Oil from sunken Philippine tanker impacts area

Oil from a sunken oil tanker near Guimaras island in the central Philippines is threatening a second island in the country's worst oil spill.

Officials said taht an international salvage crew, possibly from Singapore, is dus to arrive on the scene within a week.


Marine life off the coast of Guimaras Island, central Philippines on August 20, 2006. Leaking oil has caused severe damage to marine and coastal habitat in the area. REUTERS/Greenpeace/Handout photo via Yahoo News.

The Petron Corp tanker was carrying some 450,000 gallons of oil when it sunk in 3,000 feet of water. A "mousse-like" oil residue has damaged local marine parks, fishing grounds, mangroves and beaches.

Local government has advised villagers to set up improvised boons of bamboo poles and dried grass about a mile from the shoreline.

Maori Queen laid to rest

Maori Queen Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu was buried on Mount Taupiri, the resting-place of chiefs, in a traditional ceremony Monday.

The queen died last Tuesday after 40 years on the throne. She was a popular and respected indigenous leader in New Zealand.

A traditional Maori canoe carried the queen's coffin to Taupiri after an elaborate and well-attended ceremony featuring many local and regional leaders.


French Polynesia President Oscar Temaru walks with former New Zealand politician Koro Wetere during the late Maori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu's tangihanga (funeral ceremony) at the Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia, New Zealand, August 20, 2006. REUTERS/Peter Drury/Pool via Yahoo News.

Letter threatens attack on Taj Mahal

Indian soldiers are 24-hour alert at the famed Taj Mahal after a letter theretened to blow up the monument, officials said Friday.

The handwritten letter received Thursday reportedly from an al-Qaida supporter said the group plans to attack the Mughal-era monument.


The Taj Mahal in Agra, India in 1982. AP Photo/Jeff Robbins, FILE via Yahoo News.

"The letter could be false but we cannot afford to be complacent. We are not taking any chances and have enhanced security at the Taj," Ashok Kumar, a senior government official in Uttar Pradesh said.

At least 100 additional paramilitary troops with automatic weapons have been stationed around the marble domed monument built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.