News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Egyptian passenger plane hijacked

An Egyptian plane carrying around 60 people has been hijacked on a flight from Saudi Arabia to Cairo via Alexandria and forced to land in Cyprus. After the EgyptAir plane landed at Larnaca airport, the hijacker released all those on board except for three foreign passengers and four crew members. The pilot had reported that the man was strapped with explosives, although this has not been confirmed. The Cypriot state broadcaster is reporting that the man is demanding the release of female prisoners in Egypt. It´s understood he´d earlier asked to see his estranged wife in Cyprus. The Egyptian minister of civil aviation, Sherif Fathy, says negotiations are continuing with the hijacker: "We are not sure about the suicide belt. We are dealing with the situation as if it´s a real suicide belt. It could be just a fake one. But we are dealing with the situation as if it represents the highest possible security danger. Nobody can say how long the negotiations will take. Our fundamental issue is our people on board, our passengers." The incident has again raised questions about security at Egyptian airports.

No evidence against Brussels terror suspect

Federal prosecutors in Belgium say that the man named as Faycal C, the only person arrested and charged with involvement in last Tuesday´s attacks in Brussels, has been freed for lack of evidence. Police have released new CCTV footage in their efforts to identify a third suspect filmed with two of the suicide bombers just before the attacks at the airport. The death toll from the bombings at the airport and a metro station has risen to 35 after four of the injured died in hospital.

Pakistan´s PM vows crackdown after Lahore bombing

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has vowed to find and defeat the militants responsible for Sunday's suicide bomb attack at a park in Lahore in which over 70 people died - many of them children. A Taliban splinter group said it carried out the attack against Christians celebrating Easter.

FBI breaks into dead gunman´s iPhone

The US Justice Departments says the FBI has successfully accessed data stored on an iPhone belonging to one of the radical Islamists who shot dead 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December. Apple had refused to help access the phone, which is thought contain evidence relating to the massacre. The attackers, Syed Farook and his wife, were killed in a gun battle with police.

Man attempts to storm US Capitol

A man has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a police officer, after he tried to enter the US Capitol building's visitor centre in Washington and drew what appeared to be a weapon. Officials say the suspect, who was shot and wounded, was known to Capitol police.

The weather

A mix of cloud, sunshine and showers, some of them thundery. Top temperatures generally from 8 to 17 and up to 20 in the south east.

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