First flight of Airbus A350 sets stage for big-plane competition

A350 flying above Toulouse, France

Airbus sent a new wide-body plane into the skies Friday that sets the stage for intensifying competition with U.S. rival Boeing - with consequences for jobs, airlines' investments and the reputations of the powerful plane makers.

After years of delays and a revamp that cost billions, the A350 cruised for four hours in partly cloudy skies above Toulouse in southern France.

Most importantly, it then landed safely.

It met ear-to-ear smiles - and some sighs of relief - among the Airbus engineers and executives who helped the plane reach its maiden journey.

The flight marks a key step on the path to full certification for the jet, which can carry between 250 and 400 passengers and is the European aircraft-maker's best hope for catching up in a long-haul market dominated by Boeing's 777 and the 787, known as the Dreamliner.

"At the end of the day you need to make it real, and this is the time for making it real. So I am very proud already," Didier Evrard, head of the A350 program, said while watching the flight.

Read more: First flight of Airbus A350 sets stage for big-plane competition | CTV News

France - Toulouse: terrorist dies after jumping out of window during police raid says government

French terrorist Mohammed Merah died after jumping out of window as police stormed his Toulouse apartment, the French interior ministry said.

Authorities said Merah, a French citizen of Algerian descent, is part of a radical form of Islam and had been to Afghanistan and the Pakistani militant stronghold of Waziristan, where he claimed to have received training from al Qaeda.

EU-Digest

France: Terrorist dead say French Media

A police source has told French media the terrorist has died from self inflicted gunshots.

More than a day after 300 police first surrounded the five-story building in a suburb of the city of Toulouse, Mohamed Merah, who has confessed to killing three soldiers, three Jewish children and a rabbi, had yet to give himself up.

“There was no movement during the night. We hope he is still alive,” Interior Minister Claude Gueant told RTL radio today. He said two shots had been heard during the night.

EU-Digest

France: 3 explosions heard near scene of standoff in Toulouse

Three explosions have been reported outside the Toulouse apartment where a standoff between police and a gunman suspected of killing seven people dragged on for 17 hours.

The Associated Press reported that orange flashes accompanied each explosion.

The blasts signal that the standoff appears close to an end. Just hours before the explosions, the suspect had indicated he would turn himself in under the cover of darkness.

For more: 3 explosions heard near scene of standoff in France | CTV News

France: terrorist suspected of killings at Jewish school and army barracks in Toulouse surrounded in apartment building

A major police operation is underway in Toulouse as hundreds of officers surround an apartment in an eastern suburb of the city. It's understood one gunman remains in the building another man handed himself over to police in the early hours of the morning. It's also thought that he was one of a number of suspects police identified after the first two killings in Toulouse, inevitably questions are now being asked as to why he wasn't picked up before three children and a teacher were murdered outside a Jewish school in the city on Monday.  Interior Minister Gueant said the suspect Mohammed Merahis a French national of Algerian origin who spent considerable time in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Guant said "He claims to be a jihadist and says he belongs to al Qaeda. He wanted to avenge the Palestinian children and take revenge on the French army because of its foreign interventions," he told reporters at the scene. The suspect reportedly belongs to a little-known group called Forsane Alizza, or Knights of Glory, which the French government banned in January for trying to recruit people to fight in Afghanistan. French Interior Minister Claude Gueant also said the man, had made several visits to Afghanistan, was acting out of revenge for France's military involvement in the country.

The French elite anti-terror squad have been called to the scene and it's understood negotiations are ongoing. The suspect apparently has said he will surrender himself to the authorities this afternoon.


EU-Digest

France on highest terror alert in shooting region

 French President Nicolas Sarkozy says authorities are raising the terrorism alert to its highest level across a swath of southern France where a gunman opened fire on a Jewish school before fleeing.

Sarkozy said Monday's attack in Toulouse, which killed three children and a rabbi, was the worst-ever school shooting in France. He said the terror alert level is being raised to scarlet, the highest on a four-point scale, in the region that includes Toulouse and neighboring areas.

A U.S. official told CBS News by email on Monday that they would continue to monitor threats including those against the American Jewish Community, but to their knowledge there were no specific threats to locations within the U.S. at this point. They said are continuing to work with European authorities to monitor the situation there, and asking the general public to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to local law enforcement authorities.

For more: France on highest terror alert in shooting region - CBS News