News for September 3, 2005

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20 Oil Rigs Missing in Gulf of Mexico: US Coast Guard (September 2, 2005) - At least 20 oil rigs and platforms are missing in the Gulf of Mexico and a ruptured gas pipeline is on fire after Hurricane Katrina tore through the region, a US Coast Guard official said. “We have confirmed at least 20 rigs or platforms missing, either sunk or adrift, and one confirmed fire where a rig was,” Petty Officer Robert Reed of the Louisiana Coast Guard told AFP. All of the missing rigs were in the Gulf of Mexico, Reed said citing Coast Guard over flights of the area and information from oil companies. He could not confirm the location of the blaze but said it would “eventually burn out” and no fire-fighting intervention was needed. more...

Second Russian U.N. Official Arrested in U.S. on Money Laundering Charges (September 2, 2005) - A Russian United Nations official was arrested by the FBI Thursday on money laundering charges, a federal law enforcement official said. Vladimir Kuznetsov, who works with the powerful General Assembly committee that oversees the U.N. budget, was the second Russian U.N. official to be arrested by the FBI for alleged money laundering in recent weeks, The Associated Press reported. The charges were contained in a sealed grand jury indictment. Kouznetsov was to be arraigned in the Manhattan Federal Court on Friday. The official, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because the indictment is sealed, said that the charges involve money laundering and are only remotely connected to the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq which is the target of numerous corruption investigations. more...

Losses from Katrina seen as topping 100 billion dollars (September 2, 2005) - The economic loss from Hurricane Katrina and subsequent flooding is likely to top 100 billion dollars, the consulting firm Risk Management Solutions (RMS) said Friday. RMS said at least 50 percent of economic loss is expected to come from flooding in New Orleans, hurricane losses from wind and coastal surge, infrastructure damage and indirect economic impacts. The estimate is separate from estimates of insured losses. RMS has projected up to 25 billion dollars in losses covered by insurance, and other estimates have varied. RMS, a consultant for insurers, reinsurers and other financial institutions, said the New Orleans flood “has developed into the most damaging flood in US history.” It said at least 150,000 properties have been flooded, topping the previous US record from flooding and levee failures on the lower Mississippi River in 1927, which affected 137,000 properties. “The economic and insurance consequences of the 2005 Great New Orleans Flood will depend highly on how quickly authorities can respond to the event,” said Laurie Johnson, vice president of technical marketing at RMS. more...

New Orleans rocked by huge blasts (September 2, 2005) - The New Orleans riverfront has been hit by a series of massive blasts, and fires are raging in the area. The blasts are believed to have involved a chemical factory and police have sent a team to see if toxic fumes have been released. The news came as extra troops were sent to quell lawlessness in the city, where thousands are stranded without food or water in Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath. President Bush has admitted that the initial response was “not acceptable”. “We’re going to get on top of this situation,” he said, as he left the White House for a tour of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. more...

Radio host: No doubt ‘End Times’ here (September 1, 2005) - A national talk-radio host believes the severity of Hurricane Katrina is clear evidence that civilization is now in the “End Times” described in the Bible. “I don’t think there’s any doubt,” George Noory said this morning on his “Coast to Coast AM” program. “I think we’re in it. I really do.” While Noory explained he did not mean an imminent end to all life on Earth, he referred to the book of Revelation in the New Testament, saying current events are “the beginning of the end.” “I cannot imagine the grief and the horror that the people in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana are undergoing,” Noory said. “I see it, I hear it, but you know what, unless it happens to you, it really doesn’t affect you.” more...

Netanyahu: Jerusalem is under siege (August 31, 2005) - Former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu accused Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of caving into American pressure on Wednesday for not building in the E-1 area between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim. Netanyahu made E-1 his first stop on the campaign trail on Wednesday morning, touring the area with former minister Natan Sharansky, Ma’aleh Adumim mayor Benny Kashriel, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, and Likud MKs Michael Ratzon, Ehud Yatom, Michael Gorlovsky, and Ayoub Kara. Standing on a barren desert hilltop north of Jerusalem, Netanyahu told reporters that if he is elected prime minister, he will build 15,000 housing units in the area, in an effort to connect Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim and prevent illegal Palestinian construction from cutting off Ma’aleh Adumim from the capital. “We have to break the siege on Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said. “There is a battle for Jerusalem. Sharon has frozen the building here and prevented the creation of a greater Jerusalem. Instead, he is enabling the creation of a greater Palestine.” more...

Mysterious Temple Mt. artifact evokes ‘Da Vinci Code’ (September 3, 2005) - When Israeli archaeologist Gabriel Barkai and his assistant Tzachi Zweig began the painstaking task of sifting through mounds of Temple Mount rubble, they hoped to find artifacts dating from the period of the First or Second Temple. They never dreamed of finding a mysterious artifact that looks like something straight out of the world of controversial theories propounded by “The Da Vinci Code.” Dan Brown’s blockbuster novel from 2003, which has sold more than 36 million copies, identifies the Temple Mount as the site holding the secret of the Holy Grail - the chalice which, according to Christian tradition, was used at the last supper and in which Jesus’ blood was collected at the Crucifixion. Brown’s best-seller claimed the secret that lay buried among the ruins of Herod’s temple was rediscovered by the Knights Templar several years after the conquest of Jerusalem in the First Crusade (1099 C.E.). Accepted scientific research confirms that the Knights Templar built their base on the Temple Mount, around the underground compound known as Solomon’s Stables. However, the whole story of a connection between the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail is pure fairy tale, according to archaeologists and experts on Temple Mount history. Barkai and Zweig discovered in the rubble a cross-shaped bronze pendant measuring a square centimeter. The pendant, which was originally gold-plated, bears mysterious symbols: on one side are a hammer, pincers and nails; the flip side has what looks like a sun, as well as an altar. But the main symbol, which immediately grabs the attention, is the Holy Grail lying on a crown of thorns. more...

Hurricane Forecasters: More Storms On the Way (September 3, 2005) - Amid the unfolding disaster left by Hurricane Katrina, Colorado State University researchers said Friday they expect more storms over the next two months. “The very active season we have seen to this point is far from over,” researcher Philip Klotzbach said. “We expect that by the time the 2005 hurricane season is over, we will witness seasonal tropical cyclone activity at near-record levels.” The CSU hurricane forecast team of William Gray and Klotzbach said there is a 43 percent chance an intense hurricane will hit the U.S. coast in September and a 15 percent chance in October. The long-term average is 27 percent in September and 6 percent in October. The CSU team predicted five named storms, four hurricanes and two major hurricanes for September, traditionally the most active month for hurricanes. The team predicted three named storms, two hurricanes and one major hurricane in October. The season already has seen 12 named storms, four hurricanes and three major hurricanes. The 50-year average per season from 1950 to 2000 is 9.6 named storms, 5.9 hurricanes and 2.3 intense hurricanes.

Palestinians set to take over settlements (September 3, 2005) - Palestinians are preparing to take over abandoned Jewish settlements in Gaza - drawing up plans for high-rise apartments and debating whether to name evacuated towns after deceased leaders or historical events. The Palestinian Authority says it’s ready to assume control, but the most important decisions for Gaza’s future - how to get people and goods in and out - are still up in the air. Israel is expected to complete its military pullout from Gaza within two weeks, after having emptied the coastal strip and four West Bank enclaves of some 9,000 Israeli settlers. Now the Palestinians are fast at work figuring out what do with the land they call “liberated,” and dreams of a better future abound. In the evacuated areas, the Palestinians envision parks, industrial zones, a new seaport, a nature reserve, tourism facilities and new housing to ease overcrowding in the fenced-in coastal strip that is home to 1.4 million mostly impoverished Palestinians. more...

Major oil spill seen on Mississippi River-officials (September 2, 2005) - Louisiana officials said they spotted a major oil spill from two storage tanks near the town of Venice on the Mississippi River on Friday. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality said a flyover revealed a leak from tanks capable of holding 2 million barrels of fuel. “There is oil leaking, but we don’t have access to the area,” said Jean Kelly, spokeswoman for the agency, adding that Homeland Security officials are restricting access. No further details were available. Coast Guard officials in St. Louis said they were looking into the report but that their priority was search and rescue in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

National Guard Arrives in New Orleans with ‘Shoot to Kill’ Orders (September 2, 2005) - Thousands of National Guardsmen with food, water and weapons streamed into this hurricane-ravaged city Friday to bring relief to the suffering multitudes and put down the looting and violence. “The cavalry is and will continue to arrive,” said one general. The assurances came amid blistering criticism from the mayor and others who said the federal government was bungling the relief effort while people lay dying in the streets for lack of food, water or medicine. In Washington, President Bush admitted “the results are not acceptable” and pledged to bolster the relief efforts with a personal trip to the Gulf Coast on Friday. “We’ll get on top of this situation,” he said before setting out, “and we’re going to help the people that need help.” Lt. Gen. Steven Blum of the National Guard said 7,000 National Guardsmen arriving in Louisiana on Friday would be dedicated to restoring order in New Orleans. He said half of them had just returned from assignments overseas and are “highly proficient in the use of lethal force.” He pledged to “put down” the violence “in a quick and efficient manner.” “But they are coming here to save Louisiana citizens. The only thing we are attacking is the effects of this hurricane,” he said. Blum said that a huge airlift of supplies was landing Friday and that it signaled “the cavalry is and will continue to arrive.” more...

A City of Despair and Lawlessness (September 2, 2005) - Federal and local authorities struggled Thursday to regain control of this ruined and lawless city, where tens of thousands of desperate refugees remained stranded with little hope of rescue and rapidly diminishing supplies of food and drinking water. The chaos that has gripped New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina showed signs Thursday of spreading to Baton Rouge and along the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast, as weary refugees continued their slow and confused exodus to higher ground. Fresh waves of National Guard troops began pouring into the region in an attempt to quell the unrest, but large swaths of New Orleans and other sodden areas remained essentially ungoverned. more...

Israel-Pakistan diplomatic ties on the horizon (September 1, 2005) - After the first high-level meeting between Israel and Pakistan, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said on Thursday that Israel and Pakistan were likely to announce the forming of diplomatic ties during the September 14 59th UN General Assembly in New York. “We still have to finalize several issues before a formal announcement, issues I would rather not elaborate on at this time,” Shalom told Israel Radio after meeting Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri in Istanbul. Shalom hailed the move as a “breakthrough, the first-ever meeting,” and continued, “We hope to form diplomatic ties. [President] Musharref initiated [the talks] and Sharon welcomed the idea and asked me to go. We met yesterday for dinner and there was a very good atmosphere. Today’s meeting was also very good.” The foreign minister called Pakistan’s diplomatic act “a brave move,” and pointed out that Pakistan, as the second largest Muslim nation, “has major influence.” more...