Thousands flee fire at airport
A quick-spreading fire burned down most of the cargo section of Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport on Wednesday, forcing 2,000 workers to flee the thick black smoke that closed one runway to traffic and disrupted flights.
The inferno collapsed a large part of the cargo building, likely causing millions of dollars in damage. Three people were treated for smoke inhalation, authorities said.
Authorities ruled out terrorism or sabotage and gave various possible causes for the fire, including a spark from a welder’s torch or a short-circuit.
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
President’s party wins in Congress
Dominican President Leonel Fernandez’s party has won the Caribbean country’s recent legislative elections, according to results released Wednesday, which should enable him to carry out economic reforms.
The Dominican Liberation Party won 52 percent of nearly 3 million votes nationwide, which will likely give it a majority of seats in Congress.
Gaining control of Congress will help Fernandez push through economic reforms and complete the building of a metro system in the capital – initiatives that had been blocked by the opposition.
Beijing
Military buildup called defensive
China today angrily rejected a U.S. Defense Department report that says Beijing is a potential military threat, insisting that its multibillion-dollar buildup is defensive.
Beijing is “strongly resentful of and firmly opposed to” the comments in an annual Pentagon report on Chinese military power, state media quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao as saying.
Liu complained that the report “severely violated the principles governing international relations” and interfered in China’s internal affairs.
The report released Tuesday says China is rapidly extending its military reach with more long-range aircraft and weapons that will allow it to compete with the United States and potentially pose a threat to other countries.
London
Seven suspected of aiding terrrorism
British police and immigration authorities Wednesday said they arrested seven people suspected of “facilitating terrorism abroad” in raids that involved 500 officers from London to Manchester.
Police and officials at the Home Office, which is responsible for domestic security, declined to identify those arrested or to offer details of the allegations against them, except to say that the allegations did not involve potential attacks in Britain.
The BBC and other British media organizations reported that one of the men arrested was Tahir Nasuf, 44, who works for the Sanabel Relief Agency. Home Office and police spokesmen declined to comment on those reports.
In February, the U.S. Treasury Department formally designated Sanabel as a group providing financial assistance to the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and froze its assets.