Liberian-flagged cargo ship sinks off Yemen after Houthi attack
Rescue operations are currently under way. At least five crew members have been pulled from the water so far, with others spotted wearing life jackets, two sources confirmed.
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Gulf Today
14 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Blast kills five children who were playing soccer in Yemen
Five children in southwestern Yemen died after an explosive device detonated in a residential area where they were playing soccer, rights groups and eye witnesses said on Saturday. The circumstances surrounding their deaths on Friday night in the Al Hashmah subdistrict of Taiz province remain unclear. However, the Yemen Center for Human Rights and another rights group called Eye of Humanity along with Houthi-controlled Al Masirah TV said an artillery shell was fired by militias backed by the Islah party, which is allied to the internationally recognised government in south Yemen. A spokesperson for the United Nations children's agency Unicef told The Associated Press that they are aware of reports about the incident but can't verify the facts at the moment. Two local residents who were eyewitnesses, Ahmed al-Sharee and Khaled al-Areki, told the AP that the children were playing soccer when the explosion happened. At least three people with minor to moderate injuries were also taken to the hospital, according to the eyewitnesses. Meanwhile, Mahmoud Al Mansi, another eyewitness, said the explosive was directed from an area where forces allied with the Islah party were present. The Yemen Center for Human Rights condemned the incident in a report that included graphic photos of the children's torn bodies. Citing healthcare sources at Al-Rafai Hospital, where the victims arrived unresponsive, the group said they died from shrapnel injuries. Two of the children were 12 years old, while two others were 14 years old, according to the group. The age of the fifth child is unknown. Taiz city, the capital of the province of the same name, has been a battleground, pitting the Iran-backed Houthi militias and other militias backed by the Islah party against each other and other factions in Yemen's civil war. The city was under Houthi blockade since 2016, restricting the freedom of movement and flow of essential goods to residents, but Houthis recently opened key roads. Associated Press
Gulf Today
20 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Air India crash report shows pilot confusion over engine switch movement
A preliminary report depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before an Air India jetliner crashed and killed 260 people last month, after the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London from the Indian city of Ahmedabad began to lose thrust and sink shortly after takeoff, according to the report on the world's deadliest aviation accident in a decade released on Saturday by Indian accident investigators. The report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) about the June 12 crash raises fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches. Wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane sits on the open ground, outside Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Reuters Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, closed-circuit TV footage showed a backup energy source called a ram air turbine had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines. In the flight's final moments, one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. "The other pilot responded that he did not do so," the report said. It did not identify which remarks were made by the flight's captain and which by the first officer, nor which pilot transmitted "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday" just before the crash. Friends and family members mourn near the coffin of Co-Pilot Clive Kunder, who died after an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane crashed. Reuters The commanding pilot of the Air India plane was Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, who had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours and, according to the Indian government, was also an Air India instructor. His co-pilot was Clive Kunder, 32, who had 3,403 hours of total experience. The fuel switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run to cutoff just after takeoff. The preliminary report did not say how the switches could have flipped to the cutoff position during the flight. "We care for the welfare and the well-being of pilots so let's not jump to any conclusions at this stage, let us wait for the final report," Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told local news channels. Policemen ride past buildings damaged in the June 12 Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on Saturday. AP The crash is a challenge for Tata Group's ambitious campaign to restore Air India's reputation and revamp its fleet, after taking the carrier over from the government in 2022. Air India acknowledged the report in a statement. The carrier said it was cooperating with Indian authorities but declined further comment. FUEL SWITCHES Experts have said a pilot would not be able to accidentally move the fuel switches. "If they were moved because of a pilot, why?" asked U.S. aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse. The switches flipped a second apart, the report said, roughly the time it would take to shift one and then the other, according to US aviation expert John Nance. He added that a pilot would normally never turn the switches off in flight, especially as the plane is starting to climb. People offer prayers for crew members of the Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad last month, in Mumbai on Saturday. AP Flipping to cutoff almost immediately cuts the engines. It is most often used to turn engines off once a plane has arrived at its airport gate and in certain emergency situations, such as an engine fire. The report does not indicate there was any emergency requiring an engine cutoff. At the crash site, both fuel switches were found in the run position and there had been indications of both engines relighting before the low-altitude crash, said the report, which was released around 1:30 a.m. IST on Saturday (2000 GMT on Friday). This screengrab from UGC video footage shows thick black smoke billowing from a residential area after Air India flight AI171 crashed in Ahmedabad. File / AFP Asked about the report, the father of first officer Kunder told reporters "I am not from the airline", declining to comment further during a prayer meeting held in the memory of the airline's crew on Saturday in Mumbai, where emotional scenes played out among grieving relatives. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board thanked Indian officials for their cooperation in a statement and noted that there were no recommended actions in the report aimed at operators of Boeing 787 jets or the GE engines. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said its priority was to follow the facts where they lead and it was committed to promptly addressing any risks identified throughout the process. Boeing said it continued to support the investigation and its customer, Air India. GE Aerospace did not respond immediately to a request for comment. CRASH PROBE The AAIB, an office under India's civil aviation ministry, is leading the probe into the crash, which killed all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground. Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, with a preliminary report due 30 days after the accident, according to international rules, and a final report expected within a year. The plane's black boxes, combined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders, were recovered in the days following the crash and later downloaded in India. The report said "all applicable airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins were complied (with) on the aircraft as well as engines." The airport closed-circuit TV recording from Ahmedabad had earlier shown the Air India plane rose to a height of 650 feet after it took off, but then suddenly lost altitude, crashing in a fireball into a nearby building. The investigation report said as the Dreamliner lost altitude, it initially made contact with several trees and an incineration chimney, before hitting the building. Air India has faced additional scrutiny on other fronts after the crash. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said last week it plans to investigate its budget airline, Air India Express, after Reuters reported the carrier did not follow a directive to change engine parts of an Airbus A320 in a timely manner and falsified records to show compliance. India is banking on a boom in aviation to support wider development goals, with New Delhi saying it wants India to be a job-creating global aviation hub along the lines of Dubai. Reuters
Gulf Today
a day ago
- Gulf Today
British police arrest scores more Palestine Action group supporters
Police in several British cities on Saturday arrested scores of people for supporting Palestine Action, following a second consecutive weekend of protests over the government's decision to the activist group using anti-terror laws. Campaign group Defend Our Juries, which had announced the rallies "to defy" the ban, said 86 people had been arrested across five different cities. They included four vicars, a lawyer, a civil servant, a social worker, a mechanical engineer and the daughter of a Polish resistance fighter, as well as veterans of the 1960s civil rights movement, the group added. "We will not be deterred from opposing genocide, nor from defending those who refuse to be bystanders," the group said in a statement, referring to accusations levelled against Israel over its war in Gaza. The protesters were also taking a stand "against the corruption of democracy and the rule of law," it added. A Protester is arrested as people gather in support of the pro-Palestinian group 'Palestine Action,' in Parliament Square. AFP In London, the Metropolitan Police said its officers had made 41 arrests for "showing support for a proscribed organisation." Another person was arrested for common assault, the force added. Demonstrators hold signs during a protest calling for the de-proscription of the Palestine Action group, at St Peter's Square in Manchester. Reuters Footage showed police moving in on a small group of protesters displaying signs supporting Palestine Action. They had gathered at lunchtime at the steps of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Square. Greater Manchester Police arrested 16 people, while officers in the Welsh capital Cardiff detained 13, all for the same offence under the 2000 Terrorism Act, both forces confirmed. "South Wales Police supports the right for people to make their voices heard through protest providing it is done lawfully," said a police statement. Support now a crime The other arrests occurred in the Northern Irish city Londonderry — also known as Derry — and Leeds, in northern England, according to Defend Our Juries. They come a week after 29 similar arrests at protests staged last Saturday, mainly in London. Police officers carry a detained demonstrator, during a protest calling for the de-proscription of the Palestine Action group, at St Peter's Square. Reuters Since the Palestine Action ban kicked in on July 5, police have warned that expressing support for the group was now a crime, after a last-ditch High Court challenge failed to stop its proscription becoming law. The government announced plans for the ban under the 2000 Terrorism Act days after the group's activists claimed to be behind a break-in at an air force base in southern England. Two aircraft there were sprayed with red paint, causing an estimated £7 million ($9.55 million) in damage. Four people charged in relation to the incident remain in custody. Palestine Action has condemned its outlawing— which makes it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, punishable by up to 14 years in prison — as an attack on free speech. Agence France-Presse
