So Julian of Norwich was table-turning? Since when has mysticism been a synonym for a belief in the occult (Quick crossword, 9 June). Saints’ bones will be turning in their tombs.
Christopher Cook
Deal, Kent

I see an alarming trend in your report (9 June). It seems “children are more likely to be bitten by dogs than adults”. Please can you publish the number of incidents of children being bitten by adults?
Vee Singleton
Framlingham, Suffolk

Unless a valid reason is given for denying the referee Omar Artan entry to the US, the other World Cup referees should go on strike (Top African referee Omar Artan refused access to US and will miss World Cup, 8 June).
Frank Cosgrove
Presteigne, Powys

I read Ian Harley’s letter (10 June) about the nine times table and other number bases carefully. I think I understood most of it. The bit I really could not make any sense of was the last phrase: “Such fun.”
Steve Lupton
Prestwich, Greater Manchester

As a Speke lad, I know that the train to Speke would never speak (Letters, 10 June), because there isn’t one – we don’t have a railway station. However, the joke I grew up with was: “What is the quickest way to get a parrot to speak?” The answer: “On an 82 bus.”
Rev Frank Cain
Liverpool

I had a similar quip after running for a bus, when I asked the driver if he was the No 1, as I hadn’t checked. He replied that his wife thought so.
Ann Spencer
Newcastle upon Tyne

The only survivor of the Air India plane crash that killed 260 people in June 2025 has called for “honesty, transparency and answers” a year on from the disaster, and spoken about his “significant psychological scars” and financial hardship.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national, has previously described his fate as a “miracle” after being the only person to survive the incident, in which a Boeing 787 Dreamliner struck a medical college shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport.

The crash killed 241 people onboard the London-bound flight, including 169 Indian nationals and 52 Britons, as well as 19 people who were on or near the site of the incident. A further 67 were seriously injured.

Ramesh, who lost his brother in the crash, demanded answers as investigators are yet to publish their findings. Last month, India’s civil ​aviation minister said the investigation was in the “last stage” and the report would “mostly” be finished by the anniversary of the crash, on 12 June.

Exactly 30 days after the crash last year, the Indian authorities released a preliminary report, which was in line with standard procedure. It found both of the plane’s fuel switches had moved to the “cut-off” position “immediately” after take-off, stopping fuel supply to the engine.

Speaking to the Press Association, Ramesh said there were more “unanswered questions” he wanted addressed, and that his trauma had not ended on the day of the crash. “I live with the significant psychological scars, the loss of my brother, and the constant unanswered questions around how and why this happened,” he said.

“I know those questions are not just on my mind; they are on the minds of every affected family. More than anything, people need honesty, transparency and answers. Nothing will ever change what happened, but families deserve clarity.”

Ramesh has received £21,500 from Air India to support his wife and five-year-old son, according to his representative, Sanjiv Patel, but continues to face financial hardship as well as psychological and emotional.

“We’ve repeatedly asked to meet the chief executive of Air India but that has not happened,” Patel said. “We recently met with executives of Air India and representatives connected to the Tata Group [which has a controlling stake in the business].

“Those discussions were constructive and have resulted in some positive progress, although a number of important issues remain under discussion.”

Patel said that, due to the impact of the crash, Ramesh had not been able to return to work as normal and his family was living on less than £1,000 a month.

Ramesh is also taking civil action. Patel said: “Despite one of the worst aviation disasters involving British citizens in recent years, neither Vishwash nor many of the affected families we have spoken to have received any direct contact or tailored support from the UK government.”

An Air India spokesperson confirmed that representatives from Air India and the Tata Group had met Ramesh, and remained in “close contact” with him and his team. The company said they were “actively working to ensure that appropriate support continues to be extended to him”.

Paul McClorry at Hudgell Solicitors said civil claims were being considered against a number of potential defendants. “We are awaiting the findings of the investigations, and we should finally start to see some clarity as to how and why this awful disaster happened, and, crucially, how it could have been avoided,” he said.

The UK Foreign Office has been approached for comment.

The Dutch airline KLM has offered “sincere apologies” to a Paralympic athlete who was denied access to an onboard wheelchair during a long-haul flight so she could go to the toilet.

The cabin crew on the flight later called the police after the request from Hannah Babalola, 37, who is paraplegic and competes in track events, for the wheelchair, known as an aisle chair as it is narrow enough to be used inside a plane. They first handed her a written notice, headed: “Unacceptable conduct and final warning on behalf of the captain of this plane.”

The incident happened on 26 May, when Babalola, who competes for Nigeria and lives in Chicago, was returning home from a wheelchair-racing event in South Africa.

She had booked the KLM return flight from Chicago to Cape Town, via Amsterdam, as a wheelchair-using passenger. The outbound flight went smoothly, but as she began her return journey she was taken to the plane by wheelchair and asked by cabin crew, once she had boarded, if she would require an aisle chair during the flight. When she said she would – the flight to Amsterdam was almost 11 hours – the problems started.

In a conversation with cabin crew and the captain that she asked permission to record, which was shown to the Guardian, a crew member can be heard saying they could not accept a passenger in need of an onboard chair as it was too dangerous to use during a flight in case of turbulence and that Babalola’s two options were to go to the toilet without using the wheelchair or to “offload” from the plane.

“I needed to get home to Chicago to my family and to get to work and I couldn’t ‘offload’ from the flight,” Babalola said.

Security was called by the cabin crew but declined to take any action against Babalola. When the flight landed in Amsterdam, the crew asked the police at the airport to be on standby, but they too declined to take action.

Babalola transferred to a different connecting flight in Amsterdam to complete the journey to Chicago.

She said: “I felt compelled to avoid eating or drinking for the duration of the flight because I feared needing to use the restroom and being unable to access it. I spent much of the flight trying to control my emotions and I found myself crying because of the way I had been treated.

“This experience was humiliating, distressing, and degrading. The situation caused me significant physical discomfort and emotional distress. I believe that the manner in which I was treated raises serious concerns regarding discrimination and equal treatment. All passengers, regardless of disability or personal circumstances, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”

Babalola made a formal complaint to KLM about her experience.

A member of KLM’s customer service staff replied, stating: “It is very concerning to read about this experience, particularly the distress caused during boarding and throughout the flight. Your account describes a situation that must have felt deeply upsetting and unsettling, especially when travelling with an accessibility need and simply expecting appropriate assistance and respectful treatment.”

They added: “A full review of the circumstances should now be carried out by the appropriate teams. This will typically include examining the reports submitted by the crew and any other relevant information available in relation to the flight. My sincere apologies are extended for the distress and upset this experience has caused.”

The British Paralympian Anne Wafula Strike hit the headlines in 2017 when she was forced to wet herself on a train. The incident triggered a national debate about equal access to transport for people with disabilities.

She said: “Nine years ago I was forced to wet myself on a train because there was no functioning accessible toilet. Almost a decade later, the experience of Hannah Babalola shows we still have a long way to go. It is upsetting that disabled people are having to fight the same battles over and over again just to access the rights that able-bodied passengers have.”

A KLM spokesperson told the Guardian: “We regret that an incident occurred involving one of our passengers on the flight from Cape Town to Amsterdam on 26 May. Out of respect for the privacy of both the passenger and our crew, we find it inappropriate to discuss the details of the situation.”