World forest fires spread pollutants
MOSCOW, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Pollutants from the forest fires burning in central Russia, Siberia and Canada have been detected all over the northern hemisphere, officials said.
Carbon monoxide has been detected well outside the territories involved by a NASA satellite equipped with atmospheric instruments, RIA Novosti reported Thursday.
Pollutants from the fires in Russia and Canada have now formed a ring around the planet and are moving north, satellite data shows.
Meanwhile, skies have cleared in Moscow as firefighters have managed to extinguish a number of the forest fires burning near the city, The New York Times reported.
100 workers at the U.S. Embassy were evacuated last week, along with staff from many European embassies, but on Wednesday the European Union said embassies of all its member countries had resumed operations, the Times said.
Forecasters warned that some smoke could periodically waft back over the Russian capital for weeks, even as the fires abate.
Some smoke could return as early as Thursday if the wind dies down as expected, Roman Vilfand, the director of the Russian federal weather bureau, warned.
"The forest fires have not disappeared," he said.
Thousands of Russian emergency workers and military personnel have been working for almost three weeks fighting fires in 22 regions which have so far killed more than 50 people and left over 3,500 homeless.
The immediate economic cost of the fires has been estimated at $15 billion, RIA Novosti reported.
Rain, mudslides strike anew in China
BEIJING, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- An overnight downpour triggered floods and mudslides in northern China's Gansu province, where three people were reported missing, officials said Thursday.
Heavy rain forecast for the weekend threatens to add to an unstable lake behind a barrier of mud and debris on the Bailong River, China Daily reported.
The latest concerns came as the death toll from the country's deadliest landslide rose to 1,117, with 627 people still reported missing, local authorities said.
A disaster relief spokesman in Gansu province said three people disappeared when six houses were swept away in Xizangba, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
The relief spokesman said one mudslide in Libazi blocked the river, raising the water level by nine feet early Thursday. Another mudslide blocked a major road along which relief goods were transported into flood- and mudslide-affected areas.
On Wednesday, China's National Meteorological Center warned of a significant chance for more landslides in the coming days, with heavy rains expected Friday.
Officials said the warning added to the urgency to drain a debris-formed lake on the Bailong.
However, Jiao Yong, China's vice minister of water resources, said it was unlikely the mudslide-formed lake would flood because the water volume was reduced by draining and underwater explosions.
Gansu health officials worked to prevent the spread of disease, sterilizing land near the county seat, China Daily reported.
How the dead are handled also poses a problem, officials said.
Immediate cremation is considered to be the best deterrent to disease problems, but traditional burial remained one of the most prevalent forms of funeral practices, physician and health officials said.
Yang Yuqiong, a local doctor, said residents are encouraged to cremate the bodies, but added many want to carry the bodies home for traditional burials.
Rangel forgets ethics woes for a while
NEW YORK, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Embattled U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., cast aside his ethics problems for one night, hosting a birthday-fundraising bash for supporters in New York.
While supporters and opponents of the veteran Harlem congressman confronted each other outside The Plaza Hotel Wednesday, the mood inside was upbeat, even while some guests privately indicated it may be the last birthday fundraiser Rangel sponsors, Politico reported Thursday.
The Democrat was moved by the outpouring of support by Democratic officials, longtime backers and movers and shakers in New York politics -- and said as much.
"I've been to a lot of funerals but this damn sure ain't no funeral," Rangel said.
"This has been a real moving experience for me that I will never, never forget," he told the crowd, "and you being here over the many, many years has given me the strength to do what has not been convenient, but to do what we know is right. We're gonna win this one. ... Please, remember me in your prayers, because we know it really works."
Rangel, 80, a 20-term congressman who led the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee until earlier this year, has maintained he is innocent of the 13 charges the House ethics committee filed against him.
Former New York Mayor David Dinkins, the city's first black mayor, flipped the bird to a protester who was heckling attendees as they arrived, Politico reported.
He said a protester called him by name as he arrived and "at that point that I gave him the finger. That's the whole story."
Poll: Majority approval for Obama elusive
PRINCETON, N.J., Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The sagging U.S. economy and immigration are dragging President Barack Obama's approval ratings below 50 percent, two Gallup polls released Thursday indicate.
Gallup said Obama's 52 percent approval rating for handling race relations is the only issue among 13 tested in a Gallup-USA Today poll and a Gallup Poll in which respondents were asked whether they approve or disapprove of the way Obama is addressing several issues, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.
Both polls measured Obama's handling of the economy, in which he was rated roughly the same -- 39 percent in the Gallup-USA poll and 38 percent in the Gallup survey.
Obama's overall job approval rating has consistently been below 50 percent in recent months, Gallup said.
In the Gallup poll, 62 percent said they disapprove of Obama's work on immigration, compared to 29 percent who said they approved.
The two polls indicated Americans had no pattern for rating the president on international versus domestic issues. On the international side, respondents rated him relatively well on terrorism, but poorly for the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Domestically, Obama earned good marks for race relations and education but fared poorly on immigration, the federal budget deficit and the economy.
Results of the Gallup-USA Today poll are based on telephone interviews with 1,208 adults conducted July 27-Aug. 1. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.
Results of the Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews of 1,013 adults conducted Aug. 5-8. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.
Quake jolts Indonesia's West Java
JAKARTA, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- A 5.8-magnitude earthquake rattled Sukabumi, West Java, Thursday, but Indonesian authorities said there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The quake was felt in Jakarta and Bandung, forcing some residents to vacate their homes, The Jakarta Post reported.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency said the quake was centered about 77 miles southwest of Sukabumi at a depth of 6 miles.
