Section: The Philippine Daily Inquirer (Philippines)
Malaysia Airlines passenger’s Facebook jest takes grim twist
MANILA, Philippines — A Dutch national’s final post on Facebook seemed to foretell the fate of Malaysian Airplane flight MH17. “If it disappears, this is what it looks like,” Cor Pan, one of the Dutch passengers aboard MH17 that was shot down on Thursday, posted on his Facebook account accompanied with a photo of the plane...
Asian shares fall on news of Ukraine air tragedy
HONG KONG — Asian markets tumbled on Friday after a Malaysia Airlines plane came down in battle-wracked Ukraine, sparking geopolitical tensions and sending Wall Street tumbling. Investors fled into safer assets such as the yen and gold, while airline stocks retreated as news filtered through that almost 300 people had died after what the...
Malaysia says jetliner did not make distress call
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—The Malaysia Airlines jetliner that went down in Ukraine did not make any distress call, Malaysia’s prime minister said Friday, adding that its flight route also had been declared safe by the global civil aviation body. Prime Minister Najib Razak, who addressed a news conference after speaking with leaders of...
Malaysia plane with 295 passengers shot down over eastern Ukraine
HRABOVE, Ukraine—A Malaysia Airlines passenger plane carrying 295 people was shot down over eastern Ukraine on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said, and both the government and the pro-Russia separatists fighting in the region denied any responsibility for downing the aircraft. As plumes of black smoke rose up near a rebel-held village of...
For Malaysia Airlines, disaster strikes twice
HANOI, Vietnam—Two Boeing 777s. Two incredibly rare aviation disasters. And one airline. In what appears to be a mind-boggling coincidence, Malaysia is reeling from the second tragedy to hit its national airline in less than five months. On March 8, a Malaysia Airlines jetliner vanished about an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur,...
22 bodies counted at Ukraine plane crash site
GRABOVO, Ukraine — Ukraine said passenger plane carrying 295 people was shot down Thursday as it flew over the country, and both the government and the pro-Russia separatists fighting in the region denied any responsibility for downing the plane. As plumes of black smoke rose up near a rebel-held village of Grabovo in eastern Ukraine, an...
Malaysia Airlines plane lost contact over Ukraine
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia Airlines said late Thursday it lost contact with a plane over Ukrainian airspace. MH17 was heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. A Ukrainian government adviser Anton Gerashenko said on Facebook that a plane carrying 295 people was shot down over a town in the east of the country. The airline...
US, EU escalate economic sanctions on Russia
WASHINGTON — Both the U.S. and European Union imposed new economic sanctions on Russia July 16, with President Barack Obama declaring that Russian leaders must see that their actions supporting Ukraine’s rebels “have consequences.” Though the American and European sanctions were coordinated, they nonetheless exposed...
Can priests marry? Pope Francis drops hints
VATICAN CITY—Pope Francis’ hints about a possible opening on the issue of married priests are sowing confusion in the Vatican and among Catholic reformists and conservatives alike. Twice in three months, Francis has talked about changes to the tradition of celibate priests—although he has never been precise about how exactly...
