Passenger arrested after using emergency exit to leave plane
A passenger was arrested at an Australian airport after he left a stationary airliner through an emergency exit, walked along a wing, and then climbed down a jet engine to the tarmac on Thursday, officials said.
Jetstar Flight JQ507 had arrived at Melbourne Airport from Sydney and had parked at a terminal gate when the man left the plane by the right-side exit, officials said.
Opening the exit automatically deployed a slide from the back of the wing at the fuselage to the ground, a Jetstar statement said. But the man instead walked along the wing and climbed down one of the Airbus A320’s two engines, an official said.
Passenger Audrey Varghese said passengers screamed and shrieked as the man began “erratic” behavior shortly before he opened the hatch.
“The man was exhibiting some quite strange behavior,” Varghese told Melbourne Radio 3AW.
“As soon as the plane started coming to a stop, he immediately got up and charged to where the emergency exit row is,” Varghese added.
Australian Federal Police officers had been alerted by Jetstar staff and arrested the man for “alleged aggressive behavior and breaching aircraft safety protocols,” a police statement said.
He was assessed by paramedics and taken to a hospital where he remains for further assessment, the police statement said.
Police were continuing to investigate and charges were likely to be laid at a later date, they said.
Melbourne Airport said the man was detained by aircrew and ground staff before police arrested him.
“Melbourne Airport is proud of the exceptional response from ground crew, which meant there was no immediate danger to other passengers or airport staff,” an airport statement said.
At least 17 dead after explosion at India pharma plant
India’s southern state of Andhra Pradesh wrapped up rescue work on Thursday at a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant where an explosion the previous day killed 17 people, a senior state official said.
The incident at privately held Escientia Advanced Sciences in Anakapalli district was the state’s worst such in recent years.
Nearly 40 people were injured and rescue operations had been completed, industries secretary N Yuvaraj told Reuters.
Escientia did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but government officials said they suspected an explosion in the chemical reactor.
Authorities said they were scanning CCTV footage and questioning the injured to decide if human error was responsible for the blast.
A preliminary investigation showed “there was some vapour leak that led to chemical reactions which caused the explosion”, said Yuvaraj, who identified the solvent involved as methyl tert-butyl ether.
In a post on X, prime minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the relatives of the dead.
India, known as the pharmacy of the world, is home to many plants that make pharmaceuticals.
A fire in the same district last year in a unit of Sahithi Pharma killed two people and injured five.
The world’s oldest person enjoyed the same hobby for most of her life
A 116-year-old woman who used to be a mountaineer is set to be named the world’s oldest person by Guinness World Records.
A research group announced the news on Wednesday following the death of a 117-year-old Spanish woman earlier this week.
Tomiko Itooka, who was born on May 23, 1908, lives in the western Japanese city of Ashiya, the U.S.-based Gerontology Research Group said.
She has enjoyed climbing as a hobby for most of her life.
She is next in line for the title of world’s oldest person after Maria Branyas Morera died in a Spanish nursing home on Monday, according to the group.
Itooka, a mother-of-three, was born in the year when a long-distance radio message was sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time, and when the Wright Brothers made their first public flights in Europe and America.
After her husband’s death in 1979, she lived alone in her husband’s hometown in Nara Prefecture for ten years. During this time, she frequently enjoyed mountain climbing, including Mt. Nijo.
In her 70s, Itooka often went climbing and twice scaled Japan’s 3,067-metre (10,062-ft) Mount Ontake – surprising her guide by climbing the mountain in sneakers instead of hiking boots, the research group said.
In her 80s, she twice participated in the Osaka 33 Kannon Pilgrimage (a pilgrimage to 33 temples).
At the age of 100, she walked up the lengthy stone steps of Japan’s Ashiya Shrine without using a cane, the group added.
Maria Branyas Morera, the previous record holder, died in Catalonia in Spain at the age of 117 years and 168 days, her family said on Tuesday.
Born in San Francisco, US, in 1907, she lived through two World Wars, the Spanish Civil War and the 1918 flu pandemic and faced many personal hardships in her early years, including losing her father during her family’s emigration to Spain and suffering hearing loss as a child.
Her remarkable longevity was recognised by both the Gerontology Research Group and the Guinness World Records, and Branyas Morera became a symbol of resilience, having survived Covid at age 113.
“Maria Branyas has left us. She died as she wished: in her sleep, peacefully and without pain,” her family wrote on her X account. Branyas Morera passed away on 19 August.
“We will always remember her for her advice and kindness.”
Catalonia’s president, Salvador Illa, re-shared the post and expressed his condolences to the family.
”Maria Branyas, the grandmother of Catalonia and the oldest person in the world, has left us. We lose an endearing woman, who has taught us the value of life and the wisdom of the years.”
Branyas Morera, who had spent the last 20 years at the Santa Maria del Tura nursing home in Olot, northeastern Spain, shared in a post on Tuesday that she was feeling “weak”.
Envoy fined for ‘modern slavery’ in Australia
A Sri Lankan diplomat has been ordered by a court to pay more than half a million Australian dollars to her former housekeeper in back wages during her stay in Canberra allegedly under conditions similar to modern slavery.
Himalee Arunatilaka, who served as the former deputy high commissioner of Sri Lanka between 2015 and 2018, paid Priyanka Danaratna just three per cent of the minimum wage in Australia, according to the Federal Court.
Ms Arunatilaka paid Ms Danaratna £5,805 (AUD$11,212) during her three years of work, David Hillard, the domestic worker’s lawyer said. The national minimum wage for a 38-hour week is £340.12 (AUD $656.90).
“She worked seven days a week for three years, and she had two days off in that entire time – and she did that because she burned her hand while preparing some food,” Mr Hillard, a pro bono partner at the law firm Clayton Utz, said.
Ms Danaratna filed a civil case against her employer under the Fair Work Act after she fled Ms Arunatilaka’s residence.
The Federal Court on Thursday found that Ms Arunatilaka breached the Fair Work Act and was ordered to pay £193,642 (AUD$374,000) in unpaid wages and a further £87,501.44 (AUD$169,000) in interest, bringing the total amount owed to more than £281,143 (AUD$543,000).
The court stated that Ms Danaratna “was required to work ordinary hours in excess of an average of 38 per week, in excess of 10 hours per day, for more than five hours without an unpaid break of at least 30 minutes for a meal every day, and in excess of an average of 38 hours per week without being paid overtime.”
It also noted that she was “required to perform work on public holidays without being paid penalty rates and not paid a 17.5 per cent annual leave loading”.
“Ms Arunatilaka has never engaged with this proceeding: she has not filed a notice of address for service, a defence or any evidence or submissions opposing Ms Danaratna’s claim. She did not attend the hearing. Ms Danaratna has served on Ms Arunatilaka all the material relied upon in support of her claim namely, the initiating processes, pleadings, evidence and submissions,” the court noted.
“At hearing I made this order on the basis that I was satisfied that Ms Arunatilaka had been notified on numerous occasions of the claim against her and of the hearing and it appeared that she did not intend, by her own election, to take any part in the proceedings.”
The Sri Lankan foreign ministry came to Ms Arunatilaka’s defence and said she had followed government-approved rates in paying the wages. “The allowance approved by the ministry as the salary of the employee has been paid to her,” a ministry statement said.
“The ministry is satisfied that the said salary was paid to the domestic assistant by the employer as mutually agreed.”
Ms Arunatilaka now works as the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
Mr Hillard alleged that his client was not allowed breaks or holidays during her employment.
“It’s an example of how modern slavery works,” he said. “Vulnerable employees find themselves trapped in a situation where their lives are nothing but work, in a job they cannot escape.”
He said that the employee’s passport was taken by the diplomat and Ms Danaratna was not allowed to leave the house without her or her husband’s permission.
“She told me that she would give me the passport back before I left Australia. Ms Arunatilaka did not explain why she wanted my passport. I gave my passport to her. I never saw that passport again,” Ms Danaratna said in an court affidavit quoted by ABC.
Ms Danaratna alleges was only allowed to go on short walks around the neighbourhood which allowed her to contact the Salvation Army, an evangelical Protestant Christian church that engages in charity work.
“On 14 August 2018, I told Ms Arunatilaka and her husband that I was going for a walk. I left Ms Arunatilaka’s residence, and the two people from the Salvation Army were waiting for me nearby in a car,” she said, adding that she stayed in a safe house there.
Mr Hillard said the envoy does not have diplomatic immunity protection as she is no longer a diplomat in the country.
Journalist and political analyst Ranga Jayasuriya wrote that “Sri Lanka should expect consequences, not just reputational damage”.
In his editorial in Daily Mirror, he asked what is worse – “the Sri Lankan diplomat ordered to pay half a million Australian dollars or the foreign ministry defending the diplomat in what would be international embarrassment”.
The Independent has reached out to Ms Arunatilaka for comment.
Thailand detects first suspected new mpox strain in European traveller
Thailand has reported a suspected first case of a new, more dangerous strain of mpox in a European traveller.
The patient, a 66-year-old man who arrived from an unnamed African country on 14 August, is believed to be infected by the Clade 1 variant, which is deadlier and more transmissible and triggered a warning from the world health authority last week.
The man had minimal contact with other people after he arrived in Thailand and sought medical attention the following day, authorities said.
“After he arrives from the flight there is very little timeframe where he comes into contact with others,” Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, head of the Department of Disease Control, told Reuters.
“He arrived around 6pm and on the next day, 15 August, he went to see the doctor at the hospital.”
Authorities are monitoring 43 individuals who may have been in contact with the patient.
“We have done a test and they definitely have mpox and it’s definitely not Clade 2,” Mr Thongchai was quoted as saying by AFP.
“We are convinced the person has the Clade 1 variant, but we have to wait to see the final result in the lab for two more days.”
Thailand previously detected 800 cases of the Clade 2 variant but not any of Clade 1 or Clade 1b.
Meanwhile, the European traveller has been quarantined, and lab tests are ongoing to confirm the strain.
There are two distinct clades or natural groups of the mpox virus: Clade 1 and Clade 2.
Clade 2 was responsible for the global outbreak which started in 2022. Clade 1 is considered more severe and is classified as a high consequence infectious disease.
The WHO has declared a public health emergency due to a new mpox outbreak in several African nations, with at least three cases now reported outside the continent.
More than 17,000 cases and 571 deaths have been confirmed in Africa so far this year.
In Thailand, authorities have mandated that all international airport disease control checkpoints and ports, particularly at Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi airports and Laem Chabang port, screen passengers arriving from Africa, the Bangkok Post reported.
Japan takes down screen blocking tourists’ view of Mount Fuji
Town authorities in Japan’s Fujikawaguchiko have removed a huge black screen that had been blocking an iconic view of Mount Fuji, officials said Tuesday.
The screen, installed in late May this year, was removed last Thursday to prevent it from being damaged by Typhoon Ampil, the officials said.
Known as a place that offers some of the best views of the iconic Japanese mountain, the town erected the screen on a stretch of street to deter tourists from overcrowding the place.
A particularly popular photo location was outside a Lawson convenience store, from where a photograph taken at a particular angle would make it seem as if Mount Fuji was sitting atop the store roof.
The tourists, mostly foreigners, even dubbed the spot “Mt Fuji Lawson.”
But the townspeople were unhappy as visitors would block the narrow sidewalk, take photos on the busy road or walk into neighbours’ properties in pursuit of their shot, officials said. Construction of the 2.5m-high black mesh net, stretching for 20m along the sidewalk, was completed on 21 May.
The town lowered the screen on 15 August as the typhoon approached. While the poles and wires for the screen remain in place, it will not be put up again as long as visitors’ behaviour remains improved, one of the officials said. Although Ampil was not expected to make landfall, authorities issued evacuation orders and warnings in anticipation of dangerous conditions.
“We wanted to see what would happen,” the town official told AFP. “There are still some people who come to the place.”
There has been no trouble since the screen was taken down last week, the local officials told the wire agency.
Thousands of people in Japan were ordered to evacuate last week and hundreds of flights and trains cancelled as Typhoon Ampil approached Tokyo.
The widespread disruptions came as Japan celebrated the Obon holiday week when millions of people returned to their hometowns.
Ampil, which was expected to reach waters near Tokyo by Friday, was the seventh typhoon of 2024 to hit Japan. It packed sustained winds of 162kph and moved north at 15kph, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Additional reporting by agencies
Rats taking over Pakistan’s parliament so big ‘even cats are scared’
Pakistan‘s parliament is facing a new crisis: giant rats that have overrun the South Asian country’s corridors of power.
Authorities have allocated a budget of Rs1.2m (£3,300) to employ hunting cats to catch the rodents wreaking havoc in the parliament house in Islamabad.
The rats have mostly infested the first floor of the building, which houses the office of the opposition leader in the senate and the food hall and is used to host political party meetings.
“The rats on this floor are so huge that even cats might be afraid of them,” national assembly spokesman Zafar Sultan told the BBC.
The infestation came to light after records of a meeting from 2008 were found gnawed by the rats. Even computer wires were not spared.
The rats keep to themselves during office hours but become active at night, causing significant damage.
“When there are usually no people here in the evening, the rats run around in there like it’s a marathon,” a national assembly official told the broadcaster.
While old guards have become accustomed to the menace, the rodents scare newer appointees.
The Capital Development Authority plans to counter the rat menace by enlisting hunter cats and installing netted barriers.
Authorities have issued advertisements in several Pakistani newspapers to find pest control companies to tackle the infestation.
Two cafeterias in Pakistan’s parliament were sealed in 2022 after lawmakers found cockroaches in the food, according to Samaa TV.
In 2019, the lawmakers had protested the quality of food served in the cafeterias along with regulation breaches vis-a-vis cleanliness.
Biden approves new nuclear strategy focussed on Russia-China threat
President Joe Biden has quietly approved a new US nuclear strategy focusing on China’s rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal earlier this year, a new report has revealed.
The Nuclear Employment Guidance (NEG) is designed to prepare the US for potential nuclear confrontations with Russia, China, and North Korea, The New York Times reported. The strategy takes into account the rapid expansion of China’s nuclear arsenal and ongoing threats from Russia, particularly in the context of the war in Ukraine, the report said.
On Tuesday, the White House said it was not a response to any specific country or threat, but rather a broad deterrent policy. Spokesperson Sean Savett said that while “the specific text of the guidance is classified, its existence is in no way secret. The guidance issued earlier this year is not a response to any single entity, country, nor threat”.
The strategy is also significant as the New Start nuclear arms control agreement with Russia is set to expire in 2026 without a replacement in place. Under the treaty, which was last extended back in 2021 through to 2026, the two nations are allowed to inspect each others’ nuclear weapons facilities.
In January last year, a US State Department spokesperson said that Russia “is not complying with its obligation under the New Start Treaty to facilitate inspection activities on its territory”.
“Russia’s refusal to facilitate inspection activities prevents the United States from exercising important rights under the treaty and threatens the viability of US-Russian nuclear arms control,” the spokesperson said.
The NYT reported that the NEG reflects the Pentagon’s assessment that China’s nuclear capabilities will soon rival those of the US and Russia, fundamentally altering the global nuclear landscape.
“The president recently issued updated nuclear weapons employment guidance to account for multiple nuclear-armed adversaries,” Vipin Narang, an MIT nuclear strategist who served in the Pentagon was quoted as saying by the outlet.
“And in particular,” he added, the weapons guidance accounted for “the significant increase in the size and diversity” of China’s nuclear arsenal.
Over the past few years, the global nuclear landscape has shifted dramatically, prompting the Biden administration to reevaluate and update its nuclear strategy. Traditionally, US nuclear policy has been heavily focused on deterring Russia, given the size and scope of its nuclear arsenal.
However, China’s rapid expansion of its nuclear capabilities has become a growing concern for US defence officials.
“The Chinese side has decided to hold off discussion with the US on a new round of consultations on arms control and non-proliferation. The responsibility fully lies with the US,” Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, told a regular news briefing last month.
The suspension of talks dealt a potentially serious setback to global arms control efforts, with Beijing joining Moscow in refusing to discuss with Washington measures to contain a nuclear arms race.
NYT reported that the new document serves as a clear warning that the next president, taking office on 20 January, will face a far more unstable and dangerous nuclear environment than the one seen just three years ago.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has made multiple threats to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine, including during a particularly tense episode in October 2022. During that crisis, President Biden and his team, after reviewing intercepted communications between high-ranking Russian officials, were concerned that the chances of nuclear deployment could have escalated to 50 per cent or more.
The US, which in June this year declared the possibility of deploying more strategic nuclear weapons to deter Russia and China, currently possesses about 3,700 nuclear warheads, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
According to the Guardian, Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said that while US intelligence estimates suggest China may increase the size of its nuclear arsenal from 500 to 1,000 warheads by 2030, Russia currently has about 4,000 nuclear warheads “and it remains the major driver behind US nuclear strategy”.