Bangkok (AFP) – Twenty people were in intensive care in Bangkok hospitals on Wednesday after a terrifying high-altitude plunge on a flight from London during which an elderly passenger died and more than 100 were injured. Among them was Josh Silverstone from South London who has been released from hospital after surviving the turbulence on the Singapore Airlines flight.
Moskau (AFP) – During a meeting with the chairman of Russia’s lower house who represents the country at Raisi’s funeral, Russian President Vladimir Putin praises late Iranian president Raisi. Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crashed into a fog-shrouded mountainside in northwestern Iran on May 19 as his entourage headed back to the city of Tabriz after attending a ceremony on the border with Azerbaijan.
Rafah (AFP) – Palestinian fishermen in the southern city of Rafah have accused the Israeli army of shelling fishing boats and then firing on the people who came to extinguish the flames. Heavy fighting has raged around Rafah, the last part of Gaza, to face an Israeli ground invasion. The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 35,709 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Oslo (AFP) – Norway, Spain and Ireland say they will formally recognise the State of Palestine on May 28. Israel strongly opposes the move, arguing that it amounts to “rewarding terrorism” after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched its unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel. This sparked the bloodiest-ever Gaza war, with a death toll of more than 35,700 people, as announced by the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza on May 22.
Singapore (AFP) – A 73-year-old British man died and more than 80 people were injured during a Singapore Airlines flight that hit severe turbulence and made an emergency landing in Bangkok.
Shanghai (AFP) – At age 40, Japanese competitive breakdancer Ayumi Fukushima has been busting moves for longer than some of her rivals have been alive. But the former kindergarten teacher saw off the rest of the field to triumph in an Olympic qualifier in Shanghai.
Fujikawaguchiko (Japan) (AFP) – Workers mount a mesh barrier to block a view of Mount Fuji in the Japanese town of Fujikawaguchiko, in an attempt to deter photo-taking by an ever-growing number of tourists.
Singapore (AFP) – Singapore Airlines (SIA) CEO Goh Choon Phong says he is ‘deeply saddened’ by the incident on a Singapore Airlines flight that hit severe turbulence and caused the death of a passenger, injuring more than 70. Flight SQ321 had taken off from London’s Heathrow Airport and “encountered sudden extreme turbulence” over Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Basin, Goh said in a video statement.
Cahors (France) (AFP) – After two new employees decided restaurant life wasn’t for them, Geoffrey Ruamps turned to technology to fill staffing gaps. The manager of a restaurant in western France hired a ‘BellaBot’, a white robotic tower capable of delivering dishes to several tables. According to Ruamps, the recruitment situation has been difficult since the pandemic, with businesses across the sector experiencing a similar shortage of capable staff.
Tokyo (AFP) – Volleyball is flying high in Japan thanks to a hit manga. ‘Haikyu!!’, which centres on school volleyball teams, has sold more than 60 million copies since 2012, been turned into a popular anime TV series and, more recently, a successful movie. Off the page and screen, official records show that membership in high-school boys volleyball clubs jumped from 35,000 in 2012 to more than 50,000 in 2024.
