Category Archives: World News

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UN nuk agency says Japan struggling to avoid radiation disaster

Yukiya Amano, Chief of the U.N.’s nuclear energy agency reveals that Japan is trying its best to cool the nuclear reactors after its cooling systems failed following devastating earthquake and tsunami in the country. The nuk chief stated this after observing the situation in Tokyo and a talk with the Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

The UN diplomat says that the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant was more serious that what he predicted. The Japanese authorities are still trying to cool the reactor, whereas the unprecedented rise in temperature at reactors is exposing the spent fuel rods that are lying in empty pool in the reactor.

Japan has been offered assistance for assessing the dangers of Fukushima by the United States. It has also recommended a 50-mile evacuation zone for precautionary measure to avoid effects of harmful nuclear radiations from the plant, revealed the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jazcko. To regain control over the plant, a new power line is being laid to the plant to restore cooling system for the reactors, however its operators, Tokyo Electric Power Co. has already missed the deadline it set to complete the restoration work.

The Group of Seven industrialized nations has also offered to help Japan in this need of crisis and reinstall all infrastructure that has been devastated by the Friday earthquake.

However this effort would be focused on intervention on the currency market to weaken Japanese Yen and help Japan to gain from its exports.

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Pro-Gaddafi security forces push protesters from western stronghold in Libya

LIbya protesters

LIbya Protesters

Pro-government security forces forced anti-Gaddafi protesters out of their stronghold—city of Misurata after high resistance of the rebellions. For a short period though, the protesters had claimed victory of Ajdabiya but now the Libyan government forces reinforced their control over the area.

According to Musa Ibrahim, government spokesman from Libya stated that Qaddafi supporting security forces were to take control over Misurata following Zawiyah, the two towns in the western part of Libya where the rebels had taken over.

The move was slow in order to avoid casualties, stated the spokesperson, whereas the rebels revealed that there were more than 10 people died while Gaddafi’s forces took control of the city from them.

The rebels fought continuously hoping for some support from the international community, but there was none. Susan E. Rice, the United States envoy to the United Nations, tried continuously for a resolution to declare Libya not only a no-flight zone but also initiate some stern steps to check the movement of Gaddafi’s forces.

Ms Rice stated that they were discussing actions that would protect the civilians there in Libya. The United States is considering going for possible measures beyond a no-fly zone. The US diplomat added that they were trying for a solution of the crisis through voting in Libya.

Meanwhile warplanes were reported bombarding over the areas off-Benghazi.

NGOs and aid organizations left the city soon after for safety.

The rebellions welcomed the initiative from the United States and the UN Security Council.

Even within the US administration, it is a strong belief that declaring Libya a no fly zone is no more an effective measure to check loyalist forces’ oppressive steps against the rebels.

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Armed forces attack anti-government protestors in Bahrain

Bahrain’s troops attack protestors demanding for the ouster of current government.

Despite declaration of state of emergency in Bahrain, people continue demonstrating against the autocratic government.

The security personnel used tear gas vehicles to scatter the crowd of protestors who had occupied a landmark square in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. According to some witnesses, two demonstrators died in the clash with the security forces.

Declaration of state of emergency has suddenly powered the armed forces with more authority over system.

The protestors were attacked early in the morning and black smoke covered the square soon after the attack began. Helicopters were also seen hovering over the landmark square where the demonstrators had gathered to protest. Following the declaration of state of emergency on Wednesday Bahrain’s stock exchange has been closed down at 1413.19 on Tuesday. There has been no announcement yet when it would reopen. Bahrain stock market stands for a very small section of investment world in the Persian Gulf region

According to the sources, Saudi Arabia refuted to obey the orders of the United States for not involving in Bahrain’s issue and sent its security forces to check violence.

Thousands of security personnel from Saudi Arabia 500 UAE police officials have reached Bahrain to establish peace there. However, the United States fears such moves might intensify tensions in Bahrain. Protestors are increasing in number day by day and have taken control over financial district in the capital city Manama.  The US administration also fears over the possibility of sectarian violence following the arrival of Saudi Arabian Sunni troops and Shiya forces from Iran.

However, the Bahrain government has announced to initiate a national dialogue to resolve the situation a week ago, which has raised hopes among the protestors.

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Japanese emperor calls on people to keep hope

Japanese emperor calls on people to keep hope

Japanese emperor calls on people to keep hope

Following the devastating earthquake and Tsunami Japanese Emperor Akihito urges people not to give up their hopes.

The emperor, who rarely appears in public called on Japanese people to stay calm and united at this time of crisis when Tsunami and earthquake has devastated Japan and people are fearing nuclear catastrophe following failure of cooling systems at two nuclear plants of the country due to quake.

The 77-year-old emperor usually gives televised speech at the time of war or extreme crisis.

He supported Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s statement that this was worst crisis for Japan ever since the Second World War.

He assured Japanese people of international community’s support in this crisis and appreciated them for staying calm.

King’s speech was televised on the same day when Fukushima Daiichi’s nuclear plant was damaged and white smoke and fire coming from the reactors panicked people. More than 15000 people have been evacuated from the areas adjacent to nuclear plants to avoid radiation aftermath though experts are still denying possibility of any radiation catastrophe.

The reactor No. 4 was found with flames on Wednesday morning that raised concerns of dangerous radiation as spent fuel rods were lying in an uncovered pool inside.

Radiation level is being monitored at the plant and the area has been evacuated as a precautionary measure as the radiation level has been found fluctuating.

Japanese emperor calls on people to keep hope

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U.S. Endorses Arab League Over Declaring Libya as No-Fly Zone

U.S. Endorses Arab League Over Declaring Libya as No-Fly Zone

U.S. Endorses Arab League Over Declaring Libya as No-Fly Zone

Ras Lanuf, Libya:  – The United States supports Arab League’s demand for declaring Libya a no-fly zone. The White House calls it as an important step in the wake of government’s effort to root out rebels from the areas they controlled.

Amr Moussa, chief of the Arab League stated that the League, had determined on Saturday in a meeting in Cairo that Libyan President Gaddafi had done serious crimes and taken violent steps against the people of Libya. The league therefore considers Gaddafi’s government as illegitimate and pressurizes Mummar Gaddafi to step down.

The United States would play a vital role in implementation of making Libya a no fly-zone. However it had not made any commitment yet to take any military action against Libya.

It is yet to be clarified whether League’s decision to declare Libya a no fly zone would give any support to NATO on regional level in initiating any military action against the country. However, William Hague, foreign secretary of the UK called it “very significant”.

The US authorities also indicated over possibility of an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council over this issue; however they said it was not very likely.

Gaddafi’s suppressive actions against his opponents have led to unprecedented unrest in the country. Ouster of autocratic governments in many other nations in the Middle East in recent days has inspired people of Libya to speed up demonstrations against the suppressive rule of Gaddafi.

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Mass Protests continue in Libya to bring down President Col Gaddafi

Mass protests in Libya agaisnt Gaddafi

Col Muammar Gaddafi’s regime is trembling due to unprecedented public unrest in Libya. To worsen the situation even senior diplomats have defected from the government to support the protestors’ demand and ask Gaddafi to resign.

Protesters flooded Tripoli   slogans and the security forces tried to suppress them by using tear gas and live ammunition.

Another Libyan city– Benghazi has totally been overtaken by the protesters.

Saif al-Islam warned against the probability of a civil war in the wake of continuous mass protests. Saif al-Islam is the son of Col Gaddafi.

Saif al-Islam pledged to make political reforms however stressed that the government would do anything to avoid unrest in the country and take action against the extremists.

The Libya government is taking stern action against the protesters and according to the witnesses it was rather a massacre organized by security forces in the Green Square in Tripoli.

Meanwhile the protesters set a government building People’s Hall into fire.

Abdel Moneim al-Honi, Libyan envoy to the Arab League also declared joining the protesters and, Ali al-Essawi, country’s ambassador to India stated that he would be resigning to express his protest against government’s violent suppression.

Ex-chief spokesman for the Libyan government– Mohamed Bayou also admitted that the current government had failed to tackle with the political crisis and flayed the leaders for threatening protesters with violent actions.

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Amnesty accuses Libyan security forces of gunning down 46 People

Human rights group Amnesty International has alleged that the Libyan security forces have gunned down 46 people in the past three days. It reported that 28 people were shot dead and 110 injured when security forces cracked down on protestors in Benghazi city.

Malcom Smart, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North America regions said, “This alarming rise in the death toll, and the reported nature of the victims’ injuries, strongly suggests that security forces are permitted to use lethal force against unarmed protesters calling for political change.”

Victims were shot in the chest, neck and head. The BBC reports that protestors were shot at when they reached a residential compound used by Gaddafi when he visits Benghazi.

Smart demanded that the people who are responsible for these killings should be reined in immediately. Those who are carrying out the shootings and those ordering them should be brought to justice.

The unrest was taking place in Benghazi city in Libya. It is the second biggest city after Tripoli and people were protesting there unarmed against the Muammar Gaddafi government. A section of the press had reported strong action by the government on protestors. Websites have been blocked and electricity supply has been cut off to some areas.

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Yemeni people call on President Saleh to resign

A lot of Yemeni demonstrators resisted petition for peace and trudged in mass through the capital on Thursday in a move to remove the country’s head of state.

At one side stood the followers of the head of state and at the other side were the demonstrators against the government. Smell and sight of burnt rubber filled everywhere especially next to closed shops with the noise of gunfire heard also.

On Thursday, the underprivileged capital saw the most violent of conflict since that of Tunisia and Egypt.  Although few in number, Yemen’s anti-government protesters unexpectedly came back in full force to fight back with different kinds of dangerous weapons.

For some onlookers, the tumultuous situation on Rabat Street – after weeks of pacific demonstration even in the presence of well protected government militia- points out that a change has taken place in this mid-eastern country.

In the midst of this turbulence, Saleh a United States supporter who has held power for over three decades has declared an inquiry into the untimely demise of demonstrators. That night, The President met with senior military personnel, with one of them referring to these as ordinary fighting.

On Thursday protesters against the government gathered in seven regions emphasizing its instability.

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Ahmadinejad says mass protests not to make history in Iran

Buoyed by the Iranian Parliament’s demand for the prosecution of two prominent leaders of the opposition movement, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed confidence on Tuesday that the mass demonstrations are going to fail. On Monday Iran witnessed antigovernment protests after a year.

It is reported that nearly 20,000-30,000 people took to the streets in protest in Iran, including the capital Tehran. Two student leaders have lost their lives in the demonstrations.

The mass movements started after the last elections. President Ahmadinejad, who holds on to power despite allegations of a rigged re-election, claims that these are the machinations of foreign nations to destroy a great nation. But mass opposition leader Karroubi predicts the uprising in Iran will go Tunisia and Egypt way where the oppressive rulers have been forced to flee.

Karroubi says that the government must remove cotton from the ears and listen to the people’s voice. He strongly believes that oppression works only up to a point and history is proof of that.

Though a number of opposition members have been prosecuted, the government has not dared to prosecute the two prominent mass leaders Mir Hussein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi fearing wide spread unrest.

American President Barrack Obama has lauded the courage of the Iranian demonstrators and criticized the Iranian government’s response to the demonstrations. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton denounced the use of the Internet by the Iranian government to hunt down critics.

The opposition leaders like Karroubi do not have any future plans, but he is hopeful that the street demonstrations would overhaul the government and unseat not just Ahmadinejad, but also the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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Obama fails to convince US people on economic recovery

A recent study shows that Americans are yet not satisfied with Obama’s rate of creating jobs in the country. With only 48% job creation so far, the US President has failed to convince people that the US economy is on the path of recovery.

Bill Plante, a journalist stated that Americans did not believe in the story of economic recover and a major part of the US population did not believe on the statistical figures about end of recession.

Around  37 percent Americans regarded the study has been based on real assessment and believed in what it said regarding economic improvements during Obama’s presidency.

However, the projections made by President Obama about fiscal deficit in 2012 did not convince all as it has been based on the assumption that the US economy would continue to grow.

However, the research showed that more than 59 percent US people, who earn less than $50 thousand annually, regarded the tax hikes completely unnecessary on the basis of predictions of budget deficit.

People with higher income—i.e. more than $100,000 per year admitted that it would be necessary for the government to raise taxes to help the country to bail out.

Overall, most of the people of the United States feel uncomfortable over reduction in funding public welfare programs and more than 40 percent said it was not necessary.