AP, Warsaw
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to spend an extra night in Warsaw after his plane was damaged following an airport mishap shortly before departure. He departed around noon Friday, marking an inauspicious ending to a turbulent visit.
The prime minister and his entire entourage were on-board a chartered El Al plane the night before after a two-day visit to a high-profile security conference, when a vehicle towing the aircraft on the runway crashed into it. A photo circulated to traveling journalists showed large scrapes in the underbelly of the aircraft.
Cardinal expects ‘significant progress’ at sex abuse summit
AP, Detroit
The U.S. archbishop helping to organize next week’s summit of the world’s bishops at the Vatican on sexual abuse by clergy said Thursday he expects to make “significant progress” in responding to the scandal that’s riven the church, and that lay Catholics will help to hold the hierarchy accountable.
Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich told The Associated Press in a phone interview that the Feb. 21-24 prevention summit, convened by Pope Francis, is necessary for all global Catholic church leaders to understand they must act and be accountable to the victims for the abuse cases stretching back decades. He spoke of the urgency while acknowledging that victims and their advocates consider such a gathering long overdue.
Bomb kills 2 Burkina Faso soldiers
AFP, Ouagadougou
A bomb hidden on a corpse dressed in military uniform has killed two soldiers in Burkina Faso, the military said Friday.
The booby-trapped male body had been left just outside the northern town of Djibo, near the border with Mali, and a team was sent to investigate, a statement from the armed forces general staff said.
Pak crackdown against kite flying, 3,700 held
PTI, Lahore
Police in Pakistan’s Punjab province have arrested over 3,700 people as part of a crackdown against those involved in kite flying, which has been banned due to deaths caused by the sharp thread used in the activity.
The Punjab police launched the clampdown on kite flyers after the provincial government decided not to restore the Basant festival, traditionally associated with kite flying.
Deaths caused by the string of stray kites, is the reason mentioned by the government for not observing the Basant festival.
Drone disrupts flights from Dubai
AFP, Dubai
Suspected drone activity briefly disrupted flight departures Friday from Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international traffic, the airport said.
It said in a statement that departures were suspended between 10:13 (0613 GMT) and 10:45 am (0645 GMT) “due to suspected drone activity”.
“Dubai Airports has worked closely with the appropriate authorities to ensure that the safety of airport operations is maintained at all times and to minimise any inconvenience to our customers,” it said.
