US and EU in urgent discussions over plan to expand airline laptop ban

European governments alarmed at a proposed expansion of the ban on in-flight laptops and tablets to planes from the EU are holding urgent talks with the US Department of Homeland Security.

Chief among the concerns are whether any new threat prompted the proposal, said European Commission transport spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, who confirmed the talks and said the EU had no new information about a specific security concern.