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(Anthony FOSTER/AFP/Getty Images )
Jamaica
Flight 331 Overruns Runway in Jamaica, All Survive
Dozens of passengers were injured, but all survived when an American Airlines Boeing 737-800 aircraft overran the runway in Kingston, Jamaica, on Tuesday night. There were 148 passengers and six crewmembers on board Flight 331. Initially, 90 passengers were taken to local hospitals, where they were treated for broken bones, bruises, and other injuries, according to Reuters. At least two passengers were kept in the hospital, and others were treated and released by Wednesday, according to an American Airlines press release. Before the aircraft began its flight to Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport, it left from the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and went through the Miami International Airport.
Colombia
Columbian Governor Found Dead
Columbian Governor Luis Francisco Cuellar Carvajal was found dead in a rural area outside of Caquetá department (province) capital Florencia one day after being seized from his home by armed rebels. The kidnappers killed him while they were being chased by authorities, said Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on national television. The governor’s son, Luis Fernando Cuellar, has told Columbian media that he thinks the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are responsible for the murder but pointed out that the government has failed to protect his father, despite having already been kidnapped four times. President Uribe has vowed to find the perpetrators and continue the fight against the FARC.
Bulgaria
Bomb Blast Targets Bulgarian MP’s Jeep
The jeep of Bulgarian MP Delyan Peevski, of the ethnic Turkish political party Movement for Rights and Freedoms, was damaged on Wednesday in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria. The bomb, put in a trash can, exploded and cracked the front window of the car. At the time of the incident, Peevski was out of the country. The blasted jeep was property of the New Bulgarian Media Group, whose director is Peevski’s mother—controversial newspaper and TV tycoon Irena Krasteva. According to the interior minister, Peevski has not been threatened. However, Peevski is always followed by eight bodyguards. Last summer Peevski was turned down as a candidate member of the parliamentary Anti-Corruption Committee. In 2007, both he and his mother were involved in a large corruption scandal.
Spain
Stranded Airline Passengers on Hunger Strike
In a desperate attempt to force airline Air Comet to transport them home before Christmas, dozens of stranded passengers went on hunger strike at one of Europe’s busiest airports in Spain on Wednesday according to Spanish media. The hunger strike comes after Air Comet, which specializes in flights to Latin America, suspended all its flights this week over unpaid debts. An expected 70,000 people will be affected by the closure of Air Comet, with many passengers having been stranded for two days. Some of the angry passengers have blocked the entrance to one of the terminals.
The Netherlands
Dutch Sailor Girl Laura Can Stay With Her Father
A juvenile court magistrate decided that the 14-year-old Dutch sailor girl, Laura Dekker, can stay and live with her father. The girl is a ward of the court since the judge ruled that she was too young to sail around the world solo. Youth social services had requested the judge to place Laura in care after she ran away last week to Saint Martin all by herself. Dutch media reported that she tried to escape from supervision and to buy a boat because she had lost faith that authorities would ever allow her to undertake the round-the-world journey. The verdict also stipulates the conditions necessary, such as a first aid course, to be met before she is allowed to go. Laura was not present at the hearing but Dutch media reported she is very happy with the verdict.
