Officials order grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners
Washington, Jan 7: Federal officials on Saturday ordered the immediate grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners until they are inspected after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a blowout that left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage. The required inspections take around four to eight hours per aircraft and affect about 171 airplanes worldwide. Alaska Airlines said in a statement that of the 65 737 Max 9 aircraft in its fleet, crews had inspected the paneled-over exits as part of recent maintenance work on 18 planes, and those were cleared to return to service on Saturday. Inspections for the remaining aircraft were expected to be completed in the coming days, the company said. An Alaska Airlines jetliner blew out a portion of its fuselage shortly after takeoff 4.8 kilometres above Oregon late Friday, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing as its 171 passengers and six crew members donned oxygen masks. No one was seriously hurt as the depressurized plane returned safely to Portland International Airport about 20 minutes after departure. (AP)
Fire in B’desh Rohingya camp guts more than 1,000 shelters
Cox Bazar, Jan 7: A fire raced through a crammed camp of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh’s southern coastal district of Cox’s Bazar, gutting more than 1,000 shelters and leaving thousands homeless, a fire official and the United Nations said on Sunday. The fire broke out around midnight on Saturday at Kutupalong camp in Ukhiya and spread quickly, fanned by strong winds, Shafiqul Islam, head of the Ukhiya Fire Station said. No casualties were reported, he said. “The fire was big, and it destroyed about 1,040 shelters in the camp,” he said. “We took about two hours to get the blaze under control, engaging 10 fire units from Ukhiya and other stations in the district.” Thousands of refugees, including women and children, rushed to a nearby open field with their belongings as the fire started spreading aggressively during the early hours on Sunday. “We are suffering from the cold severely, facing a difficult situation. Currently, we are sitting by a stream with my grandchildren after narrowly escaping a life-threatening situation. Our homes have been destroyed by the fire.” said 65-year-old Zuhura Begum. (AP)
China sanctions 5 US defence companies
Beijing, Jan 7: China announced sanctions on Sunday on five American defence-related companies in response to US arms sales to Taiwan and US sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals. The sanctions will freeze any property the companies have in China and prohibit organisations and individuals in China from doing business with them, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted online. It was unclear what impact, if any, the sanctions would have on the companies, BAE Systems Land and Armaments, Alliant Techsystems Operations, AeroVironment, ViaSat and Data Link Solutions. Such sanctions are often mostly symbolic as American defence contractors generally don’t sell to China. (AP)