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Hurricane Florence aims at Bermuda

By TIMES WIRES
Published September 11, 2006

HAMILTON, Bermuda - Florence intensified into the second hurricane of the Atlantic season Sunday as it neared Bermuda, where residents stocked up on provisions and formed long lines at gas stations in the lashing rain.

Florence was expected to pass "very near" the tiny British territory today, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

But it was too early to tell whether it would make a direct hit.

Preparations to protect life and property "should be rushed to completion," the center said.

Shopkeepers and homeowners boarded up windows and doors, with one closed flower shop bearing the sign: "We've gone away to chase away Florence. Back Tuesday."

Tropical storm force winds were already affecting the territory by Sunday afternoon.

The Category 1 hurricane, which had maximum sustained winds near 90 mph Sunday evening, was expected to become a Category 2 hurricane as it passes Bermuda, according to the hurricane center.

With hurricane-force winds that extend up to 60 miles from the storm's eye, even a near-miss could cause substantial damage, forecasters said.

Authorities were keeping a part-time regiment on call to help respond to the hurricane at strategic points.

Tonga's King Tupou IV dies after four-decade rule

NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga - Tonga's King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, 88, a towering figure in the tiny Pacific Island nation for four decades, has died in a New Zealand hospital, media reports said today.

His death ended one of the world's longest reigns by a monarch in modern times. His son, Crown Prince Tupouto, immediately ascended the throne. The new monarch, King Taufa'ahau Tupou V, will take the vows today.

Pope rebukes the West for 'hardness of hearing'

MUNICH, Germany - Pope Benedict XVI rebuked his fellow Germans and other Western societies Sunday, saying they often shut their ears to the Christian message and insisting that the modern world's science and technology alone cannot combat AIDS and other social ills.

Addressing 250,000 pilgrims at an open-air Mass, Benedict said modern people suffer from "hardness of hearing" when it comes to God and complained that "mockery of the sacred" is viewed as an exercise in freedom.

It was the second day of a pilgrimage to his Bavarian homeland.

[Last modified September 11, 2006, 01:39:02]