Collision in Channel
LILLE: An oil tanker and a cargo ship collided in the Channel east of the British port of Dover yesterday.
No injuries or pollution were reported, authorities said.
The tanker had 27 crew and 40000 tons of hydrocarbons on board at 1am GMT. The ship had a crew of 22.
The Channel between Britain and France is one of the busiest shipping corridors in the world with about 500 vessels passing through per day. – Reuters
Militant killed
SRINAGAR: Indian security forces shot dead a top Islamist militant who was accused of killing six police officers during a seven-hour shoot-out in the disputed Kashmir region yesterday, officials said.
Bashir Ahmad, alias Bashir Lashkari, was on India’s most wanted list and had a one million rupee (about R200000) bounty on his head. Ahmad killed six police officers in an ambush in the southern Anantnag district last month, the officials said. – Reuters
Cyber attack claim
KIEV: Ukraine said yesterday Russian security services had been involved in a recent cyber attack on the country, with the aim of destroying important data and spreading panic.
The SBU, Ukraine’s state security service, said the attack, which started in Ukraine and spread around the world on Tuesday, was by the same hackers who attacked the Ukrainian power grid last year. The Kremlin dismissed the claim. – Reuters
Starbucks boycott
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s secondlargest Muslim organisation has called for a boycott of Starbucks, saying the global coffee chain’s pro-gay stand risks ruining the “religious and cultured” core of the populous Muslim nation.
Anwar Abbas of Muhammadiyah, a group with about 30 million members, said the licence should be revoked as its stand was “not in line” with the nation’s ideology. – Reuters
Musk loses out
WASHINGTON: United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martinand Boeing , has for the first time beaten Elon Musk’s Spacex in competition for a US Air Force satellite launch, both launch companies said on Friday.
The contract covers launch services for multiple satellites aboard an Atlas 5 rocket in June 2019. The contract value is just over $191million (R2.4 billion), the US Air Force said. – Reuters
Jenners lose shirts
NEW YORK: Reality TV stars Kendall and Kylie Jenner apologised for selling pricey T-shirts with their faces over images of famous music groups and artists including The Doors, Pink Floyd, Ozzy Osbourne and slain rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.
In the marketing misstep involving the Kardashian family, Kendall and Kylie said they had withdrawn their $125 (R1 634) T-shirt line from sale a day after it was launched. – Reuters
BA crew on strike
LONDON: Some British Airways cabin crew began a two-week strike yesterday in a prolonged pay dispute, risking further brand damage and travel disruption, although the airline said most passengers would be able to fly.
Members of BA’S “mixed fleet” cabin crew – those who work on long- and short-haul flights – have been in conflict with BA since last year over wage offers which the Unite trade union has described as “poverty pay”. – Reuters