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Showing posts from March, 2011

Radiation levels in seawater off Japan plant spike to all-time highs

Tokyo (CNN) -- The levels of radiation in ocean waters off Japan's embattled Fukushima Daiichi plant continue to skyrocket, the nation's nuclear safety agency said Thursday, with no clear sense of what's causing the spike or how to stop it. The amount of radioactive iodine-131 isotope in the samples, taken Wednesday some 330 meters (361 yards) into the Pacific Ocean, has surged to 4,385 times above the regulatory limit. This tops the previous day's reading of 3,355 times above the standard -- and an exponential spike over the 104-times increase measured just last Friday. Officials have downplayed the potential perils posed by this isotope, since it loses half of its radiation every eight days. Yet amounts of the cesium-137 isotope -- which, by comparison, has a 30-year "half life" -- have also soared, with a Wednesday afternoon sample showing levels 527 times the standard. "That's the one I am worried about," said Michael Friedlander, a U

Revolutions have made us proud to be Arabs

STORY HIGHLIGHTS Yasmeen El Khoudary: Palestinians had seen Arab identity and unity as a myth Revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt showed "who our real Arab brothers and sisters are" Khoudary says Arab pride is now being felt by Arabs around the world Editor's Note: Yasmeen El Khoudary , 21, was born and raised in Gaza City, in the Palestinian territories. She works as a self-employed writer and researcher and blogs at yelkhoudary.blogspot.com (CNN) -- For the first time in my life, I saw the Tunisian, Egyptian and Libyan flags held high in the sky of Gaza next to the Palestinian flag. I saw, and was among, thousands of young Palestinians who met on the streets of Gaza on March 15, 2011, to demand an end to the current political division between Hamas (in Gaza) and Fatah (in the West Bank). This protest would have been unthinkable before the beginning of this year, and more specifically, before the January 25. We, the Palestinian youth, were so inspired by

Enraged mother stands by daughter, allegedly raped by Gadhafi's men

Tobruk, Libya (CNN) -- Like everyone else, Aisha Ahmad watched the riveting drama unfold in a Tripoli hotel as a desperate woman burst into a dining room filled with journalists, sobbing, screaming, wanting the world to know she had been raped by 15 of Moammar Gadhafi's militia men. The arresting images of how swiftly the woman, Eman al-Obeidy, 29, and the journalists were stifled stirred viewers around the world. But perhaps none more so than Ahmad. This was her daughter. And she was enraged. Just weeks before, Ahmad might have wept in silence. But now, with war engulfing Libya and its future hanging in the balance, Ahmad feared Gadhafi no more. "If I were to see his face, I would strangle him," she told CNN in an interview at her modest home in the eastern coastal city of Tobruk. No one would do that unless they were raped, and especially in a conservative society. --Mona Eltahawy, columnist on Arab and Muslim issues. RELATED TOPICS Eman al-Obeidy

Source: CIA operating in Libya, in consultation with opposition

Benghazi, Libya (CNN) -- CIA operatives are providing intelligence from Libya, where opposition forces are on the run and the defiant government suffered the embarrassing defection of its foreign minister Wednesday. The NATO-led coalition, which is enforcing a no-fly zone and protecting civilians from the intense fighting, got no help from the weather in its ongoing efforts to protect the fragile opposition movement. "The weather conditions did not allow close combat support by aircraft in the last couple of days," said Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Moammar Gadhafi's government, for its part, kept up the war of words. State-run Libyan TV late Wednesday quoted a military source as saying a "civilian location was shelled tonight in the city of Tripoli by the colonizing crusader aggression." Amid debate on whether the allies will arm the retreating and undertrained rebels, a U.S. inte

Libya's Foreign Minister Resigns, Arrives in Britain

Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa has arrived in Britain and has declared he is leaving Moammar Gadhafi's government. The British foreign office said Wednesday that Koussa traveled from Tunisia to London under his own free will, telling officials he is resigning his post. British officials urged Mr. Gadhafi's other supporters to desert him as well. A Libyan government spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, denied the foreign minister has defected, saying he is in Britain on a "diplomatic mission." Libya's justice and interior ministers resigned early in the conflict and joined the rebels fighting in the east. U.S. officials called Koussa's resignation "very significant," and an example of growing splits inside the Libyan government. The foreign minister has been a close confidant of Mr. Gadhafi and served as his intelligence chief for more than a decade. In Washington, the White House repeated that no decision has been made to provide arms to rebel f

Ofcom acts to cut home phone and broadband prices

broadband prices Ofcom wants to reduce the cost of connections provided by Openreach Continue reading the main story Related Stories 'Cheaper broadband' for rural UK Plans to expand for 4G coverage The cost of home telephone and broadband services could come down after telecoms regulator Ofcom moved to reduce the wholesale price. It has revised the list of rates that Openreach, which manages BT's network, can charge other providers for using its services. In some cases, the wholesale price could fall by more than 10% per year. The move will benefit companies such as TalkTalk and Sky, but not Virgin Media which uses its own cable network. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12917639

Google to be audited on privacy after Buzz complaints

Google users who signed-up to Buzz found some of their contact details made public by default Continue reading the main story Related Stories Google Buzz 'breaks privacy laws' Google rapped over privacy issues Google privacy policy 'is vague' Google will be subjected to independent privacy audits for the next 20 years over charges that it "violated its own privacy promises". The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that the search giant wrongly used information from Google Mail users last year to create its social network Buzz. The FTC ruled that "the options for declining or leaving the social network were ineffective". "Google Buzz fell short of our usual standards," Google said in a blog post. "While we worked quickly to make improvements, regulators unsurprisingly wanted more detail about what went wrong and how we could prevent it from happening again. "Today, we've reached an agreement wit

Irish banks stress tests results due

Irish Life & Permanent is expected to move into government ownership Continue reading the main story Big Banking Lehman trustee is suing Citibank RBS pays £375m to 323 key staff Northern Rock reports annual loss Lloyds' new chief begins changes The latest estimate of the cost of the Irish banking crisis is expected to be revealed later on Thursday with the release of bank stress tests results. They are expected to show the banks need an extra 30bn euros (£26.3bn). The Irish Central Bank has tested four lenders - Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland, Educational Building Society (EBS) and the Irish Life & Permanent. The latest capital injection is expected to leave all four institutions in majority government ownership. Dublin already owns most of Allied Irish Banks and the EBS following a previous rescue of the banks. Mortgage meltdown Money set aside from th

Obama authorises covert aid to Libyan rebels - reports

President Barack Obama has said the US is looking at all options in Libya Continue reading the main story Libya Crisis Libya and Mid-East crisis Live Challenges facing coalition Profile: Moussa Koussa Libya split in two US President Barack Obama has secretly authorised covert assistance to rebels seeking to overthrow Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, US media reports say. He recently signed a document known as a "finding", allowing support to the rebel groups, Reuters news agency and ABC News said. Such "findings" are a common way for the president to authorise covert operations by the CIA. The CIA and White House have both declined to comment on the reports. White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "I will reiterate what the president said yesterday - no decision has been made about providing arms to the opposition or to any group in Libya. We're not r

Alabama bacteria outbreak: US officials join probe

The culprit: Serratia bacteria tend to spread in hospital patients' respiratory and urinary tracts Federal officials are investigating an outbreak of a bacterial blood infection that killed nine patients and made 10 others ill in Alabama hospitals. The victims, already seriously ill, were stricken with Serratia marcescens bacteraemia this month. All had been given an intravenous nutritional product manufactured by an Alabama company, which recalled all of its products following the outbreak. But an Alabama health official warned the outbreak's origin remained unclear. 'Contained' The stricken patients at six Alabama hospitals were all taking an intravenous nutritional product manufactured by a single pharmacy, Meds IV, the state Department of Public Health said in a Tuesday statement . Upon learning of the outbreak, the company ceased production and on 24 March recalled all of its intravenous products, the department said. "We'r

Somali 'al-Shabab' suspect held in Canada

Somali Islamist group al-Shabab has been linked to al-Qaeda Continue reading the main story SOMALIA - FAILED STATE Counting the cost of anarchy Remembering life before the guns How does Somalia function at all? Somaliland: Non-existent country Canadian authorities have arrested a man accused of seeking to travel to Somalia to join a militant group. The man, whose name was not immediately released, was stopped at Toronto Pearson airport on Tuesday, Canadian police said in a statement . The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said he was bound for Cairo, then Somalia. He planned to join al-Shabab, which the US and Canada consider a terror group, and "participate in their terrorist activities", police said. The man was charged under federal law with attempting to participate in terrorist activity and with providing counsel to a person to participate in such activity, police said. Th

India census: population goes up to 1.21bn

India has a diverse population of a billion-plus people Continue reading the main story Related Stories India launches biometric census India begins epic census India has added 181 million new people to its population over the last decade, according to the results of the 2011 census. India's population is now 1.21bn, which is bigger than the combined populations of the US, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan and Bangladesh. India launched the latest census exercise last year. Some 2.5 million officials visited households in about 7,000 towns and 600,000 villages. The population was classified according to gender, religion, education and occupation. The exercise, conducted every 10 years, faces big challenges, not least India's vast area and diversity of cultures. Census officials also have to contend with high levels of illiteracy and millions of homeless people - as well as insurgencies by Maoists and other rebels which have left large parts of the country

Syria's President Assad vows to defeat 'plot'

Click to play President Bashar al-Assad: "This is a test for our unity" Continue reading the main story Syria Crisis Show of support Syria's long history of dissent Fervour spreads Mid-East unrest: Country by country President Bashar al-Assad has told parliament Syria will defeat those behind a "plot" against his country. "Syria is a target of a big plot from outside," he said in his first speech since anti-government demonstrations erupted two weeks ago. Mr Assad said he would continue on the path of reform for Syria - but did not announ

Jimmy Carter criticises US Cuba policy

Raul Castro said Mr Carter's visit was helpful Continue reading the main story Related Stories Dissidents' release draws line under crackdown Obama offers Cuba 'new beginning' Former US president Jimmy Carter - on a visit to Cuba - has criticised US policy towards the island. Mr Carter said the decades-long US trade embargo and travel ban damaged the Cuban people and hindered rather than helped reform. He also urged the Cuban government to move towards democracy and allow complete freedom of speech. During his three-day visit Jimmy Carter held talks with the Cuban leader Raul Castro, as well as leading dissidents. He also met the jailed US contractor Alan Gross, but did not secure his release. "We should immediately end the trade embargo which the US has imposed on the people of Cuba," Mr Carter told a news conference before leaving Havana. He also said a US travel ban on American citizens visiting Cuba and keeping Cuba on a list o

Guatemala 'drug lord' Juan Ortiz Lopez captured by US

Mr Ortiz is facing extradition to the US Continue reading the main story Related Stories Obama in Central America pledge UN backs Central America security Guatemala fears advance of Mexican drug gangs Guatemala's most wanted suspected drugs lord, Juan Ortiz Lopez, has been captured by US and Guatemalan agents. Soldiers and police in helicopters swooped on Mr Ortiz's home in the city of Quetzaltenango. He is accused of smuggling tonnes of cocaine through Guatemala and Mexico into the US. The operation is the latest sign of the US's growing involvement in the fight against organised crime in Central America. "This is the capture of a big fish," Guatemalan interior minister Carlos Menocal told a news conference after Mr Ortiz was flown to Guatemala City and taken to court. He added that Mr Ortiz would probably be extradited to the US to face trial. Guatemala is struggling against the growing influence of Mexican drugs cartels in large area

Dmitry Medvedev: Russian ministers must quit boardrooms

Mr Medvedev singled out the practice of ministers acting as regulators and company directors Continue reading the main story Related Stories Putin denies Russia rift on Libya Medvedev warns of 'stagnation' Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev has announced that by mid-2011 he wants government ministers to give up their seats on boards of directors. The proposal is being seen as a potential blow to a close ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Igor Sechin. Mr Sechin is chairman of state oil firm Rosneft and, as deputy prime minister, regulates the gas and oil industries. The president said he wanted to end "the excessive influence of state companies on the investment climate". Mr Medvedev told a meeting of his modernisation commission in the city of Magnitogorsk that corruption remained a factor, in a speech broadcast live by state news channel Rossiya 24. He said that he himself had served as chairman of the board of directors of Russia&#

Japan nuclear crisis: Pressure to widen evacuation zone

Environmental group Greenpeace has been monitoring levels of radioactivity at the village of Iitate Continue reading the main story Japan quake Water clear-up 'urgent' at reactor Tepco bailout speculation grows Inside the evacuation zone Japan quake: Aid worker's diary UN nuclear monitors have advised Japan to consider expanding the evacuation zone around the stricken reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. An exclusion zone with a radius of 20km (12 miles) is currently in place but the UN says safe radiation limits have been exceeded 40km away. Meanwhile, radioactive iodine levels in seawater near the plant reached a new record - 4,385 times the legal limit. It was the highest reading since the quake which hit the plant on 11 March. Radiation may be leaking from the damaged plant continuously, the country's nuclear and industrial safety agency (Nisa) said. The pla

China white paper highlights US military 'competition'

By Michael Bristow BBC News, Beijing China says military competition in the Asia-Pacific region remains fierce Continue reading the main story Related Stories China beefs up military spending Viewpoint: New Sino-US arms race? China seeks to ease US concerns China says the United States is increasing its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, which is becoming more "volatile". It also says there has been a rise in operations directed against China. The views were made in China's National Defence white paper, issued by the government. The paper outlines the country's current views on security issues and gives an overview of its military forces. Fierce competition In the document, released on Thursday, China gives a downbeat assessment of the regional security situation. "Profound changes are taking shape in the Asia-Pacific strategic landscape. Relevant major powers are increasing

UK questions Libyan foreign minister

Moussa Koussa is quitting Col Gaddafi's regime, UK officials say Continue reading the main story Libya Crisis Libya and Mid-East crisis Live Challenges facing coalition Profile: Moussa Koussa Libya split in two Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa has been questioned by officials after arriving in the UK unexpectedly late on Wednesday. He flew in from Tunisia. The UK Foreign Office said he was "no longer willing" to work for Colonel Gaddafi. However a Libyan spokesman denied that Mr Moussa had defected and said he was on a diplomatic mission. His arrival in the UK comes as Libyan rebels retreat from former strongholds along the eastern coast. They are in full retreat from Brega, having lost the key oil port of Ras Lanuf and the nearby town of Bin Jawad. In the west, the rebel-held town of Misrata is still reportedly coming under attack from pro-Gaddafi troops, reports say

Follow Moussa Koussa and quit, UK tells Libyan figures

Mr Koussa arrived at Farnborough airport in Hampshire on Wednesday afternoon. Continue reading the main story Libya Crisis Libya and Mid-East crisis Live Challenges facing coalition Profile: Moussa Koussa Libya split in two UK officials have encouraged other senior Libyan officials to abandon Col Gaddafi after his foreign minister fled to Britain and resigned. Moussa Koussa arrived in London on Wednesday saying he was no longer willing to represent the Libyan leader's regime internationally. The Foreign Office said it wanted "those around Gaddafi to abandon him and embrace a better future for Libya". The Libyan government said Mr Koussa was travelling on a diplomatic mission. The development came on the same day as the UK took steps to expel five Libyan diplomats. Foreign Secretary William Hague told MPs the five, who include the military attache, "could pose a thr

Failings found at Ford open prison ahead of riot

About 40 of the 496 prisoners at Ford were involved in the riot Continue reading the main story Related Stories Staffing review after prison riot Officers quell Ford prison riot Riot latest controversy to hit Ford Inspectors who visited an open prison a month before rioting broke out had "serious concerns" about the way it was being run, a report has revealed. The riot involved about 40 inmates at Ford Prison, near Arundel, West Sussex, on New Year's Day. Several buildings were burnt to the ground. Inspectors found more than 40% of inmates said drugs were easy to obtain. Alcohol-smuggling, highlighted after previous visits, remained a problem and breath testing was "unsophisticated". Staff shortages meant random drug tests could not be carried out quickly enough, inspectors said. The report also found the prison was failing to prepare inmates for life outside. Chief Inspector of Prisons Nick Hardwick said: "This inspection rep

Ivory Coast: Ouattara fighters 'capture Yamoussoukro'

Pro-Ouattara forces began offensives on several fronts from their northern bases this week Continue reading the main story Ivory Coast crisis Ready for war Endgame in sight? Eyewitness: 'We were slaughtered' Descent into 'madness' Forces loyal to one of Ivory Coast's rival presidents, Alassane Ouattara, have captured the administrative capital Yamoussoukro, residents say. Fighting erupted when they later entered the key port of San Pedro on their advance from the north against incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo. Mr Gbagbo continues to cling to power in the main city Abidjan. The UN, which recognises Mr Ouattara as winner of November's poll, has voted to impose sanctions on Mr Gbagbo's circle. They add to economic measures already taken by the EU and African groups. The UN resolution, drafted by France and Nigeria, imposes a travel ban and assets freeze on Mr