Khankendi to host 17th ECO summit
Azerbaijan is an active member of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), and hosting the 17th ECO Summit in the country highlights its growing r...
Heathrow Airport has resumed full operations on Saturday following a nearly day-long shutdown caused by a fire at a nearby electrical substation, which forced extensive flight diversions and cancellations.
The incident, which affected Europe’s busiest air hub, has prompted the airport to order a probe into its crisis-management response.
British Airways, whose main hub is Heathrow, reported operating about 90% of its schedule on Saturday and promised a "near-full" schedule for Sunday. Chief executive Sean Doyle warned on Friday that the disruption’s "huge impact" could last for several days, as airlines continue to grapple with the fallout.
In response to the incident, Heathrow has tasked independent board member and former transport minister Ruth Kelly with reviewing its crisis-management plan. The goal is to bolster the airport’s resilience against future disruptions. Meanwhile, Britain’s energy ministry has commissioned the National Energy System Operator to urgently investigate the outage, raising broader concerns about the resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure.
The outage, which halted operations on what was expected to be a busy Friday with 1,351 scheduled flights and up to 291,000 passengers, forced long-haul flights to return to their departure points and resulted in numerous diversions. Although the vast majority of scheduled flights managed to depart successfully on Saturday, tens of thousands of passengers still face significant delays.
Aviation experts compared the scale of the disruption to the 2010 Icelandic volcanic ash cloud that grounded nearly 100,000 flights across Europe. Passengers voiced their frustration; one U.S. citizen, Amber Roden, described the situation as "absolutely insane" after several relatives experienced multiple flight cancellations and delays en route to her wedding.
Despite assurances from Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye that "we don't expect any major amount of flights to be cancelled or delayed," airlines like Virgin Atlantic and Air India continue to navigate the disruption, promising near-full schedules as they recover from the incident.
The incident has reignited debate over the reliability of the UK's critical infrastructure, with industry leaders like Willie Walsh, head of IATA and former British Airways chief, criticizing what he called a clear planning failure by the airport. Major British newspapers have not held back in their criticism, with headlines in The Sun and Daily Mail describing the situation as a "humiliating fiasco" and "farcical," respectively.
Authorities are not treating the incident as suspicious, with police and the London Fire Brigade focusing on investigating the electrical distribution equipment. As Heathrow works to restore normal operations and rebuild confidence, the fallout from the outage is expected to have significant financial implications for the travel industry in the coming days.
The United States has rescinded licensing restrictions on ethane exports to China, allowing shipments to resume after a temporary halt and signalling progress in efforts to ease recent trade tensions.
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck off Japan’s Tokara Islands on Wednesday, with no tsunami warning issued but residents advised to remain vigilant.
The European Commission is set to propose allowing carbon credits from other countries to count towards the EU’s 2040 climate target, according to a leaked internal document.
China has ramped up efforts to protect communities impacted by flood control measures, introducing stronger compensation policies and direct aid from the central government.
Italy plans to grant approximately 500,000 work visas to non-EU nationals between 2026 and 2028, as announced in a cabinet statement. The initiative aims to address labor shortages by expanding legal immigration pathways
At least seven people remain missing following a massive explosion at a fireworks warehouse in the town of Esparto, Northern California, according to a report by NBC News citing local officials.
A delegation from Azerbaijan, led by MP Qaya Məmmədov, took part in the annual session of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), held from 28 June to 3 July in Porto, Portugal.
Chinese scientists have unveiled PlantGPT, the first large language model-based artificial intelligence designed specifically for plant functional genomics.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday warned that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has reached a critical level and called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire. He emphasised that vital infrastructure is on the verge of collapse due to a severe fuel shortage.
The US House of Representatives approved a significant tax-cut and spending bill on Thursday, passing it by a narrow margin of 218 to 214. The legislation has now been sent to President Donald Trump for his signature.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment