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South Korea's National Assembly voted today to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his over his botched imposition of martial law earlier this month.The impeachment motion held today against Yoon passed 204-85, with three abstentions and eight invalid ballots, after all 300 members of the Assembly cast their votes.This was the second vote on impeaching the president, after a failed attempt last Saturday when lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party, which Yoon leads, boycotted the session.The second motion, introduced last Thursday by the main opposition Democratic Party and five smaller opposition parties, accused Yoon of violating the constitution and other laws by declaring martial law on December 3. The declaration was revoked six hours later after the National Assembly voted to cancel it.The new motion included revised charges, dropping some from the previous attempt and adding others, such as allegations that Yoon ordered the military and police to arrest lawmakers during the brief period martial law was in effect.Just before the vote, People Power Party decided to participate in the session but announced its opposition to impeachment.The proposal will now go to the Constitutional Court for a final ruling. If upheld, Yoon will become South Korea's second president to be removed from office, following Park Geun Hye's impeachment in 2017.On December 3, President Yoon declared martial law, claiming it was necessary to eradicate pro-North Korean forces and safeguard the constitutional order. However, he rescinded the measure hours later after the National Assembly voted to repeal it.

Super Typhoon Man-yi slammed into the Philippines on Saturday, with the national weather forecaster warning of a "potentially catastrophic and life-threatening" impact as huge waves pounded the archipelago's coastline.More than 650,000 people fled their homes ahead of Man-yi, which is the sixth major storm to batter the disaster-weary country in the past month.Man-yi brought maximum wind speeds of 195 kilometres per hour as it made landfall on the sparsely populated island province of Catanduanes as a super typhoon, the weather service said, adding gusts were reaching 325 kilometres an hour."Potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation looms for northeastern Bicol region as Super Typhoon 'Pepito' further intensifies," the forecaster said hours before it made landfall, using the local name for the storm and referring to the southern part of the main island of Luzon.Waves up to 14 metres high pummelled the shore of Catanduanes, while Manila and other vulnerable coastal regions were at risk from storm surges reaching up to more than three metres over the next 48 hours, the forecaster said.Man-yi could hit Luzon -- the country's most populous island and economic engine -- as a super typhoon or typhoon on Sunday afternoon, crossing north of Manila and sweeping over the South China Sea on Monday.At least 163 people died in the five storms that pounded the Philippines in recent weeks, leaving thousands homeless and wiping out crops and livestock.The government urged people on Saturday to heed warnings to flee to safety."If preemptive evacuation is required, let us do so and not wait for the hour of peril before evacuating or seeking help, because if we did that we will be putting in danger not only our lives but also those of our rescuers," Interior Undersecretary Marlo Iringan said.In Albay province, Legazpi City grocer Myrna Perea sheltered with her husband and their three children in a school classroom alongside nine other families after they were ordered to leave their shanty.Conditions were hot and cramped -- the family spent Friday night sleeping together on a mat under the classroom's single ceiling fan -- but Perea said it was better to be safe."I think our house will be wrecked when we get back because it's made of light materials -- just two gusts are required to knock it down," Perea, 44, told AFP."Even if the house is destroyed, the important thing is we do not lose a family member."Climate change is increasing the intensity of storms, leading to heavier rains, flash floods and stronger gusts.About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Southeast Asian nation or its surrounding waters each year, killing scores of people, but it is rare for multiple such weather events to take place in a small window.The weather forecaster warned of "widespread incidents of severe flooding and landslides" on Catanduanes in the typhoon-prone Bicol region.Power was shut down ahead of the storm, with shelters and the command centre using generators for electricity.More than 400 people squeezed into the provincial government building in the capital Virac, with others sent to a gymnasium, provincial disaster officer Roberto Monterola told AFP.Monterola said he had dispatched soldiers to force about 100 households in two coastal villages near Virac to move inland due to fears storm surges could swamp their homes."Regardless of the exact landfall point, heavy rainfall, severe winds, and storm surges may occur in areas outside the predicted landfall zone," the forecaster said.The mayor of Naga city in Camarines Sur province imposed a curfew from midday on Saturday in a bid to force residents indoors.In Northern Samar province, disaster officer Rei Josiah Echano lamented that damage caused by typhoons was the root cause of poverty in the region."Whenever there's a typhoon like this, it brings us back to the medieval era, we go (back) to square one," Echano told AFP, as the province prepared for the onslaught of Man-yi.All vessels -- from fishing boats to oil tankers -- were ordered to stay in port or return to shore.The volcanology agency also warned heavy rain dumped by Man-yi could trigger flows of volcanic sediment, or lahars, from three volcanos, including Taal, south of Manila.Man-yi hit the Philippines late in the typhoon season -- most cyclones develop between July and October.Earlier this month, four storms were clustered simultaneously in the Pacific basin, which the Japan Meteorological Agency told AFP on Saturday was the first time such an occurrence had been observed in November since its records began in 1951.

Homeowners in the northern Philippines used spades and rakes to clear out debris left by Tropical Storm Trami on Friday while rescuers trawled through thick mud looking for the missing as the death toll rose to 76.Tens of thousands of people were displaced by floods fuelled by a torrential downpour that dumped two months’ worth of rain over just two days in some areas.“Many are still trapped on the roofs of their homes and asking for help,” Andre Dizon, police director for the hard-hit Bicol region, said. “We are hoping that the floods will subside since the rain has stopped.”But accessibility remained a major issue for rescuers on Friday, particularly in Bicol, President Ferdinand Marcos said.“That’s the problem we’re having with Bicol, so difficult to penetrate,” he said, adding that the heavily saturated ground led to “landslides in areas that didn’t have landslides before.”In Laurel, a scenic town nestled near volcanic Lake Taal south of the capital Manila, roads were blocked by felled trees, vehicles half-submerged in mud and homes severely damaged by flash flooding. “We saw washing machines, cars, home equipment, roofs being swept away,” Mimie Dionela, 56, said. “We’re lucky (the rain) happened in the morning, for sure many would’ve died if it happened at night,” she said. “It was indescribable how scared we were.”Islao Malabanan, 63, agreed he was alive only because the flood occurred during daytime, but said his family had lost everything “including our clothes”. Jona Maulion, who started an auto repair business in Laurel less than a year ago, questioned if her family could afford to restart from scratch. “We thought we were on the way to success in the business,” the 47-year-old said. “I didn’t know that this would happen, everything is gone.”As Trami departed the Philippines in the early hours, travelling west over the South China Sea, the storm’s death toll was swelling as fresh reports of victims emerged.In Batangas province south of Manila, the number of confirmed dead had risen to 43, provincial police chief Jacinto Malinao said.Laurel and the nearby towns of Talisay and Agoncillo accounted for most of the dead in Batangas, with 16 others missing in Talisay, he added.

China has urged the European Commission to take concrete actions to "implement its political will and get back to the right track of resolving trade frictions through consultations," spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.Chinese news agency Xinhua reported today that the remarks came after the commission's proposal to impose definitive countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles from China had obtained the necessary support from Member States of the European Union (EU) for the adoption of tariffs."China firmly opposes the draft final ruling of the EU side, but has also noted its political will to continue to resolve the issue through negotiations," said the spokesperson, noting that technical teams from both sides will continue with their negotiations on Oct. 7.The ministry urged the EU side to be clearly aware of the harm of imposing additional tariffs, as it will not solve any problems but only waver Chinese enterprises' confidence and resolve in and prevent them from conducting investing cooperation in Europe."China's position is consistent and clear. China firmly opposes the unfair, illegal and unreasonable protectionist practices of EU in this case, and resolutely opposes the EU additional countervailing duty on Chinese electric vehicles," said the spokesperson.

Tens of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes on Tuesday as massive floods inundated northern Vietnam in the wake of Typhoon Yagi, while the death toll climbed to 127.Yagi struck Saturday bringing winds in excess of 149 kilometres per hour and a deluge of rain that has caused flooding not seen in decades, according to locals.More than 59,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in Yen Bai province, local authorities said Tuesday, after the floodwaters engulfed almost 18,000 homes.Floodwaters in Hanoi have reached levels not seen since 2008, state media reported, citing a senior local official, and forecasters have warned more is expected in the city's historic centre.Phan Thi Tuyet, 50, who lives close to the swollen and fast-moving Red River which runs through the capital, said she had never experienced such high water."I have lost everything, all gone," she told AFP, clutching her two dogs as she was evacuated by boat, along with other residents whose homes were flooded."I had to come to higher ground to save our lives. We could not bring any of the furniture with us. Everything is under water now."Typhoons in the region are forming closer to the coast, intensifying more rapidly, and staying over land longer due to climate change, according to a study published in July.Yagi downed bridges, tore roofs off buildings, damaged factories and triggered widespread flooding and landslides.State media gave an updated death toll of 127 on Tuesday, with at least 54 people still missing in the storm's aftermath.Hanoi authorities said more than 25,000 trees in the city had been uprooted in the storm. Huge trunks blocked key roads in the city centre, creating large traffic jams.The north of the country -- densely populated and a major manufacturing hub for global tech firms including Samsung -- was badly hit, with floodwaters in the city of Yen Bai at record levels, meteorologists said.Authorities have issued flood and landslide warnings for 401 communes across 18 northern provinces.One-storey homes in parts of Thai Nguyen and Yen Bai cities were almost completely submerged in the early hours of Tuesday, with residents waiting on the roofs for help.Rescuers were trying to reach residential areas to retrieve old people and children. On social media, relatives of those stuck in floodwater posted desperate pleas for help and supplies in the early hours of the morning.Crops including bananas, guavas and corn -- which are usually sold in nearby markets -- were all flooded.As well as the dead and missing, flooding and landslides have also injured at least 752 people, officials at the ministry of agriculture said Tuesday.Authorities stopped heavy vehicles crossing a major bridge over the Red River in central Hanoi on Tuesday and suspended a train line across Long Bien bridge as the water level rose.The action followed the dramatic collapse of a bridge higher up the river in northern Phu Tho province on Monday.Pictures showed half of the 375-metre Phong Chau bridge gone.Five people who were crossing the bridge at the time have been rescued, but eight others were still missing Tuesday, authorities said.The storm has also caused power blackouts and major disruptions to factories in the country's north, which is a major production centre for a number of global tech firms.Susumu Yoshida from the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry told AFP more than 80 Japanese companies had suffered some kind of damage from the typhoon, including to factory buildings, machinery, raw materials and products.Some had suspended or partially suspended production, and would not resume operations until the end of the week, he said.Almost 210,000 hectares of crops had been destroyed in the floods, the state-run Vietnam News Agency reported, citing agriculture officials. At least 734,000 cattle and poultry had also been killed in the flooding, VNA added.At least 24 people were killed as Yagi tore through southern China and the Philippines before hitting Vietnam.

The Philippine authorities issued an order to suspend work , schools, as well currency and stock trading, after the country experienced heavy rainfall due to Hurricane Jamie and monsoon winds on Wednesday.The presidential office has suspended classes at all academic levels and work in most government offices in the capital area, which is home to at least 13 million people.The Philippine weather agency reported that Typhoon Jaime (with maximum sustained winds of 155 km/h) is heading towards Taiwan.It stated that the typhoon had not yet made landfall, but was strengthening the southwest monsoon, causing the heavy rains. "Flooding and landslides caused by the rains are likely" added the agency. (QNA)

At least nine people were killed today and four others were critically injured in a landslide that took place in the North of Vietnam.The people were in a vehicle trapped by a landslide in Bac Me district, the Vietnam News Agency reported, the sand from the landslide buried the people in the vehicle. Rescue work is ongoing to rescue the people that are still under the debris.

The 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) began in the Kazakh capital Astana, where a wide range of current issues related to political, trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian relations will be discussed.During the opening speech, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said, "our countries provide the vector for the development of the entire Eurasian continent. We have turned the SCO into one of the most authoritative and influential structures," noting that the interest in the SCO is growing.He added that for nearly a quarter century, the Organization has become a significant mechanism in the international relations system, greatly contributing to sustainable growth and comprehensive progress, pointing out that fruitful interaction in politics, security, economy, and culture among member states shapes the development path of the entire Eurasian continent.During the summit, leaders of member states signed a decision by the Council of Heads of State granting the Republic of Belarus full membership of the SCO.President of Kazakhstan welcomed Belarus's accession before the signing ceremony.The Summit brought together leaders of member and observer states, as well as dialogue partners.New agreements are expected on cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, drug control activities, combating organized crime across borders, and ensuring information security

* Putin to visit North Korea and Vietnam* Putin last visited North Korea in 2000* Russia and North Korea may sign partnership deal* Trip underscores burgeoning partnership with Pyongyang* US, South Korea warn against violating sanctionsRussian President Vladimir Putin will visit North Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday for the first time in 24 years, the two countries said, underscoring Moscow's burgeoning partnership with the nuclear-armed state since the invasion of Ukraine.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un extended an invitation to Putin during a visit to Russia's Far East last September. Putin last visited Pyongyang in July 2000.Russia and North Korea may sign a partnership agreement during the visit that would include security issues, Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said. He said the deal would not be directed against any other country.Any agreement would "outline prospects for further cooperation, and will be signed taking into account what has happened between our countries in recent years - in the field of international politics, in the field of economics... including, of course, taking into account security issues."Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Putin's point man for energy, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, are in the delegation.After North Korea, Putin will visit Vietnam on June 19-20, the Kremlin said. Both visits had been expected, although the dates had not previously been announced.Russia has gone out of its way to publicise the renaissance of its relationship with North Korea since the start of the war in Ukraine, causing alarm among the United States and its allies in Europe and Asia.Washington says North Korea has supplied weapons to Russia to help it fight in Ukraine, though Pyongyang and Moscow have repeatedly denied this.For Putin, who says Russia is locked in an existential battle with the West over Ukraine, courting Kim allows him to needle Washington and its Asian allies.United Nations monitors concluded that at least one ballistic missile fired from Russia at a city in Ukraine in January was made in North Korea. Ukrainian officials say they have counted about 50 such missiles delivered to Russia by North Korea."The list of countries willing to welcome Putin is shorter than ever, but for Kim Jong Un, this visit is a victory," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul."Not only does the summit upgrade North Korea's status among countries standing against the US-led international order, it also helps bolster Kim's domestic legitimacy."South Korea's vice foreign minister, Kim Hong-kyun, discussed Putin's planned visit to the north in an emergency phone call with US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell on Friday, Seoul's foreign ministry said.The South Korean ministry expressed concern that the visit would result in more military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow, which it said violates UN resolutions.Russia says it will cooperate with North Korea and develop relations in the manner it chooses and not be told what to do by any country, least of all the United States.The UN Security Council, where Russia wields a veto, imposed sanctions on North Korea after Pyongyang carried out its first nuclear test in 2006. Experts say Pyongyang has since continued the development of nuclear weapons and production of nuclear fissile materials.In March this year, Russia vetoed the annual renewal of a panel of experts monitoring enforcement of the UN sanctions. South Korea's UN ambassador compared that move to "destroying a CCTV to avoid being caught red-handed" violating the sanctions.Russia has said that world powers need a new approach to North Korea, accusing the United States and its allies of seeking to "strangle" the reclusive state.Jenny Town, of the Washington-based 38 North programme studying Korea at the Stimson Center think tank, said Russia's outreach to North Korea is part of efforts to build an alternative to a US-led world order."There is reason to believe that Russia sees value in North Korea as a military partner in that war against the West, which does incentivise them to do more beyond just the arms deals for supplementing Russia's war-fighting efforts in Ukraine," she said.For North Korea, its relationship with Russia brings support at the Security Council as well as "immediate and tangible results" in terms of economic, military and agricultural cooperation and trade that the countries have not had since the 90s, Town added.Kim travelled to Russia by train in 2019 and again last year when Putin and the North Korean leader toasted each other over Russian wine.

A woman has been found dead inside the belly of a snake after it swallowed her whole in central Indonesia, a local official said Saturday.The husband of 45-year-old Farida and residents of Kalempang village in South Sulawesi province discovered her on Friday inside the reticulated python, which measured around five metres.The mother-of-four had gone missing Thursday night and failed to return home, forcing a search effort, village head Suardi Rosi told AFP.Her husband "found her belongings... which made him suspicious. The villagers then searched the area. They soon spotted a python with a large belly," said Suardi."They agreed to cut open the python's stomach. As soon as they did, Farida's head was immediately visible."Farida was found fully clothed inside the snake.Such incidents are considered extremely rare but several people have died in Indonesia in recent years after being swallowed whole by pythons.Last year, residents in Southeast Sulawesi's Tinanggea district killed an eight-metre python, which was found strangling and eating one of the farmers in a village.In 2018, a 54-year-old woman was found dead inside a seven-metre python in Southeast Sulawesi's Muna town.And the year before, a farmer in West Sulawesi went missing before being found eaten alive by a four-metre python at a palm oil plantation.

A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted on Sunday, spewing an ash cloud seven kilometres into the sky as authorities warned residents to shelter indoors.It is the latest of around 100 eruptions from the volcano since early this year.Mount Ibu, located on Halmahera island in North Maluku province, erupted at 12.45 pm (0345 GMT), sending thick clouds of ash into the air, Geology Agency head Muhammad Wafid said in a statement.The eruption from the volcano -- which has been at the highest alert level of the country's four-tiered system since mid-May -- lasted for 6 minutes and 13 seconds, he added.Ash was carried by the wind towards the volcano's monitoring station and an evacuation shelter next to it, but "there was no panic" among the evacuees, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement Sunday."People have been advised to avoid outdoor activities and shelter indoors while the ash mixed with sand is still raining down," Abdul said.He urged residents to use masks to prevent respiratory problems.After the volcano was raised to the highest alert level on May 16, authorities warned locals and tourists not to enter an exclusion zone between four and seven kilometres from the volcano's crater.Authorities began evacuating residents not long after, with more than 2,500 people moved to shelters as of Sunday, according to local disaster mitigation agency data.Ibu is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, erupting more than 21,000 times last year.According to the Geology Agency, Ibu recorded an average of 58 eruptions per day in 2023.Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire".Last month, Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times, forcing thousands of residents of nearby islands to evacuate.

Aircraft had 54 metre altitude drop in 4.6 secondsPeople not wearing seatbelts forced into air, probe saysAircraft encountered rapid change in altitude, air speed28 passengers still in Thai hospitals - airlinePreliminary findings released on Wednesday of an investigation into a Singapore Airlines flight hit by severe turbulence last week showed that a rapid change in gravitational force and a 54-metre altitude drop caused injuries.A 73-year-old passenger died of a suspected heart attack and dozens were injured after flight SQ321, flying from London to Singapore, encountered what the airline described as sudden, extreme turbulence while flying over Myanmar.The May 21 flight on a Boeing 777-300ER plane carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew diverted to Bangkok for an emergency landing after the plane was buffeted by turbulence that flung passengers and crew around the cabin, slamming some into the ceiling."The aircraft experienced a rapid change in G (gravitational force) ... This likely resulted in the occupants who were not belted up to become airborne," the Singapore Transport Ministry said in a statement."The vertical acceleration changed from negative 1.5G to positive 1.5G within 4 seconds. This likely resulted in the occupants who were airborne to fall back down," it said, citing information extracted from the flight data and cockpit voice recorders."The rapid changes in G over the 4.6 seconds duration resulted in an altitude drop of 178 ft (54 m), from 37,362 ft to 37,184 ft. This sequence of events likely caused the injuries to the crew and passengers," it added.Shaken passengers described scenes of chaos in the minutes after the incident, with the turbulence throwing people upwards then into the aisle, many left with bleeding and head wounds.Photographs of the cabin showed gashes in the overhead cabin panels, oxygen masks and panels hanging from the ceiling and luggage strewn around. A passenger said some people's heads had slammed into lights above the seats and broken the panels.Singapore Airlines said it acknowledged the report and was cooperating fully with the investigation.The airline late on Tuesday had said 42 people who were on board the flight were still in Bangkok, including 26 passengers receiving medical treatment in hospital.Among those initially hospitalised were patients with spinal cord injuries and some with brain and skull injuries, according to Thai medical officials.The preliminary report said that upon the flight encountering slight vibrations there was an uncommanded increase in altitude, resulting in the autopilot pitching the aircraft downwards. The pilots experienced an increase in airspeed and responded by applying speed brakes."While managing the airspeed ... it was heard that a pilot called out that the fasten seat belt sign had been switched on," it said.Hong Kong's Greater Bay Airlines said on Wednesday it would require passengers to fasten seatbelt at all times during the flight even when the seat belt sign is off, starting from Thursday.The company said it's not a mandatory requirement but a precautionary measure for passenger safety.The investigation team comprised Singaporean investigators, and US representatives from Boeing, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Singapore transport ministry said the probe was ongoing.

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 people were injured.Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 hit "sudden extreme turbulence" over Myanmar 10 hours into its journey to Singapore on Tuesday, abruptly rising and plunging several times.One passenger said people were thrown around the cabin so violently they put dents in the ceiling during the drama at 37,000 feet, leaving dozens with head injuries.Photos from inside the plane show the cabin in chaos, strewn with food, drinks bottles and luggage, and with oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling.The plane, carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew, made an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, where medical staff used gurneys to ferry the injured to ambulances waiting on the tarmac."I was flung up to the roof and then as the plane dropped forward so did I," one passenger told Australian media on Wednesday after arriving in Sydney."I then hit the floor quite hard and all the breakfast items and glass flew forward as well."The poor crew was preparing breakfast for everyone, so they got the worst injuries."A 73-year-old British man died and 104 people were injured on the flight.A hospital in Bangkok said on Wednesday that its staff were either treating or had treated 85 of those injured, including 20 people taken to intensive care units.The 20 were from Australia, Britain, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines, Samitivej Hospital said, without specifying how many were passengers or crew.A relief flight carrying 131 passengers and 12 crew landed at Singapore's Changi Airport on Wednesday morning.Relatives greeted the arrivals with hugs, but all were too shaken to talk to waiting reporters.Andrew Davies, a British passenger aboard the Boeing 777-300ER, told BBC radio that the plane "suddenly dropped" and there was "very little warning"."During the few seconds of the plane dropping, there was an awful screaming and what sounded like a thud," he said, adding that he helped a woman with a "gash on her head".Separately, he told a BBC podcast he feared the plane was going to crash."Remembering the plane now -- the huge dents in the roof that people had obviously hit with their head. There was a water bottle stuck in a gap in the ceiling," he said.Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Goh Choon Phong said Wednesday the carrier is "very sorry for the traumatic experience", and expressed condolences to the family of the deceased.Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong sent his "deepest condolences" to the family and loved ones of the dead man -- identified as Geoff Kitchen, a musical theatre director from near Bristol.Singapore's transport minister Chee Hong Tat posted on Facebook that investigators from the city-state arrived in Bangkok Tuesday night.Since the incident involved a Boeing plane, he said, a team from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) would be sent as well.An AFP photographer saw people in Singapore Airlines yellow vests entering the plane on Wednesday as it remained grounded in Bangkok.The Philippines' Department of Migrant Workers meanwhile said five injured Filipino passengers were being treated at Bangkok hospitals, including a two-year-old boy and a woman who "suffered a neck fracture".Malaysia's foreign ministry said nine of its nationals were hospitalised, including one in a critical but stable condition.Of the passengers, 56 were Australian, 47 British and 41 Singaporean, according to the airline."In terms of exactly what happened, it's too early to tell. But I think passengers are too casual on board commercial aircraft," US-based aerospace safety expert Anthony Brickhouse told AFP."The moment the captain turns off the seatbelt sign, people literally unbuckle."Davies, the passenger, said "the plane suddenly dropped" at the very moment a seatbelt sign came on.Allison Barker told the BBC her son Josh, who was aboard the plane, texted her that he was on "a crazy flight" that was making an emergency landing."It was terrifying," she said. "I didn't know what was going on. We didn't know whether he'd survived, it was so nerve-racking. It was the longest two hours of my life."Scientists have long warned that climate change is likely to increase so-called clear air turbulence, which is invisible to radar.A 2023 study found the annual duration of clear air turbulence increased by 17 percent from 1979 to 2020, with the most severe cases increasing by more than 50 percent.

Male passenger dies, 30 hurt after plane hits turbulenceFlight from London forced to divert to BangkokPassenger describes how people hit overhead lockersOne passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said."Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight," the airline said, adding it was working with Thai authorities to provide all necessary assistance.One male passenger died, Kittipong Kittikachorn, Director of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport, told Reuters. Eighteen people have been hospitalised and 12 are being treated in hospitals, Singapore Airlines said.It was not immediately possible to reconstruct the incident from publicly available tracking data, but a spokesperson for FlightRadar 24 said it was analysing data at around 07:49 GMT which shows the plane tilting upwards and return to its cruising altitude over the space of a minute.A passenger who was on the flight told Reuters that the incident involved the sensation of rising then falling."Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking so I started bracing for what was happening, and very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing a seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling," Dzafran Azmir, a 28-year-old student on board the flight told Reuters."Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it, they hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it," he said.The spokesperson for FlightRadar 24 said with regard to data showing a drop in height, "our initial thinking is the turbulence event is prior to the standard descent from 37,000 to 31,000 feet. That appears to just be a flight level change in preparation for landing."The Boeing 777-300ER plane with 211 passengers and 18 crew was headed to Singapore when it made the emergency landing, the airline said.Singapore news outlet CNA carried blurry pictures supplied by readers that it said appeared to be from the flight. They showed anxious passengers clinging to seats, with oxygen masks hanging from above, personal items strewn across the aisle and rubbish spilled on the floor of the cabin crew area.Suvarnabhumi airport said the plane requested an emergency landing at 3:35pm local time and landed at 3:51. Uninjured passengers disembarked and an another aircraft will fly them onwards. The airline said it landed at 3:45.Turbulence-related airline accidents are the most common type, according to a 2021 study by the National Transportation Safety Board.From 2009 through 2018, the US agency found that turbulence accounted for more than a third of reported airline accidents and most resulted in one or more serious injuries, but no aircraft damage.Singapore Airlines, which is widely recognized as one of world's leading airlines and is a benchmark for much of the industry, has not had any major incidents in recent years.Its last accident resulting in casualties was a flight from Singapore to Los Angeles via Taipei, where it crashed on Oct. 31, 2000 into construction equipment on the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport after attempting to take off from the wrong runway. The crash killed 83 of the 179 people on board.Singapore Airlines has had seven accidents according to records by the Aviation Safety Network.Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Indonesian authorities began evacuating 12,000 people on Wednesday, following the eruption of Mount Ruang volcano in Sulawesi province, in the north of the country.Local authorities reported that evacuation of thousands of people living within a 7 km radius around the volcano has begun, as ships belonging to the National Search and Rescue Agency, the Indonesian Navy and the police started evacuating residents.Earlier on Tuesday, authorities had raised the alert level for the volcano after it witnessed several major eruptions prompting warnings of deadly lava and ash flows, and the possibility of a tsunami, which led to the obstruction of air traffic.The 725 meters high volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, as this latest eruption comes in the wake of increasing volcanic activity, which began in mid-April. (QNA)

Claire LEE The creative director behind the girl band NewJeans has found online fame after a tearful, profanity-laced news conference in which she slammed some of K-pop's most powerful executives as "middle-aged jerks".HYBE, the South Korean agency behind K-pop sensation BTS, filed a legal complaint on Thursday against Min Hee-jin, the head of its powerhouse subsidiary label ADOR, for breach of trust in business.That followed an announcement three days earlier that it had launched an audit of ADOR and demanded that Min resign. HYBE's share price fell close to 10 percent after the audit was announced and closed on Friday down 4.95 percent.Min, 44, hit back in a news conference on Thursday that drew empathy online from young working men and women who compared her story with their own experiences with unreasonable and jealous bosses who either took credit for their work or failed to acknowledge it fairly.Others, however, said she had acted inappropriately and unprofessionally by occasionally lapsing into profanity.She denied HYBE's accusations and claimed it was trying to dismiss her unfairly after she accused another of its subsidiaries, BELIFT LAB, of imitating NewJeans with a girl group of its own called ILLIT.Min, speaking off the cuff and often breaking down in tears, candidly shared her frustrations for more than two hours.She referred to HYBE's leaders, including chairman Bang Si-hyuk, the man behind BTS, as "gaejeossi", which translates roughly to a "middle-aged or old male jerk"."I feel betrayed by HYBE... they used me until I was no longer of use to them," she said.- 'Undermined' -The live-streamed event, during which even her lawyers appeared embarrassed, had millions of views and drew an explosive public response.One parody YouTube video seen by 2.5 million viewers combined a clip of Min speaking passionately with hip-hop music. The t-shirt and baseball cap she was wearing sold out on several online platforms and many others said they had suffered similar experiences."Women who have truly worked (hard) and experienced being undermined by men, along with the dirty side of office politics, could never speak ill of Min Hee-jin," a South Korean woman said on social media platform X.But Lee Moon-won, a culture critic who watched the news conference, said Min sidestepped the real allegations against her."No figure as influential as Min in the entertainment industry has ever used curse words during an official press conference, people have really never seen anything like it, so this obviously has attracted enormous attention," he told AFP.- 'Incompetence and vulgarity' - Min, who joined the industry in the early 2000s, is widely regarded as one of the most successful producers in K-pop, having worked with stars such as Girls' Generation, EXO and SHINee.NewJeans, a K-pop phenomenon that made its debut in 2022 and whose members are all under 20, is among HYBE's most successful K-pop groups along with BTS.As one of few successful women producers in the industry, Min has been recognised for her arresting visual imagery on numerous K-pop hits, including Girls' Generation's "Gee" and EXO's "Growl".NewJeans has topped global charts, including the Billboard 200, and broke the Guinness World Record last year for "Fastest K-pop act to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify".Min said HYBE chairman Bang never congratulated her on NewJeans' debut and that the parent company had given promotional priority to another of its K-pop groups, Le Sserafim.HYBE rejected Min's accusations and urged her again to resign and stop discussing NewJeans.Some experts criticised both Min and HYBE over a scandal that has gripped much of South Korea.K-pop columnist Isak Choi said those involved showed "incompetence and vulgarity by not hesitating to publicly display infighting".Just because Min criticised HYBE's leadership, "it doesn't mean she is free from the rotten issues of this industry", Choi wrote on X."She cannot become the underdog simply because she is fighting with the management, especially after having gained astronomical benefits from within it."

Extreme heat scorched the Philippines on Wednesday, forcing schools in some areas to suspend in-person classes and prompting warnings for people to limit the amount of time spent outdoors.The months of March, April and May are typically the hottest and driest in the archipelago nation, but conditions this year have been exacerbated by the El Nino weather phenomenon."It's so hot you can't breathe," said Erlin Tumaron, 60, who works at a seaside resort in Cavite province, south of Manila, where the heat index reached 47 degrees Celsius on Tuesday."It's surprising our pools are still empty. You would expect people to come and take a swim, but it seems they're reluctant to leave their homes because of the heat."The heat index was expected to reach the "danger" level of 42C or higher in at least 30 cities and municipalities on Wednesday, the state weather forecaster said.The heat index measures what a temperature feels like, taking into account humidity.There was a 50 percent chance of the heat intensifying in the coming days, said Ana Solis, chief climatologist at the state weather forecaster."We need to limit the time we spend outdoors, drink plenty of water, bring umbrellas and hats when going outdoors," Solis told AFP.Solis said El Nino was the reason for the "extreme heat" affecting swathes of the country.Around half the country's provinces are officially in drought.The northern municipality of Aparri endured a heat index of 48C on Tuesday, the highest in the country, and was expected to hit 45C on Wednesday.The actual maximum air temperature was 36.4C on Tuesday, with 35C forecast for Wednesday."It's really hot here," Eric Vista of the municipal disaster agency told AFP.Vista said a shower of rain on Tuesday night offered some temporary relief, but it was "back to being super hot" on Wednesday.Sweltering temperatures in the capital Manila forced many schools to switch to remote learning. The heat index reached 45C on Tuesday and was expected to hit 44C on Wednesday.Tuesday's actual high in the city was 37.1C.In Dagupan city, north of Manila, university employee Edz Alteros said she and her colleagues no longer went out for lunch because of the heat.The heat index there reached 47C on Tuesday."We get somebody to buy food and we eat inside the office," Alteros, 27, said."The air conditioning is set at 14-18C during the hottest part of the day, but we ease up at other times to prevent the aircon breaking down."Global temperatures hit record highs last year, and the United Nation's weather and climate agency said Tuesday that Asia was warming at a particularly rapid pace.The Philippines ranks among the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and HE President of the friendly Republic of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. witnessed on Monday the exchange ceremony of several agreements and memoranda of understanding and cooperation between the governments of both countries.HH the Amir and HE the President of the Philippines witnessed the exchange of a visa exemption agreement for holders of diplomatic, private and official passports, a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of sports, a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of youth, a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of combating human trafficking, a memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of climate change, and a memorandum of understanding in the fields of tourism and business events.They also witnessed the exchange of a memorandum of understanding on mutual recognition of seafarers' certificates, a memorandum of understanding between Qatar Chamber and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and a memorandum of understanding between Qatar Chamber and the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry.The exchange ceremony, which took place at the presidential palace in Manila, was attended by Their Excellencies members of the official delegation.On the Philippine side, it was attended by a number of Their Excellencies ministers and senior officials. (QNA)

Indonesian firefighters were battling to put out a massive fire that broke out on Saturday at a military ammunition depot just outside the capital, causing a series of explosions and sending flames and smoke into the night sky.No one was reported to have died or been injured in the incident, military official Mohammad Hasan told reporters at the scene, saying the fire had started in a part of the facility that was used to store expired ammunition."We've checked the location, perimeters, there are no fatalities," Hasan told a press conference near the site in Bogor, on the outskirts of Jakarta."The expired ammunitions contain chemicals that can be unstable ... There could have been some frictions that sparked the fire," he said.Army official Kristomei Sianturi said authorities had started extinguishing the fire several hours after it started, at 6.30pm (1130 GMT).Firefighters and paramedics were not initially able to reach the scene, according to local media reports.Footage broadcast by local network KompasTV showed orange flames and billowing clouds of smoke rising into the night sky, while loud explosions could be heard from several kilometres away.Local resident Arga Nanda told KompasTV he had heard a loud explosion that shook doors and windows. People ran out into the streets thinking it was an earthquake, he said.Kristomei said authorities were evacuating people from nearby neighbourhoods. He also warned residents not to touch any objects that may be been blown outwards by explosions.

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 ten years ago with 239 people on board remains one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.The Boeing 777 went missing on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.Satellite data analysis showed the plane likely crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean, off the coast of western Australia. However, two major searches failed to come up with any significant findings.Here are some details of the search for MH370 and the unresolved mystery of what happened:What is knownThe last transmission from the plane was about 40 minutes after it took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing.Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah signed off with "Good night, Malaysian three seven zero", as the plane entered Vietnamese air space.Shortly thereafter, its transponder was turned off, which meant it could not be easily tracked.Military radar showed the plane left its flight path to fly back over northern Malaysia and Penang island, and then out into the Andaman Sea towards the tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It then turned south and all contact was lost.Underwater searchesMalaysia, Australia and China launched an underwater search in a 120,000 sq km area in the southern Indian Ocean, based on data of automatic connections between an Inmarsat satellite and the plane.The search, which cost about $143million, was called off after two years in January 2017 with no traces of the plane found.In 2018, Malaysia accepted a "no-cure, no-fee" offer from US exploration firm Ocean Infinity for a three-month search, meaning the company would only get paid if it found the plane.That search covered 112,000 sq km north of the original target area and also proved fruitless, ending in May 2018.DebrisMore than 30 pieces of suspected aircraft debris have been collected along the along the coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean, but only three wing fragments were confirmed to be from MH370.Most of the debris were used in drift pattern analysis in the hopes of narrowing down the aircraft's possible location.Investigation reportA 495-page report into MH370's disappearance, published in July 2018, said the Boeing 777's controls were likely deliberately manipulated to take it off course, but investigators could not determine who was responsible.The report also highlighted mistakes made by the Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City air traffic control centres and issued recommendations to avoid a repeat incident.Investigators stopped short of offering any conclusions about what happened to MH370, saying that depended on finding the plane's wreckage.Conspiracy theoriesThe inability to locate MH370's crash site has fuelled numerous conspiracy theories, ranging from mechanical error or a remote-controlled crash, to more bizarre explanations like alien abduction and a Russian plot.In recent years, some aviation experts have said the most likely explanation was that the plane was deliberately taken off course by an experienced pilot. Investigators, however, have said there was nothing suspicious in the background, financial affairs, training and mental health of both the captain and co-pilot.New search?Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said this week the government is willing to re-open an investigation into the disappearance of MH370, if there was a compelling case to do so.Transport Minister Anthony Loke said US seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity had been invited to discuss a new search proposal. Loke said Malaysia would talk to Australia about cooperation in resuming the search once Ocean Infinity's proposal is approved by Malaysia's cabinet.