German co-pilot researched suicide and cockpit doors

German co-pilot researched suicide and cockpit doors

BERLIN

Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz spent time online researching suicide methods and cockpit-door security in the week before crashing Flight 9525, prosecutors said Thursday — the first evidence that the fatal descent may have been a premeditated act.

As the browsing history on a tablet computer found at Lubitz’s apartment added a disturbing new piece to the puzzle of the March 24 crash, French investigators said they had recovered the Airbus A320’s flight data recorder — another step toward completing the picture.

2 men accused of bomb plot during Ferguson protests

ST. LOUIS

Two St. Louis men accused of planning bomb attacks during protests in Ferguson have been indicted on federal charges, the U.S. attorney’s office in St. Louis said Thursday.

Olajuwon Davis and Brandon Orlando Baldwin, both 22, are facing several charges, including conspiracy to use explosives and making false written statements while buying firearms.

The indictment alleges the men conspired from September through Nov. 21 to obtain explosives, and Davis paid a deposit before both were arrested when they arrived at a location where they thought they’d be picking up the explosives.

Al-Qaida in Yemen captures southern city, frees inmates

SANAA, Yemen

Al-Qaida militants traveling in convoys flying black banners captured a major port city in southern Yemen on Thursday, seizing government buildings and freeing inmates from a prison, including a top Saudi-born leader, security officials said.

The fall of Mukalla — the capital of Yemen’s largest province, Hadramawt — highlighted how al-Qaida is expanding its foothold in Yemen, taking advantage of the turmoil as a Saudi-led coalition backing the country’s beleaguered president tries to fend off a takeover by Shiite rebels.

Mukalla’s fall came as the rebels, known as Houthis, made dramatic advances in one of the main strongholds of the president’s loyalists, the southern city of Aden.

The rebels broke into the center of Aden and briefly captured a presidential palace in the city.

Pope washes feet of inmates in pre-Easter ritual

VATICAN CITY

Pope Francis washed the feet of 12 inmates and a baby at Rome’s main prison Thursday in a pre-Easter ritual meant to show his willingness to serve. He asked them to pray that he, too, might be cleansed of his “filth.”

As the inmates wept, Francis knelt down, poured water from a pitcher onto one foot apiece, dried it and then kissed it, re-enacting the ritual that Jesus performed on his apostles before he was crucified.

The inmates included six men from Rebibbia prison and six women from the nearby women’s detention center. One was a mother carrying her son on her lap. Francis washed and kissed his little foot as well.

Associated Press