Category World News

The Boeing 737-800 jet’s two engines had DNA from Baikal Teals, a type of migratory duck that flies to South Korea for winter in large flocks, according to a six-page report released on Monday by South Korean authorities.

Bird bloodstains and feathers were “found on each” engine, it added.

However, the report made no initial conclusions about the Jeju Air plane’s possible landing conditions and why flight data recorders stopped recording in the final four minutes of the flight.

South Korean and US investigators continue to conduct their inquiries.

‘ Group of birds ‘

On December 29, the plane crashed-landed and descended into a fireball after crashing into a concrete barrier while it was traveling from Thailand to Muan, South Korea.

The disaster killed 179 of the 181 passengers and crew of the plane.

A security camera captured HL8088 approaching a group of birds during a go-around, according to the report, which also mentions the registration number of the Jeju Air jet.

The pilots were advised to use caution after the air traffic control tower cleared the aircraft for a possible bird strike at 8:58am, according to the report.

Just a minute later, both the voice and data recording systems stopped functioning, while the plane was already at an altitude of about 152 metres (500 feet) and just 2km (1.2 miles) from the runway.

The pilots attempted a belly landing seconds after the recording systems failed and declared Mayday as a result of a bird strike.

When the plane collided with a concrete embankment during its landing, the runway’s end was surrounded by a barricade of some kind.

Authorities announced last week that “breakable structures” would be used to replace concrete barriers at airports across the country.

The captain had more than 6, 800 flight hours, while the first officer had 1, 650 hours, according to the report.

Both were killed in the crash, which was survived only by two flight attendants.

A preliminary report must be made within 30 days of the accident, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and a final report must be made public within 12 months.

For the first time in nearly 35 years, the West Indies won a test match in Pakistan to end their two-game series with a 1-1 victory.

The visitors won the second Test in Multan on Monday with a 120-run victory.

Pakistan won the first Test by 127 runs, but Warrican’s nine wickets, which were the hosts’ 19th of the series, gave them a taste of their own medicine on sharply spinning pitches.

The West Indies lost all three of their Test victories in Pakistan in November 1990, winning only in Faisalabad.

Resuming on 76-4 and chasing 254, Pakistan’s hopes of victory rested on Saud Shakeel but Kevin Sinclair had the left-hander caught in the slip for 13 to further dent the home team’s fading chances.

As Pakistan were bundled out for 133, Babar Azam led with 31 while Mohammad Rizwan had 25.

With a straight-for-one one-for-one bowl, Warrican left Pakistan in disarray, leaving Pakistan at 76-6.

Salman Ali Agha and Rizwan both added 39 for the seventh wicket before Warrican dismissed Salman before for 15 and bowled Rizwan to bring the tourists to victory by two wickets.

Noman Ali was taken for six by Gudakesh Motie in the bowling match, while Warrican deservedly took the final wicket, bowling Sajid Khan for seven, to seal the victory.

Pakistan fell to ninth and last place in the World Test Championship while the West Indies placed eighth.

The arrest of a prominent Palestinian journalist in Zurich, Switzerland, has been condemned by UN human rights activists who claim it raised questions about freedom of expression.

According to a statement from the website, Swiss police detained Ali Abunimah, the executive director of the online publication Electronic Intifada, which refers to itself as “Palestine’s weapon of mass instruction.”

Swiss police confirmed that the 53-year-old American citizen had been arrested. They cited a ban on entry and claimed that additional immigration laws were being discussed.

Irene Khan, the UN’s special representative for freedom of expression and expression, referred to the arrest as “shocking news” and pleaded with Switzerland to look into and release him in a post on Sunday’s X social media platform.

“The climate surrounding freedom of speech in Europe is becoming increasingly toxic, and we should all be concerned”, said Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied territories.

I feel shocked and call for a prompt investigation into this issue. We should all be concerned about the climate in Europe that is causing more harm than good. https://t.co/1KE9maAsgY

On Sunday, Swiss Action for Human Rights, a pro-Palestinian advocacy group, signed a petition requesting Abunimah’s release.

After reviewing reports of a US citizen’s arrest, a representative for the US embassy in Bern said it was providing appropriate consular assistance. She declined to comment further.

Abunimah’s arrest came a day after he arrived in Zurich for a speaking tour, Electronic Intifada said in a statement.

“He is currently being detained and has had access to legal counsel”, it said on Saturday. Abunimah was questioned by police for an hour when he arrived at the Zurich airport on Friday before being permitted into the country.

Describing the arrest as a “growing backlash from Western governments against expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people”, the website noted that several activists and journalists&nbsp, were arrested, raided or charged using “counterterror” powers in the United Kingdom last year.

They included Asa Winstanley, an associate editor with Electronic Intifada, whose home was raided and computers and phones seized, it said, adding that Winstanley has not been charged with any crime.

It is illegal to speak out against injustice in Palestine. Journalism is not a crime”, the website said.

During a solidarity protest for Palestine on Saturday in Geneva, demonstrators said Abunimah’s arrest “had no legal basis”.

“He is defamed by Zurich media”, one of the speakers said. “We have free speech in Switzerland. It is a constitutional right”, she said, calling the arrest “unacceptable”.

Here is the situation on Monday, January 27:

Fighting

• According to Vadym Filashkin, the regional military administrator of Kyiv, four people were hurt in Kostiantynivka town and at least one woman was killed in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine, as a result of Russian artillery fire in the city of Pokrovsk. Andriy Ryzhchenko, a military analyst from Ukraine, claims that Russia is looking to buy property in Pokrovsk.
• According to the Ukrainian army, Moscow’s units launched 38 attacks on Ukrainian lines of defense repeatedly with artillery support.
• Ukraine said its armed forces, together with the country’s defence intelligence, repeatedly struck Russia’s Ryazan Oil Refining Company for a second time just two days after its initial overnight attack on the facility. According to Kyiv, the Russian Federation’s four largest oil refineries are located there.
• According to Russian media, the Moscow-based Defense Ministry claimed that its troops had taken control of Zelene and Velyka Novosilka, eastern Ukraine.

• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for a third time in less than a year, replaced the commander of the Khortytsia operational strategic group responsible for defending Pokrovsk, which now risks falling into Russia’s hands. Major-General Mykhailo Drapatyi was appointed as the new ground forces commander.

Politics &amp, Diplomacy

• Zelenskyy and Maia Sandu, the president of Moldova, discussed the separatist enclave’s willingness to provide Ukraine with electricity in exchange for low prices or even free coal. Additionally, he offered to send a team of experts to help raise the power output of the enclave’s power plant.
• According to The Institute for the Study of War, Mikhail Zvinchuk, the founder of the Kremlin-linked Telegram channel Rybar, traveled to Iraq last week to try to bolster Russian influence there. According to reports, the team has met with numerous Iraqi officials, including Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, the country’s prime minister.
• Andrzej Duda, the president of Poland, told Al Jazeera that NATO member nations should increase their defense spending by at least 3% of GDP in order to create a “rebirth of Russian imperialism.”
• Exit polls showed Belarusian President Lukashenko, whose administration is a close ally of Russia, was on track to extend his time in power with 87.6 percent of the votes in the country’s presidential election. Ukraine’s Prime Minister also stated that he has “no regrets” about allowing Russia to invade Ukraine in 2022 from Belarus.