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Searchers begin retrieving debris

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 4 (UPI) -- Searchers began retrieving the first pieces of wreckage officials say appears to have come from Air France Flight 447 that disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean.

Officials said the debris will be examined for serial numbers and other markings to confirm it is the jetliner that vanished after departing Rio de Janeiro for Paris, Voice of America reported. The Airbus A330-200 was carrying 216 passengers and 12 crew members when it went disappeared from radar Monday.

"The nature of the debris, the density, the position, make no doubt that we have the first material evidence that are linked to Air France 447," French military spokesman Christophe Prazuck said.

Brazilian Air Force planes spotted an oil slick and four debris fields Wednesday, but rough weather and seas prevented a salvage mission, CNN reported.

Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, Air France chief executive officer, said during a private meeting with families of that the plane disintegrated either in the air or when it went into the ocean, and that there were no survivors, The New York Times reported.

The cause of the crash hasn't been determined. Flight data recorders, which can send a signal for 30 days, have not been recovered.

A Spanish pilot said he saw an "intense flash" in the area where Flight 447 went silent off the coast of Brazil, but a Brazilian minister appeared to rule out a mid-air explosion, CNN said.

Brazilian officials said 11 planes and helicopters are involved in the search operation, including a French ship equipped with two remote-controlled submersible crafts that can explore as deep as 19,600 feet.

A National Transportation Safety Board spokesman said the agency worked with "civilian and military U.S. government agencies" to look for radar or satellite data for the area at the time of the crash but wasn't successful.

The NTSB said it would participate in the investigation. Under international treaty, the U.S. board is involved because the engines were manufactured in the United States by General Electric, the Times said. What role, if any, the engines played in the crash hasn't been determined.

Obama: Development, tradition can coexist

CAIRO, June 4 (UPI) -- Tradition and faith do not have to conflict with a nation's development and progress, U.S. President Barack Obama told a Muslim audience in Cairo Thursday.

Change, whether through trade opportunities, the Internet or even television, can disrupt and change communities, Obama said from a podium at Cairo University.

"In all nations -- including my own -- this change can bring fear," Obama said, "Fear that because of modernity we will lose of control over our economic choices, our politics, and most importantly our identities ... ." But human progress cannot be denied and countries such as Japan, South Korea, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai have grown their economics without sacrificing their traditions, he said.

Obama also announced "a new global effort with the Organization of the Islamic Conference to eradicate polio,"

"And we will also expand partnerships with Muslim communities to promote child and maternal health," he said to applause.

No development strategy can be based solely on "what comes out of the ground, nor can it be sustained while young people are out of work," Obama said. (All) of us must recognize that education and innovation will be the currency of the 21st century ... ."

Obama said he wanted to expand the focus on education in America to a broader audience.

"(We) will expand exchange programs and increase scholarships ... while encouraging more Americans to study in Muslim communities," he said, as well as matching Muslim students with internships in America.

He also pledged to make classrooms global and virtual by investing in online learning for teachers and students.

Turning to economic development, Obama said would create a new corps of business volunteers to partner with their contemporaries in Muslim-majority countries, as well as host a Summit on Entrepreneurship to identify how to deepen business ties on all levels.

In science and technology, the Obama administration will initiate a new fund to support technological development in Muslim-majority countries and transferring those ideas to the marketplace for job creation, he said.

In addition, he said, scientific excellence centers will be opened in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia and "science envoys" appointed to collaborate on developing energy, job and environment-related programs.

Giant Hong Kong vigil recalls Tiananmen

HONG KONG, June 4 (UPI) -- Thousands gathered in Hong Kong Thursday for a somber candlelight vigil to mark the 20th anniversary of China's Tiananmen Square killings.

Organizers said they expected 150,000 people at the vigil, while police estimated the crowd at 62,800.

Hong Kong is the only place in China where large public gatherings are allowed to mark the 20th anniversary of the Chinese crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that left hundreds dead, The New York Times reported.

The newspaper said it was a different picture in Beijing, where there was not a flicker of protest.

Visitors to the sprawling Tiananmen plaza in central Beijing were stopped at checkpoints and searched. Foreign television crews and photographers were firmly turned away.

In Hong Kong, the peaceful assemblage shut down traffic as the throng moved into nearby streets. Inside Victoria Park, thousands listened to songs and speakers who recounted the events of June 4, 1989.

A half-hour into the vigil, the lights in the park were extinguished and the attendees lit white candles in inverted conical paper shields. Banners demanded the vindication of those who died in the crackdown.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on China to make public the names of the victims.

Fla. mulls empty homes as storm shelters

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., June 4 (UPI) -- Homes that are vacant due to foreclosures are being considered for temporary hurricane housing, Florida's top disaster-management official said.

"We can't not look at something staring us directly in the face. It's a solution to a potential problem," said Ruben Almaguer, interim director of the state's emergency management division.

But foreclosure attorney Scott Stamatakis of Tampa, Fla., said such a plan was "much easier said than done."

He said it might be hard to find out who owns foreclosed properties, and some are controlled by investors who limit their use, The Miami Herald reported.

Florida has about 250,000 homes being foreclosed and 300,000 unsold homes on the market, the newspaper said.

But Almaguer said it was clear to state, federal and local officials that neither Florida nor the Federal Emergency Management Agency had enough shelter space to house newly homeless people in the event of a powerful Category 4 storm.

Such a storm, discussed as a scenario during a weeklong disaster exercise, could nearly bankrupt the state, displace 1 million residents, destroy homes and schools and even free zoo monkeys that could terrorize Floridians.

Six years ago, the idea of using cruise ships as shelter space seemed out of the question, but now it's a recognized option, Almaguer said.

Jeff Bryant, FEMA's federal coordinating official in Florida, said using foreclosed homes as hurricane shelters was just one of many ideas to come from the hurricane exercise at the Tallahassee, Fla., Emergency Operations Center.

Actor David Carradine dead at 72

BANGKOK, June 4 (UPI) -- U.S. film and television actor David Carradine has been found dead in a Bangkok hotel, the "Kung Fu" and "Kill Bill" star's personal manager said.

Carradine was 72.

His personal manager Chuck Binder told CNN police are investigating the actor's death, but offered no further details.

ABCNews.com quoted The Nation, a newspaper in Thailand, as reporting Carradine's body was found hanging in his hotel room closet and police said they suspect he committed suicide.

However, Binder told KABC-TV, Los Angeles, the actor died of natural causes.

TMZ said Thai officials have announced an autopsy will be conducted on Carradine's body Friday.

People.com quoted Binder as saying Carradine had been in Bangkok working on a film at the time of his death.

In an interview with Fox News, Binder called the actor's death "shocking and sad."

"He was full of life, always wanting to work ... a great person," said Binder, whom People.com said was also a producer on Carradine's latest movie.

The actor's film credits include "Boxcar Bertha," "Mean Streets," "Cannonball," "The Serpent's Egg," "Q," "Lone Wolf McQuade," "Martial Law" and "Crank: High Voltage." He was nominated for an Oscar for his work in the 1976 film "Bound for Glory."

He was married five times and divorced four, People.com said. Carradine is survived by his fifth wife, Annie Bierman, whom he married in 2004, as well as two daughters.