EXPERT: MINE AIR PACKS WERE NOT FULLY USED

Expert: Mine air packswere not fully used
BUCKHANNON, W.Va. -- A mine safety expert said Thursday that air packs recovered from the Sago Mine had not been used to full capacity before trapped miners discarded them, provoking an angry response from victims' relatives. Russell Bennett, whose father was one of the 11 miners who died from carbon monoxide poisoning during the 41 hours it took rescuers to reach them, said it's the job of federal investigators to find out why the air packs were not fully used. "None of them was used up 100 percent, and that should tell you that ... that's unacceptable," Bennett said. "And I agree with you," replied the expert, John Urosek. "I think that's a question in all of our minds." Urosek, a ventilation expert for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, testified on the third and final day of hearings into the Jan. 2 explosion. He said the devices, known as self-rescuers, activated when the 12 men tried them, but tests revealed that the amount of chemicals used to create oxygen varied widely, from just 25 percent to 75 percent.
Relatives of crash victims gather to identify bodies
SOCHI, Russia -- Searchers combed the waters off a Russian resort city Thursday, looking for bodies and a flight recorder from an Armenian passenger jet that slammed into the Black Sea in bad weather and disintegrated, killing all 113 people on board. Anguished relatives and friends gathered at a central hotel and a city morgue, where many stared ashen-faced at grotesquely disfigured faces and bodies appearing in coroners' photographs. The photos were posted on a nearly 6-foot-high wooden board in the courtyard. Forensic authorities emerged from the building periodically asking if anyone had recognized a person in the photographs. Fifty-three bodies had been recovered so far, of which just 28 were identified, Transport Minister Igor Levitin said. The plane was traveling to Sochi from the Armenian capital, Yerevan, and most of the passengers were Armenian. President Vladimir Putin told chief prosecutor Vladimir Ustinov in televised comments to work fast to determine the cause of the crash, but acknowledged it would be difficult without flight recorders.
Iran says U.N. resolutionaims to provoke dispute
UNITED NATIONS -- Iran's top U.N. envoy criticized a proposed resolution on its nuclear program that carried a threat of further action which could include sanctions, charging Thursday that it's aimed at provoking confrontation rather than resolving the dispute. Ambassador Javad Zarif said it was regrettable the United States, Britain and France were taking a confrontational approach because "there are a multitude of possibilities for finding a peaceful resolution." "If anything, the draft indicates the intention of those who drafted it to create a crisis where a crisis is not needed, to create an atmosphere of tension which our region does not need, and which can be avoided simply by allowing serious, reasonable, sober discussion," he said. Under the proposed draft, the Security Council's demand in late March for Iran to stop enrichment would be made mandatory, and Tehran would be given a short period to comply. If it refuses, the resolution says the council intends to consider "further measures" to ensure compliance. The sponsors want the resolution adopted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter which can be enforced by sanctions -- or if necessary -- military action. The draft also includes a declaration that the "proliferation risk" posed by Iran constitutes a threat to international peace and security.
Olmert takes office; goalis to set final Israeli border
JERUSALEM -- Ehud Olmert was formally sworn in as Israel's prime minister Thursday with his new coalition government, winning parliamentary approval to pursue his goal of drawing Israel's final borders by 2010. In his first major policy speech to the new legislature, Olmert said Israel needs to shed isolated settlements in the West Bank but will keep major settlement blocs. The parliament approved Olmert's four-party coalition in a 65-49 vote of confidence, but Olmert said he hoped to expand his team -- an effort to increase his backing ahead of a West Bank redeployment sure to evoke strident and possibly violent opposition from some Israelis. "The continuation of scattered settlements throughout the West Bank creates an inseparable mix of populations that will threaten the existence of the state of Israel as a Jewish state," Olmert said. "The borders of Israel that will be formed in the coming years will be significantly different from the territories that the state of Israel holds today." Olmert was thrust into the top job when Ariel Sharon suffered a massive stroke on Jan. 4.
Associated Press
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