The Coast Guard searched Nantucket Sound on Sunday for a fishing boat missing with four people on board, but said hope of finding the crew alive was dimming. The 75-foot Lady of Grace was last heard from Friday night and was supposed to return to New Bedford Harbor early Saturday. The boat's last known position was 12 miles south of Hyannis, which is 60 miles southeast of Boston. Searchers had spotted debris and a floating oil sheen. The water temperature was 40 degrees. "It doesn't look good," Coast Guard spokesman Benjamin Benson said. At the time the boat went missing, the wind was blowing at about 30 to 35 mph with 8 to 10 foot waves. "Clearly it was extremely cold and icing conditions were severe," Benson said. The boat's trip had been cut in half, to four days, because of the weather. ... http://abcnews.go.com censor News |
Editor - 08:58:00 01-28-07 |
On Iran, Bush confronts echoes of Iraq |
Washington: As President Bush and his aides calibrate how directly to confront Iran, they are discovering that both their words and their strategy are haunted by the echoes of four years ago — when their warnings of terrorist activity and nuclear ambitions were clearly a prelude to war.This time, they insist, it is different."We're not looking for a fight with Iran," R. Nicholas Burns, the under secretary of state for policy and the chief negotiator on Iranian issues, said in an interview on Friday evening, just a few hours after Bush had repeated his warnings to Iran to halt "killing our soldiers" and to stop its drive for nuclear fuel.Burns, citing the president's words, insisted that Washington was committed to "a diplomatic path" — even as it executed a far more aggressive strategy, seizing Iranians in Iraq and attempting to starve Iran of the money it needs to revitalize a precious asset, its oil industry.... http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/27/news/web.0127POLICY.php
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Editor - 23:10:00 01-27-07 |
US military: Afghan leaders steal half of all aid |
Corrupt police and tribal leaders are stealing vast quantities of reconstruction aid that is intended to improve the lives of ordinary Afghans and turn them away from the Taliban, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt. In some cases, all the aid earmarked for an area has ended up in the wrong hands. Defence officials in the United States and Britain estimate that up to half of all aid in Afghanistan is failing to reach the right people. Nato forces in the south of the country say some Afghan police are guilty of corruption and will steal aid if it is handed out. Tribal and mosque elders have also been accused of seizing goods, including building materials and fuel, and selling them in markets. A Pentagon official said thousands of cars and trucks intended for use by the Afghan police had been sold instead. Last week, the US and European Union announced plans to spend an additional £7 billion on assistance to Afghanistan, of which £1.5 billion will be earmarked for reconstruction. ... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=HKHYIP2JCZKMFQFIQMFCFGGAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2007/01/28/wafg28.xml
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Editor - 23:07:00 01-27-07 |
U.S. warns of bloody Taliban spring fightback |
The United States, stepping up its commitment to Afghanistan and pushing European allies to follow suit, on Friday warned the country faced a bloody and dangerous spring offensive from an emboldened and strengthened Taliban. "I think we will face a strong offensive and will have a difficult and dangerous and bloody spring," U.S. assistant secretary of state for south and central Asia Richard Boucher told the BBC, calling the guerillas virulent and tough. "But we are also better set up to deal with it." Last year was the bloodiest since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001. More than 4,000 people, a quarter of them civilians, were killed and more than 160 foreign soldiers. A tough winter, with snow blocking mountain passes, has contributed to the annual lull in fighting, but analysts warn the Taliban, bolstered by drug money and safe havens in Pakistan, will fight back strongly after the thaw in a few months. ... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070126/ts_nm/nato_afghan_usa_dc
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Editor - 23:04:00 01-27-07 |
Tijuana police get weapons back |
Police in the northern Mexican border city of Tijuana have had their guns returned, three weeks after they were all ordered to hand them in. Mexican federal authorities confiscated the guns to check whether any had been used in drug crimes. Some officers refused to go on patrol without their weapons, while others carried plastic catapults and marbles to protect themselves. An official said it was not clear if any officers would face drugs charges. The authorities' move was part of efforts to crack down on drug traffickers and suspected police collaboration. The operation is part of tough measures introduced by new Mexican President Felipe Calderon. The government has sent more than 3,000 soldiers and federal police to the Tijuana area to help fight drug trafficking and gang violence. They confiscated the local force's weapons during investigations into allegations that some local officers had been involved in drug smuggling. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6306849.stm
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Editor - 23:02:00 01-27-07 |
Woman, 65, saves husband from mountain lion |
Wildlife officials on Thursday credited a woman with saving her husband's life by clubbing a mountain lion that attacked him while the couple hiked in a California state park.Jim and Nell Hamm, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next month, were hiking Wednesday in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, 60 miles south of the Oregon state line, when the lion pounced."He didn't scream. It was a different, horrible plea for help, and I turned around, and by then the cat had wrestled Jim to the ground," Nell Hamm said in an interview from the hospital.Jim Hamm was recovering from a torn scalp, puncture wounds and other injuries.After the attack, game wardens closed the park and released hounds to track the lion. They later shot and killed two lions found near the trail where the attack happened.... http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/25/mountain.lion.ap/index.html?eref=rss_world
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Editor - 22:59:00 01-27-07 |
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