Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Italy and nuclear power? "For the moment the result is zero

"I'm very curious to see the outcome of the referendum on nuclear power in Italy next June." So Gunther Oettinger, EU Commissioner for Energy in front of the European Parliament's Environment Committee. Italy and France, according to the Commissioner, should decide what kind of energy will want to invest in their future.

In the background, the example of Germany and of the seven reactors shut down in recent days by Merkel, Europe's fastest response to the tragedy in Japan. The fate of Europe is inevitably also nuclear policy choices of Italy. In the morning, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, co-chairman of the European Greens, had said he believed that Italy would return to nuclear power.

The silence of Obama on nuclear power

Ironically, Barack Obama, who has revived his arrival at the White House's idea of \u200b\u200ba world without nuclear weapons, has not jumped on the opportunity provided by the disaster in Japan to review its strategy for restarting the Nuclear Energy in the U.S. (20% of the country's electricity only).

Jordanian government appointed national committee for dialogue

The Jordanian government appointed a national committee for dialogue, composed of 53 members, including several opponents, to study a series of political reforms after protests over the past two months in the Hashemite kingdom. The committee, headed by the chairman of the upper house of Parliament Taher Masri, has been given the task by the Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit to prepare drafts of a new electoral law and party, leading to the election of governments with majorities the lower house, said an official statement.

.- The Fed keeps U.S. rates approaching zero and see a U.S. economic recovery more "firm"

WASHINGTON, Mar. 16 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to keep interest rates at a target range of between 0% and 0.25%, which remain changes since December 2008 and has re-emphasized that it will keep interest rates exceptionally low levels during a "prolonged period" of time due to economic conditions.

Similarly, the institute has ratified the terms of the bond buyback program totaling $ 600,000 million (430,000 million euros) by the end of the second quarter of 2011, which launched in November. The Fed notes that, according to information received since the January meeting, the economic recovery is "in a stronger position," and that the general conditions in the labor market appear to be improving gradually.

"Italy is depressed," a word of comic

Giacinto Palmieri himself as a shy, but it takes some audacity to stand as a stand-up comedian (comedian) in a country where satire has a long tradition and make people laugh in a language that is not the mother. Pugliese of origin, who moved to Milan and emigrated to London, where he worked as senior software developer, used to lie down and look at things with the eye of the foreigner.

Participant observation that turns into laughter when joked about idioms and phrasal verbs English. Giac's interest for the laughter comes with Woody Allen, Dario For and Roberto Benigni, but when his colleagues read laughter than tears a piece of ironic that Hyacinth had sent him by mistake, that interest becomes a passion .

How does one class a nuclear accident?

Japan asks U.S. aid to nuclear crisis

Japan formally asked U.S. aid to control its nuclear plants, which collapsed after the earthquake and tsunami of the weekend, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRC). "The Japanese government formally requested U.S. assistance to the issue of nuclear plant cooling generated by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11," the NRC.

"The NRC is considering possible responses to the request, including providing technical advice," he added. The agency said it had sent two experts in reactors in Japan, as part of a team from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and "currently in Tokyo to provide technical assistance." On Monday, a double explosion in reactor number 3 of the Fukushima nuclear plant 1 further fueled fears of a nuclear disaster in Japan after an earthquake and tsunami that could have left more than 10 thousand dead.

Four journalists missing in Libya's' The New York Times

The New York Times just confirmed that he knows nothing of four of its journalists on Tuesday morning, when they held the last contact with the wording. The newspaper has issued a statement saying it had received information indirectly assuring reporters that the team was in the city of Ajdabiya when he was captured by forces of the regime of Gaddafi.

Bill Keller, editor of the Times, said that the newspaper could not confirm these facts. Also released today was the journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, The Guardian, after being detained by the Libyan authorities. "We are happy that Ghaith has been released and are safely out of Libya," announced Alan Rusbridger, editor of British newspaper.

Cuba .- The Church announces the release of nine prisoners Cubans who travel to Spain

MADRID, 16 Mar. The Catholic Church in Havana on Wednesday announced the release of nine other Cuban prisoners who will travel "soon" to Spain, but none of them belongs to a group of dissidents arrested during the Black Spring of 2003. Opponents to be released are Daviel Gaínza Leiva, Emilio Pérez Díaz, Juan Ramón Rivero Despaigne, Lázaro Alejandro García Farah, Luis Campos Corrales, Maikel Bocourt Pedroso, Orestes Paino Viera, Pavel Hernández Mansfarrol and Randy Cabrera Mayor.

In Libya, the rebels are hiding in Benghazi

The 29th day of a bloody insurgency, troops loyal to Qadhafi made a major step forward in their military offensive. In Paris, foreign ministers of the G8 countries are failing to reach agreement on a possible intervention. Troops loyal to resemble Gaddafi in Benghazi forces pro-Gaddafi on Monday had posted their goal: toppling the city of Ajdabiya, distant from 160 km away from the "capital" of the rebels, Benghazi.

The complaint of Italians in Japan "Return? Very high price." Alitalia remedy

They want to go back, oh yes, the Italians living in the nightmare spot in Japan in check for the nuclear crisis, after the earthquake that the most tragic memories of the Rising Sun country. But many have not yet been able to do so, and not only because of the difficulty in which the earthquake has made the transportation network, even away from the warmer area, such as Tokyo and Osaka.

The problem, believe it or not, is not only when to leave, nor from where (only now all Alitalia flights have been permanently moved from Tokyo to Osaka safe), but finding a reasonable rate. Adam Lussier is part of a group that has formed on Facebook collects 120 Italians, including residents and people who have a base in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Deadly riots: state of emergency in Bahrain

The soldiers of the Arab neighbors should provide for peace. But now the opposition in Bahrain is certainly on the road and also protested against the foreign troops. Clashes between protesters and security forces: three people die. A day after the transfer of Arab troops in Bahrain, the situation in the Arab kingdom has worsened dramatically. King Hamad Bin Issa Al Khalifa on Tuesday imposed a state of emergency for three months. The king instructed the Army chief of state, public order with the help of the military, police and National Guard to restore.

Fly tonight 11 'Topos' to Japan

The first group of Mexican rescuers called 'Topos' leave on Monday night heading to Japan to assist in the rescue efforts taking place in that nation, affected by an earthquake last Friday. The first group of members of the Tlatelolco International Rescue Brigade is composed of 11 persons, who will depart at 19:45 hours on a direct flight from the International Airport of Mexico City.

The 'Gophers' group will support a dog and equipment for work among the debris in that country, and nine other depart Tuesday. The leader of this brigade, Hector Mendez, reported that it took the necessary precautions against possible contamination by radiation and radioactivity sensors were acquired air to determine the best places to work.

Jimnez Espaaa expressed support for reforms in Jordan

"The King is the most reformist of all." The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trinidad Jimenez, left the audience with Abdullah II believes that the Hashemite monarch intends to undertake deep reforms in the Jordanian regime. He has not done in 12 years at the throne, but the riots in the Arab world, which have also spread to their country, have made him move.

On February 1 accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Samir Rifai, and appointed Marouf Bakhit, in order to undertake "real economic and political reforms." He also created a committee of national dialogue that took three months to prepare an electoral reform and a law of parties. The minister has welcomed these measures and expressed support for the process of change by Spain and the EU, with which Jordan has just reached a partnership agreement that progress becomes a privileged partner of the EU.

U.S. carries out flights on Mexico to spy on drug dealers

MEXICO CITY, Mar. 16 United States began conducting spy flights in February with unmanned aircraft to collect intelligence information on the activity of major drug cartels in Mexico, where 35,000 people have died in the last four years because of drug violence, according to the newspaper on Wednesday published 'The New York Times.

The governments of Felipe Calderón and Barack Obama agreed last March 3 aircraft overflying U.S. robots in various parts of Mexico to learn the movements of the major drug lords, says the article signed by journalists Ginger Thompson and Mark Mazzetti. This collaboration between Washington and Mexico "has been kept secret due to legal restrictions and to avoid the heat of political sensitivities about national sovereignty," according to newspaper officials have revealed.

Japan, information between panic and truth

Naoto Kan in suit for lunch, dinner and breakfast. And prudence, euphemism, beating about the bush. Pull ears of the live conductor who said something too: "We apologize to viewers, but this news was not given." Thus, a country with bated breath, he finds himself at this time a fellow cathode apparently discrete, resigned.

And information in which the dominant figure - at least by Western standards - is chloroformed. Said Giuliano Ferrara, Radio London, we have repeated all: "What a lesson we are giving the Japanese, with their poise, their discipline, their sense of authority." Spent a day in front of the Rai Japanese, MHK, you can get the opposite impression.

The Chinese wonder about the consequences of the disaster

Shanghai, correspondence - Chinese Internet users questioned the nuclear catastrophe underway in Japan and its possible effects in the coastal provinces to the east. And wonder what are the potential risks of irradiation for the Chinese people after the explosions at the plant in Fukushima. Alarmist messages circulating since the beginning of the week on alleged measures to be taken to limit the dangers.

Saif Gaddafi: "All dead in 48 hours," Sarkozy the UN: It serves no-fly zone

ROME - The troops tighten the circle around the Gaddafi in Benghazi and the last strongholds of the rebels. Saif al-Islam, son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, announced that "everything will be finished within 48 hours" means the council of the city where the insurgency is now about to fall. The final offensive and the heads of the army is preparing to give formal notice to the Libyan rebels to lay down their weapons.

Nuclear alert extend to three Japanese plants

Three days after the earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, the authorities intensified the nuclear alert in central Fukushima, Tokai Onagawa and due to failures in the cooling system of its reactors. The Japanese Nuclear Safety Agency notified the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that its plants had failures in the cooling system, which maintains a nuclear alert for fear of further radioactive leak.

EEUU/México.- U.S. athletes will travel with a "strict security plan" for the Pan American Games in Mexico

ATLANTA (USA), 16 Mar. (Reuters) - The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has confirmed it is developing a "strict safety plan for their athletes to travel safely to the Pan American Games to be held Guadalajara (Mexico), a city that is currently embroiled in a drug war. "We talked a lot about this subject.

Everyone should be aware of the violence, so obviously we are concerned. Very soon we will have developed a strict safety plan to protect our athletes," said the security chief of the USOC, Scott Blackmun. The sudden increase in violence in Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico, has questioned its ability to house tens of thousands of spectators who come from the United States to encourage their athletes by next October.

Libya to stop the massacre

Predictably, the big worry interventionist in Libya is likely to result in a stalemate. There are those who accuse the cowardice of the West, but there is probably something below. And that is the unwillingness to support the rebels, despite the peculiar characteristics of the situation in Libya, were placed on the same wavelength of Tunisian and Egyptian revolutionaries.

It is no coincidence that, in this very hour, Hamas in Gaza is repressing the Palestinian students applying for national unity among the various factions, while in Bahrain, Saudi troops firing on demonstrators in the total silence of the Arab world and the international community. We are the epilogue of the Arab revolution? Hard to say ...

Five days of nightmares in Fukushima

At the center of Fukushima Dai-Ichi, 250 km from Tokyo, the six reactors were initially seemed almost impervious to strong ground shaking. Friday, March 11 to 14 h 46, when the ground shook, the three units in operation were immediately arrested under the emergency procedure. But the sequence of events has come to defy the worst scenarios of Engineers: generators, which were to take over power lines, cut, were drowned by the tsunami that followed the earthquake.

On the run from Tokyo by the cloud and storm the shops, empty shelves

TOKYO - Tokyo's main train station waiting for the Shinkansen bullet train, the young mother pulls up the curtain of zippo plastic completely surrounding the wheelchair of his daughter. Like thousands of other parents who can afford it, is leaving Tokyo to go south, away from the radioactive wind that led to several hours, the level of lethal particles 40 times more of the parameters of the detectors.

With five thousand dead or missing from disasters in Japan

The number of dead or missing on the Richter 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the past three days in Japan is five thousand, police sources reported. Miyagi police, the most affected by the disaster said Monday the discovery of some two thousand bodies in coastal areas of the prefecture, while between 200 and 300 were reported in the capital, Sendai.

With these findings, the number of confirmed dead or missing in the earthquake is at least five thousand. A thousand dead were recorded only in the coastal city of Minamisanriku, which almost disappeared by the tsunami. Police estimated the final death toll could rise significantly because so far the government has failed to make contact with about 10 thousand people in Minamisanriku-more than half the population of that city, which have until now have not been included in the official count of dead or missing.

Japan only revised three times in 35 years the measures of its nuclear antissmicas

Japan had a weak point in its nuclear plants and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it made it during a meeting in Tokyo in December 2008. In a cable released by Wikileaks, the U.S. Embassy reported that the IAEA warned that safety guidelines against earthquakes had been revised only three times in the past 35 years.

The agency insisted that Japan should learn from "recent experiences." "Recent earthquakes in some cases have exceeded the design with some plants that were built and this is a serious problem to which must now go work on security," said the cable that has been echoed by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph .

U.S. .- Obama acknowledges the risks of nuclear power but relies on the security measures

WASHINGTON, Mar. 16 President Barack Obama has admitted that the use of nuclear energy has risks, but stressed that the authorities try to anticipate any risk to maintain security. "Nuclear plants are designed to withstand certain levels of earthquakes, but having said that, nothing is completely safe, nothing is completely foolproof, and whenever such events occur, I think it is very important that we examine how we can improve safety and operation of these plants, "he said of the worst nuclear accident in Japan.

Libya, there is still time to act

Gaddafi massacred the people of Libya and the West talk. Qaddafi is bringing the whole country under his monstrous dictatorship mainly due to total control of airspace, as was observed by all observers. It would be enough to bomb airports in the bloodthirsty dictator serves as their base. French President Sarkozy has tossed a sentence, to give the news of opening the news, but was careful not to get serious.

Italy prohibits the entry into its waters to ferry evacuees Moroccan Libya

The Italian authorities have banned the entry of their territorial waters to a ferry carrying 1,850 people Moroccan mostly Moroccans evacuated from Libya, which sought to refuel in Sicily, said Tuesday, March 15 an official Italian port. "The boat lies off our coast in international waters," said Antonio Giummo, an official port of Augusta, Sicily.

The Moroccan authorities have assured that this is not a problem with illegal immigration. "We are working on the administrative procedure with our Italian counterparts for the special permits. It's a simple administrative issue and procedure," said Morocco's ambassador to Italy, Hassan Abouyoub, radio Moroccan Private Radio Plus.

No more food or water for 5 days between the damage of the abandoned town

ONAGAWACHO - Here until now nobody had arrived. It is enough for the collapse of a bridge, two miles inland, to isolate Onagawacho the world. Impassable rubble, partly floating on the mud, still preventing rescuers from reaching the town that Japan, on Friday, also seems to have erased from the map. Nearby, at Onagawa, the plant was saved from the wave for two hundred meters and soldiers piled sandbags around the hours that keep the reactor shut down warehouses.

White House expresses concern over 'sectarian violence' in Bahrain

The White House today expressed "increasing concern" at reports of "provocative acts and sectarian violence" in, where the government requested the entry of troops from other Gulf countries to the Shiite opposition protests. According to the spokesman of the National Security Council, Tommy Vietor, "there is no military solution to the problems in Bahrain." The use of violence will worsen the situation in the Gulf emirate, a close ally in the region, he added.

Japan quake death toll rises to nearly $ 600

The Japanese authorities amounted to 596 thousand the number of casualties from the earthquake of new degrees in the Richter scale, although the figure could rise as cities such as Sendai are still recovering bodies, according to a report of NHK television . The report also said more than 10 thousand people trapped in rubble or in the sea.

Initially the authorities had reported that the earthquake was 8.9 degrees on the Richter scale, but yesterday confirmed it was nine degrees, making it the fourth most powerful in history, trailing only the case in Chile in 1960, (9.5 degrees), the 1964, Alaska (9.1 degrees), and 2004 in Sumatra, also of 9.1 degrees.

State Fukushima reactor

The nuclear power plant in Fukushima I, located in the most affected by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan last Friday, is out of control, according to reports. This is the situation, according to the latest report of the Japan Atomic Energy Fukushima Daiichi (center I)-Reactor 1: No damage to the containment structure, but there are problems inside the nucleus.

Kyodo alert (attributing the information to TEPCO, the company that owns the plant) on 70% damage in the fuel rods, leading to fears the merger. Are not functioning cooling systems and building containment lines the script of "very damaged." It is injecting seawater into the core vessel and containment structure.

Athletics .- American athletes will travel with a "strict security plan" for the Pan American Games in Mexico

ATLANTA (USA), 16 Mar. (EP / Reuters) - The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has confirmed it is developing a "strict safety plan for their athletes to travel safely to the Pan American Games to be held Guadalajara (Mexico), a city that is currently embroiled in a drug war. "We talked a lot about this subject.

Everyone should be aware of the violence, so obviously we are concerned. Very soon we will have developed a strict safety plan to protect our athletes," said the security chief of the USOC, Scott Blackmun. The sudden increase in violence in Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico, has questioned its ability to house tens of thousands of spectators who come from the United States to encourage their athletes by next October.

Libya: "The fall of Ajdabiya was extremely fast"

The duty of fear

There are moments like that, in human history: where it reacts with emotion as well as rationality, because the wake-up emotion, makes you feel alert. Already in Aeschylus, the passion and suffering are sources of learning. This is the case in Japan since Friday, has run added to the tsunami and the earthquake has not only swept homes, lives, villages, caused the explosion of four nuclear reactors in Fukushima.

Egypt dissolves the internal security force

dissolved on Tuesday and internal security agency whose reputation for brutality espionage helped ignite the revolution that ousted last month. The dissolution of state security is another achievement for the Egyptian protest movement that forced Mubarak to leave the position he had held for three decades, in a show of strength of the people that continues to reverberate throughout the region.

Israel responds with houses after bombing

The Israeli government raised the alert level for fear of police reprisals after the murder of a family of five people in a West Bank Jewish settlement and authorized the construction of hundreds of homes in Gaza. The burial of the Fogel family-parents and their three children, among whom was a baby, "stabbed to death as they slept Friday in the colony of Itamar (Northern West Bank), was scheduled yesterday in Jerusalem.

Gadhafi threatens to''holy war''with Al Qaeda

Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi said he felt betrayed by their former European allies and warned that if the West attacks his country could join forces with the Al Qaeda to declare a holy war. " In interviews with European media from Tripoli, the Libyan colonel reiterated its position on the popular uprising faced since last February 16 and has tried to repress, provoking international condemnation and sanctions.

Gaddafi begins the assault on the rebel capital

The worst predictions of the rebels against Libya Muammar Gadadi have met this morning. Dictator warplanes have begun early in the bombing of Benghazi, the second largest city in the country and the stronghold of the rebels, as announced by the rebel Col. Faradje the Feyturi. The rebel command, contacted by the Qatari Al-Jazeera network, has ensured that the bombs fell on the city's airport, but has not specified whether if there were casualties or damage.

Uruguay recognizes a Palestinian state without defined borders

MONTEVIDEO, 16 Mar. (Reuters) - Uruguay's government announced on Tuesday the recognition of a Palestinian state, making it the latest in a series of Latin American countries have taken this historic step in recent months. A source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the recognition does not specify the Palestinian and Israeli borders "to avoid interfering in a matter that requires a bilateral agreement." The Ministry says that in this way reflects the commitment of Uruguay to the peace process in the Middle East.

I sacrificed Fukushima

"We are staying in the middle." They know what they face: they will be contaminated by radiation. And then there are the explosions that at any moment could wipe them out. But still, to fight against the six reactors crazy. I am fifty TEPCO engineers who volunteered to remain to prevent the merger, the disaster for Japan.

A Fukushima I work eight hundred workers. Most were evacuated, but TEPCO has launched an appeal to engineers: "We ask you to remain at fifty." And they have taken a step forward. No, not for promotion, for an award, because it is useless to hide it: who is today in Fukushima will not have time to enjoy anything.

Tunisian emigrant community wants to get involved in politics

Tunisian diaspora has long remained silent for fear of reprisals from the regime. Only a handful of activists protested his opposition to dictatorship. Today, young immigrants are involved in mass politics and want to hear their voices from their homeland. Rafiq Barakat, Franco-Tunisian, 32, took his card in a Tunisian party with some friends after the flight of President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.

Clashes in Bahrain, the police killed seven Shiite protest against the

MANAMA - Hundreds of anti-riot law enforcement officials this morning gave their assault on Shiite demonstrators camped out from 19 February to the streets of the Pearl in Manama to demand reforms. Arrived with tanks, troop transport vehicles and buses, the police have launched dozens of tear gas. From the combat zone was raised a column of smoke.

According to a parliamentary opposition five people were killed and dozens were injured. Some demonstrators were hit with a police car. According to reports from the Interior Ministry, but the two policemen died of their wounds during the attack in Manama. A third agent is killed during the operation conducted by force against the camp of Pearl Square, while four policemen were wounded by cutting weapons, but would not be life threatening.