Wikinews:Briefs/August 14, 2005

Cypriot plane with 121 on board crashes in Greece, no passengers survive
A Helios Airways plane with 121 onboard has crashed into a mountain near the Greek island of Grammatikos, approximately 40 kilometres north of Athens. No survivors have been reported.

The crash occurred at 09:04 UTC this morning. After communication was lost with ground control twenty minutes after take-off, the aircraft was joined by two Greek F-16 military aircrafts until the plane crashed. The pilots of the F-16s noted that one airliner pilot appeared to be unconscious and the other was not in the cockpit. Immediately after take-off, the pilots reported a problem with the pressurization system of the aircraft, and later a passenger sent a text message communicating that it had become extremely cold in the cabin and that people were freezing to death. It is speculated that the air-supply system of the plane may have failed.

See Wikinews for further developments.

Kurmanbek Bakiev sworn in as president of Kyrgyzstan
Kurmanbek Bakiev has been sworn in as the president of Kyrgyzstan after winning the elections one month ago with an 89% majority. Bakiev took his oath of office after a military parade, in front of diginitaries in Bishkek's central square. Mr. Bakiev's main competitor in the elections was Felix Kulov. They agreed upon a power-sharing pact, ensuring that Mr. Kulov would become Prime Minister if Mr. Bakiev became president.

TSA cuts US airport security screening personnel
The United States Transportation Security Administration has announced plans to reduce the number of security screeners in US airports. The cutbacks come despite an increased TSA budget for 2006 and an overall increase in airport traffic.