At least eight people were killed after two passenger trains collided in southern India on Sunday, officials said. At least 25 people were injured in the crash, officials said. The crash happened in Andhra Pradesh's Vizianagaram district.  An incoming train slammed into a stationary train, derailing at least three rail cars, senior railway officer Saurab Prasad told Associated Press news agency. The Indian Railway Ministry said in a statement that two coaches were derailed. A preliminary investigation found that "human error" caused by "overshooting of signal" had led to the collision, the ministry said. India train crash caused by signal error, officials say Modi announces financial compensation  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X that he had spoken with the federal railway minister. He sent "condolences to the bereaved families and prays that the injured recover soon." Modi announced financial compensation for families of those who died in the accident to the tune of 200,000 rupees ($2,260, €2,397).  Andhra Pradesh's Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy asked authorities to send as many ambulances as possible to the crash site and other relief measures. Train crashes are common in India and are often blamed on human error or outdated signaling equipment. In June, an error in the electronic signaling system led a train to wrongly change tracks and crash into a freight train in the eastern Odisha state. The accident killed more than 280 people and was one of the country's deadliest crashes in decades. More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India every day, traveling on 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) of track.

China's first domestically-made passenger plane flew from Shanghai to Beijing with 130 passengers aboard, as the country seeks a slice of the global plane-building market. China's first domestically produced passenger jet made its maiden commercial flight on Sunday when a China Eastern Airlines C919 flew from Shanghai to Beijing. The journey marks a milestone in the nation's decadeslong effort to compete with Western rivals in the aviation sector. Red tickets, themed meal for passengers The C919 plane took off from Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai at 10:32 a.m. local time (0232 GMT), bound for Beijing Capital Airport, according to flight tracker app Variflight. State broadcaster CCTV said the jetliner was carrying 130 passengers. The broadcaster said the flight "arrived smoothly" in Beijing just after 12:30 p.m., around 40 minutes ahead of schedule. "I'm confident about the plane. The flight was smoother than expected," one of about 130 passengers told CCTV as he disembarked. Passengers received red boarding passes and a sumptuous "themed meal" to commemorate the flight, the TV channel reported. After a turnaround of 1 hour 40 minutes, the plane was scheduled to fly back to Shanghai. From Monday, the C919 will operate on China Eastern's regular route between Shanghai and the southwestern city of Chengdu, CCTV reported. China's aviation ambitions soar The C919 is built by the state-owned Commercial Aviation Corp of China (COMAC). COMAC began developing the C919 15 years ago to rival the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX single-aisle jet families. Although the jet is assembled in China, it relies heavily on Western components, including engines and avionics. The C919 made its first flight in 2017 after years of delays and has conducted numerous test flights before Sunday's first commercial flight. COMAC has received around 1,200 orders for the C919, mostly from domestic airlines, according to local media. The jetliner is unlike to win significant orders from abroad until it is certified by US or European aviation regulators. State-backed China Eastern Airlines ordered five C919 jets in March 2021 and took delivery of the first plane in December. COMAC expects to be able to produce 150 C919 planes a year in five years, according to local media. China has previously produced a short-haul 90-seater ARJ21 aircraft, which is flown by Chinese airlines and Indonesia's TransNusa. China, Russia plan bigger passenger jet COMAC is also developing a CR929 widebody jet with two passenger aisles in collaboration with Russia, but the company has not issued any recent updates. Asia and China, in particular, are key markets for both Europe's Airbus and its American rival Boeing due to the growing demand for air travel from the region's vast middle class. Airbus said last month it would double its production capacity in China, signing a deal to build a second final assembly line for the A320 in Tianjin.

A collision occurred between a freight train and a passenger train named Sonar Bangla Express at Hasanpur Railway Station in Cumilla's Nangalkot area.  On Sunday, April 16 in the evening, the clash happened.  Jashim Uddin Chowdhury, officer-in-charge of Laksham Railway Police Station confirmed the matter. He said, "At least 30 people were injured in this incident. 5 of them were rescued and taken to hospital." 7 compartments of Dhaka-bound Sonar Bangla Express were twisted. In this incident, casualties may rise.

20 people were killed when a Dhaka-bound Emad paribahan bus fell into a ditch in Kutubpur area of Shibchar in Madaripur.  At least 25 people were injured in this incident. On Sunday, March 19 in the morning, the accident happened. Shibchar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abu Naem Md. Mofazzel Haque confirmed this matter.

Four people were killed on the spot when the bus overturned in Baganbari area of Dhaka-Sylhet highway at Bahubal upazila of Habiganj District. On Thursday, February 16 at around 7:30 in the evening, the accident happened. Bahubal police station Officer-in-charge (OC) Rakibul Islam confirmed the matter.  He said, "Bodies of the deceased were recovered from the spot. However, the identity of the deceased is not known." The official of the fire service also said that it is not possible to say for sure how many people were injured in the incident or whether there are more dead under the bus or not.

Air India has been fined 3 million Indian rupees ($37,000) for its handling of an unruly passenger on one of its flights in November, India's aviation regulator said on Friday. The licence of the pilot-in-command on the New York-New Delhi flight, where the incident took place, was also suspended for three months while a penalty of 300,000 rupees was imposed on Air India's director-in-flight services, the regulator added in a statement. The ruling on the Tata group-owned airline followed from an incident on a November 26 flight in which a male passenger, while apparently inebriated, allegedly urinated on a female co-passenger. Air India, on Friday, said it was studying the regulator's order on the matter, but acknowledged that there were "gaps" in the airline's internal reporting and assured the "relevant steps" were being taken to address them. "We are also strengthening our crews' awareness of and compliance with policies on the handling of incidents involving unruly passengers," said a spokesperson. India's aviation regulator had earlier issued formal paperwork, named show cause notices, to some Air India staff, including the pilots and cabin crew of the flight involved in the incident, asking why enforcement action should not be taken against them. Air India had also issued show cause notices and de-rostered one pilot and four cabin crew as part of its investigation. The airline, on Thursday, also imposed a flying ban for four months on the passenger.

A Precision Air plane plunged into the water due to bad weather, police said. At least 19 people died in the crash and more than 20 have been reportedly taken to a hospital. A Precision Air plane crashed into Lake Victoria killing at least 19 people on Sunday as it approached the northwestern Tanzanian city of Bukoba, police said. Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa gave the new death toll, raising it up from three.   Precision Air said in a statement that 24 people had survived the accident and were taken to hospital.  Two other people hospitalized following the incident were injured in rescue efforts but were not on board the flight, the AFP news agency cited an official as saying. Earlier, local authorities said 26 of those on board the plane were rescued and taken to a hospital. What do we know about the crash? Officials said a total of 43 people were on board the flight — including 39 passengers, two pilots and two cabin crew. The domestic passenger plane had departed from the financial capital Dar es Salaam. It later plunged into Lake Victoria as it was approaching the northwestern city of Bukoba. According to the police, "bad weather" caused the crash as the plane was flying at about 100 meters (328 feet). "When the aircraft was about 100 meters midair, it encountered problems and bad weather. It was raining and the plane plunged into the water,'' regional police commander William Mwampaghale told reporters. Tanzanian state broadcaster Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) reported that Flight PW494 hit the water during storms and heavy rain. The flight was operated by Precision Air, which is Tanzania's largest private carrier. The airline said the aircraft was an ATR 42-500, manufactured by Tolouse-based Franco-Italian company ATR. Local authorities said rescuers "managed to save quite a number of people." How have leaders reacted? Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan sent condolences to "all those affected by the accident" and called for calm.  "I have received with sadness the news of the accident involving Precision Air's plane," she wrote on Twitter, urging for calm amid rescue efforts. Tanzania's prime minister echoed the head of state's statement after arriving at Bukoba airport. "All Tanzanians are with you in mourning the 19 people who lost lives during this accident," Majaliwa said. The African Union Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat also shared his condolences, as did the secretary general of the regional East African Community bloc, Peter Mathuki. "Our hearts and prayers go to the families of passengers on-board a plane that crashed into Lake Victoria, with our full solidarity to the Government & people of Tanzania," Faki wrote on Twitter. "The East African Community joins and sends our condolences to Mama Samia Suluhu Hassan, families and friends of all those who were affected by the Precision Air plane accident," Mathuki said, also on Twitter. Sunday's crash is one of the deadliest to occur in the East African country.

A Chinese passenger plane with 132 people on- board today (Monday) crashed in the country's mountainous southern Guangxi Zhuang  autonomous region, Chinese authorities and international media reported.  "The Boeing 737 aircraft of China Eastern Airlines, which took off from  Kunming and was bound for Guangzhou, crashed in Tengxian County in the city  of Wuzhou, causing a mountain fire," state-run Xinhua news agency said  quoting China's regional emergency management department.  It said the accident occurred on Monday afternoon while the Aviation  Administration of China on its website said the aircraft was carrying 132  people, 123 of them being passengers and rest were crew members.  The administration said it initiated an "emergency response mechanism and  dispatched a working team to the site" and the rescue operation was underway  with the Wuzhou fire brigade sending 117 firefighters with23 fire trucks to  the site.   "Further 538 firefighters from other parts of Guangxi have been dispatched  to join in the rescue efforts," the regional fire department said at its  Weibo account.   The BBC, meanwhile, said the China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 was flying  from Kunming to Guangzhou when it came down in hills in Guangxi province and  caught fire.   "It is feared there are no survivors, but the number of casualties - and  reason for the crash are not yet known," the BBC report read.   Videos widely shared on social media that appear to be taken by locals  showed that plane debris strewn around the hills, and a fiery blaze and smoke  billowing from the crash site and the Chinese state media shared those  footages as well.  The footage posted online show plumes of smoke billowing from a mountainous,  forested area and what appears to be wreckage from the plane on a muddy,  mountain path.   Chinese airlines generally have a good safety record while the last major  accident took place 12 years ago when a flight from Harbin crashed in Yichun  killing 42 people.  China Eastern is yet to comment on the crash, or respond to queries; but it  has made its logo grey on its Weibo account and also changed its website to  black and white- a sign of mourning.  BBC flight tracking sites reported that the plane was in the air for just  over an hour, and was nearing its destination when it went down in Wuzhou.  According to FlightRadar24 data, the last sourced information on the flight  showed it ended at 14:22 local time, at an altitude of 3,225 ft.  The state-run Russian news agency TASS said the aircraft was less than seven  years old and was in operation by China Eastern Airlines since 2015.  Source: BSS AH

India has decided to resume commercial international passenger flights on December 15, the Civil Aviation Ministry said Friday. “The matter has been reviewed and the competent authority has decided to resume the scheduled commercial international passenger services to/from India with effect from 15th December 2021,” it said in a statement this evening. According to the ministry statement, the decision would imply reversion to bilaterally agreed capacity entitlements and termination of air-bubble arrangements with some countries. It said 14 countries designated by the Indian ministry of health affairs as 'at risk', and with whom there is an existing 'air bubble' agreement, would be allowed to resume 75 percent of pre-Covid operations (or a minimum of seven frequencies per week). These 14 countries are - Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Singapore, China, Brazil, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and New Zealand. The list also includes South Africa, Botswana, Israel, and Hong Kong - which have confirmed cases of the new B.1.1.529 variant of the Coronavirus. Countries designated as 'at risk' but without 'air bubble' agreements with India would be allowed to resume 50 percent of bilateral capacity entitlements, the Aviation Ministry said. Against the backdrop of the spread of Covid-19, the scheduled international commercial passenger services to and from India were suspended from March 23 last year. The suspension has been extended from time to time and is still in force till November 30, 2021, the statement added. Source: BSS AH

Bangladesh has imposed a 16-day ban on entry of passengers from all European nations except the United Kingdom (UK) and 12 other countries from April 3 to check the new spike of coronavirus. Apart from Europe, the 12 other countries are Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Peru, Qatar, South Africa, Turkey and Uruguay, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) announced today (Thursday) in a circular dated March 31, 2021. As per the circular, the ban comes into effect from April 3 and will continue till April 18. Airlines operating scheduled passenger flights from all those countries will be allowed to carry only transit passengers to Bangladesh subject to the conditions that the passengers remain confined inside the terminal building only, it said. The CAAB said it came up with the decision after reviewing the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic situation throughout the country and across the world. Source: BSS AH