Forest fires kill three
Three firefighters have been killed and many more injured in more than 17 forest fires across Ecuador. Authorities have offered rewards of up to $50,000 for information on suspected arsonists, and about ten people have so far been arrested. People in the worst affected areas are have been leaving their homes in case the fires should get worse. The summer heat and lack of rain has made the situation even more hazardous. President Correa says he has contacted Venezuelan authorities, who will send helicopters, and he will also ask Brazil, Colombia and Peru for support.
Cancels London-Moscow flights
The airline cancels its flights between Moscow and London, citing “significant and sustained reduction in demand for travel.”
EasyJet can confirm that from 23rd October 2015 it will cease to operate its Manchester to Moscow service. This is in response to the reduction in demand to and from Russia in recent months. [The decline] is mostly due to the macro-political environment, the weakness of the Russian economy together with the tightening of the visa approval process.
Flash flood kills eight
A flash flood in Hildale, Utah, kills eight people and leaves five others missing. The victims are mothers and small children, the youngest child is about four years old. Most of the people who live in the community are members of the Warren Jeffs polygamist sect known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). The flood started with heavy rains in the canyons above and the rush of water was so intense it washed two vehicles several hundred yards downstream. Governor Herbert:
I am heartbroken…[The state is offering] its full resources to the town to aid with the search and rescue effort.
12 tourists accidentally killed
Egyptian security forces kill 12 Mexican and Egyptian tourists and injure 10 in the country’s Western Desert after mistaking them for terrorists. The incident occurred within a so-called restricted area, and the tourists were in cars that were not authorised for tours and they did not have permits for the trip. Mexican President Enrique Nieto:
Mexico condemns these acts against our citizens and has demanded that the Egyptian government conduct an exhaustive investigation of what happened.
Flight attendant admits fake bomb threats
A former flight attendant admits he fabricated two bomb threats that resulted in emergency landings in North Dakota and Virginia. While working aboard a flight from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Dickinson, North Dakota, Justin Cox-Server said he found a suspicious bag on board that was beeping. He then notified the flight deck. The captain notified air traffic control, and prepared for an emergency landing, which led to the Dickinson Roosevelt Regional Airport being shut down. When police and the bomb squad investigated the contents of the bag, they found only rolled up towels.
In a previous incident, Cox-Server was flying from Charlottesville, Virginia, to Chicago when he claimed to have found a written threat on the wall of the lavatory stating a bomb was on the plane. The flight was diverted back to Charlottesville. No explosives were found on the plane. The FBI says Cox-Server initially said he was forced to ‘bring the plane down’ by a friend who was extorting him, but later confessed to planting the bag inside the plane and also to fabricating the note, and had “willingly” created the threats. He faces two federal counts: interfering with the operation of a commercial aircraft and communicating false information which endangered the safety of the aircraft. SkyWest:
We have fully supported the investigation into this matter and the individual is no longer employed at SkyWest. The safety and security of our customers and people are our top priority.
Plane catches fire
A fire breaks out at the Las Vegas airport on Flight 2276 heading for Gatwick Airport in London. 14 people are transported for medical care for minor injuries. One of the injured says the plane was getting ready to take off when he heard a big thud. He lifted the window shade and saw flames on the engine. The plane stopped and the captain told the passengers there was an emergency and they needed to evacuate. When one of the emergency doors opened, smoke poured in. Flight attendants directed passengers to safety. The Federal Aviation Administration says the aircraft’s left engine caught fire, prompting the crew to abort the take-off. The flight had 159 passengers and 13 crew members aboard.
British Airways plane on fire at #LAS Vegas airport @cnn @cnnbrk pic.twitter.com/0ogixuYSqX
— George (@Gyleong) September 8, 2015
Sends uncertified aircraft across Pacific
American confirms an Airbus A321S was accidentally put from Los Angeles to Hawaii. The aircraft was not certified to fly over the Pacific. The plane was part of the airline’s long-term strategy to upgrade service, replacing a Boeing 757 that flew that route up until last month. American immediately notified the flight crew and the Federal Aviation Administration, and the decision was made to allow the crew to complete the flight. The plane lands safely in Honolulu. Source pilot:
Somebody screwed up big-time, somewhere. All (extended operation) related equipment must be certified and be operational before a plane is cleared to fly. That means everything from oil quantities, to crew oxygen quantities. Thank God they didn’t have an emergency on that flight.
Destroys Palmyra temple
ISIS destroys Baal Shamin temple, a Roman-era historic site in the Syrian city of Palmyra. According to reports the temple was destroyed a month previously. UNESCO calls the act a war crime:
The systematic destruction of cultural symbols embodying Syrian cultural diversity reveals the true intent of such attacks, which is to deprive the Syrian people of its knowledge, its identity and history…Daesh is killing people and destroying sites, but cannot silence history and will ultimately fail to erase this great culture from the memory of the world. Despite the obstacles and fanaticism, human creativity will prevail, buildings and sites will be rehabilitated, and some will be rebuilt. Such acts are war crimes and their perpetrators must be accountable for their actions. UNESCO stands by all Syrian people in their efforts to safeguard their heritage, a heritage for all humanity
Syria’s director of Antiquities:
It stood as it was for more than 1,800 years… It was a beautiful tourist attraction…They destroyed an incredibly important architectural structure. It is the first structure in the Palmyra complex to be destroyed, although they recently destroyed two Islamic shrines nearby. They said they would destroy the statues but not the structures themselves inside Palmyra. They lied.
‘Local perpetrators’ responsible
The Thai army says that it is unlikely the attack on Erawan shrine in central Bangkok was launched by an international terrorist group, and suggests that “local perpetrators” are more likely to be responsible for the murder of 20 people. However, authorities say the prime suspect in the bombings is foreign. At least 10 people are suspected of involvement in the attack, and that the attack was planned at least a month in advance.
Bomb blast kills 19
A bomb made from a pipe wrapped in cloth explodes at the Erawan shrine in Chidlom, an upmarket district of the Thai capital, as it was packed with tourists and locals. 19 people are killed and 123 injured. So far the death toll includes ten Thais, one Chinese and one Filipino.
Chemical plant explosion
A series of explosions rock DrillChem, an oil field chemical supply company in Conroe, about 40 miles north of Houston, setting off a fire that has a broad, dense column of thick, black smoke. DrillChem says no one was in the plant at the time. Authorities says no one was injured in the explosions or blaze. Firefighters take about two hours to bring the fire under control. Residents up to 2 miles from the fire site are told to remain indoors. By nightfall, the alert is reduced to a half-mile radius before being lifted completely about 7:30 p.m. DrillChem CEO:
The facility was empty at the time of the fire and we are thankful that no injuries have been reported. We are working closely with local authorities to determine the cause of the fire and assess the extent of the damage.
Death toll rises to 112
The death toll rises to 112 after a massive blast site in the Chinese port of Tianjin on Sunday as teams scramble to clear dangerous chemical contamination. Hundreds of people are reported injured and 85 firefighters and ten others are missing since the fire and explosions.
300 election officials killed by firing squad
An anti-ISIS group says 300 people from Iraq’s Electoral Commission, including 50 women, have been killed by an ISIS firing squad at the Galzani army camp for being ‘apostates and infidels’.
Iraq bombings
Jihadists kill 33 people in two suicide bombings in Iraq, including 20 at a central market area in Huwaydir. Islamic State claims responsibility.
Plot to assassinate Queen
British security forces says Islamic extremists from ISIS are planning to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II, using a ‘deadly pressure cooker bomb’ set to detonate near The Queen as she attends events in central London to commemorate the 70th anniversary of V-J Day, the Allied victory over Japan in World War II. The report comes before the threat has been neutralized, and that security forces are in a race against time to thwart the assassination plot. Security has reportedly been bolstered around the queen and Cameron ahead of the event.
Hotels attacked
Unknown rebels arrive on motorbikes and attack the Debo, Motel and Flandres, in the town of Savare, in Mali. The hotels are frequented by foreigners, including guests from France, South Africa and Ukraine. Residents say they saw one dead body lying on the street outside one of the hotels. The military arrives later to retake control of the town. Resident:
This morning as I was leaving for work I heard shots and saw smoke coming from the Hotel Debo. The area is surrounded by soldiers who told us to return to our homes.
Seven killed, four arrested
At least seven people are killed in attacks on Malari and three other neighbouring village in a remote area of Borno State by suspected Boko Haram members. A member of youth vigilante group says the insurgents started with Malari and proceeded to the three other villages, shooting on sight.
Casualties were minimal because people fled as soon as they heard about the Malari attack. That is why the casualty figure is seven, our men counted the corpses when they went to evacuate the dead ones after the Monday attacks.
A local politician from the area, tells the state governor during a visit to the area that nearly 1,000 people were displaced by the attacks. Four suspected members of the terror group are arrested by members of the youth vigilante group in a raid on the suspected hideouts of the insurgents after an earlier attack.
All four suspects who are locals of Malari village were disowned and exposed by their families on returning to the village. We arrested two of them today after their father handed them over to us, then they led us into the bush where two others hid themselves.
Upon interrogation, one of the suspects confessed their affiliation with the group. The suspects are paraded before the state governor. The governor, who recently returned from a visit with Buhari to the United States and neighbouring Cameroon, assures the villagers that his recent trip would soon yield positive results and that destroyed homes would be rebuilt.
Cash blows across highway
Motorists on the Bukit Timah Expressway in Singapore find money strewn all over the road. Witness:
But when I slowed down for a closer look at one of them, I discovered that it was actually a RM50 [50 Malaysian ringgit] bill.
Queensland quake
An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the richter scale strikes off the coast of Queensland about 110km east of Fraser Island at 1.38pm. Following this, there is another quake of 5.2 magnitude at 2.46pm in the same area as the first earthquake and then finally an aftershock measuring 3 at 4.30pm. There is no tsunami alert and there is no damage to property or life. The tremor is felt from Bundaberg to the Gold Coast. It is the strongest quake to hit Queensland since 1918.
Debris found
A crew cleaning the beach near Saint-Andre, La Reunion, an island in the western Indian Ocean, finds a flaperon, a wing part of an aircraft. Thinking it might be from MH370 they alert police. Investigators will try to determine whether the debris is from MH370. Australian Deputy Prime Minister Truss:
In the event that the wreckage is identified as being from MH 370 on La Reunion Island, it would be consistent with other analysis and modelling that the resting place of the aircraft is in the southern Indian Ocean.
