22/07/2025

TUESDAY | JULY 22, 2025

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Did pilots shut off wrong engine before Jeju crash?

Pakistan arrests 11 over ‘honour’ killing QUETTA: Pakistan has arrested 11 suspects after a video emerged on social media of a woman and a man being shot and killed for marrying against the wishes of their families. The couple, who were not identified, were shot dead on the orders of a tribal council last month in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, according to provincial authorities, who investigated after the video went viral. Eleven suspects have been arrested, Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said yesterday, hours after he announced that the location and people in the video had been identified. A case has been registered against all those involved, Bugti said, adding that they will be prosecuted. The video shows people in a desert, and some pickup trucks and SUVs. The woman is given a copy of the Koran and she then tells a man: “Come walk seven steps with me, after that you can shoot me.” The man then follows her for a few steps. A local police official said the woman did not cry or seek mercy. “You are allowed only to shoot me. Nothing more than that,” the woman says in the regional Brahavi language, translated by the official. It was not clear what she meant by “nothing more than that”. The man, who had followed her, then aimed a pistol at her as she turned her back to the shooter. The woman, wrapped in a shawl, stood still as shots were fired. She remained standing after two shots, delivered from close range, dropping to the ground after the third shot. That is followed by a series of gunshots. The footage then shows a bloodied man lying on the ground, close to the woman’s body. Then, men are shown shooting at both the bodies. Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the video. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said there were at least 405 “honour killings” last year, criticising the authorities for failing to stamp out these crimes. Most victims are women and the killings are usually carried out by relatives professing to defend their family’s reputation, human rights groups say. Conservative families in many parts of Pakistan and India do not allow couples to marry against their wishes. – Reuters Pope calls Aldrin to mark moon landing CASTEL GANDOLFO: Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called astronaut Buzz Aldrin and visited the Vatican’s astronomical observatory in Castel Gandolfo to mark the 56th anniversary of man’s first moon landing. “This evening, 56 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, I spoke with the astronaut Buzz Aldrin,” the American pope wrote on X. “Together we shared the memory of a historic feat, a testimony to human ingenuity, and we reflected on the mystery and greatness of Creation”, he wrote. After Neil Armstrong, who died in 2012, Aldrin was the second person to set foot on the Moon on the historic Apollo 11 mission that secured the United States’ victory in the space race. A devout Christian, Aldrin took communion on the lunar surface using a travel kit provided by his Presbyterian pastor. The pope said he blessed the 95-year-old astronaut and his family during the call. Earlier on Sunday, Leo visited the Vatican Observatory, which sits on a leafy hilltop near the papal summer home of Castel Gandolfo. Vatican photographs showed the pope looking through a large telescope in the observatory, one of the oldest astronomical research institutions in the world, where planetary scientists mix the study of meteorites with theology. – AFP

o Clarify all facts, says bereaved families group

without exploring other contributing factors, lawyers representing the families said. The Jeju Air flight overshot Muan Airport’s runway as it made an emergency belly landing and crashed into an embankment containing navigation equipment, leading to a fire and partial explosion. Representatives of victims’ families and the Jeju Air pilots’ union said over the weekend that the investigation needs to also focus on the embankment, which aviation experts have said likely contributed to the high death toll. The Jeju Air pilots’ union said the investigation board was “misleading the public” by suggesting there was no problem with the left engine given traces of bird remains were found in both engines. The union accused the board of trying to make pilots “scapegoats” by failing to provide scientific and technological grounds that the plane could have landed safely with only the left engine turned on. Air accidents are complex incidents that occur due to a number of contributing factors, and investigators have not produced evidence to support the implication that the accident was a result of pilot error, the union said. Investigators are so far “silent about organisational responsibility”, the union said. A body representing bereaved families said in a statement there were some phrases related to the cause of the accident in the planned press release that could be interpreted as if a final conclusion had been reached, and all facts surrounding the incident must be clarified. – Reuters

strike than the left, and there was circumstantial evidence that pilots had turned off the less-damaged left engine, according to a third source who was at the briefing. South Korean media outlets including MBN and Yonhap reported that information on Saturday and Sunday. South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB), which is leading the investigation, did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Boeing referred questions about the crash to ARAIB. Engine maker CFM International, a joint venture between GE and France’s Safran, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jeju Air said it was actively cooperating with the investigation and awaiting the official announcement of the results. Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, and under international rules, a final report is expected within a year of an accident. A preliminary report released in January said duck remains were found in both engines of the Jeju Air plane after the flight from Bangkok crashed at Muan Airport, but did not give details about the extent of remains or damage found in each engine. South Korea’s investigation body on Saturday cancelled a planned release to media of an update on what is known so far about the engines. Families of the crash victims were briefed on the report ahead of its planned release, but objected to its publication, saying that it appeared to apportion blame to the pilots

A 23-year-old master’s student launched the petition against the law on July 10, with support quickly snowballing with the backing of many including actors and several left-wing lawmakers. More than 500,000 people signed it in 24 hours from Saturday and Sunday. The law’s proponents however argue farmers face too much regulation in France and allowing them to use acetamiprid again would help reduce the constraints they face. National Assembly Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet on Sunday ruled out abandoning the legislation, named after the conservative lawmaker who proposed it, as it would “save a certain number of our farmers”. The petition’s author, Eleonore Pattery called the new law a “scientific, ethical, environmental and public health aberration”. “It represents an attack on public health, biodiversity, food security and common sense,” she said. Acetamiprid has been banned in France since 2018, but remains legal within the European Union. The insecticide is sought after by beet and hazelnut growers, who say they have no alternative against pests and face unfair competition. On the other hand, beekeepers have branded the chemical “a bee killer”. French scientists who have studied its SEOUL: The South Korea-led investigation into Jeju Air’s fatal plane crash in December has “clear evidence: that pilots shut off the less damaged engine after a bird strike”, a source with knowledge of the probe said yesterday. The source said the evidence, including the cockpit voice recorder, computer data and a physical engine switch found in the wreckage showed pilots shut off the left engine instead of the right engine when taking emergency steps after a bird strike just before it was scheduled to land. “The investigation team has clear evidence and backup data, so its finding will not change,” the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity because investigators have not released an official report including this evidence. A government source said examinations of the plane’s recovered engines found that no defects had been present before the bird strike and crash. The Dec 29 crash of the Boeing 737-800 jet at Muan Airport killed all but two of the 181 passengers and crew members on board and was the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil. Investigators told victims’ family members at a briefing on Saturday that the right engine had been more severely damaged by a bird

Petition against bee-killing pesticide passes one million PARIS: More than a million people have signed a petition urging the French government to ditch a law allowing the reintroduction of a banned pesticide experts say is deadly to bees. The “Duplomb law” has stirred public anger for permitting a return of acetamiprid – a chemical known to be toxic to pollinators such as bees and to ecosystems. It was adopted on July 8 but has not yet come into effect.

A member of French agricultural union Confederation Paysanne holds a sign reading ‘The Duplomb law is giving us the blues’. – AFPPIC

Assembly may choose to hold a public debate limited to the content of the petition itself. Speaker Braun-Pivet told the broadcaster franceinfo on Sunday she would be in favour of such a debate, but lawmakers “could not in any case go back on the law which has been voted through”. President Emmanuel Macron does have the power to send the text back for deputies to re examine it, and on Sunday Green party leader Marine Tondelier appealed to him to do just that in a video posted online. In late June, demonstrators – including farmers, environmental organisations and scientists – rallied across France calling for the Bill to be withdrawn. – AFP

disorientating effects on bees confirm it is toxic. Its effects on humans are also a source of concern. The petition calls for the “immediate repeal” of the law and a “citizen-led consultation involving health, agricultural, environmental and legal stakeholders”. Launched on July 10, two days after the Senate adopted the text, it had already passed 500,000 signatures on Saturday. Petitions do not in themselves trigger a review or repeal of the legislation but unprecedented public support may prompt renewed parliamentary debate on the matter. Under French rules, if a petition reaches 500,000 verified signatures, the National