Crews start pumping water in search for Chinese miners
Zuoyun, China – Crews searching for 57 coal miners trapped for five days by an underground flood began pumping water from the mine today as residents began to lose hope for a successful rescue.
The pumping began after a lengthy delay that state media said was caused by technical problems and lack of power to run the giant pumps brought in by rescuers. There were no ambulances or medical personnel on hand, suggesting that rescuers didn’t expect to find any survivors from the flood Thursday, which appeared to be China’s biggest mine disaster this year.
The incident in Shanxi province highlights the chaotic state of the country’s coal mines, where about 6,000 miners are killed each year in fires, explosions and floods.
After the water pumps were turned on about 9 a.m. today, onlookers could see a growing stream pouring from hoses leading out of the mine and into a gully below. The pumps are capable of moving 42,000 cubic feet of water per hour, the official Xinhua News Agency said. But it said the flooded mine could take days to drain.
China’s top work safety official, Li Yizhong, on Monday accused the mine’s manager of sending miners into a coal seam beyond its approved area, and other officials alleged the managers tried to cover up the accident. The mine manager and at least eight other officials have been detained for questioning, although the mine’s owner fled, state media reported.
NORFOLK, Va.
Cop in street clothes killed by colleague
A police officer was fatally shot by a colleague after responding to a call in plain clothes, authorities said Monday.
Seneca Darden, 25, was shot Sunday morning, a police spokesman said. The officer who fired was not identified, but police said he has been placed on administrative leave.
Officers arriving to investigate reports of a shooting victim in a home had reported a large crowd outside and requested backup. Among the officers responding was Darden, who was in a T-shirt and jeans, said Police Chief Bruce Marquis.
When police saw Darden holding a handgun, they told him to drop the weapon. An officer opened fire, hitting him several times. Darden died shortly afterward at a hospital.
CHICAGO
Studs Terkel sues over phone records
A lawsuit filed Monday on behalf of author Studs Terkel and other professionals seeks to stop AT&T from giving customer phone records to the National Security Agency without a court order.
The plaintiffs, who include a doctor and a state lawmaker, said they rely on confidentiality in their work and are worried that their clients will be less likely to phone them if they think the government collects lists of the numbers they are calling.
USA Today reported May 11 that AT&T and other phone companies complied with an NSA request for the phone records of millions of ordinary Americans after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
San Antonio-based AT&T said Monday that it’s obliged to assist government agencies responsible for protecting the public, as allowed within the law.
LANSING, Mich.
Past as Nazi dooms man’s citizenship plea
A federal appeals court on Monday turned aside an 86-year-old immigrant’s efforts to retain his U.S. citizenship, saying there was ample evidence he hid his past as a Nazi guard.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati denied the appeal of Iwan Mandycz of Sterling Heights, Mich.
The Justice Department has said Mandycz lied about his background in applications for displaced-person status and American citizenship after World War II. Mandycz became a U.S. citizen in 1955.
The three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit agreed Mandycz was an armed guard in 1943 at a Nazi labor camp in Poland, where Jews were exploited as slave laborers and then murdered.
MEXICO CITY
Fox promises vote will be cleanest ever
Mexican President Vicente Fox promised Monday that the country will hold its cleanest elections ever, while his spokesman branded as “traitors” those who claim the government is violating a Mexican political taboo by interfering in the elections.
In a televised address Monday, Fox assured the public that the July 2 balloting will be free of electoral shenanigans, responding to accusations from opposition leaders that his party might interfere with the vote count.
“I will do everything in my power to make sure the results of the election faithfully reflect the political will of the majority of Mexicans,” Fox said.
The president, who is barred from seeking a second six-year term, also said he would stop recording radio and TV commercials promoting his administration’s achievements until after the vote to avoid further accusations he has used his office to promote his National Action Party’s candidate, Felipe Calderon.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka
Government, rebels to hold peace talks
Norwegian envoys will meet with Tamil rebels and Sri Lanka’s government this week in an effort to revive peace talks, a government spokesman said today.
Erik Solheim, who negotiated the country’s 2002 cease-fire and is now Norway’s international development minister, is expected to arrive Thursday.
The government and the rebels held peace talks in Geneva in February for the first time in three years, but a second round set for April was canceled because of a surge in fighting.
The rebels have fought the government since 1983, demanding a separate Tamil homeland.
