| $
3 per gallon |
| US fuel
crunch worsens |
agencies
Dozens
of gasoline stations from Virginia to Massachusetts
ran short of fuel on Friday as suppliers struggled
with a transition to a new anti-smog gasoline
blend using corn-based ethanol as an additive,
marketers said.
The disruptions, caused in part by a lack of
trucks to move ethanol to supply terminals, comes
amid an already severe spike in retail gasoline
prices to near $3 per gallon as the cost of crude
hits new highs.
"
The situation here is chaotic," said Mike
O'Connor, president of the Virginia Petroleum
Jobbers Association, which represents gas stations
in the state. He said his association is seeking
a federal waiver to allow the sale of lower grade
gasoline to ease the crunch.
Fuel marketers said there were reports of gasoline
stations running out of fuel in areas of Virginia,
Maryland, around Washington D.C., in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, and parts of Massachusetts.
"
There are a handful of outages being reported
across the region, but they are temporary," said
Catherine Rossi, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. "The
problem is waiting for the trucks to get to the
stations."
AAA is the largest motoring and leisure travel
organization in North America.
The U.S. government had warned in recent
weeks that gasoline supplies could be disrupted
along
the East Coast and in Texas as the oil industry
shifts to the new anti-smog blend using ethanol.
Gasoline producers had previously used additive
MTBE to make reformulated gasoline, required
at a third of the nation's pumps to combat
air pollution, but are phasing the chemical
out because
of the risk of lawsuits after several states
banned it for contaminating groundwater.
The problem with the replacement additive,
experts say, is that ethanol cannot be shipped
in pipelines
because it absorbs water condensation in
the pipes, and requires trucks, rail cars
or barges
for transport.
"
Anywhere there is reformulated gasoline and MTBE
there will be a problem," said Jeff Lenard,
director of communications at the National Association
of Convenience Stores.
A federal waiver allowing the sale of conventional
gasoline, instead of the anti-smog blend,
would make it easier for fuel suppliers
to sell gasoline
without the ethanol additive.
"
We're patiently waiting to see if the state will
make a formal request on our behalf," said
VPJA's O'Connor.
The Petroleum Marketers Association of
America, which represents stations selling
about 55
percent of the nation's gasoline, said
it was unaware
of any other state associations seeking
a waiver.
"
We're hoping this situation will be short-lived," said
Rolf Hanson, executive director of the Pennsylvania
Petroleum Association. "We think it is unlikely
the government will grant waivers for a transitional
issue like this one."
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| 141
men: |
| Nearly
30 percent at Guantanamo jail cleared to
go |
agencies
Nearly
30 percent of the Guantanamo detainees have been
cleared to leave the prison but remain jailed
because the U.S. government has been unable to
arrange for their return to their home countries,
the Pentagon said on Friday.
The Pentagon refused to identify these 141
men despite having released on Wednesday
its first
comprehensive list of detainees held at the
prison for foreign terrorism suspects at
the U.S. naval
base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Of these 141 detainees among the 490 still at
Guantanamo, various military reviews have cleared
22 to be freed in their home countries and the
remaining 119 for transfer to the control of
their home governments.
"
It's just an outrageous situation where people
have gone through this system that has been established,
such as it is, and the (U.S.) government itself
has found there's no reason for them to be held
any longer, and yet they continue to be held," said
Curt Goering, a senior Amnesty International
USA official.
"
It makes a mockery of any kind of system of justice," Goering
added.
Defense officials said the United States
has no interest in detaining anyone for any
longer
than necessary and has been able to arrange
for some detainees, but not others, to return
to
their home countries.
Officials cited U.S. policy not to expel,
return or extradite individuals to other
countries
where it is more likely than not that they
will be
tortured or persecuted.
SENSITIVE TALKS
Asked why the government will not identify
men cleared to leave Guantanamo, Navy Lt.
Cmdr. Chito
Peppler, a military spokesman, cited the
sensitive nature of U.S. government discussions
with
other countries about the detainees.
"
We do not discuss detainee movements or details
related to their movements until after the movement
has been completed for operational security reasons," Peppler
said.
Rights activists decry the indefinite detention
of Guantanamo detainees since the jail
opened in January 2002, and accuse the
United States
of torture. The Pentagon denies the torture
allegations and says many dangerous al
Qaeda and Taliban
figures are held there.
Air Force Maj. Michael Shavers, a military
spokesman, said 10 detainees still at Guantanamo
were cleared
for release to their home countries and
12 for transfer to the control of their
home
governments under review processes in place
until July
2004.
Nine detainees still at Guantanamo were
deemed by military panels not to be an "enemy combatant," with
these decisions coming no later than March 2005,
officials said. The United States has labeled
detainees "enemy combatants," denying
them rights normally accorded to prisoners of
war.
Shavers said five of these nine are members
of the Uighur ethnic group from far western
China.
Many Muslim Uighurs seek greater autonomy
for the region and some want independence.
China
has waged a campaign against what it
calls their violent separatist activities.
The Supreme Court declined on Monday
to consider whether a judge can free
two of
them, Abu
Bakker Qassim and A'del Abdu Al-Hakim,
refusing to
review the judge's decision that a
federal court cannot
provide them relief while the United
States seeks a country to take them.
Also still jailed are three detainees
cleared for release and 107 cleared
to be transferred
to the control of their home governments
by military panels that review each
detainee's case at least
annually, officials said. These hearings
ran
from December 2004 to December 2005.
The Pentagon said the detainees hail
from 40 countries and the West
Bank, with the
largest
number from Saudi Arabia, followed
by Afghanistan and Yemen.
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