SanLuisObispo.com: World

Fire on Finnish ferry in Baltic Sea, no injuries

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:06 PST

The Finnish news agency STT says passengers on a Finnish ferry in the Baltic Sea have been evacuated by rescue helicopters after a fire broke out in the engine room.

STT says all 11 passengers were flown to the port of Mariehamn in the Aland Islands. The 28 crew members remained on board to put out the fire.

STT says no one was hurt. The accident occurred early Tuesday while the ferry was en route to Stockholm, Sweden.

Rich world needs more foreign workers: report

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:31 PST

By By ELIANE ENGELER -- An international migration organization appealed Tuesday to countries to keep open their doors to immigrant workers despite the global economic crises.

The International Organization for Migration said that, despite the current downturn, rich nations will continue to need foreign workers to fill jobs their shrinking work forces cannot or will not do.

In its 4th World Migration Report, the Geneva-based intergovernmental body said there are more than 200 million migrants around the world today.

Rice on terror: All victims are in this together

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:01 PST

By By ANNE GEARAN -- The Bush administration stopped short of blaming last week's terror rampage in India on Pakistani extremists Monday, but said the new civilian government in Pakistan must cooperate fully and hide nothing.

"This is a time for absolute transparency and for letting the evidence lead where it may," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a European goodbye tour overshadowed by the terror rampage last week in Mumbai. Rice rearranged her schedule and will go to India for direct talks later this week.

She said she will not "jump to conclusions," although Indian leaders have already said "elements in Pakistan" are behind the coordinated attacks that killed more than 170 people. Pakistan denies involvement.

Earthquake strikes Taiwan

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:21 PST

A powerful earthquake struck southeastern Taiwan on Tuesday, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The Central Weather Bureau said the quake hit just offshore at 11:16 a.m. (0316 GMT), about 45 miles (70 kilometers) north of the city of Taidung. It put its magnitude at 6.0.

The United States Geological Survey said the magnitude of the quake was 5.2.

Zimbabwe soldiers attack money changers in capital

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:46 PST

Gunfire has broken out in downtown Harare when rampaging, unpaid soldiers attacked money changers and clashed with police.

Associated Press reporters have seen running skirmishes between unarmed soldiers and police wielding guns and riot sticks.

Monday's violence is the second time in a week that soldiers have attacked money changers and stolen their cash in frustration after they have been unable to get their wages at banks.

Official: Bomb blast kills 2, wounds 30 in India

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:06 PST

By By WASBIR HUSSAIN -- A bomb exploded in a train coach in India's insurgency-hit northeast on Tuesday, killing at least two people and injuring another 30, a state government official said.

The explosion occurred shortly after the train arrived at Diphu railroad station, about 200 miles (300 kilometers) south of Gauhati, the capital of Assam state, said District Magistrate M.C. Sahu.

The train was heading from Lumding in central Assam to the eastern commercial hub of Tinsukhia, Sahu said.

Russia to upgrade missiles to evade US space arms

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:11 PST

By By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV -- Russia's military is planning to upgrade its missiles to allow them to evade American weapons in space and penetrate any prospective missile shield, a Russian general said Monday.

In comments to the Interfax news agency, Russia's Strategic Missile Forces chief, Col.-Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, as saying that Russia's intercontinental ballistic missiles will be modernized to protect them from space-based components of the U.S. missile defense system.

The upgrade will make the missiles' warheads capable of flying "outside the range" of the space-based system, Solovtsov was quoted as saying.

China: 6 babies may have died from tainted milk

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:01 PST

By By GILLIAN WONG -- China's Health Ministry said six babies may have died after consuming tainted milk powder, up from a previous official toll of three, and announced a six-fold increase in its tally of infants sickened in the scandal - to nearly 300,000.

It was the first time since Sept. 21 that health authorites have revised the total number of babies sickened by milk powered adulterated with the industrial chemical melamine. The previous total was about 50,000.

The ministry said in a statement late Monday that authorities across the country found that 294,000 babies had suffered from urinary problems after consuming milk powder tainted with melamine.

Failure of Libyan ship shows limits on aid to Gaza

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:41 PST

By By BEN HUBBARD -- An eclectic group from Hamas officials to a flag-waving scout troop showed up to greet a Libyan ship planning to flout an Israeli blockade and deliver 3,000 tons of aid to this impoverished seaside strip. But they met only disappointment.

The freighter was turned back Monday by the Israeli navy, ending the first high-profile attempt by an Arab country to break the blockade of Gaza. Analysts said the incident showed that Arab and Muslim nations, while eager to end Gaza's isolation, won't risk military confrontation with Israel.

The Al Marwa was approaching the Gaza coast when it was stopped by an Israeli navy vessel. The navy vessel ordered the ship by radio to turn back and it complied, said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor, adding that no force was used.

US judge tosses some charges against PR governor

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:21 PST

By By MIKE MELIA -- A U.S. judge has thrown out most of the federal corruption charges against Puerto Rico's governor, who faces trial in February for alleged campaign finance violations.

The judge on Monday dismissed 15 of the 24 charges against Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila. All but two were dismissed with prejudice and cannot be filed again.

Defense attorney Thomas Green described the ruling as a blow to prosecutors.

South Korea ends Iraq deployment, troops head home

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:56 PST

By By CHELSEA J. CARTER -- A South Korean general offered a wish for peace in Iraq on Monday as his troops ended a five-year reconstruction mission in the country - the latest departure from the dwindling U.S.-led coalition.

The South Koreans are among troops from 13 countries being sent home in advance of the Dec. 31 expiration of the U.N. mandate that authorized military operations in Iraq. The South Koreans will begin leaving Wednesday and are all due to depart by Dec. 20, the country's military said.

"Although we are leaving this place, all of us are going to sincerely wish for the peace and prosperity of the government of Iraq and successful fulfillment of our allies' missions," Maj. Gen. Park Sun-Woo said during a brief ceremony in Irbil, 220 miles north of Baghdad.

Mumbai attack puts focus on Pakistan militant link

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:46 PST

By By KATHY GANNON -- The militant group blamed for the Mumbai attacks has roots in the disputed Kashmir region where Pakistan's military has faced off against India for decades.

There have long been suspicions that Pakistan's military and intelligence services helped create, arm and train Lashkar-e-Taiba as a proxy force against India's much larger military.

Though ties between the militant group and Pakistan's army have never been firmly established, the issue is coming under fresh scrutiny and could determine India's response to the terror attacks.

Zimbabwe police skirmish with angry soldiers

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:31 PST

By By ANGUS SHAW -- Police wielding guns and riot sticks skirmished with unarmed soldiers in Zimbabwe's capital Monday, after frustration over unpaid wages touched off a riot.

Police took away one civilian hit by a bullet.

Trouble began when soldiers attacked money changers and stole cash after being unable to draw their wages at banks. Zimbabwe's dire financial situation has triggered a cash shortage, making it impossible for people to get access to enough money to survive.

French locate third body after Airbus crash

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:51 PST

Search teams found a third body Monday following the crash of an Airbus A320 passenger jet off France's southern coast, bringing the official death toll to three with four others missing and feared dead, a French official said.

Divers pulled the remains from the Mediterranean about midday Monday while searching for wreckage from the jet, state prosecutor Jean-Pierre Dreno said in the southern city of Perpignan near the border with Spain. The plane was on a maintenance flight when it plunged into the sea Thursday.

French authorities on Monday opened a preliminary probe into manslaughter.

Mumbai cemetery won't bury gunmen

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:23 PST

By By AIJAZ ANSARI -- A Muslim graveyard has refused to bury nine gunmen who terrorized Mumbai over three days last week, leaving at least 172 people dead and wreaking havoc at some of its most famous landmarks.

The men are not true followers of the Islamic faith, according to the influential Muslim Jama Masjid Trust, which runs the 7.5-acre (three-hectare) Badakabrastan graveyard in downtown Mumbai.

"People who committed this heinous crime cannot be called Muslim," said Hanif Nalkhande, a trustee. "Islam does not permit this sort of barbaric crime."

Tijuana police chief fired after weekend violence

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:06 PST

By By MARIANA MARTINEZ -- Tijuana's anti-corruption police chief was fired and replaced with an army officer Monday, following three days of violence that left 37 people dead in this border city plagued by warring drug gangs.

Mayor Jorge Ramos' office said in a statement that putting army officers in charge will help "regain security" in Tijuana, where weekend attacks included nine beheadings and the death of four children caught in shootouts.

The city's police chief - Public Safety Secretary Alberto Capella - was replaced by his second-in-command, army Lt. Col. Julian Leyzaola. Another army officer, Capt. Gustavo Huerta, has been appointed the new No. 2.