Thursday, 3 July 2014
Aisles Flooded As Qantas Plane Springs Leak
Passengers on board a
double-decker Qantas A380 airline have spoken of their horror when a torrent of water poured down cabin aisles.
Travellers were settling down for the long-haul flight between Los Angeles
and Melbourne when pipes began pouring fresh water into the cabin.Hollywood actress Yvette Nicole Brown said the incident was "the scariest thing I have ever seen" and she feared the torrent would short-circuit the plane's electrics over the Pacific Ocean.
The star of the movie (500) Days of Summer was flying to Australia when the bizarre incident happened an hour into the journey.
The captain decided to turn the jet around and flew back to Los Angeles' LAX airport.
"It looked like a trickle at first and I thought someone had spilt a soda or pop or something and it just got bigger and bigger and it filled up both aisles," Ms Brown told CNN.
"It literally was like a river running down the aisles of the plane. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen."
The actress said she feared the plane could short out or passengers could be hurt.
"It seemed like a problem to me because it
is water and electricity," she said.
"All I kept thinking about was, 'We are over the Pacific and I'm in something
that is full of electricity and there is water.'"The other thing was it was a double-decker plane so I was wondering where the water was going because it flowed by us.
"But I'm thinking there's people below us.
"There's a staircase behind us and sure enough it became a downpour for them."
Qantas says at no point was passenger safety compromised and the jet turned back for the comfort of those on board.
The flight from LA to Australia is 15.5 hours, one of the longest scheduled non-stop flights.
Passengers were offered hotel accommodation in LA while the issue was resolved.
One traveller, Susanna Halliday, tweeted pictures of her sodden seat and of blankets mopping up water on the plane’s staircase.
She posted: "After being rained on during my #Qantas flight I’m in one of the worst hotels I’ve ever stayed at in my life. No sleep for the weary."
The airline said in a statement: "Crew on board did everything they could to help customers, including moving them to unaffected areas and providing spare blankets so they could stay dry."
"We apologise to customers for the inconvenience.
"We are liaising with Airbus to understand what caused this fault."
Brown, although scared, was full of praise
for Qantas flight and gate crews, describing them as "awesome".
original post found her.
Luis Suarez;;Liverpool
Luis Suarez: Barcelona talks productive, say Liverpool
Liverpool have held "productive" talks with Barcelona over the proposed sale of striker Luis Suarez but no deal has been finalised between the clubs.
Reds chief executive Ian Ayre spent much of Wednesday in discussions with senior Barcelona officials in London.
The Reds remain adamant Suarez, 27, will not be sold for less than the release clause in his contract, believed to be between £70m and £80m.
"The talks held were productive," a senior Liverpool source told the BBC.
"There are sensible expectations on both sides.
"Further talks and discussions will take place but no deal has yet been finalised."
Suarez, who joined Liverpool for £22.7m from Ajax in 2011 and has four years remaining on his Liverpool contract, is serving a four-month ban for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup.
Barcelona are understood to want to pay closer to £60m for the player, and any deal may include 25-year-old Chile winger Alexis Sanchez, who is also wanted by Juventus, in part-exchange.
However, while Barcelona are willing to include Sanchez as part of the deal, Liverpool do not see the forward's involvement as crucial - and there is a growing sense at Anfield that Barcelona are close to offering a figure that the clubs can agree on.
Speaking at a media conference on Wednesday, Barcelona club president Josep Maria Bartomeu said: "This year we are going to restructure the team in depth and we are working on that.
"We have been working on that since February, but I can't reveal things we are doing.
"We have to be discreet - we can't give clues to other teams.
"We do have a lot of negotiations at a very advanced stage, but the World Cup is going on. People are speculating about a lot of players at the World Cup, but there's a lot of different factors."
Pressed on Suarez, he said: "He's a great player, a global star and we want him to play as well as he's playing up to now. I'm speaking as a football fan.
"He's a player who needs to rebuild himself and get back to playing football."
Liverpool are pragmatic about Suarez's ambitions and are aware he would welcome a move to Spain, and particularly to Barcelona.
Suarez apologised on Monday for biting Chiellini, after which Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta said: "Suarez has shown he is humble enough to admit an error, which is very important.
"Everyone knows Luis is an excellent player, everyone knows last season he played in various positions in attack, but everyone also knows he is a Liverpool player."
Bartomeu described the player's decision to apologise as "honourable" and "good for football".
"He did something wrong and I think it's everybody in football's responsibility, whether it's Liverpool or others, to help him to go ahead and press on with his football career. It's not easy to admit your mistakes," he said.
Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic, who completed his move to Barcelona from Sevilla on Tuesday, also praised Suarez.
He said: "The fact he has had the character and the strength to go in front of everyone and say sorry says a lot about him as a person."
India
India: Police order couples to marry after hotel raid
Police in the Indian state of Bihar are reported to have married off two couples caught having trysts in a hotel under assumed names.
"We went to the hotel in search of a runaway couple. Instead, we found these two couples registered as married under false names," Bhagalpur Town Police Inspector Kanhaiya Lal told The Hindustan Times. They had been booking hotel rooms in the town for assignations for some time, it seems. Officer Rita Kumari "convinced the lovers that the only way to escape the stigma attached to being caught in such a manner was to get married".
One young couple was a railway clerk from neighbouring Amarpur and a student at a women's college in Bhagalpur. The other - a local man and a girl from nearby Banka - are related by marriage. The twin weddings took place at the Kupeshwarnath Annapurna Temple opposite the police station.
"It was a simple wedding ceremony performed according to Hindu rituals. Relatives of the two couples were present. No dowry was given or taken, making it an ideal marriage," said Inspector Lal. The paper did not record the reaction of the couples or their families.
Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter.
Tighter security for flights to US
ed at 10:32
What changes will we see?
The unspecified measures will be put into place in some airports with direct US flights
What is the security risk?
Longer queues are a possibility
'Serial failures'
Thwarted AQAP plots
Authorities say they will work to limit disruption for passengers
'Keep us safe'
Tighter security for flights to US
original post found her
The BBC's Richard Lister reflects on how air travel security has tightened in recent years
Security is being tightened at airports with direct flights into the US - including some in the UK - in response to US warnings of a "credible threat".
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the measures were being taken to keep the public safe.
While he would not specify what steps would be involved, he ruled out "significant disruption" to passengers.
It comes amid US media reports that al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria and Yemen are developing bombs to smuggle on planes.
A US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official said the changes were a response to a "real time" and "credible" threat, but he could not comment on specific intelligence matters.
'Stringent measures'
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson also said in a statement: "We are sharing recent and relevant information with our foreign allies and are consulting the aviation industry."
While he did not elaborate on the enhanced security measures, it is thought they could include more thorough screening checks of shoes and electronic devices.
Mr McLoughlin told the BBC that "very stringent" measures were already in place, but that the UK had to take action when given information and advice to do so.
The changes are expected in the "upcoming days".
Some 80 commercial airline passenger flights are departing the UK bound for US destinations on Thursday, according to the National Airport Traffic Services (Nats), which only covers 15 main UK airports and does not take into account cargo, business or private flights.
Stansted, Bristol and Gatwick airports have said they are operating as business as usual.
by Richard Westcott, BBC transport correspondent
The unspecified measures will be put into place in some airports with direct US flights
The UK government isn't giving any details about what these security changes actually are, but they haven't ruled out longer queues at security.
The statement from the department for transport merely says that the majority of passengers should not experience significant disruption.
What we do know is that all of the old rules remain in place. So you will still have to put liquids into separate, see-through bags, take your laptop out of your bag, take off your belt and maybe your shoes before going through security.
It's also not clear whether these changes will affect every airport, and whether they are limited to flights to and from the United States, which has prompted this move.
The actual terrorism threat level remains the same, at substantial. That's the middle of the five threat levels and means that an attack is a strong possibility.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin says the UK has "acted on advice and information received"
Al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, and Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are believed to be working together to try to develop explosives that could avoid detection by current airport scanners.
The Arab Spring upheavals of 2011 have left much territory in Yemen ungoverned, giving the AQAP the opportunity to move in and carry out attacks on government positions there.
Yemen also has become one of a handful of countries where the US acknowledges using drones which have killed large numbers of jihadist plotters.
by Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent
Longer queues are a possibility
This new increased threat warning has been triggered by a fear amongst western intelligence agencies that some of al-Qaida's sophisticated bomb-making expertise has proliferated out of Yemen to Syria.
For the last five years jihadists in Yemen have been working on so-called "artfully-concealed devices" - hard-to-detect explosives that contain no metal and emit only a faint vapour.
Three times now they have been able to smuggle these onto international flights. Only one exploded, killing the man carrying it but nobody else, after the plane landed.
There is equipment in place to detect such devices at most major UK airports but it is not used on every passenger.
What is alarming the US Department for Homeland Security is the possibility that jihadists with European passports are now in Syria, learning how to construct such devices before returning home.
Ben Friedman, an expert in defence and homeland security at the Cato Institute in the US, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that it was important to remember that attempts by the Yemeni bomb-makers in the past to blow up planes had failed.
He referred to the Christmas Day underwear bomber, who failed to take down a US-bound flight in 2009, and a failed attempt in which a bomb was hidden in a printer cartridge in a cargo plane in 2010, which was also bound for the US.
"These guys are serial failures," he said.
Meanwhile, a picture of home-made bombs was posted on Twitteron Wednesday by a person claiming to be Nasser Muthana, from Cardiff, who appeared in an Isis propaganda video released last week.
He tweeted next to the image: "So the UK is afraid I come back with the skills I've gained."
- August 2009: AQAP bomb-maker Ibrahim al-Asiri sends his brother from Yemen to Saudi Arabia to assassinate a senior Saudi prince. The device explodes next to the prince but kills only the bomber
- December 2009: AQAP sends Nigerian Omar Abdulmutallab on a flight to Detroit with a bomb hidden in his underpants. He lights the fuse, but is overpowered before it goes off
- October 2010: AQAP sends two bombs hidden inside printer ink toner cartridges on cargo flights destined for Chicago. One is intercepted in Dubai, the other at East Midlands Airport after a tip-off
- May 2012: AQAP gives a newly upgraded airline bomb to a supposed suicide bomber, but he is a Saudi double agent and he passes it to Saudi intelligence
Authorities say they will work to limit disruption for passengers
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he could not discuss the intelligence and analysis that led to increased security.
However, he added that the "groups... who want to do us harm are constantly looking at new ways that they can seek to harm us and that is why we have to constantly review whether we need to implement new ways to keep us safe".
The BBC understands the security changes are not expected to cause big delays at Heathrow - one of the busiest hubs for flights to the US.
Security experts told the BBC the best defence against the type of bombs al-Qaeda is thought to be developing was a combination of two things: both a body scanner and an ion body scanner.
The former reveals concealed devices - even those hidden inside a bomber's body - and the latter detects the tiniest particles of explosive residue.
Both devices are deployed at most major UK airports, but are used on only a minority of passengers, alongside more common measures including x-ray scans, pat-downs and swabs.
Airports across the world ramped up security measures in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US. Cockpit security was also enhanced.
They introduced security checks on footwear after a shoe bomb nearly brought down a plane a few months later.
Restrictions on liquids in hand luggage were introduced in 2006 after a British plot to blow up seven US and Canada-bound flights with liquid bombs was foiled by the security services.
Three men behind the terror plot were jailed for life.
Have you been affected by tight security when flying? You can share your experience with us by emailinghaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using 'Airport security' as the subject heading.
Alternatively, you can use the form below
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Argentina mourns tragic death of young TV reporter at World Cup
Argentina mourns tragic death of young TV reporter at World Cup
Argentina fans and players
at the World Cup are in mourning after a young female journalist was tragically
killed in an accident while covering the World Cup in Brazil.
Maria Soledad Fernandez, a 26-year-old TV reporter for DirecTV Sports and
daughter of prominent Argentine journalist Miguel 'Titi' Fernandez, died in a
car crash on her way back to Belo Horizonte from Sao Paulo. Two of her
colleagues, Juan Daniel Berazegueti and Fernando Javier Bruno, were injured in
the accident. Both are stable and out of danger.
Local authorities said the car lost control
after a collision with another vehicle and fell off a cliff on the BR-391 road
near the town of Oliveira, with Fernandez thrown out of the vehicle when it
crashed.
Another vehicle reportedly involved in the
accident was spotted soon after at a petrol station with severe damage. The two
occupants of that car have been arrested as police begin an investigation.
Argentina's players cancelled a news
conference on Wednesday, a day after their World Cup round of 16 victory over
Switzerland, to mourn the death.
"The players are extremely saddened by this
death because they also feel affected as they are also children and they also
have children themselves," Argentina Football Association General Secretary Juan
Carlos Crespi said.
"She was much loved."
Team officials and reporters held a
minute's silence, with many in tears and clapping.
"I would like to apologise to media but we
will not hold a press conference," Crespi said. "Old people like me are also
affected because children normally bury their parents, not the other way
around."
Earlier on Wednesday Argentina player
Sergio Aguero, recovering from a thigh strain since their group game against
Nigeria, trained lightly with the ball for about 15 minutes, to see the extent
of his progress, a team official told reporters.
Argentina, who booked their quarter-final
ticket on Tuesday with an 1-0 extra-time win over the Swiss, next face
Belgium.
- Society & Culture
- Sports & Recreation
- Argentina
Shakira set to make third World Cup appearance
Shakira set to make third World Cup appearanceid
original post found her.
Colombian pop singer Shakira will make her
third consecutive World Cup appearance at the closing ceremony in Rio de
Janeiro's Maracana before the final on July 13.
Shakira will perform her song "La La La (Brazil 2014)" alongside Brazilian
percussionist and singer Carlinhos Brown."I have an intricate relationship with football for obvious reasons, and I truly understand what the World Cup means to so many people, myself included," Shakira said.
Mexican-American guitarist Carlos Santana, Haitian-American hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean
and Brazilian singer Alexandre Pires will perform the official anthem of the
2014 World Cup "Dar Um Jeito", Portuguese for "We Will Find a Way".
The closing ceremony will also feature a
samba performance from one of the Rio de Janeiro schools that participate in the
city's famous Carnival celebrations.
Reuters
Andy Murray out of Wimbledon 2014.
Wimbledon 2014: Andy Murray has got years left - Jimmy Connors
original post found her
Andy Murray will bounce back from his Wimbledon disappointment and compete for major titles for years to come, says eight-time Grand Slam champion Jimmy Connors.
On the same Centre Court where he ended Great Britain's 77-year wait for a men's singles champion last year, Murray gave a listless display in the quarter-finals as he was thrashed 6-1 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 by rising star Grigor Dimitrov.
In four Grand Slams since his Wimbledon triumph, Murray, 27, has not reached a final and has only got past the quarter-finals on one occasion, although he spent a large chunk of the last 12 months recovering from back surgery.
Although critical of Murray's "flat" body language during the match, Connors backed the Briton to return to the top, even though the would number five will slip further down the world rankings as a result of his defeat at SW19.
"Murray has got years of great tennis left," Connors, who won his last Grand Slam in 1983 at the age of 31, told BBC Sport.
"Winning Grand Slams is different to other tournaments. It's two weeks, with days off, fighting mental battles, fighting physical battles, winning three out of five sets, everything. That's why they are so tough."
Fellow American John McEnroe felt Murray was just beaten by the "hungrier guy" but wondered if the Scot, who asked Amelie Mauresmo to be his coach following the French Open, might decide to give his former adviser, Ivan Lendl, a call.
"I think it would still be possible and possibly profitable for both of them," said McEnroe, who won seven Grand Slams in his career. "Having said that, I would give Amelie more of a chance."
John Lloyd said he was "baffled" by Murray's performance, while Tim Henman, another former British number one, said Dimitrov was a "star who will be around for a very long time".
Read more from Connors, McEnroe, Lloyd and Henman below, plus reaction from the BBC's other top tennis pundits.
Jimmy Connors, two-time Wimbledon champion
"Andy looked a bit flat out there. Once the shoulders shrug and the head falls, that just gives your opponent that little extra lift.
"Sometimes it is how you lose that counts. If you go out there and get hammered but fought to the very end and came out bloody, then you walk off with your head held high.
"It's easy to say from here but when things are not working you should try to do something else. You have to mix some things up. When you are down two sets to love, you've still got to try to figure out a way to win.
"I noticed Murray looking up to his box a lot. Your coach can't help you. You are down there by yourself.
"That's why tennis is so great. It's you against someone who is trying to beat your brains out. That's the fun part of it, to figure out a way to keep that from happening. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."
John McEnroe, three-time Wimbledon winner
"I found it interesting that Dimitrov said Murray was looking tired or flat in the warm-up. It's a classic case of a hungrier guy that wanted it more against a guy who just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, didn't seem to have the energy,
"Dimitrov was totally comfortable from the baseline, which I found amazing. One shot that made all the difference in the world to me - which is unusual in men's tennis now - was the one-handed sliced backhand. It really bothered Murray.
"I've never seen Andy Murray miss more easy balls. Again, how much did it have to do with him having a terrible day and how much did it have to do with Dimitrov?
"I think Mauresmo's done an excellent job coaching other people. There's no reason to suggest she can't do a good job coaching Murray. It would be unfair to her to fire her, because there's nothing you can do right before Wimbledon, when you're trying to defend your title.
"Could I suggest the possible call to Lendl? I wouldn't put it past the two of them. I think it would still be possible and possibly profitable for both of them. Having said that, I would give Amelie more of a chance."
Tim Henman, former British number one
"In his first four matches, Andy's serve was first class, but today he struggled. His first-serve percentage wasn't bad - 61% - but he only won three out of 10 points on his second serve.
"There are two sides to this... Dimitrov came out and controlled it from the word go, winning the first set in 25 minutes. The second-set tie-break was crucial and, at 4-4, he played three great points in a row.
"On the other hand, Andy didn't play at his best. There's not too much to analyse. He didn't play well and his opponent took full advantage."
Pat Cash, former Wimbledon champion
"There is a whole load of weight on you as defending champion and I thought Andy did really well in the opening games.
"When I was here defending my title, I just felt so much pressure and I felt like a huge disappointment to me and everyone else when I lost. I was just glad to get that year out of the way.
"Andy did try today, but it just didn't work for him."
John Lloyd, former British number one
"We are baffled by the performance of Andy Murray. You can have bad days but it's strange that his intensity was not higher. At least make your opponent work and put him under pressure but that didn't happen.
"Andy Murray was poor, his body language was poor and he gave up this game too easy. For a player of his standard, who has won two Grand Slams, I am very, very surprised by the way he has gone out."
Mark Petchey, Murray's former coach
"Murray has always had that ability that all great champions have to figure it out and get in their opponent's head. But today, every time I thought it was his moment, he delivered the unforced error.
"Dimitrov's movement at the back of the court was exceptional. Andy said at the French Open that he thought defence was the most important part of the sport and I think he was a bit put off by how well Dimitrov was able to deal with the shots he threw at him."
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