INTERSPAGO

Olsen seeks immunity for Ledger questioning: source

NEW YORK - Mary-Kate Olsen will not speak to federal investigators about actor Heath Ledger's death unless she is granted immunity from prosecution, a law enforcement source told Reuters on Monday.

Olsen, 22, was a friend of Ledger and the first person called by his masseuse, who found the 28-year-old Australian dead in his New York apartment in January from an accidental prescription drug overdose.

Olsen, best known for her role in TV series Full House, summoned private security guards, who arrived at Ledger's apartment in Manhattan's SoHo district at the same time as emergency services workers.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating the source of Ledger's drugs and medicines. We have asked to interview her and it has not happened, the law enforcement source said.

The source said that investigators are in negotiations with Olsen's lawyers and the prosecutor's office.

Olsen lawyer Michael Miller said that, at her request, he had provided investigators with relevant information, including a chronology of the events surrounding Ledger's death.

Mary-Kate Olsen had nothing whatsoever to do with the drugs found in Heath Ledger's home or his body, and she does not know where he obtained them, Miller said in a statement.

Ledger was nominated for an Oscar for his role as a gay cowboy in 2005's Brokeback Mountain. His final role as the Joker in the Batman sequel The Dark Knight, released last month, is being critically hailed with Internet buzz touting him as an Oscar candidate in 2009.

Ledger has a two-year-old daughter, Matilda, with his Brokeback Mountain co-star Michelle Williams.

1,000 cyclists join caravan to save Laguna Lake

At least 1,000 cyclists joined the 280-kilometer bike caravan around deteriorating Laguna de Bay Saturday in an effort to rally the public into saving the countrys largest lake.
The bikers were members of 20 cycling clubs from Metro Manila, Bataan, Bulacan, Batangas, Cavite, Rizal and Quezon provinces. They will go around 30 towns and cities during the two-day event.
The caravans first leg, a 60-km ride, began in Market! Market! in Taguig City at 6 a.m. Saturday.
The bikers traversed the Manuel L. Quezon Road, and passed through the congested western side of the lake through Taguig, Paranaque, Muntinlupa, BiƱan, San Pedro, Sta. Rosa, Calamba, and Los Banos.
A halfway pit-stop will be at the SM mall in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
On the early morning of Sunday, the bikers will shuttle back to the Laguna Lake Development Authority office in Calauan to start the 141-km leg toward the eastern side of the lake.
The caravan will pass through the Laguna towns of Pagsanjan, Pangil, Pakil, Paete, and Mabitac, crossing the provincial boundary to Rizal's Jala-Jala, Baras, and Kalayaan. The final leg will end Sunday afternoon in Taytay, Rizal.
Along the way, the bikers hope to inspire local residents to act and save the countrys largest lake from further degradation.
LLDA General Manager Edgardo Manda said the 900-square meter Laguna de Bay has reached its tipping point, and its watershed is almost denuded and wasted.
With more rains expected starting next month, Manda also said the LLDA and the Rotary Club of Makati Central will lead the planting of the fast-growing bamboo to prevent flooding. - with a report from Israel Malasa, ABS-CBN News

500 soldiers from Negros to further reinforce troops in Lanao

Around five hundred soldiers of Armys 15th Infantry Battalion in Sagay City, Negros Occidental are all set to augment government forces in Lanao del Norte.
Lt. Col. Henry Dar, 15th IB commanding officer, said they were supposed to leave Thursday.
There was no aircraft available however, the military officer said. Still, he said, they expect to leave the province anytime with in the week.
Dar said they have been previously deployed in Sulu before their current posting to Negros Island. After six months in the province, they would be retuning to Mindanao.
The soldiers reportedly were not worried at all since they were already used to the situation in Mindanao.

Dar said however the command was too soon and so is their new mission. He said they expect to be back in Negros in three months time, as soon as the situation in Mindanao becomes normal.

US stocks fall on Countrywide fears, record oil

Reuters

NEW YORK - US stocks fell on Monday on worry that Bank of America Corp may walk away from buying troubled lender Countrywide Financial Corp, while record oil prices above $120 a barrel increased worry about consumer spending.

Microsoft's decision to abandon its $50 billion offer to buy Yahoo Inc added to gloom, causing the market to break a two-day winning streak.

Financial stocks felt the brunt of the sell-off after a brokerage said Bank of America, the No. 2 US bank, was likely to renegotiate its deal to buy Countrywide, the largest US mortgage company, or might even scrap the deal altogether. For details, see .

Countrywide shares tumbled more than 10 percent, while Bank of America shares slid 2.1 percent. Citigroup, down 2.4 percent, led a broader retreat in banking stocks, with the S&P financial index off 1.5 percent.

Berkshire Hathaway's shares fell more than 2 percent after Warren Buffett's holding company posted a big drop in earnings, largely on weakness in its insurance operations. American International Group Inc, due to report earnings on Thursday, fell 3.4 percent.

If Bank of America were to walk away from the Countrywide deal, "what would that mean?" said Stephen Massocca, co-chief executive of Pacific Growth Equities, a San Francisco-based investment bank. "Nobody knows. It may be that there are reasonable answers to all this, but if that were to happen, that won't be good for the market."

The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 88.66 points, or 0.68 percent, at 12,969.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 6.41 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,407.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 12.87 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,464.12.

When the Countrywide buyout was announced in January, it reassured investors that an outright collapse of the mortgage company would be averted.

Countrywide shares slid to $5.36 on the New York Stock Exchange, while shares of Bank of America declined to $38.97. Citigroup shares dropped to $25.75, while AIG shares ended down at $47.39.

Berkshire's Class A shares finished down 2.7 percent at $130,000 on the NYSE, while its Class B shares declined 2.6 percent to $4,333.50.

On the Nasdaq, Yahoo shares suffered their biggest decline in nearly two years, finishing down 15 percent at $24.37. Shares of Microsoft slipped 0.6 percent to $29.08.

Shares of Google Inc, a competitor of both Yahoo and Microsoft, ended up 2.3 percent at $594.90 on expectations that the company could benefit from the failure of the Microsoft-Yahoo talks. Yahoo was likely to push for an advertising partnership with the Web search company, sources familiar with the matter said.

Shares of consumer-oriented companies, including retailers, also slid as investors feared higher energy prices may cause consumers to cut spending, a key pillar of corporate profits and economic activity. The S&P retail index fell 2.4 percent.

Shares of Home Depot Inc, the top home improvement chain, declined 2.5 percent to $29.37 on the NYSE, while shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, dropped 0.9 percent to $56.97.

US crude for June delivery settled at a record just below $120 a barrel amid a weak dollar and renewed tensions with Iran.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the June crude contract surged $3.65 to settle at $119.97 a barrel, after earlier climbing to $120.36, a fresh all-time peak.

Earlier in the session, the stock market had trimmed losses briefly when a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed unexpected growth in the vast US services sector last month. The ISM's non-manufacturing index came in at an April reading of 52.0, confounding economists' forecasts for a reading of 49.1, and up from 49.6 in March. A reading above 50 indicates growth.

Volume was modest on the NSYE, where about 1.11 billion shares changed hands, below last year's estimated daily average of 1.90 billion. On the Nasdaq, about 2.08 billion shares traded, slightly below last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.

Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a ratio of about 3 to 2, while on the Nasdaq, about four stocks fell for every three that rose.

Asphalt, transformers must also be removed from ferry

Add asphalt and electric transformers to the list of potentially hazardous material that must be removed from the capsized MV Princess of the Star.
Department of Transportation and Communication Undersecretary Maria Elena Bautista, head of Task Force MV Princess of the Stars, said Saturday that upon the advice of experts, divers should also try to salvage 36 drums of asphalt and a shipment of transformers inside the vessel, aside from the 10-metric tons of the toxic pesticide, endosulfan.
"Yun ang nakitang critical pa ng ating mga doktor. Kung pwe-pwedeng makuha daw yon, mas mabuti po," she said in an interview on Vice President Noli de Castros radio program, Para Sayo Bayan.
She added that she is already consulting with experts to identify what other cargoes have to be retrieved immediately.
The Cebu-bound MV Princess of the Stars was also carrying luxury vehicles when it sank last Saturday off Sibuyan island in Romblon province at the height of typhoon Frank.
A team of salvage experts from Singapore will primarily salvage a 40-feet container with 10 metric tons of the highly toxic, endosulfan, owned by Del Monte Philippines Inc..
The Coast Guard said the experts, who are bringing along a barge with a crane, are expected to arrive in Romblon Saturday to begin salvage operations.
Once the container of endosulfan is retrieved, it will be turned over to the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority for proper disposal.
The discovery of the highly-toxic chemical inside the ship forced government authorities to halt the search and retrieval operations near the vessel and to subject the more than 60 divers under medical tests for possible chemical poisoining.
The government has also advised residents to avoid diving, swimming and fishing near the area.
"Endosulfan is a restricted pesticide for use in pineapple plantations. At toxic levels and following ingestion, it can cause death or affect the central nervous system, manifesting as headaches, dizziness, nausea, tremors, convulsions, which may also include cardiovascular symptoms," Health Secretary Francisco Duque said. -- Trina Lagura,