Scare for passengers

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), April 13, 2005

The door to a plane carrying New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark blew open in mid-flight today, forcing the pilot into a sharp descent and emergency landing which left her badly bruised, but otherwise unharmed.

The door became dislodged when the twin-engine Piper Aztec hit turbulence at 8,000ft on it way to the capital Wellington from Rotorua in central North Island. Two security officers grabbed the open door and held it in place while the pilot guided the plane down to a nearby airport.

Aspirin cure

A daily dose of aspirin for everyone aged 50 and over could save tens of thousands of lives every year, it was reported today. Researchers claimed a quarter of all heart attacks and strokes could be prevented at a cost of less than 1p a tablet.

BBC jobs row

Unions at the BBC will ballot their members on industrial action over pounds 355m a year cost-cutting plans which could lead to almost 4,000 job losses. The announcement came after the failure of talks with BBC director-general Mark Thompson.

Crime tour

A campaign calling for more help for victims of crime will begin a nationwide tour today. The Victims of Crime Trust will visit major cities across the UK to promote its phone petition line, launched last month.

Booby trap

Iraqi policemen were dismantling what appeared to be a decoy roadside bomb near Kirkuk today when another bomb exploded, killing 12 officers and injuring three others.

Hostages freed

A German police SWAT team sneaked into the house where a knifeman held four schoolgirls hostage yesterday, freeing the youngsters and seizing the man after a five-hour standoff at Ennepetal, Dusseldorf.

Advert misled

Adverts for household cleaner Cillit Bang misled people into thinking it can make an "old penny good as new" in 15 seconds, watchdogs said today.