World Briefs May 9, 2010

Ash delays and reroutes trans-Atlantic flights

BRUSSELS - The Icelandic volcano with the unpronounceable name reminded the world again that it has the power to disrupt international travel - coughing out a spreading cloud of ash that delayed or canceled hundreds of flights between Europe and North America.The prospects for Sunday flights remained grim, with no improvement in sight for trans-Atlantic passengers, and with a plume of low-altitude ash continuing to float eastward over Spain and southern France.

Flights had to be rerouted north over Greenland or south around Spain to avoid the 1,200-mile-long cloud stretching from Iceland to northern Spain.Approximately 600 airliners make the oceanic crossing every day. Around 40 percent were rerouted southward and the rest skirted Iceland from the north, according to Eurocontrol.

The disruptions to air traffic did not compare to the five-day closure of European airspace last month, which forced the cancellation of over 100,000 flights, stranded passengers around the world and causing airlines direct losses of more than one billion euros.

Blast hits Russia's largest coal mine, 8 dead

MOSCOW - A methane explosion tore through Russia's largest underground coal mine on Saturday, killing eight workers and injuring 24 others, a regional emergency services official said.A second blast Sunday forced authorities to suspend rescue operations when contact with 20 rescuers was lost, ITAR-Tass reported.

Of the 312 miners who were below ground at the time of the blast, 66 remained about four hours after the explosion and rescue workers were working on bringing them out, said Valery Korchagin, a spokesman for the Emergencies Ministry in the west Siberian region of Kemerovo. He did not have further details.The mine, the Raspadskaya, produces about 8 million tons (8.8 million short tons) of coal a year, according to the company's website.

The Kemerovo region is about 190 miles east of Moscow.

- The Associated Press