AirAsia X flight diverts to Brisbane after suspected bird strike


An AirAsia X flight bound for Kuala Lumpur has been forced turn back to Australia after a suspected bird strike left passengers shaken.
The jet, carrying 359 people, ran into trouble after taking off from the Gold Coast at 22:20 (12:20 GMT) on Monday.
Passengers reported hearing loud noises and seeing sparks coming from an engine before the flight landed safely in Brisbane an hour later.
"Two bird remains were found on the runway," the airline said.
One passenger, Tim Joga, said he heard "four or five bangs" before seeing an "orange light" outside.
"The plane started shuddering then there were a couple of loud bangs and a lot of light," he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Another passenger, Eric Lim, said the incident happened immediately after take-off.
"Successive sparks boom boom boom went off and some people were crying and calling out 'oh my god oh my god'," he wrote on Facebook.
AirAsia X chief executive Benyamin Ismail said the pilot and crew took "swift action" to reassure passengers during the incident.
"AirAsia X will arrange for a special flight to transport all guests on Flight D7 207 to Kuala Lumpur as soon as possible," he said in a statement.
Last week, an AirAsia X flight was forced to turn back to Perth after an engine problem left it "shaking like a washing machine".
Earlier this month a China Eastern Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Sydney after a huge hole appeared in one of its engine casings.
In December 2014, an AirAsia plane crashed into the Java Sea, killing all 162 people on board after the aircraft's rudder control system malfunctioned during the flight.
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North Korea fires missile towards Japanese waters, officials say


North Korea has fired a ballistic missile off its east coast, say Japanese and South Korean authorities.
It was launched at 09:40 local time (00:40 GMT), from Banghyon in North Pyongan Province, reported Yonhap news agency citing South Korea's military.
Japan's NHK News quoted the defence ministry as saying it may have landed in waters claimed by Japan as its exclusive economic zone.
North Korea has ramped up nuclear and missile activities in recent months.
The launch comes a day after US President Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and China's President Xi Jinping separately about North Korea.
The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearised Korean Peninsula.
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Battle for Mosul: Fierce clashes as IS uses suicide bombers

Fierce clashes and rising numbers of suicide attacks have been reported in Mosul as Iraqi troops try to recapture the city from Islamic State militants.
The last IS-held quarter, known as the Old City, was rocked by air strikes and artillery salvos, with local commanders expecting to retake full control soon.
However, they are facing more suicide attacks, including several from female bombers, in the battle's final phase.
The major offensive against IS in Mosul was launched in October 2016.
Thousands of Iraqi security forces, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen, assisted by US-led coalition warplanes and military advisers, are involved in the operation.
The government announced the full "liberation" of eastern Mosul in January 2017. But the west of the city has presented a more difficult challenge, with its narrow, winding streets.
"The fighting is becoming harder every day because of the nature of the Old City," Lt Gen Abdulghani al-Assadi, a commander of Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service, was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.


He added that the same conditions that were beneficial for IS fighters also helped to shield Iraqi troops from snipers.
Lt Gen Sami al-Aridhi, another CTS commander, told AFP: "The enemy has been using suicide bombers, especially women, for the past three days in some of the neighbourhoods. Before that, they were using snipers and bombs more."
Some of the suicide bombers were reportedly teenage girls.
There were two female suicide attacks on troops on Monday, while seven other women bearing explosives attempted to approach troops but were intercepted, AP news agency reported.
To prevent such attacks, Iraqi commanders said they were now ordering women fleeing from the Old City to remove veils before approaching soldiers. Men were told to remove their shirts.
The UN has said that IS may be holding more than 100,000 people in Mosul as human shields.
The Iraqi army says it believes there are no more than 300 militants left in Mosul, compared with almost 6,000 at the start of the offensive in October.
Brigadier General Yahya Rasool told state TV that "victory is very near", while another commander has estimated that "the battle will end in five days to a week".
IS fighters seized Mosul in June 2014.
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Chris Christie, New Jersey governor, enjoys beach he closed to public


New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is facing heavy criticism after he was photographed relaxing on a state beach he had ordered closed to the public.
The Republican gave the go-ahead for non-essential services to be shut down - including the Island State Beach Park - over the 4 July holiday weekend because of a budget impasse.
"I didn't get any sun today," he said, before the aerial photos emerged.
The pictures show Mr Christie and his family on an otherwise empty beach.
Other visitors were turned away by police.
The governor defended his actions on Monday morning, telling Fox News that he had said earlier in the week he intended to spend time with his family at his beach property.
"The governor is allowed to go to his residences," he said.
Mr Christie said his family was spending the weekend at the governor's residence there and he was commuting to work by state helicopter.
"That's just the way it goes. Run for governor, and you have can have a residence there," he said at a news conference on Sunday.
"I didn't get any sun today," he added.
After being told of the photographs, his spokesman Brian Murray admitted Mr Christie had "briefly" been on the beach "talking to his wife and family before heading into the office", NJ.com reported.
"He did not get any sun. He had a baseball hat on," Mr Murray added, NJ.com said.
The partial government shutdown in New Jersey arose because state legislators had not passed a health insurance bill that Mr Christie said had to be passed alongside the state's budget.
The shutdown included the closure of Island State Beach Park, one of New Jersey's few free public beaches, and all other state parks.
Mr Christie had been trying to get the state's largest health insurer, Horizon Cross Blue Shield, to hand over $300m (£230m), some of which Mr Christie wanted to use to battle drug addiction in the state, the New York Times reported.
New Jersey is one of at least nine states that were unable to meet their budget deadlines at the beginning of the month.

Other Christie moments

  • stunning the political world by announcing his backing of Donald Trump as president, before anyone else from the Republican establishment
  • denying he had any knowledge of the politically motivated traffic jams known as Bridgegate
  • a hug with President Obama during Hurricane Sandy that sparked accusations of betrayal from hardline Republicans
  • telling a heckler to "Sit down and shut up" at a press conference in 2014
  • photographed cheering on his beloved Dallas Cowboys with the owner in 2015 prompted a barrage of criticism from people in New Jersey who thought him disloyal
  • demolished rival Marco Rubio on the debate stage by teasing him as robotic
  • BBC NEWS
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When a photographer became a volunteer firefighter


Cam Neville looked out from the truck and caught a glimpse of burning red lines leading to a location called Hellfire Pass.
It was his first night volunteering with the local fire brigade, and the Australian photographer felt anxious. What was he about to encounter?
"Certainly I had a flutter of nervousness," he told the BBC. "Growing up in England, I'd never seen anything quite like that."
He did not get near the blaze that night, but since then he has encountered others.
Australia depends an army of volunteers to protect its sprawling country from devastating bushfires.
Mr Neville signed up to join them on Queensland's Gold Coast hinterland, believing it was the only way he could take photographs from the front line.
The inspiration behind his award-nominated picture series Into the Fire was simple: to capture first-hand experiences of men and women fighting fires. This was something TV news rarely offered, he thought.
"I really wanted to know who these people were," Mr Neville said. "I think I really needed to experience what they all went through as well."
Mr Neville grew up in Brighton before moving to Australia and settling in south-east Queensland.
"Where we live there are houses that back onto very dense bush," he said. "The fire threat is very real."

Initially he carried two DSLR cameras with bulky lenses, but it quickly proved impractical. Now Mr Neville uses a single camera with a 25mm lens.
He takes shots in quiet moments between fighting fires.
The photographer says the project has also brought him practical skills and new friendships.
"I've learned that it's an incredibly complicated and dangerous business - fighting fires of any type or size - because it's unpredictable," he said.
His admiration for his colleagues has only grown.
"The call goes out and people answer," Mr Neville said. "They never know what they're going to."
Photographs by Cam Neville
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Nigeria's Igbo leaders reject call for Biafra state

Powerful Igbo leaders in Nigeria have rejected calls for the breakaway state of Biafra to be created for their ethnic group in the south-east.
Their intervention is seen as an attempt to defuse escalating tensions between rival communities in Nigeria.
However, a pro-secessionist group says it will press ahead with its campaign.
Security forces have killed at least 150 people since August 2015 to quell pro-independence protests, Amnesty International says.
The campaign has also fuelled tension in northern Nigeria, where some youth groups have retaliated by threatening to expels Igbos who live there.
So, the statement by Igbo leaders pledging loyalty to Nigeria could help ease tension in the north, says the BBC's Naziru Mikailu in the capital, Abuja.
Following a specially convened meeting in the Igbo heartland of Enugu city to discuss the crisis, state governors, lawmakers, traditional and religious leaders issued a statement on Sunday to give their "full support" to a "united Nigeria".
However, the statement called for the vast and oil-rich West African state to be "restructured" to achieve a "a just and equitable society".
Many people in the south-east accuse successive governments of failing to develop their areas.
The pro-independence Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (Massob) said the meeting failed to reflect the views of the Igbo people.
"We want Biafra and nothing but Biafra. Nigeria must disintegrate. Her faulty foundation has broken beyond repair," Massob said in a statement.
Massob is one of the main groups leading the independence campaign.
On 30 May, many people in cities and towns across the south-east stayed at home to mark the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the breakaway state of Biafra.
The 1967 declaration led to a brutal civil war, which claimed the lives of up to a million people, before the secessionist rebellion was defeated by government forces.
  • First republic of Biafra was declared by Nigerian military officer Odumegwu-Ojukwu in 1967
  • He led his mainly ethnic Igbo forces into a deadly three-year civil war that ended in 1970
  • More than one million people lost their lives, mostly because of hunger
  • Decades after Biafra uprising was quelled by the military, secessionist groups have attracted the support of many young people
  • They feel Nigeria's central government is not investing in the region
  • The government says their complaints are not particular to the south-east

    BBC NEWS
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Zimbabweans donate cattle to AU after Robert Mugabe appeal

Zimbabwe has auctioned cattle worth $1m (£770,000) to raise money for the African Union (AU) Foundation to help end the "donor dependency syndrome", President Robert Mugabe has said.
He added that he had donated 300 cattle from his herd, and other Zimbabweans doubled the number as they wanted to contribute towards a "noble cause".
Mr Mugabe handed the $1m cheque to the AU at its leaders' summit in Ethiopia.
The donation comes amid a severe cash and food crisis in Zimbabwe.
Last year, more than four million people were in need of food aid in the southern African state after rains failed.
However, there has been a bumper harvest this year, with the country expected to be self-sufficient for the first time in years.
The opposition blames the government for food shortages, saying its controversial land reform programme has ruined the farming sector.
Zimbabwe has also been forced to introduce so-called bond notes after running out of the US dollar, the main currency people use.
Hyperinflation forced the government to abandon the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009.
Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said the cattle had been donated mostly by farmers who had benefited from the land reform programme, the state-run Herald newspaper reported.
Their donation was an "expansion" of a 2015 pledge by Mr Mugabe to donate 300 cattle, he added.

Speaking at the summit, Mr Mugabe said it was a "modest contribution" and a "symbolic step" towards helping to end the "donor dependency syndrome" in Africa.
On its website, the AU Foundation says it focuses on development programmes for youth and women, and promoting gender equality.
Mr Mumbengegwi said the donation was significant as it showed that the AU could find innovative ways to raise money for its projects.
Mr Mugabe, during his term as AU chairman in 2015 and 2016, campaigned for the AU to be self-financed as about 60% of its budget came from foreign donors, the Herald reported.
Cows are a prized asset in many rural parts of Africa, where families measure their wealth by the size of their herd
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Apple to scan iPhones for child sex abuse images

  Apple has announced details of a system to find child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on customers' devices. Before an image is stored on...