Power cut causes chaos at Manchester airport

Manchester Airport, the third-busiest in Britain, cancelled over 100 flights affecting thousands of passengers yesterday following a major power cut.At least 20% of all outgoing and incoming flights were cancelled, a Manchester Airport spokesperson said, adding that it expected further disruption.Earlier aviation analytics firm Cirium said 66 departures and 50 inbound flights had been cancelled with easyJet experiencing the largest number of cancellations.Manchester Airports Group, which also operates London Stansted and the East Midlands airports, said the airport had been “affected by a major power cut in the area earlier this morning” and passengers at two of the three terminals were told to stay away.The power cut led to problems with airport security and baggage systems, according to Chris Woodroofe, the airport managing director. Flights resumed in the afternoon.Woodroofe said on social media he expected flights to be “back to normal operations” today.The airline Jet2 said that as well as cancelling dozens of flights, it was unable to load bags onto planes as the baggage system remained “inoperable”.EasyJet warned of “very long queues” for security and said passengers could only board flights with cabin bags. Some arriving flights were diverted to other airports including London Heathrow and Birmingham.Some flyers took to X, formerly Twitter, to describe the “chaos”, with one passenger saying they had been waiting for their bags after landing after midnight and another saying they were “stuck on the plane”.The UK travel industry has been hit by a series of technical and strike disruptions in recent years that have affecting rail and air passengers.Last month, a nationwide outage of immigration e-gates caused long delays for thousands of passengers. In August last year, Britain faced its worst air traffic control disruption in years due to a technical fault.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685350/international/power-cut-causes-chaos-at-manchester-airport

Prominent designer Van Noten bids farewell at Paris Fashion Week

There was a surprising lack of leather at Hermes, a restrained but celeb-packed Loewe show, and a farewell for fashion great Dries Van Noten (pictured) at Paris Fashion Week on Saturday.Hermes, known worldwide for its homemade leather bags and accessories, presented a show full of cotton and linen whites and blues for its spring-summer 2025 collection.It was a collection “grazed by a gentle breeze... Clothing casts reflections into the transparency of water,” designer Veronique Nichanian said in her press release.Sandals and a sleeveless bomber-style jacket were among the few signs of leather among the docker hats, trench coats and drawstring trousers.Meanwhile, Loewe, the rising Spanish star in the LVMH conglomerate, put on a minimalist show — “the radical act of restraint”, as Northern Irish creative director JW Anderson put it.On the front row were Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, US actor Jeff Goldblum and singer of the moment Sabrina Carpenter.The minimalism still carried the sort of strange and ornate touches that Anderson loves, such as long exotic or golden feathers swooping down from headbands and weird angular collars jutting out from T-shirts.The brand’s signature cargo pants came with an Ottoman harem twist.“I don’t think they were clothes for me, but I loved it,” Almodovar told AFP afterwards.“Coming here is like going to a show, to the cinema, to the opera, to the theatre: each character has to be dressed in a certain way, a lot of emotion is created that way,” he added. Meanwhile, fashion fans were awaiting the last-ever show by Dries Van Noten later on Saturday as he heads into retirement.Van Noten is not a household name but he is lauded in fashion circles for a 40-year career in which he combined audacity, sophistication and poetry.Few designers retire, healthy and successful, at 66, so news of his departure earlier this year came as a shock. He told The New York Times it was time to give up the “addiction” of fashion. “Everything’s too intense. I can’t come down anymore,” he told the newspaper.Van Noten is known for exquisite tailoring and subtle avant-garde styling with bursting clashes of colour.“I’m a gardener, so flowers automatically come up everywhere,” he once told AFP.“The starting point for a collection can be very literal or very abstract: a painting, a colour, someone’s thoughts, anything at all.”His staff will take over collections starting with the womenswear show in September, with the only condition that they remain in Antwerp, away from the Paris fashion glitz.The Puig Group, which acquired a majority stake in the label in 2018, agreed to Van Noten’s request.“After the men’s show, I’m going to have another email address,” he told The New York Times. “I’m not going to be @driesvannoten any more. I have to find an Instagram name now, because my Instagram is Dries Van Noten, and that is the brand. It’s strange. That I didn’t see coming.”

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685282/international/prominent-designer-van-noten-bids-farewell-at-paris-fashion-week

2mn stranded as floods wreak havoc in Bangladesh

Monsoon rains and upstream river water from India have caused widespread flooding in northeastern Bangladesh, stranding more than 2mn people, and the situation could worsen, officials said on Friday.The UN children’s agency Unicef said trapped residents in the region, including more than 772,000 children, were in urgent need of assistance.“Children are the most vulnerable, facing heightened risks of drowning, malnutrition, deadly waterborne diseases, the trauma of displacement, and potential abuse in overpopulated shelters,” said Sheldon Yett, Unicef representative to Bangladesh.The Bangladesh Meteorological Department forecast further heavy rainfall in the next few days that could exacerbate the flooding and cause landslides in hilly areas.At least 10 people, including eight Rohingya Muslims, were killed on Wednesday after heavy monsoon rains triggered landslides in refugee camps in southern Bangladesh.The northeastern region has been particularly hard hit, with heavy rainfall and upstream water from India causing widespread inundation. Bangladesh is still recovering from a cyclone that hit its coastal belt in the south late last month. “I fear it could be as devastating as the 2022 floods,” Sylhet resident Shameem Chowdhury said, referring to flooding that was the worst in the region for 122 years.TV footage showed extensive flooding in fields and villages with people wading through knee-deep water in Sylhet city as the rainfall dangerously swelled water levels along four rivers in the region.Vast areas of land are submerged, posing a significant threat to crops if the floodwaters linger for an extended period, agriculture ministry officials said.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685237/international/2mn-stranded-as-floods-wreak-havoc-in-bangladesh

Armenia officially recognises State of Palestine

Armenia has officially recognised the State of Palestine, raising the number of countries that recognise Palestinian statehood to 149 out of the 193 member states of the UN General Assembly.In a statement on Friday, the Armenian Foreign Ministry highlighted the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the ongoing war as critical issues on the international political agenda that necessitate resolution.'The Republic of Armenia has joined UN General Assembly resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,' the statement read.The ministry emphasised Armenia's pursuit of a peaceful and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian issue based on a two-state solution as the only way to achieve peace and security.'Based on the above and reaffirming its commitment to international law and the principles of equality, sovereignty, and peaceful coexistence among nations, the Republic of Armenia recognises the State of Palestine,' the statement concluded.This recognition follows similar declarations last month by Slovenia, Spain, Norway, and Ireland, further bolstering international support for Palestinian statehood.Qatar welcomed Armenia's recognition of the State of Palestine, and considered it an important step to support the two-state solution and achieve peace and stability in the region.In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated that achieving comprehensive and just peace in the region depends on the establishment of an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.The ministry also stressed the need to end the war on the Gaza Strip immediately, and return to the political track as it is the only guarantor of achieving stability in the region.The ministry expressed Qatar's hope that more countries will recognise the State of Palestine and strengthen efforts aimed at implementing the two-state solution.The Palestinian Presidency also welcomed Armenia's decision to officially recognise the State of Palestine as an independent and sovereign nation, describing the decision as courageous and significant towards strengthening bilateral relations and fostering peace and stability in the region.In a statement, the Palestinian Presidency underscored Armenia's keenness to support the Palestinian people and their firm and legitimate rights to their homeland and self-determination, pointing out that the move comes as a good contribution from those countries that believe in the two-state solution as a strategic option that upholds international will and legitimacy.The decision positively contributes to safeguarding the two-state solution, which faces systematic challenges, and promotes security, peace, and stability for all parties involved, the statement read.The Palestinian Presidency urged other nations, particularly European countries that have yet to recognise the State of Palestine, to follow suit, in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, based on the 1967 borders, which include Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685199/international/armenia-officially-recognises-state-of-palestine

Armenia officially recognizes the Palestinian state

Armenia announced its official recognition of the Palestinian state, following the example of other countries that took a similar step recently, in light of the continuation of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip since the seventh of last October.The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed in a statement today that Yerevan is interested in bringing peace and stability to the Middle East and has continued, through various international platforms, to call for a peaceful and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue and support “the two-state principle for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”The Ministry said in this regard: “In confirmation of the Republic of Armenia’s commitment to international law and the principles of equality, sovereignty and peaceful coexistence among peoples, it recognizes the State of Palestine.”She stressed that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing war require a settlement today, stressing her accession to the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly that call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.The Parliament of Slovenia had previously agreed, by a majority of votes, to recognize an independent Palestinian state, following in the footsteps of Spain, Ireland and Norway, which brings the number of recognized countries to 149 out of 193 countries in the United Nations General Assembly.On April 18, the United Nations General Assembly adopted, by a majority of 143 votes, a resolution declaring the State of Palestine’s eligibility for full membership in the United Nations.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685199/international/armenia-officially-recognizes-the-palestinian-state

Rains and Floods Leave 21 People Killed in Niger

Torrential rains and floods in Niger over three weeks have left 21 dead and nearly 6,000 people affected, according to figures released by the country's Interior Ministry.Director-General of Civil Protection of Niger Bako Boubacar said on state television that 8 people had drowned and 13 had died in houses that collapsed during storm.Additionally, 26 people have been injured, and approximately 4,000 cattle have been killed or lost.Central Niger's Maradi region has been the worst hit since the onset of the rainy season, with a confirmed death toll of 14.The rainy season traditionally runs from June through September in the African nation. In 2022, about 195 people were killed and 400,000 people were affected, many of whom lost their homes.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685198/international/rains-and-floods-leave-21-people-killed-in-niger

TikTok ban in US looks 'inevitable'

TikTok and Chinese parent ByteDance yesterday urged a US court to strike down a law they say will ban the popular short video app in the United States on Jan. 19, saying the US government refused to engage in any serious settlement talks after 2022. Legislation signed in April by President Joe Biden gives ByteDance until Jan. 19 next year to divest TikTok's US assets or face a ban on the app used by 170mn Americans. ByteDance says a divestiture is 'not possible technologically, commercially, or legally.'

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685187/international/tiktok-ban-in-us-looks-inevitable

US lawmakers meet Dalai Lama, pressure China on talks

A group of US lawmakers who met the Dalai Lama in India yesterday said they would not allow China to influence the choice of his successor, comments expected to anger Beijing, which calls the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader a separatist.The remarks come as Washington and Beijing seek to steady rocky ties while India pushes China to secure lasting peace on their disputed Himalayan frontier, four years after a military clash strained ties.The lawmakers also signalled that Washington would pressure Beijing to hold talks with Tibetan leaders, stalled since 2010, to resolve the Tibet issue, with a bill they said President Joe Biden would sign soon.Although Washington recognises Tibet as a part of China, the bill appears to question that position and any change would be a major shock to Beijing, analysts said. The bipartisan group of seven, led by Michael McCaul, a Republican representative from Texas, who also chairs the House foreign affairs committee, met the Nobel peace laureate at his monastery in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala.“It is still my hope that one day the Dalai Lama and his people will return to Tibet in peace,” McCaul told a public reception after the meeting.Beijing has even attempted to insert itself into choosing the successor of the Dalai Lama, he said, but added, “We will not let that happen.”The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet. The 88-year-old, who has battled health problems for years, is set to fly to the US this week for medical treatment.The question of the Dalai Lama’s successor has been a thorny issue, which analysts say highlights the power and influence of the role, fuelling Beijing’s tussle to control it.The US group, which includes Democratic former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, arrived on Tuesday for a two-day visit.Pelosi said Congress approval of the legislation, titled the ‘Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act’, or the Resolve Tibet Act, sent a message to China that Washington was clear in its thinking on the issue of Tibet.“This bill says to the Chinese government: things have changed now, get ready for that,” she said to cheers from hundreds of Tibetans at yesterday’s event.Photographs on the Dalai Lama’s website showed him holding a framed copy of the bill as the lawmakers stood alongside.Beijing, which calls the Dalai Lama a dangerous “splittist” or separatist, has said it was seriously concerned about the bill and the lawmakers’ visit, urging them not to contact what it calls the “Dalai clique” and Biden not to sign the bill.The Indian foreign ministry offered no immediate comment on the lawmakers’ visit.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685126/international/us-lawmakers-meet-dalai-lama-pressure-china-on-talks

Russia and North Korea sign mutual defence pact

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday signed a deal with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un that included a mutual defence pledge, one of Russia’s most significant moves in Asia for years that Kim said amounted to an “alliance”.Putin’s pledge overhauls Russia’s entire post-Soviet policy on North Korea just as the US and its Asian allies try to gauge how far Russia could deepen support for the only country to have tested a nuclear weapon this century.On his first visit to Pyongyang since July 2000, Putin explicitly linked Russia’s deepening of ties with North Korea to the West’s growing support for Ukraine and said Moscow could develop military and technical co-operation with Pyongyang.After talks, they signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” pact, which Putin said included a mutual defence clause in the case of aggression against either country.“The comprehensive partnership agreement signed today provides, among other things, for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this agreement,” Putin said.He said Western deliveries of advanced, long-range weaponry including F-16 fighters to Ukraine for strikes against Russia breached major agreements.“In connection with this, Russia does not exclude for itself the development of military-technical co-operation with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” Putin said.Kim praised Russia for making what he cast as an enormously significant strategic move to support North Korea, which was founded in 1948 with the Soviet Union’s backing.Depending on the exact wording of the pact, which was not released, it could be a dramatic shift in the strategic balance in northeast Asia by placing Russia’s heft behind North Korea – which faces South Korea, backed by the US, across the heavily fortified demilitarised zone (DMZ).While North Korea has a defence treaty with China, it does not have active military collaboration with Beijing like it has developed with Russia over the past year. North Korea also signed a 1961 treaty with the Soviet Union that included promises of mutual support in the event of an attack.China, the North’s main political and economic benefactor, had no immediate response.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685125/international/russia-and-north-korea-sign-mutual-defence-pact

Families of Boeing 737 Max crash victims ask US to seek $24bn fine

Relatives of the victims of two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes asked the Justice Department yesterday to seek a fine against the planemaker of up to $24.78bn and move forward with a criminal prosecution.“Because Boeing’s crime is the deadliest corporate crime in US history, a maximum fine of more than $24bn is legally justified and clearly appropriate,” Paul Cassel, a lawyer representing 15 families, wrote in a letter to the Justice Department released yesterday.The families said the Justice Department could potentially suspend $14bn to $22bn of the fine “on the condition that Boeing devote those suspended funds to an independent corporate monitor and related improvements in compliance and safety.” The Justice Department said in May it determined Boeing violated a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that shielded the company from a criminal charge of conspiracy to commit fraud arising from fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.Boeing last week told the government it did not violate the agreement. Federal prosecutors have until July 7 to inform a federal judge in Texas of their plans, which could be proceeding with a criminal case or negotiating a plea deal with Boeing. The Justice Department could also extend the deferred prosecution agreement for a year.Justice Department officials found that Boeing violated the deferred prosecution agreement after a panel blew off a new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet on Jan. 5, just two days before the 2021 agreement expired. The incident exposed continued safety and quality issues at Boeing.In the letter, the families also said Boeing’s board of directors should be ordered to meet with them and the department should “launch criminal prosecutions of the responsible corporate officials at Boeing at the time of the two crashes.” Boeing and the Justice Department did not immediately comment.The letter noted that Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and held a hearing with Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun on Tuesday, said, “There is near overwhelming evidence in my view as a former prosecutor that prosecution should be pursued.” The two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 Max planes occurred in 2018 and 2019 in Indonesia and Ethiopia and led to the best-selling plane’s worldwide grounding for 20 months. A safety system called MCAS was linked to both fatal crashes.

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685122/international/families-of-boeing-737-max-crash-victims-ask-us-to-seek-24bn-fine

Cuban immigrant finds ‘dream’ of work, community in US

Israel Gomez Estrada, like thousands of other Cubans and millions more immigrants from around the world, left his home and family in search of a better life in the US.Now he is legally settled in Grand Island, Nebraska — a small city with a population of 50,000, and one Cuban restaurant. Tornadoes are frequent and winters can be harsh.“Some of my friends have suggested that I move to another state, but I’m not leaving,” Gomez Estrada, 46, told AFP recently.In March, he received a coveted green card, entitling him to work. Cubans can apply for one just a year after setting foot on American soil, while other immigrants must typically wait years before they can do so.Despite difficulty with English, he quickly found a job in a food processing plant. He hopes to soon be joined by his wife and children.Immigrants come to America, “with the aim of succeeding, and with a dream,” he said. “For us, it’s not difficult, because we know how to work hard.” Nebraska is short of labour, so immigration is a solution for employers.Before taking the plunge, Gomez Estrada said he had consulted online job offers from Cuba and spotted “lots of opportunities.” “I decided to leave my country, my family, a very difficult situation, because my father has a prostate condition and the medicine doesn’t exist in my country,” he said.Gomez Estrada flicked through pictures on his phone to show his parents, his wife, his teenage children, and the parties he has missed since he left home.Because of his green card, he is now allowed to visit them in Cuba, but the plane ticket is expensive.On the coffee table in front of him sits a cup painted with the colours of his island, filled with thick, sweet Cuban coffee.He now lives in a small one-bedroom apartment at the end of a long white wooden house which has been divided into several flats, where other Cubans live.The apartment holds the promise of a new life for Gomez Estrada after a “very difficult” journey: To get to the US, he said he spent 13 days crossing the hellish jungles and rivers of Central America.He moved to Nebraska on the advice of a Cuban friend who lived in the city.But his friend had to move soon after his arrival, leaving him “in the snow, without knowing anyone.” Gomez Estrada had always dreamed of seeing snowflakes, and the first time he did so, “it was wonderful,” he said. “I never thought it would be so beautiful.” — ‘So kind’ — He found support from the congregation of the local Destiny Church, a building made from corrugated iron painted grey and orange, perched on the side of a road. He was offered accommodation for several months and even a car, saving him the seven-kilometre walk to the grocery store.Tim Rust, the church’s pastor, remembers meeting Gomez Estrada for the first time.“He was here in the country, wanted to work legally, could not,” he told AFP.Because the two men couldn’t speak the same language, they initially communicated by translating phrases on a cell phone.“I didn’t notice a lot of racism when he came into the church,” Rust said. “He was well accepted, and people loved him.” “Grand Island is open to the immigrants,” he said.“We have some people maybe don’t like it, and they don’t understand a lot of things,” he added. “But as a general rule, I think that the employers here and the people have a good attitude towards immigrants.” Gomez Estrada says he has not experienced any racism since his arrival.The subject of immigration is a sensitive one, especially in the middle of an election campaign.Two-thirds of the residents of Grand Island County voted for then-president Donald Trump in 2020.He lost to Democrat Joe Biden, but is seeking a rematch in November’s election.Biden’s policy “favours us, the immigrants,” Gomez Estrada said, adding it was “positive” that Trump wants “people who come to this country to come with the intention of working and contributing.”

source https://www.gulf-times.com/article/685120/international/cuban-immigrant-finds-dream-of-work-community-in-us