Category: 2. World

India’s aviation regulator has uncovered 51 safety violations at Air India during the past year, as part of its annual audit of the country’s airlines.

Although unrelated to last month’s Air India Boeing 787 crash that killed 260 people, the findings come amid renewed scrutiny of the airline after the tragedy.

Seven safety-related lapses were of the highest level, the auditors said, but did not provide details.

Air India said the airline was “fully transparent” during the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) July audit, which was part of routine checks to improve systems. Regular audits are standard for all airlines to assess and improve their processes, an airline spokesperson said.

“We acknowledge receipt of the findings and will submit our response to the regulator within the stipulated time frame, along with the details of the corrective actions taken,” the spokesperson added

India’s aviation regulator flagged 263 safety issues across eight commercial airlines in its annual audit, including 44 Level 2 and seven Level 1 findings at Air India.

Other airlines with notable findings included Alliance Air (57), Ghodawat Star (41), Quick Jet (35), IndiGo (23), and SpiceJet (14).

According to the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) whose standards guide Indian audits, Level 1 findings indicate non-compliance that “lowers safety or seriously endangers safety.”

These could trigger immediate action – including suspension, restriction or even revocation of the airline’s approvals.

Level 2 findings are less critical but still safety-related – these are non-compliances by the airlines that “could lower or possibly hazard safety”.

Airlines are given up to three months to implement corrective actions, which may be extended if the regulator approves the action plan.

Details of Air India’s specific lapses in the latest audit remain unclear. But a government report cited by Reuters highlights the airline’s inadequate pilot training, use of unapproved simulators, and poor rostering.

Officials flagged “recurrent training gaps” for some Boeing 787 and 777 pilots missing mandatory monitoring duties, according to Reuters.

In a separate statement the DGCA said that it conducted regular audits under its ‘Annual Surveillance Plan’ to identify safety gaps and drive improvements.

Based on ICAO standards and global best practices, these audits “ensure compliance” and enhance airline operations across the board, the regulator said.

“It should be emphasised that, for airlines with extensive operations and large fleet sizes, a higher number of audit findings is entirely normal,” the regulator added.

“The quantum and scale of their activities mean that such observations reflect the breadth and depth of their operations rather than any unusual lapse. Globally, aviation regulators routinely encounter similar patterns with major carriers due to the diversity and intensity of their undertakings.”

Earlier this month Reuters reported that the aviation watchdog had reprimanded Air India’s budget carrier in March for delaying mandatory engine part replacements on an Airbus A320 and falsifying records to show compliance.

Air India Express told the news agency it acknowledged the error to DGCA and undertook “remedial action and preventive measures”.

In a recent interview with the BBC, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the DGCA chief, said the information in this case came through “self-reporting by the airline”.

“I would not condone it [the lapses]. But [at least] we have started getting these reports. This came from the airline. Action has been taken in this case. In our audits we have mandated our people to be more alert and see whether there is any lapse and bring it to our attention,” he said. “India’s skies have always been safe.”

Citing ICAO data, Mr Kidwai noted India consistently outperforms the global average for accidents per million flights.

He said, “Only twice between 2010 and 2024 did we exceed the global average – both years with major accidents.”

In August 2020, Air India Express Flight 1344 crashed after skidding off a rain-soaked tabletop runway in Kozhikode, killing 21 people.

A decade earlier, in May 2010, Flight 812 from Dubai overshot the runway in Mangalore and plunged into a gorge, leaving 158 dead. June’s Air India crash was the third such accident in the country in 15 years.

Since 2020, Indian domestic carriers have reported 2,461 technical faults, according to the federal civil aviation ministry data.

IndiGo accounted for over half (1,288), followed by SpiceJet with 633, and Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express with 389 cases, as of January 2025.

“Reporting of snags by airlines has gone up. This is good,” Mr Kidwai said.

“I wouldn’t say I’m pleased about it. But I do see value in the growing culture of reporting [snags]. It’s far better for every snag to be brought to the attention of the authorities than keeping quiet and operating the aircraft.”

LONDON: Israel’s military operation in Gaza is no longer a war against militants but has become a “destruction of a civilization,” a top aid official said, warning that time is running out to prevent a “biblical famine” in the besieged enclave.

In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said Israel’s continued bombardment and restrictions on aid access have left Gaza’s civilian population, particularly women and children, to suffer the consequences of a conflict they had no part in.

“What I see is that, as a military conflict, it was all over a long time ago,” Egeland told anchor Bianna Golodryga. “This is not targeted anti-terrorist warfare, it’s the destruction of a civilization now.”

The veteran humanitarian said there are no justifications for the war on Gaza, which has killed more than 60,000 people and pushed the enclave’s population of 2.2 million to the brink of famine.

“Hamas has a million sins on their conscience … but those dying (and) bleeding have nothing to do with Hamas. These are women and children. They had nothing to do with Oct. 7,” he said, calling for an immediate ceasefire and an urgent and large-scale opening of Gaza’s border crossings to allow full access for aid groups.

Egeland’s remarks come amid growing international pressure on Israel to ease restrictions and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, as malnutrition-related deaths continue to rise. During a Saudi-French conference on Tuesday, UN experts confirmed that large areas of the enclave are now experiencing full-scale famine.

Israel has responded with efforts to increase aid deliveries including a temporary pause in military operations, partial openings of humanitarian corridors, and aid airdrops.

Egeland, however, said such efforts are not enough “to avert a biblical famine on our watch,” criticizing the air drops and temporary corridors for offering little relief to a starving population.

While he welcomed the shifting stances of US President Donald Trump, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and other Western leaders who finally recognized the widespread starvation gripping the Palestinian territory, Egeland emphasized that the solution to avert the crisis ultimately rests with them.

“It is Israel and the Western powers that provide the arms to all of this that have to change this. They have the fingerprint all over this catastrophe really. We can change it. It’s still possible.”

Despite the mounting death toll and near-total collapse of humanitarian infrastructure, Egeland said the international community still has a chance to avert the worst — but only if it acts immediately and decisively.

“It has to be a massive ramp up. And time is running out,” he warned.

On Monday, in a meeting with Starmer, Trump acknowledged that there is “real starvation” in Gaza. The British prime minister announced the following day that the UK will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes significant steps to end the “appalling situation” in Gaza and meets other conditions.

Egeland said Western leaders were finally acknowledging warnings that aid agencies had been raising for months.

“These capitals have known so, because we told them for many months, I’m glad it’s — there is a wakeup call now. It is very late,” he said.

Addressing the humanitarian catastrophe, the NRC chief noted the collapse of the food and health sectors, saying that people were dying from preventable disease and lack of water and sanitation.

He said his NGO has been finding it impossible to provide the basic services of water, sanitation and shelter due to the total depletion of fuel and continued restrictions.

The organization, he noted, is “still denied access for our water and sanitation hygiene items, our food and our tents.”

The aid chief paid tribute to the resilience of his Palestinian colleagues in Gaza, describing them as “real heroes” who have endured repeated displacement, hunger, and profound personal loss while continuing their humanitarian work.

“If there is anyone I would give the Nobel Peace Prize to, I would give it to my colleagues on the ground, Palestinian, in Gaza, the single mothers who are also aid workers.

“But they’re really broken now, after all of these months of starvation, all of these months of having their homes destroyed.”

JERUSALEM: When two human rights groups became the first major voices in Israel to accuse the state of committing genocide in Gaza, breaking a taboo in a country founded after the Holocaust, they were prepared for a backlash.

B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel released reports at a press conference in Jerusalem on Monday, saying Israel was carrying out “coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip.”

That marked the strongest possible accusation against the state, which vehemently denies it. The charge of genocide is deeply sensitive in Israel because of its origins in the work of Jewish legal scholars in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust. Israeli officials have rejected genocide allegations as antisemitic.

So Sarit Michaeli, B’Tselem’s international director, said the group expected to face attacks for making the claim in a country still traumatized by October 7, 2023.

“We’ve looked into all of the risks that we could be facing. These are legal, reputation, media risks, other types of risk, societal risks and we’ve done work to try and mitigate these risks,” said Michaeli, whose organization is seen as being on the political fringe in Israel but is respected internationally.

“We are also quite experienced in attacks by the government or social media, so this is not the first time.” It’s not unrealistic “to expect this issue, which is so fraught and so deeply contentious within Israeli society and internationally to lead to an even greater reaction,” she said.

Israel’s foreign ministry and prime minister’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Shortly after the reports were released on Monday, government spokesperson David Mencer said: “Yes, of course we have free speech in Israel.” He strongly rejected the reports’ findings and said that such accusations fostered anti-semitism abroad.

Some Israelis have expressed concern over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza that has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, destroyed much of the enclave and led to widespread hunger.

An international global hunger monitor said on Tuesday a famine scenario was unfolding in the Gaza Strip, with malnutrition soaring, children under five dying of hunger-related causes and humanitarian access severely restricted.

“For me, life is life, and it’s sad. No one should die there,” said nurse Shmuel Sherenzon, 31.

But the Israeli public generally rejects allegations of genocide.

Most of the 1,200 people killed and the 251 taken hostage to Gaza in the October 7 attacks in southern Israel were civilians, including men, women, children and the elderly.

In an editorial titled “Why are we blind to Gaza?” published on the mainstream news site Ynet last week, Israeli journalist Sever Plocker said images of ordinary Palestinians rejoicing over the attacks in and even following the militants to take part in violence made it almost impossible for Israelis to feel compassion for Gazans in the months that followed.

“The crimes of Hamas on October 7 have deeply burned – for generations – the consciousness of the entire Jewish public in Israel, which now interprets the destruction and killing in Gaza as a deterrent retaliation and therefore also morally legitimate.”

Israel has fended off accusations of genocide since the early days of the Gaza war, including a case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice in the Hague that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned as “outrageous.”

While Israeli human rights groups say it can be difficult working under Israel’s far-right government, they don’t experience the kind of tough crackdowns their counterparts face in other parts of the Middle East.

Israel has consistently said its actions in Gaza are justified as self-defense and accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields, a charge the militant group denies.

Israeli media has focused more on the plight of hostages taken by Hamas, in the worst single attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

In this atmosphere, for B’Tselem’s Israeli staff members to come to the stark conclusion that their own country was guilty of genocide was emotionally challenging, said Yuli Novak, the organization’s executive director.

“It’s really incomprehensible, it’s a phenomena that the mind cannot bear,” Novak said, choking up.

“I think many of our colleagues are struggling at the moment, not only fear of sanctions but also to fully grasp this thing.”

Guy Shalev, executive director of Physicians for Human Rights Israel, said the organization faced a “wall of denial.”

It has been under pressure for months and is expecting a stronger backlash after releasing its report.

“Bureaucratic, legal, financial institutions such as banks freezing accounts including ours, and some of the challenges we expect to see in the next days…these efforts will intensify,” he told Reuters.

Tsunami warnings and advisories have been issued for several countries with Pacific coastlines, including Japan, after a massive earthquake off Russia’s Far East coast.

Waves generated by the powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Kamchatka Peninsula struck parts of Russia, Japan and Hawaii on Wednesday. The earthquake and the subsequent tsunami warning have triggered evacuations across the Pacific, with Japan asking nearly two million people to evacuate.

Tsunami warnings were also issued for Taiwan, the Philippines and Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, with advisories issued for much of the US West Coast.

So, how strong was the quake and how many countries have been hit by tsunami waves?

Which countries in the Pacific were hit by tsunami waves? What’s the latest update?

Tsunami waves struck parts of Kamchatka, partially flooding the port and a fish processing plant in the town of Severo-Kurilsk and sweeping vessels from their moorings, regional officials and Russia’s emergency ministry said. A tsunami height of 3-4 metres (10 to 13 feet) was recorded in Kamchatka.

The Russian Pacific town of Severo-Kurilsk was hit by waves at least 3 metres (9.8ft) high, and the most powerful was as big as 5 metres (16.4ft), Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency reported, citing emergency services.

The seaport town in the Sakhalin region was flooded, forcing the evacuation of its 2,000 residents, Russia’s Ministry of Emergencies and Disaster Relief said.

“A state of emergency is in effect in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy …,” Mayor Yevgeny Belyaev said in a social media post. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, home to some 165,000 people, is the administrative centre of the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Japan, which was affected by a devastating 2011 tsunami, has been hit by four to five rounds of waves. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned tsunami waves showed no signs of receding. The height of waves continues to grow, from 20cm (0.6ft) earlier today to 1.3 metres (4.2ft) in the northeast of the country, it said.

Tsunami alarms sounded in coastal towns across Japan’s Pacific coast and evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of people. Workers evacuated the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, where a meltdown following the 2011 tsunami caused a radioactive disaster, operator TEPCO said.

Footage on public broadcaster NHK showed scores of people on the northern island of Hokkaido on the roof of a building, sheltering under tents from the beating sun, as fishing boats left harbours to avoid potential damage from incoming waves.

Shortly after 07:30 GMT, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of up to 1.7 metres (5.5ft) were affecting the Hawaiian islands. Hawaii Governor Josh Green said data from Midway Atoll, between Japan and Hawaii, measured waves from peak to trough of 6 feet (1.8 metres). Governor Green had earlier said all flights in and out of Maui had been cancelled.

The first tsunami waves were detected in Monterey, California at 12:48am local time (05:48 GMT), according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

Elsewhere, the US Tsunami Warning Centres said waves as high as 3 metres (9.8ft) could hit Ecuador, while waves of 1 to 3 metres (3.3-9.8ft) were possible in Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Japan and some Pacific islands.

How do quakes generate tsunami waves?

Chris Elders, a structural geology expert at Curtin University in Australia, told Al Jazeera that Wednesday’s earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ring of Fire, an “area of significant volcanic activity and also earthquake activity”.

“In this particular part of the Pacific Ocean, the Pacific Ocean is moving down underneath the eastern side of Russia … and it’s that movement of the tectonic plates that produces these very large earthquakes,” Elders said.

“The earthquake causes the seabed to lift up a little bit, and that displaces the water sideways, producing the tsunami wave, and it’ll spread away from the epicentre,” he said.

Where have tsunami alerts/advisories been issued?

Tsunami warnings or advisories have been issued for:

• Russia
• Australia
• Japan
• Taiwan
• The Philippines
• China
• Hawaii
• Guam
• Tonga
• California
• Alaska
• Oregon
• Washington
• British Columbia
• Mexico
• Peru
• Ecuador

The difference between “warnings” and “advisories” lies mainly in the expected severity of the tsunami.

• Warning: a tsunami with the potential to cause widespread flooding, damage and danger to life. These may require evacuation orders and other demanding safety checks.
• Advisory: a tsunami capable of producing strong currents or dangerous waves is expected, but not large enough to cause significant damage. Some safety checks are advised.

Helen Janiszewski, assistant professor in geophysics and tectonics division at the University of Hawaii, told BBC News that, “a good rule of thumb for tsunami waves is that they travel at about the speed of a jet plane”.

She said that the time it takes to travel by plane from one place to another is roughly how long it takes for waves to travel from the quake epicentre to hit elsewhere. Different areas under tsunami warnings and advisories will be taking these time frames into account.

Which countries in the region are not affected?

New Zealand’s disaster management agency warned that the country’s coastal areas could expect “strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore”.

In a national advisory alert, Civil Defence New Zealand said there was no immediate need to evacuate but said citizens should stay away from beaches and shore areas.

And while Australia has been added to the advisory list by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the country’s Bureau of Meteorology said there was no threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories as a result of the earthquake.

What to do under a tsunami warning?

In a tsunami warning, authorities agree that it is important to act immediately. While guidance varies by country and according to the severity of the incident, it is generally good practice to move inland or to higher ground.

It is also important to avoid beaches, harbours and coastal roads. If people find themselves on a boat, it’s crucial to follow official maritime guidance, as it can sometimes be safer to stay at sea. Listening to local authorities via radio, phone alerts or sirens is key.

Low-lying areas should be avoided until officials declare them safe; multiple waves can occur hours apart. People who feel a strong earthquake and are near the coast should evacuate immediately.

If possible, it’s important to help others, especially the elderly, children and people with disabilities. Guidance states to stay away from rivers and estuaries, as tsunamis can travel upstream. Finally, it’s good to remain calm and to prioritise safety over material possessions.

When and where did the quake strike?

The earthquake, which struck at 8:25am Japan time (11:25 GMT), was the strongest in the Russian region since 1952, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences, and struck at a depth of 19.3km (12 miles). The shallow earthquake damaged buildings and injured several people in the remote Russian region.

At a magnitude of 8.8, it is believed to be the sixth strongest earthquake in history. A 2010 earthquake in Chile, the last quake recorded at 8.8, killed 523 people and destroyed more than 370,000 homes.

The quake was centred 119 km (74 miles) east-southeast of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

A resident in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky told Reuters news agency that the earthquake rumbled for several minutes. “I decided to leave the building,” said Yaroslav, 25. “It felt like the walls could collapse any moment. The shaking lasted continuously for at least three minutes,” he was quoted as saying.

A Welsh Labour MP and Plaid Cymru have raised concerns after Sir Keir Starmer said recognising a Palestinian state depends on the actions of the Israeli government.

The Prime Minister said on Tuesday that the UK would go ahead in September unless Israel took “substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza”.

The move followed pressure from more than half of Labour’s Commons backbenchers, including Newport’s Ruth Jones who said recognition should be “unconditional” and called for the prime minister to go further.

Plaid’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said the right to self-determination “belongs to the Palestinian people, not to an occupying power”.

First Minister Eluned Morgan, who had signed a letter calling for immediate recognition, welcomed the announcement on Tuesday.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move “rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism”.

Sir Keir said Israel must also meet other conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire, committing to a long-term sustainable peace that delivers a two-state solution, and allowing the United Nations to restart the supply of aid.

Otherwise, he explained that the UK would take the step at September’s UN General Assembly.

Meanwhile he said Hamas must immediately release all hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza.

Jones, who represents Newport West and Islwyn, said it was a “significant” announcement from Sir Keir who had “moved a long way”.

Speaking to Radio Wales Breakfast, she said: “I do welcome the fact that he is agreeing to recognize the state of Palestine, but I am concerned because obviously it’s conditional on Israel.

Comparing the situation to the signing of the Balfour declaration in 1917, where the British government pledged support for a national home for the Jewish people, the MP said: “The same thing is true for Palestine today.

“The Palestinians need a home, and at the moment there are bombs raining down still, there’s not enough aid getting in.

“They don’t have a home that is recognised across the world.

“I understand that Hamas has to play its part as well. It has to release the hostages. But I am concerned that this is all conditional, and I want to see an unconditional recognition”.

She said recognition would show the Palestinians “we do understand, we get it”.

Saville Roberts, Plaid’s Westminster leader, said: “Recognition of a Palestinian state should not be conditional on the actions of the Israeli government. The right to self-determination belongs to the Palestinian people, not to an occupying power.”

The party called “for immediate recognition of Palestine, alongside the release of all hostages, a ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian aid into Gaza, and genuine progress towards lasting peace”.

Wales office minister, Llanelli Labour MP Nia Griffith, told Radio Cymru’s Dros Frecwast: “What’s important now is securing lasting peace in Gaza and creating a two-state situation is a possible way of securing peace.”

She added: “If two states are created, then we must emphasise that Hamas would not govern.”

Morgan jointly penned a letter to the Guardian with other senior Labour figures in June calling for recognition to take place “without further delay or equivocation”.

In a social media message, she said she “strongly” welcomed the Prime Minister’s statement.

“The situation and suffering in Gaza is intolerable,” she said.