Latest: Seven people, including three passengers, are being held hostage aboard the EgyptAir plane after it diverted to Larnaca airport on the Mediterranean island during a domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

FOUR former airline staff have been cleared of manslaughter over the crash of a Cypriot airliner six years ago that killed 121 passengers.

Four former airline staff have been cleared of manslaughter over the crash of a Cypriot airliner six years ago that killed 121 passengers.

Cairo’s international airport was a scene of chaos and confusion today as thousands of foreigners sought to flee the unrest in Egypt and countries around the world scrambled to send in planes to fly their citizens out.

US AGENTS shattered an alleged Russian spy ring after a decade-long probe, announcing the arrest of 10 “deep-cover” suspects accused of infiltrating policymaking and reporting back to Moscow.

POLICE in Cyprus have arrested a man from Montenegro believed to belong to a gang of international jewel thieves dubbed the ‘Pink Panthers’ that is suspected of carrying out high-profile thefts around the globe, the international police organisation Interpol said yesterday.

Israeli warplanes struck the runways of Lebanon’s only international airport in Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs early today, forcing the airport to shut down.

Around 40 Irish soccer fans could be left stranded in Cyprus for up to two days after they refused to travel home on a Helios Airways jet tonight due to safety fears.

Police in Cyprus are questioning two men who were on a British charter flight which was cancelled before take-off after passengers said they were acting suspiciously.

Director of Consumer Affairs Carmel Foley has urged passengers affected by delays on Helios Airways flights from Cyprus to seek compensation under new EU legislation.

Hundreds of exhausted holidaymakers arrived at Dublin airport today after they were stranded in Cyprus for more than 36 hours.

Two hundred passengers who were stranded at Larnaca Airport are now on their way to Ireland.

Peter Woodman

POLICE in Cyprus raided the offices of Helios Airways in the city of Larnaca yesterday, a day after one of the company’s passenger jets slammed into a mountainside near Athens, killing all 121 people on board.

About 2,500 passengers were left stranded in Cyprus today when pilots from the Mediterranean island’s state-owned airline walked out because flight crew had been sacked.

A Moscow-bound airliner was delayed for three hours today because passengers suspected that three Chechen terrorists were on board.

The chief UN arms controllers landed in Baghdad today for a new round of crucial talks with Iraqi officials. As global pressure mounted on Iraq, they expected quick concessions on everyday issues and demanded much more evidence on the tougher questions of leftover Iraqi weapons.

Under tight security, Palestinian militants exiled by Israel left Cyprus today on board two European planes for six EU nations that have agreed to offer them temporary asylum.

Security was discreet at Cyprus’ main airport today as the island waited for 13 ‘‘Most wanted’’ Palestinian gunmen deported from Israel.