BP to settle with US for billions in Gulf oil spill; 2 workers face charges

In this April 21, 2010 file image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon. British oil company BP said Thursday Nov. 15, 2012 it is in advanced talks with U.S. agencies about settling criminal and other claims from the Gulf of Mexico well blowout two years ago. In a statement, BP said "no final agreement has yet been reached" and that any such deal would still be subject to court approvals. (AP Photo/US Coast Guard, File)

NEW ORLEANS - A person familiar with the deal says oil giant BPhas agreed to pay a criminal penalty in the billions of dollars for the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record about the deal.

The person also said two BP employees face manslaughter charges over the death of 11 people in the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that triggered the massive spill.

The person said BP will plead guilty to obstruction for lying to Congress about how much oil was pouring out of the ruptured well.

Scores isolated after new Ebola outbreak in Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Scores of Ugandans were isolated on Thursday to prevent the spread of a new outbreak of Ebola which has already killed three people.

Uganda has experienced increasingly regular outbreaks of deadly hemorrhagic fevers that have left health officials grappling for answers.

The new Ebola outbreak was confirmed Wednesday in a district 60 kilometers (40 miles) from the Ugandan capital, Kampala. The outbreak comes roughly a month after Uganda declared itself Ebola-free following an earlier outbreak in a remote district of western Uganda. Last month at least five people in a southwestern district of Uganda were killed by Marburg, a hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola.

The latest Ebola outbreak, officials say, is of the Sudan strain of Ebola and not linked to the previous one, of the Congo variety, which killed at least 16 villagers in July and August in the western district of Kibaale. In addition to the three dead in the latest outbreak, up to 15 are being monitored for signs of the disease, officials said. They advised against panic after it was revealed that two possible Ebola patients had since checked into Kampala's main referral hospital.

"The Ministry of Health once again calls upon the public to stay calm as all possible measures are being undertaken to control the situation," Christine Ondoa, Uganda's minister of health, said.

Ebola is especially feared in Uganda, where multiple outbreaks have occurred over the years, and news of it can cause patients to flee hospitals to avoid infection. In 2000, in one of the world's worstEbola outbreaks, the disease infected 425 Ugandans and killed more than half of them in the country's north. Another outbreak in 2007 killed 37 people in Bundibugyo, a remote district close to the Congolese border.

Ebola is highly infectious and kills quickly.

Denis Lwamafa, the director-general of health services in Uganda's Ministry of Health, suggested that there were more reported cases of Ebola in Uganda than other countries because "our diagnostic capability" has increased. But a World Health Organization official in Kampala said there were progressively more cases of Ebola because of an increase in "the interaction between man and the forests."

Investigators believe the first victim of Ebola in any outbreak acquires the disease after coming into contact with a "reservoir," an infected animal that is often a monkey.

"Whenever there is contact between man and the reservoir of Ebola then you get the first case," said Miriam Nanyunja of the World Health Organization.

Ebola was first reported in 1976 in Congo and is named for the river where it was recognized. There is no cure or vaccine for it. Ebola is "characterized by fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. A rash, red eyes, hiccups and internal and external bleeding may be seen in some patients," according to a factsheet by the U.S.-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The virus can be transmitted through direct contact with the blood or secretions of an infected person, or objects that have been contaminated with infected secretions. During communal funerals, for example, when the bereaved come into contact with an Ebola victim, the virus can be contracted, officials said, warning against unnecessary contact with suspected cases of Ebola.

Nanyunja of WHO said Ugandans near the Ebola epicenter should practice what she called "social distancing," avoiding things such as handshakes and similar contact.

Gaza rockets kill 3 Israelis, hit near Tel Aviv

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian militants barraged Israel with nearly 150 rockets on Thursday, killing three people and striking the southern outskirts of Tel Aviv as Israel pressed a punishing campaign of airstrikes on militant targets across the Gaza Strip.

As nightfall approached, the fighting showed no signs of slowing, and the rocket attack on the city of Rishon Lezion, by far the deepest target reached by Gaza militants so far, raised the likelihood of an even tougher Israeli response.

Defense officials say Israel is prepared to launch a ground invasion into Gaza if necessary. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahusaid the army was prepared for a "significant widening" of its Gaza offensive.

"No government would tolerate a situation where nearly a fifth of its people live under a constant barrage of rockets and missile fire, and Israel will not tolerate this situation," he said. "This is why my government has instructed the Israeli Defense Forces to conduct surgical strikes against the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza. And this is why Israel will continue to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people."

The fighting, the heaviest in four years, has brought life to a standstill on both sides of the border, with schools canceled and people huddled indoors.

Israel and Hamas have largely observed an informal truce for the past four years. But in recent weeks, the calm unraveled in a bout of rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza and retaliatory Israeli airstrikes. From Israel's perspective, Hamas escalated tit-for-tat fighting in recent days with a pair of attacks: an explosion in a tunnel along the Israeli border and a missile attack on an Israeli military jeep that seriously wounded four soldiers.

Israeli officials say they have not yet decided on whether to launch a ground invasion in Gaza, and it's not clear what would trigger it. But a successful strike on Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial and cultural capital, would mark a significant escalation.

Although the rocket in Rishon Lezion, some 60 kilometers, or 40 miles north of Gaza, landed harmlessly in an open area, it illustrated the significant capabilities that Hamas militants have developed in recent years. Gaza militants had previously hit the city in 2009 fighting as well.

Israel launched the offensive on Wednesday, killing the head of Hamas' militant wing and destroying dozens of rocket launchers. Israel has made special efforts to destroy launchers for Hamas' Iranian-made "Fajr" rockets, which are believed capable of flying even deeper into Israel.

Israel's military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, says the air operation has delivered a "strong blow" to militants' launching sites.

In all, 15 Palestinians have been killed and more than 100 wounded in fighting on Wednesday and Thursday. Three Israelis were killed earlier Thursday when a rocket struck an apartment building in the southern town of Kiryat Malachi. The Israeli military says three soldiers were wounded in a separate rocket attack.

The military said its air campaign has hit 230 targets across Gaza, and its "Iron Dome" rocket defense system has intercepted some 90 incoming rockets.

The tragic story behind Gaza photo

By Dylan Stableford, Yahoo! News | The Lookout – 4 hrs ago

Israel's 'Pillar of Defense' operation at a glance

JERUSALEM (AP) — In the second day of Israel's operation "Pillar of Defense," here's a look at causalities, and the number of hits by both sides:

— Militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip killed three Israelis on Thursday in a rocket attack likely to deepen a bruising Israeli air, naval and artillery offensive, the most intense assault on the Palestinian territory in four years.

— The Israeli military has killed 15 Palestinians in Gaza, including three children and seven militants, and wounded more than 188, most of them civilians, since the operation started Wednesday.

— The Israeli military says it has hit more than 200 targets since the offensive began.

— It also says Gaza militants fired around 160 rockets at Israel on Thursday, bringing the total since the start of the operation to 245.

— Israel says its Iron Dome missile defense system has intercepted 80 of those rockets.