Crist seeks $100M from BP for Florida
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., June 4 (UPI) -- Tar balls washed ashore Friday on the beaches of Pensacola, Fla., as Gov. Charlie Crist asked BP for $100 million to cover cleanup costs.
Brad Hattaway, emergency planning coordinator for Escambia County, said researchers were unsure if the tar is from the spill at BP's Deepwater Horizon platform, the Miami Herald reported. He said no oil has turned up west of Pensacola yet.
Crist, in a letter to BP America President Lamar McKay, said the company's money would be used to pay for efforts to keep oil off Florida beaches and away from its wildlife, Florida Today said.
"We are continuing to keep a close watch on the oil spill and are prepared to respond to any impacts we may experience," Crist said during an appearance on "The Early Show" on CBS.
Florida's 1,260 miles of coast are a lure for tourists and a major contributor to the state's economy, Crist said. If oil continues to spread through the Gulf of Mexico, it threatens the Panhandle, the west coast and the Florida Keys.
S.C. senator sorry for 'raghead' remark
COLUMBIA, S.C., June 4 (UPI) -- A Republican state senator in South Carolina says he was joking when he called Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley a "raghead."
Sen. John M. "Jake" Knotts Jr. made what he also described as an "unintended slur" during an appearance Thursday on an Internet show, "Pub Politics," The State reported. Haley, who was raised as a Sikh, is the daughter of immigrants from India.
"We already got one raghead in the White House," Knotts said. "We don't need another in the governor's mansion."
Haley, the only woman in a four-way primary fight, has been leading the field since former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed her a few weeks ago. Knotts is a close ally of Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, another gubernatorial candidate.
State Republican Chairwoman Karen Floyd ordered Knotts to apologize.
"Bear in mind that this is a freewheeling, anything-goes Internet radio show that is broadcast from a pub. It's like a local political version of 'Saturday Night Live,'" Knotts said. "Since my intended humorous context was lost in translation, I apologize. I still believe Ms. Haley is pretending to be someone she is not, much as Obama did, but I apologize to both for an unintended slur."
N. Korea issues warning on ship probe
SEOUL, June 4 (UPI) -- North Korea urged the U.N. Security Council to re-investigate the sinking of a South Korean warship, warning of retaliation if punitive action is discussed.
An unidentified North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman told the country's official Korean Central News Agency that Pyongyang's response would be similar to those taken in the past but did not elaborate, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
Analysts have said North Korea could conduct a third nuclear test if South Korea and the United States kept up the pressure on it over the March 26 sinking that killed 46 seamen.
North Korea has denied its role in the sinking, calling the outcome of a South Korea-led multinational investigation "a sheer fabrication." The probe concluded a North Korean submarine crossed the Yellow Sea border and torpedoed the 1,200-ton naval vessel.
"It is important for the member countries of the (U.N. Security Council) to pay primary attention to objectively probing the truth behind the case and make a right decision of their own if they do not wish to see the council reduced again to a tool for high-handed and arbitrary practices of the U.S.," the North Korean spokesman said.
The spokesman also warned the council would be held responsible for "having blocked the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and sparked off a conflict" if North Korea carries out its threat.
Ban calls for more women U.N. police
UNITED NATIONS, June 4 (UPI) -- The U.N. leader in New York Friday called for more women police officers in U.N. peacekeeping missions.
Speaking at an event aimed at increasing the number of female officers in U.N. policing ranks, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told member nations women and girls in countries where U.N. peacekeeping missions are sent "know they will find a sympathetic ear" with women officers.
Ban said in a news release female peacekeepers also serve as role models for women, inspiring them to join their national police forces.
"Women bring an essential extra dimension" to the task of bringing peace and stability to nations recovering from conflict, he said. "Let us commit to give women the power to empower."
Ban cited a decade-old Security Council resolution that stressed the importance of giving women equal participation and full involvement in peace and security matters and the need to increase their role in decision-making.
Women now make up 8 percent of the more than 13,000-member U.N. police force comprised of officers from at least 84 countries. The organization's goal is 20 percent by 2014.
Noting "no society has 92 percent men and 8 percent women," U.N. Police Adviser Ann-Marie Orler encouraged nations to nominate more women to police positions in peacekeeping operations. She called on U.N. members to review their recruitment standards to ensure women are not "unduly restricted" from applying.
