Thursday, July 3, 2008
WASHINGTON: Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials have ordered a federal laboratory to stop using radioactive materials until it can show its procedures are safe after a plutonium spill.
A vial cracked June 9 at the National Institute of Standards and Technology lab. About one-fourth of a gram of powder containing plutonium spilled.
Institute officials have said a few employees had internal plutonium exposure and were being treated.
Radiation was found in two buildings and that internal plutonium exposure can lead to cancer, officials said. No threats to public health or the environment have been identified, commission officials have said.
HEART: Afghan and NATO-led forces killed 25 Taliban militants in a 10-hour gun battle in western Afghanistan, a provincial police chief said on Thursday.
The militants were killed in Muqur district in Badghis province on Wednesday during a joint clean-up operation by NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the Afghan army and police, Mohammad Ayob Niazyar said.
"At least 25 Taliban were killed and many were wounded in several hours of fighting after the Taliban attacked our troops," Niazyar told foreign news agency.
He said the clash started Wednesday afternoon and lasted till midnight. No NATO and Afghan forces were wounded in the fighting.
COLOMBO: A series of battles between government forces and Tamil Tiger fighters along the front lines of their civil war killed 26 rebels, the military said Thursday.
The fighting took place throughout the day Wednesday, killing two rebels in the Vavuniya area, 12 in Mannar and 12 in Welioya, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.
There was no immediate word from the LTTE on the latest violence. The defence ministry's claim takes the number of rebels reported killed by government troops since the beginning of the year to 4,669, against the loss of 422 soldiers.
SINGAPORE: Oil surged past 145 dollars per barrel for the first time Thursday as the weak US dollar and Middle East tension stoked black gold's record-breaking run, analysts said.
Brent North Sea crude for August delivery hit 145.11 dollars in early Asian trade, before easing back to 144.90 dollars. It had settled at a record 144.26 in London on Wednesday after breaking 144 dollars for the first time.
New York's benchmark contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, hit an intra-day record price of 144.44 dollars. By late morning the contract was 70 cents higher at 144.27 against a record close of 143.57 in the US on Wednesday.
MADRID: Iran says it will respond with full force if attacked by US and Israel.
Talking to media in Madrid, Iranian Oil Minister Ghulam Hussain said Iran would respond to its enemy with full aggression and said oil prices would be increased to high level across the world in case of attack.
He further said Iran will not act as silent spectator and would launch a counter attack. He was of the view that recent rise in oil prices was the result of fears of attacks on Iran. Oil prices would increase further if US and Israel launched any attack on Iran.
