Planes collide at JFK amid fallout from ‘bomb cyclone’ closure (PHOTOS)

Published time: 6 Jan, 2018 16:48

Two planes collided at JFK Airport in New York early Saturday amid chaotic scenes brought on by the recent shutdown of the airport due to a massive snowstorm.

Several planes trying to land at JFK were left stranded for up to seven hours with some forced to turn around due to major capacity issues. The collision occurred when a China Southern plane struck the tail end of a Kuwait Airways aircraft at terminal four, according to the Port Authority.

Both airplanes were damaged as a result but no one was injured in the incident.

Kuwait Airways confirmed the accident on their Twitter account, adding that all passengers had been taken to hotels while alternative flights were arranged.The airline added that they were working with authorities at the New York airport to investigate the incident.

Meanwhile long delays have been reported at the airport with planes apparently forced to wait on the tarmac for several hours for a gate. FlightRadar 24 posted a screenshot Friday night of ground traffic at the airport showing what appear to be several dozen planes waiting.

Delays are still ongoing at the airport and, according to flight trackers, several flights headed for New York turned around Saturday morning due to the capacity issues on the ground.

Passengers have been venting their frustrations online, adding that they are also experiencing long waits for baggage reclaims with some travellers reporting missing luggage.

Flights resumed at 7am Friday after Thursday’s suspension of operations due to the ‘bomb cyclone’ which blasted the US east coast with freezing weather. The Port Authority said the backlog of flights will cause delays at the airport into the weekend, reported NBC.

www.rt.com/usa/415176-planes-collide-jfk-snow

Air strikes kill at least 17 civilians in Syria rebel enclave: monitor

Published: 09:48 EST, 6 January 2018 | Updated: 13:23 EST, 6 January 2018

Regime and Russian air strikes on a rebel-held enclave near the Syrian capital killed at least 17 civilians on Saturday, a war monitor said.

Eastern Ghouta, one of the last remaining opposition strongholds in the country, is the target of near-daily air raids.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday's deadliest strikes had hit the Hammuriyeh district, killing 12 civilians including four children.

An AFP reporter in Hammuriyeh saw residential buildings with their facades blown open, collapsing into streets strewn with rubble.

Residents including members of the White Helmets rescue group rushed to rescue the wounded.

Running past a burning car, one man held a crying boy in his arms, while another carried the apparently lifeless body of a child through the streets.

"I was with other people when a projectile fell nearby," said 33-year-old Mustafa Abu Badr, who was slightly wounded in the head.

"The blast threw me five metres (yards). There were seven wounded and one dead," he said.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said Syrian and Russian aircraft had "continued their intense bombardment of Eastern Ghouta, targeting several residential areas".

He said those killed also included two people in the district of Madira and three in Erbin, and that 35 people were wounded in the three areas.

The Britain-based monitor relies on a network of sources inside Syria and says it determines whose planes carry out raids according to type, location, flight patterns and munitions used.

At the start of the week, a coalition of rebels and jihadists including a former Al-Qaeda affiliate surrounded the only regime base in Eastern Ghouta, which lies east of Damascus and has been under a crippling regime siege since 2013.

The blockade has caused serious food and medicine shortages for the enclave's estimated 400,000 inhabitants.

Rebels in Eastern Ghouta respond to air strikes by firing shells and rockets at Damascus. On Saturday, shellfire killed a civilian, Syrian state television reported.

More than 340,000 people have been killed in Syria and millions displaced since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5241767/Air-strikes-kill-17-civilians-Syria-rebel-enclave-monitor.html

Trump says he'd be open to talking with North Korean leader

Jan 6, 1:03 PM EST

THURMONT, Md. (AP) – President Donald Trump says he's open to talking with the North Korean leader he's called "Rocket Man" and is hoping some good can come from upcoming talks between the Koreas.

Trump tells reporters at Camp David that he "always believes in talking."

North and South Korea have agreed to discuss cooperation on the upcoming Olympics in South Korea, as well as other issues, in rare talks set to begin Tuesday.

Trump calls that "a big start." He says if "something can come out of those talks that would be a great thing for all of humanity."

He says North Korea's Kim Jong Un - who's threatened the U.S. with a nuclear attack - "knows I'm not messing around, not even a little bit, not even 1 percent."

hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_UNITED_STATES_NORTH_KOREA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

01/08/18

www.rt.com/news/415255-ocean-sinking-water-weight

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017GL075419/full