World briefs 5/8/05

Rebel bombings kill 11 in Myanmar capital

YANGON, Myanmar -- Three explosions rocked Myanmar's capital on Saturday, killing 11 people and wounding 162 others in the latest bombings blamed on ethnic rebels in the military-ruled country. The blasts occurred in rapid succession at a convention center and two bustling supermarkets in neighborhoods across the city of 5 million people starting around midafternoon. It was not immediately known how many people died at each site.

Plane crash in Australia kills all 15 aboard

CANBERRA, Australia -- An airplane carrying 15 people slammed into a hillside in remote northeastern Australia on Saturday, killing everyone on board, authorities said. A recovery operation was underway today in Queensland state where the twin-propeller plane crashed in Australia's worst civil aviation disaster in almost four decades. Peter Gibson of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority told Australian television's Nine Network the plane had been flying in rain, low clouds and 23 mph winds when it crashed.

Weather delayed rescue of injured Everest climbers

KATMANDU, Nepal -- Two Americans, two Canadians and a Sherpa climber were evacuated from Mount Everest Saturday, two days after they were hit by an avalanche on the world's highest peak and then stranded because of treacherous weather. Snow and high winds abated sufficiently for a rescue helicopter to land at the base camp, where it picked up American climbers James Bach and Jason Barilla and Canadians Jowan Gauthier and Pierre Bourdeau. They were brought to Katmandu and hospitalized for treatment of injuries.