Dense fog hindered rescuers who fanned out across the mountainous terrain of Salang Pass on Monday to search for the wreckage of an Afghan passenger plane that disappeared early Monday with 44 passengers on board.
Late Monday night, authorities said they suspected the plane may have gone down farther south, closer to its destination of Kabul International Airport.
The U.S. State Department said one American was aboard the plane.
Turkey: Mine blast traps 32
An explosion ripped through a major coal mine near the Black Sea port of Zonguldak on Monday, trapping 32 workers underground, authorities said. There was no immediate word on the explosion’s cause. It was the third mine accident in Turkey in the past six months.
Iraq: World Cup plot alleged in militant’s detention
Iraqi security forces have detained an al-Qaida militant suspected of planning an attack targeting the World Cup in South Africa next month, an official said Monday. Abdullah Azam Saleh al-Qahtani, an officer in the Saudi army, is suspected of planning a “terrorist act” in South Africa during the World Cup beginning June 11, a security services spokesman said. Also Monday, assailants disguised in Iraqi military uniforms beheaded a Sunni cleric and stuck his head on an electricity pole in the town where he preached against al-Qaida, the cleric’s son and Iraqi police said.
Britain: Ash-safety rules relaxed for airplanes
Aviation authorities introduced relaxed flight safety rules Monday to minimize more disruptions caused by a volcano eruption in Iceland, as three of Europe’s busiest airports reopened after a dense volcanic ash cloud dissipated. Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority said it agreed with airlines, regulators and engine manufacturers on new rules that would let planes fly for a limited time through higher ash densities than currently allowed. The rules are subject to airlines getting a guarantee from their engine makers that their aircraft can safely tolerate the ash.
Pennsylvania: Woman gets life for cutting baby from womb
A woman who in 2008 lured a pregnant Kia Johnson to her apartment, drugged her, cut the child from the womb to try to pass it off as her own and killed the teen was sentenced Monday to life in prison plus 20 years. The penalty for Andrea Curry-Demus, 40, of Wilkinsburg was largely determined in March when Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey Manning found her guilty but mentally ill of second-degree murder. That carries the mandatory life sentence imposed formally on Monday, and Manning tacked on 20 years for kidnapping, saying, “It would be a huge injustice if you were ever released into society.”
D.C.: Nomination for TSA chief
The White House announced Monday that President Barack Obama would nominate FBI Deputy Director John Pistole to head the Transportation Security Administration. Pistole began his career with the FBI in 1983, rising through the ranks of the agency’s counterterrorism division. He’s served as deputy director since 2004.
Social Security needs ‘tweaks’
A new report from the Senate Special Committee on Aging says Social Security’s big shortfall can be wiped out with just modest “tweaks” to payroll taxes and benefits. The report says Social Security faces a $5.3 trillion shortfall over the next 75 years. Some of the options in the report are politically dangerous, such as increasing payroll taxes or reducing annual cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients. Others, such as gradually raising the age when retirees qualify for full benefits, wouldn’t be felt for years but would affect millions.
From Herald news services
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