Pakistan warns Obama

Pakistan warns Obama

DAVOS, Switzerland — Pakistan’s prime minister warned President Barack Obama on Friday that U.S. attacks on Islamic militants in Pakistani territory are inflaming tensions and undermining efforts to quell the insurgency in Afghanistan.

Under the Bush administration, U.S. officials complained the Pakistani government wasn’t doing enough to confront militants that are allied with the Taliban and al-Qaida. U.S. forces have staged a number of missile strikes, and at least one ground attack, aimed at extremists based in Pakistan.

“As far as Pakistan is concerned, we are successfully isolating the militants from the local tribes, and we are keeping the tribes on the right side,” Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said during an event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

British workers protest

LONDON — Hundreds of British energy workers walked off the job Friday to protest the use of foreign labor on British job sites, the latest sign of an increasing backlash against foreign workers amid the global recession.

Workers carrying placards that said “British jobs for British workers” staged demonstrations at more than a dozen refineries and power stations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The workers are protesting a decision by Total, the French oil company, to award a $280 million contract to an Italian firm, IREM, for work at a plant in Lincolnshire, England. The project will involve about 400 foreign workers.

Nearly 2 million Britons are jobless, the highest unemployment level since 1997.

Darvon ban recommended

WASHINGTON — Government medical advisers Friday recommended a ban on Darvon, a prescription medicine that’s been used to treat pain for more than 50 years but left a trail of problems such as addiction and suicide.

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted 14-12 to recommend withdrawing Darvon after a daylong hearing examining its risks and benefits. The FDA is not required to follow the recommendations of its advisers, but often does so.

Darvon was first approved in 1957, when there were few alternatives for treating pain except aspirin and powerful narcotics. Now mainly marketed as Darvocet, which includes a dose of acetaminophen, the drug remains one of the top 25 most commonly prescribed medications.

Fatal bus crash in Arizona

PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Public Safety says a tour bus overturned on a highway near the Hoover Dam, killing at least seven passengers and injuring at least 15.

A DPS news release says the crash occurred about 4 p.m. Friday in northwestern Arizona.

DPS spokesman Lt. James Warriner says officers on the scene have confirmed six fatalities. He says officials do not know what caused the bus to overturn.

The crash closed down U.S. 93 in both directions. The highway is the main route between Phoenix and Las Vegas.

‘Tax issues’ for Daschle

WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Tom Daschle, picked by President Barack Obama to lead his health reform efforts, recently filed amended tax returns to report $128,203 in unpaid taxes and $11,964 in interest, according to a Senate document obtained by The Associated Press.

The White House acknowledged Friday that “some tax issues” had emerged in connection with the nomination, but a spokesman said the president is confident the former Senate Democratic leader will be confirmed as health secretary.

Daschle filed amended tax returns for 2005, 2006 and 2007 to reflect additional income for consulting work, the use of a car service and reductions in charitable contribution deductions. He filed the returns after the announcement that Obama intended to nominate him to head the Health and Human Services Department.

Chemical-dumping charge

LOS ANGELES — The corporate owner of a swanky hotel has been charged after workers were accused of illegally disposing pool chemicals that sickened subway riders and sparked fears of a terrorist attack.

Hotelsab LLC, doing business as Andre Balazs Properties, was charged with one felony count of disposing hazardous waste without a permit, according to the federal complaint unveiled Friday.

If convicted, the company faces a maximum fine of $500,000, said Joseph Johns, head of the environmental crimes section at the U.S. attorney’s office.

The complaint alleges that hotel employees poured acid and chlorine down a roof drain beside the hotel pool at The Standard on Jan. 19. The chemicals snaked down to a street-level storm drain, and the fumes caused people to start vomiting at a subway station two blocks away.

Combined dispatches