Missing MH370 likely to have disintegrated mid-flight: experts

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-03-09

A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 commercial jet. (Photo/Xinhua)

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which lost contact with aviation authorities en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur at 1:20am on Saturday morning, is most likely due to a sudden breakup of the plane mid-flight, according to Chinese experts.

An air search and rescue mission continues in the South China Sea where the Boeing 777 — carrying 239 passengers, including 154 Chinese nationals and one Taiwanese national — is likely to have crashed. The team is on a race against time to search for the plane's black box, which records flight data and cockpit voice transmissions, though at the time of writing the box's signals have yet to be detected.

On Sunday morning, Hugh Dunleavy, commercial director at Malaysia Airlines, suggested the reason why the black box — which can ordinarily radiate signals for 200km-300km — has not yet been found may be due to the seriousness of the plane's disintegration.

Song Wenbin, an aviation expert at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, told Chinese-language Beijing Times that it is unlikely that the disappearance of flight MH370 was caused by weather. The plane lost contact around 40 minutes after departure, which means it would have likely exceeded an altitude of 10,000 meters, where influences of the weather become minimal, Song said.

Ma Wei, a lecturer at the same university, said it is unusual for a plane's signal to be completely severed. Even if flight MH370 experienced an engine problem that affected its communication system, there are sufficient backups in place to keep the system up and running, Wei said. It is also improbable that the communication system was shut down manually as a plane has more than a single communication system and has other ways of notifying air traffic control, he added.

A hijacking has been considered another possibility, though Chinese air force test pilot Xu Yongling said it is unlikely for this to have occurred without anyone on board making contact with the land before the plane crashed. Cockpits of modern commercial flights have excellent safety features, Xu said, adding that pilots can activate the SOS system without leaving their seats.

Zhou Jisheng, an aircraft designer at Guangdong Changsheng Aircraft Design Co, told the Beijing Times that the most likely possiblity is that the plane experienced a sudden breakup which did not allow the plane's crew sufficient time to notify aviation authorities.

Song concurs with Zhou's assessment but said that if this were the case, the debris would be scattered across a large area and should have been easily spotted by rescue teams. Given that the plane has not yet been spotted, it is also possible that the entire plane, or at least most of it, crashed into the sea at the same time, he said.

Zhou said there are two possibilities if the plane did disintegrate mid-air. The first is some kind of catastrophic structural failure stemming from corrosion and wear and tear over time or the plane's pressurization and depressurization system. The other is an explosion caused by a bomb or similar device.

The Beijing-based Economic Observer reported, citing aviation experts, that the probability that flight MH370 was brought down by a terrorist attack or bomb is higher than that of mechanical failure. If there was some kind of mechanical failure which caused the plane to drop from the sky, it would still take at least six to seven minutes, providing crew plenty of time to make contact with ground control, the paper said.

Malaysia's acting Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein looks 

on a map of a search corridor during a press conference at a hotel

near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Sepang, Malaysia,

Monday, March 17, 2014. Twenty-six countries are involved in the

massive international search for the Malaysia Airlines jetliner that

disappeared on March 8 with 239 people aboard. (AP Photo/

Vincent Thian)

Relatives of flight MH370 passengers take their protest to the

Malaysian embassy in Beijing, March 25. (Photo/CNS)

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Archangel Michael: Spring Means the Time of Rebirth and Awakening – The Golden Age of Gaia, Steve Beckow, March 22, 2014

....SB: That’s very good, Lord. Thank you. I’m going to move quickly to Flight 370, and then hopefully a short talk on global citizenry.

Ashira said that Flight 370 had exploded, but he didn’t say what the cause of the explosion was. Others have said that a secret naval weapon was used to cause it to disintegrate. And recently a prominent channel said the plane was suffering from hydraulic failure, was in an uncontrolled state, at risk of imminent destruction; whisked out of the air in mid-flight, was taken aboard an enormous spaceship from Sirius claimed to be part of the Federation fleet under the Ashtar Command whose full report is available from a certain website.

Now, Ashira said they took a few people up who still wanted to remain in form, but the rest — they passed on. What is the truth, Lord?

AAM: This is not an action — let us put it this way — this is not an action that your star brothers and sisters have been deeply involved in. This is an action of what we would refer to, or Gabrielle would refer to, as of violence, of sabotage, of subterfuge. And it has continued.

So there are lies upon lies upon lies. And what is occurring … this is a terrible situation. And it is painful to so many. But what it is also doing for humanity, it is bringing up what we would call shared compassion and grief. Because if you were to look at the grief and the confusion and the compassion component of what is being felt and emanating from the hearts of the collective, individuals all over the planet, it is out of alignment with the situation even including those who have been on the plane and who have suffered and the families that are left suffering the loss of their loved ones.

So it has amplified and shown the global community, in a time when there has been much strife and conflict on the ground, the other side of the scale, where you are seeing the global community coming together in compassion and sending healing for many. It is also bringing together the global community in saying, “We require, we demand truth.” Because there have been such significant untruths, every step of the way. And now what is occurring, among what you think are responsible agencies of many countries, is that they are looking for scapegoats. They are looking for situations to hang this on.

The truth will come out, but the function of this act of violence has been hijacked in many ways not by your star brothers and sisters but by the Company of Heaven to teach several very important, critical, timely lessons. The ship has not been taken on board a mothership elsewhere. That is false hope.

SB: Where is the ship, Lord? Is it blown to smithereens, or is it at the bottom of the ocean?

AAM: For all intents and purposes, it is not intact. We cannot give you the totality because that would be breaking our agreement.

SB: And then of course you couldn’t tell us what nation did it, either?

AAM: It is not so much a nation as individuals acting independently.

SB: All right. I’m not sure whether I should go further in trying to get more details, or…. whether….

AAM: Please do not.....

Message from Matthew and Ashtar via Suzy Ward: March 20, 2014 – Missing Malaysian Airlines Plane

Ashira on Malaysian Flight 370 and the Ukraine - The Golden Age of Gaia, Steve Beckow, March 11, 2014

On Heavenly Blessings today, Suzi Maresca asked Ashira, Commander of the Neptune, what caused the loss of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 and Ashira replied:

 “It was not interdimensional slippage and they were not taken by us. So let us be very clear. We would not do that. Not at this point because from our perspective that would be seen as an act of war or an act of terrorism. We would not break that many hearts.

“So what happened was that there was an explosion and the ship went down. Could we have saved it? There are certain things that we are not permitted to interfere with. But let us also …. now this is what we can say … on that ship [everyone?] was taken care of. …

“There were many upon that ship who as a collective had agreed to leave together … and this is something that often happens … there is a group soul, whether you believe it or not. Now those who did not want to pass from their form were beamed up.”

"THE THREE WINDS" – Feb 23-24, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Humanity, Home - other side of the veil, Wind of Birth - Birth, Wind of Existence - Life, Wind of Transition - Death) - (Text version)

All aboard! Pakistan's first women-only bus

Google – AFP, Gaëlle Lussiaa-Berdou (AFP), 9 March 2014

Pakistani hostess from newly launched Tabeer Women Transport Service

 waits for commuters at bus stop in Islamabad on March 5, 2014 (AFP/File,

Aamir Qureshi)

Rawalpindi — At 7:15 am on a dusty street corner in Rawalpindi, among the dozen rickety minibuses jostling for passengers, a brand-new, bright pink vehicle stands out.

Emblazoned with the words "Ladies Transport", this is Pakistan's first commuter bus solely for women, aimed at those sick of wandering hands and unwanted attention on regular services.

Some see it as a welcome respite, but detractors warn it is reinforcing gender segregation in a highly patriarchal and often misogynistic country.

Sat on one of the minibus's four banquette seats, Azra Kamal, who works at an electronics shop, welcomes the new project, named "Tabeer" -- "fulfilment of a dream" in Urdu.

Her face half-hidden behind a black veil, she tells of obscene comments and other inappropriate gestures she suffered on mixed transport.

"I have a long journey to work and when I get there it's often only me left on board. Sometimes the driver will take advantage to give me his phone number and ask for mine," she said during the 20-odd kilometre ride to her destination in the capital Islamabad.

Others on board described being touched by drivers, conductors and male passengers.

To add to this harassment, the tiny minibuses that ply the roads of the Pakistani capital and its twin city Rawalpindi often have only a few seats, sometimes with only one out of a dozen reserved for women.

"I used to work in a hospital. Often there would be no space on the bus and I would get told off for being late," said Sana.

Today the 21-year-old proudly wears a pink tunic, the uniform of her job as conductor on the women's bus, as she collects the 30-rupee (30-US cent) fare.

- Mobile segregation? -

But the new service has not impressed everyone in a country where the forces of conservatism are seen to be growing in strength.

In a blog post for one of Pakistan's leading English-language newspapers, journalist Erum Shaikh called the project a "complete sham".

"The mere fact that the authorities thought it appropriate to introduce something like this should actually offend women and yet we sit there smile, look pretty and let the big, tough, muscular men build walls around us to 'protect' us," she wrote.

On board the bus, bank worker Misbah agrees.

"I really appreciate the service but we must tackle the root of the problem and make people take harassment seriously," she said.

But the man behind the project, Ali Naqi Hamdani, says it is empowering women in a society where many are not permitted to leave the house without male accompaniment.

"The women here are willing to go out to work, they're willing to go out for education purposes but they don't have such a conducive situation where they can feel secure in public transport," he said.

"So it was very important that you provide them an environment where they step out of their homes, they feel secure before they reach their universities or their offices so they are encouraged to come out."

The Tabeer project has been running for three weeks, with 12 vehicles in the capital, and is hoping to expand to other cities if there is enough demand.

Sana is already dreaming of moving on to drive the bus -- for a shortage of female drivers means that currently the women-only bus has a man behind the wheel.

Beijing expresses concern over missing Malaysian flight

Want China Times, Xinhua and Staff Reporter 2014-03-08

Malaysia Airlines holds a press conference in Beijing about the missing
aircraft, March 8. (Photo/Xinhua)

China is worried over the missing Malaysia Airlines flight scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Saturday morning, with search and rescue operations under way.

Contact was lost with a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China's Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) confirmed on Saturday.

The Boeing 777-200 aircraft left the Malaysian capital at 12:41 am Beijing time on Saturday, and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30 am, according to Malaysia Airlines.

The CAAC confirmed the flight number was MH370, with 239 people on board, including 12 crew members and about 160 Chinese passengers. So far, the flight has not contacted Chinese air traffic management department or entered China's air traffic control area.

Contact with the flight was lost along with its radar signal at 1:20 am Beijing time on Saturday when it was flying over the Ho Chi Minh air traffic control area in Vietnam.

Malaysia Airlines said on its website that the company is trying to locate the flight with emergency rescue teams.

Yang Chuantang, China's minister of transport, announced the launch of the highest-degree emergency response mechanism. The ministry is closely observing the incident and actively coordinating with domestic authorities as well as maritime rescue authorities and civil aviation administrations in Malaysia and Vietnam.

Yang also put the professional rescue forces in the South China Sea on standby.

The CAAC has told its air traffic management office keep in touch with its Malaysian counterpart and ordered Beijing Capital International Airport to comfort relatives and friends waiting anxiously for the arrival of the missing flight.

Malaysian national Chuang Ken Fei had been waiting for his two friends in Terminal 3 of Capital Airport when he said, "Staff at the airport told me the flight did not take off but I can see from my mobile application that the aircraft was in the air."

The airport has formed an emergency group to deal with the incident.

Foreign minister Wang Yi said on Saturday that China is very worried over the missing flight. "The news is very disturbing. We hope everyone on the plane is safe," said Wang.

Yin Zhuo, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said China must improve its search and rescue capacity at sea, as it is still not strong enough.

A communication manager for Boeing China told a Xinhua reporter, "We are closely monitoring reports from the MH370 flight of Malaysia Airlines. Our thoughts are with everyone on the plane."

The flight was a code share with China Southern Airlines. A spokesman for China Southern Airlines said they are investigating whether any of the company's passengers were on board.

The plane took its first flight on May 14, 2002 and Malaysia Airlines took possession of the aircraft on May 31 of the same year.

Malaysia Airlines operates in Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and on the route between Europe and Australia. It has 15 Boeing 777-200 models in its fleet.

On July 6, 2013, another Boeing 777-200 operated by Asiana Airlines, a carrier based in South Korea, crashed on the route between Seoul Incheon International Airport and San Francisco International Airport while attempting to land. Three Chinese students were killed and more than 180 people were injured.

Related Articles:

Indonesia Navy Joins Search for MH370

Two passengers on Malaysia plane had stolen EU passports

Oil slick investigated near site where Malaysia Airlines jet went missing

Ukraine crisis strengthens China's partnership with Russia

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-03-07

A Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-35 fighter. (Internet photo)

The crisis in Ukraine has strengthened Russia's strategic partnership with China, says Vassily Kashin from the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, according to Vedomosti, a Russian-language business daily.

China is currently the only nation on the UN Security Council to retain cordial relations with Russia after the latter moved its troops into Crimea, said Kashin. Even if the United States and other NATO countries do not impose sanctions against Russia, it will be very difficult for Moscow to continue normal economic relations with Western countries.

As Japan may become the only nation of the Group of Eight which will still seek cooperation with Russia, China's position as one of Russia's only trusted allies can be strengthened. Russia will seek to speed up its negotiations with China regarding both military and economic cooperation pacts, Kashin said, specifically suggesting that Moscow should sign contracts on the provision of natural gas and the sale of the Sukhoi Su-35 fighter to China before President Vladimir Putin embarks on a visit to Beijing in May.

To demonstrate Russia's sincerity towards China, Kashin believes that the advanced Su-35 fighters may be turned over to China earlier than expected. Russia may also launch more joint military exercises and even expand its military relationship with China, according to Kashin, who told Vedomosti that China may become the only beneficiary of the Ukraine crisis.

Related Articles:

Archangel Gabrielle: The Conflict in the Ukraine is a Ploy for Power, Nothing More - New

Archangel Michael: This Desperation is Forcing Many to Seek Peace - Golden Age of Gaia, Steve Beckow, March 7, 2014

Archangel Michael: The Russia Ukraine debacle … is also truly about oil and gas and so there is a struggle about who is going to control what we would refer to as oil dollars. So there is this loose alignment which has been unusual between Russia and China – and we are talking about the power regime of China and not the [Chinese] Elders – so there is a reticence [on the part of Americans] to give all the oil buying power to that alliance – Russia, China.

Steve: Is Russia colluding with China to turn a blind eye to what China is doing in Zimbabwe? [China is building a military airbase.] (1)

AAM: Yes, but it is coming to an end because human beings are quite fed up.

There is significant … we can’t call it intervention … but can we call it attention? … that your star brothers and sisters are bringing to this entire situation.

Archangel Michael on Putin -  May 13, 2013 (An Hour with an Angel)

SB: Okay. Thank you, Lord. I’m going to put the Vladimir Putin question ahead of the Boston bombing question. I think a lot of Russian readers and listeners are wondering if they can trust Vladimir Putin.

Now, you’ve said he was in containment and he’s coming out of containment. Can you direct yourself to Russian listeners, please, and tell them what they need to know about Vladimir Putin, please?

AAM: Well, I will say that he has been gradually coming out of containment, and reintegrated, shall we say, into society and into his role and decisions. So what I say to you is be vigilant and be the observer. Do not get caught in what appears to be the drama of this readjustment of power. So, allow the shifting of the core and the centers of power to be adjusted.

Russia has a very important role to play in the future years, as I have said before. So, stand back, my friends. Be the observer. I am not asking you to extend your wholehearted trust and empathy to this individual. What I am asking you to do is to extend trust to your own discernment, because it is not 100 per cent clean, but it is not dirty either.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"De-mystifying The New Age - #3" - Jan 25, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version) - New

"... The Truth About Angels

I want to talk about angels. I really haven't done this much before. Kryon is not an angel, but rather a helper. My partner has called me a benevolent angel of the New Age, but that's not exactly right. I'm a helper. Believe me, if you saw an angel you'd know the difference.

Number one: Are angels real?

Absolutely! Yes.

Number two: Who or what are they?

There is a system, dear ones, of benevolent help for this planet. It's so complex that it's very difficult to discuss with you since you are biased to what you think it is. Where are angels? What do they do? How often, who are they, where do they come from? I'm going to give you some information that some won't like, and some will.

Physical visits: Angels come when they are needed, and they come from the central source. Normally, it's at various points in Human time for both humanity in general and for individuals. Each time they come, it is spectacular. Not one of them is corporeal. Again, Humans have decided that when an angelic entity visits them, in order to make the visit credible or explainable, they must put skin and wings on them and give them a name. Humans color their outfits white [which signifies purity], draw pictures of them, put halos on them, and report them in spiritual history. But that's not what they look like. They are multidimensional beings, not corporeal.

It was probably Moses who described the appearance of an angel in the clearest way, as a burning bush. Fire which does not consume itself or a spinning ball of iridescence is a good description of angelic energy. Indeed, the burning bush was an angel. What's dramatic about angelic energies is that they appear when you don't expect as a ball of energy coming at you. Sometimes they come right through a wall! They are iridescent, some looking like fire, and they have a tendency to frighten a Human! Every single report in scripture describing an angel visit tells you that the angel immediately communicated, "Fear not!" Now, why would any of you be afraid of a beautiful woman with a halo in a white robe? [Kryon laughter] The reason the angel gives this message is because they don't look like that! Dear ones, they are not here to frighten you, but rather to present themselves in all their beauty and their majesty - so grand that some cannot even look upon them. Grand they are.

Now here's the part that you didn't expect. They are a collective. There's no such thing as a singular angel. You might see it as a single angel like you see your body as a single entity, but you are not aware of the soup of angelic power. Angels speak with many voices, but they speak in your head, not in the air as vibrations of sound. Angels normally do not speak to crowds. They speak individually to one Human or another, but it's the collective voice of many, perceived and "heard" as one.

"But Kryon, what about Archangel Michael? I know somebody who is channelling this beautiful, single angel. What about that?" The message from Archangel Michael comes from a group. It's a powerful group, but think of it as "group consciousness perceived as one". Kryon is the same way. All of us who represent the other side have these attributes. We are not corporeal and not singular.

The next thing is even harder to understand, and it's not what you have been told. There's no hierarchy of angels. None of them are above any other in a system of "who's the most powerful or who is in charge". Instead, they are part of the soup of God and they are all identically majestic. Some are appointed to be ambassadors for the others, but they are not higher than the others. They are here by design, and they give messages to help accelerate the benevolence and love of God within humanity.

Probably the most quoted angel is Archangel Michael, who you perceive is the highest of the high. However, Michael is technically a group and does not have a hierarchical position. It just looks that way because the messages are delivered in a specific area of importance to the planet. Michael will tell you, "I am one of many, all majestic, all containing the love of God, all beautiful, all benevolent, all for your service of humanity." But Human Beings want a hierarchy. This one's important; this one is not as important; this one you can throw away.

What is the hierarchy of your organs? Which ones don't you need? Which ones keep you alive? They all do! But you often single out the heart as the most important. Is that really true or does it simply "speak for all"? Oh, and which organ rebelled against the others and left the body? [Kryon smile]

Let's discuss the mythology of Lucifer. Here is an angel who didn't like what was going on, so he left. Or perhaps he did something wrong and was thrown out of God's house. Dear ones, do you see the Human bias here? This story is ridiculous and comes from "humanizing God". You can't take the Human attributes of judgment, war, fighting and drama and plug them into the majesty of the creator. But Humans have done that forever.

Nothing leaves the soup of God! It's pure energy that represents the totality of Spirit. It is finite - always the same quantity of parts [putting the expression into 3D for you]. God is the energy of creation, and it stays together like a mist that never moves out of a quantum containment of love. You can't take part of the mist away or it wouldn't exist! It is what it is and will always be perfect, and always the same, and always whole. Nothing adds or subtracts from the majesty of God.

You'll find angels all through history. They are representatives of the energy of creation. They have no gender, because they are energy. They're not male or female, and they're all equally as strong. They're beautiful, multidimensional messengers giving help to humanity. The only thing that separates them is their type of "service", or their "specialty". But they are always part of us, even when they are seemingly separated, and speaking to you. I know who they are, and I've watched them work. I'm a messenger too, but not an angel. ...."

Companies pile in to build EV charging posts in China

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-03-05

Passengers board a new-energy bus in Bazhou, Hebei province on
Oct. 15, 2013. (File Photo/Xinhua)

Large electric-car charging pile constructors, operators and equipment suppliers are tapping into opportunities offered by numerous local governments in China, unveiling plans to construct electric car charging facilities in their localities, although small companies are still hesitant to venture into the sector, Shanghai's China Business News reports.

Beijing has announced plans to complete the construction of 1,000 public fast-charging electric car stands by the end of this year, covering the downtown area and nearby suburbs. Locations for 100 public fast-charging points have already been confirmed.

Shanghai and Tianjin also announced plans to construct some 6,000 piles each in the cities.

An electric car industry insider told the paper that China Putian, a leading technology company that makes telecommunications products, including switching systems and other networking products, had been holding talks with the Beijing government. "Both governments and enterprises have started talking to us," a source from Putian said.

Commissioned by state enterprises, Putian China is responsible for the construction and operations of the electric vehicle charging services network in various local regions served by these companies.

The company dominates the electric-vehicle charging equipment market along with a few other enterprises, the report pointed out, adding that the State Grid Corporation of China and China Southern Power Grid Company had undertaken large construction projects of charging stations, with the former vying for the construction of electric vehicle (EV) charging service networks in Beijing and Tianjin in 2011, while China Southern Power Grid Company was engaged in electric vehicle charging and battery rental services.

China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) have constructed EV fast-charging systems near the many gas stations they have already opened in various regions.

In comparison to state-run enterprises, however, private enterprises in the charging equipment industry are hesitant to invest considerably in the sector, mainly because they think the market is not mature enough.

Sizeable capital needs to be invested in the sector, even though it provides only low returns on investment, the paper stated.

A major problem for the industry is the minimal development of the number of electric vehicles in China, mainly because local enterprises' electric vehicle and battery production standards are still not on par, an expert said, adding that the government should step in to promote EV-related industry by pooling the efforts of various government agencies.

Geely hits out at protectionism in China's electric car market

Want China Times, Kung Chun-jung and Staff Reporter 2014-03-01

Workers assemble electric cars at a Shandong Weidong New Energy
 Automobile factory in Zouping, Shandong province, Oct. 27, 2013.
(Photo/Xinhua)

Amid the investment craze for new-energy cars in China, Li Shufu, chairman of China's Geely, the parent firm of Volvo, recently criticized the Chinese government's protectionist policies, saying that they will block the emergence of international-class electric car brands like Tesla in the nation.

The electric-car craze has been fueled by the recent news of Tesla's turnaround as the company is now turning a profit, according to Chinese-language Shanghai Securities News.

Li said that under the current policy, companies like Tesla cannot undertake research and development, design, production or sell cars in China as they lack a producer license. He urged the government to lift the ceiling of shareholding owned by foreign partners in joint ventures, now set at 50%, allowing for more competition which would benefit the industry.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers opposed this proposal, however.

The nation's electric-car market has also been stimulated by the chronic smog problem that has plagued China's major cities. The government hopes to have 500,000 hybrid and pure electric cars hit the nation's roads by 2015 and increase to 5 million by 2020, compared with sales of 17,600 electric cars last year and the less than 50,000 electric cars currently on the road.

According to Tencent's finance news webportal, Volkswagen plans to start manufacturing electric cars in China in 2016 and will turn out 10 models by 2020. Toyota, the world's largest automaker, is scheduled to start production of hybrid cars in China in 2015, while Honda will begin to produce hybrid cars in partnership with Dongfeng Motor and Guangzhou Automobile in 2016.

Automakers are scrambling to get a foothold in the market, attracted by the huge potential, as the annual demand will hit 2 million cars, so long as existing auto demand, at 20 million units a year, translates to demand for electric models.

Government incentives, meant to lower electric-car prices to an affordable level, will be key for the achievement of this goal, otherwise, electric cars will continue to be a luxury in China.

Indonesia's Batik Air to launch international service

Google – AFP, 27 February 2014

Two air hostesses stand next to a Boeing 737-900 plane of the new Indonesian

 airline Batik Air in Tangerang on the outskirts of Jakarta on April 25, 2013 (AFP,

Adek Berry)

Singapore — An airline owned by Indonesia's Lion Group announced Thursday it will launch international services with a flight from Jakarta to Singapore later this year.

Batik Air, which is part of the Lion Group that also owns Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air, will start the flights by November or December, said its chief executive Achmad Luthfie.

The airline, which operates as a full-service carrier with meals and drinks and offers business and economy class seating, began operations in May last year servicing domestic destinations in Indonesia.

"Our first international destination will be Singapore and we aim to have more than a daily service on the route," Luthfie said in a statement.

"We chose Singapore as our first international destination because we can see that demand continues to increase," he added.

Speaking at a news conference in Singapore, Luthfie said Batik Air plans to fly next from the Indonesian capital to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

Luthfie said that eventually it is looking to fly to Southern China and Western Australia.

On the domestic front, the airline plans to more than double its network to 22 destinations including Palembang, Solo and Batam.

Luthfie said the carrier is currently filling 90 percent of seats.

Batik Air operates six Boeing 737-900ER aircrafts and is based in Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport.

Six Airbus A320 aircraft and four Boeing 737-800 planes will be delivered by the end of this year, the airline said.

Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of over 17,000 islands cutting across three time zones, relies heavily on air transport and is experiencing a sharp growth in its aviation sector, thanks to a rapidly rising middle class.

Australian carrier Qantas to axe 5,000 jobs

Google – AFP, 27 February 2014

Struggling Australian carrier Qantas said Thursday it will axe 5,000 jobs in a 

major restructure, after posting a first-half net loss of Aus$235 million (US$210

million) (AFP/File, Greg Wood)

Sydney — Struggling Australian carrier Qantas on Thursday said it will axe 5,000 jobs in a major restructure after posting a first-half net loss of Aus$235 million (US$210 million).

The airline, battling record fuel costs and fierce competition from subsidised rivals, is working to slash costs by Aus$2 billion over three years.

Part of the restructure will see 5,000 full-time positions lost from its 32,000-strong workforce.

The carrier also flagged "significant changes" to its fleet plans and network, and a reduction in capital expenditure of Aus$1 billion across the next two financial years.

"We are facing some of the toughest conditions Qantas has ever seen," chief executive Alan Joyce said.

"Hard decisions will be necessary to overcome the challenges we face and build a stronger business."

Following a profit warning in December, Moody's and S&P both downgraded Qantas' credit rating to "junk" status, increasing the cost of financing for the carrier and restricting access for investors who do not put their money in lower-rated companies.

Qantas has since been working on its finances to convince the government it deserves a debt guarantee, and also lobbying Canberra for a relaxation of the Qantas Sale Act, which limits foreign ownership in the airline to 49 percent.

Dutch scientists flap to the future with 'insect' drone

Google – AFP, Jan Hennop (AFP), 23 February 2014

A view of the DelFly Explorer, the world's lightest autonomous flapping drone,

 during a demonstration at the Delft Technical University, on January 29, 2014

(AFP/File, Charles Onians)

Delft — Dutch scientists have developed the world's smallest autonomous flapping drone, a dragonfly-like beast with 3-D vision that could revolutionise our experience of everything from pop concerts to farming.

"This is the DelFly Explorer, the world's smallest drone with flapping wings that's able to fly around by itself and avoid obstacles," its proud developer Guido de Croon of the Delft Technical University told AFP.

Weighing just 20 grammes (less than an ounce), around the same as four sheets of printer paper, the robot dragonfly could be used in situations where much heavier quadcopters with spinning blades would be hazardous, such as flying over the audience to film a concert or sport event.

A view of the DelFly Explorer, the world's

lightest autonomous flapping drone, next to a

 F-16 army plane during a demonstration at

the Delft Technical University, on January 29,

2014 (AFP, Charles Onians)

The Explorer looks like a large dragonfly or grasshopper as it flitters about the room, using two tiny low-resolution video cameras -- reproducing the 3-D vision of human eyes -- and an on-board computer to take in its surroundings and avoid crashing into things.

And like an insect, the drone which has a wingspan of 28 centimetres (11 inches), would feel at home flying around plants.

"It can for instance also be used to fly around and detect ripe fruit in greenhouses," De Croon said, with an eye on the Netherlands' vast indoor fruit-growing business.

"Or imagine, for the first time there could be an autonomous flying fairy in a theme park," he said.

- 'Real small insects' -

Unlike other drones that use rotor blades and can weigh hundreds of times as much, the Explorer has two wings on each side that flap rapidly to create lift.

"We got our inspiration from real small insects," De Croon said.

While smaller "flapping" drones exist, such as the RoboBee developed by students at Harvard University in the United States, they are tethered for power, control and processing, and thus far from autonomous.

The Explorer has its own small lithium polymer battery that allows it to fly for around nine minutes, while it "sees" with its onboard processor and a specially-developed algorithm to make instant decisions.

It has wireless analog video, gyroscopes and a barometer to calculate its height.

Different algorithms would allow it to perform different tasks, and because it is autonomous it could be sent into enclosed spaces such as concrete buildings or mine shafts, where radio control would be impossible, to search for casualties or hazards.

"The DelFly knows precisely where obstacles are located," said De Croon as the aircraft, built from composite materials including carbon fibre, fluttered towards a wall during a demonstration flight before veering elegantly away in search of another route.

Chief Developer Guido de Croon releases the DelFly Explorer, the world's lightest

 autonomous flapping drone, during a demonstration at the Delft Technical University,

on January 29, 2014 (AFP, Charles Onians)

The idea of building a flapping-winged drone began around nine years ago when a group of students at Delft Technical University's prestigious aerospace faculty first designed the DelFly I.

Over the next few years, research continued and the machine became smaller and smaller, said Sjoerd Tijmons, 28, who helped write the algorithm for the latest DelFly Explorer's "brain".

An earlier incarnation, the DelFly Micro with a wingspan of 10 centimetres, was in 2008 declared the "smallest camera equipped aircraft in the world" by the Guinness Book of Records.

But De Croon admits that humans are not quite able to produce swarms of autonomous robotic insects the size of bees or flies, mainly because of restrictions on battery life.

"Still there are some major challenges... and if I have to put a number on it, I think we are still a few decades away," he laughed.

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