25 bodies recovered; No sign of survivors

Searchers scouring the rough Mediterranean Sea for remains of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET-409 have recovered 25 bodies, the airline announced Monday. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft slammed into the water just two miles from shore after taking off from Beirut with 90 passengers and crew. There is no sign of survivors but 25 bodies have been brought to shore.

DNA tests to identify the Lebanese passengers aboard the flight were underway. The health ministry said it had set up a crisis unit in a bid to identify the victims through DNA tests or items of jewelry found on their persons. Ethiopian Airlines said 14 of the bodies had been identified. Six Ethiopians and eight Lebanese citizens.

One rescue official said that some of the bodies recovered were dismembered while another said bodies were floating in the water.

The Lebanese army, navy as well as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were assisting in the rescue. In addition, the U.S. Navy sent the guided-missile destroyer USS Ramage to help in the salvage and recovery efforts.

Plane rescue effort: Hariri said the weather is not helping

Lebanon’s PM Saad Hariri said the rescue effort of the crashed Ethiopian airliner continues but said the stormy weather is not helping .
He urged the media to act responsibly and to refrain from speculations , conclusions or interpretations because “this is a difficult period for the families of the victims ”
He said the search continues for the black box .
Hariri promised that the government will focus on transparency throughout its investigation

Mitri briefs the press about the emergency cabinet session

Lebanon’s Information Minister Mitri briefed the press on the results of the emergency cabinet session and said:

- The purpose of the cabinet session was to look into the strategies of the rescue operations ( of the crashed Ethiopian airliner ) and to ensure their continuity

- Until now, 14 bodies were recovered and transported to Rafik Hariri University Hospital for identification.
- So far, there is no evidence at all of any foul play
-Minutes after the airplane took off, contact was lost with Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.
- Many other airplanes took off at the same time and there was no reason to prevent the Ethiopian airplane from taking off.
- The conversation between the captain of the airplane and the air-traffic control tower was recorded. Further investigation will help reveal the cause behind the crash.

SSNP says party member Faris Thibyan was on the crashed plane

The Syrian Social Nationalist Party or SSNP leader MP Assaad Hardan has announced that one of the crashed Ethiopian plane is party member Faris Rashid Thibyan

Plane crash: Hezbollah salutes efforts of Lebanon’s 3 top leaders

Hezbollah issued a statement on Monday in which it conveyed its grief for the great national loss and saluted the efforts of the three heads of State
Hezbollah also expressed its condolences to the families of the crash victims.

Karoubi recognizes Ahmadinejad as Iran’s president

Prominent Iran opposition leader Mehdi Karoubi has said he recognizes Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president, despite saying last year’s poll was rigged.
Mr Karoubi’s son says his father still has doubts about the vote, but accepts the results following Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s endorsement.
According to Iran’s Fars news agency, Hossein Karoubi quoted his father as saying: “I am still of the same belief that the election was unhealthy and massively rigged.
“But since the [supreme] leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] endorsed [Mr Ahmadinejad's victory], I believe that he is the head of the government, meaning he is the president.”
It is not yet clear why Karoubi changed his mind. The Etemad Melli party of Karoubi called yesterday for the holding of a free election and permission to stage demonstrations. The party told Ahmadinejad “Hold a free election or allow a free gathering by providing security to supporters of Karoubi or (Mir Hossein) Mousavi which will show how people can wake you up” to realities.
Opposition activists are preparing for a new round of anti-Ahmadinejad protests on Revolution Day next month.

Iraq Executes ‘Chemical Ali’

Iraq’s government says it has executed Saddam Hussein’s notorious henchman and cousin, widely known as “Chemical Ali,” for crimes against humanity and specially the 1988 poison gas attack on Iraqi Kurds, killing 5,000 in deadliest attack ever against civilians
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh says Hassan al-Majid was executed Monday. He had been sentenced to death by hanging four times by Iraqi courts, most recently in a verdict earlier this month. VOA

British victim on crashed Ethiopian plane identified

Afif Krisht, 57, was one of two Britons on board the Ethiopian airliner. Mohammed Tajieddine, his uncle, said Mr Krisht was traveling with two others from his village to Angola, where he had a business. “Nobody has told us anything,” Mr Tajieddine said. “We don’t know if they are alive, dead, whether their bodies have been recovered.”

Lebanon cabinet holds an emergency meeting

An emergency session of the Lebanese cabinet has convened at the Grand Serail to discuss the latest developments following the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409. The airliner plunged into the Mediterranean Sea amid stormy weather minutes after takeoff from Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport Monday morning.

Information Minister Tarek Mitri said that he would reveal additional details after the emergency meeting ends.
He also said that Tuesday’s regular cabinet session would take place as scheduled.

U.S. 6th Fleet aids in rescue effort of Ethiopian Airlines

At the request of the government of Lebanon and U.S. Department of State, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe/Africa, U.S. 6th Fleet, is coordinating assets in support of search and rescue efforts off the coast of Lebanon, January 25, 2010, according to a press release by Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa
Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET409 crashed shortly after take-off from Beirut International Airport en route to Ethiopia.
U.S. P-3 Orion aircraft and the USS Ramage (DDG 61) arrived on scene and were assisting the on-scene commander from (UNIFIL).