Lawyers pressed to drop milk suits

BEIJING - Lawyers advising the families of children sickened in China's tainted milk scandal said yesterday they are facing growing official pressure to withdraw from the cases. A loose grouping of more than 100 lawyers across China have been offering free legal advice to the families of children who became ill after drinking milk laced with the industrial chemical melamine, said Chang Boyang, one of the lawyers. The group already has helped the parents of a 1-year-old boy who developed kidney stones to file a suit against a the dairy at the center of the crisis. (AP)

VERACRUZ - Tropical Storm Marco roared ashore on Mexico's Gulf Coast with near-hurricane force winds yesterday, prompting a shutdown of some oil platforms. The storm flooded coastal highways and brought heavy rains to the port city of Veracruz, which appeared to have escaped most of the storm's wrath. Marco hit land with winds near hurricane strength, but quickly weakened as it headed inland. (AP)

BELFAST - British Army experts yesterday defused a roadside bomb planted by Irish Republican Army dissidents in Northern Ireland four days after finding it. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the bomb was designed to ambush a passing police vehicle at the Wattlebridge crossroads near the County Fermanagh border town of Newtownbutler. Local police commander Michael Skuce said soldiers and police spent three days searching the area for clues and other bombs before army engineers dismantled the bomb yesterday using a remote-controlled robot. (AP)