Officials spot more stranded whales

Officials rushed today to reach about 80 whales stranded on a remote coast in southern Australia.

The group was spotted from the air on Saturday on a rocky coastline at Sandy Cape in the northwest of Tasmania state. Many of the 80 long-finned pilot whales counted appeared to be dead, said Rosemary Gales of the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service.

Two crews of rescuers were on their way to the region, but were being slowed by the rugged terrain, which also limited the amount of equipment they could carry.

The operation comes one week after rescuers saved 11 pilot whales among more than 60 stranded on a beach in northwestern Tasmania, which is an island.

Strandings are not uncommon in Tasmania, where the whales pass by on their migration to and from Antarctic waters. It is not known why whales get stranded.

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Gunmen kill eight at restaurant

Police say at least 12 masked gunmen opened fire inside a restaurant in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, killing eight.

Chihuahua state prosecutor’s office spokesman Alejandro Pariente said the gunmen arrived at the seafood restaurant Friday evening in three cars, approached a group of people and opened fire.

Pariente said no arrests have been made.

The attack comes days after police found the bodies of seven men who were killed in a school soccer field in an upscale neighborhood of Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas. The homicides were the latest of hundreds of killings in the city, where drug violence has taken a heavy toll.