McCain: Mexicans behind Arizona fires
PHOENIX, June 19 (UPI) -- Illegal immigrants from Mexico are responsible for starting some of the huge wildfires in Arizona, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., alleges.
At a Phoenix news conference, the right-wing senator claimed illegal immigrants light fires in the wilderness for warmth, to send signals and to distract border agents, CNN said.
"There is substantial evidence that some of these fires have been caused by people who have crossed our border illegally," McCain said. "The answer to that part of the problem is to get a secure border."
However, he offered no evidence to substantiate his claim.
Civil rights advocate Randy Parraz told CNN such unfounded allegations were "careless and reckless" and said McCain was trying to make rightist political headway with the wildfire crisis.
"It's easier to fan the flames of intolerance, especially in Arizona," Parraz said.
High heat, low humidity and steady winds have helped dozens of fires in Arizona consume more than 700,000 acres of land in the past three weeks.
Restart Japan's reactors, minister says
TOKYO, June 19 (UPI) -- Japan's industry minister has called for a reopening of 35 atomic reactors shut down after the March 11 nuclear disaster at Fukushima.
At a Tokyo news conference, Banri Kaieda said electricity demand increases during the summer and power shortages could hobble industry, the Kyodo news agency reported.
After the major earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns at the Fukushima plant in northeastern Japan, 35 of the country's 54 reactors were shut down for safety evaluations.
However, many local governments where the idle plants are located are leery of restarting the facilities, despite assurances from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the report said.
Adding to the uncertainty are remarks by Haruki Madarame, the chairman of the Nuclear Safety Commission.
In an interview with Kyodo, Madarame said he regretted previous inadequate efforts to enhance the safety of nuclear power generation.
He said even before the disaster, the International Atomic Energy Agency had reported some potential problems in the country's regulation policies, but Japan "had not finished addressing" them when the earthquake and tsunami hit.
Seoul dispatches nuke envoy to U.S.
SEOUL, June 19 (UPI) -- South Korea says it is sending its top nuclear envoy to Washington this week to discuss getting disarmament talks with North Korea back on track.
Wi Sung-lac plans to meet with his U.S. counterparts during his six-day trip that begins Tuesday, the foreign ministry announced Sunday.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Wi's meetings are a run-up to bilateral talks June 24 between Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
One of the goals of the meetings is to explore ways of resuming the six-nation negotiations over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The United States and the two Koreas were joined at the table by China, Russia and Japan.
The negotiations have been derailed by North Korea's refusal to deal with Seoul and by a pair of military clashes between the two neighbors last year.
Audit: Mubarak stole no artifacts
CAIRO, June 19 (UPI) -- Egypt's minister of antiquities says a panel he commissioned to inventory artifacts at presidential palaces has found nothing missing.
Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass ordered the formation of a panel to record the contents of the palaces in May, but archaeologists have said they're skeptical about the accuracy of the report because Hawass himself has been accused of stealing artifacts.
Mahmoud Abbas, head of the panel appointed by Hawass, said in an al-Masry al-Youm report Sunday the panel inventoried the contents of 18 presidential palaces in Cairo and Alexandria, as well as presidential residences in Alexandria, Marsa Matrouh, Ismailia, Aswan and Cairo.
"All the contents of the palaces surveyed are typical of those listed in the ministry's records," Abbas said.
The audit was prompted by claims ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his wife took a number of antiquities when they left for Sharm al-Sheik, where they have lived since Mubarak left office in February.
