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Headphone Explosion Nearly Burns Woman To Death

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headphoneAustralian authorities have warned about the dangers of using battery-powered devices on flights after a woman’s headphones caught fire.

The woman was dozing on a flight from Beijing to Melbourne when she was woken by the sound of an explosion.

She tore the headphones off to find them sparking, catching fire and beginning to melt.

The explosion and fire left her with a blackened face and blisters on her hands.

The passenger, who has not been named, told the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) she was listening to music when the explosion occurred.

“I just grabbed my face which caused the headphones to go around my neck. I continued to feel burning so I grabbed them off and threw them on the floor. They were sparking and had small amounts of fire.”

Members of the flight crew rushed to help and eventually put out the fire by pouring a bucket of water on the headphones.

By that time, the battery and the plastic cover had melted and stuck to the floor.

“For the remainder of the flight, passengers endured the smell of melted plastic, burnt electronics and burnt hair,” the ATSB said in its report.

The report said did not mention the brand of headphones, but said it believed that a fault with a lithium-ion batteries was the likely cause.

The ATSB has published a set of guidelines for travelling safely with batteries and power packs, warning that “as the range of products using batteries grows, the potential for in-flight issues increases”.

There have been a number of problems with lithium batteries on flights in recent years.

A plane about to take off from Sydney last year had to be stopped when smoke was coming from a piece of hand luggage. It was then found that lithium batteries had caught fire in the luggage, reports the BBC.

An electronic device also began emitting smoke when it was crushed under a moving seat in the US, the ATSB said.

Last year, malfunctioning batteries in Samsung’s Note 7 caused many of the smartphones to overheat, catch fire and melt.

Several such incidents also occurred on planes leading to international aviation authorities banning the device from planes. The Note 7 was soon recalled by Samsung and production has been scrapped.

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10 killed as two military helicopters collide in Malaysia

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Two Malaysian military helicopters collided and crashed during a training session on Tuesday, killing all 10 crew onboard, the country’s rescue agency said.

Footage shared online showed several helicopters flying low in formation over the Lumut naval base, located about 160 kilometres (100 miles) from the capital Kuala Lumpur.

The helicopters were participating in a flypast rehearsal ahead of Naval Day celebrations in May.

One chopper was seen clipping the rear rotor of another, causing both to go into a tailspin and crash.

“The two helicopters collided during flight training,” said Suhaimy Mohamad Suhail, senior operations commander from the fire and rescue department, adding that all 10 crew members on board were confirmed dead by medical officers.

The two aircraft involved were a Eurocopter AS555SN Fennec and an AgustaWestland AW139, the rescue agency said.

Photos showed the Eurocopter model heavily mangled in the wreckage on the naval base stadium track with rescue personnel surrounding it as well as various debris.

The AgustaWestland helicopter crashed at the naval base’s swimming pool area.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim sent his condolences to the families of the victims, saying “the nation mourns the heart-wrenching and soul-wrenching tragedy”.

“I was informed that an immediate investigation will be carried out by the Ministry of Defense, especially TLDM (Royal Malaysian Navy), to find the cause of the crash,” he said.

Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar also shared condolences.

Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar also shared condolences.

“Queen Zarith and I feel very sad over the loss of national heroes in this tragedy,” he said in a social media post.

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Israel launches counterattack on Iran

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Oil prices have surged by nearly 4 percent as Israel launched a missile attack on a target in Iran, according to international media reports.

Explosions were reported in Isfahan province in central Iran, where the country’s nuclear plant is located.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later announced that there was no damage to the plant.

Israel had promised a response to missile and drone attacks by Iran last weekend.

Iran had launched the attacks in response to the April 1 strike that killed its senior security officials at its embassy in Syria apparently carried out by Israel.

A US official told ABC News that Israel carried out a strike inside Iran, confirming reports of the explosion by the Asian country’s media.

There were also reports of blasts in Iraq and southern Syria.

Commercial flights we re-routed as parts of the Iranian airspace were closed.

Iran says it activated its air defence systems.

Israel is not planning further attacks and Iran is not going to retaliate either, according various officials quoted by the media.

Brent crude price is now over $90 per barrel, up from $87 before the strike.

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Dubai international airport cancels flights as flood ravages runway, UAE

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A year’s worth of rainfall in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday, left the city flooded and disrupted airport operations.

A video posted online showed the tarmac of Dubai International Airport — recently crowned the second busiest in the world — underwater as massive aircraft attempted to navigate floodwaters.

CNN reports that nearly four inches (100 mm) of rain fell over the course of just 12 hours on Tuesday, according to the weather observations at the airport.

According to United Nations data, the rainfall was around what Dubai usually records in an entire year.

The flooding disrupted airport operations in the city, with multiple airlines announcing flight delays and cancelled flights on Wednesday.

Jets were said to have looked more like boats moving through the flooded airport, while other parts of the UAE also recorded heavy rainfall.

“Operations continue to be significantly disrupted. There is major flooding on access roads around Dubai leading to the airport,” the airport was quoted as saying.

The rain reportedly fell so heavily and quickly that motorists were forced to abandon their vehicles as the floodwater rose and roads turned into rivers.

Dubai, like the rest of the UAE, has a hot and dry climate. As such, rainfall is infrequent and the infrastructure to handle extreme events is not in place.

Many roads and other areas have insufficient drainage due to the lack of regular rainfall, causing flooding.

The rain that ravaged the city is associated with a larger storm system traversing the Arabian Peninsula, moving across Oman and Iran.

Experts said torrential rainfall will become frequent in the region due to human-driven climate change.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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