Nation, World briefly
Published 10:44 pm Monday, February 18, 2008
Huge explosion at Texas refinery injures 5 people
A thunderous explosion rocked an oil refinery Monday, injuring five people and shaking buildings miles away.
One employee was hospitalized for burns, while three contractors were treated and released, said Blake Lewis, a spokesman for refinery owner Alon USA.
A fifth person was injured when her car was struck by debris on Interstate 20, Big Spring Mayor Russ McEwen told the Odessa American. She was treated and released from a hospital.
Fires that lingered after the blast were extinguished late Monday afternoon, Lewis said. The next step will entail getting into the site to determine what happened and how to make repairs.
Florida: Shuttle on way home
Atlantis and its crew of seven were homeward bound after leaving the international space station and checking the thermal casing of their ship Monday for the fiery ride back to Earth. The space shuttle is due back Wednesday. Good weather is expected at Cape Canaveral, but if that changes, NASA will guide Atlantis to the backup touchdown site in California to give the military enough time to shoot down a damaged spy satellite without endangering the shuttle.
California: Tiger exhibit improved
Renovations to the big cat exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo are complete following a fatal attack by an escaped tiger. The zoo’s lions and tigers got their first look Monday at the renovated pen. Once the animals acclimate to their surroundings, officials will decide when visitors can see the cats. The animals have been kept indoors away from public view since a Siberian tiger killed a teenager and mauled his two friends on Christmas Day. The renovations include raised walls, new glass barriers and electrified wires to keep the animals from trying to escape.
China: 24 killed in mine blast
An explosion at an illegal iron mine disguised as a wild boar farm killed 24 people, an official said today. The explosion in Wu’an city in northern Hebei province happened on Sunday, an official with the provincial government’s news department said. The official Xinhua News Agency said government officials did not receive reports of the accident until a day later. More than 30 people were initially trapped by the explosion, Xinhua said. Five of the survivors were injured and were in stable condition at a hospital, Xinhua said. The explosion happened at a tunnel that had its entrance in a pigpen.
Tanker, bus collision kills 15
A speeding bus plowed into the back end of a tanker truck in central China, killing 15 people, injuring 25 and spreading flames across the highway, state media reported Tuesday. The accident occurred on Monday evening along a stretch of the country’s main north-south highway in the province of Hunan, the Xinhua News Agency said.
India: 19 killed in gunbattles
At least 13 Maoist rebels and six paramilitary soldiers were killed in renewed fighting in eastern India on Monday, days after carefully coordinated rebel attacks killed 13 police and two civilians. Monday’s fierce clash took place in a forested area in Bijapur district of Chattisgarh state, 265 miles southwest of the state capital of Raipur, said Rajinder Kumar Vij, a state police official.
Iraq: Rocket strike kills five
Rockets slammed into an Iraqi housing complex near the Baghdad international airport and a nearby U.S. military base on Monday, killing at least five people and wounding 16, including two U.S. soldiers, officials said. American troops acting on strong evidence arrested six Iraqi suspects in the vicinity of the apparent launching sites, a military official said. Twelve 107 mm rockets fell in and around the airport and the nearby Camp Victory, the main U.S. military base on the western outskirts of Baghdad, the U.S. military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the official release of the information.
Madagascar: Big cyclone
Madagascar authorities sought to regain contact with southern parts of this Indian Ocean island Monday, a day after a powerful cyclone destroyed homes and caused flooding before heading toward the African mainland. Cyclone Ivan was expected to make landfall in Mozambique by Wednesday, prompting fears it will worsen already widespread flooding. Ivan — the second big cyclone of the season — lashed the southern tip of Madagascar on Sunday with winds of up to 125 miles per hour, Madagascar’s Disaster Response Management Office said Monday. The office said there was no news from Sainte Marie, the southern coastal town that bore the brunt of the storm, because radio and telephone links were cut.
Uganda: Anglicans threaten
Uganda’s Anglican church threatened on Monday to secede from the 77-million member Anglican Communion unless U.S. clergy condemn homosexuality. The announcement was the latest salvo in a fierce dispute about homosexuality that has overtaken the global fellowship of Anglican churches since its U.S. wing — the U.S. Episcopal Church — consecrated its first openly gay bishop in 2003.
