Chapecoense air crash

The plane had no fuel on impact, an official said, corroborating audio of the pilot asking to land because of a fuel shortage and electric failure.

The capital Bogota was mentioned on the flight plan as a possible refuelling stop, but the plane did not land there.

The plane plunged into a mountainside near Medellin late on Monday.

Only six of the 77 people on board the plane survived.

"Having been able to do an inspection of all of the remains and parts of the plane, we can affirm clearly that the aircraft did not have fuel at the moment of impact," civil aviation chief Alfredo Bocanegra told a news conference.

Saudi Prince wants women to drive

An influential Saudi prince has called for an "urgent" end to his country's ban on women driving saying it is a matter not just of rights but of economic necessity.

"Stop the debate: Time for women to drive," Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said on his official Twitter account.

IOC upgrades Nigeria’s bronze to silver

The International Olympic Committee has formally written to inform Team Nigeria through the Nigeria Olympic Committee that it has upgraded Nigeria’s Bronze medal won in the women’s 4×100-meter relay at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing to silver.

The IOC stripped Russia of the gold medal the country won in the women’s 4×100-meter relay at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, after a widespread, government-sponsored doping scandal wreaked havoc for the Russian athletes.

The IOC disqualified Yulia Chermoshanskaya, 30, after a reanalysis of the retired runner’s samples from Beijing found traces of two banned substances in her system — stanozolol and turinabol.

Chermoshanskaya was also disqualified from the 200 meters, in which she finished eighth.

Belgium has been upgraded to the relay gold, with Nigeria moving up to silver and Brazil to bronze.

Maha Vajiralongkorn returns from Germany for rite but coronation will take place next year after his father's cremation.

Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn has returned to Thailand ahead of his proclaimation as King Rama X in a live television broadcast from the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

Vajiralongkorn will formally accept late on Thursday the parliament's invitation in front of portraits of his late father and his mother, who is unwell.

Before that, the 64-year-old prince will preside over a religious ceremony marking the 50th day of his father's funeral rites, which began at the palace the day after King Bhumibol's death.

Oil Holds Gains After Opec and Non Opec countries decide to cut production

Oil prices on Thursday held on to gains made after OPEC struck a long-sought agreement to reduce production by 1.2 million barrels a day.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.1% to $51.87 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange, having earlier traded above $52. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down 0.1% at $49.38 a barrel.

The agreement struck by representatives of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries marked the group’s first concerted effort to slash output since 2008 and sent prices surging more than 10% Wednesday.

The cut, representing about 1% of global production, will help to reduce a supply glut that has depressed prices for more than two years. It involves significant reductions by heavyweights including Saudi Arabia, the group’s most powerful member and de facto leader of the cartel.

However, Nigeria and Libya were exempted from the cut, while Indonesia suspended its membership after refusing to agree to the deal.

Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry, Dr Mohammed Al-Sada, said this at a news conference at the end of the 171 meeting of the Conference of the OPEC on Wednesday in Vienna.

WHO issues new guidlines on HIV self-testing and its benefits

The initiative by the UN health organisation aims to help millions know about their HIV status and get the right treatment. According to the latest WHO progress report, “lack of an HIV diagnosis is a major obstacle to implementing the Organization’s recommendation that everyone with HIV should be offered antiretroviral therapy (ART).”

“Millions of people with HIV are still missing out on life-saving treatment, which can also prevent HIV transmission to others,” said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan in the release.

Sadly, the report shows that 40 per cent of all people affected with the HIV-virus (over 14 million) remain unaware of their status. “Many of these are people at higher risk of HIV infection who often find it difficult to access existing testing services,” the report warns.

Know your status today 

Ukraine conducts missile test

Ukraine's military said its two-day missile drill starting on Thursday would avoid the airspace over Crimea, sidestepping a possible confrontation with Russia which annexed the peninsula in 2014.

The launches have already begun, so everything is going according to plan, Vladimir Kryzhanovsky, the head of the Ukrainian military’s southern branch press-service said on Thursday, as cited by TASS news agency.

According to Kryzhanovsky, the drills will test S-300 medium-range surface-to-air missiles.

Meanwhile, Russian ships from the Black Sea Fleet have taken up positions to the west of the Crimean Peninsula to provide air defense over Russian territory, RIA Novosti news agency reports, citing sources in the military.

Happy new month!!!!

Happy new month to you all