Malta
Libyan hijackers’ intent still unclear
VALLETTA — It’s too early to say whether the two Libyan men who hijacked a Libyan plane with 117 people on board and diverted it to Malta had any links to terror groups, Malta’s police commissioner said Saturday. The hijackers did not make any demands when they were holding the crew and passengers of the Afriqiyah Airways plane before surrendering to Maltese authorities, police commissioner Lawrence Cutajar said. Earlier claims coming from the plane’s pilot that the two men had demanded asylum in Europe and wanted to create a new political party are being disputed by officials. The men, who Malta state television TVM said had threatened to blow up the plane with hand grenades, were being held for arraignment while the investigation was ongoing. No time or date has been set for their court appearance. In addition to questioning the hijackers, police interviewed all 117 passengers and crew on the flight before they returned to Libya on Saturday on another Afriqiyah Airways plane. The two Libyan hijackers had diverted the domestic flight Friday, and the standoff ended peacefully after hours of negotiations. (AP)
Germany
WWII bomb leads to huge evacuation
FRANKFURT — More than 54,000 people in the southern German city of Augsburg must leave their homes Christmas morning while authorities defuse a giant 1.8-ton aerial bomb from World War II. The city’s medieval cathedral and City Hall are within the area to be sealed off. Police say it’s impossible to say how long it will take to make the bomb safe. Schools were opened for people who needed housing. Finding bombs from the war is not unusual in Germany, but this evacuation is one of the country’s largest in response to such a problem. (AP)
Britain
Two face charges of terrorism in court
LONDON — Two people have appeared in a London court charged with a variety of terrorism-related offenses. Munir Hassan Mohammed is charged with preparing an act of terrorism, being a member of the Islamic State extremist group, and possessing instructions about how to build an explosive device inside a mobile phone. The 35-year-old did not enter a plea at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Rowaida El Hassan, 32, faces similar charges. They were arrested with four other people this month. (AP)