BP exploring new option to siphon off spill oil

BP exploring new option to siphon off spill oil

BP exploring new option to siphon off spill oil

Posted: 25 May 2010 12:41 AM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil major BP is exploring a new way to siphon off oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico should current plans to plug the leak this week fail.


Thai cabinet extends night curfew until May 29

Posted: 25 May 2010 12:41 AM PDT

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's cabinet has agreed to extend a night curfew in Bangkok and 23 provinces until May 29, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said on Tuesday.


Police question Israel's Olmert in bribery probe

Posted: 25 May 2010 12:41 AM PDT

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, already on trial for corruption, was questioned by police on Tuesday on suspicion of accepting bribes in a Jerusalem luxury housing project, a police spokesman said.


Bloodshed as Jamaica forces hunt drug lord

Posted: 24 May 2010 01:11 PM PDT

KINGSTON – Jamaican security forces on Monday raided the stronghold of a powerful alleged drug kingpin wanted by the United States, causing casualties as the island's crisis caused growing alarm.

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S.Korean markets tumble amid high tensions

Posted: 25 May 2010 12:03 AM PDT

SEOUL, May 25 (AFP) - South Korea's currency and stock markets fell sharply Tuesday amid escalating tensions over the deadly sinking of a warship and Europe's debt crisis.

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Thailand extends curfew after deadly protests: official

Posted: 25 May 2010 12:02 AM PDT

BANGKOK, May 25 (AFP) - Thailand on Tuesday extended a curfew in Bangkok and 23 provinces for four more nights after deadly anti-government street rallies, a top security official told reporters.

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Police battle for control in Jamaica

Posted: 24 May 2010 11:53 PM PDT

Masked gunmen and the security forces are battling for control in Jamaica's capital city.


Turkish coach crash kills 16 people - reports

Posted: 24 May 2010 11:46 PM PDT

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A coach carrying Russian tourists crashed near Turkey's southern resort of Antalya on Tuesday, killing 16 people and injuring dozens more, broadcasters and a news agency reported.


Trinidad and Tobago gets first woman prime minister

Posted: 24 May 2010 03:02 PM PDT

By Sophie Nicholson

PORT OF SPAIN: Kamla Persad-Bissessar was to become the first female prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago as her five-party coalition headed yesterday for a strong victory in snap elections in the former British colony.

A subdued Prime Minister Patrick Manning conceded defeat some five hours after the close of polls.

"What I do know is that we've lost the elections," Manning said on live television. "The people have spoken."

Meanwhile, jubilant crowds gathered at the headquarters of Persad-Bissessar's United National Congress (UNC), the main opposition party, which heads the People's Partnership coalition.

Persad-Bissessar's campaign tapped into voters' worries about rising gang violence and corruption scandals here.

The 58-year-old has promised to increase pensions and create a multi-million-dollar fund for sick children in a campaign focused on change.

"I take full responsibility for the defeat," Manning said, after calling the risky vote in the middle of his five-year-term in the energy-rich Caribbean nation.

The 63-year-old veteran politician from the People's National Movement (PNM) had grown increasingly unpopular over accusations of neglecting healthcare, after pouring millions of dollars into giant building projects and hosting two major summits last year.

The winner needs a simple majority of seats in parliament, where until now the PNM held 26 seats, with the rest going to the UNC.

Key marginal seats

The tables started to turn as key marginal seats began to go to the yellow coalition of Persad-Bissessar before the final count had ended.

Just over one million people were eligible to vote, while first estimates put turnout at around 60 percent.

Foreign observers expected little change in energy policy in the oil- and gas-rich nation, regardless of the outcome.

Politics here have long been divided along lines of Indian or African descent.

Manning's PNM draws most of its support from Afro-Trinidadians while the UNC of Persad-Bissessar largely relies on Indo-Trinidadian backing.

Her coalition campaigned strongly for multi-ethnic support.

It also includes the multi-racial Congress of the People, and the smaller National Joint Action Committee, the Tobago Organization of the People and the Movement for Social Justice.

After loud campaign rallies with partying in the spirit of the nation's famous carnival, the election took place calmly, with no music near polling stations and an alcohol sales ban in place.

Foreign diplomats overseeing the vote reported no major incidents, while the Electoral and Boundaries Commission called for a probe into ballots reportedly not initialed by officials in five seats, including two key marginals.

It was unclear why Manning decided to dissolve parliament in April, shortly before a vote of no confidence he was expected to win but also amid corruption allegations, which have damaged both main parties in recent years.

- AFP

Facebook told to set up warning system after new sex scam

Posted: 24 May 2010 02:59 PM PDT

SINGAPORE: A major computer security firm urged Facebook today to set up an early-warning system after hundreds of thousands of users were hit by a new wave of fake sex-video attacks.

British-based virus fighter Sophos warned users of the world's biggest social networking site to be on guard against any posting entitled "distracting beach babes", which contains a movie thumbnail of a bikini-clad woman.

In a press statement, Sophos said the malicious posts appear as if they are coming from Facebook users' friends, but it urged recipients not to click on the thumbnail.

By clicking on it, users are taken to a rogue Facebook application informing them that they do not have the right player software installed, Sophos said.

It tricks users into installing adware, a software package that automatically plays, displays or downloads advertisements to their computer, and the video link is spread further across the network.

Sophos said that "hundreds of thousands" of Facebook users were believed to have received the posts over the past weekend.

It followed a similar scam that spread on Facebook the week before involving a fake posting tagged as the "sexiest video ever".

"It's time for Facebook to set up an early warning system on their network, through which they can warn their almost 500 million users about breaking threats as they happen," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

"A simple message appearing on all users' screens warning them of the outbreak would have helped in halting the attack," he said.

"Unless something is done, it won't be surprising if there is another widespread attack this coming weekend, affecting thousands more users."

The social networking site is already under fire for revealing users' information too freely on the Internet.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said yesterday that the website "missed the mark" with its complex privacy controls and would reveal simpler features in the coming weeks.

- AFP

'Black box' recovered from India plane crash

Posted: 24 May 2010 02:56 PM PDT

MANGALORE: Investigators recovered yesterday the "black box" digital flight recorder that holds crucial clues to the crash of an Air India Express plane in southern India that killed 158 people.

The discovery followed an intense three-day search that began hours after the Boeing 737-800, flying from Dubai to the city of Mangalore, overshot the runway on Saturday, plunging into a gorge and bursting into flames.

"It's intact," an official from the Directorate General for Civil Aviation said as he held the battered recorder aloft for media gathered at the hilltop crash site.

"This will help enormously with the investigations," he said.

Due to the good flying conditions and visibility at the time of the crash, investigators say the black box, which records all flight data, holds the key to discovering what might have caused the pilot to overshoot the runway.

The cockpit voice recorder, which tracks communications between the pilots and with the air traffic controllers, was recovered late Sunday.

Only eight people among the 166 passengers and crew survived Saturday's crash.

- AFP

North Korea ready to fight if attacked - report

Posted: 24 May 2010 10:57 PM PDT

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has told his military it may have to go to war but only if the South attacks first, according to a South Korea-based group that monitors the hermit state.


Memorial planned for rig victims; BP readies plan

Posted: 24 May 2010 10:57 PM PDT

GALLIANO, La. (Reuters) - The 11 victims of last month's deadly offshore rig explosion will be honored at a memorial service on Tuesday as BP Plc prepares for a crucial attempt to seal a blown-out well that has spewed oil into the Gulf of Mexico for five weeks.


ANALYSIS - Criminal probe of Gulf oil spill seen inevitable

Posted: 24 May 2010 10:57 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With a BP well spilling oil into the Gulf of Mexico for a fifth week and President Barack Obama under pressure to act, legal experts say it is only a matter of time before his administration begins a criminal investigation into the disaster.


70 pct of firms will spend more on climate change

Posted: 24 May 2010 10:57 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seventy percent of firms with revenue of $1 billion or more say they plan to increase spending on climate change initiatives in the next two years, a global survey reported on Tuesday.


'Black box' recovered from India plane crash

Posted: 24 May 2010 10:22 PM PDT

MANGALORE, May 25 (AFP) - Investigators recovered Monday the "black box" digital flight recorder that holds crucial clues to the crash of an Air India Express plane in southern India that killed 158 people.

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S.Korea starts installing border propaganda speakers

Posted: 24 May 2010 10:21 PM PDT

SEOUL, May 25 (AFP) - South Korea Tuesday started installing loudspeakers along its tense border with North Korea in preparation for broadcasts, ignoring threats by the communist state's army to fire at them.

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Facebook told to set up warning system after new sex scam

Posted: 24 May 2010 10:20 PM PDT

SINGAPORE, May 25 (AFP) - A major computer security firm urged Facebook on Tuesday to set up an early-warning system after hundreds of thousands of users were hit by a new wave of fake sex-video attacks.

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Chinese envoy holds Seoul talks amid regional tensions

Posted: 24 May 2010 10:19 PM PDT

SEOUL, May 25 (AFP) - South Korea pressed China Tuesday to support its efforts to punish North Korea for the deadly sinking of a warship which has raised regional tensions.

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Beijing recruits parents for school safety after attacks

Posted: 24 May 2010 10:18 PM PDT

BEIJING, May 25 (AFP) - Beijing police are recruiting parents to join patrols of school grounds as cities nationwide beef up security following a spate of attacks on children, state press said Tuesday.

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