Six In The Morning

Japan shutting down nuclear power industry

The nation's loss of atomic energy is having economic impact

By MARTIN FACKLER
OHI, Japan — All but two of Japan’s 54 commercial reactors have gone offline since the nuclear disaster a year ago, after the earthquake and tsunami, and it is not clear when they can be restarted. With the last operating reactor scheduled to be idled as soon as next month, Japan — once one of the world’s leaders in atomic energy — will have at least temporarily shut down an industry that once generated a third of its electricity. With few alternatives, the prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, has called for restarting the plants as soon as possible, saying he supports a gradual phase-out of nuclear power over several decades. Yet, fearing public opposition, he has said he will not restart the reactors without the approval of local community leaders.

Global accord on nuclear safety needed urgently – World Energy Council
A year on from Fukushima disaster, council says safety in nuclear industry should be a 'collaborative, not competitive issue'

Fiona Harvey in Brussels guardian.co.uk, Friday 9 March 2012 07.15 GMT
A new international accord on the management and safety of nuclear power plants should be a priority for governments, an influential global energy organisation has said. A year after Japan's Fukushima reactor was shut down, the World Energy Council – whose members include many of the biggest energy companies from around the world – said an agreement was possible and should be a matter of urgency. "Global nuclear power is one of the rare issues on which an international accord could be achieved with a reasonable level of efforts— the need to act is urgent, and the time is right," its report found.

Karzai accused of endangering troops by blocking night raids
Nato commanders claim President's demand has hampered vital operations against the Taliban

Kim Sengupta Friday 09 March 2012
The violence against Nato forces and foreign aid agencies, during which six US soldiers were killed by Afghan security staff after American officials burned copies of the Koran, had already shown the volatile nature of the situation. Tuesday evening's blast, which used a huge quantity of explosives in an area that had supposedly been cleared, showed the Taliban still have the supplies and opportunity to strike.

' Could Germany Learn from Tunisia?
German Family Minister Kristina Schröder traveled on Wednesday to Tunisia, a country that until last year's revolution had some of the most progressive women's rights policies in the Arab world. But now women there are fighting against the imposition of Shariah law in their next constitution.

By Anna Reimann in Tunis
The plane carrying Kristina Schröder had barely taken off, but questions were already flowing about her position on creating a legally binding quota for women in the workplace. The German family minister, who is also responsible for women's issues, had taken off on a short, seven-hour trip to Tunisia, where she wanted to learn about how women there are fighting for their rights. But even abroad, the embattled minister couldn't get away from the issues back home. Schröder is opposed to gender-based quotas in the workplace and has instead been pushing for a voluntary system she calls a "flexi-quota" -- a proposal that has been opposed by the center-right government's coalition partner, the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP) and has drawn criticism from within her own party. The gender quota debate was reignited earlier this week after European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said she is considering pan-European legislation that would mandate the placement of more women in executive positions and on the boards of companies.

European hostages murdered in Nigeria
Two Europeans held hostage in Nigeria by kidnappers claiming ties to al-Qaeda were killed before rescuers could free them, authorities said on Thursday.

JILL LAWLESS LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - Mar 09 2012 10:11
The men -- a Briton and an Italian -- were killed by their captors. A Nigerian official said the two died in the crossfire during the rescue attempt, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said. Chris McManus and Franco Lamolinara were taken captive in May. The pair had been working on a bank construction project in Nigeria, a country that has seen a rise in violence linked to the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram.

Why Putin is driving Washington nuts
THE ROVING EYE

By Pepe Escobar
Forget the past (Saddam, Osama, Gaddafi) and the present (Assad, Ahmadinejad). A bet can be made over a bottle of Petrus 1989 (the problem is waiting the next six years to collect); for the foreseeable future, Washington's top bogeyman - and also for its rogue North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners and assorted media shills - will be none other than back-to-the-future Russian President Vladimir Putin. And make no mistake; Vlad the Putinator will relish it. He's back exactly where he wants to be; as Russia's commander-in-chief, in charge of the military, foreign policy and all national security matters.