Nation and world in brief July 21

| New Mexican wire services

6/20/2008 -

House OKs revised surveillance bill

WASHINGTON — The House on Friday easily approved a compromise bill setting new electronic surveillance rules that shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits arising from the government's terrorism-era warrantless eavesdropping on phone and computer lines in this country.

The bill, which was passed on a 293-129 vote, does more than protect the telecoms. The update to the 30-year-old Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is an attempt to balance privacy rights with the government's responsibility to protect the country against attack, taking into account changes in telecommunications technologies.

"This bill, though imperfect, protects both," said Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., and a former member of the House intelligence committee.

Midwest flooding means gridlock for barges

WINFIELD, Mo. — The flooding in the Midwest has brought freight traffic on the upper Mississippi to a standstill, stranding more than 100 barges loaded with grain, cement, scrap metal, fertilizer and other products while shippers wait for the water to drop on the Big Muddy.

Among the freight being held up: corn and soybeans headed downstream for New Orleans, where grain is loaded onto ships for export. Construction supplies and petroleum products headed upstream on the Mississippi are not getting through either.

Because of the high water, the Army Corps of Engineers has closed 13 locks along the upper Mississippi since June 12.

FDA focuses on Florida, Mexico in salmonella hunt

WASHINGTON — Food and Drug Administration inspectors headed for farms in Florida and Mexico on Friday as new clues emerge to the possible source of salmonella-tainted tomatoes that have now sickened 552 people.

The FDA wouldn't say where in Florida and Mexico the hunt is centering. But officials stressed that the clues don't necessarily mean that a particular farm will turn out to be the culprit.

Investigators will pay special attention to big packing houses or distribution warehouses that handle tomatoes from many farms and where contamination could be spread, leading to what now appears to be the nation's largest-ever salmonella outbreak from tomatoes.

Europeans craft plan to ease Iran tensions

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A European proposal to ease the West's nuclear standoff with Iran includes an offer for talks with the Iranians as long as they do not expand their current ability to enrich uranium, Western diplomats say. Iran has not formally responded to the proposal made last week, nicknamed "freeze for freeze," which would create a six-week period during which the European Union, Russia, China and the United States would refrain from pushing for additional sanctions against the Iran.

Iran, in turn, would stop adding uranium-enriching centrifuges at its facility in the town of Natanz. However, during the preliminary talks it would not be required to end enrichment altogether, a step the Bush administration has been seeking as a condition for negotiations.

The proposal is meant to head off the confrontation over Iran's nuclear program.

Zimbabwe opposition rallies against Mugabe

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe's opposition leader called on his supporters Friday to challenge President Robert Mugabe's rule in next week's runoff election despite a "wave of brutality" he says the government has unleashed.

Even as Morgan Tsvangirai urged Zimbabweans to have the courage to vote in the face of a violent crackdown, a judge ordered the No. 2 opposition leader held on treason and other charges until after the election.

"The wave of brutality being inflicted upon our people is reminiscent of the worst days of" white rule, Tsvangirai said in an e-mail, one of the few ways he has of reaching voters.

The opposition leader's attempts to tour the country have regularly been stymied by police at road blocks, and the state-controlled media all but ignore him.

EU drafts new measures for border security

BRUSSELS, Belgium — European Union leaders want their nations to fingerprint all foreign visitors and take other new steps to keep out illegal immigrants as part of a sweeping security overhaul proposed Friday.

The measures are similar to those already in place in the United States and have prompted concerns about privacy and the rights of those seeking refugee status in the EU. But EU leaders suggested security is paramount.

The screening would apply to everyone: Those who need a visa to enter EU nations, such as visitors from most African nations, as well as those who do not, such as U.S. citizens.