Police say ‘currently no indication of foul play’ in fire that closed Heathrow

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Departure Hall in Heathrow Terminal 3 in London. (Reuters)
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Britain's Heathrow airport, Europe's busiest, was shut down early on March 21 after a major fire at neighborhood electrical substation supplying power to the sprawling facility west of London, officials said. (AFP)
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Updated 21 March 2025
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Police say ‘currently no indication of foul play’ in fire that closed Heathrow

  • Airport authorities said they ‘expect significant disruption’ over the coming days

LONDON: London’s Metropolitan Police force said Friday there was “currently no indication of foul play” behind a fire at an electricity substation that closed Heathrow airport, causing travel chaos.

Announcing that the force’s Counter Terrorism Command was leading the investigation into the blaze near Europe’s busiest air hub, a spokesman said: “While there is currently no indication of foul play, we retain an open mind at this time.”

Heathrow airport, Europe’s busiest, was shut down early Friday for 24 hours after a major fire at an electricity substation cut power to the sprawling facility west of London.
Airport authorities said they “expect significant disruption” over the coming days, with hundreds of flights and thousands of passengers affected.
“Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage,” the airport operator said in a statement on its website, adding it would be closed until just before midnight Friday (2359 GMT).
“Passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens.”
Online flight tracking service FlightRadar24 said Heathrow’s closure would affect at least 1,351 flights to and from the airport.
It said 120 flights to the airport were in the air when the closure was announced.

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What we know about London’s Heathrow airport

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London Fire Brigade said there had been a “significant” fire at a substation in Hayes, a nearby town in the London borough of Hillingdon, which caused the power outage.
It said 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters were on the scene, while around 150 people had been evacuated from nearby properties.
Images on social media — which could not immediately be verified by AFP — showed huge flames and smoke rising from the substation.
Other videos, apparently shot inside Heathrow’s terminals, showed shuttered shops and deserted corridors, lit only by emergency lighting.
“The fire has caused a power outage affecting a large number of homes and local businesses, and we are working closely with our partners to minimize disruption,” said London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Pat Goulbourne.
He said the blaze was first reported at 11:23 p.m. (2323 GMT).
“This is a highly visible and significant incident, and our firefighters are working tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible,” a statement said.
British utility firm Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said on its website that an “unplanned outage” had left more than 16,000 homes without power in the area.




Britain's Heathrow airport, Europe's busiest, was shut down early March 21 after a major fire at an electrical substation supplying power to the sprawling facility west of London, officials said. (AFP)


Heathrow handles more than than 80 million passengers a year and the operator says there are around 1,300 takeoffs or landings a day.
Seven United Airlines flights returned to their airport of origin or to other airports and all Friday flights to London Heathrow are being canceled, a spokesperson said.
In Sydney, Qantas said two flights en route to Heathrow — a non-stop flight from Perth and another via Singapore — had both diverted to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport.
It said two other flights scheduled to fly out of London on Friday were likely to be impacted.
In January, the government gave permission for Heathrow to build a third runway — which could be ready by 2035 — after years of legal wrangling brought on by complaints from local residents.
Five major airports serve the capital and towns nearby.
But capacity is stretched, especially at Heathrow whose two runways each measure almost four kilometers in length, while the airport covers a total area 12.3 square kilometers.
It opened in 1946 as London Airport before being renamed Heath Row, a hamlet demolished two years earlier to make way for the construction.
Situated 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of central London, the present Heathrow serves 200 destinations in more than 80 countries, with passengers having access to four terminals.
Among its main flight destinations last year were Dublin, Los Angeles, Madrid and New York.


Trump signs order to ramp up US deep-sea mining

Updated 2 sec ago
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Trump signs order to ramp up US deep-sea mining

  • US President Donald Trump has defied international norms and instructed a quick start to deep-sea mining in domestic waters and beyond
WASHINGTON:US President Donald Trump has defied international norms and instructed a quick start to deep-sea mining in domestic waters and beyond, sparking an angry warning from Beijing that the move “violates international law.”
Washington wants to lead efforts to scoop up mineral-rich deep-sea nodules and other material from the seabed, sidestepping an international regulatory effort and overriding the concerns of environmentalists.
White House aides say it could pump hundreds of billions of dollars into the American economy, and counter Beijing’s chokehold on key minerals.
But it would also undermine decades of efforts by global regulators at the International Seabed Authority to devise a level playing field and environmental protections for the industry.
The United States never ratified the agreements that empower the ISA’s jurisdiction over seabeds in international waters, and is not a member of the UN-affiliated body.
Instead, the Trump administration is “relying on an obscure 1980 law that empowers the federal government to issue seabed mining permits in international waters,” the New York Times reported.
The ISA did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
Trump’s order gives the secretary of commerce 60 days to “expedite the process for reviewing and issuing seabed mineral exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits in areas beyond national jurisdiction.”
The move sparked anger in Beijing, which holds more exploration licenses than any other country but has held off mining awaiting the ISA’s rules.
“No country should bypass the International Seabed Authority and international law and arbitrarily authorize exploration and development activities,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said in response to a question from AFP.
“The US authorization of exploration and exploitation of mineral resources on its so-called outer continental shelf violates international law and harms the overall interests of the international community.”


Commercial deep-sea mining remains in its infancy, but with a global race underway for rare earth minerals — and the industry dominated by China — Washington appears set on expanding its collection capacity to benefit its defense, advanced manufacturing and energy industries.
Environmental groups warn the process can cause major ecological damage.
“Fast-tracking deep-sea mining is an environmental disaster in the making,” Emily Jeffers, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.
“Trump is trying to open one of Earth’s most fragile and least understood ecosystems to reckless industrial exploitation.”
The boosted deep-sea mining policy is aimed in part at “strengthening partnerships with allies and industry to counter China’s growing influence over seabed mineral resources,” the White House said.
The ISA is scrambling to devise a rulebook for deep-sea mining, balancing its economic potential against warnings of irreversible environmental damage.
Last week, the American firm Impossible Metals said it had asked US officials to “commence a leasing process” in a parcel of the Pacific Ocean surrounding far-flung US territory American Samoa.
That would be within US jurisdiction, rather than international waters.
However, Canada-based deep-sea mining frontrunner The Metals Company recently stunned industry observers by abruptly announcing it would seek US approval to mine in international waters.
Its CEO Gerard Barron lauded Trump’s order Thursday.
“By building on decades of domestic innovation and regulatory groundwork, this action reasserts America’s role in securing critical seabed resources and ensures the US is not left behind in a strategic arena increasingly influenced by China,” Barron said in a statement.
Key seabed resources include polymetallic nodules: potato-sized pebbles found at depths of 13,000 to 20,000 feet (4,000 to 6,000 meters) that contain manganese, iron, cobalt, copper and nickel.
A senior administration official told reporters shortly before the signing that the United States could retrieve more than a billion metric tons of material, and the process could create an estimated 100,000 jobs and generate $300 billion in domestic GDP over 10 years.

Russian foreign intelligence chief says he held talks with Syrian intelligence official, TASS reports

Updated 2 min 23 sec ago
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Russian foreign intelligence chief says he held talks with Syrian intelligence official, TASS reports

  • TASS cited Naryshkin as saying that the meeting had been held last week in Baku in Azerbaijan, without providing further details

MOSCOW: Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, said that he had “a constructive and friendly meeting” with an unnamed representative of the Syrian intelligence services, the state TASS news agency reported on Friday.
TASS cited Naryshkin as saying that the meeting had been held last week in Baku in Azerbaijan, without providing further details.
Russia is seeking to shore up its military presence in Syria where it operates an air base and a naval facility.


Indian troops exchange fire with Pakistani soldiers in Kashmir

Updated 25 April 2025
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Indian troops exchange fire with Pakistani soldiers in Kashmir

  • Report of a gunfight comes amid soaring tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad
  • The United Nations urges India and Pakistan ‘to exercise maximum restraint’

SRINAGAR, India: Indian officials said the army had a brief exchange of fire with Pakistani soldiers along their highly militarized frontier in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, as the nuclear-armed rivals ramped up tit-for-tat diplomatic offensive following a deadly attack on tourists in the disputed area.

The report of a gunfight comes amid soaring tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad after gunmen killed 26 people near the resort town of Pahalgam in Kashmir on Tuesday. India immediately described the massacre a “terror attack” and said it had “cross border” links, blaming Pakistan for backing it.

Pakistan denied any connection to the attack, which was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.

Three Indian army officials said that Pakistani soldiers used small arms to fire at an Indian position in Kashmir late Thursday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy, said Indian soldiers retaliated and no casualties were reported.

In Pakistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday decline to confirm or deny the report. Ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan told a news conference that “I will wait for a formal confirmation from the military before I make any comment.”

He added there had been no effort yet from any other country to mediate.

In the past, each side has accused the other of starting border skirmishes in Kashmir, which both claim in its entirety.

The United Nations has urged India and Pakistan “to exercise maximum restraint and to ensure that the situation and the developments we’ve seen do not deteriorate any further.”

“Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe can be and should be resolved peacefully, through meaningful, mutual engagement,” the statement said Friday.

Following the attack, India announced a series of diplomatic actions against Pakistan.

New Delhi on Wednesday suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty that has withstood two wars between the two countries and closed the only functional land border crossing between the countries while also cutting the number of diplomatic staff. A day later, India revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals with effect from Sunday.

In retaliation, Pakistan on Thursday responded angrily that it has nothing to do with the attack, and canceled visas issued to Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country.

It also warned that any Indian attempt to stop or divert flow of water would be considered an “act of war” and met with “full force across the complete spectrum” of Pakistan’s national power.

Tuesday’s attack in Kashmir was the worst assault in years, targeting civilians in the restive region that has seen an anti-India rebellion for more than three decades.

India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir. New Delhi describes all militancy in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.


China considers exempting some goods from US tariffs

The new building of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. (AFP)
Updated 25 April 2025
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China considers exempting some goods from US tariffs

  • A Ministry of Commerce taskforce is collecting lists of items that could be exempted from tariffs
  • Bloomberg first reported China was considering tariff exemptions on Friday.

DUBAI: China is considering exempting some US imports from its 125 percent tariffs and is asking businesses to provide lists of goods that could be eligible in the biggest sign yet that Beijing is worried about the economic fallout from its trade war with Washington.
A Ministry of Commerce taskforce is collecting lists of items that could be exempted from tariffs and is asking companies to submit their own requests, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Financial news magazine Caijing reported on Friday citing sources that Beijing was preparing to include eight semiconductor-related items, although no memory chips.
A list of 131 categories of products eligible for exemptions was circulating widely on social media and among businesses and trade groups on Friday. Reuters could not verify the list, whose items ranged from vaccines and chemicals to jet engines.
Repeated phone calls to China’s customs department were not answered. Customs and the Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to faxed questions.
Bloomberg first reported China was considering tariff exemptions on Friday.
The exemptions signal that, like Washington, Beijing is deeply concerned about the economic pain rippling across the country as the world’s two largest economies decouple.
While Washington has said the current status quo is economically untenable and already offered tariff exemptions to some electronic goods, China has repeatedly said it is willing to fight to the end unless the US lifts its tariffs.
But beneath the bombast, China’s economy is entering the trade war flirting with deflation. Demand is weak and consumer spending and sentiment have never properly recovered from the pandemic levels.
The government is pushing tariff-hit exporters to pivot to local markets, but companies say profits are lower, demand weaker and customers less reliable.
Exemptions are a bigger gesture of support, although by allowing some trade to resume, they also reduce the pain for the US economy and take some pressure off the White House.


At least 5 dead in Thai police plane crash

Updated 25 April 2025
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At least 5 dead in Thai police plane crash

  • The plane was conducting a test flight to prepare for parachute training in Hua Hin district before it crashed around 8 a.m.

BANGKOK: A small police plane crashed into the sea near a popular beach town in Thailand, killing at least five people on board, officials said.
The plane was conducting a test flight to prepare for parachute training in Hua Hin district before it crashed around 8 a.m., said Royal Thai Police spokesperson Archayon Kraithong.
Officials did not immediately share the model of the propeller plane, but photos from the scene appear to show a Viking DHC-6 Twin Otter. The plane crashed near Hua Hin Airport, said the public relations department of Prachuab Kiri Khan province.
The photos show the plane in the sea about 100 meters offshore. The body of the plane appeared to be broken in two.
There were six people on board, all police officers, Archayon said. He initially said that five people died at the scene and one died at the hospital, but later revised the death toll to five, saying the officer who was sent to the hospital remained in critical condition but alive.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Archayon said officials are gathering evidence including data from the plane’s black box.