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Five years on, flight MH17 families call for justice

Family members of those aboard the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 called on Wednesday for those responsible to be brought to justice, as they marked the fifth anniversary of the tragedy. Flight MH17 was shot down on July 17, 2014, over territory held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. International investigators last month identified four suspects they believed were responsible for bringing a Russian-made missile into the area aimed at shooting down aircraft. The suspects, three Russians and one Ukrainian, will face murder charges for the deaths of all 298 people aboard the flight, the Dutch-led international team said. Russia has denied any involvement. Nur Diyana Yazeera, whose mother Dora Shahila Kassim was a member of the MH17 crew, said she hoped that authorities would continue to seek justice for the families. “We wouldn’t have found these four suspects who were allegedly culpable for this incident if we didn’t keep moving forward,” she said during a memorial ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. The ceremony, organized by the Australian and Dutch embassies in Malaysia, observed a minute of silence at 9.20 p.m. (0120 GMT), marking the time the aircraft was downed. <br/>

Ukraine says transport organizer of missile that shot down MH-17 plane in jail

Ukraine said on Wednesday a rebel who organized the trailer carrying the missile that shot down a Malaysian airliner in 2014 had been captured two years ago and was now serving a sentence in Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot out of the sky over eastern Ukraine during a rebellion by Russian-backed separatists, killing all 298 people on board. A Dutch-led team of investigators has blamed Russia for supplying the surface-to-air missile that shot it down. The incident was the deadliest in a war between Russian-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces that has killed 13,000 people. Major fighting ended with a peace deal in 2015, although deadly clashes still occur. On the fifth anniversary of the incident, Vitaly Mayakov, an official of Ukraine’s SBU security service, said the rebel who organised the trailer that brought the missile into Ukraine had been caught two years ago and was now serving a sentence in Ukraine. “We determined whom this trailer belongs to. We identified the individual from among the fighters who picked it up from the trucking company in Donetsk,” Mayakov said. “And three years later we managed to detain this person while he was crossing the border from the Russian Federation to the government-controlled territory, unaware of the fact that we suspected him. He is now serving a sentence here, in Ukraine.” He did not identify the individual or explain why this information was not announced earlier.<br/>

Finnair shares slump as rising costs hit profits

Finnair reported a sharp fall in Q2 profit on Wednesday due to rising costs and warned that full-year operating profit would miss market forecasts, sending shares in the Finnish airline down 12%. Finnair now forecasts 2019 operating profit margin in the range of 4.5-6% of sales, missing an average forecast by analysts of 6.3%, according to Refinitiv data. Finnair’s Q2 comparable operating profit fell to E47.2m from 59.1m a year earlier, missing analysts’ expectations, who on average saw profit at E63.5m, according to Refinitiv. The Finnish airline cited rising fuel costs and exceptional maintenance costs as the reasons hitting profits. The market price of jet fuel was 8.9% lower in Q2 than a year earlier, but due to hedging policy Finnair said its Q2 fuel bill was 25% higher, with capacity growth explaining only half of the increase. Aircraft materials and overhaul costs increased 39% to 50.7 million euros due to fleet growth, price rises, the decline in the U.S.-based discount rate of maintenance reserves and exceptional maintenance events. Shares in Finnair fell 12.5% to 6.93 euros, by midday trade in Helsinki. The airline, which has focused on long-haul flights connecting Asia and Europe, said it expects the operating environment to remain volatile in H2.<br/>

Delta's on-board emergency medical kits to include overdose-reversal drug

Delta says it will carry naloxone, a medication that reverses an overdose after the fact, after a passenger tweeted that a man died aboard one of its flights. Twitter user Lynne Lyman said the passenger passed out in the bathroom with a needle in his arm during a flight from Boston to Los Angeles. The flight attendants, a doctor and passengers did all they could to save the young man's life, she recalled. In a tweet, Lyman said a passenger broke the bathroom door and pulled the man out. In the aftermath of the incident, Lyman urged Delta to start stocking its medical kits with naloxone, a medication often sold under the brand name Narcan. Delta did not provide details about the incident, citing privacy concerns. But the airline did say there was a medical emergency aboard Flight 2531 from Boston to Los Angeles on Saturday, according to KLEW. Starting this fall, Delta will make naloxone available in parts of its emergency medical kits, said Michael Thomas, a Delta spokesman. The company will join United, Frontier and Alaska Airlines who have already made Narcan available onboard.<br/>

Garuda scraps inflight photo ban amid online uproar

Garuda withdrew a proposal to stop passengers taking photos in cabins on Wednesday after being mocked over a plan that was introduced after a travel blogger posted unflattering photos on a flight. Rius Vernandes, who has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, on Saturday posted photos and videos showing him holding a handwritten menu on note paper that he described as the business class menu on his Garuda flight from Sydney. Garuda said on Twitter the menu was not for passengers but had been meant as a notice for flight attendants. On Tuesday, a directive from the airline instructing cabin crew to stop passengers taking photos and videos mid-air was leaked on social media. The issue has inflamed passions in a country that is one of Instagram's biggest markets worldwide and where posting travel "selfies" is hugely popular. Garuda in a statement on Wednesday said the directive had been an internal document that had now been revised to make clear it was just appealing to passengers to respect the privacy of other passengers and flight crew on duty when taking photos. "This appeal is also based on reports, suggestions and input from customers/passengers who feel uncomfortable and disturbed by the shooting and documentation of activities without prior permission," Garuda spokesman Ikhsan Rosan said, adding it was also intended to ensure its flights complied with rules and regulations. Rosan said that there was no link between the intended directive and the blog post by Vernandes. The head of Garuda's labor union, Tomy Tampatty, told Tempo news website that several airline employees had filed a police report accusing the bloggers of "causing a negative perception...towards the country's national flag carrier". Garuda's Rosan said the company itself had not filed a report, only "union employees".<br/>