Tropical Storm Bertha becomes hurricane again

MIAMI, July 18 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Bertha strengthened again into a hurricane on Friday as it accelerated toward the northeast over the open Atlantic, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The top sustained winds of the first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic storm season had increased to 75 miles per hour (120 km per hour), just over the threshold at which tropical storms become hurricanes, the Miami-based center said at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT). (Reporting by Michael Christie, Editing by Doina Chiacu)