Japan says human error likely cause of F-35A jet crash
AFP, Tokyo
Human error was the likely cause of an F- 35A fighter jet crash in April, Japan’s defence ministry said Monday, and flights of the stealth jet will resume after new training measures. The jet crashed into the sea in April after the 41-year-old pilot suffered “spatial disorientation”, in which a person loses their sense of balance, the ministry concluded.
“The crash was likely caused by spatial disorientation of the pilot, not technical problems with the aircraft,” a ministry official told AFP.
German FM meets Zarif to discuss nuclear deal
AFP, Tehran
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas held talks Monday with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif on the future of the 2015 nuclear deal which he described as “extraordinarily important” for Europe.
The two shook hands in front of cameras before their closed-door meeting at the foreign ministry in Tehran, AFP reporters said.
New Zealand plans to withdraw all Iraqi troops by next June
AP, Wellington
New Zealand announced Monday that it will withdraw all of its troops from Iraq by next June. New Zealand has a small contingent of 95 so-called noncombat personnel deployed at the Taji Military Complex northwest of Baghdad, where they are tasked with training Iraqi security forces.
The training mission is a joint operation with Australia, which has about 300 troops stationed at Taji.
Court convicts six in for raping, killing girl in Kashmir
Reuters, Pathankot
An Indian court on Monday convicted six men of involvement in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl in India’s Jammu and Kashmir state last year, said a prosecution lawyer.The case sparked outrage and criticism of the country’s ruling party after some of its members opposed charges being laid.
The girl, from a nomadic Muslim community that roams the forests of Kashmir, was drugged, held captive in a temple and sexually assaulted for a week before being strangled and battered to death with a stone in January 2018.
