World/Nation

Co-pilot treated for suicidal tendencies before receiving license

DUESSELDORF, Germany - How could someone once diagnosed with suicidal tendencies get a job as a commercial pilot, entrusted with the lives of hundreds of people? That's the question being asked after officials confirmed Monday that Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz received lengthy psychotherapy before receiving his pilot's license.

All 150 people on board were killed by what prosecutors believe was a deliberate decision by Lubitz to slam the Airbus A320 he was flying from Barcelona to Duesseldorf into a mountain in the French Alps last Tuesday.

Lufthansa, Germanwings' parent company, declined to say whether it knew of Lubitz's mental health problems. But it said the young pilot had passed all required medical checks since starting work for its subsidiary two years ago.

Saudi-led coalition steps up strikes on Yemen rebels

SANAA, Yemen - Saudi-led naval forces imposed a blockade on Yemen's ports as coalition airstrikes on Monday repelled an advance on the southern port city of Aden by Shiite rebels and forces loyal to a former president, in what appeared to be the most intense day of fighting since the air campaign began five days ago.

The move to block ports appeared aimed at preventing the rebels, known as Houthis, from rearming, and comes after the coalition achieved full control of the skies and bombed a number of rebel-held airports. The rebels are supported by Iran, but both Iran and the Houthis deny Tehran has armed them.

As night fell, intense explosions could be heard throughout the rebel-held capital Sanaa, where warplanes had carried out strikes since the early morning. Military officials from both sides of the conflict said airstrikes were targeting areas east and south of the third largest city of Taiz, as well as its airport, while naval artillery and airstrikes hit coastal areas east of Aden.

"It's like an earthquake," Sanaa resident Ammar Ahmed said by telephone. "Never in my life have I heard such explosions or heard such raids."

Lawmakers in Indiana scramble to quiet firestorm over new law

INDIANAPOLIS - Gov. Mike Pence called off public appearances Monday and sports officials planned an "Indy Welcomes All" campaign ahead of this weekend's NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis as lawmakers scrambled to quiet the firestorm over a new law that has much of the country portraying Indiana as a state of intolerance.

Republican legislative leaders said they are working on adding language to the religious-objections law to make it clear that the measure does not allow discrimination against gays and lesbians. As signed by Pence last week, the measure prohibits state laws that "substantially burden" a person's ability to follow his or her religious beliefs. The definition of "person" includes religious institutions, businesses and associations.

"What we had hoped for with the bill was a message of inclusion, inclusion of all religious beliefs," Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma said. "What instead has come out is a message of exclusion, and that was not the intent."

The efforts fell flat with Democrats, who called for a repeal, and even some Republicans.

Early results show cliffhanger for presidential election in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria - In a cliffhanger of an election, early returns Monday night from half the states showed Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari almost even. The U.S. and Britain warned of "disturbing indications" that the tally could be subject to political interference.

Counting stopped just before midnight Monday with Jonathan winning nine states and the tiny Federal Capital Territory to Buhari's nine states.

But Buhari won many more votes - 8.5 million to Jonathan's 6.48.

Another 18 states - including Lagos which has the biggest number of voters of any state - still have to send results to the counting center in Abuja, electoral commissioner Attahiru Jega announced. He said the count resumes at 10 a.m. (0900 GMT) today.

It's the first time in Nigeria's history that a challenger has a real chance of defeating a sitting president. This is only the eighth election since independence from Britain in 1960.

Iran nuclear talks near deadline

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Negotiations over Iran's nuclear program reached a critical phase Monday with diplomats struggling to overcome substantial differences just a day before a deadline for the outline of an agreement.

With Tuesday's target date for a framework accord just hours away, the top diplomats from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany were meeting with Iran to try to bridge remaining gaps and hammer out an understanding that would serve as the basis for a final accord to be reached by the end of June.

"We are working late into the night and obviously into tomorrow," said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who has been meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Lausanne since Thursday in an intense effort to reach a political understanding on terms that would curb Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

- The Associated Press