NAHA, Japan -- The explosion that caused a China Airlines airplane at Naha Airport to burst into flames Monday likely was caused by a problem with the fuel pipes around the pylon that connects the engine to the right wing, the Japanese Construction and Transport Ministry's Aircraft and Railway Investigation Commission said yesterday.
The plane, a Boeing 737-800, has high-pressure pumps inside the wing that send fuel to the engine. It likely only took a few minutes for a huge amount of fuel to leak after the airplane had stopped on the apron.
According to the commission and other sources, the airplane had about 7,900 kilograms of fuel when it left Taipei. About 4,700 kilograms remained in the tank when the airplane arrived at Naha Airport.
Airplanes usually fly with extra fuel in case of unforeseen circumstances that require them to return to the departure airport or land at an alternative airport.
Israeli force kills 5 in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israeli forces combating Palestinian militants in Gaza killed five people yesterday, two of them children.
Israeli troops killed a sixth Palestinian in the West Bank and the army said he was an armed militant.
The children killed in Gaza, 10 and 12 years old, were members of the same extended family, said doctor Muawiya Hassanin of the Palestinian Health Ministry. The army said troops targeted two figures spotted near a rocket launcher in an area of northern Gaza where a rocket had been fired into Israel earlier.
Adoption home raided
GUATEMALA CITY -- Nine of 46 babies taken into custody by Guatemalan authorities after police raided an adoption home catering to Americans have been hospitalized with respiratory problems, officials said yesterday.
Authorities have said the Casa Quivira adoption home, run by an American man and his Guatemalan wife, lacked the proper paperwork for the children and they are investigating whether any of the children were abducted or coerced from their parents.
Poor working conditions
Walt Disney Co. and Sanrio Co. are among companies whose demands for lower prices from Chinese toy suppliers contribute to low product quality, according to New York-based advocacy group China Labor Watch.
The working conditions of Chinese workers in southern China's Guangdong province, where many toy exporters operate, "remain devastatingly brutal, with long hours, unsafe workplaces and restricted freedom of association, and in blatant violation of Chinese and international labor law," according to the report, citing its survey of eight Guangdong toy factories.
Chinese manufacturers, who make 70 percent of the world's toys, are coming under increasing scrutiny after Mattel recalled Chinese-made toys twice this month for using lead-based paint. Some factories ignored labor conditions to cap costs and meet the demands of overseas clients with "single-minded pursuit of ever lower prices," China Labor Watch said.
Constitutional changes
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's congress, dominated by allies of President Hugo Chavez, gave initial approval yesterday to constitutional reforms that could permit Venezuela's leftist leader to govern for decades to come.
The changes also will have to be approved by voters in a referendum.
