British airline: At ‘near-full operation’
LONDON — British Airways travelers faced a third day of delays and cancellations Monday, though most longhaul services were resumed after a computer failure over the weekend caused chaos for thousands of passengers.
British Airways Chief Executive Officer Alex Cruz said the airline was running a “near-full operation” at London’s Gatwick Airport and planned to operate all scheduled longhaul services from Heathrow. But he said there would still be delays, as well as some canceled short-haul flights.
Data from flight tracker FlightAware.com showed British Airways canceled another 27 flights and delayed 135 more Monday, a bank holiday in the United Kingdom that sees a high volume of air travel.
Iberia and Air Nostrum, which like British Airways are part of the broader International Airlines Group and share some data, canceled over 320 flights Monday.
Cruz reiterated Monday on Sky News that the problem started at 9:30 a.m. Saturday when “there was indeed a power surge” causing an information technology failure.
He said there was no evidence indicating that the airline had come under cyberattack.
Airstrikes, shells batter ISIS’ Syrian hub
BEIRUT — More airstrikes and artillery shelling Monday hit the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the unofficial capital of the Islamic State militant group, as U.S.-backed fighters pushed closer to the extremists’ stronghold, activists said.
Airstrikes have intensified over the past days as U.S.-backed fighters have pushed toward the city from three sides. The Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces has captured dozens of towns and villages under the cover of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition since November, when the group began an operation entitled Euphrates Wrath, aiming to eventually surround and capture Raqqa.
Syria Democratic Forces fighters have surrounded Raqqa from the north, west and east. The extremist group, often referred to as ISIS, still has an exit from the south, even though the U.S.-led coalition destroyed two bridges on the Euphrates River south of Raqqa.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the city was pounded by warplanes and artillery since early morning. The activist group had no immediate word on casualties from the new airstrikes, adding that about 38 people have been killed in Raqqa and its suburbs over the past three days.
Colombia delays rebels’ disarmament
BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia’s government is pushing back by 20 days the deadline for leftist rebels to turn over their weapons under a peace deal.
President Juan Manuel Santos announced the decision in a televised address Monday night, saying it was taken jointly with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the United Nations.
As part of the accord ending a half-century of hostilities, disarmament was supposed to be completed today. But the process has been slowed by logistical delays in setting up the camps where 7,000 rebels are concentrated and by the rebels’ growing concern about the government’s ability to meet its commitments.
Among the key problems is that shipping containers, where the weapons were to be stored, haven’t been installed at some of the camps, or “normalization” zones. The government also said hundreds of weapons caches identified by the guerrillas were in areas too remote to be reached by the deadline.
Aid flowing in to Sri Lankan flood zones
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Relief workers in Sri Lanka continued to help flood and landslide victims Monday as the number of weather-related deaths rose to 169, officials said, adding that water levels are now receding.
Over 100 others remained missing after five days of severe weather across the country, according to the Disaster Management Center.
Navy vessels and aircraft were used to distribute cooked food and dry rations to cut-off areas.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday visited the Ratnapura district, where 71 deaths have been reported, the highest number nationwide. Twenty others are missing in the area.
More than 4,500 houses were destroyed of partially damaged, according to initial estimates.