INDIA
Pilots reject crash report
Two major commercial pilots’ associations have rejected claims human error caused an Air India crash that killed 260 people after a preliminary investigation report found the plane’s engine fuel switches had been turned off. The report, issued on Saturday by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, did not offer any conclusions or apportion blame for the June 12 disaster, but indicated that one pilot asked the other why he cut off fuel, and the second pilot responded that he had not. No more detail about the cockpit dialogue between the pilots was revealed. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) said it was “deeply disturbed by speculative narratives ... particularly the reckless and unfounded insinuation of pilot suicide.” The Airline Pilots’ Association (ALPA) of India also accused the probe agency of “secrecy” surrounding the investigation, saying “suitably qualified personnel” were not involved in it. “We feel that the investigation is being driven in a direction presuming the guilt of pilots and we strongly object to this line of thought,” ALPA India president Sam Thomas said in a statement on Saturday.
PHILIPPINES
Defense chief not Maltese
Secretary of Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr had renounced his Maltese citizenship and disclosed it to Philippine authorities before taking office, the Department of Defense said yesterday. Philippine law generally disqualifies candidates for high public office who have dual citizenship, especially those with foreign citizenship acquired through naturalization, unless they renounce their foreign citizenship. Teodoro, who was appointed defense chief in 2023, is one of the most vocal critics of China’s aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea and elsewhere in Asia. He has led efforts by the Philippines to deepen its treaty alliance with the US and build new security ties with other countries to deter China. The Manila Times reported that Teodoro had acquired a Maltese passport in 2016. However, the defense department said Teodoro “surrendered and renounced” his Maltese passport before he filed his certificate of candidacy for a senate seat in 2021. He lost that senatorial bid. A congressional committee on appointments was also notified that Teodoro had renounced his Maltese passport and citizenship before it confirmed his appointment as defense secretary, the department said, and suggested that critics were trying to undermine his image. “The motive of this rumor is clear and known to Sec. Teodoro,” it said, without elaborating. “The timing of the article adds to this motive.”
UNITED KINGDOM
Astra BP drug promising
AstraZeneca PLC’s (Astra) experimental hypertension drug Baxdrostat reduced the blood pressure (BP) of people who have an uncontrolled or treatment-resistant form of the condition, boosting the prospects of the medicine becoming a blockbuster. People in a late-stage trial received one of two different doses of Baxdrostat or a placebo drug once a day, Astra said yesterday. At 12 weeks those on Baxdrostat had a significant and clinically meaningful reduction in systolic blood pressure, which shows how forcefully the heart is pumping blood into arteries. Baxdrostat is from a new class of medicines called aldosterone synthase inhibitors. Aldosterone is thought to be a key hormonal driver of hypertension. The drug, which is taken as a pill, was generally well tolerated and had a favorable safety profile, Astra said. The initial data published yesterday would be shared with regulatory authorities around the world, it added.
Nauru has started selling passports to fund climate action, but is so far struggling to attract new citizens to the low-lying, largely barren island in the Pacific Ocean. Nauru, one of the world’s smallest nations, has a novel plan to fund its fight against climate change by selling so-called “Golden Passports.” Selling for US$105,000 each, Nauru plans to drum up more than US$5 million in the first year of the “climate resilience citizenship” program. Almost six months after the scheme opened in February, Nauru has so far approved just six applications — covering two families and four individuals. Despite the slow start —
MOGAMI-CLASS FRIGATES: The deal is a ‘big step toward elevating national security cooperation with Australia, which is our special strategic partner,’ a Japanese official said Australia is to upgrade its navy with 11 Mogami-class frigates built by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles said yesterday. Billed as Japan’s biggest defense export deal since World War II, Australia is to pay US$6 billion over the next 10 years to acquire the fleet of stealth frigates. Australia is in the midst of a major military restructure, bolstering its navy with long-range firepower in an effort to deter China. It is striving to expand its fleet of major warships from 11 to 26 over the next decade. “This is clearly the biggest defense-industry agreement that has ever
DEADLY TASTE TEST: Erin Patterson tried to kill her estranged husband three times, police said in one of the major claims not heard during her initial trial Australia’s recently convicted mushroom murderer also tried to poison her husband with bolognese pasta and chicken korma curry, according to testimony aired yesterday after a suppression order lapsed. Home cook Erin Patterson was found guilty last month of murdering her husband’s parents and elderly aunt in 2023, lacing their beef Wellington lunch with lethal death cap mushrooms. A series of potentially damning allegations about Patterson’s behavior in the lead-up to the meal were withheld from the jury to give the mother-of-two a fair trial. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale yesterday rejected an application to keep these allegations secret. Patterson tried to kill her
MILITARY’S MAN: Myint Swe was diagnosed with neurological disorders and peripheral neuropathy disease, and had authorized another to perform his duties Myint Swe, who became Myanmar’s acting president under controversial circumstances after the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than four years ago, died yesterday, the military said. He was 74. He died at a military hospital in the capital, Naypyidaw, in the morning, Myanmar’s military information office said in a statement. Myint Swe’s death came more than a year after he stopped carrying out his presidential duties after he was publicly reported to be ailing. His funeral is to be held at the state level, but the date had not been disclosed, a separate statement from the
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