Hole in Qantas jetliner investigated
MANILA, Philippines, July 25 (UPI) -- The hole blown out of a Qantas Airways London-to-Melbourne flight Friday may have been caused by a bomb or damaged fuselage, aviation experts say.
The Boeing 747 carrying more than 300 passengers and crew dived 20,000 feet after a panel came off in-flight, creating a 7-by-9 foot hole in the fuselage, The Times of London reported. The plane was diverted to Manila to land after it had taken off from a stop in Hong Kong.
"It's possible there was some kind of explosive device in the suitcases. There's a hole where there shouldn't be," David Learmount, safety editor of Flight International Magazine.
However, he stressed, other possible causes could be physical damage or a corrosive that weakened the hull. Learmount said the hole had exposed luggage usually stored inside containers in the hold.
"It's interesting to see them -- how else could that be if not an explosion?," he told the Times. "Bags are moved about quite roughly in the hold... . If damage was done to the fuselage over a period of time a crack could have developed ... weakening to the point where it was blown out."
While not finding any immediate indication of terrorism, investigators said they will look for any evidence of a bomb, as well as other reasons.
"It should become apparent fairly quickly if something exploded or something broke," said Kieran Daly, editor of the Internet news service Air Transport Intelligence.
Bangalore hit by blasts, many casualties
BANGALORE, India, July 25 (UPI) -- A series of low-intensity crude bomb blasts hit India's technology hub of Bangalore Friday, killing and injuring several people.
The Times of India reported at least two died in the blasts in various parts of the southern city and 20 more were wounded. Other reports said one woman was killed.
The Times of India report quoted Bangalore Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari that there were seven blasts triggered by timers.
The blasts, all occurring in a span of about 60 minutes starting around 1:20 p.m., targeted mostly crowded areas.
Quoting sources at India's Intelligence Bureau, the Times of India said the banned Students Islamic Movement of India and the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba may have had a hand in the attacks. Police sources said the attacks also bore the hallmarks of the Bangladeshi extremist group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami or HuJi, the report said.
The Press Trust of India reported the crude bombs were concealed near refugee camps and roadside areas. Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari said "explosives were used in quantity equal to one to two grenades,"
Bangalore is India's main information technology center and home to several domestic and multinational IT and computer companies and thousands of call centers.
Heavy civilian toll blamed on U.S. strikes
KABUL, Afghanistan, July 25 (UPI) -- U.S. and NATO military officials in Afghanistan say they are investigating three U.S.-led air strikes this month that allegedly killed at least 78 civilians.
U.N. and Afghan officials say this is one of the deadliest years for civilians since fighting began, the Washington Post reported, with civilian deaths in Afghanistan for the first six months of the year running 40 percent ahead of last year.
More than half of those killed in the three recent U.S.-led air strikes, which occurred in a three-week period in three provinces in eastern and western Afghanistan, were women and children, Afghan and Western officials said.
One air strike in the eastern province of Nangahar claimed the lives of about 47 women and children who were members of a wedding party, the report said.
The civilian death toll has renewed political furor over foreign military operations in Afghanistan as the Taliban insurgency is intensifying, the Post said.
Official says Iran open to U.S. mission
TEHRAN, July 25 (UPI) -- Iranian officials would be open to the United States opening a diplomatic office in Tehran, Iranian Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezai said.
Rezai said Iranians and Americans have mutual interests and a U.S diplomatic presence in Iran would have a positive outcome, KUNA, the Kuwaiti news agency, reported Friday.
U.S. officials reportedly are investigating the possibility of opening a U.S. special interests section, a move that would help establish a full embassy and a diplomatic corps in Iran.
Former Foreign Secretary Tanvir Ahmed Khan of Pakistan said while Western countries were trying to develop a relationship with Iran, they weren't ready for high-level talks, reported IRNA, the official Iranian news agency.
Khan said developments, such as a top U.S. State Department official attending recent discussions on Iran's nuclear intentions, were positive, adding such moves are a "welcoming sign and would have great impact on the region."
He ruled out the possibility of any U.S.-led attack on Iran, saying only Israel would pressure the United States into such a move. Israel has expressed concern about Iran's nuclear capability.
"I don't believe either of the states can afford such type of hostility," Khan said.
Plan expands to help Iraqis get U.S. visas
BAGHDAD, July 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad says it has enlarged its program to help Iraqi employees of the U.S. government obtain visas to the United States.
The embassy plan calls for visas for 5,000 Iraqi employees per year for the next five years, giving them a shot at becoming U.S. citizens, The New York Times said. The program is said to include many Iraqis reportedly threatened because they worked with the Americans.
The figure likely will be considerably higher, however. Under the program, each person can take spouses and children but not siblings and parents, who would apply under another program. The average Iraqi household is estimated to have about six people.
The U.S. State Department had said the entire 25,000-plus couldn't be resettled over the next two years, as was being studied, because of limits on the number of applications that can be reviewed, The Washington Post said.
The embassy report cited a cumbersome refugee resettlement system.
Violent weather kills one in New Hampshire
DEERFIELD, N.H., July 25 (UPI) -- A violent storm cut a swath through parts of central New Hampshire, killing at least one woman, injuring 12 and damaging at least 100 homes, officials said.
In Massachusetts, where driving rains and wind slowed Thursday's morning commute to a crawl, state police said a man was killed in a head-on collision, the Boston Herald reported Friday.
Officials said the woman was killed when a possible tornado touched down near Northwood Lake Thursday, crushing a two-story house where she lived near Deerfield, the New Hampshire Union-Leader in Manchester reported.
New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch declared a state of emergency in five counties, the Boston Globe said. Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said they will assess the damage.
"This was a highly destructive storm, causing a tremendous amount of damage in a short period of time," Lynch said.
Authorities said they were monitoring the Connecticut, Pemigewasset and Saco rivers for potential flooding.
Of the 11 communities in the central portion of the state, Epsom, Deerfield and Northwood were the hardest hit, officials said.
"It was mass destruction in just 20 minutes," Epsom Selectman Chairman Bob Blodgett said. "It's just turmoil. Devastation. You wouldn't believe just one person lost their life."
