Depression and suicidal thoughts among the world's airline pilots are being hidden behind a "veil of secrecy", according to new research.
An anonymous survey of 1,848 pilots from more than 50 countries suggests that 12.6% meet the criteria for clinical depression.
At some point in the preceding fortnight, 75 pilots said they had experienced suicidal thoughts.
Ten male pilots who were surveyed said they had thoughts of self-harm "nearly every day", or felt they would be better off dead.
Additionally, 34 men had feelings of failure and had frequent difficulty concentrating while in the cockpit.
Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health said many pilots with depressive symptoms may not be seeking treatment because it could have a negative impact on their career.
Suicide is believed to have been behind a co-pilot's deliberate decision to crash a Germanwings aircraft into the French Alps, killing all 150 passengers and crew on board in March last year.
Andreas Lubitz had locked the captain out of the cockpit, and an investigation later determined he had suffered from severe depression.
The 27-year-old had seen 41 doctors over five years, and some of them believed he was suffering "psychosis" and was not fit to fly.
However, medical privacy rules meant his employers could not be informed.
Dr Rob Hunter, head of flight safety at the British Airline Pilots' Association, said: "In general, pilots have very good physical and mental health.
"But, as in all walks of life, some pilots suffer from depression and other mental health issues and the problem applies across many, if not all, safety-critical occupations."
There are calls for the airline industry to remove the stigma attached to mental health, in the hope it will remove the fear from discussing or reporting depression.
The president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Professor Sir Simon Wessely, added: "When pilots recover from depression - and people can recover - they are fully able to return to work and should be allowed to do so whilst continuing to be monitored.
"Incidents such as the Germanwings air crash are extremely rare and it is still unclear if this tragedy was related to depression."
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Voices from inside war-torn Aleppo as ceasefire agreed
People in eastern Aleppo, which has been bombarded by months of shelling, bombing and airstrikes, give Sky News an insight into their lives.
They describe their experiences in the city they call home - as rebels and government forces agree another ceasefire and President Assad stands on the brink of a major victory.
Dr Suleiman, from the besieged district of eastern Aleppo, says an internationally-brokered truce was desperately needed to stop more people being killed.
Mojahed Abu Joud, an activist, says he knows people who have been wounded because of the fierce bombing. He recorded his message in the street as explosions rumbled in the background.
Ishmael Alabdullah, a White Helmets volunteer with the Syrian Civil Defense, says he is unable to do his job and save people from the rubble because the bombing is too intense.
Salah Ashkar, an activist and film-maker, says people hoping to get evacuated had to scramble for their lives after a missile fell on the roof of his building.
They describe their experiences in the city they call home - as rebels and government forces agree another ceasefire and President Assad stands on the brink of a major victory.
Dr Suleiman, from the besieged district of eastern Aleppo, says an internationally-brokered truce was desperately needed to stop more people being killed.
Mojahed Abu Joud, an activist, says he knows people who have been wounded because of the fierce bombing. He recorded his message in the street as explosions rumbled in the background.
Ishmael Alabdullah, a White Helmets volunteer with the Syrian Civil Defense, says he is unable to do his job and save people from the rubble because the bombing is too intense.
Salah Ashkar, an activist and film-maker, says people hoping to get evacuated had to scramble for their lives after a missile fell on the roof of his building.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Aleppo: First convoy carrying injured leaves rebel-held areas in city
The first convoy of people needing medical aid has begun to leave rebel-held areas in Aleppo, according to a monitoring group.
The patients will be taken through government territory into countryside held by rebel groups west of the city as agreed in a deal this week.
Around 200 people were expected to be evacuated from the devastated city on three buses and taken to a handover point in rebel-held territory.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said no rebel fighters were among those who had left.
But a rebel official claimed the first ambulances were shot at by pro-Assad militias as they crossed out of the east of the city, wounding three people.
Al-Farook Abu Bakr, the chief negotiator for the rebels, told AFP news agency that the first convoy would only be for wounded people, their carers and other civilians.
He said rebel fighters would be evacuated after the first or second convoy.
Russia has said the rebels will be transported on 20 buses and 10 ambulances in a corridor towards Idlib.
Soldiers will also escort them from the city under orders from President Vladimir Putin, according to state news agencies.
The Russian defence ministry said Syrian authorities had guaranteed the safety of the rebels and their families and added it would use drones to monitor the convoy.
It comes after a new agreement was reached for the evacuation of rebel fighters on Thursday.
The Ahrar al Sham rebel group said negotiators had overcome apparent obstruction by Iran and its militias to block the evacuation.
Syrian rebels have said that Turkey has played a major role in getting Russia to exert pressure on Bashar al Assad to stand by the deal after it was delayed on Wednesday as the fragile ceasefire collapsed amid more airstrikes and shelling in Aleppo.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mr Putin agreed in a phone call on Wednesday to revive the deal.
The patients will be taken through government territory into countryside held by rebel groups west of the city as agreed in a deal this week.
Around 200 people were expected to be evacuated from the devastated city on three buses and taken to a handover point in rebel-held territory.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said no rebel fighters were among those who had left.
But a rebel official claimed the first ambulances were shot at by pro-Assad militias as they crossed out of the east of the city, wounding three people.
Al-Farook Abu Bakr, the chief negotiator for the rebels, told AFP news agency that the first convoy would only be for wounded people, their carers and other civilians.
He said rebel fighters would be evacuated after the first or second convoy.
Russia has said the rebels will be transported on 20 buses and 10 ambulances in a corridor towards Idlib.
Soldiers will also escort them from the city under orders from President Vladimir Putin, according to state news agencies.
The Russian defence ministry said Syrian authorities had guaranteed the safety of the rebels and their families and added it would use drones to monitor the convoy.
It comes after a new agreement was reached for the evacuation of rebel fighters on Thursday.
The Ahrar al Sham rebel group said negotiators had overcome apparent obstruction by Iran and its militias to block the evacuation.
Syrian rebels have said that Turkey has played a major role in getting Russia to exert pressure on Bashar al Assad to stand by the deal after it was delayed on Wednesday as the fragile ceasefire collapsed amid more airstrikes and shelling in Aleppo.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mr Putin agreed in a phone call on Wednesday to revive the deal.
Islamic State terrorists 'hiding in plain sight among migrants'
Islamic State terrorists are "moving in migrant flows, hiding in plain sight", the head of the Armed Forces has warned.
In comments that could reignite the debate around ID cards, Sir Stuart Peach said Britain should think about how it "manages identity" due to the global reach of IS militants who deliberately destroy their identity documents to travel illegally into other countries.
Sir Stuart warned that IS, also known as Daesh, represents the closest danger.
Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute, he said: "I worry about the global reach of Daesh as an idea - copycat, using the internet - more than the internet - using social media, popping up all over the world.
"The Chinese state has accepted they have a problem. This is not now a localised phenomenon, it is now a wider phenomenon.
"And of course we face…a potential network of combat-experienced terrorists".
He added: "They are moving in migrant flows, hiding in plain sight.
"One of the obvious deductions…is how we manage identity in a world where people are deliberately trying to destroy their identity documents and/or they move in migrant flows."
Sir Stuart's comments come as British military personnel arrive in the Middle East to train "moderate" Syrian opposition forces, who are attempting to open up a second front around IS stronghold Raqqa.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said the Syrian forces were being trained in infantry, medical and explosive hazard awareness skills.
Speaking ahead of a summit of defence ministers in London, Sir Michael added that Britain is taking a leading role in the fight against IS "through our airstrikes, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and our training".
At the meeting, the Defence Minister will reveal that he has agreed to "surge" the number of data recovery experts to exploit material obtained as IS forces are defeated or flee from Mosul in Iraq.
In comments that could reignite the debate around ID cards, Sir Stuart Peach said Britain should think about how it "manages identity" due to the global reach of IS militants who deliberately destroy their identity documents to travel illegally into other countries.
Sir Stuart warned that IS, also known as Daesh, represents the closest danger.
Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute, he said: "I worry about the global reach of Daesh as an idea - copycat, using the internet - more than the internet - using social media, popping up all over the world.
"The Chinese state has accepted they have a problem. This is not now a localised phenomenon, it is now a wider phenomenon.
"And of course we face…a potential network of combat-experienced terrorists".
He added: "They are moving in migrant flows, hiding in plain sight.
"One of the obvious deductions…is how we manage identity in a world where people are deliberately trying to destroy their identity documents and/or they move in migrant flows."
Sir Stuart's comments come as British military personnel arrive in the Middle East to train "moderate" Syrian opposition forces, who are attempting to open up a second front around IS stronghold Raqqa.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said the Syrian forces were being trained in infantry, medical and explosive hazard awareness skills.
Speaking ahead of a summit of defence ministers in London, Sir Michael added that Britain is taking a leading role in the fight against IS "through our airstrikes, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and our training".
At the meeting, the Defence Minister will reveal that he has agreed to "surge" the number of data recovery experts to exploit material obtained as IS forces are defeated or flee from Mosul in Iraq.
Yahoo cyber attack
Yahoo says it believes more than one billion user accounts may have had data stolen in a cyber attack in 2013.
In another embarrassing episode for the US technology giant, it was different to the one in 2014, revealed this September, in which 500 million accounts were affected.
It made the latest discovery as it was investigating the hack from two years ago which it had said was "state sponsored", although some analysts questioned that theory.
Yahoo believes an unauthorised third party had stolen the data in the newly revealed hack and said it was working closely with authorities.
It is thought to be the biggest data breach at an email provider.
Stolen user account information may have included names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, "hashed" passwords and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.
Password hashing is a security measure and without it, all passwords stored in a compromised database would be exposed without any form of encryption.
Payment card data and bank account information were not stored in the system believed to be affected and the hackers did not obtain passwords in clear text, the company said.
It said in a statement: "Yahoo believes an unauthorised third party, in August 2013, stole data associated with more than one billion user accounts."
Yahoo said this case "is likely distinct from the incident the company disclosed on September 22, 2016".
Verizon, which is in the process of buying Yahoo for $4.8bn (£3.8bn), said of the 2013 hack: "We will review the impact of this new development before reaching any final conclusions."
The breach disclosed in September had already threatened to derail the deal or result in a reduction in the sale price.
Yahoo used to be one of the internet's biggest names but has failed to keep up with the likes of Google and Facebook.
In the mid-1990s it was among the most popular sites, helping many people navigate the web.
But its fortunes started to fade when Google became the dominant search destination.
In another embarrassing episode for the US technology giant, it was different to the one in 2014, revealed this September, in which 500 million accounts were affected.
It made the latest discovery as it was investigating the hack from two years ago which it had said was "state sponsored", although some analysts questioned that theory.
Yahoo believes an unauthorised third party had stolen the data in the newly revealed hack and said it was working closely with authorities.
It is thought to be the biggest data breach at an email provider.
Stolen user account information may have included names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, "hashed" passwords and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.
Password hashing is a security measure and without it, all passwords stored in a compromised database would be exposed without any form of encryption.
Payment card data and bank account information were not stored in the system believed to be affected and the hackers did not obtain passwords in clear text, the company said.
It said in a statement: "Yahoo believes an unauthorised third party, in August 2013, stole data associated with more than one billion user accounts."
Yahoo said this case "is likely distinct from the incident the company disclosed on September 22, 2016".
Verizon, which is in the process of buying Yahoo for $4.8bn (£3.8bn), said of the 2013 hack: "We will review the impact of this new development before reaching any final conclusions."
The breach disclosed in September had already threatened to derail the deal or result in a reduction in the sale price.
Yahoo used to be one of the internet's biggest names but has failed to keep up with the likes of Google and Facebook.
In the mid-1990s it was among the most popular sites, helping many people navigate the web.
But its fortunes started to fade when Google became the dominant search destination.
South China Sea: Weapons systems installed on islands
China appears to have installed weapons - including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems - on all seven of the artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea.
Citing new satellite imagery, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a US think-tank, said on Wednesday its findings come despite statements by the Chinese leadership that Beijing has no intention to militarise the islands in the strategic trade route, where territory is claimed by several countries.
AMTI said it had been tracking construction of hexagonal structures on Fiery Cross, Mischief, and Subi reefs in the Spratly Islands since June and July. China has already built military length airstrips on these islands.
Satellite images showed what appeared to be anti-aircraft guns and what were likely to be close-in weapons systems (CIWS) to protect against cruise missile strikes, it said.
"These gun and probable CIWS emplacements show that Beijing is serious about defence of its artificial islands in case of an armed contingency in the South China Sea," AMTI said.
Citing new satellite imagery, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a US think-tank, said on Wednesday its findings come despite statements by the Chinese leadership that Beijing has no intention to militarise the islands in the strategic trade route, where territory is claimed by several countries.
AMTI said it had been tracking construction of hexagonal structures on Fiery Cross, Mischief, and Subi reefs in the Spratly Islands since June and July. China has already built military length airstrips on these islands.
Satellite images showed what appeared to be anti-aircraft guns and what were likely to be close-in weapons systems (CIWS) to protect against cruise missile strikes, it said.
"These gun and probable CIWS emplacements show that Beijing is serious about defence of its artificial islands in case of an armed contingency in the South China Sea," AMTI said.
'One billion' affected by Yahoo hack
Yahoo says one billion user accounts affected in another breach of its systems
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