Briefs, January 20, 2013
Democrat Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, sister of Comedy Central television star Stephen Colbert, will run for the vacant congressional seat in the US state of South Carolina, a state party official said. A special election will be held on May 7 to fill the seat left vacant by Tim Scott, a first-term Republican who was appointed to the Senate this month.
CHARLESTON - Democrat Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, sister of Comedy Central television star Stephen Colbert, will run for the vacant congressional seat in the US state of South Carolina, a state party official said. A special election will be held on May 7 to fill the seat left vacant by Tim Scott, a first-term Republican who was appointed to the Senate this month. Scott replaced Republican Senator Jim DeMint, who resigned in December to head the conservative think-tank, The Heritage Foundation. Her brother Stephen ran as an unofficial candidate in the state's open Republican presidential primary last January. Reuters
SYDNEY - An Antarctic cruise ship was racing to rescue a French yachtsman who had abandoned his boat and was drifting in a life raft hundreds of nautical miles off Australia's southern island of Tasmania. Australian authorities were co-ordinating the rescue of the round-the-world sailor, who was forced to leave his yacht after it lost its mast and sustained damage to the hull in rough conditions. The expedition cruise vessel, Orion, was not expected to reach the Frenchman until late today. The ship could be in for rough seas on arrival, with seven-metre waves. AFP
WASHINGTON - US aerospace giant Boeing halted deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner, but said it would continue to build the aircraft while safety experts examine its battery and electrical systems. The announcement capped a week in which all 50 of the 787s in service around the world were grounded on orders from multiple aviation authorities to investigate the cause of two incidents, including a fire, linked to its batteries. Dreamliners had been flying in Chile, Ethiopia, India, Japan, Poland, Qatar and the United States until their flights were stopped after a global alert issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration. AFP
WASHINGTON - Ray Nagin, who served as mayor of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina battered the city in 2005, was indicted by a federal grand jury on corruption charges. The indictment claims Nagin handed lucrative city contracts to consultants and contractors in exchange for more than US$230,000 in bribes and kickbacks. Nagin, 56, is also charged with money laundering conspiracy and filing false tax returns from 2005 to 2008. AFP
