DALLAS

Qantas expected to resume flights following shutdown

Qantas Airways was expected to resume flying today after an Australian court barred work stoppages that led the airline to ground its entire fleet over the weekend.

By the time the labor-relations court acted, several hundred flights had been canceled and about 80,000 passengers stranded around the world.

Some airline industry experts say Qantas’ surprise grounding of its entire fleet Saturday could cause many travelers to book future trips on other airlines.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said he had no choice but to order the lockout of union workers and end months of rolling strikes that led to canceled flights, $70 million in losses and a collapse in future bookings.

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JERUSALEM

Violence diminishes after airstrikes on Gaza Strip

The day after Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli airstrikes killed nine militants in the Gaza Strip and an Israeli civilian in southern Israel, strikes Sunday appeared to thin out.

After a barrage was launched at southern Israel early Sunday, Islamic Jihad announced that it would accept an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire and hold its rocket fire while reserving the right to respond to any attacks from Israel.

“There is no cease-fire,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that his nation’s army would continue to protect residents of Israel’s south from rocket attacks.

An Israeli airstrike hit a pair of militants in Gaza on Sunday as they prepared to fire a rocket into Israel, the military said. Gaza’s Health Ministry said one man was killed.

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ATCHISON, Kan.

Rescuers suspend search for victims of explosion

Crews suspended their search Sunday for three people missing after an explosion at a Kansas grain elevator killed three workers.

The explosion Saturday night at the elevator in Atchison, about 50 miles northwest of Kansas City, shot off a chunk of the grain distribution building directly above the elevator and blew a large hole in the side of one of its concrete silos.

Officials with Bartlett Grain Co., which owns and operates the elevator, decided to temporarily halt the search for the three missing people because it was unsafe to be inside the facility, said Atchison City Manager Trey Cocking.

Smoke could still be seen billowing from the top, and officials were fearful the building could fall on top of rescue crews.

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PHOENIX

Body of flight attendant found in Mexico City hotel

A US Airways flight attendant based in Phoenix was found dead in a Mexico City hotel room while on a layover, and authorities are investigating the death as a homicide.

A flight attendants union said the body of Nick Aaronson, 33, was found early Saturday in his room at a downtown Hilton.

The Mexico City prosecutor’s office said the man was found on the floor, his hands tied behind his back with a cloth. He showed signs of having been beaten and choked.

Prosecutors said no drugs, weapons or messages were found in the room. Police were checking security cameras, and an autopsy was planned.

— From news service reports

 


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