Every Wednesday, the Sifter posts top-line summaries to current events around the globe. All news articles are from Reuters and BBC News.
Japan to scrap stricken nuclear reactors [BBC News]
- Japan is to decommission four stricken reactors at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, the operator says. Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) made the announcement three weeks after failing to bring reactors 1 – 4 under control. Locals would be consulted on reactors 5 and 6 which were shut down safely. Harmful levels of radioactivity have been detected in the area
- Seawater near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has reached a much higher level of radiation than previously reported. The new readings near reactor No 1 – 300m (328 yd) from the shore – showed radioactive iodine at 3,355 times the legal limit, said Japan’s nuclear safety agency. Much lower – but still elevated levels – of the same radioactive element have been found in seawater as far as 16km (10 miles) to the south
- Tepco’s president Masataka Shimizu has been admitted to hospital, suffering from high blood pressure and dizziness. Hours later, Tepco chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata spoke to reporters for the first time. The company has been accused of a lack of transparency and failing to provide information promptly. More than 11,000 people are known to have been killed by the devastating 11 March earthquake and tsunami
Gaddafi forces push rebels back [BBC News]
- Rebels in Libya are struggling to hold their front line after Col Muammar Gaddafi’s forces recaptured several towns in the east of the country. The rebels have now lost the key oil port of Ras Lanuf and the nearby town of Bin Jawad, however reports say the fighting is continuing in the area. In the west, the rebel-held town of Misrata is still coming under attack from pro-Gaddafi troops, reports say
- US President Barack Obama earlier said he did not rule out arming the rebels. Obama also told reporters on Tuesday that Col Gaddafi had been greatly weakened by the coalition air strikes and would ultimately step down. In a separate development, an international conference on Libya in London has agreed to set up a contact group involving Arab governments to co-ordinate help for a post-Gaddafi Libya
- France and the US say they are sending envoys to the rebel-held city of Benghazi in the east to liaise with the interim administration there. At least several thousand people have been killed and thousands wounded since the uprising against Col Gaddafi’s rule began more than six weeks ago
Syrians await President Assad’s address [BBC News]
- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is expected to address the nation in his first speech since anti-government demonstrations erupted two weeks ago. More than 60 people have been killed during violent protests that began in the southern city of Deraa. He is expected to announce a lifting of the state of emergency in place for the past 50 years.
- On Tuesday, the country’s cabinet resigned and huge crowds took to the streets to show support for Mr Assad. There were reports that many of the supporters had been mobilised by the government. Members of unions controlled by the Baath Party said they had been ordered to attend the rallies, according to Reuters.
- Under the current emergency law, security forces have sweeping powers of arrest and detention. The unrest has become the biggest threat to the rule of President Assad, 45, who succeeded his father Hafez on his death in 2000. The turmoil started after the arrest of several teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a wall in the southern city of Deraa, and quickly spread to other provinces
Cricket: India and Pakistan leaders watch World Cup [BBC News]
- The prime ministers of India and Pakistan are attending the World Cup cricket semi-final between the two countries in the Indian city of Mohali. This is the first time the two sides have played on each other’s soil since the 2008 Mumbai (Bombay) attacks. The nuclear-armed neighbours’ ties hit a low after Pakistan-based militants attacked the Indian commercial capital
- The match in the northern Indian city is expected to be watched on television by more than a billion people. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was invited by his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, in what is being described as “cricket diplomacy”. Before the match the two leaders shook hands with both sets of players. After watching the game together, they are due to return to their respective capitals, Delhi and Islamabad, reports say
- The meeting comes a day after India and Pakistan agreed to let their officials visit each others’ countries to investigate the Mumbai attacks. The breakthrough followed talks between the two sides in Delhi. The attacks killed at least 174 people, nine of whom were the gunmen. One attacker was caught alive and has been sentenced to death. Pakistan has declared a half-day holiday to allow fans to watch the match, while many offices in both countries said they would shut for the occasion
Ivory Coast: Laurent Gbagbo calls for ceasefire [BBC News]
- Ivorian incumbent Laurent Gbagbo has appealed for an immediate ceasefire after advances by forces loyal to President-elect Alassane Ouattara. A spokesman for Mr Gbagbo said the army had adopted a strategy of tactical withdrawal but warned it could use its “legitimate right of defence”. Mr Gbagbo refuses to stand down despite the UN saying he lost November’s poll
- Some one million people have fled the violence – mostly in Abidjan – and at least 462 people have been killed since December, according to the UN. Fighters loyal to Mr Ouattara have been gaining ground in two offensives from their northern bases. In the west, pro-Ouattara forces are reported to have taken the major town of Daloa town of Duekoue, while in the east, the forces say they have captured the town of Bondoukou
- Daloa is the capital of Ivory Coast’s Centre-West region. It is the biggest town to be attacked so far, and opens the way to the cocoa region, the capital Yamoussoukro, and the cocoa-exporting port of San Pedro. Ivory Coast is the world’s largest producer
Standard & Poor’s downgrades Greece, Portugal [Reuters]
- Debt-stricken Greece and Portugal suffered new blows on Tuesday after Standard & Poor’s downgraded their credit ratings on possible risks to bondholders, sending their borrowing costs sharply higher. The downgrade by S&P, which cited risks that the countries’ debts to a new European bailout fund would be repaid before bond investors, left Portugal’s rating one notch above junk and Greece’s creditworthiness below that of Egypt
- The downgrade hit the bonds of both countries — two of the weakest countries in the euro zone. The yield on Portugal’s 10- and two-year bonds jumped to euro lifetime highs, and the yield on Greece’s two-year bonds rose 10 basis points to 15.46%. S&P analyst Frank Gill said the downgrades came after the agreement by European leaders last week to replace the European Union’s bailout fund with the European Stability Mechanism in 2013
- The downgrade of Portugal added to Lisbon’s woes, just as the Bank of Portugal warned the country may need substantial new austerity measures to ensure it can meet budget goals. Lisbon is grappling with how to regain investor confidence following the minority government’s resignation last week after the opposition rejected its austerity plan in parliament, prompting many economists to predict the country will need a bailout soon like Greece and Ireland
Flooding in Thailand kills 21, strands thousands [Reuters]
- Severe flooding and mudslides in southern Thailand have killed 21 people, stranded thousands of tourists and threatened to delay shipments of rubber in the world’s largest rubber-producing country, authorities said on Wednesday. Trains to the region have been canceled and three airports have been shut, including one on the popular island of Koh Samui. As well as Koh Samui, foreign tourists have also been stuck at resorts in Krabi and Koh Phangan
- The flooding could delay shipments of between 1,000 and 1,500 tonnes of smoked rubber sheet, industry officials said. The region supplies 90 percent of the 3.2 million tonnes produced annually in Thailand, the world’s biggest producer and exporter
- Nearly a million people have been affected by unseasonably heavy downpours across the region. Mudslides were reported in three areas in Krabi province. At least 10 people were killed in one village, with at least 10 others missing. Wiboon Sangruanpong, director-general of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said it was too soon to assess full damage and said more mudslides were possible
Yemen’s Saleh makes new offer to protesters [Reuters]
- Yemen’s president has made a new offer to protesters demanding he steps down, proposing he stays in his post until elections are held but transferring his powers to a caretaker government, an opposition source said on Wednesday. Ali Abdullah Saleh made his offer at a meeting on Tuesday night with Mohammed al-Yadoumi, head of the Islamist Islah party. It was the first time Saleh had dealt with Islah, once a partner in his government, an opposition spokesmen said
- “The opposition could pick a head of government of its own choosing and there would be parliamentary elections by the end of the year,” an opposition source said of Saleh’s offer. He said the opposition was still considering its response. Weeks of protests by thousands of Yemenis in Sanaa and other cities have brought Saleh’s 32-year to the brink of collapse, but the United States and top oil producer Saudi Arabia, a key Yemen financer, are worried over who could succeed their ally
- They have long seen Saleh as a bulwark of stability who can keep al Qaeda from extending its foothold in a country that many see as close to disintegration. U.S. officials have said openly they like working with Saleh — who has allowed unpopular U.S. military operations in Yemen against al Qaeda — and Saleh has said the U.S. ambassador is involved in talks to find a solution
Egypt plans September ballot, shortens curfew [Reuters]
- Egypt will hold a parliamentary election in September, its military rulers said on Monday, setting a date that analysts said would suit well-organized Islamists and remnants of former leader Hosni Mubarak’s party. The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said emergency laws that have helped crush political life for decades would be lifted before elections, but did not say when, and approved a law easing restrictions on political party formation
- Many secular reform groups have been calling on the military, which has governed since Mubarak was deposed on February 11, to extend the transitional period to allow political life to recover from decades of oppression. The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group formally banned under Mubarak, has emerged as the country’s best organised political force. Other fledgling groups are trying to organize
- The elections are major milestones on the path set by the military in a transition that will end with the army relinquishing power to a civilian, elected government. The military also said on Monday a curfew in place since the start of the uprising that swept Mubarak from power was shortened to three hours from 2 a.m. (0000 GMT) to 5 a.m. — a sign of growing confidence in the police that have returned to the streets in recent weeks to restore law and order.
Wal-Mart ‘sexism’ case before US Supreme Court [BBC News]
- The US Supreme Court has been hearing evidence on whether the largest sex discrimination lawsuit in American history should go ahead. A group of women is suing the world’s biggest retailer, Wal-Mart, claiming they were held back because of their gender. They want to bring a class action suit on behalf of more than a million women
- The group bringing the lawsuit says Wal-Mart systematically discriminated against women in stores across America. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the issue at stake at this early stage in the process was not proving discrimination, but showing enough evidence to go forward. A decision on whether the class action suit should go forward is expected by summer
- A class action suit would cover any woman who has worked for, or works for, one of more than 3,400 Wal-Mart stores in the US since December 1998. Two lower courts have allowed the suit to proceed as a class action; Wal-Mart appealed to the Supreme Court. A decision is not expected until June. Wal-Mart denies the claims, and notes the company has won awards for its women-friendly working practices
Photograph by REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi leaves the Justice Palace in Milan March 28, 2011. Berlusconi appeared in court for the first time in almost eight years on Monday, in a trial over alleged fraud during the acquisition of television broadcasting rights. The constitutional court lifted Berlusconi’s immunity from trial earlier this year, exposing him to three corruption and fraud cases linked to his Mediaset broadcasting empire and a separate trial in which he is accused of having sex with an underage prostitute.
