Istanbul (ap)
Hatay province governor Erdal Ata told state-run Anadolu news agency that it was “likely” a military aircraft, but that there was no airspace violation and no intervention by Turkish forces, adding that it might have been a technical problem.
Rescue teams have been dispatched to the area.
Private Dogan news agency reported nearby villagers had called authorities reporting a crash at around 6:30 p.m. local time on Saturday. They also told authorities that the pilots had allegedly ejected before the crash.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (ap)
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said in a statement that a notice was sent to the North Korean Embassy on Saturday saying Ambassador Kang Chol must leave the country within 48 hours.
Anifah said that earlier in the week, Malaysia demanded that North Korea apologize for criticizing the investigation into the Feb. 13 killing of Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur’s airport.
He said that no apology had come and that none appeared forthcoming, so Malaysia decided to expel the ambassador.
New York (ap)
Juan Thompson was arrested in St. Louis and appeared there in federal court on Friday on a cyberstalking charge.
Federal officials have been investigating 122 bomb threats called in to Jewish organizations in three dozen states since Jan. 9 and a rash of vandalism at Jewish cemeteries.
According to a complaint, the threats by Thompson were made to harass and frame a former girlfriend. Thompson allegedly used the victim’s name while making some of the threats.
Thompson’s supporters say he has no criminal record. His lawyer didn’t comment.
Belfast, Northern Ireland (Bloomberg)
The Democratic Unionist Party won 28 seats in Thursday’s election, just one more than the nationalist Sinn Fein party. Voters elected a new, smaller 90-seat assembly after the collapse of a power sharing agreement in January.
The U.K. may have to reimpose direct rule on the region, if the two biggest parties cannot agree to enter government together again. That would leave Northern Ireland without a voice while the U.K. starts negotiations to leave the European Union. The North voted to remain in the bloc and its agriculture-based economy makes it especially vulnerable to higher trade tariffs which may follow if Britain leaves the EU’s Single Market.
Los Angeles (Los Angeles Times)
Meanwhile, the Transportation Security Administration has been breaking records for the number of guns that security officers find on passengers and in their carry-on luggage.
Last year, TSA agents seized 3,391 guns, or an average of nine a day, nation’s airports, a 28 percent increase from 2015.
Now, the TSA has set a record. On Feb. 23, agents at various airports found 21 guns in a single day, breaking the previous one-day high of 18 firearms found on June 4, 2014.
A breakdown of the weapons and the airports where they were found shows no obvious pattern. The guns were found in small airports, including Asheville, N.C., and at big hubs, including Washington Dulles International Airport.
TSA officials won’t speculate about whether the record-setting pace of firearm seizures is the result of more passengers traveling by air, improved screening methods or both.
Irvine, Calif. (ap)
The winner of Taco Bell’s “Love and Tacos” contest gets an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas to get married in a chapel at the chain’s flagship restaurant. The wedding venue opens to the public later this year.
Diane Nguyen entered the contest with an Instagram picture of herself wearing a burrito-wrapper dress while holding a tray with her fiancee in front of a Taco Bell counter.
She wrote that Taco Bell has been there for the couple throughout the years and the couple’s love “is as cheesy as a quesadilla.”
The winning couple will be announced later this month.