18/07/2025

FRIDAY | JULY 18, 2025

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Air India probe reveals no issues

city about 50km south of the capital Seoul, after a 10m-high retaining wall from an overpass collapsed onto the road, crushing his car. In Chungcheong province, two people were rescued following a landslide. South Korea is regularly hit by flooding during the summer monsoon period but is typically well prepared and the death toll is usually relatively low. Scientists say climate change has made weather events around the world more extreme and frequent. South Korea also endured record-breaking rains and flooding in 2022, which left at least 11 people dead. – AFP Airlines) and Scoot’s Boeing 787 aircraft are functioning properly and comply with regulatory requirements,” an SIA spokesperson told AFP earlier this week. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed last month was heading from Ahmedabad in western India to London, with the incident killing all but one of the 242 people on board as well as 19 people on the ground. In a letter to employees on Monday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the probe into the crash is ongoing and it would be unwise to jump to “premature conclusions”. – AFP

completed and no issues were found,” the communication said, noting that it had complied with the regulator’s directives. It said all of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft has undergone “Throttle Control Module replacement as per the Boeing maintenance schedule”, adding that the fuel control switch was part of this module. Other countries have ordered their airlines to examine fuel switches on Boeing aircraft. Singapore found them all to be “functioning properly”. “Our checks confirmed that all fuel switches on SIA (Singapore

Airworthiness Information Bulletin issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration in 2018, which recommended inspection of the locks to ensure they could not be moved accidentally. Air India’s investigation found no problems with the locking mechanism. “Over the weekend, our engineering team initiated precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of fuel control switch on all our Boeing 787 aircraft,” its Flight Operations Department said in a communication to its pilots. “The inspections have been

o Aviation regulator orders investigation into locking feature on switches of Boeing models

MUMBAI: Air India’s inspection of the locking feature on the fuel control switches of its existing Boeing 787 aircraft found no issues, an internal communication circulated within the airline said. The switches have come under scrutiny following last month’s crash of an Air India jet that killed 260 people after a preliminary probe by Indian investigators found that they

had flipped from run position to cutoff shortly after takeoff. India’s aviation regulator earlier this week ordered the country’s airlines to investigate the locking feature on the switches of several Boeing models. The order comes after Boeing notified operators that the fuel switch locks on its jets were safe. But it was in line with a Special

Taipei holds civilian drill to prepare for attack by China

South Korea hit by most rainfall in 120 years SEOUL: Parts of South Korea were battered by torrential rains yesterday, with one region pummelled by the most rainfall per hour since full records began in 1904, the country’s weather agency said. The heavy rains were due to “warm and moist air flowing in along the edge of the North Pacific High, triggering strong atmospheric instability”, the official added.

TAIPEI: The busy streets of Taipei came to a brief standstill yesterday when air raid sirens sent thousands of people into underground shelters in a rehearsal for a Chinese attack. The annual civilian drill is being held in cities across Taiwan this week, alongside military training, to prepare the self-governed island for a potential Chinese invasion. At 1.30pm (0530 GMT) sirens were heard across Taipei, bringing the capital city of 2.5 million people to a halt for half an hour. Traffic was required to stop and people were directed into shelters, including underground car parks and subway stations. The drills also involved simulating wartime aid distribution and a mass-casualty event. Since taking office last year, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has sought to raise public awareness on the threat posed by China. Of the drills, 25-year-old Oscar Wang said: “I think this is necessary because tensions across the strait are so high right now. It is important to let us ordinary people become more familiar with evacuation routes.“ Taiwan is also keen to show the world, especially its key security backer Washington, that it is serious about boosting its defence capability. Taiwanese regular troops were joined by the largest-ever mobilisation of reservists for the 10-day “Han Kuang” military drills, which end today. Rather than only repelling a Chinese attack on its shores,

Taiwanese troops this year also practised fighting invading forces in city streets. “It is as much training as acclimating the population to modern warfare,“ said Kitsch Liao of US think tank Atlantic Council. Heavily armed troops carrying US-provided anti-aircraft Stinger missiles stormed Taipei’s metro system in a nighttime exercise. High-tech mobile missile launchers from the United States were positioned around the capital and elsewhere, in full view of the public. Shoppers in a Taipei supermarket recently became participants in a drill simulating a Chinese missile strike. “I did not know there was going to be a drill,“ Yang Shu-ting, 70, told AFP. “My heart was beating very fast and I was inevitably nervous. I think the point is to let you know where you should hide if something happens.” Troops have simulated various scenarios, including “grey zone harassment”, tactics that fall short of an act of war, and “long-range precision strikes”, defence officials said. Several minor collisions involving military vehicles during the exercises showed the challenge of manoeuvring through Taiwan’s narrow streets. Defence expert Chieh Chung said such mishaps are “difficult to avoid” in urban areas. “In Taiwan, many roads and bridges create significant limitations for armoured vehicles when they move through,“ said Chieh, a researcher at the Association of Strategic Foresight in Taipei.” – AFP

South Korean broadcasters ran videos of severe flooding in Seosan, with water swamping markets and apartment complexes, as well as submerging parked cars. Residents in Hongseong county and South Chungcheong province were ordered to “evacuate immediately to a safe location” yesterday morning due to flooding from a nearby stream. Several schools and nurseries in the county were also closed. One driver was killed in Osan, a

South Korea typically experiences monsoon rains in July but three areas in the country’s South Chungcheong province experienced some of the heaviest hourly downpours on record this week, official weather data showed. The western Seosan area was hit by rainfall peaking at 114.9mm per hour, “a level typically seen only once in 100 years”, a weather agency official told AFP, adding that this was the highest rate since 1904.

An aerial view of the flooding caused by torrential rain in Yesan, South Korea. – REUTERSPIC

Town recaptured, claims Myanmar junta YANGON: Myanmar’s junta claimed yesterday to have ousted armed rebels who captured a town near the military’s main officer training academy after a year-long battle. The northeastern town of had retaken the town after “566 armed engagements within 11 operational months”. A rare one-page spread in the newspaper showed soldiers holding rifles aloft in celebration and detailed the battle, admitting initial attacks led to officers and enlisted men “sacrificing their lives”.

Hiker airlifted after fall at Indonesian volcano JAKARTA: A 46-year-old Swiss hiker was airlifted to a hospital in Bali after suffering multiple injuries in a fall while trekking on Mount Rinjani, Indonesia’s second-highest volcano, located in Lombok. Benedikt Emmenegger was the Rinjani Squad, the National Search and Rescue Agency, forest rangers and volunteers was quickly mobilised. Yarman explained that

Yarman, thanking all involved for their swift and professional response. Mount Rinjani has come under renewed scrutiny following a series of recent incidents, including the death of 26-year-old Brazilian hiker Juliana Marins, who was found in June after falling into a ravine. In May, 57-year-old Malaysian climber Rennie Abdul Ghani died in a fall while another Malaysian trekker was injured in late June. Authorities have advised hikers to exercise caution while the Indonesian Tourism Ministry has urged the use of certified guides and licensed trekking operators. – Bernama

Nawnghkio was seized by opposition fighters last summer, after some of the disparate groups organised a combined offensive which secured a string of victories against the military. Nawnghkio is about 40km from Pyin Oo Lwin, the town that hosts the country’s main military officer school. Its capture was a victory for ethnic fighters from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the pro-democracy People’s Defence Forces. But the junta said in state media The Global New Light of Myanmar it

emergency responders coordinated with the Mataram Basarnas and Bali Air, which was contacted through the hiker’s insurance, to arrange a helicopter evacuation. Emmenegger was evacuated from the site at 4.58pm and flown to a hospital in Kuta, Bali. A preliminary medical report stated that he sustained fractures to his thigh and arm, along with bleeding near the eye. “Safety is our top priority,” said

But “by combining strategic ground and air military tactics”, the military captured “the whole Nawnghkio area” by Wednesday, it said. In a statement, the TNLA did not acknowledge the junta’s claim but said “it has been difficult to continue administrative work in the town due to the heavy offensive” and has had “moved civil administration services to safe locations”. – AFP

descending the Pelawangan trail towards Segara Anak lake on Wednesday when the incident occurred, according to the Mount Rinjani National Park Authority. “Rescue teams sprang into action after the incident was reported at 11.25am local time,” said its head Yarman in a statement. A joint operation involving park officials, medical personnel,