INDONESIA
Plane lands after threat
A passenger plane was forced to make an emergency landing yesterday after air traffic control received a bomb threat, an official said, though police later confirmed it was a false alarm. The bomb squad started examining the Batik Air plane after it landed in South Sulawesi with 125 passengers from the eastern city of Ambon, Ministry of Transport spokesman J.A. Barata said. An air traffic controller in Ambon had received the threat via text message as the plane headed toward its intended destination of Jakarta, he said. The plane was then forced to make an emergency landing at Sultan Hasanuddin Airport in Makassar, he added. In a statement yesterday, the airline confirmed one of its staff members had received a threat and they decided to land the plane for the safety of their passengers. “The police bomb squad has declared that there was no bomb found on the plane,” Barata said.
NEPAL
Amputee vet scaling Everest
A former US Marine who lost his right leg after an explosion while serving in Afghanistan is attempting to scale Mount Everest to inspire others like him to take up challenges. Charlie Linville is set to scale the 8,850m summit next month using his specially designed metal foot outfitted with climbing boot and another one with crampons. The 29-year-old was injured in 2011 and was forced to get his right leg amputated from the knee down two years later. That has not stopped him from climbing mountains. Now he is on his way to Tibet to attempt to scale the world’s highest peak. He wants to spread the message that anything is possible, not just for amputees and wounded veterans, but for anyone with a physical handicap.
UNITED STATES
Cargo-hold sleeper banned
A contract baggage handler who became trapped in the belly of an Alaska Airlines jet on takeoff from Seattle after falling asleep in the plane’s cargo hold this week has been banned from all future work at the airline, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday. The employee of Menzies Aviation, which is contracted to provide ground services for Alaska Airlines, made news on Monday as an unintended stowaway on Flight 448 when he woke up from a nap inside the sealed baggage hold to realize the plane was already airborne. The pilot of the Los Angeles-bound flight turned the jet around to make a safe but unscheduled emergency landing back at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after the crew and passengers heard banging from below the cabin and flight deck. Also on Thursday, a spokesman for Menzies Aviation, a subsidiary of UK-based John Menzies, said the worker remained employed for the time being, pending the outcome of an investigation. However, Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said: “The employee has been permanently banned from ever working again on an Alaska Airlines operation.”
MEXICO
Blind vendors protest
Blind vendors angry about having their stalls removed from a downtown Mexico City subway station this week clashed with police outside city hall on Thursday. Authorities said two of the estimated 150 vendors and 13 police officers suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene. The city government had said five protesters were injured, but later lowered the number of injured vendors and reported police injuries. Vendors are angry about a campaign to clean up the subway station’s hallways by clearing out long-tolerated vendors’ stands.
PARLIAMENT CHAOS: Police forcibly removed Brazilian Deputy Glauber Braga after he called the legislation part of a ‘coup offensive’ and occupied the speaker’s chair Brazil’s lower house of Congress early yesterday approved a bill that could slash former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s prison sentence for plotting a coup, after efforts by a lawmaker to disrupt the proceedings sparked chaos in parliament. Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year term since last month after his conviction for a scheme to stop Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after the 2022 election. Lawmakers had been discussing a bill that would significantly reduce sentences for several crimes, including attempting a coup d’etat — opening up the prospect that Bolsonaro, 70, could have his sentence cut to
A plan by Switzerland’s right-wing People’s Party to cap the population at 10 million has the backing of almost half the country, according to a poll before an expected vote next year. The party, which has long campaigned against immigration, argues that too-fast population growth is overwhelming housing, transport and public services. The level of support comes despite the government urging voters to reject it, warning that strict curbs would damage the economy and prosperity, as Swiss companies depend on foreign workers. The poll by newspaper group Tamedia/20 Minuten and released yesterday showed that 48 percent of the population plan to vote
A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Japan’s northeast region late on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and orders for residents to evacuate. A tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet) could hit Japan’s northeastern coast after an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 occurred offshore at 11:15 p.m. (1415 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and a tsunami of 40cm had been observed at Aomori’s Mutsu Ogawara and Hokkaido’s Urakawa ports before midnight, JMA said. The epicentre of the quake was 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of
Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro on Friday said that his father, jailed former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, has chosen him to lead the country’s powerful conservative movement, shaking up next year’s election race. The 44-year-old senator said on social media that he will carry forward the political legacy that reshaped Brazilian politics. His announcement makes him an instant contender for the presidency. Jair Bolsonaro, 70, is unlikely to run after being sentenced to 27 years for plotting a coup and banned from public office. He is appealing and seeking a legislative pardon. The former president also faces serious health issues, including complications from a
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