Senior U.S. envoy joins Iranian nuclear talks
Senior U.S. envoy joins Iranian nuclear talks
VIENNA, Austria — A senior U.S. envoy will sit eye-to-eye for the first time today with a top Iranian nuclear negotiator, a sharp reversal in U.S. policy that aims to entice Tehran into ending activities that could be used to make atomic weapons.
The move to send Under-secretary of State William Burns to the Geneva nuclear talks has raised the hackles of Washington hard-liners who say it signals U.S. weakness. But supporters insist because both Tehran and the United States want to ease tensions, the move could breathe life into deadlocked nuclear talks.
On the eve of the meeting, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the talks offered hope for a peaceful solution to the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program. But he also expects no quick changes from Iran, which has said “the essentials” — an apparent reference to suspending uranium enrichment — will not be on the table.
Army shoots live pigs despite PETA’s opposition
HONOLULU — The Army says it’s critical to saving the lives of wounded soldiers. Animal-rights activists call the training cruel and outdated.
Despite opposition by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Army proceeded to shoot live pigs and treat their gunshot wounds in a medical trauma exercise Friday at Schofield Barracks for soldiers headed to Iraq.
Maj. Derrick Cheng, spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division, said the training was conducted as scheduled under a U.S. Department of Agriculture license and the careful supervision of veterinarians and a military Animal Care and Use Committee.
“It’s to teach Army personnel how to manage critically injured patients within the first few hours of their injury,” Cheng said.
Crane collapses, killing 4
HOUSTON — One of the nation’s largest mobile cranes collapsed at a Houston oil refinery Friday, killing four workers and injuring seven others in the latest of several fatal accidents that have raised concerns about the safety of construction cranes.
The 30-story-tall crane, capable of lifting 1 million pounds, fell over at a LyondellBasell refinery in southeast Houston about 2 p.m., said Jim Roecker, the company’s vice president for refining.
The massive, deep red crane lay on top of a smaller, bright yellow crane on the grounds of the refinery. Ambulances and firetrucks were lined up outside.
Storms become hurricanes
MEXICO CITY — Tropical Storm Fausto became a hurricane Friday far off Mexico’s Pacific coast, while Bertha strengthened back into a hurricane in the open Atlantic.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said neither storm is expected to threaten land. Tropical Storm Elida, far off Mexico’s Pacific Coast, was also expected to stay in the open sea.
Bertha became a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph. It was located about 640 miles south of Cape Race, Newfoundland, and moving northeast at 22 mph.
Soccer players help subdue man on flight
OKLAHOMA CITY — An American Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles was diverted to Oklahoma City on Friday after a passenger stripped, put his clothes back on and then tried to open an emergency exit door before being subdued by members of a pro soccer team and others, the FBI said.
American Flight 725, a Boeing 757 with 151 passengers and seven crew on board, arrived in Oklahoma City at 1:35 p.m. CDT and was back in the air an hour later on the way to Los Angeles, said Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Airlines.
The passenger was removed from the plane in Oklahoma City and was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said.
Two French aid workers kidnapped in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — Two French humanitarian workers were kidnapped at gunpoint Friday in Afghanistan and spirited out of the house they were sleeping in, the aid group Action Against Hunger and the French Foreign Ministry said.
The two are believed to be alive, the Paris-based group said in a statement.
Also Friday, explosions were reported in Helmand Province and in Kabul.
A Friday morning blast in Helmand province’s Nava district killed three guards and wounded four, said provincial police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal.
Associated Press