Delegates approve new Red Cross emblem

Delegates approvenew Red Cross emblem
GENEVA -- Blaise Godet, Swiss permanent representative to the United Nations, waves as he holds up a banner with the new "red crystal" emblem in Geneva. The new Red Cross emblem was accepted at an international conference today over Syrian objections, paving the way for Israel to join the humanitarian movement after nearly six decades of exclusion. The 192 signatories of the Geneva Conventions approved the new emblem by vote after last-ditch negotiations between Israel and Syria over Damascus' demands for humanitarian access to Syrian citizens in the Golan Heights broke down. The new emblem -- a red square standing on one corner, with a blank white interior and a thick red border -- was aimed at resolving the dispute with Israel but also could be used by any national society that feared the red cross used by most countries and the red crescent preferred by Muslim nations would not be respected by combatants.
Carroll Campbell, formerS.C. governor, dies
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Former Gov. Carroll Campbell Jr., who helped turn South Carolina into a Republican stronghold and recruited big-name industries, died Wednesday of a heart attack. He was 65. Campbell was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease more than four years ago and was admitted this summer to a residential facility. The staff discovered he wasn't breathing Wednesday morning, and he was taken to Lexington Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, said Campbell's former chief of staff Bob McAlister. Politicians credited Campbell for working across party lines to get things done, especially spurring the economy. Campbell was a four-term congressman before he took office in 1987, becoming only the second Republican governor in the state since Reconstruction. He easily won re-election in 1990; term limits kept him from running again in 1994.
Judge rules that drivingat 128 mph isn't reckless
NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. -- Speeding is not necessarily reckless, even at 128 mph, a judge ruled in the case of a motorcyclist who tried to flee from state troopers. With some reluctance, County Judge John Steinheider ruled last week that Jacob H. Carman, 20, was not guilty of reckless driving on Sept. 5, when he was spotted by a trooper who then chased him at the top speed of his cruiser's odometer -- 128 mph. "As much as it pains me to do it, speed and speed alone is not sufficient to establish reckless driving," the judge told Carman on Friday. "If you had had a passenger, there would be no question of conviction. If there had been other cars on the roadway, if you would've went into the wrong lane or anything, I would have convicted you." Carman didn't get off entirely. He was fined $300 for expired tags and other violations.
Pacific volcano erupts
AMBAE ISLAND, Vanuatu -- An erupting volcano on this remote South Pacific island burst into spectacular life today -- shooting steam and toxic gases 9,845 feet into the sky. Huge columns of dense white steam and muddy ash spewed above Ambae Island to reach the greatest height seen since the Mount Manaro volcano began erupting Nov. 27. Thousands of villagers have been evacuated from the path of a possible lahar, or mud flow, that vulcanologists fear could burst over the crater lip if the eruption continues or intensifies, sweeping away the flimsy homes in its path.
62 miners die in blast
BEIJING -- An explosion tore through a coal mine in northern China on Wednesday, leaving at least 62 workers dead and another 13 missing, the government said, the third disaster in recent weeks involving scores of miners. The latest incident highlights the Chinese government's continuing battle with mine safety despite repeated crackdowns and pledges by the leadership to improve conditions. Wednesday's explosion occurred at the privately run Liuguantun Colliery in Tangshan, a city in Hebei province.
Associated Press