Senin, 04 April 2011

In the news:

Ahmadinejad: UN should stop West's 'interference' in Mideast

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that the UN should stop the "interference" of Western governments in Middle Eastern affairs, Iranian news agency ISNA reported on Monday.

In a phone call with Ban, Ahmadinejad said: "The time is ripe for the UN Secretary General to play a historic and important role inresovling problems to avoid another catastrophe as those in Iraq and Afghanistan."

The Iranian president also said his country "is ready to play an active role in ending regional problems."


Radiation in Japan Seas: Risk of Animal Death, Mutation?

If radioactive material from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant—disabled by the March11 Japan earthquake and tsunami—continues to enter the ocean, marine life could be threatened, experts say.

In the past week, seawater samples taken near the nuclear power plant, on Japan's eastern coast, have shown elevated levels of radioactive isotopes, including cesium 137 and iodine 131, according to the New York Times. (See "Japan Tries to Avert Nuclear Disaster.")


Japan Nuke Plant Water "Leaking Into sea"

Highly radioactive water has been found leaking from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean

The contaminated liquid was seeping from a crack found in the concrete pit of the facility's reactor number two.

"The crack was apparently caused by the quake and may have been leaking since then," said Osamu Yokokura of Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), which runs the plant.
Workers were now pouring concrete into the eight-inch fracture, Tepco added.
Sky News correspondent Holly Williams said radiation in the sea near the plant was currently more than 4,000 times the legal limit.


Frightened residents flee as 7.1 quake hits Java

Indonesia has cancelled a tsunami warning after a powerful earthquake struck in the Indian Ocean south of the island of Java.

Coastal areas in parts of Indonesia had been on alert for a small tsunami after the quake struck at 3.06am local time (8.06am NZT) on Monday.

Indonesian authorities reported the quake as being a magnitude 7.1 and striking at a depth of 10km, with its epicentre 293km southwest of Cilacap in central Java.

There are lingering fears in Indonesia after a massive 2004 earthquake which triggered a tsunami that devastated much of the western coast of Aceh, on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra.


Earthquake felt in Israel

Earthquake shakes Israel Friday afternoon, as residents across nation flood Ynet with reports of tremors. Quake's epicenter apparently near Crete, tremors felt in Cairo. No initial reports of injuries following quake

The tremors in Israel coincided with reports of an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter Scale near the Greek island of Crete. The quake struck in the sea 76 miles (120 km) east-northeast of Iraklio, a town on Crete, on Friday, the US Geological Survey said. It was felt as far as Cairo.


West braces for Gadhafi's terror counterpunch

Whether he remains in Libya in some semblance of power or whether he eventually gains asylum in another country, Gadhafi could work through proxies to instigate terror attacks inside Libya – and against Western targets, the analysts fear.

It was similar to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's approach after his military defeat during Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990. Saddam targeted Americans by working closely with jihadist organizations throughout the Middle East. He also collaborated with known al-Qaida affiliates and associated Islamic terror groups.

Gadhafi has been a master at working these groups, which included not only Middle East organizations but the FARC in Latin America and the Irish Republican Army in Ireland.

Following the March 1986 destruction of his SAM sites, for example, Gadhafi the following month had the Abu Nidal Organization plant a bomb on board TWA Flight 840. The bomb tore a hole in the fuselage of the aircraft, killing four Americans and injuring a number of others.

Then on April 5, 1986, he orchestrated the bombing of the LaBelle disco in Berlin, Germany. That blast killed two American servicemen and a civilian, injuring some 200 other people. The U.S. knew Libya was responsible, since it had intercepted communications between the Libyan embassy, called the Libyan People's Bureau, in East Berlin at the time, and Tripoli.

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