South Korea: Boeing gets contract worth $4.4 billion

The South Korean Defense Ministry announced Friday that it will award a $4.4 billion contract for fighter jets to the Boeing Co., capping a tumultuous bidding war that has triggered almost daily anti-American protests here and allegations of skulduggery.

The award for 40 Boeing F-15s was immediately challenged by rival Dassault Aviation of France, which is seeking a court injunction to block the contract and make public details of the bidding process.

Dassault alleges that the South Korean government took into account purely political considerations in picking the American-made jet, while other critics charge that Seoul came under unfair pressure from the United States.

London: Britain’s oldest male dies at age 109

Britain’s oldest man, a member of the country’s increasingly exclusive club of people who have lived during three centuries, has died at the age of 109, his caregivers said Friday.

Fred Moore died Sunday at the home for the elderly where he lived in New Milton, Hampshire, in southern England.

Moore served as an electrician with the Royal Engineers during World War I when he was given the task of improving Britain’s searchlights.

A spokesman for the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed that Moore, born Nov. 21, 1892, had been the oldest man in Britain and said it was not clear who would be the new holder of the title.

New York: Mother faces charges in drowning death

A woman was indicted on murder charges Friday for allegedly drowning her 4-year-old son in the bathtub and attempting to drown her 5-year-old boy.

Christine Wilhelm, 38, of Hoosick Falls, faces three counts of second-degree murder in the death of Luke Wilhelm and one count of attempted murder related to her son Peter, who escaped, according to an indictment. She was not in court Friday.

Authorities said Wilhelm called 911 from her home, near the Vermont border, early Tuesday but they would not release details of what she said. Her husband was working a night shift at a hospital.

Wilhelm’s lawyer, John Turi, had no comment Friday. His client was jailed pending her arraignment, set for Tuesday.

California: Missing wife’s husband sues American Airlines

The husband of an Alzheimer’s patient who disappeared Dec. 5 at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has filed a $10 million lawsuit charging that American Airlines or its agents lost her.

An attorney representing Joe Dabney, 63, filed the lawsuit in Bakersfield, Calif., where he and Margie Dabney lived at the time of her disappearance. It accuses the airline of gross negligence, breach of contract and incompetence.

The Dabneys were bound for Los Angeles International Airport from Indianapolis and had a plane change at the Texas airport. Margie Dabney, 70, vanished in the minutes after she and her husband left one gate and headed for another in the terminal. An airline attendant had been assigned to escort the Dabneys to their gate. Mrs. Dabney remains missing.

Iowa: Stunt injures patrons

Bartenders who allegedly poured rum on a bartop and ignited it to entertain patrons could face criminal charges, police said Friday.

At least six people were burned in the fire early Thursday at the college hangout Et Cetera in Iowa City. Investigators are reviewing whether it violated fire codes.

One woman suffered third-degree burns to her face and hands. Three people were treated at a hospital and two others were treated at the scene.

Police said the fire may have injured several others.