Crowd of mourners gather for Kim Jong Il

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Tens of thousands of mourners packed Pyongyang’s snowy main square today to pay respects to late leader Kim Jong Il as North Korea tightened security in cities and won loyalty pledges from top generals for Kim’s son and anointed heir.

Women held handkerchiefs to their faces as they wept and filed past a huge portrait of a smiling Kim Jong Il hanging on the Grand People’s Study House, in the spot where late President Kim Il Sung’s photograph usually hangs.

Kim Jong Il died of a heart attack Saturday, according to state media, which reported his death on Monday.

A huge crowd of mourners converged on Kim Il Sung Square with traditional white mourning flowers in hand. The crowd grew throughout the day, even as heavy snow fell, and some mourners took off their jackets to shield mourning wreaths set up in Kim’s honor, just below the spot where he stood last year waving to crowds at the massive military parade where he introduced his successor, Kim Jong Un.

Five NATO troops killed in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Five NATO service members died today when a roadside bomb exploded in eastern Afghanistan, the alliance said.

A NATO statement did not identify the nationality of those killed but in Warsaw, Polish TVN24 — citing unnamed officials — said all five soldiers were Poles. If confirmed, it would be the highest one-time loss of Polish lives in Afghanistan.

Mohamad Ali Ahmadi, deputy governor of Ghazni province, said that Polish soldiers were attending a meeting this morning in Rawza district, located along the Ghazni-Kabul highway. One of their vehicles was hit by a roadside bomb, he said.

So far this year, 532 NATO service members have been killed in Afghanistan.

Russian parliament opens after vote

MOSCOW (AP) — The parliament chosen in a fraudtainted election that set off protests throughout Russia has opened its first session with leading members calling for more genuine debate to win back the voters’ trust.

Under Vladimir Putin, the parliament has served as little more than a rubber stamp for government initiatives. The outgoing speaker once famously said it was “not a place for political discussion.”

Before today’s session began, however, police broke up a small protest outside and arrested about a dozen people. Some wore signs saying “we didn’t vote for you.”

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the minority nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, says people would be less likely to protest if they saw real debates being held in the State Duma, the elected lower house.

FAA to issue rules aimed at tired pilots

WASHINGTON ( AP) — Nearly three years after the deadly crash of a regional airliner flown by two exhausted pilots, the Federal Aviation Administration is releasing rules aimed at preventing airline pilots from flying while dangerously fatigued.

The pilot work schedule rules, which were expected to be made public today, have been the focus of rival lobbying campaigns by pilot unions and airlines since the FAA released a draft proposal more than a year ago.

That proposal was a mixed bag: Work hours would be shortened for pilots who fly at night, while some pilots who fly during the day could wind up spending more time in the cockpit. Pilots would be required to have a minimum of nine hours off to rest between work shifts, one hour more than under present rules.

Researchers say fatigue can impair a pilot’s performance by slowing reflexes and eroding judgment, much like alcohol. The National Transportation Safety Board has been campaigning for two decades for an overhaul of pilot work schedule rules. An effort by the FAA in the late 1990s to develop new rules stalled when pilot unions and airlines were unable to find common ground.

The effort was revived after the February 2009 crash of a regional airliner near Buffalo, N.Y., killing all 49 people aboard and a man on the ground. An NTSB investigation found that both pilots were probably suffering from fatigue.