Jerusalem (AFP) - Palestinians in the West Bank who commute to Israel to work will from Wednesday be banned from riding the same buses as Israelis to return home, a defence ministry official said.

"Under a three-month pilot project, Palestinians who work in Israel will, starting Wednesday, need to return home by the same crossing without taking buses used by (Israeli) residents" of the occupied West Bank, the official told AFP.

Hundreds of Palestinians travel each day to work in Israel from the occupied West Bank, mainly in the construction business, using travel permits each time they cross.

The official, who declined to be named, said Palestinian workers would now need to change buses to avoid riding vehicles carrying Israelis after crossing back into the West Bank.

Israeli public radio said Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon had agreed to the ban, adding that it would allow "better control of the Palestinians and those leaving Israel and reduce security risks".

Israeli settlers in the West Bank have called for years for Palestinians to be banned from public transport there, arguing their presence poses a security risk.

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Oil Spilled on 4 Miles of California Coastline

GOLETA, Calif. (AP) — A broken onshore pipeline spewed oil down a storm drain and into the Pacific Ocean for several hours before it was shut off, creating a slick some 4 miles long across a scenic stretch of central California coastline, officials said.

Initial estimates put the spill at about 21,000 gallons Tuesday, but that figure would likely change after a Wednesday morning flyover gave a better sense of the spill's scope, U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Jennifer Williams said.

The spill was about 20 miles northwest of the pricey seaside real estate of Santa Barbara, and the Coast Guard said overnight winds were likely to push it 2 to 4 miles closer.

Authorities responding to reports of a foul smell near Refugio State Beach around noon found a half-mile slick already formed in the ocean, Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni said. They traced the oil to the onshore pipeline that spilled into a culvert running under the U.S. 101 freeway and into a storm drain that empties into the ocean.

The pipeline was shut off about three hours later but by then the slick stretched four miles and 50 yards into the water.

The 24-inch pipeline is owned by Plains All American Pipeline, which said it shut down the flow of oil and the culvert carrying the oil to the ocean was blocked.

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This photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows an oil slick from a broken pip …

"Plains deeply regrets this release has occurred and is making every effort to limit its environmental impact," the company said in a statement.

The Coast Guard, county emergency officials and state parks officials were cleaning up the spill. Boats from the nonprofit collective Clean Seas also were providing help but were having trouble because so much of the oil was so close to the shore, Williams said. About 850 gallons of oil have been recovered from the water, Williams said.

The accident occurred on the same stretch of coastline as a 1969 spill that at the time was the largest ever in U.S. waters and is credited for giving rise to the American environmental movement. Several hundred thousand gallons spilled from a blowout on an oil platform and thousands of sea birds were killed along with many marine mammals.

The stretch of coastline is home to offshore oil rigs and small amounts of tar and seepage regularly show up on beaches.

The spill is largest in years and the Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center said to have it occur in "a sensitive and treasured environment is devastating to watch." The group expressed special worry for the many species of whale that migrate through the area.

It was unclear how long the cleanup would take and whether Refugio and other areas would be reopened in time for Memorial Day weekend.

Oil slick stretches 4 miles along Calif. coast

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Palestinians banned from riding same buses as Israelis: official

5 hours ago

Palestinians in the West Bank who commute to Israel to work will from Wednesday be banned from riding the same buses as Israelis to return home, a defence ministry official said (AFP Photo/Menahem Kahana)

Jerusalem (AFP) - Palestinians in the West Bank who commute to Israel to work will from Wednesday be banned from riding the same buses as Israelis to return home, a defence ministry official said.

"Under a three-month pilot project, Palestinians who work in Israel will, starting Wednesday, need to return home by the same crossing without taking buses used by (Israeli) residents" of the occupied West Bank, the official told AFP.

Hundreds of Palestinians travel each day to work in Israel from the occupied West Bank, mainly in the construction business, using travel permits each time they cross.

The official, who declined to be named, said Palestinian workers would now need to change buses to avoid riding vehicles carrying Israelis after crossing back into the West Bank.

Israeli public radio said Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon had agreed to the ban, adding that it would allow "better control of the Palestinians and those leaving Israel and reduce security risks".

Israeli settlers in the West Bank have called for years for Palestinians to be banned from public transport there, arguing their presence poses a security risk.

Bujumbura (Burundi) (AFP) - Burundian security forces fired shots and tear gas in battles with protesters Wednesday, the latest violence in weeks of anti-government demonstrations, as the presidency delayed elections by over a week.

Amid the street chaos, one soldier was shot dead by police, raising already acute tensions between the two forces. One protester was shot in the leg.

In the capital Bujumbura, thousands defied heavy gunfire from police and government orders to call off their protests, marching through the streets to demand President Pierre Nkurunziza abandon his bid for a third term in power.

One week after a failed coup led by a top general -- which saw soldiers battling each other on the streets -- police were seen returning to try to quash protests. Several fired warning shots, others were seen to sometimes fire at body height.

In recent days, soldiers had been mainly deployed, viewed by many protesters as being more neutral than the much more feared police.

More than 20 people died in weeks of clashes with security forces that halted during the coup attempt, but the protests resumed Monday.

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Protestors opposed to a third term for the Burundian President gather in the Musaga neighborhood of …

- Protesters undeterred -

Journalists were threatened, with one senior police officer warning reporters to "leave the area or we will shoot you with the protesters."

In the volatile Musaga district, deputy police chief General Godefroid Bizimana offered a stern warning.

"We have decided to restore order... we will occupy all the streets and we will stay there," Bizimana told AFP.

Legislative elections had been set for May 26, but were pushed back 10 days to June 5 following "a proposal from the electoral commission to respond to a request from opposition parties, and finally to answer calls of the region and the international community," presidential official Willy Nyamitwe told AFP.

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Protesters gather by a burning barricade during a demonstration in the Cibitoke neighborhood of Buju …

No decision has been made as to whether a presidential poll set for June 26 would also be delayed. "Wait and see," Nyamitwe said.

The European Union joined the African Union on Tuesday in calling for a delay to the elections, while South Africa's President Jacob Zuma said they should be "postponed indefinitely".

But civil society leader Vital Nshimirimana said the delay was not enough.

"This postponement will have no effect because the fundamental issue remains -- that of the third term of President Pierre Nkurunziza," he told AFP.

"Burundi cannot hold free, transparent and peaceful elections by June 5."

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Protestors opposed to a third term for the Burundian President hitch a ride on a police vehicle past …

Opposition and rights groups say that Nkurunziza's bid for a third five-year term in power violates the constitution and the terms of the peace deal that brought an end to the country's 13-year civil war in 2006.

But Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader and born-again Christian who believes he has divine backing to lead the country, argues his first term did not count as he was elected by parliament, not directly by the people.

- 'Impossible' election conditions -

The election delay was criticised by opposition leaders.

"We are not satisfied by the postponement because the problems of Burundians have not been solved," said Frederic Bamvuginyumvira, vice president of the opposition FRODEBU party.

As well as the fundamental sticking point of Nkurunziza's third term, Bamvuginyumvira said it was "impossible to organise these elections in these conditions", pointing to insecurity and threats from the ruling party's youth wing, accused by rights groups of carrying out reprisal attacks.

Nkurunziza has been accused by rights groups of launching a campaign of repression against opponents and trying to silence independent media since coup leaders admitted defeat on Friday after fierce fighting with loyalist troops.

But the presidency has dismissed such claims, saying it would never carry out "revenge" raids and promising fair trials for those arrested.

More than 100,000 people have fled to neighbouring nations to escape political violence, according to the United Nations. Cholera has broken out in squalid refugee camps in Tanzania.