Region

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.

Nine people have been injured in a second blast at Japan’s Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant. The explosion at the plant’s number three reactor destroyed a wall and sent a plume of smoke billowing into the sky.
On Saturday, the building surrounding the plant’s number one reactor was blown apart but the seal around the reactor was not damaged.

The earthquake in Japan and the subsequent meltdown of nuclear reactors in Japan has caused fears of a nuclear catastrophe of unprecedented scale. With the approach of the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, which non-industry supported investigations report the deaths of up to 950,000 people, World without Wars spokesperson speaks out about the use of nuclear energy.

Over 45 countries, ranging from sophisticated economies to developing nations, were actively considering embarking upon nuclear power programmes. Whether the shocking experience Japan is undergoing despite its hi-tec reactors, will have impact policy makers in countries striving to build atomic power plants and others which already have these, remains to be seen.

An explosion has occurred at a nuclear power plant in Japan in the wake of massive earthquake and tsunami. The blast left four workers injured and raised fears of a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi complex, just 250 kilometers northeast of Tokyo. Reactor cooling systems failed at the plant, triggering the explosion which destroyed walls and roof of facility.