Near miss as fighter jet crashes close to town
Berlin An American Air Force jet crashed in western Germany close to a residential area, injuring the pilot when he ejected to safety.
The A-10 Thunderbolt went down in a field only a few hundred yards from the town of Laufeld, between the cities of Bonn and Trier, according to a police spokesman. He said that the pilot was taken to hospital but had no details of his condition.
Karl-Josef Junk, the mayor of Laufeld, said that a catastrophe had been narrowly avoided.
The aircraft, also known as the Warthog, was part of the 81st Fighter Squadron at the Spangdahlem Air Base, in Rhineland Palatinate, according to a spokesman for the 52nd Fighter Wing. He said that it had been on a training mission. (AP)
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Avalanche kills hikers
Geneva Three people were killed when a group of nine hikers were swept away in an avalanche above the village of Ayer in the Swiss Alps. Police said that all of the party were pulled from the snow after rescuers rushed to the spot by helicopter. (AFP)
Tusks seized at port
Bangkok Two tonnes of African elephant tusks that were smuggled into Bangkok port were seized by customs in Thailand. The tusks, worth 100 million baht (£2 million), were found after an X-ray of a container that was marked as frozen mackerel. (AP)
Rights activist arrested
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Harare Abel Chikomo, the head of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO forum, was arrested in a move described by Amnesty International as an attempt to silence government critics. He was charged with failing to properly register his organisation. (AFP)
Sheen begins US tour
Detroit Charlie Sheen began a concert tour of 20 American cities, taking advantage of his current notoriety. Few details were released of the format of the “My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option” concerts but tickets were selling fast. (AP)
Robber is unmasked
Vienna Police have arrested a German suspected of seven bank heists while wearing a Barack Obama mask. The man, 45, was arrested in the village of Fornach, a few miles from the last robbery. A police dog found a bag with the mask, a weapon and the haul. (AP)
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Rock on, Twitter
Paris French radio station NRJ is to tweet a live private concert by the pop rock group, BB Brunes. Fans will be able to watch the gig via Twitcam and exchange views during the performance. NRJ says it has 100,000 followers on the microblogging site. (AFP)
Dressing in a lawsuit
Atlantic City A casino is being sued over claims that 15 cocktail waitresses were fired because they did not look sexy in skimpy new uniforms. Seven staff began the lawsuit against Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. It said each worker was treated fairly. (AP)