Six In The Morning Tuesday February 25

Japan unveils draft energy policy in wake of Fukushima

Tokyo says nuclear power remains an important source of electricity for the country and that reactors should be restarted

• Associated Press in Tokyo
• theguardian.com, Tuesday 25 February 2014 08.32 GMT
• Jump to comments (3)

Japan has unveiled its first draft energy policy since the Fukushimameltdowns three years ago, saying nuclear power remains an important source of electricity for the country.

The draft, presented to the cabinet on Tuesday for approval expected in March, says Japan's nuclear energy dependency will be reduced but that reactors meeting new safety standards set after the 2011 nuclear crisis should be restarted.

Japan has 48 commercial reactors, but all are offline until they pass the new safety requirements.

The draft of the Basic Energy Plan says a mix of nuclear, renewables and fossil fuel will be the most reliable and stable source of electricity to meet Japan's energy needs.

He’ll live to see another day – but one million babies do not, Save The Children study says

The first 24 hours of a baby’s life are the most dangerous. As Jonathan Brown discovers, new work by Save the Children identifies what can – and must – be done

JONATHAN BROWN 

 

 

Tuesday 25 February 2014

A million children each year die on the first and only day of their lives, often after their mothers have been left to give birth alone and unaided in the world’s poorest and most remote regions, according to a major new study of global infant mortality.

Urgent action is desperately needed to end the “heartbreaking and unacceptable” toll which it is estimated could be reduced by half through free basic healthcare and midwifery provision.

Most of these babies die within 24 hours as a result of birth complications including prolonged labour and infection, which are treatable provided help is readily at hand.

But the research by Save the Children estimates that 40 million women receive no trained support during their labour. Two million mothers said they last gave birth completely alone.

Somalia's army invades homes in hunt for al-Shebab

Sapa-AP | 24 February, 2014 15:59

Hooded soldiers carrying sniper rifles have unleashed a sweeping crackdown across Mogadishu in a hunt for militants and weapons after the country's al-Qaeda-linked militants group's latest attack on the country's presidential palace.

Soldiers have been deployed on the city's key roads following the Friday attack, which saw multiple car bombs and seven gunmen try to penetrate the presidential palace. al-Shebab's spokesman vowed that the group would succeed in killing Somalia's president in a future attack.

"The operation is underway," police Capt. Mohamed Hussein said of increased security measures seen in the capital on Sunday and Monday. "We have rounded up many suspects, but the real criminals will be discovered after investigations."

The tightened security and the latest attack reflect the ongoing threat from al-Shebab, which has lost control of the capital and the port city of Kismayo since 2011 but still carries out suicide bombings against African Union troops, the UN, the Somali government and prominent Mogadishu businesses.

With ousted President on the run, Ukraine lawmakers aim to form new government

By Jethro Mullen and Nick Paton Walsh, CNN

February 25, 2014 -- Updated 0656 GMT (1456 HKT)

Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- Working to try to bring an end to months of instability, Ukrainian lawmakers are aiming Tuesday to assemble a full interim government.

A dramatic sequence of political upheaval has unfolded in Ukraine in recent days after months of anti-government protests. Last week, bloody street clashes between demonstrators and security forces left more than 80 dead, the deadliest violence in the country since its independence 22 years ago.

Parliament has ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, the focus of protesters' anger, and authorities have issued a warrant for his arrest over civilian deaths. But his current whereabouts are unknown.

Study finds bias in Internet postings about Syria’s civil war

BY LAUREN KIRKWOOD

McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — YouTube videos and posts on Facebook and Twitter have made scenes from Syria’s civil war accessible to audiences thousands of miles from the conflict. But the version of events disseminated by social media is not a completely accurate picture of the war, according to a report from the congressionally funded U.S. Institute of Peace.

After reviewing more than 38 million Twitter posts about the Syrian conflict, a team of Middle East scholars from The George Washington University and American University concluded that rather than an objective account of what’s taken place, social media posts have been carefully curated to represent a specific view of the war. It said the skewing of the social media view of the conflict has been amplified by the way more traditional news outlets make use of the postings – for example, passing along social media posts written in English over those written in Arabic.

Sri Lanka rejects call for war crimes probe

Colombo says UN recommendations for inquiry into the civil war are "arbitrary, intrusive and of a political nature". Last updated: 25 Feb 2014 05:13

Sri Lanka has rejected a United Nations call for an international investigation into alleged war crimes committed by both sides during Sri Lanka's civil war that ended in 2009.

The UN's human rights chief, Navi Pillay, called for an international inquiry on Monday, saying the government had failed to do its own credible investigation.

In a much anticipated report ahead of a UN Human Rights Council debate next month that could order action on the issue, Pillay recommended an "independent, international inquiry mechanism, which would contribute to establishing the truth where domestic inquiry mechanisms have failed".

President Mahinda Rajapaksa's administration, in 18 pages of comments as long as Pillay's report, rejected the recommendations as "arbitrary, intrusive and of a political nature".