UPI NewsTrack TopNews July 19, 2008

Bush claims credit on energy, economy

WACO, Texas, July 18 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush Saturday trumpeted steps his administration took this week on rising energy costs and sagging home values.

In his weekly radio address, the president chided Congress for refusing to lift its ban on drilling for oil in key areas of the Outer Continental Shelf.

"Experts believe that these areas of the OCS could eventually produce nearly 10 years' worth of America's current annual oil production," Bush said. "So on Monday I lifted an executive branch prohibition on exploration in these areas.

"Unfortunately, a full month has passed since I called on Congress to lift a similar legislative ban, and Congress has done nothing."

Bush said long-term energy policy will require wider use of energy sources other than oil.

"So my administration has worked to expand the use of alternative fuels and raise fuel efficiency standards," he said. "We're investing in new advanced batteries, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells. We're working to expand the use of clean, safe nuclear power, solar and wind power and clean coal technology."

Bush also claimed credit for action taken this week to rescue mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and reminded listeners that U.S. taxpayers had received $91 billion under the tax stimulus plan enacted by Congress this year.

Sunni group rejoins Iraq cabinet

BAGHDAD, July 19 (UPI) -- A group of disgruntled Sunni Arab lawmakers have rejoined Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's cabinet in a key reconciliation step, observers say.

Six ministers from the Sunni Accordance Front, which left the government a year ago to protest Shiite unwillingness to share power, have rejoined al-Maliki's cabinet, the BBC reported Saturday. The move was hailed as an important step in persuading the country's Sunni Arab minority to participate in upcoming provincial elections.

An Accordance Front spokesman, Salim al-Joubouri, told the BBC that the bloc's candidates would attend the next Iraq cabinet meeting.

The British broadcaster said relations between Sunnis and Shiites have improved since many Sunni prisoners, arrested in the last several years as the government focused on defusing the Sunni-led insurgency, were freed in February under a new amnesty law. The government has since switched its emphasis to battling Shia militias such as that of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army.

Submersible bust yields 6 tons of cocaine

MEXICO CITY, July 19 (UPI) -- U.S. officials say information they provided to the Mexican Navy led to the seizure of a cocaine-laden submarine off the country's southwestern coast.

The four-man, semi-submersible fiberglass craft was loaded with nearly 6 tons of cocaine bound from Colombia to the Mexican resort city of Huatulco, but was intercepted by Mexican marines acting on a tip from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Houston Chronicle reported Saturday.

"We provided intelligence, but the Mexican navy acted alone in executing the seizure," Michael Chertoff, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, told reporters Friday in Mexico City, where he was discussing drug war cooperation and other security matters with Mexican officials.

Chertoff said the undersea bust happened on Wednesday about 120 miles off Mexico's Pacific coast. Mexican marines lowered from helicopters stopped the 30-foot long submersible and towed into the port of Salina Cruz, the Chronicle said. Inside was a cocaine stash valued at $120 million in U.S. street prices.

Colombian drug producers are using such craft more often, officials said. They float just beneath the ocean's surface and are hard to detect on radar because of their low profile.

ANC leader praises Mandela on 90th b'day

QUNU, South Africa, July 19 (UPI) -- A 90th birthday bash for anti-apartheid icon and Nobel peace prize-winner Nelson Mandela was held in the small South African village he calls home.

The party was attended by African National Congress President Jacob Zuma, who said Mandela's legacy is one of defense of democracy and leadership by the will of the people, the South African Web site News24.com reported.

"We are celebrating the life of man who became a symbol and embodiment of hope for African people in particular, and the ANC in general -- a symbol of sacrifice, unity and of liberation," Zuma said in the village of Qunu, where Mandela was feted.

On Friday, his actual 90th birthday, Mandela gave interviews to Western news outlets, his first in four years, and said that while he was happy to have reached 90, his thoughts were still with Africa's poor and oppressed masses.

"Poverty still grips our people," he told CNN. "If you're poor, you're not likely to live for long."

A soccer festival and 500 politicians and anti-apartheid veterans were expected at Saturday's celebration, the network said.

Strong earthquake hits offshore Japan

ISHINOMAKI, Japan, July 19 (UPI) -- A strong, magnitude 6.6 earthquake Saturday struck an offshore area of Japan about 190 miles northeast of Tokyo, officials said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake happened at 11:39 a.m. local time and triggered a small tsunami at Ishinomaki in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture, the state-run Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, Xinhua said.

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