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Egypt president says he will not interfere in court verdicts, day after 3 reporters sentenced
• CAIRO (AP) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said Tuesday he will not interfere in court rulings, a day after three Al-Jazeera journalists were sentenced to seven years in prison in a verdict that an international outcry.
• The ruling, on terrorism-related charges, stunned their families and brought a landslide of condemnation and calls for el-Sissi to intervene.
• According to Egypt's constitution, the president has the right to issue a pardon or commute the sentences. U.S., Australian and other officials have urged el-Sissi to use this right to immediately release the journalists.
• Rights groups have described the trial as a politically motivated sham reflecting the tense relations between Egypt and the Qatar-owned station. Qatar has been a strong supporter of Islamists in the region and in particular Egypt's former president, Mohammed Morsi, overthrown by the military last summer.
• Sounding a defiant tone, however, el-Sissi said he had always said he will not interfere in judicial affairs, and would respect the courts independence.
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Investigation of Asiana air crash focused on pilots' actions, plane's automated controls
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearly a year after Asiana Flight 214 crashed while landing in San Francisco, the National Transportation Safety Board is meeting to determine what went wrong, who's to blame and how to prevent similar accidents.
• Among the issues raised by the crash are some that long have concerned aviation officials, including hesitancy by some pilots to abort a landing when things go awry or to challenge a captain's actions. Other issues include an overreliance on automated controls that perform functions like maintaining airspeed, and the growing complexity of automated systems, which can confuse pilots.
• The irony of the accident is that it occurred at all. Three experienced pilots were in the cockpit on July 6, 2013. The plane, a Boeing 777, had one of the industry's best safety records. And weather conditions that sunny day were near perfect.
• But the wide-bodied jetliner with 307 people on board was too low and too slow during the landing. It struck a seawall just short of the runway, ripping off the tail and sending the rest of the plane spinning and skidding down the runway. When the (Continued on page 39)
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