NSA leaker Snowden not welcome in the UK
LONDON – The British government has warned airlines around the world not to allow Edward Snowden, who leaked information on top-secret U.S. government surveillance programs, to fly to the United Kingdom.
A travel alert, dated Monday on Home Office letterhead, said carriers should deny Snowden boarding because “the individual is highly likely to be refused entry to the U.K.”
The Associated Press saw a photograph of the document taken Friday at a Thai airport. A British diplomat confirmed that the document was genuine and was sent out to airlines around the world. Airlines in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore also confirmed the alert had been issued.
In London, Home Office officials refused Friday to discuss the travel alert.
The diplomat said such alerts are issued to carriers that fly into the U.K., and if any airline brings Snowden into the country, it will be liable to be fined $3,100. He said Snowden would likely have been deemed by the Home Office to be detrimental to the “public good.”
Prince Charles says father is ‘much better,’
LONDON – Prince Charles has visited his father Prince Philip in the hospital and reported that he is doing much better following his abdominal surgery.
Philip, who earlier this week spent his 92nd birthday in the hospital, received a flurry of family visits Friday. Charles and his wife, Camilla, arrived at the London Clinic shortly before his sons, William and Harry, joined them.
Earlier, Philip’s granddaughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, also made a trip to see him.
Officials say that Queen Elizabeth II’s husband is recovering well after the exploratory surgery last Friday. He will continue to be hospitalized for several days before going into convalescence for about two months.
Airbus A350 flight reopens wide-body race
PARIS – Airbus sent a new wide-body plane into the skies Friday that sets the stage for intensifying competition with U.S. rival Boeing – with consequences for jobs, airlines’ investments and the reputations of the powerful planemakers.
After years of delays and a revamp that cost billions, the A350 cruised for four hours in partly-cloudy skies above Toulouse in southern France.
Most importantly, it then landed safely.
The flight marks a key step on the path to full certification for the jet, which can carry between 250 and 400 passengers and is the European aircraft-maker’s best hope for catching up in a long-haul market dominated by Boeing’s 777 and the 787, known as the Dreamliner.
Airspace over Toulouse, where Airbus has its headquarters, closed for both take-off and landing. With distinctive, upturned wing tips, the plane had a great big “A350” painted across its belly, heightening anticipation that it will fly at the Paris Air Show next week.
Airbus claims the A350 is 25 percent more fuel-efficient than comparable planes.
Turkish protesters urged to leave Gezi Park
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s prime minister Friday urged a small delegation of protesters to persuade hundreds of others occupying an Istanbul park to withdraw.
Turkish activists leading a sit-in were considering a promise by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to let the courts and a potential referendum decide the fate of the much-despised Gezi Park redevelopment project – a plan that has sparked Turkey’s biggest protests in decades. The pledge was made during last-ditch negotiations after Erdogan had issued what he called a “final warning” to protesters.
The two-week standoff has damaged Erdogan’s international reputation and led to repeated interventions by riot police. After initially inflaming tensions by dubbing the protesters “terrorists,” the prime minister has moderated his stance in closed-door talks in the last few days.
But Erdogan told party members Friday that the protesters in the park had “stayed long enough.”
Brazilian demonstrators promise more protests
SÃO PAULO – Protesters on Friday promised more organized action across Brazil in the days to come, following clashes in which police in São Paulo set upon thousands of young demonstrators angered by hikes in bus and subway fares.
Newspapers carried photos of bloodied protesters and journalists with battered, swollen faces, a young couple being beaten by police and videos of tear-gas canisters and rubber bullets being fired into crowds chanting “no violence!” Protesters set fire to garbage bags piled in streets, broke windows and spray-painted graffiti on buildings and buses.
Protest organizers said more than 100 demonstrators were injured. Police would only say that 12 officers were hurt and that more than 230 people were detained and later released in the Thursday night demonstrations in São Paulo.
Similar protests were seen in Rio de Janeiro, the capital Brasilia and in Porte Alegre in southern Brazil. The conflicts come just as the Confederations Cup football tournament opens and the nation prepares to host Pope Francis next month on his first international trip as pontiff.
Associated Press
