#passengers stranded in Istanbul

[todayworldnews2k21]

IndiGo sends 2 planes to bring back 400 flyers stuck in Turkiye | India News - Times of India

NEW DELHI: IndiGo passenger woes at Istanbul continue unabated in peak travel season. A Turkish Airlines wide-body Boeing 777 wet-leased (hired with operating crew) by IndiGo to operate to Delhi on Friday at 8.15pm developed a snag and the flight was cancelled. That left about 400 passengers stranded at the airport, with many complaining of getting no food, water, resting place or information of…

[animalsmealbuzz]

A dog takes the subway every day, and a man puts a tracker on him

It began as a typical commute for Amir, just like any other day. Amidst the bustling subway crowd, an unusual passenger caught his eye - a dog, seemingly part of the throng of commuters. Yet, this canine wasn't accompanied by anyone, prompting Amir's curiosity. The dog boarded the train seamlessly, unnoticed by most passengers but not by Amir. As the train pulled away, leaving the station, Amir felt a tinge of regret for not investigating further. He went about his day, assuming it was a one-time occurrence. However, fate had other plans. The following day, Amir encountered the same dog at the subway station, waiting as if it had a specific purpose. This continued over several days, leaving Amir perplexed. Determined to uncover the mystery, he observed the dog's daily subway routine. As Amir watched, the dog became an unassuming traveler, navigating the subway with precision, adhering to subway etiquette and exhibiting an uncanny familiarity with the transport system. However, not everyone reciprocated the dog's presence warmly. Some commuters shunned it, leaving the dog disoriented and stranded on occasion. Deeply moved by the dog's plight, Amir took action. He brought dog kibble to the station, hoping to alleviate the dog's hunger. Despite the dog's dirtier appearance, it welcomed the kind gesture with a wagging tail. Amir's resolve to assist the dog strengthened, leading him to postpone picking up his repaired car to continue monitoring the dog's routine. Concerned for the dog's welfare, Amir sought help from authorities and local animal shelters to solve the enigma of the wandering dog. The animal shelter, intrigued by the dog's daily excursions, placed a tracker to monitor its movements. What they discovered left them astounded - the dog embarked on a daily odyssey, covering a considerable distance across the city, approximately 27 to 30 kilometers a day. Named Boji, the dog's journey became an online sensation. People documented his travels across various modes of transportation, from subways to ferries, capturing the heartwarming moments Boji shared with commuters. Boji's familiarity with public transport routes and his charm endeared him to the community. As Boji's story spread, the city recognized his unique status, providing support, vet check-ups, and even setting up a small kennel in a subway station for his comfort. Istanbul's residents embraced Boji as a beloved celebrity, embodying the city's unique relationship with its stray animals. Boji's adventures continued to captivate people worldwide, with social media accounts dedicated to his escapades amassing tens of thousands of followers. His daily routine of travel, his fondness for specific vehicles, and his endearing encounters became a testament to the profound bond between an extraordinary stray dog and the city that embraced him. Read the full article

[new-haryanvi-ragni]

When Grammy Winner Ricky Kej Blasted Lufthansa After Getting Stuck in Turkey for 30 Hours

Back in October 2022, Grammy Winner Ricky Kej got stuck in Turkey after a Bengaluru-bound Lufthansa flight made an emergency landing, leaving over 300 passengers stranded at Istanbul Airport.    source https://zeenews.india.com/aviation/when-grammy-winner-ricky-kej-blasted-lufthansa-after-getting-stuck-in-turkey-for-30-hours-2570243.html

[the-blind-assassin-12]

Too Good To Be True (part two)

A/N: Benjamin comes home from his conference and the two of you can finally celebrate your recent successes. But there’s been something looming in the back of Benjamin’s mind that makes it to the forefront. Is it big enough to get in the way of what the two of you are building, or are his fears unfounded? (I’m VERY excited about the next part.)  

Word Count: 3,633

Warning: the nerd stuff continues. 

Benjamin blinked slowly, squeezing his eyes tightly shut before scrubbing his hand down over his face. The unmistakable bump and jostle of the landing gear touching down on the tarmac pulled him from the deep sleep he’d found during the flight. He’d been slumped into the wall of the plane, the side of his head pressed against the window. Straightening up, he took a breath in through his nose and turned to his right. Glad I leaned left. The surly looking man he’d been sitting next to looked even more unhappy to be back in London than he had when leaving Sarajevo, and Benjamin could only imagine that accidentally falling asleep on his neighbor’s shoulder would have made for a very uncomfortable flight. He cleared his throat and stretched his shoulders, reaching up to slide his glasses from the top of his head back down to his nose. Lifting the window cover, he let the early morning sunlight finish waking him up as the looming structure of Heathrow’s arrivals terminal came into view, the man in the middle seat grumbling about the glare. Home. 

He’d parted ways with Kesting and Oberman after the conference wrapped up. Dr. Kesting was traveling to visit his granddaughter who was studying abroad in Paris, and Professor Oberman had decided to turn the layover in Istanbul into a short holiday. He’d invited Benjamin to join him, since Kesting being away meant that Benjamin would also have some time off, but he declined respectfully. Despite the fact that he’d never been to Turkey, and that visiting the Hagia Sophia had been on his bucket list since he’d first read about it in primary school, there was somewhere else he much prefered to jet off too. A ding sounded from the overhead speakers as the captain addressed the passengers, letting them know that the plane would be taxiing, and thanking them for choosing Lufthansa Airways. But Benjamin wasn’t listening. His thoughts were already on you, and how he couldn’t wait to see your face. Six days have never felt so long. 

Of course, there were extenuating circumstances that made those six days seem even longer. The fact that both of you were brimming with excitement over your recent triumphs, and that you’d had to put a hold on celebrating them was the biggest factor. Though his trip had been one highlight after another between the conference, the sight seeing, the food and overall experience, your voice over the phone as he leaned into the hotel pillows had been one of the highest points. He was thrilled for you, completely overjoyed that you’d snagged your dream job, and every thought not directed at the presentation was spent on you; on how proud he was of you, how happy he knew you were. On how this is only the beginning. 

That was one side of the coin, the shiny, gilded side. The flipside was tarnished and dull and crusted with things he didn’t want to think about but couldn’t avoid. Julia. It astounded him, the level of unease that he felt when he thought of her. For a time, she was his world. She was the thing that kept him grounded and whole. She was the thing he’d take tall leaps and big risks for, the object of his affection, the keeper of his heart. But that was a lie, all of it. She never really… She never really loved him, never really wanted him. When he thought she was building him up, she was secretly looking for weaknesses, targeting them like termites would do to a rotting foundation. 

She hadn’t tried to contact him since a few months after the divorce was finalized, before he met you. But that didn’t help the gnawing feeling growing in his gut that somehow she’d find a way to spoil this for you, be it merely by existing in his memory, or by other means. I won’t let that happen- won’t let her ruin this too. He resolved to talk to you about it, about her and about how he hated the fact that he couldn’t properly celebrate your new job with the British Museum without the fact that that’s where he’d met Julia leaching into it. It was something he thought about ever since you’d shared with him that it was your dream to restore a piece that would be on display there for the world to see, always telling himself that he’d deal with it when the time came. Not that he didn’t expect that it would come, he just didn’t see a reason to bring her up unless it was necessary. Now that you’d be spending a great deal of time and energy in a place that meant something to the tattered remains of his relationship with Julia, he couldn’t avoid the topic any longer. 

Avoid isn’t...I’m not avoiding, I just… He didn’t want to hurt you in any way, didn’t want you to think he was keeping things from you or that he doubted that you’d accomplish your goal so he’d never have to bring it up at all. That wasn’t it. Benjamin knew without a shadow of a doubt that you’d achieve anything that you set your sights on. He believed in you the way that you believed in him. You made him feel like anything was possible if the two of you were a team. But as much as he loved you, and as full as his life with you had become, he found himself anxious to broach this topic. Uncomfortable conversations had never been well-received with former partners, and while you couldn’t have been more different from the women he’d been with in the past, he found himself unsure of how you’d respond. 

The disgruntled older gentlemen that he’d been sitting next to cleared his froggy throat with a hacking sound that drew Benjamin out of his thoughts and back to the plane as passengers around him started to gather their belongings. He sighed, pulling his laptop case out from under the seat in front of him. His carry-on was tucked into the overhead compartment, zippers straining to keep it closed after stuffing it with mementos and souvenirs from his trip. He took his phone out of his jacket pocket and switched airplane mode off so that he could check in with you. Slinging the strap of his case over his shoulder, he shuffled forward after his flightmate as the man reached his stubby arms up for his items. A few news and email notifications came through and Benjamin’s phone buzzed in his palm as he swiped them away. But before he could open the messaging app, your text came through and chased away the worry he was feeling over Julia and the conversation that was looming around the corner. Got here early, can’t wait to see you. 

He grinned as he typed out his response. Just landed, can’t wait either. Now that there was space for him to exit his row and reclaim his bulging bag from above, he didn’t plan on waiting any longer than he had to. He’d missed you for six straight days and he didn’t have to anymore. He thanked the airline attendants as he deboarded, striding with long steps through the gate and into the bustling hub of Heathrow International. Right hand gripped tightly around the leather straps of his bag, he followed the signs to the pick up point where you’d planned to meet him, side stepping lost, confused and frazzled travellers as they tried to navigate the massive airport. Finally making it to the door, he craned his neck to see you perched on the boot of your car, head down as you checked your phone, the breeze toying with your hair. There she is. He felt a warm rush flood his body as he watched you fix the wayward strands. In that same motion, you turned towards the building and saw him, face lighting up and one arm waving excitedly. He felt his eyes crinkle as his smile overtook his features and he pushed the glass door open closing the distance to where you stood. 

“Hey,” you greeted him, your smile lifting your voice as you pocketed your phone and opened your arms for him. 

“Hey yourself,” he carefully lowered his bag to the curb, taking the strap from his shoulder to lay the laptop case on top of it. You slipped your arms under his, but he caught you by surprise by quickly pulling you into his chest, arms going around your shoulders as he laid a kiss to your temple. “I missed you,” he said softly as he stroked your hair and pulled back to look you in the eye. So much. 

You wrinkled your nose, brushing it against his. “So kiss me, then, why don’t-” 

He didn’t need to be told twice. Grabbing your face between his palms, he obeyed your command and kissed you deeply, swallowing your surprised little laugh as it turned into a sigh. “There,” he said, lips still resting against yours. “How’s that for missing you?” 

“It’s a good start, Benjamin.” You let your hand slide down his arm to find his hand, squeezing it lightly. “Now let’s get home so you can finish showing me how much you missed me.” You let go of his hand and picked up his laptop. There was nothing else in the universe that he wanted to do, no where else in the world that he wanted to go aside from home with you. 

He bent to pick up his bag as you took a step towards the car, but again took you by surprise as he wrapped you back up in his arms, your bubbly laughter spilling from your lips and your small hands clutching his forearms as they crossed over your waist. I love this woman so incredibly much. He tilted his face to the side so that he could whisper into your ear. “Sounds good to me.” He could feel the way that his low voice rose bumps all along your flesh, and he knew that you were already thinking about how he planned on showing you. Don’t worry, love, I’ve got you covered. He released you and arranged his features into an innocent smile. “Why don’t I drive?” 

You shook your head, blowing air out of your nose as a blush colored your cheeks. “Sure,” you extended your keys out to drop them into his hand. He took them and opened the passenger side door for you, stowing his bag near your feet. “Benjamin?” He raised one eyebrow above the rim of his glasses in question. “Drive fast.” With pleasure. He leaned in to kiss you one more time before circling around to the driver’s side and getting in.  

..  .. ..  .. .. ..  .. ..  

The drive back to Southend on Sea was fairly quick, and made to go by even more quickly as Benjamin handed you his phone and instructed you to scroll through the hundreds of photos that he took, telling you about each one with a sideways shift of his eyes from the road to the screen in your hand. He’s so excited. There’d been photos of the hotel where he stayed, the convention center before, during and after the presentations, shots of him and his colleagues in their jackets and sweaters. He’d taken loads of pictures of street vendors and markets selling everything under the sun from the pen he’d purchased for himself that was made from a bullet casing, to the hand-hammered copper coffee pot he’d brought home for you. You could almost hear the tinkering of tools as he described Coppersmith Street to you, imagining a crooked street lined with little tents and booths, each one housing a metal worker, their hands meticulously molding and crafting all sorts of things from the practical to the decorative. The next was a close up photo he’d taken of himself next to an engraved cornerstone that marked the location of Franz Ferdinand’s assassination. You laughed to yourself. Of course. “These are great, Benjamin, I’m so glad you had a good time.” You set his phone into the cup holder and smiled at him as he exited the main road and pulled onto your town’s main street. 

“Would have been more fun with you,” he assured you. 

“Next time,” you promised back, confident as anything that there would be a next time and that it wouldn’t be long until there was. 

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Next time.” 

The topic changed from his conference to your work, and you filled him in on what he didn’t already know. You’d gotten the inventory list that morning, so you rattled off some of the more interesting items you’d be working on. “I’ve got the whole list at home though, with pictures of some of the artifacts. You can have a look when we get in.” 

But that plan was forgotten as soon as you both made it through the front door. Bags dropped and left in the foyer, Benjamin wasted no time in taking you to the bedroom, pausing along the way to pin you against the wall or kiss you halfway up the staircase, your thoughts swimming and shuffling until they became nothing but his name. Neither of you had eaten anything since the previous night but the hunger for each other was stronger than anything else and you were glad to let other needs take a backseat to this one. 

An hour or so later, after you’d both showered and changed, eaten and had a cup of tea, the two of you rejoined on the couch. You let the remainder of the afternoon melt away as you randomly remembered things to tell each other. He’d almost forgotten, having given you the coffee pot while still in the car, that he’d purchased you a second souvenir from his trip. “This one’s more congratulatory,” he explained, pulling the small drawstring bag from his pocket. “I meant to give it to you earlier, but…” Shrugging, he handed you the bag, eyes trained on your face to read your reaction. 

You shifted to sit upright as you pulled the strings of the small dark blue bag apart. He licked his top lip as you reached in and pulled out a small, thin copper wire ring adorned with a blue, white and black glass marble. “Benjamin,” his name slipped out it a gasp as you turned the small object over in your palm, the drawstring bag fluttering to the cushion beside you. You looked at him, at the way he was smiling at you, and you could tell how much he wanted to explain his choice. Go on then, B. “Is this the-” 

He nodded. “The evil eye, yeah. I got it from the same bloke who made the pot. It’s,” he waited until you’d pushed the ring onto the pointer finger of your right hand. “It’s supposed to ward off bad luck and only welcome good things.” He knew that you knew that, knew that you knew what it was and what certain cultures believed it did. “I thought you could use some luck with this new job. Not that you need luck, just that-” 

You leaned in and kissed him on the cheek as he backpeddled away from having you think that he didn’t believe in you. “I love it, Benjamin, it’s beautiful. Thank you.” You lay back against him, resuming the position you were in before he recalled the gift he’d tucked in his pocket, continuing your lobby of “oh yeah!”s and “oh did I tell you that”s until you’d both run out. You would have been content to remain tangled up in one another as the sun set and your living room turned dark, as Benjamin slowly ran his fingertips up your arm and over your shoulder, through your hair and around your ear. But it seemed that he had one last topic in mind. 

“There’s something we need to talk about.” He continued to trail his fingertips up and down your arm as he spoke against your skin, pressing a light kiss to your temple before pulling away. 

That uneasy feeling you’d packed away for later slowly swam back through your stomach. No, we really don’t need to. You already knew where he was going from the way his tone had changed, the way his touch had gotten softer and more gentle, a preemptive assurance that he’d be there for you after the discussion was over, as though trying to prove that what he was about to say wouldn’t change how he felt. I know, Benjamin. 

You sighed, sitting up and turning to face him, winding your legs across his lap and under his arms. His hands landed on your thighs, and you could feel the warmth of his palms through the thin material of your leggings. Behind his glasses you saw uncertainty swimming through his eyes, his brows stitched together as he quietly waited for you to speak. A small flare of anger rose in your chest as you realized that he was nervous, almost afraid to bring her up; as though simply speaking his ex-wife’s name would be enough of a betrayal that you’d leave him. I’m not her. I’m not going to build a bonfire with your belongings or guilt you into anything. But you extinguished that flicker before it could grow. The anger was for Julia, not him, so you’d save your venom for her, if ever you had the misfortune of meeting her. You gave him a small smile, reaching out slowly to pull his glasses from his face, fingers brushing his forehead as you did. Folding the arms, you twisted at the waist to set his lenses on the coffee table before returning your gaze to his.

 “Benjamin,” you placed your hands on his forearms, fingers curling around as your thumbs swept against the shoddily tattooed skin near the crook of his elbow. He let out a breath and you felt him relax under your touch. Good, there’s nothing to… You shook your head slightly, a strand of your hair falling in your eyes that you left there in favor of removing your hand from his arm to fix it. “I know that that’s where you met Julia.” He swallowed and nodded, grip tightening instinctively on your thighs. “I know that…” You narrowed your eyes and exhaled through your nose as you contemplated your next words. “I know that’s always going to be a...a memory that you have, you and her, in that place.” His mouth fell open and he leaned forward, his grip sliding further up your thigh. You knew he wanted to protest what you’d just said, tell you no, that you were wrong, that he never thought about her at all anymore. But that’s not true, Benjamin, and it’s okay. “But that doesn’t mean,” you went on, “that you can’t make new memories there.” You moved your palms higher up his arms, nails scratching over his biceps, a smile finally finding its way to his lips. “Better ones,” you added. 

A flash went through your thoughts then, imagining the opening night of the new exhibit, all your hard work behind you, your arm looped through Benjamin’s as you led him through the Great Court. You pictured the way his smile would beam with pride, could almost feel how he’d tug your hip closer to his, how he’d turn so that he could press his lips against your temple, grinning against your skin. Better ones, for sure. You cleared your throat. “It doesn’t mean that she gets to ruin that place for you, Benjamin.” I’m not letting that happen. 

He inhaled slowly through his nose, letting the breath back out the same way. “For us.” He stated, nodding in agreement. “I don’t want that. I don’t want her to ruin it for me, for you...for us.” She won’t, Benjamin, she can’t.  “I just… I had to,” he sighed again. “I had to mention her because I needed you to know that she doesn’t...she’s not important to me anymore. You’re what’s important to me- your happiness and your success and, and…” He looked down at the azure eye on your finger. “And just you.”

While it pained you to know that he still worried that you’d wake up one day and change your mind about him, decide like Julia and Allie had that he wasn’t enough for you, it also filled you with joy to hear his words, to know that they were true. “Just you, too, Benjamin.” You responded. “Just me and you, that’s all I need.” 

He kissed your knuckle next to the ring he’d given you, smiling against your skin. “You’ve got me,” he promised. I know I do. “And I can’t wait to make new memories there with you. See you all covered in paint and polish. That little smudge of...something, I don’t know what it is, by your eyebrow.” He traced the spot he was referring to and you laughed as his smile grew. “Just like when we met. It was hard to keep a straight face to talk to you, you had gold paint across your forehead but,” He paused and kissed the spot where he could still see that phantom smudge. “But I’m so glad I did.” 

Since the day you met, when you’d been working on that celestial ceiling in that library, the stars had continued to line up for the two of you. With your new job and his recent successes, it seemed like the stars had no intention of doing anything but guiding the way for you both. No matter what life throws at us, B, I’m glad you kept a straight face too.

.

.

.

@something-tofightfor​ @its-my-little-dumpster-fire  @suchatinyinfinity​​ @thesumofmychoices​​  @gollyderek​​  @malionnes​​  @becs-bunker​​ @warriorqueenofnarnia​​  @elanor-of-imladris​​  @traeumerinwitzhelden​​ @songtoyou​​  @michellemybelles-world​ @obscurilicious @breanime

[bountyofbeads]

Hong Kong riot police, armed with pepper spray and batons, clash with protesters at airport

https://wapo.st/2P34EQO

Trump is silent on the pro-democracy protesters in both Hong Kong and in Moscow. As a *Beacon of Democracy", the silence of Trump is deafening. SHAME SHAME SHAME

White House delays some new China tariffs until Dec. 15

By Damian Paletta and Heather Long |

Published August 13 at 12:15 PM ET | Washington Post | Posted August 13, 2019 12:50 PM ET |

The White House on Tuesday said it would delay imposing tariffs on Chinese imports of cellphones, laptop computers, video game consoles, and certain types of footwear and clothing until Dec. 15, significantly later than the Sept. 1 deadline President Trump had repeatedly threatened.

The announcement, which came from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, ensures that Apple products and other major consumer goods would be shielded from the import tax until at least December, potentially keeping costs on these products down during the holiday shopping season.

The announcement moved stocks sharply higher. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed close to 500 points, or nearly 2 percent, on the news. The stock prices of Apple, Best Buy, Mattel and Macy’s were among those that rallied on the announcement.

Trump told reporters that he delayed the tariffs “just in case” they would have a negative impact on U.S. shoppers this holiday season.

“What we’ve done is we’ve delayed it so they won’t be relevant in the Christmas shopping season,” Trump said before boarding a flight to Pennsylvania.

His comments marked the most explicit admission he’s made so far that the tariffs could have raised costs for American consumers and businesses and had a negative impact on the economy.

A number of companies had petitioned to the White House to exempt items they import from the new tariffs, saying the costs would be either passed along to the consumer or threaten the solvency of individual firms.

USTR said the 10 percent tariff would still go into effect in September on some items, including many food products, gloves, coats and suits. But it said tariffs on other items would be waived completely “based on health, safety, national security and other factors.”

Trump, in a Twitter post and comments to reporters, suggested that the announcement was meant as an overture to Chinese officials.

“I’m not sure if it was the tariffs or the call, but the call was very productive,” Trump said, referring to a conversation this week between top Chinese and U.S. negotiators.

But he added a warning on Twitter that China needs to buy more from the United States, “As usual, China said they were going to be buying ‘big’ from our great American Farmers. So far they have not done what they said. Maybe this will be different!”

USTR provided a list of products that were exempted and would face the delayed tariff implementation date, which included highchairs, strollers, cell phones and many toys.

The announcement is the latest in a herky-jerky trade war between the White House and China. Trump has levied tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports, beginning last year, as he has tried to pressure Chinese leaders to change their trade practices. Chinese officials have negotiated but refused to agree to the terms Trump has demanded, leading to a prolonged standoff.

Trump has frequently threatened dramatic penalties, however, only to back away. His threat of imposing a 10 percent tariff on an additional $300 billion in Chinese imports starting next month spooked investors and many lawmakers, and it has led to a steady slide in the stock market in the past two weeks.

“These tariffs were Trump’s idea. Now his team is trying to clean this up,” said Steve Pavlick, a former Trump Treasury Department official who is now head of policy at Renaissance Macro Research. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you see this right before Christmas. They are trying to minimize the impact.”

Many businesses had worried that higher tariffs on consumer goods ahead of the Christmas shopping season could severely damage the economy at a time when some are warning that the risk of a recession next year has increased.

Trump has pressed China for months to change its trade practices, calling on it to change the way it subsidizes domestic companies, among other things. The White House has also accused China of stealing intellectual property from U.S. companies and forcing U.S. firms to transfer technology to Chinese firms.

But Trump’s demands in recent weeks have shifted, a sign of the political peril that the prolonged trade war has raised.

Trump had originally threatened to impose these new tariffs on $300 billion in consumer goods by early July, but at a June meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump agreed to hold off. At the meeting, held during the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Trump said the Chinese had agreed to dramatically increase purchases of U.S. agricultural goods, a nod to the U.S. farm industry that had become increasingly incensed about being caught in the middle of the trade war.

But Chinese officials never agreed to purchase the farm products Trump had promised, and this soon became clear to the U.S. agriculture industry.

Several weeks ago, U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin flew to Shanghai to meet with Chinese leaders about restarting trade negotiations. Those discussions went poorly, people briefed on the outcome said.

Trump had recently said that the Chinese seemed intent to wait until after the 2020 election before they would cut a deal with him, and he seemed content with that. But when he heard back from Mnuchin and Lighthizer about how poorly the trip had gone, he announced that he would move ahead with the 10 percent tariff on $300 billion in Chinese goods in September.

USTR’s announcement on Tuesday that it would delay the imposition of these tariffs on some of the most popular consumer goods was the first sign that Trump was backing down from this demand.

Still, the mid-December tariff deadline could raise fears among major retailers and importers about higher costs during a crucial window for revenue.

“It would be a whole lot easier if the tariffs started in January,” said Win Cramer, chief executive of JLab Audio, which makes wireless headphones and ear buds. “It would still be awful, but the fact of the matter is our holiday promotions, which are with every major retailer nationwide, are already designed and ready for print.”

Hong Kong riot police, armed with pepper spray and batons, clash with protesters at airport

By Gerry Shih and Timothy McLaughlin| Published August 13 at 11:49 AM ET | Washington Post | Posted August 13, 2019 12:52 PM ET |

HONG KONG — Riot police armed with pepper spray and batons clashed with protesters late Tuesday at Hong Kong’s airport, bringing violence to the doors of the key international hub while passengers remained stranded inside after many departing flights were canceled.

Anti-government protesters brought chaos to the airport for a second consecutive day Tuesday as demonstrators extended their standoff with authorities who have been unable to quell months of dissent. Protesters forced the cancellation of flights by cramming into terminals and refusing to let passengers through, sparking confrontations with travelers desperate to return home. 

Later in the evening, a group of demonstrators also seized a man they suspected to be an undercover Chinese police officer, cable-tied his hands and refused to let him through a large crowd. The incident showed increasing brazenness on the part of demonstrators in confronting what they perceive as symbols of the Chinese state.

Police entered the airport to help the man, whom paramedics tried to remove on a stretcher. The presence of officers sparked chaos, as protesters spilled out of the airport and began attacking police vans with officers inside. 

At one point, an officer was overrun and his baton taken by protesters, who beat him with it. The group retreated only after the officer appeared to pull his gun from its holster.

After mass cancellations Monday evening, flights had been gradually returning to normal throughout Tuesday, even as thousands of black-clad demonstrators returned to occupy parts of the airport, carrying placards denouncing police brutality and calling for freedom for Hong Kong.

But by late afternoon, with protesters using luggage carts as makeshift barricades and blocking passengers from reaching the departure gates, causing long lines, authorities said they were suspending check-in at both of the airport’s terminals. 

Arguments erupted between frustrated passengers and protesters, with some stranded passengers crying and saying they just wanted to get home.

Pavol Cacara, a Slovakian machinery importer who faced off with protesters, said his flight to Istanbul was canceled once already. 

“You cannot make freedom by taking freedom from others!” he bellowed, shaking with rage, at a mass of young demonstrators in black T-shirts. “This is what the Chinese want you to do, to make you lose support of the world. You are helping them!”

Tensions soared. As Cacara fumed, some protesters tried to calm him down and offered to help him find alternate flights while others pleaded with him to see Hong Kong’s plight. “You don’t die if you leave! We will die here!” called a voice in the rear.

After a 20-minute standoff, protesters parted to form a narrow channel to let a few passengers through. “Thank you for understanding. Please tell the world!” one yelled after Cacara.

A more disturbing scene began taking shape later in the day when a group of protesters surrounded a man they believed to be an undercover police officer from Shenzhen, the Chinese city across the border from Hong Kong. There was no confirmation of the man’s identity or profession, but the protesters did not let him move or leave for hours.

The man appeared to fall unconscious, but protesters refused to let paramedics through. When about half a dozen paramedics reached him, they struggled to move him through the crush of protesters that formed around them. Those closest to the melee held their phones aloft and tried to film the struggling man. Some protesters jeered and laughed at the man. Paramedics also pleaded with protesters to hand them water to give him as he sat motionless on the ground.

Protesters held a handmade sign over the man that read in English, “I am China’s police. I pretend to be protester,” as he struggled to remain conscious.

Earlier, some protesters chanted “return the eye” — a reference to an incident Sunday night when a young woman was shot in the eye, possibly by a bean bag round, during a clash between police and protesters. Senior officers said Tuesday they were unsure how the woman was injured but could not promise that she would not be charged with rioting.

Police said they were closely monitoring the situation at the airport, working with airport authorities, and would carefully consider the need to use force.

Confusion descended over the airport by evening as passengers tried to scale barricades of luggage carts and human walls formed by protesters, who tried to hold them off with outstretched arms.

Still, the confrontations stopped short of violence. Time and again, protesters scolded their peers when tempers flared. Chants of “Lang jing!” — Calm down! — rang through the departure hall when arguments threatened to boil over.

Roving teams of protesters handed snacks to stranded passengers and appealed for understanding as they distributed pamphlets detailing their case against police brutality. Others bowed repeatedly and said “sorry” without yielding their ground in the face of angry passengers.

“Sorry for inconvenience. We have no choice,” said a sign held in front of a barricade blocking departures.

Other passengers took a more sympathetic view.

Krishna Hariharan, a 27-year-old IT engineer from Chennai, India, said his five-day holiday in Hong Kong was already extended to seven days because of canceled flights. His boss was not pleased, and he had to sleep in the terminal because he was running out of money, he said.

But he praised a group of protesters who had come over to apologize and give him bottled water and biscuits.

“I can’t blame anyone,” Hariharan said. “They are seeking justice, and it just happens that our fates are intertwined like this. If the government comes down hard on them — then what are they governing for?”

Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s leader, said the city risked being “pushed into an abyss” and warned that it could be “smashed to pieces.”

“The stability and well-being of 7 million people are in jeopardy,” Lam said. 

As the summer of unrest rolls on, the situation is becoming increasingly tense. Statements from Chinese government officials and state media have grown steadily more shrill, accusing protesters of “terrorism” and warning of an impending crackdown in the semiautonomous financial center.

The political crisis, triggered by now-suspended plans to allow extraditions to mainland China, has swollen as Hong Kongers demand the bill’s full withdrawal, an independent inquiry into police actions toward protesters, greater democracy and an amnesty for those arrested in clashes between demonstrators and police. 

The upheaval has come at a politically sensitive time for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, ahead of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, which the ruling Communist Party plans to mark with a military parade in October.

Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific, which has drawn the ire of Beijing after some of its staff recently joined protests, said Tuesday that a second pilot from the airline has been suspended. The pilot, a second officer working on a flight Tuesday from Manchester to Hong Kong, was suspended for “misuse of company information in violation of the company’s internal code of conduct,” the company said in a statement. It added that internal disciplinary proceedings were underway. 

On Saturday, Hong Kong’s flagship airline said it had suspended a pilot who was arrested during earlier protests. 

International calls grew, meanwhile, for authorities in Hong Kong and China to dial back tensions in the city. 

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged authorities to immediately investigate police use of force in their recent crackdown on protesters. Her spokesman said there was “credible evidence” to suggest that Hong Kong law enforcement officials had used less-than-lethal force in ways that are “prohibited by international norms and standards.”

Chris Patten, the last British governor of colonial Hong Kong before the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, warned that a Chinese intervention would be a “catastrophe” for both Hong Kong and China. 

Speaking to BBC radio, he urged Lam and Xi to find a way to bring people together.

“There is a degree of frustration and anger at the government refusing to give any sensible ground at all, which probably provokes more violence,” Patten said.

Anna Kam in Hong Kong and Shibani Mahtani in Cadiz City, Philippines, contributed to this report.

Protesters shut down Hong Kong airport as China warns of ‘terrorism,’ raising fears of military crackdown

By Timothy McLaughlin and Anna Kam |

Published August 12 at 12:34 PM ET | Washington Post | Posted August 13, 2019 1:18 PM ET |

HONG KONG — Thousands of protesters shut down Hong Kong’s international airport Monday, defying an intensifying police crackdown, as China issued ominous warnings that described the protests as “terrorism” and began massing a paramilitary force in a southern border city.

Fears have been mounting that Beijing — squeezed by a trade dispute with the United States and approaching a nationwide celebration of the founding of the People’s Republic of China — will soon resort to military action to quell the pro-democracy protests in the semiautonomous territory. Chinese officials and state news media actively stoked those fears Monday.

“The radical demonstrators in Hong Kong have repeatedly attacked police with extremely dangerous tools in recent days, which constitutes a serious violent crime, and now they are descending into terrorism,” said Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office in Beijing. It was the first time the office had portrayed the protests in Hong Kong as “terrorism.”

“We should relentlessly crack down on such violent criminal acts without mercy, and we firmly support Hong Kong police and judicial authorities in bringing the criminals to justice as soon as possible,” Yang told reporters from state and Hong Kong media.

The nationalist Global Times tabloid tweeted a video showing Chinese armored personnel carriers heading toward the southern city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, ahead of what the paper called “large-scale exercises” by the People’s Armed Police, a paramilitary unit. “The tasks and missions of the Armed Police include participating in dealing with rebellions, riots, serious violent and illegal incidents, terrorist attacks and other social security incidents,” the newspaper elaborated in an accompanying story.

And China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, issued a commentary Monday night headlined “Alert! There are signs of terrorism on the streets of Hong Kong,”in which it warned: “No country can accept terrorist acts in its own country … Hong Kong has reached an important juncture. ‘End violence and restore order’ is the most important, urgent and overriding task of Hong Kong at present!”

Earlier, the Chinese government department responsible for Hong Kong held its third news conference in three weeks — it previously had not held a briefing in the 22 years since Britain returned the territory to the mainland.

Some of the protesters who had been occupying the airport’s arrivals hall swarmed into the departures area Monday, prompting authorities to cancel all flights and advise travelers to leave one of the world’s busiest hubs. Airport operations resumed Tuesday morning, though there were some delays and cancellations stemming from the previous night’s disruption.

Monday’s protest came in response to a sharp increase in the level of force employed by Hong Kong’s embattled police. Hours before the airport shutdown, two police officers elsewhere in the city pinned a black-clad demonstrator to the concrete, one officer’s knee pressing the young man’s face into a pool of his own blood.

“I’ve already been arrested,” the man yelled as he cried for help. “Don’t do this, I’m begging you.”

The scene, captured Sunday night by a cameraman from the Hong Kong Free Press, was jarring even in a city now accustomed to weekends awash with tear gas. It unleashed a fresh wave of anger toward Hong Kong’s police force and the government more broadly, spurring thousands of demonstrators to respond by occupying the airport.

At the airport Monday, officials had halted all departures by late afternoon, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.

Hong Kong’s airport authority said all flights were suspended Monday at about 3:30 p.m. local time (3:30 a.m. Eastern time).

After sitting in the arrivals hall for much of the day, many protesters began leaving the airport in the evening amid rumors on social media and messaging apps that police were preparing for a large clearance operation. The protesters, many dressed in black, streamed across the roads around the airport, bringing traffic to a near-standstill. Some travelers abandoned buses and taxis and wheeled bags through the traffic. Many said they were headed to a nearby bus station.

On Sunday night, Hong Kong police intensified their crackdown with new and more aggressive tactics after more than two months of sustained protests and more than 600 arrests.

Officers disguised themselves as protesters to arrest suspects, launched tear gas inside a subway station and fired on protesters at close range with less-than-lethal ammunition. One young woman was shot in the face with what appeared to be a bean bag round, severely injuring her eye. Police said Monday that the videos and photos had to be verified and that they could not confirm “the reasoning behind this lady’s injury.”

But the incident provided the latest rallying point for protesters.

“The police have had enough, to be honest. They feel like they have been bullied for two months now, and they knew themselves more than capable to use real force and tactics to control the situation,” said Clement Lai, a former police superintendent who now runs his own security firm.

“If the order was given that they need to escalate their action and their force, these guys are more than happy to do that.”

Mel, 40, who took part in the airport demonstrations and carried a sign with pictures of bloodied protesters, said she wanted “to show the world that what we are looking for is freedom.”

She said she was angry about the “dirty methods” police used Sunday night and early Monday morning.

Mel, who gave only her first name, added that a decision was made among many protesters to leave early Monday evening because of fears that police would forcibly clear the airport.

The police actions appear to be part of broader efforts by the Hong Kong government, with the support of officials in Beijing, to end the political crisis, through an approach that includes ramping up pressure on businesses, leveling heavy charges against arrested protesters and using state-controlled media to pump out increasingly shrill, conspiratorial claims about who is organizing the demonstrations.

“After a period of several weeks of uncertainty as to who was coordinating the government response, last week saw the rollout of Beijing’s multipronged, comprehensive strategy to deal with the protests,” said Sebastian Veg, a historian of China and a professor at the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences in Paris. “It consists in uniting all forces with whom common ground can be found to isolate and defeat the enemy.”

He added, “The aim is to turn public opinion against the protests by drastically raising the cost of participation.”

The new police tactics came after former deputy police commissioner Alan Lau was called out of retirement last week to help the embattled force.

Lai credited the new approach, in part, to Lau’s return. “He is coming back with a mission,” the former superintendent said.

Hospital officials said that 45 people were injured in weekend protests and that 25 remained hospitalized. Two were in serious condition.

One police officer who has worked on the front lines over the past month said officers’ new ploy of disguising themselves as protesters — wearing masks, yellow hard hats and black civilian clothes — was a deliberate tactic from the police Special Duties Unit, nicknamed the “Flying Tigers,” to sow mistrust among protesters.

This is a tactic they will continue to use, the officer said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters. Police on Monday also displayed trucks mounted with water cannons that they could deploy to disperse crowds.

One 22-year-old protester who has been on the front line for weeks admitted that the more aggressive moves by police had caught some demonstrators off guard and yielded results.

“It was quite effective for them; they are changing their strategy,” he said. “We know now the police have no limits. They will not follow the rules and the law.”

The government, in what has become a weekly ritual, condemned protesters Monday and said a police officer was injured after being hit with a firebomb tossed by a demonstrator.

Protests began earlier this year over the government’s attempts to push through a bill that would allow extraditions to mainland China. The legislation, which numerous critics said would be a severe blow to Hong Kong’s autonomy, was suspended by Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam in June.

Lam, however, has refused to fully withdraw the measure. She has issued apologies as well as condemnation, none of which have quelled the crisis. Most recently, she has pivoted to focus on how the unrest is damaging Hong Kong’s economy.

Protesters have offered a list of five demands that has shifted slightly in recent weeks. Much of the focus is now on the creation of an independent commission to investigate the handling of the bill and the subsequent fallout.

An inquiry has drawn wide support, with the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, law groups and civil-society organizations backing its creation, but the government continues to resist such calls. Lam has said she thinks an in-house investigation by police of their actions is sufficient and has not addressed the other demands.

The front-line protester said the new police strategy would only harden those who have already dedicated themselves to the fight.

“You can see our equipment — shields, helmets — is for defense, not for offense,” he said. “From now on, I think that will change. Some types of weapons will be used. We are standing there and getting beat by them.”

Anna Fifield, Shibani Mahtani and Tiffany Liang contributed to this report.

[squarwell-breakingnews]

Grammy Winner Ricky Kej Slams Lufthansa, Says Airline Taking "Indians For Granted"

Grammy Winner Ricky Kej Slams Lufthansa, Says Airline Taking “Indians For Granted”

Ricky Kej was stuck at the Istanbul airport for nearly 40 years. Bengaluru-based music composer and Grammy Award Winner Ricky Kej recently slammed Lufthansa airlines for poor customer service after a medical emergency left around 300 passengers stranded at the Istanbul airport for over 34 hours. In a series of tweets, Mr Kej alleged that his Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Bengaluru landed in…

[znewstech]

Grammy Winner Ricky Kej Slams Lufthansa, Says Airline Taking "Indians For Granted"

Grammy Winner Ricky Kej Slams Lufthansa, Says Airline Taking “Indians For Granted”

Ricky Kej was stuck at the Istanbul airport for nearly 40 years. Bengaluru-based music composer and Grammy Award Winner Ricky Kej recently slammed Lufthansa airlines for poor customer service after a medical emergency left around 300 passengers stranded at the Istanbul airport for over 34 hours. In a series of tweets, Mr Kej alleged that his Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Bengaluru landed in…

[newslobster]

Grammy Winner Ricky Kej Slams Lufthansa, Says Airline Taking "Indians For Granted"

Grammy Winner Ricky Kej Slams Lufthansa, Says Airline Taking “Indians For Granted”

Ricky Kej was stuck at the Istanbul airport for nearly 40 years. Bengaluru-based music composer and Grammy Award Winner Ricky Kej recently slammed Lufthansa airlines for poor customer service after a medical emergency left around 300 passengers stranded at the Istanbul airport for over 34 hours. In a series of tweets, Mr Kej alleged that his Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Bengaluru landed in…

[sounmashnews]

[ad_1] An aged couple flying with Jetstar had been left shaking, in tears and ready hours at a world airport after being abandoned by the airline. Melbourne man Elijah, 35, says he has been left so disturbed by what he witnessed at Bangkok airport this week that it has utterly put him off travelling. “In what was a traumatic couple of days, I witnessed Jetstar abandon two elderly passengers in Bangkok,” he informed NCA Newswire. The aged couple had been travelling from Skopje to Istanbul, then onto Bangkok and Melbourne as precedence care passengers in wheelchairs when their Jetstar flight to Melbourne was cancelled. The pair and Elijah had been amongst 22 passengers who had been informed a refund had been processed and that the Jetstar employees had been not capable of help.“At this point the passengers were removed from the wheelchairs and escorted to two chairs in the waiting area of Bangkok airport,” he mentioned. “It wasn’t until nine hours later that I went to check on the elderly couple to find them in tears not knowing what to do, severely distressed.”With no English and no manner of contacting their family members again dwelling, Elijah mentioned they had been confused, frightened and left to their very own gadgets by Jetstar employees. “Like myself, they were given no alternatives, re-booking a later flight was not an option and hotel accommodation was not provided,” he mentioned.“Effectively they were stranded in Bangkok indefinitely.”Elijah – who was dropped at tears himself by the scenario – was finally capable of contact their daughter again dwelling through Facebook.She had been frantically looking for her mother and father. “The daughter, also hysterical, had been on the phone all evening and morning trying to get in touch with Jetstar and Bangkok Airport to get an understanding of where her parents were,” he mentioned. Elijah, who finally needed to fork out an additional $4000 to fly dwelling on one other airline, booked lodging for the couple on the identical resort he was staying at for the night time. “The level of care for anyone was non-existent,” he mentioned. Paul, 78, and Georgina, 81, Markoski’s daughter informed NCA Newswire she was “very, very angry” on the scenario, explaining that she was frightened that they had run out of treatment. “I was frustrated, angry, concerned, worried that I didn’t know their whereabouts for hours,” she mentioned.She mentioned she nonetheless had not obtained a response from Jetstar since contacting them on Friday. “You can’t talk to anyone, it’s all via Jess, an online chat,” she mentioned. “You wait and wait and wait and wait.”She referred to as Elijah her “guardian angel,” saying he had accomplished precisely what employees ought to have accomplished.Elijah mentioned his thoughts was “still blown trying to process the events that unfolded”.“How an elderly couple in their 80s could be left unattended and uninformed, stranded in an airport without a means of communicating to the outside world is beyond negligent,” he mentioned. Asked whether or not he would contemplate flying Jetstar once more, the 35-year-old mentioned the funds airline “no longer exists” to him. “I don’t think I'll be flying full stop,” he mentioned. Perth dad Mark Carder was additionally caught up within the chaos, lacking his daughter’s tenth birthday this week after a number of flight cancellations by Jetstar. Mr Carder was excited to fulfill his spouse and two daughters in Bali after a visit to the US, booked on a flight from Sydney to Denpasar on September 3. “The plan was for me to fly from Sydney to Denpasar via Melbourne on September 5 so that I could meet up with my wife and two daughters in Bali for my eldest Zoe’s 10th birthday on September 6,” he informed NCA Newswire.But after two cancelled flights, Mr Carder was pressured to surrender and fly dwelling to Perth, ready 11 hours at Sydney Airport and compelled to cough up one other $550 for a flight dwelling on one other airline.The annoyed

dad mentioned all he anticipated from Jetstar was to have the ability to get “from A to B in cattle class.” “I missed my daughter’s 10th birthday and felt I really let her down,” he mentioned.“I will never fly Jetstar again – it’s not worth the risk. They don’t have any remorse or regard for completely throwing your plans into mayhem.“Jetstar makes you feel like garbage.”Frustrated passengers like Mr Carder are seeing crimson after it was introduced Qantas chief govt Alan Joyce had been given a 15 per cent pay rise this yr regardless of widespread points. Qantas and Jetstar, which is wholly owned by Qantas Group, have come underneath fireplace for months, following main delays, cancelled flights and baggage points leaving passengers raging. Mr Joyce, whose airline was pressured to apologise for the mismanagement, had his pay cheque soar from $1.98m to $2.27m this yr, based on Qantas’ annual report. Jetstar has apologised to the roughly 4000 passengers who had been stranded in Bali over the previous week due to flight cancellations.Read associated matters:Qantas [ad_2] Source link

[annie-youcom]

Anger mounts in Istanbul, Athens over blizzard chaos

Anger mounts in Istanbul, Athens over blizzard chaos

Commuters wait for tramway in Karakoy district of Istanbul on January 25, 2022 after a snowstorm. Istanbul is experiencing heavy snowfalls, with roads blocked, flights and intercity transportation canceled and thousands of vehicles stranded on majors roads. — AFP  ISTANBUL: Stranded passengers chanted protests at Europe’s busiest airport in Istanbul on Tuesday and soldiers dug out snowed-in…

[todayworldnews2k21]

Over 400 IndiGo flyers stuck in Istanbul for over a day now | India News - Times of India

NEW DELHI: Nearly 400 passengers who were supposed to travel from Istanbul to Delhi and Mumbai on IndiGo flights have been stranded at the Türkiye airport for over a day now. Passengers have taken to social media to recount their terrible experience. Comments have been sought from the airline and are awaited.Shubham Bansal wrote on LinkedIn: “I am one of the 400 passengers stranded in Istanbul…

[news247worldpressposts]

#Breaking: Hundreds of stranded passengers stage a protest in #Istanbul airport's international departure terminal

#Breaking: Hundreds of stranded passengers stage a protest in #Istanbul airport’s international departure terminal

https://twitter.com/AlArabiya_Eng/status/1486287450012065794?s=20 Source: Twitter

[new-haryanvi-ragni]

When Grammy Winner Ricky Kej Blasted Lufthansa After Getting Stuck in Turkey for 30 Hours

Back in October 2022, Grammy Winner Ricky Kej got stuck in Turkey after a Bengaluru-bound Lufthansa flight made an emergency landing, leaving over 300 passengers stranded at Istanbul Airport.    source https://zeenews.india.com/aviation/when-grammy-winner-ricky-kej-blasted-lufthansa-after-getting-stuck-in-turkey-for-30-hours-2570243.html

[globalhappenings]

Passengers stranded at Istanbul airport protest

Passengers stranded at Istanbul airport protest

(ANSA) – ISTANBUL, 25 JAN – Some passengers blocked since yesterday at Istanbul airport due to the cancellation of flights and the closure of the connection routes to the city due to a snowstorm have started to protest, asking to be hosted in the hotel. This was reported by various Turkish media by broadcasting videos shared on social media where groups of dozens of people are seen wandering…

[expatimes]

Kuwait Airport breathes again as closure decision ends

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 2: Kuwait International Airport came back to life again after the decision to close the ports which lasted for 10 days as precautionary health measures ended. Flight arrived from Istanbul carrying 150 stranded Kuwaiti citizens and 120 passengers departed to Turkey and 110 passengers to Qatar.

The citizens expressed their happiness on return to the homeland as they were stranded abroad for 10 days, reports al rai. Kuwait airport is scheduled to receive 30 flights today and 37 flight departures.

The post Kuwait Airport breathes again as closure decision ends appeared first on ARAB TIMES - KUWAIT NEWS.

#local Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=16376&feed_id=26598

[ljones41]

"MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" (2017) Review

"MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" (2017) Review When news of Twentieth Century Fox releasing its own version of Agatha Christie's 1934 novel, "Murder on the Orient Express", many people groaned. In a way, I could understand their reaction. This new movie would mark the fifth adaptation of the novel - the second theatrical version. However, being a major fan of Christie's story about a murder aboard the famed trans-European train, I was among those who did not groan. 

Directed by Kenneth Branaugh, who also starred as Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" begins in Jerusalem 1934, where Poirot has been asked to solve the theft of a valuable artifact from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After achieving his goal, Poirot boards a boat that conveys him to Istanbul in Turkey. Among his fellow passengers is a British governess named Mary Debenham and a Afro-British former-Army soldier-turned-physician named Dr. John Abuthnot. Poirot plans to remain in Istanbul for a few days of rest. But he receives a telegram, summoning him to London to solve another case. Monsieur Bouc, a young friend of his who happens to serve as a director of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, manages to acquire a berth in one of the second-class compartments in the Calais coach of the Orient Express. Both Poirot and Bouc are surprised to discover that the Calais coach is unusually full for the winter season. A day following the train's departure from Istanbul, one of the passengers - an American "businessman" named Samuel Rachett - informs Poirot that he had received death threats and wants to hire the Belgian detective to serve as his bodyguard. Due to his instinctive dislike of Rachett, Poirot refuses the offer. During the second night of the train's journey, the Orient Express becomes stranded somewhere between Vinkovci and Brod, thanks to an avalanche. The following morning, Rachett's dead body is discovered with a dozen stab wounds. Bouc asks Poirot to discover the killer's identity. Since each train car was locked at night, Poirot has focused his suspicions on those who were inside the Calais coach: *Mary Debenham *Dr. John Abuthnot *Hector McQueen, Rachett's secretary *Edward Masterman, Rachett's English valet *Mrs. Caroline Hubbard, a middle-aged American tourist *Pilar Estravados, a Spanish-born missionary *Princess Dragomiroff, an exiled Russian princess *Hildegarde Schmidt, Princess Dragomiroff's German maid *Biniamino Marquez, a Spanish-born automobile salesman *Count Rudolph Andrenyi, a Hungarian aristocrat/acclaimed dancer *Countess Helena Andrenyi, Count Andrenyi's German-born wife *Gerhard Hardman, a German scholar *Pierre Michel, the Calais coach's car attendant Not long after he begins his investigation, Poirot discovers Rachett's true identity - a gangster named Lanfranco Cassetti, who had kidnapped a three year-old heiress named Daisy Armstrong two years earlier. After Daisy's parents had paid the ransom, Cassetti killed young Daisy and fled the United States. It becomes up to Poirot to discover which Calais coach passengers have connections to the Armstrong kidnapping case and find the killer. What can I say about this adaptation of Christie's 1934 novel? Of the five versions of "Murder on the Orient Express", I have only seen four. But I am not here to discuss the other three versions I have seen . . . only this new adaptation. "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" was not a perfect movie. Well to be honest, I have yet to see a perfect adaptation of Christie's novel. But there were a few aspects of this film that I did not like. Most of those aspects had a lot to do with camera shots. I did not like how Branaugh had allowed his passengers to board through the dining car at the end of the train. Honestly? I did not care for that tracking shot of Poirot making his way through the train . . . with the camera focused on him through the windows. I found it rather distracting and slightly confusing. Nor did I care for how Branaugh and cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos shot the scene featuring the discovery of Rachett's body. From the moment when the victim's valet discovered the body to Dr. Abuthnot examined it and conveyed his prognosis, Branaugh and Zambarloukos did the entire scene from a high angle shot from above in which I could barely, if at all, see the victim's body. I found it very frustrating to watch. And rather unnecessary. I have one last complaint and it concerned a character. Namely . . . Count Rudolph Andrenyi. In Christie's novel, Count Andrenyi was described as a hot-blooded Hungarian and a diplomat. In "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS", the Count remained a hot-blooded Hungarian. But for some reason, Branaugh and screenwriter Michael Green had decided to change his profession from a diplomat to a professional dancer. Why? Other than showing Count Andrenyi in a fight with two men at the Sirkeci train station, I saw no earthly reason to change the character's profession. Worse, while being questioned by Poirot, the latter brought up the matter of a diplomatic passport. Why would Poirot bring up this matter to a man who was a professional dancer? Thankfully, I managed to enjoy "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" a great deal, despite its flaws. Thanks to Branaugh and a first-rate crew, the movie radiated a sharp rich elegance that struck me as different as the previous adaptations. And I have to give credit to cinematographer Zambarloukos for this look. There were others who had contributed to the film's look and style. I especially have to commend production designer Jim Clay for his re-creation of the Orient Express - along with the help of the art direction team led by Dominic Masters and set decorator Rebecca Alleway:

I doubt that the film's re-creation of the famous luxury train at Longcross Studios was completely accurate. But I must admit that I was more than impressed by how people like Clay, Masters and Alleway still managed to re-create the style and ambiance of the famous train. My admiration for their work at Longcross also extends to their re-creation of the famous Sirkeci railway station. I found it rich in detail and atmosphere . . . and if I must be honest, slightly mind blowing:

I suspect that none of crewmen who worked on "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS" will receive any recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for their work. Pity. As for Patrick Doyle's score, I must be honest and admit that I did not find it particularly memorable. In fact, I found Doyle's occasional use of 1930s tunes more memorable than his original work. How did I feel about Branaugh and screenwriter Michael Green's treatment of Christie's novel? Aside from my nitpick about the Count Rudolph Andrenyi character, I had no problems with it. Yes, I realize that both Branaugh and Green had made some changes to Christie's story. But you know what? So did the other versions I have seen. And there were no real changes to the plot, aside from allowing the Daisy Armstrong kidnapping to occur two years previously, instead of more. Most of the changes were made to some of the characters, instead of the plot. For instance: *Although Hector McQueen had remained Rachett's secretary, he was discovered to be embezzling from the latter. *John Abuthnot is portrayed as an Afro-British doctor, who is also a former Army sniper, instead of a British Army colonel stationed in India *Swedish-born missionary Greta Ohlsson becomes the Spanish-born missionary Pilar Estravados, whose name was borrowed from Christie's 1938 novel, "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" *Italian-born car salesman Antonio Foscarelli becomes the Spanish-born salesman Biniamino Marquez *Monsieur Bouc is portrayed as a much younger man, who profession is dependent upon family connections As one can see, the changes in characterizations is based upon changes in ethnicity and nationality. Hell, I had more of a problem with the changes made by the Count Andrenyi character than I did with the above changes. And if I must be honest, I found the changes made to the John Abuthnot character rather impressive and interesting. Despite these changes, he remained intensely in love with Mary Debenham and protective of her. Another change I noticed is that Branaugh and Green had allowed Poirot to question the suspects in different parts of either the Calais coach, the dining car, the Pullman lounge car and various spots outside of the stranded train. I must admit that I found this variation in minor locations around the train rather refreshing. Watching Poirot question most of the suspects (with the exception of Princess Dragonmiroff and Hildegarde Schmidt) inside the Pullman coach had struck me as a bit repetitive in the 1974 and 2010 versions. I would not be surprised if certain Christie fans and film critics had accused Branaugh of political correctness. Not only did the screenplay pointed out Dr. Abuthnot's race via characters like Gerhard Hardman, but also Biniamino Marquez's ethnicity via Hector McQueen. Considering that the movie is set in 1934, I did not mind. More importantly, it would have been odd if someone had not commented on Dr. Abuthnot's race or Senor Marquez's nationality. In fact, in Christie's original novel, some characters made a big deal over the nationalities of the other suspects. The important thing is that despite these changes, Michael Green's screenplay more or less adhered to Christie's novel. And he did so with style and a good deal of pathos in the film's last half hour that I found more than satisfying. I was especially surprised by how the film treated Poirot's character in the end. In the novel and previous adaptations, Poirot had remained on the train after solving the murder. Not in this adaptation. After exposing the crime and reporting his findings to the police in Brod, Poirot left the train. And I was thrilled. As I have stated numerous times, if I had been Poirot, I would have left that train myself. I must admit that I had experienced a few qualms when I learned that Kenneth Branaugh had cast himself as the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. The large moustache he had utilized for his performance did not comfort me, until I realized that it matched the description of the literary Poirot's moustache. I have stated in the past that I believe that British actors with a Continental background - like Peter Ustinov, Alfred Molina and David Suchet - tend to give more believable portrayals of Poirot than English speaking actors. Branaugh ended up proving me wrong. He gave a very charming and energetic performance as Poirot, without wallowing in the occasional moments of hammy acting. I also enjoyed how he portrayed Poirot's development in the story from a charming and intelligent man seeking a little peace before his next case to the slightly outraged man who found himself conflicted over how to handle the consequences of Rachett's murder. There were other performances that I found very interesting. One came from Johnny Depp, who gave an effectively slimy portrayal of the former kidnapper-turned-murder victim. His performance really impressed me, especially in one particular scene in which Rachett requested Poirot's services as a bodyguard. Depp displayed his versatility as an actor by conveying his character's attempt at friendliness and a sinister form of intimidation. I also appreciated Michelle Pfieffer's portrayal of the extroverted Caroline Hubbard, which I found both humorous and sexy. And yet, Pfieffer's finest moment came near the film's end, when Poirot exposed her character's deep secret. She gave a very emotional and effective performance. Leslie Odom Jr. and Daisy Ridley portrayed the two suspects that Poirot had first encountered - namely Dr. John Abuthnot and Mary Debenham. It is interesting that the literary versions of this pair proved to be more hostile (and bigoted) toward Poirot than the other passengers. In this version, both are more friendlier toward Poirot, yet both maintained a subtle wariness toward his presence. I also enjoyed how Odom and Ridley managed to convey more complexity into their performances, when confronted with their lies by Poirot and their willingness to fiercely protect each other. I never thought I would say this, but I thought Josh Gad gave the most complex performance as Rachett's secretary, Hector McQueen I have ever seen on screen. Thanks to Gad's first-rate performance, his McQueen literally oozed with moral ambiguity - especially in the film's second half. Another interesting performance came from Derek Jacobi, who portrayed Rachett's English valet, Edward Masterman. I was particularly impressed at how Jacobi conveyed his character's nervousness in being caught in a slip of character by Poirot. And there was Penelope Cruz's performance as the Spanish missionary, Pilar Estravados. Cruz's portrayal of the missionary was a far cry from the literary character by portraying her not only as intensely religious, but also intense and slightly intimidating. I found her performance very interesting. Judi Dench gave a very imperious and entertaining performance as the elderly Princess Dragonmiroff. The movie also featured first-rate performances from the rest of the cast that included Olivia Colman, Tom Bateman, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Willem Dafoe, Marwan Kenzari, Lucy Boynton and yes, Sergei Polunin. I may not have liked the change made to the Count Andrenyi character, but I cannot deny that Poluin gave an effective performance. I recently learned that 20th Century Fox given approval for a sequel to "MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS". It may not have been a major box office hit, but it was financially successful. Personally, I am glad. I really enjoyed this new take on Christie's 1934 novel. And I was not only impressed by the cast's excellent performances in this film, but also by Kenneth Branaugh's direction and his superb portrayal of the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. If a sequel is being planned, I cannot wait to see him reprise his portrayal of the famous literary sleuth.