World in brief: Yemen airliner crashes into ocean
SAN’A, Yemen – A Yemenia Air plane going from the Arabian Peninsula country of Yemen to the island nation of Comoros has crashed in the Indian Ocean, a Yemen airport official said today.
The official said the plane was going from the Yemen capital San’a to Moroni, on the main island of Grand Comore.
It was not known how many passengers were on board the Airbus 310 or the status of the passengers and crew.
The official said most of the passengers on the plane were believed to be Comoros residents returning from Paris.
The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The Comoros is an archipelago of three main islands situated about 1,800 miles south of Yemen, between Africa’s southeastern coast and Madagascar.
Toxic fumes from well kill three
NEW YORK – The New York City fire department said a father, son and co-worker have been killed after they apparently were overcome by toxic fumes from a putrid well at a waste transfer station.
Police identified the victims as 49-year-old Shlomo Dahan and 23-year-old Harel Dahan, of Brooklyn, and 52-year-old Rene Francisco Rivas, of Queens. The medical examiner will determine what caused their deaths.
Police say the father and son were cleaning the well in Queens on Monday when the son fell down a narrow shaft. The father grabbed a ladder and climbed down to rescue his son, followed by Rivas.
Fire department officials said the men apparently were overcome by hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas common in wells like the one being cleaned.
Argentine leader defiant after losses
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentina’s president expressed defiance Monday after voters took away the ruling party’s edge in Congress.
Sunday’s midterm elections have severely weakened President Cristina Fernandez and her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, who had warned that “chaos” would ensue if the government lost its legislative majorities.
Instead, markets reacted with relief, and political opponents were invigorated by the reality that the autocratic Kirchners will have to reach compromises to get laws passed once the new senators and deputies take office Dec. 10.
Kirchner still got enough votes to serve in the Chamber of Deputies, but the setback forced his resignation as leader of the Peronist party, and his hopes of replacing his wife as president again in 2011 now seem to be a long shot.
Swine flu death reported in Hawaii
HONOLULU – Hawaii is reporting its first swine flu death.
The state Department of Health said an adult more than 60 years old with an underlying medical condition died June 19 at Oahu’s Tripler Army Medical Center after contracting the H1N1 virus.
Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said Monday the swine flu was not the patient’s primary cause of death, but a secondary cause.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there have been 127 swine-flu related deaths in the U.S. as of June 25.