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4 int'l AI flights cancelled

New Delhi: Four Air India international flights were cancelled from Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday after about 100 pilots refused to join work. The airlines domestic operations, however, were unaffected.

“Four flights — Delhi-Toronto, Delhi-Chicago, Mumbai-Newark and Mumbai-Hongkong via Delhi have been cancelled due to unavailability of pilots,” an Air India spokesperson said here. About 100 pilots have so far not reported for duty, the spokesperson said.

A section of Air India pilots owing allegiance to Indian Pilots Guild are agitating over the rescheduling of Boeing 787 Dreamliner training. A section of Air India pilots had on Monday threatened to strike work following the failure of talks with the Air India management.

“The management (Air India) has completely backtracked from what had been agreed upon in the last 2-3 days. Therefore, we are left with no option but to intensify our agitation,” Guild sources said.

Disappointed over the management’s attitude, some 100 odd pilots have already join the agitation and the Guild expects the number to swell to 250-300 by tomorrow, they had said, indicating the flights operations could be hit severely in the coming days. 

US foils al Qaeda plot to bomb plane

Washington: The US and other intelligence agencies broke up a terrorist plot to bomb a US-bound airliner and seized an explosive device, similar to the ones earlier used by al Qaeda, officials said here on Monday.

Some US officials suggested it could be linked to Yemen-based Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), CNN reported.

According to a US counterterrorism official, the plot was discovered before it threatened any Americans, and no airliners were at risk.

A non-metallic explosive device like the one used in the failed attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound jet in 2009 was recovered, the official said, adding that it was meant for use by a suicide bomber.

A plot by al Qaeda in Yemen to detonate an upgraded version of the failed 2009 "underwear bomb" has been disrupted, reported BBC citing US officials.

The device was seized by intelligence operatives and is in US custody undergoing technical and forensic analysis, the FBI said.

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, after the news of the foiled plot broke, said: "What this incident makes clear is that this country has to continue to remain vigilant against those that would seek to attack this country. And we will do everything necessary to keep America safe."

Hillary, Krishna to discuss Saeed, Iran 

New Delhi: Visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will on Tuesday hold a breakfast meeting with External Affairs Minister SM Krishna before heading back home on the third day of her visit to the country.

According to reports, the External Affairs Minister is expected to seek clarification from the US Secretary of State on the USD 10 million bounty announced by the Barack Obama administration on Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

During the high-level meeting, the controversial nuclear programme of Iran is also likely to be discussed. The discussion gain significance as New Delhi faces the risk of sanctions starting July if it doesn't reduce oil imports from Iran. The US has been urging India and other countries to slash oil imports from Iran to step up pressure on Tehran to comply with international demands over its nuclear programme,