Passengers should 'try to smile and be caring': former United Airlines CEO on flying

AFP
Philippine Coast Guard slams 'dangerous' China helicopter manoeuvres
The Philippine Coast Guard condemned "dangerous" manoeuvres by a Chinese Navy helicopter on Tuesday that it said flew within three metres (10 feet) of a surveillance flight carrying a group of journalists over the contested Scarborough Shoal.The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) helicopter had been "as close as three metres" to the fisheries bureau's Cessna, the coast guard said in a statement.
AFP
Israel withdraws but keeps five positions in south Lebanon
Israeli troops withdrew from all but five points in south Lebanon on Tuesday, allowing displaced residents to return to border villages largely destroyed in more than a year of hostilities.Israel had announced just before the pullout deadline that it would keep troops in "five strategic points" near the border, and on Tuesday its defence minister, Israel Katz, confirmed the deployment and vowed action against any "violation" by militant group Hezbollah.
AFP
German 'bureaucracy monster' on everyone's election hit list
German politicians make a lot of laws and regulations but on the campaign trail many rage against the country's notorious bureaucracy, labelling it a monster that needs to be slayed.Conservative poll frontrunner Friedrich Merz -- who once famously argued a tax return should fit onto a beer coaster -- has vowed to go to war against the "bureaucracy monster".
Reuters
Thin majority of Germans back role in possible Ukraine peacekeeping mission
A slim majority of Germans are in favour of deploying Bundeswehr forces as part of a possible peacekeeping force in Ukraine to monitor any ceasefire that is agreed, a poll showed on Tuesday. European leaders, alarmed at being sidelined from talks on the future security of Ukraine, are considering possible contributions to any future peace mission as U.S. and Russian officials meet to discuss ending the three-year-old war. A Forsa poll for Stern magazine said that 49% of Germans favoured such a deployment while 44% opposed it and 7% abstained.
Associated Press
Researchers link a gene to the emergence of spoken language
Scientists suggest genetics played a big role – and they say the evolution of this singular ability was key to our survival. A new study links a particular gene to the ancient origins of spoken language, proposing that a protein variant found only in humans may have helped us communicate in a novel way. The new study is “a good first step to start looking at the specific genes” that may affect speech and language development, said Liza Finestack at the University of Minnesota, who was not involved with the research.
AFP
Can Europe match words with actions post Munich?
Lofty rhetoric and frank acknowledgements of a new world order have not been in short supply from European leaders since the new American administration of Donald Trump took office, making clear starkly different policy priorities.However, European leaderships seem to have wilfully stuck their heads in the sand, and been living on hopes and dreams that Trump would be what he was not."
Associated Press
Huawei's tri-foldable phone hits global markets in a show of defiance amid US curbs
Huawei on Tuesday held a global launch for the industry’s first tri-foldable phone, which analysts said marked a symbolic victory for the Chinese tech giant amid U.S. technology curbs. Huawei said at a launch event in Kuala Lumpur that the Huawei Mate XT, first unveiled in China five months ago, will be priced at 3,499 euros ($3,662). The company says it's the thinnest foldable phone at 3.6 millimeters (0.14 inches), with a 10.2-inch screen similar to an Apple iPad.
AFP
US and Russia hold talks in Saudi, no seat for Ukraine
Top US and Russian diplomats met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks on resetting their fractured relations, the first such discussions since the Russian invasion of Ukraine."You either go to Asia or you go to Saudi Arabia," he said.
Reuters
Rebel-held ports in eastern DR Congo re-open as aid needs grow
The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group is trying to show it can administer the cities of Goma and Bukavu as government and U.N. officials warn of a looming humanitarian catastrophe including potential outbreaks of cholera and other diseases. The World Food Programme said looters stole some 7,000 metric tons of food supplies as the Congolese military withdrew from Bukavu and rebels entered the city over the weekend.
AFP
Meta plans undersea cable to link five continents
Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta has said it will lay an undersea cable stretching across five continents to carry data, including for developing artificial intelligence.Meta's explicit citing of AI as a reason for laying the cable highlights the technology's bottomless appetite for data, likely to push global digital traffic ever higher in the years to come. kf/tgb/jxb
Politico
The next big immigration test for House Democrats
A GOP-led “sanctuary cities” bill has some advocates on edge.
Reuters
Philippines reports foreign cyber intrusions targeting intelligence data, but no breaches
The Philippines has detected foreign attempts to access intelligence data, but its cyber minister said on Tuesday no breaches have been recorded so far. Attempts to steal data are wide-ranging, said minister for information and communications Ivan Uy. Advanced Persistent Threats or APTs have repeatedly attempted but failed to infiltrate government systems, suggesting the country's cyber-defences have held firm.
Reuters
Kremlin says joining the EU is Ukraine's sovereign right
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it was Ukraine's sovereign right to decide whether it wanted to join the European Union and that Moscow did not intend to dictate to Kyiv how it should approach the question. Asked if Ukraine could one day join the European Union, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "This is the sovereign right of any country." Peskov added, though, that Russia's position was different when it came to Ukraine joining military alliances.
Time
Napoleonic Post Stirs Debate About Presidential Powers
Trump suggested he’s above the law as his administration challenges the courts’ authority to rein in his rule.
AFP
Turkey arrests 282 despite reconciliation bid with PKK
Turkey has detained 282 people in a nationwide swoop on those with suspected "terror" ties, the interior minister said Tuesday, despite a parallel government bid to end the bloody four-decade Kurdish conflict.All were detained over alleged terror ties, the Istanbul prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Reuters
Baidu fourth-quarter revenue down 2% as advertising dip offsets AI cloud gains
For the three months through December, the company reported a revenue of 34.12 billion yuan ($4.69 billion), compared with analysts' estimate of 33.32 billion yuan, according to data compiled by LSEG. Baidu's online marketing business, excluding its streaming service iQIYI, which contributes the majority of its revenue, was down 7% to 17.9 billion yuan. Baidu's U.S.-listed shares were down about 2% in premarket trading.
Associated Press
Dying to serve: Dozens of recruits have died nationwide while training to become police officers
Ronald Donat’s longtime dream of becoming a police officer was in jeopardy. The 41-year-old struggled to stand after completing a flurry of pushups, sprints and pullups in the notoriously grueling start of physical training that recruits call “Hell Day.” “You are dead!” classmates recall a sergeant berating Donat, ordering him to sit on concrete at the suburban Atlanta police academy.
CNN
Israel keeps some troops in southern Lebanon in defiance of withdrawal deadline
The Israeli military is keeping troops at five southern Lebanese posts despite a Tuesday withdrawal deadline and Hezbollah warnings that Israel is violating a ceasefire agreement.
Associated Press
Chinese navy helicopter flies within 10 feet of Philippine patrol plane over disputed shoal
A Chinese navy helicopter flew within 10 feet (3 meters) of a Philippine patrol plane on Tuesday in a disputed area of the South China Sea, prompting the Filipino pilot to warn by radio: “You are flying too close, you are very dangerous." The Chinese helicopter was attempting to force a Cessna Caravan turboprop plane belonging to the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources out of what China claims is its airspace over the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines. An Associated Press journalist and other invited foreign media on the plane witnessed the tense 30-minute standoff as the Philippine plane pressed on with its low-altitude patrol around Scarborough with the Chinese navy helicopter hovering close above it or flying to its left in cloudy weather.
CNN
Survivors of Delta plane crash in Toronto describe ‘hanging like bats’ and chaos inside the upside-down aircraft
Stiff winds blew over Canada’s Toronto Pearson Airport Monday afternoon as a slim aircraft and its 80 passengers and crew drifted toward the snowy tarmac, cleared by air traffic controllers to make a landing. But within moments, the plane had inexplicably overturned and crashed into the runway, sending fire crews scrambling to extinguish the rising flames.

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