Missing Vietnam War airman's remains identified

Remains of Air Force Capt. Darrell J. Spinler will be buried with full military honorsHis plane crashed during a mission over the Xekong River in Laos in 1967A POW/MIA accounting team found the remains during a full excavation last yearYears earlier, based on available evidence, his remains were deemed unrecoverable

(CNN) -- The remains of a U.S. Air Force pilot listed as missing in action since his plane crashed in Laos in 1967 have been identified, and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors, the Defense Department's POW/Missing Personnel Office said Tuesday.

On June 21, 1967, Capt. Darrell J. Spinler was piloting an A-1E Skyraider -- a propeller-driven, single-seat aircraft -- attacking enemy targets along the Xekong River in Laos when villagers reported hearing an explosion before his aircraft crashed. The pilot of another A-1E remained in the area for more than two hours but saw no sign of Spinler.

In 1993, villagers who witnessed the crash told a joint U.S.-Laotian team led by Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) that Spinler's body was on the river bank after the crash, but that it likely washed away during the ensuing rainy season.

The team surveyed the location and found wreckage consistent with Spinler's aircraft.

In 1995, the U.S. government evaluated Spinler's case and determined his remains to be unrecoverable based on witness statements and available evidence. Teams working in the area revisited the location in 1999 and 2003 and confirmed Spinler's remains had likely been carried away by the Xekong River.

Last year, however, JPAC conducted a full excavation of the location and recovered aircraft wreckage, human remains, crew-related equipment and personal effects.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the POW/MIA team used dental X-rays in the identification of Spinler's remains.

Spinler, of Browns Valley, Minnesota, will be buried on June 18 near his hometown.

The number of service members still missing from the Vietnam War is now 1,689.

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Official: 4 sets of Long Island remains aren't linked to serial killer

Police divers search for human remains in waters near Point Lookout, New York, in April.NEW: The DA urges patience, saying the serial killer probe "is not an episode of 'CSI' "NEW: Three homicide cases are opened due to the new findings, none linked to a serial killerThe four sets of remains were found in March and April near where four others had beenTwo were dismembered, one was an Asian male and another a female toddler, says the DA

(CNN) -- The four sets of human remains most recently discovered on a Long Island beach don't appear to be related to four others discovered nearby that have been linked to a suspected serial killer, the Suffolk County district attorney said Monday.

The evidence suggests that perhaps two other killers dumped bodies along Ocean Parkway in Gilgo Beach, about 40 miles east of New York City. But they don't shed any light on the investigation into the person or people who authorities believe killed at least four sex workers whose bodies were found last December.

"This investigation is not an episode of 'CSI' or 'Criminal Minds' that is going to be solved in a one-hour period," District Attorney Thomas Spota said of the serial killer probe. "Most likely, it ... is going to take a very long period of time to complete."

The four latest sets of remains were found March 29 and April 4. Homicide cases are now open based on three of the four latest discoveries, according to the district attorney.

The first set of newly discovered remains include the head, hands and forearms of a woman Spota identified as Jessica Taylor. The rest of her body had been found in 2003 in Manorville, a community about 45 miles east on Long Island.

Like the four victims found last year, Taylor was a prostitute, the district attorney said. She had been working in Washington and had come up to New York City for a few days before going missing. Spota said that, despite extensive interviews, there were no suspects in her death and the case went cold -- until now.

More body parts -- a head, hands and a right foot -- were found slightly farther east along the parkway. While no name has been attached to them, Spota said they match with a body found in 2000, also in Manorville.

Both these two women's alleged killer or killers "went to extraordinary lengths to prevent the victims from being identified," said the district attorney, pointing to efforts to hide a tattoo on Taylor as an example. "This is clearly not so with any of the other remains."

The only set among those recently discovered that didn't show any signs of trauma is "the full skeletal remains" of what is thought to be a female toddler, according to Spota. This unidentified child, who was probably between 18 and 24 months old when she died, was wrapped in a blanket and deposited in the same stretch along the parkway. The county medical examiner has yet to indicate a cause of death in the girl's case, which isn't now considered a homicide.

The last of the recently discovered bodies was an unidentified male, thought to be Asian and in his late teens or early 20s. Spota said the medical examiner's office determined that he'd been dead for "years," and his skeleton shows "evidence of trauma, but the cause of death is radically different from all the other remains."

"What is now very clear is that the area in and around Gilgo Beach has been used to discard human remains for some period of time," Spota said. "But there is no evidence that all these remains are the result of a single killer."

Previously, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said that authorities believed one or more person was most likely responsible for the deaths of four women whose remains were found within a quarter-mile of each other in that same area last winter.

More still unidentified remains have been found as part of the serial killer investigation in nearby Nassau County. But police have yet to link those to any other case.

All the while, the woman who originally prompted the searches -- 23-year-old Shannan Gilbert -- remains missing.

The New Jersey woman was last seen in May 2010 while attending a private party at a home in the Oak Beach community. Like the four victims who were found in December and have been identified, Gilbert had advertised prostitution services on Websites such as Craigslist.

Dormer told reporters Monday that authorities haven't given up their search for her.

"We're still concerned about the disappearance of Shannan Gilbert," the police commissioner said. "We're going to continue our efforts to find her ... both for our investigation and for her family."

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RBS remains in red with $272M loss

Royal Bank of Scotland reported a pre-tax loss of ?116m, compared to ?5m a year ago.Royal Bank of Scotland reports a pre-tax loss of ?116mChief executive Stephen Hester hails results as proof of "progress continuing"Finance director Bruce van Saun says company "expects positive trends to continue"

(FT.com) -- Royal Bank of Scotland, the bank that is 83 per cent owned by taxpayers, was lossmaking again in the three months to the end of March.

The bank reported a pre-tax loss of ?116m on Friday, compared with a figure of only ?5m a year ago, but Stephen Hester, chief executive, hailed the results as proof of "progress continuing".

"Financial strength and resilience continue to show sharp improvement as core business profitability broadens and non-core risks are reduced," he said.

RBS highlighted the progress made in its underlying business, with operating profits of ?1.1bn, up from ?882m a year ago. The figure excludes the impact of value swings in the bank's own debt, its asset protection scheme insurance arrangement with the UK government and the impact of restructuring charges.

The bank said the return on equity in its "core" business -- which excludes the impact of legacy assets that are being wound down -- had increased to 15 per cent in the quarter, from last year's 13 per cent.

RBS's figures were unaffected by any provisioning charges for the projected cost of meeting misselling claims relating to personal protection insurance. Lloyds Banking Group shocked the market on Thursday with a ?3.2bn PPI charge.

"The uncertainties around the outcome of the PPI action mean that, at this time, the group is unable reliably to estimate any potential financial liability, although it could prove to be material," RBS said in a statement.

Mr Hester said it would be the decision of the British Bankers Association whether the industry should appeal against a court ruling that PPI had been widely missold. The Financial Services Authority has predicted that resolving the issue would cost the industry ?4.5bn.

"The legal analysis has not changed [following Lloyds' decision]," Mr Hester told the Financial Times. "The courts won't pay any attention to whether Lloyds has caved or not caved."

However, he added that the Financial Services Authority was now likely to be "rather wedded to" the idea of settling the matter with the banks on a par with Lloyds' arrangement.

Despite differences of opinion with Lloyds over PPI, RBS did something to come into line with its rival's view of risks in Ireland. It took a ?1.3bn impairment against Ulster Bank, though that did not stop impairments overall falling 9 per cent to ?1.9bn.

"We believe we may be at a high watermark for impairments [at Ulster]," Bruce van Saun, finance director, said.

The group's investment banking operation, Global Banking and Markets, saw operating profits decline by nearly a third year on year to ?1.1bn, though Mr Hester said he was pleased with the unit's "good solid job". The comparison was distorted by a change in the way bankers' bonuses were accounted for, Mr van Saun said.

RBS's insurance business, which includes Direct Line, returned to the black in the quarter, with an operating profit of ?67m, compared with a ?50m loss a year ago. The recovery comes as RBS prepares to sell the business.

Giving an overall outlook for the rest of 2011, Mr van Saun said: "We expect positive trends to continue. The one exception is Ulster, where we remain cautious."

Shares in RBS opened 2.5 per cent higher at 41.4p.

© The Financial Times Limited 2011

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Serial killer probe finds 9th set of remains

9th body found on Long Island beachSTORY HIGHLIGHTS The discoveries are about 5 miles from where 8 other human remains were found
What's thought to be a human skull is found Monday in Oyster Bay, police say
A medical examiner is trying to determine whether a separate set of remains is human
A county official says, "We want to bring to justice this animal"
New York (CNN) -- Police are examining what appears to be a human skull found on the outskirts of a bird sanctuary in Long Island, New York, potentially the ninth set of remains discovered in the probe of a suspected serial killer.

Lt. Kevin Smith of the Nassau County Police Department said the skull was found Monday around 3:30 p.m. in the town of Oyster Bay. About four hours earlier, a New York state police officer and his cadaver dog spotted another set of remains about a mile and a half away, and authorities worked to determine whether those remains are human.

Authorities could continue their search on Tuesday.

These discoveries come on the first day that authorities probing the deaths of several young women searched for evidence in and around Nassau County. Since December, eight sets of human remains have been found in Suffolk County, just to the east of Nassau County and roughly five miles from the sites of Monday's discoveries.

"It's just been very startling, all of it has been," Smith told reporters Monday. "It's just amazing that we're finding these things. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do."

Authorities are working on the presumption that a single person is responsible for the women's killings. The four victims who have been identified thus far all advertised prostitution services on websites such as Craigslist, police have said.

"Collectively, we want to bring to justice this animal who has obviously taken the lives of a number of people," said Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano on Monday.

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