Beijing, Jun 28: A Chinese domestic flight made an emergency landing on Friday after experiencing an “aircraft malfunction”, with passengers reporting loud noises and a foul smell in the plane.

A Shandong Airlines flight from Qingdao to Shanghai experienced an “aircraft malfunction” and the crew diverted to an airport in Nanjing after handling the situation in accordance with procedures to ensure passenger safety, the airline said in a social media post.

Flight SC4667 was forced to make an emergency landing in Nanjing, it said.

“All affected passengers have been properly accommodated, and another aircraft has been dispatched to operate subsequent flights,” the post said.

A user claiming to have been on board the flight said in a social media post that something appeared to have been sucked into the aircraft’s left engine while it was cruising, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Saturday.

“Terrifying,” the user wrote. “There were a few loud bangs, then the plane started shaking side to side by about 10 degrees, with a burnt smell that lasted for five to 10 minutes.”

The captain then announced the emergency landing in Nanjing, and the entire process was “very smooth,” the user said, adding: “Thumbs up to the Shandong Airlines pilots,” the post said.

Tehran, June 28: Iran is set to hold what it has described as a “historic” funeral ceremony in Tehran on Saturday to honour 60 individuals, including senior military commanders and prominent Nuclear scientists, who were killed during the recent 12-day conflict with Israel.

The commemorative events will begin at 8:00 A.M. local time at Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran.

Following the official tributes, a large-scale funeral procession is scheduled to proceed to Azadi Square, approximately 11 kilometres away, where further rites will take place.

Among those being laid to rest is General Mohammad Bagheri, a major leader in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the second-highest-ranking officer in Iran’s armed forces after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Bagheri will be buried alongside his wife and daughter, local media reported.

Also being honoured is Nuclear scientist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, who will be buried with his wife.

In total, four women and four children are among those being commemorated during the ceremony, underlining the human toll of the ongoing hostilities.

The conflict erupted on June 13 when Israel launched a series of strikes, claiming the action was aimed at halting Iran’s alleged pursuit of Nuclear weapons.

The Israeli assault targeted key figures and facilities in Iran, resulting in the deaths of over 30 top commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, including Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami and the head of its Aerospace Forces, Amirali Hajizadeh.

According to Iran’s health ministry, the attacks have left at least 627 people dead and around 4,900 injured.

The funeral ceremonies are expected to draw massive crowds and are being seen as a moment of collective mourning.

Iranian state media have described the occasion as one of the most consequential public funerals in recent memory.

The government has tightened security across the capital ahead of the event, which is expected to be attended by top political and religious leaders, military officials, and thousands of citizens.

United Nations, June 28: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a ceasefire in Gaza following the suspension of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran.

The conflict between Israel and Iran has dominated headlines, but the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza must not be pushed into the shadows, said Guterres. “The ceasefire achieved between Iran and Israel offers hope. And hope is more needed than ever. So it is time to find the political courage for a ceasefire in Gaza.”

Following the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas, Israeli military operations have created a humanitarian crisis of horrific proportions — more dire today than at any point in this long and brutal crisis, he told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.

Families have been displaced again and again, and are now confined to less than one-fifth of Gaza’s land. And even these shrinking spaces are under threat. Bombs are falling — on tents, on families, on those with nowhere left to run. People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families, he noted.

“Let me be clear: Israel, as the occupying power, is required by international law to agree to and to facilitate humanitarian relief,” he said, noting that UN-led humanitarian operations continue to be strangled, Xinhua news agency reported.

For over three months, shelter materials and fuel for critical services have been blocked. Doctors are forced to choose who gets the last vial of medicine, or the last ventilator. Aid workers themselves are starving, he said. “This cannot be normalized.”

A handful of medical supplies finally crossed into Gaza earlier this week — the first from the United Nations in months. But this only underscores the vast scale of the crisis. A trickle of aid is not enough, he said. “What’s needed now is a surge — the trickle must become an ocean. We need concrete actions so aid can reach all people — swiftly, at scale, wherever they are.”

He cautioned that any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarized zones is inherently unsafe, referring to the aid operations of the US-run, Israel-approved Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. “It is killing people.”

The problem of the distribution of humanitarian aid must be solved. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with dangerous schemes, he said. “We (the United Nations) have the solution — a detailed plan grounded in the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence. We have the supplies. We have the experience. Our plan is guided by what people need. It is built on the trust of communities, donors and member states. And it worked during the last ceasefire. It must be allowed to work again.”

It is time for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and full, safe and sustained humanitarian access, he said.

“To those in power, I say: enable our operations as international humanitarian law demands. To those with influence, I say: use it. To all member states, I say: uphold the UN Charter you recommitted to just yesterday for the 80th anniversary,” said Guterres. “Let us bring in the life-saving supplies. Let us reach people where they are. And let us recognize that the solution to this problem is ultimately political.”

The only sustainable path to re-establishing hope is by paving the way to the two-state solution. Diplomacy and human dignity for all must prevail, he said.