Federal regulators have approved the first new Gulf of Mexico oil well since President Barack Obama lifted a brief ban on drilling in shallow water.

The Minerals Management Service on Wednesday granted a drilling permit sought by Bandon Oil and Gas for a site about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

Obama has extended a moratorium on wells in deep water like the BP one that blew out in April and is gushing millions of gallons of oil. But the president quietly lifted a brief ban last week on drilling in shallow water.

The new permit allows drilling in a water depth of 115 feet. Bandon Oil and Gas first sought the permit in April, shortly after the Deepwater Horizon operated by BP exploded and sank.

Read the whole hot breaking news

BEIJING (AFP) –
Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn on Wednesday confirmed the death of another employee but denied he died of exhaustion following a spate of suicides at its Chinese plants.

Yan Li, 27, died on Friday after working the night shift for more than a month at a Foxconn plant in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, China Labor Watch said, citing Yan’s sister, and adding that he was killed by exhaustion.

“We have reviewed this matter and while we cannot speculate the specific cause of death, we have found nothing to support any allegation that it was work-related,” a spokesman for Foxconn said in a statement.

“We have met with Mrs Yan and expressed our condolences and as a compassionate gesture have provided a level of support to assist her at this very difficult time.”

Foxconn, which makes a range of top-selling products including Apple iPhones, Dell computers and Nokia mobile phones, said earlier Wednesday it was raising the pay of its Chinese assembly line workers by 30 percent.

Read the whole hot breaking news

KHARTOUM (Reuters) –
Activists concerned about the situation in Darfur detracted attention and aid from other African conflicts, a U.S.-based foundation said Wednesday.

Darfur’s rebellion, which sparked the world’s largest aid operation and the largest U.N.-funded peacekeeping mission, has attracted unprecedented attention for an African conflict.

“There is no doubt that American activists were able to bring attention to the conflict in Darfur,” a report by the U.S.-based Cato Institute said.

“Even so, their efforts had negative consequences … the diversion of public attention from other wars of great scale and longevity,” it said, citing Democratic Republic of Congo.

Darfur activists were not immediately available to comment.

Read the whole hot breaking news

MEXICO CITY – Financial experts studying Mexico’s drug cartel proceeds say less than half the money smuggled out of the U.S. each year ends up in a bank.

They say the rest is either stashed or directly spent in Mexico.

Estimates say between $19 billion and $29 billion are smuggled out of the U.S. each year.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Administrator John Morton unveiled the findings from a binational criminal proceeds study on Wednesday in Mexico City.

Drug gang violence has soared since President Felipe Calderon launched crackdown on traffickers in late 2006. More than 22,700 people have been killed.

Read the whole hot breaking news

SAN’A, Yemen – Yemeni security officials say authorities have detained an Australian woman in connection with an investigation into al-Qaida’s growing presence in the country.

The two officials say she was among a number of foreigners either detained or put under surveillance as part of an investigation coordinated with foreign intelligence agencies.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not permitted to brief journalists.

The woman’s lawyer identified her as 30-year-old Shyloh Giddins and said she was arrested May 15. The lawyer, Abdel-Rahman Berman, said Wednesday she has not been charged.

Yemen’s strengthening al-Qaida offshoot has claimed responsibility for the attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner in December.

Read the whole hot breaking news