MANAMA, Bahrain — The U.S. Navy said it has stopped a pirate attack on a merchant vessel north of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden.
The USS Peleliu responded to a call for help from the Gem of Kilakari on Friday morning, according to the Navy. The ship said it was under attack from armed pirates as it was traveling to the Suez Canal.
The Navy said the suspected pirate ships fled the scene after the USS Peleliu launched three helicopters.
The Navy said one grenade landed on the Gem of Kilakari’s bridge wing but didn’t explode, and no injuries were reported.
Japan: Airline gets bomb threat
An Air China passenger jet was forced to return to Japan and four others were delayed Friday after a bomb threat was e-mailed to the airline’s Tokyo office, the Japanese Transport Ministry said. The anonymous e-mail, written in Japanese, told the Chinese airline to suspend its flights or the writer would “bomb the aircraft,” a ministry official said. “We suspect this is a threat related to the Olympics,” he said. Police said they are investigating the case but don’t have any suspects.
Romania: Mastodon remains found
Miners in Romania have unearthed the skeleton of a 2.5-million-year-old mastodon, believed to be one of the best preserved in Europe, a local official said Friday. They stumbled on the remains of the mammothlike animal during excavations in June at a coal mine in the village of Racosul de Sus, around 100 miles northwest of Bucharest, a local historian said. “This is one of the most spectacular finds in Europe,” a paleontologist who examined the skeleton said. “For Romania it is unique.”
Venezuela: Vampire bats feared
At least 38 Warao Indians have died in remote villages in Venezuela, and medical experts suspect an outbreak of rabies spread by bites from vampire bats. Laboratory investigations have yet to confirm the cause, but the symptoms point to rabies, according to two researchers from the University of California at Berkeley and other medical experts. The UC Berkeley researchers said the symptoms include fever, body pains, tingling in the feet followed by progressive paralysis, and an extreme fear of water.
Nigeria: Big bucks for black magic
Police on Friday arrested the head of a federal agency charged with developing Nigeria’s impoverished southern oil region after allegations the man spent millions of dollars on a witch doctor in hopes vanquishing a rival. President Umaru Yar’Adua announced Friday that the head of the Niger Delta Development Corporation, Sam Edem, had been suspended from his job after local media reports of Edem’s large expenditure on black magic. Police later said he had been arrested.
California: Home-schooling OK
Parents may legally home-school their children in California even if they lack a teaching credential, a state appellate court ruled Friday. The decision is a reversal of the court’s earlier position, which effectively prohibited most home schooling and sparked fear throughout the state’s estimated 166,000 home-schoolers. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had vowed to allow home-schooling through legislation if the court did not act, praised the ruling.
Texas: Violations in deadly crash
Investigators say a blown tire on a charter bus that crashed and killed 15 people had been refitted with a new tread in violation of safety standards. The National Transportation Safety Board also said late Friday that the driver was a 52-year-old who had a commercial license but whose medical certification had expired. Authorities say the bus was operating illegally earlier in the day when the right front tire blew. The vehicle smashed into a guardrail and tipped over. Officials say 12 people died at the scene and three others at Dallas-area hospitals.
New Hampshire: Flood kills girl
A flash flood roared through a central New Hampshire campground, sweeping a Rhode Island family’s SUV downstream, killing a 7-year-old girl, and leaving her mother and 5-year-old brother clinging for life to a tree until they were rescued, authorities said. The flood Thursday evening at the Ames Brook Campground followed a powerful storm that dumped several inches of rain on parts of the state.
Maryland: Mayor clear in pot case
Police in Maryland have cleared a small-town mayor and his wife of any wrongdoing in a drug raid on their home in which two of their dogs were killed. The Prince George’s County police chief said Friday that Berwyn Heights mayor was an innocent victim of a smuggling scheme. Police raided his home July 29 after intercepting a FedEx package addressed there containing 32 pounds of marijuana. Police say the package was sent to the home by smugglers with the intention of having a courier pick it up quickly afterward.
From Herald news services
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