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Oil rig safety-valve failure investigated

NEW ORLEANS, April 29 (UPI) -- Investigators say they are trying to determine why a "fail-safe" safety valve didn't work on an oil rig that sank after an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

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The U.S. departments of the Interior and Homeland Security are conducting a joint investigation into what caused oil to spill in huge amounts from the site. They are focusing part of the investigation on why the valve, called a blowout preventer, on the gulf floor didn't activate at the time of the explosion, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported Thursday.

The spill followed an explosion last week that sank the oil rig and left 11 workers missing and presumed dead. The rig was owned and operated for BP by Transocean, a Swiss company.

Unmanned submarines that arrived soon after the explosion couldn't activate the blowout preventer, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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Tony Hayward, BP chief executive officer, said learning why the blowout preventer didn't activate was a key question in the investigation.

"This is the fail-safe mechanism that clearly has failed," Hayward told the Journal.

Officials said a third leak was found in the oil well and the amount of crude spilling into the gulf has grown to 5,000 barrels a day.

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry told reporters in New Orleans Wednesday the federal government offered BP access to Defense Department resources that might not otherwise be accessible to the company, for use in dealing with the spill, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The Coast Guard Wednesday set fire to areas of the oil slick resulting from the spill.

The newly discovered leak is near the wellhead at a depth of 5,000 feet, the Chronicle said. Before it was discovered, officials estimated the well was leaking 42,000 gallons of oil per day, or about 1,000 barrels.

Environmental officials say they are concerned the slick could affect oyster, shrimp and speckled trout nurseries, as well as nesting grounds for brown pelicans, laughing gulls and other birds.


Tucson schools won't check student status

PHOENIX, April 29 (UPI) -- The Tucson school district won't be inquiring about students' immigration status despite the state's get-tough immigration law, district leaders said.

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Tucson Unified School District officials said employees won't do immigration enforcement and the district won't tolerate threats against students, the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson reported Wednesday.

"I have serious concerns and I would like to be able to assure families who come to TUSD that their child is going to get an education regardless of their status, and that we're not going to be doing immigration enforcement on our campuses," board member Adelita Grijalva said after a meeting Tuesday.

Board President Judy Burns said: "Let's make it clear to staff that any threats to a student or parent by an employee of TUSD because of this ruling -- like 'I'm going to turn you in' sort of thing -- will not be tolerated."

The immigration law must apply in a manner consistent with federal law, and denying a public education based on a student's immigration status would violate federal law, said Rob Ross, the school district's legal counsel.

Religious leaders said the law, which permits police to request proof of citizenship and requires officers to detain illegal immigrants on reasonable suspicion, goes against the values of most Arizonans, the Arizona Republic in Phoenix reported Thursday.


Report: Too few troops in Afghanistan

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WASHINGTON, April 29 (UPI) -- Even with additional U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan, combat levels are inadequate to conduct operations in most key areas, a Pentagon report indicates.

The congressionally mandated report released Wednesday said coalition forces decided to concentrate on 121 districts in Afghanistan, but have enough troops to operate in only 48 districts, Stars & Stripes reported.

About 86,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan, up from about 30,000 when President Barack Obama took office last year. By August, the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan will be 98,000.

With the rest of the U.S. troops, and forces from other coalition countries scheduled to arrive in Afghanistan this year, the coalition and Afghan security forces will be able to focus on all 121 districts "over coming months," a senior Pentagon official said.

The progress report said violence in Afghanistan increased 87 percent between February 2009 and March 2010, even though the country's deteriorating situation has leveled off, Stars & Stripes said.

A senior Defense Department official attributed the increase in violence to the presence of more troops who are moving into tougher areas. The biggest challenge coalition forces face is training and fielding enough quality Afghan forces to assume responsibility for the country's security, the official said.

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Report: Taliban leader Mehsud is alive

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 29 (UPI) -- Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, earlier reported killed in a U.S. drone attack, is alive, a Pakistani spy agency official told Britain's Guardian.

Mehsud survived the attack and is alive and well, the newspaper reported Wednesday, quoting a senior official with the Inter Services Intelligence agency.

Until now, Mehsud was believed to have died in January in the drone attack by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal area.

But the Guardian report said while Mehsud's death was claimed by Pakistan's interior minister, it was never confirmed by the United States and Pakistani agencies.

"He is alive. He had some wounds but he is basically OK," the spy agency official was quoted as saying.

CNN, quoting both a Pakistani intelligence official and a senior Pakistani military official, also reported Mehsud is alive and was seen recently in North Waziristan.

The report said Pakistani Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq always denied that Mehsud had been killed.

The CIA. has stepped up its drone strikes since an al-Qaida operative killed seven of the agency's employees in December at a base in southern Afghanistan. Mehsud had appeared in a video with the al-Qaida operative.

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Ahmadinejad asks to address United Nations

UNITED NATIONS, April 29 (UPI) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad requested a visa to go to New York to address a U.N. conference on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, officials said.

Ahmadinejad's request came as the United States and other U.N. powers negotiated a resolution calling for more sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, which Western leaders say they fear could lead to development of nuclear weapons, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

The sanction discussions, involving the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, are expected to be conducted on the sidelines of the 4-week-long conference on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that begins Monday at the U.N. headquarters.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it would help if Ahmadinejad came to the conference with some "constructive proposal to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue." But, Ban said he was unaware of any "concrete ideas" the Iranian leader may reveal.

The U.N. official said the burden rests with Iran, which hasn't "satisfied the request of the international community" that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, the Post said.

The United States and other Western countries want the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution that would impose an arms embargo on Tehran, restrict investment in Iran's energy sector and authorize nations to seize Iranian ships suspected of having weapons materials as cargo.

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