|
Passenger
tries to force way into United Airlines’ cockpit
BUENOS AIRES,
Argentina (AP) — A passenger tried to force his way into the
cockpit of a United Airlines plane carrying 157 people Thursday
on a flight from Miami but was subdued after the co-pilot hit him
over the head with a small ax.
Pablo Moreira,
a banker from Uruguay, was restrained by the flight crew and later
arrested by police after the flight landed as scheduled in Buenos
Aires at 10:30 a.m. local time, said Judy Orihuela, an FBI spokeswoman
in Miami.
United Airlines
Flight 855 took off from Miami at midnight with 142 passengers and
15 crew members aboard. Moreira, 28, began kicking the cockpit door
about five hours into the flight, as the jetliner flew over Brazil,
Orihuela said.
The FBI spokeswoman
said Moreira forced the door open, but United said he did not get
inside the cockpit of the Boeing 777.
Orihuela said
the co-pilot grabbed a small ax and hit Moreira in the head, subduing
him.
Moreira did not appear drunk and was not armed, she said, adding
that she was unaware of any threats or what prompted him to try
to enter the cockpit.
Moreira was
restrained for the remainder of the flight but was provided medical
attention, the airline said. He was lucid and in stable condition,
Orihuela said, adding that a flight attendant also received minor
injuries in the struggle, Orihuela said.
Moreira was
turned over to local authorities in Argentina. He will be charged
with interfering with a flight crew and flown back to Miami sometime
Thursday, Orihuela said.
United said flights to and from Argentina would continue as scheduled.
Bush
refuses to cut ties with Arafat despite Israeli wishes
WASHINGTON (AP)
— Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon expected a boost Thursday
from President Bush in his struggle with terror attacks, but he
also was due for a polite letdown on trying to isolate Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat from the United States.
Sharon, who
has imposed virtual house arrest on Arafat on the West Bank, wanted
Bush to cut more than a decade of U.S. contact that followed the
Palestinian leader’s public repudiation of terrorism.
But that is
a door the Bush administration does not want to shut — yet
— even as it applies heavy pressure on Arafat to curb Palestinian
attacks on Israel, to make more arrests and to take responsibility
for trying to smuggle in 50 tons of Iranian rockets, mortar and
explosives.
Still, White
House spokesman Ari Fleischer said before the Thursday evening meeting
that “the president believes Chairman Arafat knows what he
needs to do to crack down on the terrorist activities in the Middle
East, and that the United States was looking to Chairman Arafat
to do more to demonstrate his opposition to terrorism and the concrete
steps he’ll take.”
Bush also planned
to tell Sharon that he had “deep concern about the plight of
the Palestinian people, and he’ll discuss what steps might
be taken to ease the situation for the people,” Fleischer said.
Also, the White
House spokesman said, Bush’s message was that “the United
States will remain engaged in the region and remain engaged with
the Palestinian Authority.”
Islamic
religious students sent home for visa violations
SAN‘A,
Yemen (AP) — Six Americans are among more than 100 Islamic
religious students being sent home for visa violations, a Yemeni
Interior Ministry official said in comments reported Thursday.
Foreign students
at independent religious schools like the one attended by American
Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh have come under scrutiny in Yemen
as the government cracks down on extremists.
The military
newspaper 26 September quoted Deputy Interior Minister Mutahar Rashid
al-Masri as saying that in addition to the Americans, there are
six Britons, one Dutch man, 22 Indonesians, six Pakistanis, four
Libyans, two Egyptians and one Syrian.
Four Britons
and the Dutch man have already been deported, according to the ministry.
Although al-Masri said there were 101 students, other Interior Ministry
officials previously said the total was 115. The students also include
French, Algerian, Sudanese and Somali citizens.
Some of the
students have been in custody as long as four months. Authorities
detained them for questioning about any links to radical Islamic
groups.
Bush
administration will not release funds to Haiti
NASSAU, Bahamas
(AP) — The Bush administration will not drop barriers to the
release of hundreds of millions of dollars in international aid
to Haiti, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday, citing
continuing political unrest.
“I would
like to do everything humanly possible to help Haiti,” he said
during a press conference following a meeting with leaders of the
14-nation Caribbean Community. But, he said, until that nation’s
political crisis is resolved and international confidence is restored,
“we have questions about providing that kind of assistance.”
Samuel Insanally,
the foreign affairs minister of Guyana, pressed the United States
to reconsider.
“The release
of funds would assist in rebuilding democracy in Haiti,” Insanally
said. “Not doing this could lead to a deterioration of the
situation.”
Haiti has been
mired in crisis since President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s party
won 80 percent of seats in parliamentary elections last year that
the opposition alleges were rigged. Hundreds of millions of dollars
in international aid have been frozen until some results are revised.
Navy
helicopter crashes into Atlantic off Virginia coast
WASHINGTON (AP)
— A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off
the coast of Virginia on Thursday. The four crew members were rescued,
and two suffered minor injuries, a Navy spokesman said.
The CH-46 helicopter
was conducting a resupply operation with the ammunition ship USNS
Mt. Baker about 100 miles off Virginia’s coastline when it
went down at 10:24 a.m. EST, said Cmdr. Tom Van Leunen, a spokesman
at Navy headquarters in the Pentagon.
The four crew
members were rescued by another Navy helicopter.
The CH-46 is
assigned to the USS Seattle, an oil supply ship. The cause of the
accident is under investigation, Van Leunen said.
|
