US oil spill 'enters Loop Current' with Florida At Risk

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Oil has been gushing out of the blown-out well for almost a month

The first oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill has entered an ocean current that could take it to Florida and up the east coast of the US, scientists say.

A "small portion" of oil sheen is in the Loop Current, which circulates in the Gulf, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

Diluted oil could appear in isolated parts of Florida if persistent winds pushed the current that way, it added.

European scientists warn the spill could reach Florida within six days.

Oil has been spewing into the Gulf since the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, leased by oil giant BP, exploded off the coast of Louisiana on 20 April and sank two days later.

Powerful currents

Satellite images released by the European Space Agency (ESA) depict a streak of oil stretching south from the main slick into the Loop Current - a body of fast-flowing water coming from the Caribbean which the agency says is likely to propel oil towards Florida within six days.

The Loop Current could carry the oil around Florida and into the Atlantic

Scientists at the NOAA, the US government's own climate body, broadly share that analysis, but say the oil is a "light sheen" representing just a small portion of the overall amount.

The oil would be "highly weathered" if it reached Florida, or could evaporate en route, it said.

The scientists warned that the turbulent Loop Current could mix the oil and water, making it difficult to track the oil's progress in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard said tests showed that tar balls that washed up on Florida beaches in recent days had not originated from the oil spill off Louisiana.

It is unclear where the tar balls came from, Coast Guard officials said.

'Very scary'

Oil has covered the vegetation in the wetlands

Also on Wednesday, the US said it was having talks with Cuba over the spill.

Observers say the rare talks demonstrate a concern that the oil may be carried by currents far from the site of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

In Louisiana, a lawyer has asked a panel of federal judges to consolidate more than 100 cases related to the oil spill into a single action.

Daniel Becnel asked that the growing number of cases against oil companies BP, Transocean, Halliburton and Cameron be combined and heard in Louisiana, the Associated Press news agency reported.

The lawsuits have been filed by commercial fishermen, restaurants, hotels and property owners and others who say the oil spill has cost them income.

A BP executive said this week that the company had paid out $15m (£10.4m) in claims, much of it to shrimpers and commercial fishermen who have little or no income because of the spill.

Meanwhile, astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station have said they could see the oil spill while passing over the Gulf of Mexico.

"It looks very scary," Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov told reporters via a video link.

North Korean torpedo' sank South's navy ship - report

Will they go at it again ? was the war our grandfathers went through all for nothing?

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Lettering on the torpedo that "proves" its North Korean origin

A North Korean submarine's torpedo sank a South Korean navy ship on 26 March causing the deaths of 46 sailors, an international report has found.

Investigators said they had discovered part of the torpedo on the sea floor and it carried lettering that matched a North Korean design.

Pyongyang rejected the claim as a "fabrication", South Korea's Yonhap agency reported.

It said the North threatened war if sanctions were imposed by the South.

But South Korean President Lee Myung-bak pledged to take "stern action" against the North.

The attack demonstrates a total indifference to human life and a blatant disregard of international obligations

William Hague, UK Foreign Secretary

The White House described the sinking of the ship as an "act of aggression" by North Korea that challenged peace.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the report was "deeply troubling".

Pyongyang said it would send its own inspection team the South to " verify material evidence" behind the accusation.

A North Korean defence spokesman said the country would "respond to reckless countermeasure with an all-out war of justice", the state KCNA news agency reported.

The Cheonan went down near the disputed inter-Korean maritime border, raising tension between the two nations, which technically remain at war.

The shattered wreck of the 1,200-tonne gunboat was later winched to the surface, in two pieces, for examination.

'Perfect match'

The investigation was led by experts from the US, Australia, Britain and Sweden.

The Cheonan sinking has increased tensions between the two Koreas

It said: "The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine.

"There is no other plausible explanation."

The report said the torpedo parts found "perfectly match" a torpedo type that the North manufactures.

Lettering found on one section matched that on a North Korean torpedo found by the South seven years ago.

There had earlier been a number of explanations suggested for the sinking, including an accidental collision with an unexploded sea mine left over from the Korean War.

Mr Lee's presidential office said he had told Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd: "We will be taking firm, responsive measures against the North, and through international cooperation, we have to make the North admit its wrongdoing and come back as a responsible member of the international community."

ANALYSIS

Continue reading the main story

Adam Brookes BBC News, Washington

Absent from the White House statement is any call for retribution or military response. The US does not want fighting to break out on the Korean peninsula.

The White House, said one expert, will be looking for a response that deters, but does not provoke North Korea.

Sources here say the Obama administration is considering putting North Korea back on the list of countries which sponsor terrorism. That could mean sanctions. North Korea was removed from the list in 2008.

The Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to travel to Japan, South Korea and China in the coming days. Managing this smouldering crisis between the two Koreas will no doubt occupy much of her time.

However, the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says agreeing an international response will be difficult as the diplomatic options will be limited.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said on Thursday the sinking of the vessel was "unfortunate" but he would not comment on the international report.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said US President Barack Obama had expressed his "deep sympathy" to Mr Lee and the Korean people and that the US "strongly condemned" the action.

"This act of aggression is one more instance of North Korea's unacceptable behavior and defiance of international law," said Mr Gibbs, adding that it "only deepens North Korea's isolation".

Mr Gibbs said the alleged attack was "a challenge to international peace and security and is a violation of the armistice agreement" which ended the Korean war.

But he said it had reinforced the resolve of North Korea's neighbours "to intensify their cooperation to safeguard peace and stability in the region against all provocations".

Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said in a statement that North Korea's action was "unforgivable".

The British embassy in Seoul quoted Foreign Secretary William Hague as saying: "[North Korea's] actions will deepen the international community's mistrust. The attack demonstrates a total indifference to human life and a blatant disregard of international obligations."

BA Union Unite waits to hear strike appeal decision

British Airways is at it again brought to you by our sponsors
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Four sets of five-day strikes had originally been planned

The next round in the ongoing dispute between British Airways and the Unite union is set to go ahead on Thursday.

The union will learn if its appeal against an injunction stopping planned strikes has been successful.

If the judges accept Unite's appeal, then the strikes are free to go ahead, possibly from as early as next week.

But if the judgement goes against Unite, it has indicated it will hold another ballot of cabin crew in the row over pay, jobs and working conditions.

It would be the third such ballot since November last year, with the first two ballots declared invalid by the High Court.

On Monday a High Court judge ruled that Unite had failed to properly inform its members about the 11 spoilt ballot papers in the last strike vote.

Three senior judges, including the Lord Chief Justice, heard the union's arguments on Tuesday seeking to overturn the injunction and the reserved judgement will be handed out at 0930 BST.

Despite the ruling in favour of BA on Monday, flights have been disrupted with the airline unable to reinstate all flights.

The first Unite strike had been scheduled to begin on Tuesday, ending on 22 May, with the three further strikes planned to begin on 24 May, 30 May and 5 June.