North Korea test fires ballistic missile: Seoul

North Korea test fires ballistic missile: Seoul

North Korea on Wednesday test-fired a ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan, South Korea’s defence ministry said.

• Posted 03 Aug 2016 08:32
• Updated 03 Aug 2016 08:56

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspects a surface-to-surface medium long-range strategic ballistic missile test in North Korea in undated photo. (Photo: AFP)

SEOUL: North Korea on Wednesday test-fired a ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan, South Korea’s defence ministry said, in an apparent reaction to the planned deployment of a US missile defence system.

The missile was launched from near the western city of Unyul at around 7.50am Wednesday (6.50am, Singapore time), it added.

The test follows the launch of three ballistic missiles on Jul 19 in what the North said were simulated nuclear strikes on the South.

Pyongyang has carried out a series of missile tests this year in defiance of tough UN sanctions, and vowed to take "physical action" against the planned deployment of a US missile defence system in the South announced in July.

UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from developing ballistic missile technology.

Pyongyang has repeatedly warned of pre-emptive nuclear strikes against the South and US targets, although the main focus of its nuclear weapons programme is to develop a credible strike threat against the US mainland.

A series of missile tests this year aimed at backing up that threat led to an agreement between Seoul and Washington to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, or THAAD, by the end of the year.

North Korea-US tensions had already been stoked by Pyongyang’s fury at Washington’s decision to personally target leader Kim Jong-Un with sanctions related to human rights abuses.

Asteroid 1998 QE2: Giant Rock Passes Earth – Yahoo! News UK

 

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                                Asteroid 1998 QE2: Giant Rock Passes Earth

Life across the globe is hurtling towards a close encounter with the planet.

The giant rock, named Asteroid 1998 QE2, will make its closest approach to Earth later tonight.

Although it will keep a safe distance of 3.6 million miles – roughly 15 times the distance between Earth and the Moon – the 1.7-mile long object is of great interest to astronomers.

Using powerful telescopes, they should be able to glimpse the asteroid’s very own moon and observe some of the space rock’s surface features.

Martin Archer, a space plasma physicist, warned that if the asteroid were to strike, "it would certainly have implications for life on Earth on a global scale".

"It would flatten everything within 200 miles and cause damage within 1,000 miles but a lot of dust would be released into the atmosphere, blocking the Sun," he said.

"It could certainly cause extinction for certain species.

"However, this is by no means the closest near-Earth object we’ve seen. We had one a couple of months ago that was well within our geostationary satellites.

"We certainly don’t have to worry about this one at all."

Radar astronomer Lance Benner, who is based at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, said scientists expect to obtain a series of high-resolution images of the asteroid as it skims past Earth.

He said: "Whenever an asteroid approaches this closely, it provides an important scientific opportunity to study it in detail to understand its size, shape, rotation, surface features, and what they can tell us about its origin.

"We will also use new radar measurements of the asteroid’s distance and velocity to improve our calculation of its orbit and compute its motion farther into the future than we could otherwise."

Mr Archer said scientists are yet to discover every object that could one day pose a risk to life on Earth.

However, Alan Fitzsimmons, of the Astrophysics Research Centre at Queen’s University Belfast, told Sky News that asteroid strikes are rare.

"Luckily objects of this size or larger only hit us about once every four million years," he said.

"Radar observations of 1998 QE2 will let us check it’s not coming near us for a long time to come."

Asteroid 1998 QE2: Giant Rock Passes Earth – Yahoo! News UK

Experts tell flatulent flyers: let rip

 

Experts tell flatulent flyers: let rip

By Neil Sands

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  AFP/AFP/File – A cabin crew member of budget Philippine airline Cebu Pacific performs a dance as part of the inflight safety demonstration, on October 8, 2010. A group of medical specialists has provided an answer to a dilemma that has faced flyers since the Wright brothers took to the air in 1903 — is it okay to fart mid-flight? 

A group of medical specialists has provided an answer to a dilemma that has faced flyers since the Wright brothers took to the air in 1903 — is it okay to fart mid-flight?

The experts’ recommendation is an emphatic yes to airline passengers — but a warning to cockpit crews that breaking wind could distract the pilot and pose a safety risk.

The study concluded that anecdotal evidence that flying increases flatulence is not hot air, finding that changes in air pressure at altitude result in the gut producing more gas.

When Danish gastroenterologist Jacob Rosenberg encountered the malodorous problem first-hand on a flight from Copenhagen to Tokyo, he enlisted some of the finest minds in his field to address the issue.

The result was an in-depth review of scientific literature on flatulence, looking at issues such as whether women’s farts smell worse than men’s (yes), what causes the odour (sulphur) and how often the average person passes wind every day (10).

The bottom line, according to the 3,000-word study published in the New Zealand Medical Journal on Friday, is that airline passengers should ignore the social embarrassment of breaking wind and "just let it go".

"(Holding back) holds significant drawbacks for the individual, such as discomfort and even pain, bloating, dyspepsia (indigestion), pyrosis (heartburn) just to name but a few resulting abdominal symptoms," the study found.

"Moreover, problems resulting from the required concentration to maintain such control may even result in subsequent stress symptoms."

The authors — five gastroenterologists from Denmark and Britain — said that while passengers may experience poor service from the cabin crew as a result of their decision, the health benefits outweighed any negative impacts.

However, they said the cockpit crew faced a lose-lose situation.

"On the one hand, if the pilot restrains a fart, all the drawbacks previously mentioned, including impaired concentration, may affect his abilities to control the plane," the researchers said.

"On the other hand, if he lets go of the fart, his co-pilot may be affected by its odour, which again reduces safety onboard the flight."

The authors canvassed a number of solutions to the issue of flight-induced flatulence, including using methane breath tests to screen wind-prone passengers from flights, but rejected them as impractical.

They did, however, note that the textile covers used on seats in economy class absorbed up to 50 percent of odours because they are gas permeable, unlike the leather seats in first class.

They suggested airlines could improve the odour-eating properties of the seats and issue special blankets and trousers to passengers to minimise mid-air flatulence.

"We humbly propose that active charcoal should be embedded in the seat cushion, since this material is able to neutralise the odour," they said.

"Moreover active charcoal may be used in trousers and blankets to emphasise this effect."

Air New Zealand declined to comment when asked if it would adopt such measures.

Experts tell flatulent flyers: let rip – Yahoo! News UK

Flight Path Body ‘May Have Fallen From Plane’ – Yahoo! News UK

 

Flight Path Body ‘May Have Fallen From Plane’

Flight Path Body ‘May Have Fallen From Plane’

Police who discovered the body of a man in residential street in west London are investigating the possibility he may have been a stowaway.

The man, who appeared to have suffered multiple injuries, was discovered by a member of the public in Portman Avenue, Mortlake, on Sunday morning.

The street lies directly under the flight path for Heathrow’s south runway

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told Sky News they could not confirm the extent of the man’s injuries and whether this was the reason they believed he may have been a stowaway.

Portman Avenue resident Joe Dodd told London’s Evening Standard: "When I got up at eight, the body was still on the pavement. They had not moved it.

"We were not allowed out of our house for ages. There were police and ambulances everywhere. From where I was, it looked like he had a head injury of some kind.

"There was loads of blood everywhere, all over the street and on a car."

Tony Dixon, editor of Airliner World magazine, told Sky News that the location of the man’s body could be one reason police were pursuing the possibility he may have fallen from a plane.

"Aircraft lower their under-carriage when they’re around six miles from landing so the possibility this man may have been a stowaway is a fair assessment and it has happened before," he said.

"Many people assume there is lots of space around the undercarriage when they see it retracted, but it’s not a pressurised or heated environment.

"An aircraft’s wheels are warm for about an hour or so after take-off so anyone trying to hide there would freeze to death eventually – if they hadn’t already died from hypoxia."

A spokeswoman for British Airports Authority confirmed that Heathrow’s south runway was being used by flights that were arriving, rather than taking off, from 6am on Sunday morning.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said officers were called to Portman Avenue at 7.55am on Sunday "following reports of a dead body".

She said: "The death is currently being treated as unexplained. A post-mortem examination will be held in due course. Enquiries are ongoing to establish the male’s identity."

In 2010 a 20-year-old Romanian was arrested at Heathrow airport after he hid in the undercarriage compartment of a plane from Vienna.

Experts say the man only survived the flight as the private jet flew at a low altitude to avoid bad weather.

Flight Path Body ‘May Have Fallen From Plane’ – Yahoo! News UK

Plane makes emergency landing at Belfast Airport | Mail Online

 

Caught on camera: The moment Thomas Cook holiday jet carrying 175 passengers made emergency landing at Belfast Airport

By Daily Mail Reporter

 

A holiday jet carrying 175 people has made an emergency landing at Belfast International Airport.

The Thomas Cook Airbus A320, which had been bound for Tenerife, came down just before 11.30am after developing a problem with its undercarriage.

It had been circling nearby Lough Neagh to burn fuel for an hour-and-a-half before making a final descent.

Touchdown: The Thomas Cook plane makes an emergency landing at Belfast International Airport today after experiencing technical problems shortly after takeoff

Standby: Nine fire engines, paramedics and police waited near the runway as the plane came down

Airport staff evacuated the runway and nine fire engines and ambulance crew were on standby.

However, the captain was able to bring it down safely before taxiing to a stand at the terminal.There are no reported injuries.

The airport says the plane will be inspected by fire officials before passengers are allowed to disembark. Thomas Cook, one of Britain’s biggest tour operators  expects them to fly on to Tenerife at 3pm.

A spokesman for tour operator confirmed the emergency had been caused by a ‘minor technical difficulty with the landing gear shortly after takeoff.

‘We’re pleased to confirm that flight TCX 8126, which turned back after developing technical problems, has now landed safely at Belfast International Airport,’ she said.

‘A replacement aircraft is on its way and we expect to get everyone off on their holidays to Tenerife this afternoon.’

Investigation: The plane was being checked over by fire service staff and Thomas Cook technical teams

Arrivals: There were delays at Belfast International as a result of the emergency

The flight took off from Belfast International at 9.40am today. It is understood that the pilot realised there were technical problems almost immediately.

A spokesman for the airport said: ‘An emergency stand-by was declared on board by the pilot shortly after take-off.

‘The plane has landed safely and has been taxied on to its stand. We have no idea what was wrong with the plane.’

She told the Belfast Telegraph there had been ‘huge relief’ when the aircraft touched down.

‘Thankfully we have had a safe landing and everyone is okay,’ she said. I am sure there will be a few passengers on board who will have found this experience a bit daunting however, thankfully everyone is safe and well.’

The Police Service of Northern Ireland was one of the emergency services that responded to the alert.

A PSNI spokeswoman said: ‘At approximately 10.13am this morning police responded to reports from Belfast International Airport that an aircraft had reported difficulties shortly after taking off.

‘Emergency services were put on stand-by. However, the plane was able to land safely at the airport at approximately 11.30am.

‘There have been no reports of any injuries.’

Emergency: The control tower and terminal buildings at Belfast International Airport County where the Thomas Cook landed safely this morning

Flight path: The plane circled over Lough Neagh before making is final descent

Plane makes emergency landing at Belfast Airport | Mail Online