Jim Paull

KOTA KINABALU: Puntung, the Sumatran female rhinoceros, that attracted global attention last month for enduring dental surgery by a multinational team at Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Lahad Datu, is dying of squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer.

Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) director Augustine Tuuga said the swelling on Puntung’s left cheek that led to the detection of an infected tooth root had worsened and two biopsies carried out post-surgery revealed the rhino was suffering from skin cancer.

“The cancer has been spreading rapidly over the past few weeks. Specialists from several countries concur that it will be fatal with or without treatment.

“As of today, Puntung can no longer breathe through her left nostril, she can no longer vocalise, she is in pain and her condition is declining fast.

“Other than administering painkillers, there is nothing more anyone can do and we are left with no other recourse except to agree with professional medical advice and accordingly, we have authorised euthanasia,” he said in a statement here today, adding that SWD planned to euthanise Puntung on June 15.

Tuuga admitted that to put her to sleep forever was a difficult decision to make, but specialists agreed it was the best move rather than prolonging the rhino’s pain and suffering.

Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora) executive director Dr Junaidi Payne said those who had been involved in Puntung’s life over the past 10 years, including Bora, were devastated by the news.

He said those involved in her welfare included a non-profit international foundation dedicated to preserving rhinos from extinction, SOS Rhino, which monitored Puntung while in the Tabin forest since 2007, those who captured her in 2011, and those who cared for Puntung daily.

“We thank the many people, both in Malaysia and overseas, who heartened us with their good wishes in April and financial support for the dental surgery and follow-up work.

“We would like to record our profound thanks to Sime Darby Foundation, which not only covered the costs of monitoring, capturing, translocating and caring for Puntung since 2009, but whose council members and officers have maintained a constant personal interest in her welfare and progress,” he said.

Payne also said that Bora staff, who had Puntung under intensive care over the past two months, were shocked by the very visible rapid growth in the size of the carcinoma.

“We have kept in close touch with experts in Europe, South Africa and Thailand, and there is no doubt in our minds that any form of conventional treatment would just prolong her agony,” he added.

Payne said Bora was now making preparations to try to recover eggs or oocytes from Puntung, which is estimated to be around 25 years of age.

“With that, she may yet be able to contribute to the survival of her species,” he said.

Update 4:25pm: American Airlines has updated their travel waiver terms for the better and worse. The waiver now covers flights in and out of London and Manchester both today and Sunday, but rebooked travel must be between May 28-30, which is a smaller window than before.

Update 11:50am: As reported by TPG Contributor Alex Macheras and BBC News, British Airways has now cancelled all London flights for the rest of the day, extending the original 6pm halt.

In addition, American Airlines — a British Airways Oneworld partner — has posted a travel waiver for passengers traveling today through London/Heathrow (LHR), London/Gatwick (LGW) and Manchester (MAN). The airline will waive change fees for those traveling on either airline using AA tickets if you bought your ticket by May 26, 2017, and can travel May 28 through June 3 without changing your origin or destination city.

Enormous lines formed at London airports today as British Airways cancelled all flights in and out of Heathrow (LHR) and Gatwick (LGW) due to a global IT meltdown.

The flight stoppage, which is in effect until at least 6pm London time (1pm EST), caused severe disruptions at the airports. Social media posts depicted massive crowds at Heathrow and customers accused the airline of not providing any guidance to delayed travelers.

Incoming passengers also reported not being able to deboard British Airways planes after landing in London.

Even passengers already in the Heathrow terminal said the airline was refusing to let them leave, possibly due to malfunctioning doors.

British Airways said there was no evidence of a cyberattack, but the tech fail practically brought the airline to a standstill. Online check-in appears to be unavailable to passengers worldwide while check-in kiosks in London were not working either. The carrier urged passengers not to go to either of the London airports until the flight stoppage is lifted.

The issue could end up being costly for the airline as the European Union has strict laws regarding compensation for travelers who experience long delays or flight cancellations. Travel crowds were expected to be large this weekend, which is a bank holiday in the United Kingdom.

H/T: The New York Times 

Featured image courtesy of Getty Images.

Here are eight of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

PETALING JAYA: PPBM has poured cold water on the findings of a recent survey conducted by a PKR-linked research entity and questioned the credibility of the methodology used.

The survey, conducted by Invoke Malaysia, revealed that former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was the preferred candidate for prime minister should the opposition win the next general election. Rafizi Ramli, the founder of Invoke, revealed the survey findings recently.

PPBM policy and strategy bureau chairman Rais Hussin however said details of the survey raised doubts, in particular the extremely low number of respondents surveyed.

“This is unacceptable in a scientific study of quality because we don’t know why and who the 99.36% of the respondents, who were selected but did not answer (the questionnaire) are,” he said.

Rafizi revealed that Invoke carried out the survey over more than three months involving 2.8 million voters, out of which 18,000 responded but 34.4% did not give answers.

This meant that about 11,500 of the 2.8 million, or less than 0.7%, answered questions in the survey.

According to Rais, the response rate was too low and could not be used to gauge the views of voters in general.

In the Invoke survey findings, out of 18,000 who gave responses, 31% wanted Najib Razak to remain as prime minister while 34.6% spread their choices over nine opposition candidates, including Rafizi.

Among the nine candidates from the opposition, Anwar received the support of 23.5%, followed by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang (17.6%), PPBM chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad (16.5%) and PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin (12.6%).

Rais, who had earlier announced the findings of his own research through face-to-face interviews of nearly 3,000 Malaysians in more than 30 constituencies, also questioned how Invoke picked 2.8 million voters who were contacted via telephone.

“What was the basis for the selection? It should be noted that a large sampling size might not necessarily yield a more accurate estimate and might be viewed as a non-scientific assumption and numbers game using the basis of a large sample size to claim high quality findings,” said Rais.

He also questioned the absence of a clear explanation of the demographic details of the respondents – such as their distribution according to state, sex and age – even though there was disclosure of respondents according to race in order to reflect the true popularity of the prime ministerial candidate.

“Without such data, analysis of the survey findings would be limited, he added.

Rais said Rafizi’s findings should be scrutinised by an independent group of experts, without which the findings, conclusions and recommendations could easily be disputed.

PETALING JAYA: It would have been quite a distinction to have been compared with the president of the United States of America under most US administrations in the past, but nowadays, such a comparison would be cringeworthy for any world leader.

Hence, Time magazine putting up a list of five world leaders and calling them “less popular” than US President Donald Trump would not be a proud moment for any national leader.

Unfortunately for Prime Minister Najib Razak, he has been included into this “exclusive club” by Time, along with Nicolas Maduro (President of Venezuela), Jacob Zuma (President, South Africa), Michel Temer (President, Brazil) and Alexis Tsipras (Prime Minister, Greece).

The most glaring similarity between Najib and Trump would be on the issue of the popular vote.

Najib’s Barisan Nasional (BN) won a majority of the parliamentary seats in the last general election to hold on to power despite having won only 47% of the total votes cast.

Similarly, Trump won the US presidential election last November based on the electoral college system giving him the edge, with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton garnering 2.9 million more votes than Trump in the final count.

According to Time magazine, Trump’s approval rating currently sits at just under 40%.

Over in Malaysia, the renowned weekly reported that Najib’s approval rating is at record lows.

Still, there is little to worry about for the Umno president with his party and the ruling coalition, BN, very much in control of their future, with a view to extending its 60-year rule in the next general election.

The timing of the article naming Najib as one of five world leaders “less popular” than Trump also seems ironic with both leaders recently pictured together in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the summit of leaders of Muslim-majority nations with Trump, which ended on Monday.

Of the other four leaders named in the list by the renowned publication, all the countries led by these men are currently facing economic hardships with Venezuela being under the spotlight in recent weeks after suffering a drastic hike in inflation that has resulted in deadly riots across the nation.

Oil-producing nations

Venezuelans have taken to the streets daily to violently protest Nicolas Maduro’s government amid crippling food and medicine shortages.

According to Time, Maduro has the misfortune of presiding over a country whose economy is almost wholly dependent on oil with over 95% of export revenues coming from it.

Hence, the low oil prices is a problem that has been compounded by severe financial mismanagement over many years.

The other oil-producing nation in the list is Brazil whose leader only took the helm after his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached and subsequently forced out of office.

Brazil’s Michel Temer is now said to have an approval rating in the single digits. Time reports that he could be the second consecutive president to be impeached in the land of the samba and football.

“The slowdown of the global economy and the accompanying crash in commodity prices have hit Brazil hard, leading to the country’s worst recession ever,” Time said of Brazil’s economy, where the GDP has fallen more than 7% in the last two years.

Meanwhile, Jacob Zuma, who took over the presidency of South Africa in 2009, has seen the country’s economy slide, and the currency losing a third of its value.

According to Time, with his popularity numbers being in the 20% range, Zuma is now grooming his ex-wife to be his political successor to protect himself from prosecution once he leaves office.

Finally, Alexis Tsipras of Greece, has been hit by an economic collapse that preceded his tenure as prime minister.

However, his popularity has dipped with the Greeks blaming him for some promises made prior to his 2014 election victory, that have not been fulfilled.

Malaysia Airlines is changing over to a new reservation system on June 10 to “enable Malaysia Airlines to meet passengers’ changing travel needs.” Whatever that means. While Malaysia’s reason for making the change is unclear, one thing is clear: the airline is taking this opportunity to devalue its miles.

Here’s what’s changing and what you might want to use your Malaysia Enrich miles — or Citi ThankYou Points, if you can ever get them to transfer — to book before the change.

In This Post

Award Redemptions — Malaysia Airlines Flights

After Malaysia’s horrible 2015, you might not have any interest in flying the airline’s own flights. However, we actually found Malaysia’s economy product to be nice.

Malaysia devalued its own award chart in 2015, making its award flights already a bad deal. Turns out, the airline isn’t done cutting.

Award redemptions: As part of the new reservation system, Malaysia Airlines is switching to a full revenue-based system for its own flights — basing the price of the award on the revenue price of the flight rather than a fixed award chart price. No redemption rate has been stated yet, but Loyalty Lobby calculates it to be an abysmal ~0.33 cents per mile based on examples provided by Malaysia Airlines.

Revenue-based redemption programs aren’t always bad. After all, you can get sometimes redeem miles for JetBlue, Southwest and Virgin America flights for cheap during a sale. However, it’s clear Malaysia wants to avoid any sweet spots: Discount economy fares (Q, O, G) and discount business class fares (Z) “are excluded and cannot be booked in miles”. So, you’re likely going to have to redeem miles for a more expensive ticket that the cheapest-available option.

Upgrades: Similarly, the bottom five economy booking fare codes (S, N, Q, O, G) cannot be upgraded from economy to business class. The cost of the upgrade depends on whether you look at the website version of the updates or the PDF version.

Malaysia’s website lists these new upgrade prices:

The PDF version of the Malaysia changes shows different upgrade prices:

Malaysia notes that it’s removing the cash fuel surcharges on award redemptions on its own flights. But, you’ll still be paying these fuel surcharges as part of the total revenue-based redemption price.

Good news for families: Rather than charging a full adult redemption cost, you can “redeem an Award Ticket on Malaysia Airlines operated flights for your infant based on infant far.” [sic]

Miles & Cash: Malaysia is eliminating its current option to buy miles to top off your account for a redemption — currently called “Enrich Express”. It’s adding a new “Miles & Cash” option, allowing you to partially pay with miles. Note that you won’t earn mileage credit for any flights purchased with Miles & Cash, and there’s no refund of the miles portion if you cancel your booking.

Questions about the new Enrich program not covered in the Q&A? Looks like you’ll have to wait: “Please refer to Enrich programme’s terms and conditions which will be made available on 10 June 2017.”

Award Redemptions — Partner Flights

While Malaysia is switching to a revenue-based program for its own flights, partner awards will remain distance-based. However, the distance bands are different before and after June 10 making an apples-to-apples comparison is hard. Due to this quirk, some awards will actually decrease, but most will increase. The biggest jump: one-way, premium cabin and ultra-long-haul awards.

Current award chart:

New award chart:

As you can see, one-way awards are currently priced at half of the round-trip cost. Starting June 10, one-way fares will be around 65% of the round-trip cost.

For premium cabins, it’s bad news. Let’s take a look at some examples:

What to Book Before June 10

Based on the changes noted above, here are the flights you’ll want to book before June 10:

• Any awards on Malaysia Airlines flights
• Non-Oneworld partner one-way bookings
• Premium cabin partner awards
• Ultra-long-haul partner redemptions

So, that’s pretty much everything.

Since redemptions for Malaysia’s own flights are already a pretty bad deal, you’re going to want to focus your Enrich miles on partner awards — particularly if you want to get a one-way business/first class award.

The terms and conditions note that you won’t be able to cancel an award ticket purchased before June 10 after the reservation system change. However, you can make changes to your travel dates “within ticket validity.”

If you’re set on an Enrich redemption, but there’s no award availability for your preferred dates, it might be worth booking an award now and changing the dates later. If you only change the dates, you’ll have to pay change fees “subject to the terms and conditions at time of the original redemption ticket issued.” If you change the destination, change fees and the difference in mileage will apply to the change.

If you need to top off your account for a redemption, Citi ThankYou Points transfer to Malaysia’s Enrich program at a 1:1 ratio. However, our test transfer didn’t go so well.

Bottom Line

If you’ve got a stash of Enrich miles, you’re going to want to burn through them in the next 2.5 weeks. If you’re not already acquainted with the Enrich mileage program, there are a few gems. But, you’re going to need Citi ThankYou points, some patience and persistence to get to them.

H/T: One Mile at a Time

KUALA LUMPUR: The main contractor of the KL Eco City development in Bangsar has been charged with safety negligence in the collapse of a link bridge last November that caused the death of a site worker.

Tuck Sin Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd was charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court yesterday under the Malaysian Construction Industry Development Board Act Section 34B(1)(C).

The action was initiated by the Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB).

According to a statement from CIDB chief prosecuting officer Abdul Razak Husin, findings by the CIDB revealed that the contractor had failed to adhere to construction site safety requirements under CIDB’s Act 520 (Amendment 2011).

“This is the main reason we have taken legal action against the contractor. However, the contractor has called for hearing and the case will be up for mention on May 31,” he was quoted as saying by The Sun daily.

If found guilty, Tuck Sin Engineering & Construction which is the main contractor of the project could be fined not more than RM500,000 or its officers may face a jail sentence of not more than two years, or both.

A half-completed 70m long pedestrian bridge to connect the KL Eco City to The Gardens shopping mall in Mid Valley City collapsed on Nov 29, killing a 21-year old Vietnamese worker and injuring five of his colleagues.

KL Eco City, undertaken by SP Setia, is touted as a “world class city-within-a city” on 25-acres of prime land. It is a mixed development of commercial, retail space and luxury residential property.

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has promised to act against corrupt politicians – after the general election.

MACC chief Dzulkifli Ahmad said they did not want to act against politicians now as it could be used a campaign fodder in GE14.

In an interview with Mingguan Malaysia, he said many people had queried an earlier announcement by MACC that it would go all out against any politician after GE14.

He advised political parties to save themselves a lot of grief by only choosing “clean” people to contest as assemblymen and MPs.

“If this is not done, don’t blame us if we come knocking on their doors after GE14.

“I don’t make empty promises or populist statements.

“I have only one word for those who are corrupt – wait.”

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also home minister, said his ministry would give MACC its support and whatever assistance was needed to combat the scourge of corruption.

He said MACC had absolute power to hunt down anyone, be they politicians, businessmen or public officers.

Of late, MACC had been active arresting businessmen and public officers for indulging in corrupt practices.

Zahid said MACC had extensive legal provisions to investigate and conduct searches and it should use these provisions to take action.

Zahid: MACC given ample freedom to act against corrupt

‘Home ministry ready to work with MACC in fighting corruption’

MACC to prosecute at least one case each week

Budget-friendly chicken thighs — cooked simply in some olive oil with salt and pepper — consistently deliver juicy, flavorful results. But sometimes you want to punch things up a little, even if it's a weeknight and you don't have much time to spare or energy to expend. Enter: this sticky-sweet lemon-turmeric glazed chicken with honey, black pepper, and curry powder.

READ MORE »

(Image credit: Entrance Makleri)

From Apartment Therapy → Move Over, Subway Tile: 7 Inexpensive (and Timeless) Backsplash Ideas

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McDonald’s has apparently given up on the idea of associating its food with even moderately enjoyable moments in life. Instead, the fast food giant decided to go dark — like, really dark — for a recent ad that markets the chain’s fish sandwich as some sort of replacement for a dead father.

BBC News reports that McDonald’s apologized Monday for upsetting customers who believed the Golden Arches’ latest commercial glossed over the seriousness of childhood bereavement.

The commercial, which began running in the UK this week, features a young boy going through the belongings of his deceased father. The boy then asks his mom what his dad was like, the two discuss him on a walk through town, with the boy wondering if he had anything in common with the man.

They eventually reach McDonald’s where the boy orders a Filet-O-Fish, to which the mother replies, “that was your dad’s favorite, too.”

Customers quickly accused the company of exploiting childhood bereavement, calling the advertisement insensitive.

A rep for McDonald’s tells BBC News that the commercial was meant to “highlight the role McDonald’s has played in our customers’ everyday lives – both in good and difficult times.”

The company replied to several customers on Twitter, noting that it was never its intention to upset anyone with the ad. Additionally, the company says it is currently reviewing all customer feedback on the commercial.

RIYADH: National oil giant Saudi Aramco IPO-ARMO.SE expects to sign US$50 billion of deals with US companies on Saturday, part of a drive to diversify the kingdom’s economy beyond oil exports, Aramco’s chief executive Amin Nasser said.

Nasser was speaking to reporters at a conference of scores of senior U.S. and Saudi business executives, coinciding with the visit of US President Donald Trump to Riyadh.

He said 16 agreements with 11 companies would be signed, including memorandums of understanding for joint ventures. Officials said earlier that many of the agreements would flesh out previously announced plans.

“We expect the deals signed today to provide a boost to bilateral trade between both countries,” Nasser said, adding that Aramco currently spent US$6.5 billion a year on goods and services from US suppliers.

Among the deals, executives said, were a plan by Jacobs Engineering Group Inc for a joint venture with Aramco to manage business projects in the kingdom, and a plan by McDermott International to transfer some of its ship fabrication facilities from Dubai to a new shipbuilding complex which Aramco will build within Saudi Arabia.

Top Saudi economic policy makers, including the finance minister and head of the kingdom’s main sovereign wealth fund, described ways in which they planned to attract US capital and technology. Officials said they aimed to prepare new rules covering direct investment by foreign firms within 12 months.

“We want foreign companies to look at Saudi Arabia as a platform for exports to other markets,” Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told the conference.

The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is one of my favourite places in Asia. Every time I visit the capital of Myanmar, I never miss the chance to visit this architectural wonder.

And no matter how many times I come here, I always find myself spellbound by its majestic splendour and the surreal aura of the place.

As I am writing this, I am sitting in a lotus position, in a spot overlooking a giant smiling Buddha at the pagoda. A few feet away from me are rows of Buddhist monks deep in meditation.

Occasionally a gong sounds, gently beaten by a devotee making a wish. And from afar, I hear the sounds of magical chants, so sacred, so pleasing to my ears.

I am not a Buddhist but this air of holiness and spiritual tranquillity is overwhelming. It is so captivating that I cannot help but submit to its majestic wonder.

I feel almost transported to a whole new world, to a wonderful state of divinity, where I feel very close to God.

It is true what my Burmese friends say – that the 2,500-year-old Shwedagon Pagoda that guards eight strands of Buddha’s hair inside its main stupa – reveals the heart of the people.

Sitting here, I feel almost invisible in the midst of monks, worshippers and visitors from all walks of life.

I place my pen and notebook by my side, close my eyes, join my palms and begin reciting my prayers.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim (In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful).

While surrounded by the sounds of Sanskrit chants, the smell of incense and jasmine flowers, the presence of Buddhist monks and worshippers, my heart still speaks only to Allah, for He is my saviour, my Lord, the Only One I believe in.

Truth is, being a guest in places of worship other than my own, is nothing new to me. In past years, I have taken great pleasure in spending hours inside churches and temples. I even bring my children with me during such visits. For me, understanding the faith of my friends, neighbours and members of the community I share my space with, is of tremendous importance.

But never once during these encounters and experiences have I found myself admiring the Gods of others. Even the majestic Shwedagon Pagoda which I adore so much does not shake my belief in Allah, not even one bit.

I guess that’s what happens when you have deep faith in your God – your heart submits to the only One you love.

That is aqidah. To have absolute faith is aqidah. And as a Muslim, I was taught from very young that nothing is comparable to aqidah, for if you do not possess aqidah, your faith in your religion is fragile, your love for Allah is weak.

Sadly, today there are Muslims whose faith or aqidah easily crumbles upon doing the simplest things such as reading books about someone else’s religious journey.

Astaghfirullahalazim.

I know many people, who are not Muslims like me, possess a very deep connection to their respective Gods – just as I do with mine.

They go through life every single day listening to five separate calls to prayer to a different God. They listen to recitals from a Holy Book different from theirs and they endure preachings about the greatness of someone else’s religion.

But none of these alters their aqidah, for their love towards their God is too great – like my love for mine.

Alhamdulillah.

“Muslim?” asked a Burmese men seated next to me as I gently rubbed my face with my palms, ending my prayers.

“Yes,” I answered.

“I am Kyaw, I am a Buddhist. This is my friend Simon from the UK. He is Christian. We are of different religions but all in this Pagoda,” he said with a smile. “I am going to show him the Jataka. You want to join us?”

“Jataka?” I asked.

“Stories of the previous lives of Buddha, painted on the wall. You should come see it,” Kyaw said.

“Sure. Sounds interesting.”

So I got up and joined the two for a little storytelling, confident in the knowledge that no matter how many stories I heard, or how fascinating I found them to be, nothing could affect my love and admiration for Allah.

Fa Abdul is an FMT columnist.

With a firm belief in freedom of expression and without prejudice, FMT tries its best to share reliable content from third parties. Such articles are strictly the writer’s personal opinion. FMT does not necessarily endorse the views or opinions given by any third party content provider.

A town in Indonesia is painting the town red…and pink, green, blue and yellow. Kampung Pelangi — also known as the “Rainbow Village” — is the newest hotspot to blow up on Instagram. The town, which is located in Randusari, Indonesia, has become a must-see (and post) locale ever since undergoing an extreme makeover.

A post shared by idealista Italia (@idealistait) on May 17, 2017 at 6:38am PDT

Last month, the village was awarded about $22,000 by the local council committee to give the small town a technicolor makeover with the hopes of drawing in more tourists. From afar, the village looks like a rainbow dream but for explorers who adventure into the city, art can be found around every corner.

A post shared by Achmad Syarifudin (@jalidin) on May 18, 2017 at 12:05am PDT

Murals are all around the city featuring designs like angel wings, dinosaurs, geometric shapes and men walking in technicolor rain. The effort put in by the community to transform the village seems to be paying off. The vibrant village has been trending on social media as Instagram savvy travelers rush to get the perfect shot.

A post shared by baby_ehan (@momon_aja) on May 16, 2017 at 9:09pm PDT

The town, which used to known as a slum, has completely turned around with more clean-up and renovations set for the future.

H/T: Vogue

Featured image courtesy of Arief Rakhman via Instagram.

There's nothing like getting a baguette straight out of the oven from your local bakery. It's perfect to eat by itself or as the bookends to a wonderful sandwich. Why is it just so delicious? It turns out the secret may be in the crust. According to research published in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the crackly crust is non-negotiable, as it gives the bread its aroma and, in turn, its perceived flavor.

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When you think about a short flight, you probably envision hops between NYC and Philadelphia or Los Angeles and Las Vegas. But when we say this is a short flight — we mean it. In fact, this particular flight lasts only about 12 minutes. TPG contributor and aviation industry analyst Alex Macheras recently took a ride on a turbo prop from Sao Miguel (PDL) to Santa Maria (SMA) — two beautiful islands located in the Portuguese Azores archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean (about a two and a half hour flight from Lisbon).

Alex got the chance to sit up front in this Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 for the very quick hop — and captured it on video for your viewing pleasure. The flight’s operated several times daily as a commuter route between the two islands, and frankly looks like a fantastic way to spend 12 minutes of your day. It’s incredible that you can get transported from one island paradise to another in such a short time. Oh, and the views are pretty amazing too. Check out Alex’s video below:

Time to fly! Watch here and join me in the flight deck — I’m island hopping in the Azores, from island São Miguel, to Santa Maria. #Azores pic.twitter.com/ig0268CD6f

— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) May 19, 2017

What’s the shortest flight you’ve ever been on?

Here are six of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

Dutch King Willem Alexander revealed in an interview this week that on occasion he flew KLM Fokker 70 aircraft anonymously as a qualified Co-Pilot as a ‘hobby on the side’.

The King is now retraining to fly Boeing 737 aircraft for the company as the Fokkers are gradually phased out of the fleet.

There are a couple well known people who pilot jets such as Richard Branson or John Travolta but that a King does this in regular scheduled service is really interesting.

You can read more about this at The Guardian (access here).

The Dutch king has revealed that for more than two decades he has, alongside his royal duties, held down a part-time second job.

In a newspaper interview published on Wednesday, King Willem-Alexander said that he recently ended his role as a regular “guest pilot” after 21 years on KLM’s fleet of Fokker 70 planes and before that on Dutch carrier Martinair.

As a guest flier, the king worked about twice a month, always as co-pilot. He will now retrain to fly Boeing 737s as the Fokkers are being phased out of service. The 50-year-old father of three and monarch to 17 million Dutch citizens calls flying a “hobby” that lets him leave his royal duties on the ground and fully focus on something else. …

Willem-Alexander said he is rarely recognised by passengers, especially since security was tightened on board planes in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Actually the new King of Thailand is also known for piloting his own jets even though while I don’t doubt that King Willem Alexander undergoes the required training and certification I’m not so sure about his counterpart.

Conclusion

Simple essence of the matter: It’s good to be King!

Not many people have the privilege to say ‘I feel a bit bored, let’s fly a passenger plane as a side gig’ unless they either own an airline such as Sir Richard Branson or have significant influence such as a Monarch even in modern times (at least in certain countries).

Being a royal is a job that comes with many public duties — from military service to charity events to foreign diplomacy. But one royal, Dutch King Willem-Alexander, pursued another career during his reign — commercial airline pilot.

The Dutch king revealed to De Telegraaf newspaper that he has worked as a KLM pilot twice a month for the past 21 years. Willem-Alexander acceded to power in 2013 when Queen Beatrix abdicated the Dutch throne, but didn’t quit his day job. While the monarch did admit to being recognized occasionally, he conceded that it was a rare occurrence when donning his KLM uniform and pilot’s cap.

“The advantage is that I can always say I am speaking on behalf of the captain and crew to welcome (passengers) aboard, so I don’t have to say my name,” the royal told the newspaper.

The king, who only flew short haul flights in case he was needed back at home, said he found taking a break from his royal duties to fly “relaxing.” With KLM upgrading their short haul fleet to Boeing’s 737, the royal will be taking a short break from flying to learn the controls of the new plane. The king intends to continue flying after his training, so stay alert on your next KLM flight — you may be in the presence of royalty.

And, as always, Twitter’s got jokes:

H/T: The New York Times 

Featured image of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima courtesy of Patrick van Katwijk via Getty Images.

(Image credit: Maria Siriano)

This is a darn fine coffee cake, with a sweet vanilla cake, generous streusel and nuts throughout, and a cinnamon-vanilla aroma that will make your house smell better than a bakery. Oh, and the cake part still only requires one bowl, thanks to our one-bowl vanilla cake. That first cup of coffee is starting to look even better.

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If you still haven’t upgraded your morning routine up a life-changing wake-up light, Philips’ entry level model just got a big price drop.

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(Image credit: 101 Cookbooks)

Have you ever heard of a Pizookie? This pizza-meets-cookie creation is really just a giant cookie baked in a skillet. Fuss-free but always a crowd-pleaser, this skillet cookie is basically the perfect dessert. And if you have a few whole-grain enthusiasts coming over, they'll appreciate the fact that this skillet cookie is made with 100 percent whole-wheat flour.

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Banoffee pie, as in "banana toffee pie," strikes an amusing balance between buttery rich sweetness and everyday fruit flavors. This playfulness is exactly what makes it extraordinary. This no-bake pie cuts into a buttery cookie crust full of a creamy brown sugar-flavored toffee filling. Just try saying that three times fast! Topping the sumptuous toffee filling with seemingly ordinary bananas and barely sweetened whipped cream brings balance back to every bite. Be assured this is still one seriously sweet dessert, but one that leaves a wake of ardent admirers in its wake.

Learn how to whip up a picture-perfect crumb crust and a sweet toffee filling, and make the best banoffee pie you'll ever have with this recipe.

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There is a smoothie shop next to my gym that sells all kinds of protein-enhanced smoothies and shakes. It is generally filled with Spandex-clad exercisers drinking from sippy cups of nutritionally enhanced produce, and they look happy about it.

But do they need protein shakes? Do I need a protein shake? Is a lack of lean post-workout protein what is standing between me and the fullest realization of my dormant muscles? Also, how different are my protein requirements — I am what we'll generously call a "moderate exerciser" — from those of an actual athlete, like a marathoner, or a person who stays at the gym for more than 50 consecutive minutes?

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PARIS: The bone-crunching bite of Tyrannosaurus Rex was like no other, according to a study released Wednesday that solidifies the fabled carnivore’s reputation as the most fearsome of dinosaurs.

T. Rex could not only crack the biggest of bones, it could also pulverise and ingest them, absorbing marrow and minerals beyond the reach of less well-endowed competitors, researchers reported.

“The combination of impressive bite force and stout teeth set T. Rex apart,” lead author Paul Gignac, an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University, told AFP.

“It regularly scored, deeply punctured and even sliced through bones.”

Gignac and Gregory Erickson from Florida State University built on earlier attempts to measure T. Rex’s bite force by adding comparisons with predators roaming the wild today.

Wolves and hyenas, for example, are also able to crush bones with their teeth, accessing nutritious marrow.

Their secret? So-called occluding teeth that fit together perfectly, top-and-bottom, a feature common in carnivorous mammals.

T. Rex lacked such dental gear, raising the question of how they managed to shatter resistant bones the size of small tree trunks.

“Without occlusion, it is typical for food items to rotate and shift as teeth are being engaged,” making it difficult to get a firm grasp, said Gignac.

To be sure, sheer power counts for something.

The study found that T. Rex’s jaw exerted a crushing 3.6 tonnes (8,000 pounds) of force, equivalent to the weight of three mid-sized cars.

Extreme limits

Even more impressive, the dinosaur’s tooth pressure — a new metric devised by the researchers — was even greater: an astounding 30 tonnes per square centimetre (431,000 pounds per square inch) of dental surface.

But even that may not have been enough to get the job done, the study found.

Saltwater crocodiles, the world’s largest living reptiles, exert nearly as much pressure despite their much smaller size. They use that power, however, to capture not chew their prey, swallowing them whole instead.

The difference is that T. Rex — even if it lacked occluding teeth — still have the necessary equipment to make short work of bones.

“It had extraordinarily large, conical and strongly rooted teeth that were replaced after being worn every couple of years,” Gignac explained.

The findings, reported in the journal Scientific Reports, show that “sophisticated feeding systems more commonly associated with modern mammals also appeared during the Age of Dinosaurs,” he added.

Interestingly, the limit to T. Rex’s bite force was probably not muscular, but the capacity of its teeth to withstand such intense stress.

Crocodiles and T. Rex “are probably operating at tooth pressures that are nearing the extreme structural limits of what reptilian tooth enamel can handle,” Gignac said.

T. Rex’s grip, in other words, may be just what is needed to fracture bones. Any more might have caused irreparable damage to the king’s pearly whites.