Obama defends handling of oil spill
Published:Thursday | May 27, 2010 | 6:47 PM
US President Barack Obama has defended his government\'s handling of the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
He has unveiled a series of measures, including a continued moratorium on drilling permits for six months.
The move comes after an opinion poll said 60 per cent of Americans were unhappy with the government\'s response.
Meanwhile, BP says its top kill effort is making progress in stemming the oil flow, from what some experts say is the country\'s worst-ever spill.
New estimates from a panel of US scientists says at least 12,000 barrels or 504,000 gallons are leaking into the Gulf every day, far exceeding the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster.
The leak was caused by an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, which also killed 11 workers.