Scores killed in Thai plane crash
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
At least 88 people have been confirmed killed in a plane crash in the tourist resort of Phuket in southern Thailand.
The aircraft skidded off the runway after landing in heavy rain and exploded into flames.
It was carrying 123 passengers - most of them foreigners - and seven crew.
The aircraft skidded off the runway after landing in heavy rain and exploded into flames.
It was carrying 123 passengers - most of them foreigners - and seven crew.
About 40 people escaped the burning wreckage and were taken to hospital.
Flight OG 269, operated by airline One-Two-Go, had flown to Phuket from the Thai capital, Bangkok.
More than 80 bodies have been recovered and are now lying in a makeshift morgue at Phuket airport.
Survivor
A French tourist aboard a plane behind the one that crashed told AFP news agency she saw the accident happen.
"When the plane landed it caught fire," she said. "We could see the fire coming out of it."
Survivors crawled out of the wreckage through thick smoke, many of them badly burned.
Passenger Parinwit Chusaeng told Thai TV: "I saw passengers engulfed in fire as I stepped over them on the way out of the plane.
"I was afraid that the airplane was going to explode, so I ran away."
Aborted landing?
Phuket Deputy Governor Worapot Ratthaseema said 42 people had been taken to hospital. Five are said to be in critical condition.
Those injured included nationals from Australia, Britain, France, Iran, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
At least 70 of the passengers were foreigners, officials said.
Both the pilot and co-pilot of the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 are among those who escaped.
Survivors say the pilot circled the area hoping for the weather to clear before making his final disastrous approach.
The flight was approaching the airport when the pilot asked to abort the landing, an aviation official told Thai television.
"The control tower allowed it but the aircraft fell to the runway and the body broke," he said.
One-Two-Go is one of Thailand's first budget airlines.
It was set up in December 2003 as a subsidiary of Orient Thai Airways, and services domestic routes.
This is Thailand's deadliest aviation accident since December 1998, when 101 people were killed after a Thai Airways crashed on landing near another southern resort.
Flight OG 269, operated by airline One-Two-Go, had flown to Phuket from the Thai capital, Bangkok.
More than 80 bodies have been recovered and are now lying in a makeshift morgue at Phuket airport.
Survivor
A French tourist aboard a plane behind the one that crashed told AFP news agency she saw the accident happen.
"When the plane landed it caught fire," she said. "We could see the fire coming out of it."
Survivors crawled out of the wreckage through thick smoke, many of them badly burned.
Passenger Parinwit Chusaeng told Thai TV: "I saw passengers engulfed in fire as I stepped over them on the way out of the plane.
"I was afraid that the airplane was going to explode, so I ran away."
Aborted landing?
Phuket Deputy Governor Worapot Ratthaseema said 42 people had been taken to hospital. Five are said to be in critical condition.
Those injured included nationals from Australia, Britain, France, Iran, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
At least 70 of the passengers were foreigners, officials said.
Both the pilot and co-pilot of the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 are among those who escaped.
Survivors say the pilot circled the area hoping for the weather to clear before making his final disastrous approach.
The flight was approaching the airport when the pilot asked to abort the landing, an aviation official told Thai television.
"The control tower allowed it but the aircraft fell to the runway and the body broke," he said.
One-Two-Go is one of Thailand's first budget airlines.
It was set up in December 2003 as a subsidiary of Orient Thai Airways, and services domestic routes.
This is Thailand's deadliest aviation accident since December 1998, when 101 people were killed after a Thai Airways crashed on landing near another southern resort.
And on the other side of the globe, in Down Under:
Australia navy in breast op row
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
The navy said breast implants were not to make sailors "look sexy"Australia's opposition Labor Party has questioned the need for female sailors to be given breast enlargements paid for with public money.
An armed forces spokesman defended the operations, saying they were carried out for psychological reasons, not to make sailors "look sexy".
Brigadier Andrew Nikolic said the "holistic needs" of service personnel were considered under defence policy.
But he said breast augmentations were not routinely funded by the military.
"We do consider the broader needs of our people, both physical and psychological," Brig Nikolic said.
"But that is a long way from saying that if someone doesn't like their appearance, Defence will fund things like breast augmentation as a matter of routine - that is just not correct."
He was speaking after one plastic surgeon said he had carried out breast enlargements on two sailors, aged 25 and 32, for A$10,000 (£4,200) each.
Brig Nikolic said such operations were only recommended after a medical evaluation.
But the opposition Labor Party said it wanted details on the cases.
"On the face of it, taxpayer-funded breast enhancement is a questionable practice," said Labor defence spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon.
"I have to say [it] smacks of a government out of touch."
An armed forces spokesman defended the operations, saying they were carried out for psychological reasons, not to make sailors "look sexy".
Brigadier Andrew Nikolic said the "holistic needs" of service personnel were considered under defence policy.
But he said breast augmentations were not routinely funded by the military.
"We do consider the broader needs of our people, both physical and psychological," Brig Nikolic said.
"But that is a long way from saying that if someone doesn't like their appearance, Defence will fund things like breast augmentation as a matter of routine - that is just not correct."
He was speaking after one plastic surgeon said he had carried out breast enlargements on two sailors, aged 25 and 32, for A$10,000 (£4,200) each.
Brig Nikolic said such operations were only recommended after a medical evaluation.
But the opposition Labor Party said it wanted details on the cases.
"On the face of it, taxpayer-funded breast enhancement is a questionable practice," said Labor defence spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon.
"I have to say [it] smacks of a government out of touch."
