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Myanmar increases estimate of cyclone toll

YANGON, Myanmar, May 16 (UPI) -- The Myanmar government Friday increased its estimate of those killed by Cyclone Nargis to 78,000, approaching the 100,000 suggested by the United Nations.

On Thursday, the official government figure was 43,318 dead, The New York Times reported. State-run broadcasters and newspapers did not say why the estimate jumped so sharply.

The military junta also almost doubled the number of missing to 55,917. The number of injured escalated from 1,403 to 19,359.

The military government of the country formerly known as Burma has kept foreign aid agencies from the areas devastated by the storm, which hit two weeks ago. The worst-affected areas were the capital, Yangon or Rangoon, and the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta.

The International Red Cross estimates that as many as 128,000 people may already have died, a number aid workers say could grow unless food and medical teams are brought in.

Saudis boost oil production

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, May 16 (UPI) -- Saudi officials said Friday that oil production in the country is being increased by 300,000 barrels a day to meet the demands of its customers.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi made the announcement after U.S. President George W. Bush asked Saudi King Abdullah to increase oil production as a means of offsetting U.S. gas prices, The Washington Post reported Friday.

"On May 10, we increased our response to our customers by 300,000 barrels because they asked for it," Naimi said. "So our production for June will be 9.45 million barrels per day."

The official said the increase followed requests from "about 50 customers worldwide." He said most of the extra oil is bound for the United States.

Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, said at the briefing that Bush had sought such an increase during his meeting with Abdullah, The New York Times reported.

"The president showed great concern for the impact on the American economy," adding, "We of course sympathize with that."

The announcement came as oil prices reached nearly $128 a barrel Friday, the Financial Times reported.

Huckabee apologizes for Obama gun joke

LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 16 (UPI) -- Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee Friday apologized for telling an audience of gun rights supporters an offstage noise was Barack Obama ducking a gunman.

Huckabee, formerly a challenger for this year's Republican presidential nomination, was speaking at the National Rifle Organization convention in Louisville, Ky., when he made the joke about the Democratic presidential hopeful. As Huckabee was delivering his remarks, there was a thumping sound offstage.

"That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he's getting ready to speak," Huckabee joked. "Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor."

Huckabee late Friday issued a statement apologizing for the remark, The New York Times reported.

"I made an off hand remark that was in no way intended to offend or disparage Sen. Obama," the statement said. "I apologize that my comments were offensive. That was never my intention."

Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, has called for extending the national assault weapons ban, limits on gun sales, and a national law against carrying concealed weapons, with few exceptions.

Speaking with reporters Friday in South Dakota, Obama said he sees gun ownership as an individual constitutional right but said there should be "common sense" laws on background checks and other processes meant to promote gun safety.

Flights at N.Y.-area airports to be capped

WASHINGTON, May 16 (UPI) -- The Bush administration announced caps on takeoffs and landings at the three major New York-area airports Friday in an effort to avoid delays this summer.

Under the plan developed by Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, some slots at Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York and Newark Liberty International Airport will be auctioned off. An administration statement called that is a "sensible market mechanism" to ensure competition.

The Air Transport Association released a statement opposing the auction plan.

"Our members and their passengers are frustrated by the DOT's continued fixation on auctions, despite the overwhelming rejection by passengers, airlines and airports to such an experiment," said ATA President James C. May. "These ill-conceived and unlawful proposals are driven by ideology and will not reduce congestion or flight delays."

May said the solution to airport congestion requires "focusing on modernizing and expanding the airspace infrastructure as the traveling and shipping public expects." He said the government is trying instead to curb demand "by making it more costly to fly."