■ NICARAGUA
Protest filed with Colombia
Nicaragua protested formally to the Colombian government on Tuesday after saying a ship from Colombia's navy confronted Nicaraguan fishermen in waters both countries claim as their own. The protest note, handed to Colombia's ambassador to Managua, marks the latest confrontation between the two countries, which both claim three isolated Caribbean islands and their surrounding waters. On Tuesday, Managua said that a Colombian frigate had intimidated a fishing boat trawling for lobsters earlier in the week in what it described as Nicaraguan waters.
■ UNITED STATES
Police callers get sex pitch
People calling a Michigan state police post got an unexpected pitch for phone sex. Calls to the Bridgeport post's main number were met on Wednesday morning with a recorded message saying, "Indulge yourself with the most exciting conversation imaginable." That was followed by a telephone number for a phone sex line, the Saginaw News reported. The phones were working properly by midmorning, Sergeant Alan Renz said. The mix-up was an "internal issue that has nothing to do with the phone company" and an investigation is under way, he told the newspaper.
■ UNITED STATES
Jewelers reject Pebble Mine
Five of the leading US jewelers have sworn off gold that could some day come from the Pebble Mine, a huge deposit near the world's most productive wild sockeye salmon stream. The jewelers, including Tiffany & Co, Ben Bridge Jeweler and Helzberg Diamonds, pledged on Tuesday not to knowingly sell jewelry made from gold that might be extracted from the proposed mine near the Bristol Bay watershed in southwest Alaska. Northern Dynasty Mines Inc is developing the prospect in partnership with Anglo American PLC. Northern Dynasty spokesman Sean Magee said he was surprised that none of the companies contacted Northern Dynasty before signing the pledge. He said they would be contacting the retailers this week to describe Pebble Mine and the approach to the project.
■ UNITED STATES
Web site marks dead affairs
A Web site is offering the lovelorn a way to bury memories of an old love affair -- by writing an obituary. Relationshipobit.com is the brainchild of Kathleen Horan, a 38-year-old reporter for WNYC public radio. She says she has no idea where her "reverse social networking" Web site might lead her but for now views it as a social experience. "Time heals," she says, "but you want to know what the heck other people" do to mend their hearts.
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