Sadiq Khan becomes first London Mayor to join hundreds celebrating Africa on the Trafalgar Square

 
Pic: Sadiq Khan takes photos with people at the Africa celebration event.
Staff reporter(wp/es):
Hundreds of people took to Trafalgar Square today to celebrate Africa as part of Black History Month.
The iconic square came alive with music and dancing at the 'Africa in the Square' event, which is now in its third year.
Sadiq Khan became the first London mayor to ever visit the annual event, which saw vistors enjoy live music, DJs, dancing, food stalls and an African market as the Mayor of London mingled with people and gave a speech.
The celebrations, which include a procession with African drumming and dancing, began at 12pm and will go on until 6pm.
"From Ghana to Gambia, Nigeria to Namibia, South Africa to Somalia, the contribution of African Londoners to our city is immense," Sadiq Khan told the crowds.
 Entrepreneur Kanya King, who founded the MOBO awards which celebrate black artists and music, welcomed Sadiq Khan to the stage and said she was "proud" to introduce the very first London mayor to speak at the event.

Many took to Twitter to share photos of the event, which is organised by the mayor's office.
Yusuf Manneh, said: "Hands up to Africa on the Square. This is just one amazing event, loving every second."
Emma Donnelly shared a photo of crowds listening to music on the stage and said: “I bloody love London."
 On his Facebook page shortly after he appeared at the event, Sadiq Khan said: "From Nigeria to Namibia, the Gambia to Ghana, Africa is beautifully weaved into the tapestry of London life.
 "Amazing energy here at Trafalgar Square - where I'm proud to be the first Mayor of London to attend #AfricaOnTheSquare and join thousands of Londoners to celebrate the contribution our African communities make to our city. #LoveLondon #LondonIsOpen."

Car flipped onto roof in dramatic crash in East Ham East London

Staff reporter(wp/es):
A woman has been taken to hospital after her car overturned following a crash with a parked vehicle in east London.
Emergency services were called to the scene on High Street South in East Ham today to reports of a car overturned in the middle of the road.
The female driver has been taken to hospital.
Her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
An LFB spokeswoman added: "We were called to a motorvehicle in collision with a parked vehicle at 2.25pm. The  driver was not trapped and was removed from the vehicle safely.

"One injured person has been taken to hospital."
The road was closed in both directions at the junction with Norman Road and officers remain at the scene while the incident is being dealt with.

after landing gear emergency British Airways flight was forced to return to Heathrow

Staff reporter(wp/es):
A British Airways flight was forced to make an emergency stop at Heathrow after the plane’s landing gear failed, it has emerged.
The flight, carrying 293 passengers, had to return to the airport when the crew made the shocking discovery that the switch for the landing gear was stuck.
Despite this, the pilot managed to safely land the Boeing 747-436 at Heathrow with only the nose and body landing gear deployed, averting a potential disaster.
The report from the Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB) revealed that the landing gear on the plane had been replaced shortly before the flight from Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
But after take-off the crew found that the landing gear lever could not be moved and decided to return to Heathrow.

Fortunately for the 310 people aboard the flight, the pilots managed to lower part of the gear using the extension procedure.
The plane then landed at Heathrow with half of the plane’s braking power, causing it to slide right to the end of the runway.

The report stated: “The landing gear lever jam was attributed to a maintenance error which had resulted in incorrect rigging of the landing gear lever system.”
The fault in the landing gear has been attributed to a rig pin not being fitted in the equipment
It is believed the problem was caused by an engineer losing concentration when taking a break, as well as an inadequate handover sheet.
The report adds: "The following causal factors were identified by the operator’s maintenance investigation:
"The distraction of the engineer when he saw the quadrant move and he took his break and an inadequate handover between the night shift and the day shift."
The incident happened on January 30 but the AAIB report has only just been released.