Oman seeks release of U.S. hikers still jailed in Iran

(CNN) -- A delegation from the Persian Gulf state of Oman is in Iran to seek the release of two American hikers jailed there for more than a year, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday.

"The Omanis pledged to continue to help with the release of the two hikers, and we're very grateful for their efforts," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.

He said U.S. officials are staying in "close touch" with the Omanis and with the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which represents U.S. interests in Iran, but referred questions about the details to Oman's government.

Hikers Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd were arrested after straying across the unmarked border separating Iran from Iraq's Kurdistan region in July 2009. Shourd was released on humanitarian grounds September 14 after Omani authorities posted $500,000 bail, but Bauer and Fattal remain in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison on accusations of spying.

Iran's Foreign Ministry downplayed the Omani visit, according to remarks on the ministry's website.

CNN

Drill passes halfway point in Chile mine rescue bid

Copiapo, Chile (CNN) -- Rescuers have bored more than halfway through the earth and rock separating 33 trapped Chilean miners from the surface they haven't seen since early August, a spokesman for the rescue effort said Tuesday.

The so-called Plan B drill has chewed through 330 meters of the 623-meter (2,040-foot) depth required to reach the men, Andre Sougarret, a rescue operations spokesman, told reporters. The miners have been stuck beneath northern Chile's Atacama Desert since an August 5 cave-in and have been awaiting rescue since they were found alive 17 days later.

The men have been surviving on supplies funneled to them from above ground through earlier bore holes, each about 4 inches in diameter. If all goes well, they may be brought to the surface in late October or early November.

CNN

North Korean leader's youngest son rising in leadership circles

(CNN) -- The youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il was named vice chairman of the Workers Party of Korea's central military commission, North Korea's state news agency reported Tuesday.

Kim Jong Un, who is widely expected to be the successor to North Korea's "Dear Leader," was also named to the Central Committee of the party. Earlier, during the party conference, the younger Kim became a four-star general, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

The Korean Workers' Party last convened its delegates more than four decades ago.

Little is known about Kim Jong Un. Two photos of him consistently circulate in news reports outside of North Korea. That's because he's been kept off the radar by the North.

"They don't release the information, so no one can know," said Kang Cheol-hwan, a North Korea defector and activist. "When he was little, he studied in Bern (Switzerland), in a school for the elite. He got an international education".

Before Kim's promotion to general on Monday, North Korea's state-run media didn't mention him: There were no family photos showing him as a youngster and no images of him by his father's side, learning to lead.

He is Kim's third and youngest son. He's 27 or 28 years old.

CNN

Injured Semenya pulls out of Commonwealth Games

(CNN) -- South Africa's Caster Semenya became the latest high-profile athlete to pull out of the troubled Commonwealth Games, with a back injury cited as she withdrew Tuesday.

Semenya has only just returned to the track after being controversially sidelined for 11 months, having been forced to undergo gender tests after her 800m victory at the world athletics championships in Berlin last year.

The 19-year-old was added to the South Africa squad in August and has scored a series of convincing victories over her specialist distance to serve notice she would be favorite for gold in New Delhi.

But she will not be making the trip after the full extent of her problem became clear.

The statement on the official website of the South Africa Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee confirmed the news.

CNN

Irish Nobel laureate denied entry into Israel

Jerusalem (CNN) -- An Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate was refused entry into Israel on Tuesday because of her participation in an aid flotilla to Gaza in June, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.

Mairead Maguire was detained at Ben Gurion Airport as she arrived with a delegation of other high-level women's rights activists from around the world.

"Mairead was refused to enter Israel this morning and was supposed to be deported this afternoon," said Fatmeh El-Ajou, an attorney with Adalah, the legal center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, which is representing Maguire. "She was told the reason to refuse her entry was her participation in the flotilla to Gaza in June".

Maguire, along with fellow Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams and founders of the Nobel Women's Initiative, was set to lead a delegation to Israel and the Palestinian territory over the next seven days. The delegation planned to travel to Jerusalem, Haifa, Nazareth, Ramallah, Hebron and Bil'in to learn from and highlight the work of female peace builders.

CNN

Human access to the Arctic should be restricted - scientist

Human access to the Arctic should be restricted to preserve its fragile ecosystem, a Russian scientist said on Tuesday.

"We should restrict access to the Arctic, whether it is for tourism or drilling," Arkadiy Tishkov of the Russian Academy of Science said. "The Arctic should become a territory with a regulated ecological regime," he continued.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sought to ease growing concerns about a battle for Arctic territory by saying last week that partnership agreements would settle all border disputes in the region.

He also said Russia would expand its scientific research in the Arctic.

The Russian government intends to establish national parks and reserves in the Arctic. There are also plans to remove the waste that has accumulated there over many decades.

RIA Novosti

Eiffel Tower evacuated after bomb threat

The Eiffel Tower was being evacuated Tuesday after a bomb threat made by telephone call from a phone booth in the vicinity of the tower, police told CNN.

It is the second time the landmark has been evacuated in about two weeks.

The 1,063-foot (324-meter) tower was the subject of another bomb threat on September 14 that police later said was bogus.

The threat closed the tower and a nearby metro station. About 2,000 people were evacuated from nearby homes and businesses.

CNN

Jimmy Carter hospitalized for upset stomach

(CNN) -- Former President Jimmy Carter was hospitalized Tuesday in Cleveland, Ohio, for an upset stomach, the Carter Center said in a statement.

He was taken to MetroHealth Hospital, where he was under observation and resting comfortably, the Carter Center said.

Emergency personnel were called to an incoming Delta Air Lines flight for a passenger who felt sick, reported CNN affiliate WEWS. Upon arrival, they learned that the passenger was the former president.

Airport emergency crews performed an initial checkup and then transported Carter to the hospital.

Carter, who will turn 86 on Friday, was in Cleveland to sign copies of his new book, "White House Diary," at Joseph-Beth Booksellers at noon. About 400 people were still waiting at the store for Carter's appearance.

CNN

1,000 people could be trapped in Mexico landslide, governor says

Mexico City, Mexico (CNN) -- Up to 1,000 people may have been trapped by a landslide in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca, Gov. Ulises Ruiz said Tuesday.

A hill about 650 feet wide (200 meters) collapsed early Tuesday, sending tons of mud over as many as 300 houses in the Santa Maria Tlahuiltotepec municipality, Ruiz said.

"We're talking about some 300 homes affected," Ruiz said. "We don't have the exact number of those affected. But the death toll could reach as many as 500 or 600, even 1,000".

"We're already rounding up the necessary equipment, and moving it towards the affected area," Ruiz said in an interview on CNN affiliate Televisa.

"We are also moving members of the military, the state police, ambulances, health workers, and all rescue teams available. They're all trying to get there. But, we haven't been able to reach the area, yet. ... We expect to get there in time to rescue these people," he said.

Ruiz said several rivers overflowed their banks due to heavy rain in the area and many roads are blocked by landslides, making it difficult for rescuers to reach the affected areas.

CNN

Upset stomach hospitalizes President Jimmy Carter

Josesph-Beth Booksellers has told about 400 attendees that President Jimmy Carter will not be attending the scheduled Tuesday book signing.

The event has not yet been rescheduled, but a Carter Center statement said earlier that the president would resume his book tour next week.

CNN

Norway terror suspects 'plotted cartoon attacks'

Three men arrested in Norway in July are suspected of planning attacks to avenge cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that appeared in a Danish newspaper, Norwegian and Danish police say.

Denmark's police intelligence branch said the target might have been either the Jyllands-Posten newspaper itself or people linked to the cartoons.

One of the suspects, an Iraqi Kurd, had confessed, police said.

The 12 drawings sparked furious protests in Muslim countries in 2006.

Islam forbids any depiction of the Prophet.

"One of the suspects was questioned and, from what he said we extracted a confession about terror attack plans," Siv Alfsen, a spokeswoman for Norwegian security police told the AFP news agency.

"Based on his declarations, everything indicates that the target was the Jyllands-Posten newspaper in Denmark".

The other two suspects are immigrants from China and Uzbekistan. All had been granted residency in Norway.

BBC News

Iceland's volcanic eruption yields ash clues

Samples collected using double-sided sticky tape could give fresh insight into the Eyjafjallajoekull eruption.

The samples could reveal how fine ash thrown up into the atmosphere by the Icelandic eruption fell to ground as clumps or "aggregates" of ash.

The British Geological Survey work will be used to create better models of how volcanic ash disperses after eruptions.

The eruption of the volcano in March this year caused chaos, shutting down huge swathes of European air space.

BBC News

Sally Menke, longtime film editor for Quentin Tarantino, found dead near Griffith Park

Director Quentin Tarantino's longtime film editor, who went hiking with her dog amid the extreme heat Monday, was discovered dead early Tuesday morning by searchers in Beachwood Canyon, according to law-enforcement sources.

Award-winning film editor Sally Menke, 56, worked on such movies as "Pulp Fiction," "Kill Bill" and "Jackie Brown".

Menke had gone hiking in the morning, and her friends alerted police after she failed to come home.

Search dogs, an LAPD helicopter and officers from patrol units spent hours in Griffith Park searching for her.

Her locked car was found in a Griffith Park parking lot. Menke's dog was found alive, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The sources, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because the investigation was ongoing, said Menke's body was found at the bottom of a ravine near 5600 block of Green Oak Drive.

No cause of death was immediately reported, and it's unclear whether the heat was a factor.

Los Angeles Times

Justices to again review probate dispute by Anna Nicole Smith's estate

Washington (CNN) -- The Supreme Court has agreed to take another look at the long-standing dispute over the estate of the late actress/model Anna Nicole Smith's billionaire husband.

The separate estate of Smith, who died more than three years ago, has been fighting for years to secure a share of the deceased Texas oilman's fortune.

The justices Monday accepted review of the probate case after a federal appeals court ruled against Smith's estate. Oral arguments will be held early next year.

J. Howard Marshall was married to the much younger Smith, who is named in court papers by the name Vickie Lynn Marshall, for 14 months before he died in 1995. His will left nearly all his assets and trust to his son from a previous marriage, E. Pierce Marshall, and Smith received nothing. She later sued, claiming her elderly husband promised to give her more than $300 million.

Court records shows she had already received about $7 million in cash and gifts during their brief union.

In 2006, the high court gave Smith a temporary victory when it allowed her to continue the legal fight, after earlier judicial setbacks. Smith's appearance in the Supreme Court during the first oral arguments caused a minor media sensation, with cameras jockeying for position as she entered and left the building.

CNN

Armed suspect fires shots, kills himself at University of Texas

(CNN) -- The University of Texas at Austin was under a lockdown Tuesday morning after a suspected gunman wielding an AK-47 fired shots and then turned the gun on himself inside a campus library.

The gunman died, said Robert Dahlstrom, chief of staff in the Austin Police Department. No one else was injured.

Police were searching for a possible second suspect and checking campus buildings for possible explosives left behind, said Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo.

The university was closed at mid-morning and all classes for the day were cancelled as law enforcement teams descended on campus.

An ambulance was seen just before 9 a.m. in front of the Perry-Castaneda library, CNN affiliate KXAN reported. SWAT teams, armored vehicles and helicopters surrounded the campus.

CNN

Taliban felt in Pakistan flood zone

Kalam, Pakistan (CNN) -- Two weeks ago, as residents of Kalam in the Swat district of northwestern Pakistan were busy picking up the pieces of their existence after flooding had ravaged the town, a loud explosion shattered the quiet of the night.

It was 2 a.m., the local deputy mayor Amir Saeed said, and Kalam's girls' school had been bombed.

"It was the Taliban," Saeed told me as we stood by the destroyed building. "We know exactly that it was them".

"I was very scared when I heard the blast. I could not sleep after that and in the morning I saw the school was damaged," 10-year-old Nadia said as she and three other girls walked through the rubble.

No one was injured in the bombing and Pakistan's military says it was an isolated incident, but international observers and the U.S. government fear the Taliban and other Islamist groups might use the breakdown in public order caused by the floods to gain ground.

"We put so much effort into this area. There was so much progress in places like Swat and now all of that has been washed away by this flood," said Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, while touring the devastated areas earlier this month.

The Taliban controlled much of Swat for an 18-months period that ended in the spring of last year when the Pakistani military launched a massive campaign against the militants, ousted them and restored civil order.

Now tens of thousands of Pakistani soldiers are involved in flood relief.

CNN

Egyptian tycoon gets 15 years in pop star's murder

Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- An Egyptian billionaire was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his part in the murder of Lebanese pop singer Susanne Tamim in 2008, Egypt's Interior Ministry told CNN Tuesday.

The man who actually committed the murder got 28 years, the ministry's Alla Mahmoud said.

It was the second trial of Egyptian ruling party member Hisham Talaat Moustafa since Tamim's body was found in her apartment in Dubai in July 2008. She had been stabbed and her throat was slit.

Prosecutors alleged he paid the other man, Mohsen el Sukkary, $2 million to murder Tamim.

In a case that captivated Egypt and the region because of the fame of the victim and defendants, the men were eventually found guilty and given the death penalty under Egyptian law.

CNN

Top al Qaeda commander killed in drone strike

(CNN) -- A recent drone strike in Pakistan's tribal region killed a top al Qaeda commander, two Pakistani security officials told CNN Tuesday.

Sheikh Mohammad Fateh al Masri, described as the group's senior operational commander, was killed in North Waziristan, one of the seven regions of the country's volatile tribal area.

One of the sources said al Masri was killed recently, and the other said he was killed in a strike on Sunday. The sources did not want to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

CNN

'The Hobbit' faces possible actors strike

(EW.com) -- Warner Bros., New Line and all the other financial players involved in "The Hobbit" have yet to green light the movie, yet there is already another hurdle this troubled production must jump over in its quest to begin filming. What is it this time? Actors.

It seems the Screen Actors Guild is urging actors to boycott the upcoming epic production as part of an international effort being organized by New Zealand's Actor's Equity and its umbrella company, the Australian Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), to force the production into a contract for its actors, not just the ones covered by SAG. The unions claim they have the support of the SAG actors, which could foresee a future where Ian McKellan doesn't reprise his role as Gandalf.

Peter Jackson, the film's producer and expected director (though he has yet to officially sign on after Guillermo del Toro dropped out back in May) is furious with the labor groups. Jackson has pumped millions of dollars into his home country's economy by locating his previous epic adventures such as "Lord of the Rings" and "King Kong" there -- not to mention his state-of-the-art special effects studio WETA. He issued a scathing tirade to the New Zealand press calling the MEAA "an Australian bully boy" with an agenda based solely on "money and power".

CNN

Almunia, Rooney to miss Champions League through injury

(CNN) -- Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia will be replaced by Lukasz Fabianski for the London club's European Champions League clash against Partizan Belgrade on Tuesday night, with the Spaniard suffering with an elbow injury.

Almunia sustained the injury while saving a penalty in the English Premier League club's surprise 3-2 home defeat against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday -- a match in which Almunia was also at fault for two of the goals.

The result led to speculation in the British media about whether Gunners manager Arsene Wenger would replace his goalkeeper anyway for the match in Serbia. The Spanish star has found himself under regular scrutiny during his six years at the Emirates, following a series of high-profile mistakes on the pitch.

However, Wenger was quick to insist that Almunia was left out because of his injury.

CNN