hTrying to save dolphins

hTrying to save dolphins
KEY WEST, Fla. -- The Navy and marine wildlife experts are investigating whether the beaching of dozens of dolphins in the Florida Keys followed the use of sonar by a submarine on a training exercise off the coast. More than 20 rough-toothed dolphins have died since Wednesday's beaching by about 70 of the marine mammals, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary spokeswoman Cheva Heck said Saturday. A day before the dolphins swam ashore, the USS Philadelphia had conducted exercises with Navy SEALs off Key West, about 45 miles from Marathon, where the dolphins became stranded. Navy officials refused to say if the submarine, based at Groton, Conn., used its sonar during the exercise. Some scientists surmise that loud bursts of sonar, which can be heard for miles in the water, may disorient or scare marine mammals, causing them to surface too quickly and suffer the equivalent of what divers know as the bends -- when sudden decompression forms nitrogen bubbles in tissue.
40 surfers set a record
CANBERRA, Australia -- More than 40 surfers cruised into the record books Saturday when they successfully rode a giant surfboard off an Australian beach, breaking the previous world record set by an English team of 14 people in 2003. More than 5,000 people gathered Saturday to watch riders conquer the 40-foot-long, 10-foot-wide board, newspapers reported. The board, created by board shaper Nev Hyman, arrived by semitrailer. More than 20 people carried it to the surf. The riders at the Queensland state tourist city, Gold Coast, where the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro surf competitions were held, included pro surfers Chris Ward of California and Australian champion Danny Wills.
Iran issues stern warningabout sanctions threat
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran said Saturday it will never agree to permanently stop making nuclear fuel and warned that any attempt to haul it before the Security Council for possible sanctions would lead to more instability in the Middle East. Any effort by Washington to bring Tehran's suspended uranium enrichment program under Security Council scrutiny is a dangerous path, warned Hasan Rowhani, Iran's top nuclear negotiator. Rowhani, speaking during a two-day international conference on nuclear technology, also confirmed that Iran was building a tunnel next to a nuclear facility in Isfahan without first informing the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency. A diplomat familiar with Iran's dossier said this week that parts of the concrete tunnel could run as deep as a half-mile underground and could withstand the severest of air attacks.
Egypt widens its ballot
CAIRO, Egypt -- Egyptian legislators in one chamber voted Saturday to allow the country's first presidential elections with more than one candidate. A week after President Hosni Mubarak surprised the nation by ordering elections with a choice for president, legislators in the parliament's upper house approved the constitutional amendment sanctioning such a ballot. The amendment still needs to be approved by parliament's lower house, and no date is set on when it will meet to discuss the change.
China offers some adviceto U.S. on North Korea
BEIJING -- The United States should meet one on one with North Korea to help revive stalled six-nation talks on the North's nuclear program, a Chinese official was quoted as saying on Saturday. "To restart negotiations and make progress, I hope Washington agrees to hold bilateral talks with Pyongyang," said Yang Xiyu, director of the China Foreign Ministry's Office for Korean Peninsula Issues, according to the official newspaper China Daily. Such contacts could be similar to bilateral discussions held by the United States with the other governments taking part in talks, Yang was quoted as saying. Washington demands that North Korea give up its nuclear program and has rejected one-on-one talks, arguing that the problem is regional and requires a multinational settlement.
Associated Press
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