Judge blocks Obama’s drilling ban

A US judge has blocked the Obama administration’s six- month ban on deepwater drilling, complicating efforts to improve the safety of offshore oil operations after the worst spill in US history.

The White House said it would appeal the judge’s ruling, issued in New Orleans. Oil companies involved in offshore drilling operations had challenged the government’s moratorium.

It came as a new Reuters/ Ipsos poll found that most Americans still support offshore drilling, despite watching a huge oil slick from BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill devastate fragile wetlands and communities along the US Gulf coast over the past two months.