Weather diverts plane to Miami; 26 hurt
MIAMI, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A Continental Airlines plane with a reported 26 injured passengers on board made an emergency landing at Miami International Airport Monday, officials said.
Flight 138 departed Rio de Janeiro for Houston, but was diverted to Miami because of heavy turbulence, WFOR-TV, Miami, reported.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesman Lt. Sierra Elkin said 26 of the 168 passengers aboard the flight were injured.
More than a dozen ambulances and eight other emergency vehicles were awaiting the plane when it landed, the television station reported.
Israel Police arrest U.S. tax scammers
JERUSALEM, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Seven Israeli and U.S. citizens suspected of defrauding U.S. tax authorities of millions of dollars were arrested by Israeli police, media reports said.
The suspects allegedly obtained personal details of prisoners incarcerated in jails in the United States, including their Social Security numbers, and, using fake documents, filed false returns seeking refunds. They then allegedly deposited the money in Israel bank accounts, Maariv said Monday.
U.S. Tax authorities asked Israeli police to investigate and are cooperating in the inquiry, the paper said. Maariv said one of the suspects in the case is a 62-year old Jerusalem resident who has dual Israeli-U.S. citizenship.
Police officials said efforts are under way to track down the tens of millions of dollars deposited into Israeli bank accounts and said additional arrests will be made, the paper said.
The suspects were to appear in the Tel Aviv Magistrates court for a remand hearing, the paper said.
Report: Obama considers Iran gas cut-off
WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- The United States is considering a move in cooperation with allied countries to cut off Iran's gasoline imports, foreign officials say.
The Obama administration has broached the idea of cutting off Tehran's supplies of gasoline and other refined oil products if it refuses to negotiate on its nuclear program with European allies and Israeli officials, who spoke to Monday's New York Times on condition of anonymity.
White House national security adviser James Jones mentioned the possibility of an extreme economic sanction in a visit to Israel last week, the newspaper said.
The Times said the White House refused to confirm or deny the reports. But unnamed administration officials said the move is meant to buttress President Barack Obama's efforts to get Israeli officials to stop dropping hints about a possible military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities if no progress is made this year, the newspaper said.
The sources also reportedly said Obama is attempting to gain more time for efforts by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to develop what she has called "crippling sanctions" against Tehran designed to force it to negotiate on its nuclear program.
Kenya's tribunal stance draws criticism
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Kenya's move against establishing a tribunal to deliver justice for the victims of post-election violence is a U-turn from earlier commitments, advocates say.
The country's Cabinet last week decided instead to rely on a "reformed" national judicial system to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators, which Human Rights Watch said in a release Monday violates promises the country's leadership had made.
Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said an independent domestic court with international participation remains the best option to start establishing accountability and called on the government to immediately adopt legislation to establish the special tribunal.
"Bringing justice to these victims is the most urgent test of the coalition government's willingness to resolve Kenya's crisis," said Gagnon, "The Cabinet just resoundingly failed that test."
Violence in the country following the December 2007 elections claimed hundreds of lives and forced an estimated 300,000 from their homes, some of them still living in camps.
Pakistani Christians mourn deaths
LAHORE, Pakistan, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Relatives of Christians, killed in riots in Pakistan's Punjab province, stopped rail service for six hours by placing the coffins on the tracks, officials said.
Violence erupted last week when a Muslim mob, irate over alleged desecration of the Koran, attacked a Christian neighborhood in the Gojra district in the Punjab. The Christians denied the allegations.
Dawn newspaper reported the death toll of Christians from the violence had risen to seven.
Three Muslims also died as a result of police gunfire during the incident.
Relatives of the dead Christians said the victims were burned alive and the mob also attacked several Christian homes. Pakistani security forces patrolled the area where shops remained closed, Dawn said.
The report said community leaders insisted they would end their protest only after the names of the two local police officials were also included in the official complaint. The blockade of the rail tracks was removed after the community was shown a copy of the official complaint where the two police officials had been cited for negligence, the report said.
Funerals for the victims were later held in a local church, the report said.
Among the about 60 arrested was a leader of the banned group Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, the report said.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari ordered Minorities Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti to remain in Gojra until normalcy returns, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency reported.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency fact book says Christians and Hindus together account for 5 percent of Pakistan's predominantly Muslim population of about, 176 million.
However, the Pakistan Christian Post quoted Pakistani Christian Congress president that Christians constitute 13 percent of the population. The group says the Christians have always been deliberately under counted.
