
June 7, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT President Donald Trump’s son-in-law has a formidable new opponent: a pink flamingo. The protected bird has emerged as the symbol of a surging protest movement against a Jared Kushner-backed plan for a luxury resort on the picturesque Adriatic coast.
Uganda’s Ghetto Kids will dance with Shakira at World Cup final halftime show
May 27, 2026, 5:45 PM EDT Their unlikely journey started dancing barefoot on a dusty street in 2014. Now the Ghetto Kids — a Ugandan dance troupe whose joyful, hard-to-believe moves have earned millions of followers on social media — will be bringing that energy to the FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. Shakira announced last week that the group, made up of orphaned or vulnerable children, will be joining her for the final July 19.
Uganda’s Ghetto Kids will dance with Shakira at World Cup final halftime show
4 hours ago NEW YORK (AP) — FIFA is under fresh scrutiny for sky-high World Cup ticket prices and sales tactics that fans say left them with worse deals than they wanted. The attorneys general in New York and New Jersey, which is hosting eight World Cup matches including the final, announced Tuesday that they …
Irán acusa a EE.UU. de violar el alto al fuego y promete represalias tras nuevos ataques
|
May. 26, 2026, 9:54 AM EDT Por Alexander Smith, Courtney Kube, Richard Engel, Raf Sanchez y Phil Helsel - NBC News Irán acusó el martes a Estados Unidos de “una clara violación del alto al fuego” entre ambos países, después de que las fuerzas estadounidenses lanzaran lo que calificaron como ataques defensivos, que amenazan con interrumpir las intensas negociaciones para poner fin a la guerra.
By Alexander Smith, Courtney Kube Verified, Richard Engel Verified, Raf Sanchez Verified, Phil Helsel Verified
|
Telemundo
Verified
How 'Little Sparta' UAE shocked the Gulf by going its own way on oil
DOHA, Qatar — Among senior U.S. officials, the wealthy Gulf nation of the United Arab Emirates is known by an affectionate nickname: Little Sparta. The moniker, often attributed to former U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, reflects the American admiration for the UAE's investment in its military and its willingness to act decisively, compared to its slower-moving Gulf neighbors.
Strait of Hormuz shipping traffic is effectively at a standstill despite Iran ceasefire Original
April 9, 2026, 2:11 PM EDT Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was at a virtual standstill Thursday, with only a handful of ships passing through the vital waterway since the announcement of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Just five bulk carriers had transited the waterway in the first 24 hours of the deal, according to data from the ship-tracking website MarineTraffic and Kpler, a data and analytics firm.
Russia took satellite images of U.S. airbase in days before Iranian attack, Ukraine's Zelenskyy says Original
March 28, 2026, 3:17 PM EDT By and DOHA, Qatar — Russia took satellite images of a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia three times in the days before Iran attacked the site and wounded American troops, according to a summary of Ukrainian intelligence shared with NBC News by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In an interview in the Gulf nation of Qatar on Saturday, Zelenskyy said he was “100%” confident Russia was sharing such intelligence with Iran to help target U.S. forces across the Middle East.
Russia took satellite images of U.S. air base in days before Iranian attack, Ukraine's Zelenskyy says
5 hours ago Some old truths about warfare have been knocking on the door of the Oval Office in the month since US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent US and Israeli warplanes to bomb Iran. The failure to learn from the past means that Donald Trump now faces a stark choice. …
Russia took satellite images of U.S. airbase in days before Iranian attack, Ukraine's Zelenskyy says
2 hours ago Four weeks into the war on Iran, the White House continues to confuse the public and the press with constant pivots and contradictions. Now the administration faces even more pressure as many of its own supporters have started to turn against it. This war has split up the MAGA movement, with an …
Live updates: Trump delays Strait of Hormuz deadline; Israel strikes 'heart of Tehran'
LIVE COVERAGE Trump's claims of progress in talks with Tehran came as Wall Street had its worst day of the war, though oil prices fell after his announcement. TRUMP EXTENDS HORMUZ DEADLINE: President Donald Trump has extended by 10 days his deadline for Iran to reopen the key Strait of Hormuz trade route or face U.S. strikes on its power plants. Trump said talks to end the war are going "very well," though Tehran insists it is not negotiating.
Iran’s 'Tehran toll' booth forces some tankers to pay millions to leave Strait of Hormuz Original
March 26, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT DOHA, Qatar — Call it the world’s most dangerous toll booth. Iran is forcing oil tankers to take a new route in the Strait of Hormuz through a narrow passage controlled by its Revolutionary Guard, withsome ships charged millions of dollars to transit,according to maritime data shared with NBC News.
Fears of an all-out Israeli invasion mount in Lebanon Original
March 20, 2026, 6:02 AM EDT BEIRUT, Lebanon — Fleeing in the middle of the night, sleeping without blankets in schools-turned-shelters, and struggling to find basic resources. These are the realities Fatima Mohammed Al Omar has told her four children they may have to get used to. Displaced from their Beirut home by Israeli evacuation orders and airstrikes, the family is one of thousands in Lebanon who have no idea when they may be able to return.
Destination warzone: How Lebanon's only international airport stays open amid Israeli strikes Original
March 18, 2026, 9:29 AM EDT By , and BEIRUT — Columns of black smoke rose up to meet Middle East Airlines Flight 230 as it started its approach toward Lebanon’s only international airport. It was shortly before midnight and Israeli fighter jets were roaring over the country’s capital, Beirut, after carrying out a wave of airstrikes against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of ayatollah killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes, named Iran's new supreme leader, state media reports
Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed last week as U.S.-Israeli strikes hammered Iran, has been named as his replacement. A statement from the Assembly of Experts — the panel of Shiite clerics responsible under Iranian law for choosing the country’s top leader — said Mojtaba Khamenei had been selected as the third leader of the Islamic Republic, according to reports from IRIB state TV and the Fars, Tasnim and ISNA news agencies.
Trump still intent on 'conquering Greenland,' Denmark says after White House talks
Jan. 14, 2026, 5:50 AM EST / Updated Jan. 15, 2026, 6:34 AM EST Denmark said it did not manage to dissuade President Donald Trump from seeking to conquer Greenland during high-level talks at the White House on Wednesday. "It's clear the president has this wish of conquering Greenland," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said at a news conference after a closed-door meeting attended by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Show More
loading
Actions
Get in touch with Raf
Contact Raf, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack