Sep 10th, 2009 at 10:30AM: Shortly after taking off from Cancun on Wednesday, the pilots of AeroMexico flight 737 radioed the control tower to say the plane had been hijacked. The hijacker had showed off a bomb (later found to be fake) and demanded to speak to Mexican President Felipe Calderon. He threatened to blow up the plane, which was carrying over 100 people, and said he needed to warn the President of an impending ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
terrorism posts
AeroMexico plane hijacking resolved peacefully
Sep 10th, 2009 at 10:30AM: Shortly after taking off from Cancun on Wednesday, the pilots of AeroMexico flight 737 radioed the control tower to say the plane had been hijacked. The hijacker had showed off a bomb (later found to be fake) and demanded to speak to Mexican President Felipe Calderon. He threatened to blow up the plane, which was carrying over 100 people, and said he needed to warn the President of an impending ...Fake Canadians go home
Aug 30th, 2009 at 4:30PM:
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.gadling.com/2009/08/30/fake-canadians-go-home/'; tweetmeme_source = 'Gadling';
I'm as mad as a polar bear reading about global warming. Everywhere I look I see Canadian flags on backpacks. A maple leaf seems to be as important an item of budget travel gear as daddy's credit card, but there's one problem--many of the people flashing the good old red, white, and red ...Scottish Tourist Board not worried about travel boycott
Aug 25th, 2009 at 6:30PM: Last week's controversial release of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi from a Scottish prison has sparked calls for a travel boycott of Scotland. Al-Megrahi was convicted of involvement in the plot to blow up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. A total of 270 people died. He was given a life sentence but released on compassionate grounds and allowed to return to Libya because he's dying ...More terrorist bombs in Majorca
Aug 9th, 2009 at 3:30PM: Three small bombs exploded today in Majorca, in a coordinated attack claimed by the terrorist group ETA. There were no injuries. The first bomb went off in the bathroom of an Italian restaurant and bar next to the beach in Palma de Majorca. Another was detonated nearby by police in a controlled explosion. Shortly thereafter, a third bomb exploded in the town square. ETA, a terrorist group that ...Ports and airports in Majorca closed after bomb kills two
Jul 30th, 2009 at 1:30PM: The Spanish government has sealed off the island of Majorca after a terrorist bomb attack killed two officers of the Guardia Civil. This comes a day after a bomb targeted Spain's national police force in Burgos, another destination frequented by tourists. Both attacks occurred outside Guardia Civil barracks. The attacks are suspected to be the work of ETA, a terrorist group that seeks an ...Terrorist bomb blast in Spanish tourist town
Jul 29th, 2009 at 12:30PM: The northern Spanish town of Burgos, a popular destination for holidaymakers, was rocked by a car bomb early this morning. According to the BBC the bomb targeted a high-rise residential building of the Guardia Civil, injuring 46 people, many of whom are women and children.
Officials are blaming ETA, a terrorist group that seeks an independent Basque nation in Spain's northern region. Unlike many ...Virgin Blue calls musician terrorist
Jun 17th, 2009 at 5:00PM: It wasn't until Steve Lucas actually got on the plane that he had a problem. His bullet-studded guitar strap – empty shells, of course – made it through the various points in the Sydney airport's security gauntlet. Consequently, all his luggage was removed from the Virgin Blue flight.
Three times, the musician of 30 years was called to the front of the plane to sign a statement ...Flight attendant pleads guilty to bomb hoax
May 23rd, 2009 at 2:00PM: It was a bad week for Australians, it seems. A naval officer was physically restrained on a flight to London. Not too long after, Matt Carney, a flight attendant from Melbourne, was sentenced to 18 months in jail in England. It was his own fault: he left not one but two(!) notes on a plane to London, "warning" of a bomb. Of course, he was working the flight.
The 23-year-old soon-to-be-former ...New airline idea: goal is to beat the odds
May 11th, 2009 at 10:30AM: Columnist Jeremy Clarkson, at The Sun, has come up with a brilliant airline concept: take it easy, and play the odds. He laments the fact that it takes "about six years" to check in and considers the security process to be troublesome. They won't even let you keep your toothpaste!
Of course, we have all this security in place for a reason. There are many threats to safety ... and it's not just ...Air France jet diverts after being told to stay clear of US airspace
Apr 26th, 2009 at 4:00PM: If you ever wondered just how serious the US takes its security policies, then read on, because even people on the terrorist watch list that are flying over the US are enough of a threat to force a plane to divert. An Air France flight from Paris to Mexico had to make an unscheduled stop in Martinique when US air traffic controllers notified the jet that it would not be receiving permission to fly ...Canadian hostages in Jamaican airport
Apr 20th, 2009 at 9:30AM: One man with a gun can do a lot of damage. A weapon-wielding nut-job held around 180 hostages on a Canadian plane in Jamaica yesterday. He chose the landing in Jamaica as his time to act. All passengers were eventually released unharmed, but five of the original seven crew members were still held hostage in the CanJet plane at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. (CNN reports that he's ...Brit cops delete photos, fight terrorism
Apr 18th, 2009 at 5:00PM: Two Austrian tourists ran afoul of local police when they took pictures of the city's famous double-decker buses. Klaus Matzka and his son, Loris, were clicking away on the streets of London while on vacation. Shots of a bus station in Walthamstow (in east London), however, got the cops interested.
The tourists were told by local police that they were not allowed to photograph anything related ...Feds spank spankers with arrest
Jan 22nd, 2009 at 9:00AM: Two kids were arguing over a window shade on a plane. Sound familiar? We've all lived through it, and we've all griped about it. Unlike most parents, who seem to let their kids go on this way until they've exhausted themselves, Tamera Jo Freeman took decisive action, according to an article in the LA Times. After their fighting caused a Bloody Mary to spill into her lap, she spanked each kid on ...More on Muslim family kicked off of AirTran flight for questioning
Jan 3rd, 2009 at 10:30AM: Yesterday, not long after Scott posted about the American family who are Muslim were removed from an AirTran flight at the Ronald Reagan International Airport in Washington D.C., I heard an interview on NPR with Atif Irfan, one of the family members.
Irfan explained in more detail what happened to create the misunderstanding. Because there were nine of them, the family had booked the last rows ...Paranoia strikes again - Muslim family kicked off their Airtran flight
Jan 2nd, 2009 at 1:00PM: Here we go again. Another family traveling for the holidays has been kicked off their flight after a fellow passenger observed them mentioning the word "safety". That's right, not "bomb", "terrorist" or "hijack". Just your average family of 9 trying to figure out where they wanted to seat. Someone on board managed to get the attention of 2 federal air marshals, who then contacted their superiors ...Worst luck ever: couple vacation in New York, London and Mumbai just as terrorists attack
Dec 24th, 2008 at 11:00AM: The Sydney Times Herald is reporting the uncanny story of Mr. and Mrs. James and Jenny Cairns-Lawrence, a young couple from Dudley, United Kingdom, who seem to have a knack for choosing vacation spots where terrorists are about to strike: they have found themselves in New York, London and Mumbai during the exact times that each of the three cities were viciously attacked by terrorists. Says Mrs. ...When political gets personal. Reactions to Mumbai
Nov 28th, 2008 at 12:30PM: Ever since the news came out about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, I've been reading about people's personal experiences and reactions. They remind me of one reason why the World Trade Center made such an impact when the towers came crashing down, as well as why travel to distant places makes the world, and what happens in it, seem so much more relevant.
When the towers were attacked and the ...Mayhem in Mumbai and why not living in India seems safer
Nov 27th, 2008 at 4:30PM: This time six years ago, I was pregnant and living in New Delhi, India. On one of my journeys to a sonogram appointment, the taxi passed by one of the Indian government buildings where terrorists had attempted an attack that day. The camera crews and reporters were just leaving.
Later at the doctor's office, as I saw a clear image of my son thanks to 3-D technology, the curve of his nose and the ...New TSA rule aims to improve security and cut down on hassle
Oct 23rd, 2008 at 1:30PM: Up until now, airline passengers have only been required to provide as much as their first initial and last name to get a plane ticket. However, due to the high rate of false matches to names on the government's terrorist watch list, passengers will soon be required to provide their full name and birth date before they can fly. If your name resembles a name on the watch list, you might get held ...Terrorist themed restaurant in Lebanon
Jun 23rd, 2008 at 8:30AM: Who said terrorism and violence couldn't be laughed at, or to that matter, even eaten!? Fast food restaurant "Buns and Guns" in Beirut allows you to do both. In a space decorated as if a military post (with weapons, ammunition and camouflage netting hanging from the ceiling), this eatery serves "rocket propelled grenade" (chicken on a skewer), "terrorist bread" and other dishes called ...
