Region

The United Nations Security Council has given the green light for a no-fly zone over Libya.
The measure includes an authorisation of air strikes against Libyan army facilities to stop Colonel Gaddafi’s regime from attacking opposition protesters. A UN spokesperson said that a majority of the 15-member council is agreeing to a no-fly zone in order to protect civilians in Libya.

As Japan battles to stave off a nuclear catastrophe, the UN has launched a concerted bid to help the country to cope with the multi-front disaster that Naoto Kan has called Japan’s worst since World War II. As a result of the March 11 devastating earthquake, tsunami and atomic power plant breakdown, over 5,000 people have died and 9,000 others are missing.
By Jaya Ramachandran

Steven Starr from Physicians for Nuclear Responsibility wrote for Pressenza about the events in Japan at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. “If enough brave people sacrifice their health and lives, against all odds they will manage to get the situation under control at Fukushima Daiichi. If not, then large areas of northern Japan could be left uninhabitable for centuries.”

In the occasion of the visit of Barack Obama to Chile, he was sent today, via Miss Angie Quackenbush, the person responsible for protocol at the U.S. Embassy, a gift in reference to his being a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, along with wishes for inspiration in using his influence in the construction of a new and better world.

It’s amazing, just amazing, this international system! It presumably has a world Parliament made of delegates from all countries on Earth and called the General Assembly of the United Nations. Such a Parliament is led by a mini executive body of only five countries, called the Security and Peace Council.
By Baher Kamal*.

Amnesty International today revealed evidence of the Bahraini security forces’ systematic use of excessive force in cracking down against protesters, as fresh violence left as many as 8 people dead.
The organization documents how security forces used live ammunition and extreme force against protesters and impeded and assaulted medical staff trying to help the wounded.

The 50 people still working at Japan’s stricken Fukushima reactor are not “being sacrificed”, Dutch nuclear researcher Folkert Draaisma says. It’s not like Chernobyl, where workers were sent in without protection, he adds.
The 50 engineers hold the future of hundreds of thousands of people in their hands. The levels of radiation they are braving have made them heroes to many.

In Libya, forces loyal to Col. Muammar Gaddafi have captured the city of Zwara, west of Tripoli, and are battling under-equipped rebel fighters for control of the oil town of Brega. In recent days, Gaddafi forces have won back control of several key cities. Debate continues at the international level over whether the U.N. Security Council should institute a no-fly zone.

High levels of radiation have leaked from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan after a third explosion at the crippled plant. The latest blast seriously damaged the Number Two reactor’s steel containment structure. In addition, a fire briefly broke out at the plant’s reactor Number Four. Officials just south of the plant reported up to 100 times the normal levels of radiation.

In news from the Middle East, the King of Bahrain has declared a state of emergency for three months following weeks of pro-democracy protests. The King’s announcement came one day after about 1,000 Saudi troops have crossed into Bahrain to help defend Bahrain’s ruling family. Pro-democracy protesters have described the Saudi presence on the island as a declaration of war.