Russia on Thursday denied Ukrainian accusations that it backed pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and discriminates against ethnic Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea, accusing Kyiv instead of "blatant lies" at the UN's top court. Ukraine has asked the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order Russia to halt alleged discrimination against the Tatar ethnic group in Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula occupied by Russia since 2014. "Ukraine is constantly turning to blatant lies and false accusations leveled against the Russian federation," the Russian ambassador to the Netherlands, Alexander Shulgin, said at the second day of hearings at the ICJ. In the same case, Kyiv also says that Moscow violated a U.N. anti-terrorism treaty by equipping and funding pro-Russian forces, including militias who shot down Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, killing all 298 passengers and crew in 2014. Last November, a Dutch court convicted two Russians and a Ukrainian separatist in absentia for their role and sentenced them to life in prison. It found that Russia had "overall control" over the separatist forces. Russia rejected what it called the "scandalous" decision by the Dutch court. On Thursday Russia's ambassador-at-large Gennady Kuzmin told the ICJ the Dutch judgment was biased against separatist forces in the Donesk region. "At the end of the day, Ukraine's MH17 case boils down to nonsense," Kuzmin said. The hearings in the case at the ICJ, which stems from 2017, marked the first time lawyers for Ukraine and Russia met at the ICJ since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.<br/>
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The Qantas Group has become the latest airline organisation to modernise the uniform regulations for Qantas and Jetstar employees so that anyone can choose whether to wear flat shoes, jewellery, make-up, and long hair. Respective uniforms for cabin crew, pilots and airport employees have not changed, but the designated “male” and “female” uniform determinations have been scrapped, and some grooming requirements made more inclusive in response to staff feedback. Qantas came under fire last year when the Australian Services Union called on CE Alan Joyce to allow female staff to ditch the requirement to wear make-up, heels and hosiery. “Fashions change, and so have our style guidelines over the years,” a Qantas representative said. “We’re proud of our diversity and as well as bringing our guidelines up to date, these changes will make wearing our uniform more comfortable and practical for all of our people, including those with a wide range of body types and those from diverse cultural backgrounds.” It’s the first significant update to the carrier’s uniform since it was introduced in 2013. Employees will still be required to wear specific uniform pieces together, conceal tattoos and wear hosiery with a dress or skirt.<br/>
The declaration of a ‘fuel mayday’ by a Qantas Airway Boeing 737-800 crew allowed the aircraft to land with required reserve fuel and prevented an potentially unsafe situation from developing. The crew made the mayday call before landing in Perth on 18 July 2022 after operating service QF933 from Brisbane that used more fuel originally planned, according to the Australia Transport Safety Bureau’s (ATSB) final report into the incident. The flight plan called for a southerly – as opposed to direct - track from Brisbane to Perth to avoid headwinds. Near Adelaide the crew descended to 28,000ft from 34,000ft to avoid turbulence. The aircraft also flew faster than planned during this part of the flight, resulting in the use of 700-800kg extra fuel. “At this stage of the flight, the flight crew identified that they were using more fuel than planned and discussed diverting to Adelaide to load more,” says ATSB. “However, as they would be required to hold while they used fuel to reduce the aircraft’s weight to under the maximum landing weight, and they had sufficient fuel to continue to the destination, they decided to continue to Perth.” Later, the crew also considered landing at Kalgoorlie to get more fuel, but that runway’s length meant they would be required to hold and reduce the aircraft’s landing weight. The weather was also poor at Kalgoorlie, contributing to their decision to continue to Perth. The crew subsequently advised Perth that they had 10min of fuel for holding in traffic but were told that the holding time would be greater than this. “During the approach to Perth, air traffic control advised the crew there were significant delays, over and above the promulgated estimated delay time, for arrivals into Perth. The aircraft did not have enough fuel to hold for the extra time and the flight crew declared a fuel MAYDAY. The aircraft was then given priority for the approach and landed with their final reserve fuel intact.” In its safety message, the ATSB underlined that it is critical for crews to advise ATC of a low-fuel situation, and declare a ‘fuel mayday’ if necessary. “This will ensure that the aircraft receives priority during the approach, preventing an unsafe situation from developing,” says ATSB. During the incident flight the aircraft carried 174 passengers and crew.<br/>