Air France Plane With 228 People On Board Missing!!

AN Air France passenger jet with 228 (216 passengers,12 crew members) people on board is missing after dropping off the radar over the Atlantic off the Brazilian coast. "We are very worried," a Paris airport official said.

"The plane disappeared from the screens several hours ago. It could be a transponder problem, but this kind of fault is very rare and the plane did not land when expected."

Air traffic control lost contact with the Airbus A330 at 0600 GMT (1600 AEST) after it took off from Rio de Janeiro bound for Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, where it had been due to land at 0910 GMT (1910 AEST).

Airport authorities have set up a crisis cell at Charles de Gaulle.

Meanwhile the Brazilian Air force is conducting a search.

Article credit Reuters

Al Qaeda Terrorist Plots Alert In Europe

CNN reports that European intelligence agencies are on alert for new al Qaeda terrorist plots following the arrest of two men at an Italian port and investigations into the activities of an alleged al Qaeda network based in Brussels.


Bassam Ayachi officiated at the wedding of Malika el Aroud(on picture) (Credit:CNN)

The two arrested are closely tied to a Brussels-based al Qaeda recruiting network, Belgian counter-terrorism officials said. They are Bassam Ayachi, 62, and Raphael Gendron, 33 and they were detained in the port of Bari on November 11 last year after allegedly trying to smuggle three Palestinians and two Syrians into Italy in the false bottom of a camper van they were driving.

A bug planted by Italian police in the suspects' detention facility picked up snatches of conversation about an alleged scheme to attack Charles de Gaulle Airport, in Paris. Charles de Gaulle Airport is the biggest and busiest airport in France.

To read the full story click on CNN