CAIRO — Human remains retrieved from the crash site of EgyptAir Flight 804 suggest there was an explosion on board that may have brought down the aircraft in the east Mediterranean, a senior Egyptian forensics official said on Tuesday.

"The logical explanation is that an explosion brought it down," the official told The Associated Press.

The official, who is part of the Egyptian team investigating the crash that killed all 66 people on board the flight from Paris to Cairo early last Thursday, has personally examined the remains at a Cairo morgue. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

All 80 pieces that have been brought to Cairo so far are small. "There isn't even a whole body part, like an arm or a head," said the official, adding that one piece was the left part of a head.

"But I cannot say what caused the blast," he said.

Egyptian authorities have said they believe terrorism is a more likely explanation than equipment failure, and some aviation experts have said the erratic flight reported by the Greek defense minister suggests a bomb blast or a struggle in the cockpit. But so far no hard evidence has emerged.

An independent Cairo daily, al-Watan, quoted an unnamed forensics official in its Tuesday edition as saying the plane blew up in midair but that it has yet to be determined whether the blast was caused by the an explosive device or something else. The official further said the remains retrieved so far are "no larger than the size of a hand."

France's aviation accident investigation agency would not comment on anything involving the bodies or say whether any information has surfaced in the investigation to indicate an explosion.

In a search for clues, family members of the victims arrived Tuesday at the Cairo morgue forensics' department to give DNA samples to help identify the remains of their kin, a security official said. The official also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Egypt has dispatched a submarine to search for the flight's black boxes and a French ship joined the international effort to locate the wreckage and search for the plane's data recorders.

Ships and planes from Britain, Cyprus, France, Greece and the United States are also taking part in the search for the debris from the aircraft, including the black boxes.

Story: Sam Magdy / Associated Press

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LONDON — Oscar-winning actress and activist Angelina Jolie has been appointed a visiting professor at one of Britain's most prestigious universities.

The London School of Economics announced Monday that Jolie will be working with students studying for a master's degree in Women, Peace and Security.

Among others appointed to teach the course is former British Foreign Secretary William Hague.

"I hope other academic institutions will follow this example, as it is vital that we broaden the discussion on how to advance women's rights and end impunity for crimes that disproportionately affect women, such as sexual violence in conflict," Jolie said in a statement.

"I am looking forward to teaching and to learning from the students as well as to sharing my own experiences of working alongside governments and the United Nations."

Story:  Associated Press

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MANCHESTER, England — Replacing Alex Ferguson is proving harder than Manchester United could ever have imagined.

United is looking for its third manager since Ferguson's trophy-laden 26-year dynasty ended in 2013 after firing Louis van Gaal on Monday following months of uncertainty around his position.

Jose Mourinho is set to take over at Old Trafford as the latest coach attempting to revive the fortunes of England's biggest club.

It was beyond David Moyes, who lasted 10 months as Ferguson's hand-picked successor, and now Van Gaal has departed after two underwhelming years when he oversaw more than USD$350 million of spending on new players.

"I am very disappointed to be unable to complete our intended three-year plan," Van Gaal said. "I believe that the foundations are firmly in place to enable the club to move forward and achieve even greater success."

United, the record 20-time English champion, said its "decision on a successor as manager will be announced soon" while giving no names.

Delivering United's first trophy — an FA Cup on Saturday — since Ferguson's retirement was not enough to save Van Gaal. He paid the price for failing to qualify United for next season's Champions League, with the team finishing fifth in the Premier League.

"I hope that winning the FA Cup will give the club a platform to build upon next season to restore the success that this passionate set of fans desire," Van Gaal said.

The 64-year-old Van Gaal could now be heading into retirement. He has also coached Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and the Netherlands in a stellar coaching career.

"Having managed in Holland, Spain and Germany, I had always hoped for the opportunity to manage in English football and be part of English culture," Van Gaal said. "Both of these experiences have lived up to expectations and been fantastic."

United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward praised Van Gaal for behaving with "great professionalism and dignity" in the two years since he replaced Moyes.

"(Van Gaal) leaves us with a legacy of having given several young players the confidence to show their ability on the highest stage," Woodward said.

Indeed, the redeeming feature of Van Gaal's reign was his continuation of the club's long-held policy of giving youngsters a chance, including Jesse Lingard — the scorer of the winning goal in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace. But Van Gaal's turbulent tenure has been marred by accusations from critics that he betrayed United's heritage by playing a defensive, risk-averse style.

Mourinho has been heavily linked with the United job for months and told The Associated Press last week that he would sign a contract with a new team by the end of next month. The Portuguese coach is a serial winner, guiding Chelsea to three Premier League titles in his two spells, but his footballing philosophy and confrontational style has long been regarded as at odds with United traditions.

United has often dominated the league and been European champion three times, but the club has lost its way since Ferguson retired.

Van Gaal arrived with his reputation on a high after leading the Dutch to a third-place finish at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He spoke of implementing his "philosophy" at Old Trafford, which ended up translating as long periods of possession and a pressing game without the ball. He achieved his first aim of qualifying United for the Champions League at the end of his first season, after the club had spent a year out of Europe's top competition.

United even led the Premier League in the early part of this season, but the squad always looked unbalanced — short of strikers and real speed in midfield — and there were reports of senior players being unhappy with Van Gaal's restrictive style of play. United drew 0-0 in five out of nine games in a spell between late October and early December and a soundtrack of "Attack, attack, attack" was the backdrop of many games at Old Trafford as supporters became disgruntled.

Van Gaal's position started to look perilous after United was eliminated from the Champions League in December, and the team was winless in eight games between Nov. 25 and Jan. 2. Van Gaal raised the prospect of quitting during that sticky patch.

He lasted to the end of the season, with speculation about Mourinho — his former assistant at Barcelona — never far away. Guiding United to its first major trophy in 12 years couldn't cover for failing to achieve the target of a top-four finish.

Mourinho's arrival would throw into doubt Ryan Giggs' position at United. The club great has been assistant manager under Van Gaal and was often regarded as the man likely to take over from the Dutchman.

Instead, United appears to have gone for the experience and reputation of Mourinho, which adds spice to the Premier League with Pep Guardiola to start a three-year contract at Manchester City from next season.

The Guardiola-Mourinho rivalry began in Spain, when they were coaches of Barcelona and Madrid, respectively, from 2010-12, and is set to continue in Manchester.

Story: Steve Douglas / Associated Press

HPAKANT, Kachin State — Ywel Jer remembers a time when Saijarbon, an ethnic Kachin village perched upon a hilltop in Hpakant Township, was surrounded by mountains.

In the past 10 years, however, vast mountain areas around the village here in northern Myanmar’s Kachin State have been turned into rubble by large-scale jade mining operations using dynamite and heavy machinery. The changes in the landscape now threaten Saijarbon’s very existence.

“In the past, the mountains near our village were higher than us, but now they have been reduced by 400 or 500 feet,” Ywel Jer said, looking out from the village where some abandoned houses are situated on the edge of a sheer 30-meter drop created by ongoing mining operations below.

“We cannot sleep well here as we fear possible landslides,” the 58-year-old woman said, adding that the rainy season was a particularly perilous time for those living near the mining sites.

Local authorities, she complained, did nothing to regulate mining’s impacts on the landscape, nor did they monitor the safety of the huge, unstable piles of waste the industry creates. Officials only ever asked villagers to make way for jade mining, Ywel Jer said, adding she was forced to relocate four times since 1989.

Myanmar’s multi-billion dollar jade industry has come under increased scrutiny in the past year after an investigation by resource corruption watchdog Global Witness revealed some of the hidden, often army-linked holders of lucrative mining licenses. A string of deadly accidents in recent months involving labourers scavenging through mining waste has highlighted a lack of safety measures on site.

Now, local activists and communities have also begun asking for changes in the industry. They demand that authorities mitigate its heavy environmental impacts and offer communities some of the benefits.

On March 25, 10 civil society organisations from Kachin and Yangon held a press conference in Hpakant calling for a suspension of all mining activity until authorities enforce existing environmental regulations.

They ask that officials set up a commission to reveal individual company ownership, revenues of firms, and whether they adhere to rules and regulations.

Mike Davis, Global Witness’ Asia Director, said, “Local people are calling for a suspension of jade mining because of its severe environmental and social impacts until reforms are put in place. We support that idea.”

Dozens of migrant labourers are seen scavenging mining waste in search of jade in Hpakant Township, Kachin State. Photo: Htet Khaung Linn / Myanmar Now

NLD Pledges Reforms

The new National League for Democracy (NLD) government said this month that it has suspended the issuing of further jade mining licenses and pledged to reform the sector. It has started with improvement of safety around waste dumping, before moving on to reducing environmental impacts and eventually increasing openness about licensing and revenues.

Win Htein, director-general of the Mining Department of the new Ministry for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, was quoted as telling state media on May 20 that safety is an “urgent consideration for the government” and that measures are being taken on the ground.

The report said local authorities had tightened dumping restrictions for companies and attempted to move ‘at-risk’ workers camps to safer areas.

Minister Ohn Win told the Upper House on May 11 that experts will be invited to join a ministerial committee to draft new environmental rules for the jade industry.

Disappearing Mountains, Dangerous Waste Heaps

Lama Lataung, chairman of the Kachin National Development Foundation, estimated that in past decades as many as 50 mountains within a 30-kilometre radius of Hpakant have been reduced to rubble by miners.

Since 2005, mining companies have begun using heavy machinery to speed up jade extraction, according to a recent state media report, which said the number of migrant labourers doing dangerous scavenging through the increasing waste heaps rose through a staggering 300,000 workers in 2015.

Since November, there have been 13 landslides in Hpakant, state media said, including a Nov. 11 landslide that buried 114 labourers and a May 8 incident that killed 13.

Kai Ring, a community activist with Kachin National Development Foundation, said companies nor authorities take responsibility for managing mining tailings. “Waste heaps are not pressed together with machinery to be compact, and then landslides happen,” she said, adding that dynamite explosions and heavy rainfall sometimes trigger the landslides.

Kai Ring also said huge mining trucks of large and medium-sized mining operators often pass through villages at dangerously high speeds, leading to traffic accidents that prompted community protests, most recently on April 2.

Another serious issue is pollution of water resources, Kai Ring added, noting that 12 companies mining next to Uru Creek were dumping waste directly into the creek or onto its banks.

“Flooding will probably more serious this year for the 10 villages along the creek as companies have put huge amounts of waste into it,” she said, adding that according to government rules companies can only dump waste at 12 designated sites and not within 100 meters of the creek.

Large mining trucks are seen inside a deep jade mining pit in Hpakant Township, Kachin State. Photo: Htet Khaung Linn / Myanmar Now

Gems Law Revisions Increase License Duration

In January, President Thein Sein’s then-outgoing government revised the 1995 Gems Law and it was passed by Parliament in February, shortly before the transfer of power to the NLD.

The revised legislation did little, however, to better regulate jade mining’s environmental impacts and amendments mainly concerned lengthening the duration of mining licenses, said Khin Maung Myint, a NLD Upper House MP for Hpakant.

Previously, the maximum duration of a license was five years, but under the revisions a company with an area greater than 50 acres can now hold a 10-year license, a medium-sized firms a five-year license, and companies with less than 30 acres can obtain a three-year license.

Khin Maung Myint said a five-year license would cost an operator around USD$130,000 (4.6 million baht), adding that there are some 350 companies licensed to mine for jade, but only around 100 large firms are actively mining.

Davis, of Global Witness, said bringing transparency and reforms to the revenues and contract conditions of the jade industry – which he described as “a slush fund for powerful hard-liners” – would be a daunting task. But he urged the government to create “early momentum” by trying to include the sector in its 2016 report to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

Myanmar became a candidate for this voluntary revenue transparency scheme in 2014 and has pledged to publish annual reports on revenue earnings, but so far these have concerned oil and gas, and some mining sectors, though not jade.

Story: Htet Khaung Linn

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