Bush again slams Congress on energy
WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush Saturday criticized Congress again for not holding a vote on opening "more of America's domestic oil resources for exploration."
In his weekly radio address, Bush demanded that Congress act on his proposals on offshore exploration on the Continental Shelf, expanding access to oil shale and extending renewable power tax credits intended to promote development of alternative energy sources.
As he did two weeks ago, Bush called the 110th Congress "one of the least productive in history."
"This is their final chance to take action before the November elections," he said. "If members of Congress do not support the American people at the gas pump, then they should not expect the American people to support them at the ballot box."
Speaking of multiple Gulf Coast hurricanes and tropical storms, Bush said the coordination between the federal government and Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas was "strong."
"(Hurricane) Gustav caused damage to infrastructure, forced tens of thousands into shelters, and left more than a million people without power," he said. "The federal government is working with state and local officials to repair this damage, to help residents get back home, and to return life in the region to normal as soon as possible."
500 dead in Haiti from TS Hanna
GONAIVES, Haiti, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Haitian officials say more than 500 people are known dead from floods and landslides caused by Tropical Storm Hanna.
Hundreds of bodies have been found in receding flood waters of the northern town of Gonaives. Estimates are that more than a quarter million people have been left homeless nationwide after a week of devastation, Sky News reported Saturday.
"The weather is calm now and we are discovering more bodies," Gonaives police commissioner Ernst Dorfeuille said. "We have found 495 bodies so far and there are 13 people missing. The smell of the dead is very unpleasant in Gonaives. The death toll could be even higher."
United Nations officials are seeking emergency funds to help up to 600,000 Haitians, with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launching similar appeals. The UN's World Food Program has already sent a freighter with food to Gonaives.
Polls reopen in Angola elections
LUANDA, Angola, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Election officials say Angola polls reopened for a second day and voting will continue until all have had an opportunity to cast ballots.
The sometimes chaotic situation in the country's first election in 16 years began with late opening of some polling stations and a shortage of ballots, particularly in the overcrowded capital of Luanda, the BBC reported Saturday.
Angola is holding its first free elections since the 1992 conclusion of civil war. Some opposition leaders called for an election do-over, suggesting the current process favors the ruling MPLA party of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
Unita Party leader Isaias Samakuva said Saturday that disorganization had caused the system to collapse. "At this stage, nobody knows what percentage of the electorate was present at polling stations," he told the BBC.
"We need to make this process credible -- credible not only to the Angolans themselves but to the international community as well," Samakuva said.
Luisa Morgantini, head of the European Union observer mission in Angola, expressed concern about the level of disorganization at the start of voting, but she told the British broadcaster that the situation improved as the day went on.
Rockslide crushes Cairo neighborhood
CAIRO, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Emergency workers say at least 20 people have been killed by a rockslide in a poor area of Cairo, Egypt.
The impoverished Duwayqa district saw dozens of houses hit by boulders and rocks with many persons believed to still be trapped. It was not clear what caused the rockfall, which resulted in huge boulders up to 70 tons falling on the homes at 9 a.m., the BBC reported Saturday.
"It was horror," said Hassan Ibrahim Hassan, 80, whose home survived the destruction. "The power went out, we heard a loud bang like an earthquake and I thought this house had collapsed. I went out, I saw the whole mountain had collapsed."
Witnesses said hundreds of distraught residents were scrambling to find relatives and friends -- some trapped under the rubble. While people began digging with their bare hands, rescue teams were forced to wait for cranes and heavy lifting equipment before moving the huge boulders.
Arab League begins Cairo meeting
CAIRO, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Arab League leaders Saturday expressed hope for solving problems ranging from Gaza and Sudan to Iran as meetings began in Cairo.
The 130th meeting of the league's permanent representatives sets the stage for a Monday meeting of Arab foreign ministers with many issues before them, KUNA, the Kuwait News Agency, reported.
Saudi delegate and chairman of the session Ahmad Abdel Aziz Qattan said the Palestinian cause remained the top Arab concern. He urged Hamas and backers of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to come together around Arab League resolutions and other negotiation efforts.
Qattan said he hoped that Lebanese factions could resolve problems using the Doha agreement as a model much as he said a recent agreement between the Arab League and Somalia provided direction in that region.
Iran's nuclear program remains one of the biggest challenges for the region, Qattan said, expressing hope that differences could be peacefully resolved.
Small quake rattles Calif.'s East Bay
OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 6 (UPI) -- A small earthquake rattled San Francisco's East Bay area Friday night, causing no apparent damage, seismologists said.
The magnitude 4.0 temblor was centered near Alamo, Calif., about 10 miles underground, and was felt in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
David Oppenheimer, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, told the newspaper the quake happened in an unnamed fault more than two miles from the larger Calaveras fault. The last time a quake was centered there was in 1990, when a cluster of quakes caused minor structural damage to some homes, he said.
