Nepal begins probe into plane crash

Kathmandu: Nepal has launched an investigation of a plane crash at a small airport near Mount Everest that killed 18 people, including 16 tourists from Germany, Australia and Nepal.

The four-person commission to investigate the crash was announced in a statement from the government tourism ministry on late Wednesday night. The commission, to be led by a senior government lawyer, has two months to submit its report.

The Yeti Airlines plane crashed on Wednesday morning. —AP

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Pak Taliban chief offers amnesty

Islamabad: In a brazen defiance of a crackdown on his militant followers, Pakistani Taliban commander Maulana Fazl-ullah has offered a "conditional amnesty" to public representatives and government officials if they stop supporting security forces.

Fazlullah, a deputy of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakis-tan chief Baitullah Meh-sud who leads militants in the restive Swat valley in North West Frontier Province, offered the amnesty on Wednesday during a broadcast on his illegal FM radio station. —PTI

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Pirates free 15 Filipino seamen

Manila: Pirates in Somalia have released 15 Filipino seamen and four other crewmen seized when a chemical tanker was hijacked nearly two months ago, but are still holding 67 other Filipino sailors, officials said on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the foreign affairs department, Claro Cristobal, said the seamen from the MT Irene, operated by a Japanese company, were freed on late Wednesday and were expected in Fujairah in the UAE.

"All crew members are safe and sound despite the ordeal they have undergone," he said. —AP