Nation & World Digest

Sole survivor is told of family’s deaths

TRIPOLI, Libya

Relatives broke the news to a Dutch boy who is the sole survivor of a plane crash in Libya that his parents and brother died in the disaster, as authorities said the 9-year-old would return home today.

Rescuers found Ruben van Assouw still strapped in his seat and breathing in an area of desert sand strewn with the plane’s debris. His father, mother and 11-year-old brother are believed to have been among the 103 people on board who were killed Wednesday when their flight from South Africa crashed short of the runway in Tripoli.

Atlantis’ final trip

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

Space shuttle Atlantis thundered away on its final voyage to orbit Friday, hoisting an experienced crew of six and a full shipment of space-station gear.

Atlantis sped through a perfectly clear afternoon sky, blazing a trail over the Atlantic before huge crowds eager to catch one of the few remaining shuttle launches. More than 40,000 guests — the biggest launch-day crowd in years — packed the Kennedy Space Center.

The shuttle’s destination is the International Space Station, which was soaring over the South Pacific at the time of liftoff. The shuttle should catch up with the orbiting complex and its six residents Sunday morning.

Thailand violence

BANGKOK

Soldiers opened fire on anti-government demonstrators who battled them with firebombs and homemade rockets Friday in a second-straight day of escalating violence as troops tried to clear the rioters from the streets of downtown Bangkok.

The clashes have killed 10 people and wounded 125, including two soldiers, the government said. The troops used tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds on demonstrators, who set fire to tires and a police bus.

Explosions echoed through streets emptied of shoppers and tourists, plumes of black smoke rose amid skyscrapers and hotels, and the deteriorating security raised concerns that Thailand — a key U.S. ally with Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy — was teetering toward instability because of the two-month political crisis.

Anti-terror training for parking industry

LAS VEGAS

Parking attendants and meter maids could be the nation’s latest line of defense against terrorist attacks.

A new government program aims to train thousands of parking-industry employees nationwide to watch for and report anything suspicious — abandoned cars, for example, or people hanging around garages, taking photographs or asking unusual questions.

Organizers say parking attendants and enforcement officers are as important to thwarting attacks as the two Times Square street vendors who alerted police to a smoking SUV that was found to contain a gasoline-and-propane bomb.

Associated Press