UPDATED March 27 11:15 a.m. EST: German officials say the Germanwings co-pilot hid that he had an illness from his employer. "Torn-up" notes from doctors excusing him from work were found in Andreas Lubitz's homes in two German cities. One note excused him from work on Tuesday, the day of the crash. Yesterday, French officials said that the co-pilot had purposely crashed the Airbus passenger plane into the mountains in southern France.
France says it appears a Germanwings pilot purposely caused the deadly crash of the passenger plane in the French Alps Tuesday.
The 27-year-old German co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, was alone at the controls when he flew the plane into the ground. The crash killed all 150 people on board.
The French prosecutor told reporters that Captain Lubitz apparently wanted to destroy the airplane. He said investigators came to this understanding after listening to the last 30 minutes of sound on the flight’s voice recorder.
The pilot and co-pilot spoke of usual things for 20 minutes. Then pilot left the cockpit. He was locked out of the room when he returned. The co-pilot can be heard breathing during this time. He did not speak to the pilot or air traffic controllers again, however. The recording suggests the pilot tried to break down the door into the cockpit.
Investigators do not know why the co-pilot would have wanted to crash the plane.
Yemeni rebels protest as Saudi-led bombing continues
Military planes from Saudi Arabia and allies nations continued bombing Houthi rebel targets in Yemen Thursday. The international forces are trying to oust rebels seeking to overthrow Yemen's president.
The airstrikes targeted areas around the main airport in the capital, Sana'a, and damaged homes in the area. Arab media reported airstrikes on Yemeni airbases in other cities, as well.
Iran has expressed anger over the Saudi-led airstrikes.
Uganda police, US diplomats warn of possible attacks
Police in Uganda say they have received "credible information" that the Somali militant group al-Shabab is planning an attack in the capital, Kampala.
The warning Thursday follows a similar message a day earlier from the U.S. embassy in Kampala.
The police statement says al-Shabab may target public places such as hotels, malls, markets and parks. It urges people to watch out for suspicious activity or objects.
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Words in the News
prosecutor – n. a lawyer who represents the side in a court case that accuses a person of a crime and who tries to prove that the person is guilty
credible – adj. able to be believed: reasonable to trust or believe