Hurricane Kyle likely to pass near New England

Hurricane Kyle likely to pass near New England

MIAMI — National Hurricane Center forecasters say Hurricane Kyle has formed in the Atlantic Ocean and it’s expected to pass near eastern New England.

Kyle had top sustained winds near 75 mph Saturday afternoon. The storm is moving north in the open Atlantic at 23 mph and could make landfall anywhere from Maine to Nova Scotia.

A hurricane watch is in effect for the Maine coast from Stonington north to Eastport. Hurricane conditions are possible in that area within 36 hours.

A tropical storm warning is in effect from Port Clyde south to Cape Elizabeth, an area that includes Portland.

At 5 p.m. EDT, the storm’s center was located about 315 miles west-northwest of Bermuda.

Settlement cited as bar to peace

UNITED NATIONS — Arab nations will totally reject any partial or interim solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because historically such arrangements have become permanent, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Saturday.

Though supporting current Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to reach “a comprehensive final solution,” Prince Saud Al Faisal said “the least that we expect from Israel during these negotiations is that it should halt all settlement operations.”

“The continuation of settlement activity in the occupied Arab territories renders the negotiations meaningless and makes it difficult for us to convince our peoples of the feasibility and benefits of achieving peace,” he said.

At a Security Council meeting Friday on Israeli settlements, held at Saudi Arabia’s request, Saud said the settlement problem is the “one issue that threatens to bring down the whole peace process.”

U.S. destroyer nears hijacked ship

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A U.S. destroyer off the coast of Somalia closed in Saturday on a hijacked Ukrainian ship loaded with tanks and ammunition, watching it to ensure the pirates who seized it do not try to remove any cargo or crew.

As Russian and American ships pursued the hijackers of the Ukrainian-operated vessel, pirates seized another ship off Somalia’s coast, an international anti-piracy group said.

The Greek tanker with a crew of 19 is carrying refined petroleum from Europe to the Middle East. It was ambushed Friday in the Gulf of Aden, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center based in Malaysia. He said pirates chased and fired at the ship before boarding it.

In Somalia, a man claiming to be spokesman of the pirates holding the Ukrainian ship said the hijackers want $35 million to release the vessel. But there was no way to immediately verify his claim that he represented the pirates.

Hunting with hounds comes under fire in Va.

RICHMOND, Va. — In a state considered the American birthplace of hunting with hounds, George Washington’s favorite sport has become a target for some Virginia landowners who say baying dogs and their owners are trampling property rights.

Even other hunters object to a Virginia right-to-retrieve law viewed as the most absolute in the nation: Hunters have free rein to chase after dogs that stray onto posted private property.

Proponents are rising to protect their right to hunt, mindful that other Southern states have already limited or eliminated certain forms of the sport because of complaints from property owners.

Associated Press