Bali Crash: Data Recorder Retrieved From Jet

Indonesian air crash investigators have started working to determine what caused a new passenger jet to miss a runway while landing in Bali and crash into the sea.

A data recorder remains in the submerged tail section

The Boeing 737-800 overshot the runway on the resort island and plunged into shallow water near the airport boundary.

All 101 passengers and seven crew members safely escaped from the Lion Air plane, although up to 45 people suffered injuries.

Some were forced to swim to safety while others waiting atop the wings of the twin-engine jet to be rescued by boat.

The rear broke free after being hit by tide and swell

Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) is examining the wreckage.

He said aviation authorities have removed the flight data recorder from the aircraft operated by West Java-based budget air carrier.

Local fisherman and eyewitness Fendi Yono said: "I saw two planes approaching the runway.

Investigators retrieved items from the sea near the Denpasar airport

"The first one landed smoothly while the second plane went very slowly (before it crashed into the sea), probably because the weather was foggy at the time."

The fuselage of the recently purchased plane was fractured during the crash.

Waves hitting the plane completely severed the rear of the aircraft from the main body, causing it to partially submerge.

Possessions spilled from the plane after the accident

Survivor  Santi Widiastuti said: "I don't know how this accident happened. I just heard a notification that the aircraft would be landing soon.

"Not long after that notice, I heard a loud noise like a plane crashing into something. Suddenly, from under the deck, water began to enter the plane. All happened so fast."

Salvage crews are now hoping to tow the aircraft and retrieve its cockpit voice recorder, which is located in the tail.

The plane overshot the runway on the resort island in Indonesia

Last month Lion Air signed a £18bn deal with Airbus for 234 passenger jets and two years ago it signed a contract with Boeing for 230 planes.

However, the rapidly-expanding carrier is reportedly banned from US and European airspace due to safety concerns.

Between 2004 and 2006, Lion Air suffered a series of six accidents, which all involved planes overshooting or missing the runway, although no one died in those incidents.

The plane's back was fractured by waves but later severed it completely

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bus Crash At Dawn Near Antwerp, Belgium

A bus carrying Russian children has crashed in Belgium, leaving at least five people dead and another five critically injured.

The Polish vehicle containing the youngsters crashed through guardrails and ended up on its side under a raised road near the port city of Antwerp.

The accident in Ranst happened at dawn and no other vehicles were believed to be involved, mayor Lode Hofmans said.

He said: "We have five dead and five who are in critical condition", adding that two more were seriously injured and seven had light wounds.

Mr Hofmans said the bus had been taking the Russian children from Volgograd and was heading towards Paris when the accident happened.

Some 42 people were in the bus at the time of the crash. They were mainly teenagers and a few in their early twenties.

Pictures of the crash scene showed the white bus lying on its side with belongings of the passengers strewn outside.

The accident came hours after more than 30 people were killed when a bus plunged down a ravine in the Peruvian highlands.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Guantanamo: Guards Fire Rounds To Quell Unrest

Guantanamo Bay prison guards have fired several rubber shots to quell prisoner unrest as they moved inmates into individual cells, US military officials said.

The violence erupted during an early morning raid carried out because, according to military officials, prisoners had covered up security cameras and windows as part of a protest and hunger strike over their indefinite confinement and conditions at the US base in Cuba.

Prisoners fought guards with makeshift weapons that included broomsticks and mop handles when troops arrived to move them, said Robert Durand, a military spokesman.

Guards responded by firing four "less-than-lethal rounds" in the section of the prison known as Camp Six, he said.

Mr Durand said there were "no serious injuries to guards or detainees" during the operation aiming "to reestablish proper observation" at the facility.

The rounds included a modified shotgun shell that fires small rubber pellets as well as a type of bean-bag projectile, said Army Colonel Greg Julian.

The violence broke out at so-called Camp Six (file image)

Mr Durand said inmates were being isolated "to ensure the health and security" for prisoners at the facility, where dozens of detainees are in the third month of a hunger strike.

"This action was taken in response to efforts by detainees to limit the guard force's ability to observe the detainees by covering surveillance cameras, windows, and glass partitions," the statement added.

"Round-the-clock monitoring is necessary to ensure security, order and safety, as detainees continued a prolonged hunger strike by refusing regular camp-provided meals."

The prison houses scores of detainees swept up more than a decade ago during in America's so-called war on terror.

The hunger strike began when the men claim prison officials searched their Korans for contraband. Officials have denied any mishandling of Islam's holy book.

An attorney representing some of the inmates slammed their treatment.

"It's just another example of force being used in GTMO (Guantanamo), instead of a sense of human rights," said military lawyer Lieutenant Colonel Barry Wingard.

"The sad thing is that it doesn't appear to matter which political party is in power in Washington. The officials in GTMO always resort to force over common sense."

Activists at an April 11 rally campaign for the closure of Guantanamo Bay

He said the prisoners had asked prison officials to take their Korans instead of "disrespecting" them.

"The officials refused to take the Korans, and continued to search the books in plain view of the prisoners," Col Wingard added.

"Of course, the bigger issue is the 11.5 years without charges and hopelessness of never being released."

Attorneys representing inmates at the prison have said that most of the estimated 130 detainees at Guantanamo's Camp Six wing, which houses "low-value" prisoners, are on hunger strike.

US authorities, however, put the number of hunger strikers at about three dozen.

US President Barack Obama ordered the closing of the Guantanamo detention centre when he took office in 2009, but that was blocked by a Republican-led bill that cut off funding to move the detainees to the US.

The politicians cited security concerns, saying the presence of the detainees would encourage terror attacks in the states or cities where they were being held.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea Rebuffs Talks As A 'Crafty Trick'

North Korea has rejected the South's call to negotiate to resolve the nuclear crisis, calling it a "crafty trick".

The development came as US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Japan for the last leg of his four-day Asia tour aimed at reining in Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

South Korea last week urged the North to discuss stalled operations at a joint factory complex and other issues.

But an unidentified spokesman at the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said on Sunday that Pyongyang had no intention of talking with Seoul unless it abandoned its confrontational posture.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-UN has vowed to beef up its nuclear arsenal

It came as Mr Kerry held meetings in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and also with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who said North Korea could not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.

Both countries reaffirmed their commitment deal with the threat posed by North Korea - and to hold talks with the regime if leader Kim Jong-Un was prepared to honour previous agreements on its missile and nuclear programme.

Mr Kerry said the US was "fully committed" to the defence of Japan on Sunday - just days after Pyongyang threatened the Japanese capital would be "consumed in nuclear flames".

In the past few weeks, North Korea has declared itself to be in a "state of war" with the South, announced that a mothballed nuclear site is to be reopened and threatened to carry out nuclear attacks against the US.

An anti-North Korea rally in Seoul on Sunday

Japan, separated by less than 1,000km (625 miles) of water and a frequent target of Pyongyang's anger, is in easy range, and has deployed Patriot missiles around Tokyo in anticipation of a missile launch by the North.

Speculation has been building since the North was reported to have loaded two mid-range Musudan missiles on mobile launchers and hidden them in underground facilities on its eastern coast.

The move last week prompted the US to bring forward its drone deployment to Japan and send an unmanned spy plane to its airbase in Misawa, in northern Japan.

The Musudan have never been tested but are believed to have a range of around 3,000km (1,860 miles), which could theoretically be pushed to 4,000km (2,485 miles).

US soldiers on a training exercise in Yeoncheon, northeast of Seoul

That would cover any target in South Korea and Japan, and possibly even reach US military bases located on the Pacific island of Guam - which Pyongyang has threatened to strike.

In Seoul, Mr Kerry warned North Korea it would do everything within its means to defend its allies - and that it would be making a "huge mistake" if it launched one of its medium-range missiles during the current standoff.

Japan is a firm ally of the US, More than 35,000 US military personnel are based across the islands.

Both nations share the view that the solution to the North Korean problem lies with Beijing.

Sky's Alex Rossi, who is in Tokyo, said: "There is a feeling here that if North Korea does decide to do something stupid, Japan may very well be in the firing line.

Female Korean soldiers on patrol in their high heels

"Tomorrow is the birthday - the 101st anniversary of the birth of the founding father of North Korea, Kim Il Sung - and it is possible that a medium-range missile may be tested or used."

On Saturday, the top US diplomat met China's leaders to persuade them to push North Korea, whose sole main ally is Beijing, to scale back its belligerence and return to the negotiating table over its suspected nuclear aims.

Both nations agreed to seek a peaceful resolution to the crisis and to work together to ensure a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

Tensions have soared in the region since December, when North Korea test-launched a long-range rocket. In February, it conducted its third nuclear test, which drew fresh UN sanctions.

Mr Kerry said there had been enough confrontational language on North Korea and he did not want to get into a cycle of threats and counter-threats with the reclusive nation.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Womb Transplant Patient Falls Pregnant

The first woman to have a successful womb transplant from a dead donor is two weeks pregnant, according to a hospital in Turkey.

Derya Sert, 22, was born without a womb and was given a uterus in August 2011 in what was described as a "medical miracle" at the time.

She has now conceived after having in-vitro fertilisation treatment (IVF) and is in the early stages of pregnancy.

Doctors waited for 18 months before implanting the embryo to make sure that the organ was still functioning properly.

"Early test results are consistent with pregnancy. The patient is in good health at the moment," Akdeniz University Hospital in Antalya said in a statement.

The baby is expected to be delivered by Caesarean.

The womb will then be removed in the months after the birth to avoid further complications and the risk of rejection.

Experts warn the pregnancy carries several health risks to the patient as well as to the baby.

These include birth defects due to the use of immuno-suppressive drugs as well as premature delivery.

Miss Sert was the second woman in the world to have a womb transplant.

The first went to a woman in Saudi Arabia in 2000 but was from a living donor.

Doctors had to remove the organ when it failed after 99 days due to heavy clotting.

The groundbreaking news of Miss Sert's pregnancy will rekindle hopes for thousands of childless women.

One in every 5,000 women globally is born without a womb, while thousands more have the organ removed due to cancer or other diseases, leaving them unable to get pregnant.

In September, doctors in Sweden performed the world's first mother-to-daughter womb transplants on two Swedish women, both in their 30s.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea Missile Alert After Japan Blunder

A Japanese official mistakenly announced the launch of a North Korean missile instead of sending an alert about a strong earthquake.

An official at the western Osaka aviation bureau emailed 87 airport offices to say a North Korean missile had been launched, Japan's transport ministry said.

The official was trying to send a message to check on possible airport damage immediately after the 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck near the southwestern city of Kobe, injuring dozens of people and destroying several homes.

But instead the official dispatched a pre-prepared alert ready to go in the event of a North Korean missile launch.

The incorrect message was retracted six minutes later but at least one domestic flight was delayed due to the mistake.

Japan is on full alert ahead of an expected mid-range missile launch by North Korea, with Patriot missiles stationed in its capital to protect the 30 million people who live there.

In addition to PAC-3 batteries, Aegis destroyers equipped with sea-based interceptor missiles have been deployed in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

On Wednesday officials in the Japanese city of Yokohama were left red-faced after mistakenly announcing the launch of a North Korean missile to 40,000 followers on Twitter.

Saturday night's earthquake was in the area where a magnitude 7.2 quake killed more than 6,400 people in 1995.

The Meteorological Agency warned there may be aftershocks for about a week.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea: US Urges China To Help End Crisis

The current situation on the Korean peninsula is at a "critical time" US Secretary of State John Kerry has warned Chinese President Xi Jinping as he called for Beijing's intervention to halt escalating tensions with North Korea.

He wants China - historically Pyongyang's ally - to increase its pressure on North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to back down.

Tensions have soared on the Korean peninsula since December, when North Korea test-launched a long-range rocket. In February, it conducted its third nuclear test and drew fresh UN sanctions.

Without naming any countries, President Xi had said recently that "no-one should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gains".

Mr Kerry with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang

In his opening remarks during Saturday's meeting, President Xi assured Mr Kerry China's relationship with the US was "at a new historical stage" and had "got off to a good start".

According to state television, he went on to say that rising tensions in the region were in no-one's interests.

"All sides must bear responsibility for maintaining regional peace and stability and be responsible for the consequences," he was reported to have said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-UN has vowed to beef up its nuclear arsenal

The top US diplomat also discussed the crisis with Premier Li Keqiang and other members of China's communist leadership.

Earlier, Mr Kerry was greeted by China's foreign minister Wang Yi after flying in from talks in Seoul with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, where he warned North Korea a further missile test would be a "huge mistake".

"Obviously there are enormously challenging issues in front of us, and I look forward to having that conversation with you today," Mr Kerry told Mr Wang.

His foreign counterpart agreed the visit came at a "critical moment".

Mr Kerry was first met by China's foreign minister Wang Yi in Beijing

Mr Kerry is seeking to persuade Beijing to help rein in its aggressive ally and bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table over its suspect nuclear programme.

"I think it's clear to everybody in the world that no country in the world has as close a relationship or as significant an impact on the DPRK than China," Mr Kerry said earlier in Seoul before leaving for Beijing.

In the past few weeks, North Korea has declared itself to be in a "state of war" with the South, announced that a mothballed nuclear site is to be reopened and threatened to carry out nuclear attacks against the US

China has backed North Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War and could wield tremendous leverage over the isolated communist regime thanks to the vital aid it provides, including almost all of its neighbour's energy imports.

North Korean soldiers seen at work today on Hwanggumpyong Island

It is estimated to provide as much as 90% of its neighbour's energy imports, 80% of its consumer goods and 45% of its food, according to the US-based Council on Foreign Relations.

But analysts say it is wary of pushing too hard for fear of destabilising North Korea, which could send a wave of hungry refugees flooding into China and ultimately lead to a reunified Korea allied with the United States.

Sky's Alex Rossi said: "John Kerry will have to walk a bit of a tightrope when it comes to the Chinese. He can't go there and make demands. China is a superpower these days so he is going to have to incentivise them.

"Officials suggest one of the ways he may do this is by saying the Americans may draw back from this region if the Chinese pick up the mantle and are more responsible for the security in the area - that is probably something that would go down quite well.

South Korean army soldiers standing guard on Unification Bridge in Paju

"Certainly the feeling is that the Chinese - as the only ally of North Korea - hold the key for de-escalating tensions."

After China, Mr Kerry will head to Japan which is also deeply involved in the North Korea issue and which deployed Patriot missiles around Tokyo this week as anticipation of a missile launch by the North's mounted.

Mr Kerry said he hoped China, Japan and the United States would be able to find the "unity" required to offer a "very different set of alternatives for how we can proceed and ultimately how we can defuse this situation".

Last week the US brought forward its drone deployment to Japan and sent an unmanned spy plane to its airbase in Misawa, Northern Japan, after North Korea moved two missile launchers to its east coast.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Plane Plunges Into Water Near Bali Airport

A plane with more than 100 people onboard has overshot a runway on the island of Bali and plunged into the sea.

Despite dramatic pictures showing the Lion Air jet with a broken fuselage, officials said everyone on board had survived.

The brand new Boeing 737-800 plane came to rest in shallow water near the shoreline and bright yellow life jackets could be seen littering the nearby water and shore.

A passenger being attended to a hospital in Kedongan, near Denpasar

Bali police chief Arif Wahyunadi told local TV One that everyone had been evacuated and taken inside Denpasar airport.

Lion Air spokesman Edward Sirait said there were 101 passengers and seven crew on board but would not comment on the cause of the crash.

Some 40 people were treated for injuries including broken legs, head wounds and shock, though only four were admitted to hospital, officials at Sanglah hospital said.

Ropes were secured to the plane from the shoreline

Many passengers arrived with wet clothes and bruises.

The police chief told local television that there were two foreign passengers.

"There was no sign at all it would fall but then suddenly it dropped into the water," passenger Tantri Widiastuti, 60, told Metro TV.

Local residents at the fence of the airport near Denpasar

"I saw holes in the floor of the plane ... we were evacuated quickly."

Mr Wahyunadi said the plane originated from Bandung, the capital of West Java province, and was landing in Bali.

The twin-engined aircraft was operated by local carrier Lion Air, whose operating base is at Bandung.

Access to the crash site was made difficult because of large concrete shore erosion protection blocks.

Bali is a popular tourist destination in Indonesia

Some rescuers appeared to have paddled out to the stranded aircraft on surfboards.

Budget carrier Lion Air began operating in 2000 with just one aircraft in its fleet and quickly expanded operations to more than 36 locations in Indonesia.

It also flies to foreign locations including Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam and used a fleet Boeing 737 aircraft.

Last month Lion Air signed a deal with Airbus for 234 passenger jets worth a $24bn (£18bn). Two years ago, it signed a deal with Boeing for 230 planes.

Bali is a hugely popular holiday destination, welcoming millions of foreign tourists from around the world every year.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tornadoes And Severe Storms Hit US Midwest

A severe spring storm in the US midwest has left at least one person dead and several injured.

The fatality came after a tornado hit eastern parts of Mississippi, with one resident capturing a huge twister in Noxubee County on video.

In Missouri, the National Weather Service says that the St Louis suburb of Hazelwood was hit by a tornado on Wednesday night.

A National Weather Service meteorologist said emergency crews were still assessing whether tornadoes were to blame for other damage in Missouri and neighbouring Illinois.

Lightning strikes across the skies of Patterson, in Arkansas

Missouri governor Jay Nixon has declared a state of emergency.

The storms have also brought ice and snow to much of the midwest and parts of the south east of the US.

The latest one formed a giant T on Thursday, NBC News reported, leading to snow in upstate New York, ice-covered roads in Wisconsin and heavy rain in Ohio and New Orleans.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea: Defector Reveals Harrowing Escape

Visiting Secretive North Korea

Updated: 11:52am UK, Wednesday 10 April 2013

Despite the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula, tourists have been able to travel to North Korea.

A Sky News employee has just returned from a four-day trip. Journalists are strictly banned from the county without visas, which are rarely issued, so we are not revealing her name, but here is her story:

I flew from Beijing to Pyongyang. On the flight with me were lots of North Koreans with plenty of excess baggage: TVs, vegetables and meat.

Nothing felt abnormal. There was no feeling of tension.

Only when I arrived at the Demilitarised Zone were we prevented access to some of the buildings because of the current situation.

Throughout the four-day trip, which was organised by a Chinese travel company, we were assigned two North Korean minders.

One of them was more senior than the other. She watched us and watched her colleague too.

They did not want the war but were also determined to fight if the country decided to start a war. They emphasised to us that they believed in the country from their hearts.

We were not allowed to move freely. We could only do tourist things according to the guidance of the tour "guards".

We were not allowed to take photographs in the car or anywhere without the minder's permission. We were told not to photograph anything that looked bad or makes North Korea look bad.

"Don't bring bad impressions out of Pyongyang," they said.

People were very friendly. There was little traffic, so people would stare at our bus wherever we drove.

People there are very aware of the potential war.

Every time we arrived at the places of interest, the tour guides would always ask us in Korean (the minders would translate into Chinese) about the latest situation and our opinions about the situation, particularly our opinions about the US, as they all believe the tensions are the fault of America.

When we asked the minders what would happen if the war breaks out tomorrow, they said: "If the war breaks tomorrow, until midnight tonight, we are still building the socialist constructions."

We also asked them whether they know where Kim Jong-Un lives and works, as we explained to them that in Beijing, all the top leaders work and live in a place called Zhongnanhai. They all said they had no idea.

The two minders liked to sing. One of the songs they sang was apparently written by a South Korean musician to express his admiration toward Kim Jong-Il.

On one of the days we went to Myohyang San, a North Korean mountain. The six of us on the tour were locked in the restaurant because the North Koreans were so afraid that we would wander around.

There is a museum near the mountain, where gifts from foreign countries are displayed. A lot of them came from Japan.

We asked them how could they receive so many gifts from Japan given that North Korea considers the Japanese as enemies. They told us that the Japanese really admire the leaders, so they gave us many gifts.

We stayed in the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where we could watch international TV channels including the BBC, NHK, (Japanese TV), Phoenix (Hong Kong TV) and CCTV (Chinese TV).

The minders live on a specific floor where they only have three North Korean channels to watch. They never ate with us and when we asked what they had eaten, they always refused to tell us.

We were not allowed to use the local currency, and they never showed us their money. We could use Chinese RMB, US dollars or euros.

There were not many opportunities to see any ordinary North Korean people apart from the shopkeepers, tour guides or waitresses in the hotel.

There is a casino on the underground floor of the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where most of the staff members come from Liaoning Province over the northern border in China, and North Koreans are not allowed to enter.

The casino is managed by people from Macau. The staff there told us it was empty because the tensions mean far fewer people are travelling to North Korea.

Staff at the casino are all Chinese. When we asked to go to the casino, one of the minders said to us: "You must be non-communists, because communist members don't go to casinos."

Wherever we go to visit, they always asked us if we think their places or things are pretty. They only wanted to show us the good side of the country.

As soon as we travelled outside the capital city, it felt very like the real North Korea: rural, no tall buildings, only farmland.

We never felt the tension of war on our trip. On the streets, on our tour, in the hotel and even at a school we visited, the students were studying as normal.

The people we spoke to asked us if it was true that living in Beijing is hard. They think living in North Korea is the happiest thing in the world.

It feels as though those North Koreans who have travelled outside the country have never mentioned what the outside world really looks like.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More