Mauritius scrambles to counter oil spill from grounded ship

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Anxious residents of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius are stuffing fabric sacks with sugar cane leaves to create makeshift oil spill barriers as tons of fuel leak from a grounded ship. The government has declared an environmental emergency and France says it is sending help from its nearby Reunion island. Wildlife workers and volunteers have ferried dozens of baby tortoises and rare plants to the mainland. Fears are growing that worsening weather on Sunday could tear the Japanese-owned ship apart. The ship grounded on a reef on July 25 and pounding ocean waves since then have cracked its hull.