In Normandy, 1,000 jump in D-Day tribute
LA FIERE, France — Nearly 1,000 paratroopers dropped out of the sky in Normandy on Sunday, but this time they did so in peace instead of to wrest western France from the Nazis, as paratroopers did during World War II.
Drawing huge crowds that lined the historic landing area at La Fiere, the aerial spectacle re-enacted the drama of the Normandy landings and capped commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of D-Day.
Among the planes ferrying paratroopers was a restored C-47 US military transport plane that dropped Allied troops on the village of Sainte-Mere-Eglise — a stone’s throw from La Fiere — on June 6, 1944. And the pilots who originally flew it took the controls again last week, 70 years later, remembering their experiences.
Sunday saw dozens of veterans escorted down a sandy path to a special section to watch the show alongside thousands of spectators — most of whom lined two sides of the field.
Planes flew by loudly overhead, with two dozen military paratroopers — from countries including the U.S., Britain, France and Germany — jumping with each passage.
Airport attack leaves 23 dead in Pakistan
KARACHI, Pakistan --Ten gunmen disguised as police guards attacked a terminal at Pakistan's busiest airport Sunday with machine guns and a rocket launcher during a five-hour assault that killed 13 people as explosions echoed into the night, while security forces retaliated and killed all the attackers, officials said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.
The airport attack began late Sunday and continued into the dawn hours today in Karachi, although officials said all passengers had been evacuated. During the course of the attack, heavy gunfire and multiple explosions could be heard coming from the terminal as militants and security forces battled for control.
At least some of the gunmen wore the uniforms of the Airport Security Force that protects the nation's airports, said an official who briefed journalists near the airport. He said all were strapped with explosives.
A separate suicide bombing in the country's southwest killed 23 Shiite pilgrims returning from Iran, authorities said.
Crews hunt for students swept down river
NEW DELHI -- A search resumed today for 24 students feared drowned after they were swept away by strong waters in a river near a mountainous tourist resort in northern India.
Police officer Dina Nath said a sudden discharge of water into the Beas River on Sunday from a dam upstream took the students by surprise while they were taking pictures on a riverbank near Manali, 330 miles north of New Delhi.
The engineering students, including six women, had gone to the tourist town in Himachal Pradesh state from the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.
Nath said two bodies have been recovered so far.
Kurdish office blasts kill 19 Iraqis, hurt 65
BAGHDAD — A double bombing at a Kurdish party office killed 19 people in a town northeast of Baghdad on Sunday, Iraqi officials said.
Police officials said the attack took place in the morning when a suicide bomber set off his explosive vest at the gate of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan office in Jalula, 80 miles northeast of Baghdad in the ethnically mixed Diyala province.
Minutes later, a car bomb exploded near the building as security forces arrived to inspect the scene of the first blast. Police put the death toll for both explosions at 19 and said 65 were wounded. The dead included a senior police officer and four of his bodyguards, and several houses and cars were damaged.
Sunday’s attack came a day after a series of deadly bombings and clashes left at least 73 people dead.
A Section on 06/09/2014