Search teams battle rough weather in hunt for AirAsia wreck

Ships and aircraft criss-crossed the seas off Borneo on Friday hunting for the wreck of an Indonesia AirAsia passenger jet, but bad weather again hindered the search for the plane and the black box flight recorders that should reveal why it crashed.

An official said 30 bodies had been recovered, along with pieces of the broken-up plane, in the Indonesian-led search for Flight QZ8501 that is concentrated on 1,575 square nautical miles of the northern Java Sea.

Strong winds and heavy seas have stopped divers from looking for the fuselage of the Airbus A320-200, which plunged into the water on Sunday while en route from Indonesia's second-biggest city Surabaya to Singapore with 162 people on board.

"Waves were between 3 and 4 meters today, making it difficult to load bodies onto ships and between ships," Fransiskus Bambang Soelistyo, head of Indonesia's search and rescue agency, told reporters in Jakarta, adding that some vessels would search through the night.

"Tonight we are sending tug boats which should make the (body) transfers easier."
He said two of the 30 bodies found were strapped to their plane seats.

The multinational search operation based in Pangkalan Bun, the town in southern Borneo closest to the search area, was bolstered on Friday by experts from France's BEA accident investigation agency, which attends all Airbus crashes.

Officials said the French team's hydrophones - sophisticated underwater acoustic detection devices - and towed sonar equipment brought by other international experts could not be used on Friday because of high waves.

But naval vessels from Indonesia, the United States and Singapore with in-built anti-submarine capabilities were using sonar to sweep the sea floor.

STALL THEORY
The cause of the crash, the first suffered by the AirAsia group since the budget operator began flying in 2002, is unexplained. Investigators are working on a theory that the plane stalled as it climbed steeply to avoid a storm about 40 minutes into a flight that should have lasted two hours.

Officials earlier said it may take up to a week to find the black boxes, which investigators hope will unravel the sequence of events in the cockpit during the doomed jet's final minutes.
"After the black box is found, we are able to issue a preliminary report in one month," said Toos Sanitioso, an investigator with the National Committee for Transportation Safety. "We cannot yet speculate what caused the crash."

Even in bad weather, the search for the AirAsia plane is less technically challenging than the two-year search for an Air France jet that crashed into deep Atlantic waters in 2009, or the fruitless hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 that disappeared last year.

Given Flight QZ8501 crashed in shallow seas, experts say finding the boxes should not be difficult if its locator beacons, with a range of 2,000 to 3,000 meters (6,560 to 9,800 ft) and a battery life of about 30 days, are working.

Bodies plucked from the sea are being taken in numbered coffins to Surabaya, where relatives of the victims, most of whom were Indonesian, have gathered. Authorities have been collecting DNA from relatives to help identify the bodies.

The first funeral of one of the crash victims was held on Thursday, and on Friday officials said the remains of three more had been identified, including a flight attendant.
AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes tweeted that he would accompany the body of one victim home from Surabaya.

"I'm arriving in Surabaya to take Nisa home to Palembang," he wrote. "I cannot describe how I feel. There are no words."

"UNBELIEVABLY" STEEP CLIMB
The plane was traveling at 32,000 ft (9,753 meters) and the pilots had asked to climb to 38,000 ft to avoid bad weather just before contact was lost. When air traffic controllers granted permission to fly at 34,000 ft a few minutes later, they got no response.

A source close to the investigation said radar data appeared to show the aircraft made an "unbelievably" steep climb before it crashed, possibly pushing it beyond the A320's limits.

Hadi Mustofa Djuraid, a Transport Ministry official, told reporters that authorities were investigating the possibility that the pilot did not ask for a weather report from the meteorological agency at the time of takeoff.

He added that pilots were required to do so before flying.
Indonesia AirAsia's president director, Sunu Widyatmoko, said in a text message: "We will make a release shortly" on that aspect of the investigation.
The Indonesian captain, a former air force fighter pilot, had 6,100 flying hours on the A320 and the plane last underwent maintenance in mid-November, according to Indonesia AirAsia, 49 percent owned by Malaysia-based AirAsia.
Three airline disasters involving Malaysian-affiliated planes in under a year have spooked travelers.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared in March en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew and has not been found. On July 17, the same airline's Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.
On board Flight QZ8501 were 155 Indonesians, three South Koreans, and one person each from Singapore, Malaysia and Britain. The co-pilot was French.

Wall St. gains on first day of trading in 2015; energy dips

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday, kicking off the new year with a broad rally, though crude oil prices continued to be pressured and kept energy shares in negative territory.

The day's gains were widespread, with nine of the 10 primary S&P 500 sectors climbing. The only group to fall was energy .SPNY, the weakest sector of 2014, which lost 0.4 percent. Marathon Oil (MRO.N) fell 0.9 percent to $28 while Newfield Exploration (NFX.N) sank 2.4 percent to $26.47.

Crude oil CLc1 fell 0.7 percent in a volatile session that saw it rise as much as 3.5 percent then fall as much as 2.3 percent, as a supply glut outweighed investor positioning at the start of the new year for a possible recovery. Oil is set for its 13th negative week out of the past 14, and is at levels not seen since 2009.

Wall Street ended 2014 with solid gains for the year and fourth quarter, though a broad decline Wednesday pushed the S&P 500 into negative territory for December. Still, the market has had an upward bias since mid-December, with the S&P rising in seven of the past 10 sessions.

"Last year was a tough year for active managers and hedge funds, and this year, people are determined to not get left behind. It's a New Year's resolution for some people to jump into the market," said Joshua Brown, vice president of investments at Fusion Analytics in New York.

The S&P 500 is about 1 percent away from its record close, and despite the day's advance, market participants will be questioning whether current levels are justified.

"I'd be a lot more comfortable if the market was, say, 20 percent lower," Brown said.
Despite the day's rise, major indexes remained on track for a negative week, with the Dow down 0.6 percent, the S&P off 1 percent and the Nasdaq off 1 percent.

On Thursday, when the stock market was closed for the New Year's holiday, General Motors Co (GM.N) announced three new vehicle recalls, the biggest involving the ignition-switch design of several SUV and pickup truck models. Shares fell 0.5 percent to $34.73.

In the latest economic data, construction spending unexpectedly fell in November by 0.3 percent, while the pace of growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector slipped to a six-month low in December, according to the Institute for Supply Management.

At 10:03 a.m., the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 88.36 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,911.43, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 5.86 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,064.76 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 17.06 points, or 0.36 percent, to 4,753.11.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,631 to 1,198, for a 1.36-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,390 issues rose and 972 fell for a 1.43-to-1 ratio.

The benchmark S&P 500 index posted 8 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 40 new highs and 7 new lows.

Army to court-martial Brig-Gen., 21 others in Lagos

The Nigeria Army will on January 16, 2015 arraign one brigadier-general and 21 other officers before a General Court Martial in Lagos, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, who is a defence lawyer to some of the soldiers confirmed to The PUNCH on Wednesday.

While the army authorities have yet to release the charges preferred against the accused, The PUNCH learnt that the officers would go on trial for offences they allegedly committed in line of duty while battling insurgents in the North-East zone of the country.

Falana said he had yet to receive the charges against his clients.

The GCM is to hold at the 9 Brigade Officers’ Mess, Ikeja Cantonment, Lagos.

The accused officers include Brig.-Gen. J.O. Komolafe; Colonels A. Laguda, V. Ebhaleme, V.O. Ita, and I.B. Maina.

Others are Colonels I. A Aboi, I.M Kabir, M.H. Abubakar, A. A. Egbejule, N. N. Orok, C. A. Magaji, A.O. Agwu, A.J.S. Gulani, O.O. Obolo and A.M. Adetuyi.

The only Major among the accused officers is M. M. Idris and the others include Captains M Adamu, O. A. Adenaike, M. Gidado, M.M. Clark and S. Raymond.

S.O. Olowa is the only second lieutenant among the officers.

Their arraignment comes on the heels of the amendment of the convening order for the General Court Martial by the General Officer Commanding 81 Division of the Nigeria Army, Maj. Gen. T.I. Dibi, on August 6, 2014.

The amendment of the convening order replaces Brig.-Gen. I. O. Rabiu with Brig.-Gen. A. M. Sabo as the President of the court.

Other members of the panel are four other brigadiers-general – C. O. Ayara, J. C. Egbudom, S. A. Yaro, and J. Sarham.

The order indicated that Brig.-Gen. A. M Aliyu was on the waiting list.

It also nominated Lt. L.B. Berepiki and Warrant Officer Peter Ahmadu as additional prosecution counsel.

Meanwhile, the GCM set up by the Nigerian Army to try three officers and 13 soldiers of the 331 Artillery Regiment, Biu, Borno State, in relation with the April 14, 2014 abduction of the students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, has freed one of the officers, Capt. O.O. Ogunrinde.

Ogunrinde, who was arraigned on a two count of conduct prejudicial to service discipline and relaying information without verification was found to be innocent by the court and was discharged and acquitted.

The Army Captain was the second-in-command at the 331 Artillery Regiment, Biu, when the Chibok girls were abducted by the insurgents.

The abduction of the girls has provoked global outrage but most of the girls remain in custody of the violent Ismaic sect, Boko Haram, trill date.

Ogunrinde was said to have been arraigned for allegedly relaying information without verification concerning the number of girls abducted.

The defence counsel to Ogunrinde, Mr. A.I. Omachi, said that the trial court decided the case in favour of his client, having found him not guilty of the charges levelled against him.

Ogunrinde was the only Army personnel who escaped a jail sentence by the court, which sentenced two officers and 13 soldiers in relation with the Chibok incident on December 23, 2014.

Eid-el-Maulud: Jonathan felicitates with Muslims

2015-01-02 11:46 Abuja - President Goodluck Jonathan has felicitated with Muslims across the country as they join their counterparts around the world to commemorate Eid-el-Maulud (the birth of Prophet Muhammad) on Friday.

Dr Reuben Abati, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said this is in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.

President Jonathan, according to Abati, urged all adherents of Islam in the country to use the occasion to offer special prayers at Jumat (Friday worship) for the success of the forthcoming general elections.

He said: “the President reassures Muslims and all other Nigerians that the Federal Government will do all within its power to ensure that the general elections in February are credible and violence-free.

“Jonathan believes that this is essential to ensure that Nigeria remains politically stable and continues on a steady path to the fulfilment of its peoples’ collective vision of a strong, united and prosperous nation.

Abati said that President Jonathan called on Muslims to seize the opportunity of the New Year and Eid-el-Maulud holidays to deeply reflect on the need for greater application of the prophet's teachings.

The teachings, according to him, border on piety, charity, tolerance, justice and peaceful co-existence with others in the collective effort to overcome current national challenges.

“Jonathan assures the Muslims and other Nigerians that his administration will continue to be guided by the ideals of fairness, equity and justice for all in its leadership of the country.

“He also assures them that on his watch as President, no Nigerian will ever be discriminated against on the basis of religion, ethnicity or social standing.

“The President reaffirms his personal commitment to working diligently and tirelessly to ensure the successful implementation of Federal Government’s agenda for national transformation.

“To this end, he urges Muslims and all other Nigerians to support the continuation of the present administration’s efforts to build a better nation,’’ the President’s aide said.

- NAN

Armed bandits cause havoc in Ughelli

2015-01-02 12:46
Ughelli – More than seven gunmen caused a raucous after they raided a compound shooting one and killing another on Wednesday night in Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State, reports Vanguard.

They killed retired principle, Chief E. Ekee and injured Mr Matthias Ogbagah, Publisher of Rainbow Newspaper who was able to escape by playing dead.
The police are in the process of looking for the suspects.

Read more at the Vanguard.

Italy rescuing more migrants in Mediterranean

2015-01-02 12:46
Rome - An Icelandic Coast Guard ship was towing a cargo vessel to Italy with about 450 migrants who were abandoned by smugglers, leaving the vessel navigating without a crew, authorities said Friday.

Italian Coast Guard Cmdr. Filippo Marini said that after several hours of struggling in rough seas, rescue teams managed to secure the Ezadeen for towing toward the southern Calabrian region. The Icelandic ship, part of a European new European patrol force to aid migrants at sea, was doing the tow.

Children and pregnant women were among the migrants, most of who were believed to be Syrian, said Marini. The Sierra-Leone-flagged cargo ship apparently set sail from Turkey, he said.

The exact port of the Ezadeen's arrival will depend on sea conditions, authorities aid.

Earlier on Friday, Marini said that a migrant had called for help saying: "we're without crew, we're heading toward the Italian coast and we have no one to steer."

The Ezadeen is the second cargo ship full of migrants to be abandoned while still sailing this week. Days earlier, the Italian Coast Guard in a daring attempt, lowered officials onto another, Moldovan-flagged cargo vessel so they could take control of the ship, which was only a few miles from crashing into the Italian coast.
More than 170,000 migrants were intercepted or needed rescue by Italian navy, coast guard and air force patrols last year. This apparently new technique by smugglers of abandoning a ship after setting it on a crash course complicates rescue efforts, Marini told Italian state radio, "but the important thing is there are lives to be saved."

- AP

Delhi rapes increase by one third in 2014

2015-01-02 12:46
New Delhi -The number of rapes reported in New Delhi increased by nearly a third in the last year, police said Friday, highlighting the alarming levels of sexual violence against women in the Indian capital.

At an annual briefing with reporters, Delhi Police Commissioner Bhim Sain Bassi said that a total of 2,069 rape cases were reported in New Delhi in the 12 months leading up to December 15, against 1,571 reported the previous year, an increase of 31.6 percent.

The city sealed its reputation as India's "rape capital" two years ago when a medical student died after being gang-raped on a moving bus, prompting mass protests and triggering a series of policing and legal reforms.
The figures were released the same day that an Uber taxi driver accused of raping a female passenger in Delhi last month made his second appearance in court.

Shiv Kumar Yadav, 32, was remanded in custody for another three days over the alleged December 5 attack.


But the police commissioner insisted the new figures did not necessarily indicate that the city was becoming more dangerous for women but rather highlighted a growing willingness of victims to come forward.
"More cases are being reported now as women feel more confident about approaching us," he told reporters, while adding that more still needed to be done to change attitudes and increase sensitivity about sex crimes.

"Both society and police's mindset needs to change for crimes (against women) to be reported and registered," he said.

Bassi said that police received another 36,284 complaints on other issues at women's help desks in the city's police stations, which have mostly been established in the recent years.

In the last two years, there has also been an increased emphasis on training officers to handle of rape cases as well as a drive to attract more female police recruits.

Bassi said that the city police solved 62 percent of all crimes reported against women within a week.
"As for crimes against women, we are taking different steps including self-training classes for women," the commissioner added.

- AFP