EZ Wealth and Money

Headlines

Afghanistan turncoat shootings

An Afghan worker on a military base in southern Afghanistan opened fire and killed three NATO troops, military officials said Saturday, bringing the toll to six Western military fatalities in 24 hours at the hands of allies.

The NATO force said the attack took place late Friday in Helmand province, the Taliban movement’s heartland, where a turncoat shooting hours earlier claimed the lives of three elite special-operations U.S. Marines.

Compounding the carnage, an Afghan police officer in Nimruz province turned his weapon on fellow Afghan officers Saturday, killing 10 of them, Afghan officials said.

California oil refinery

Pipe corrosion suspected in Chevron blaze

Federal investigators probing the cause of a massive Chevron oil refinery fire Monday in California are focusing on possible corrosion in a decades-old pipe that the company inspected late last year but did not replace.

The fire exploded when a vapor cloud ignited. The resulting blaze kicked up thick, black smoke and caused thousands to seek medical attention in one of the most serious U.S. refinery fires in recent years.

The Richmond refinery, about 10 miles northeast of San Francisco, produces about 16% of California’s daily gasoline supply, and the fire caused gas prices to jump.

Teddy bears drop rights message into Belarus

KGB calls Swedish group’s action criminal

Belarus’ top security agency — the KGB — has summoned a Swedish advertising team for questioning after the group air-dropped hundreds of parachute-wearing teddy bears carrying pro-human-rights messages onto the soil of the authoritarian ex-Soviet state.

The summons said the KGB is investigating the “criminal case” of the ad group’s “illegal crossing” into Belarusian airspace. The Swedes were threatened with fines or even jail time if they don’t show up in 10 days.

The July 4 teddy bear drop infuriated autocratic President Alexander Lukashenko and added stress to already deteriorating relations between Stockholm and Minsk.

Quick hits

Iraq: Gunmen singled out seven Shi’ite Muslims and shot them in Iraq’s north while they were out swimming in a targeted sectarian attack, officials said Saturday.

Loan: Qatar gave Egypt a $2-billion loan to help the country’s flagging economy, Egypt’s official news agency said Saturday. Egypt’s economy has suffered since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak’s regime last year.

Storm: Two people died and two more are missing in Trinidad after a tropical wave lashed the eastern Caribbean with heavy rains and wind, authorities said Saturday.

Talk Biz Talk

Article source: http://www.freep.com/article/20120812/NEWS07/308120217/3-NATO-troops-killed-on-base