Every Wednesday, the Sifter posts top-line summaries to current events around the globe. All news articles are from Reuters and BBC News.
Ivory Coast: Ouattara forces ‘storm Gbagbo residence’ [BBC News]
- Forces opposed to Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo have launched a final assault on the presidential residence where he is holed up. Mr Gbagbo has been in negotiations with the UN over the terms of his departure, after being besieged by troops loyal to his rival Alassane Ouattara. A French government source said gunfire had erupted at Mr Gbagbo’s residence in Abidjan
- Gbagbo insists he won last November’s run-off vote. But the Ivorian election commission found that Mr Ouattara was the winner – a result certified by the UN. Gbagbo and his family are believed to be sheltering in the bunker of the presidential residence, which was controlled by his troops. Two days of heavy fighting stopped late on Tuesday and negotiations with Gbagbo carried on throughout the night. But by Wednesday morning it appeared the patience of pro-Ouattara forces had run out
- Last November’s election was intended to reunite Ivory Coast which split in two following a northern rebellion in 2002. The US, the UN and the EU recognised Mr Ouattara as the winner, but both candidates had themselves sworn in as president and a stand-off ensued
Japan earthquake: Radioactive leak plugged at reactor [BBC News]
- A leak of highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been stopped, its operator reports. Tepco said it had injected chemical agents to solidify soil near a cracked pit that was the source of the leak. Engineers have been struggling to stop leaks since the plant was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami on 11 March
- Since the earthquake knocked out cooling systems workers have been pumping water into reactors to cool fuel rods, but must now deal with waste water pooling in and below damaged reactor buildings. Engineers also face a potential new problem of a build-up of hydrogen gas in one of the reactors at the six-unit plant. Tepco said it could inject nitrogen gas into the No 1 reactor to prevent an explosion. Blasts caused by a build-up of hydrogen gas took place in three reactors in the aftermath of the earthquake
- Meanwhile, engineers are continuing to pump some 11,500 tonnes of low-level radioactive seawater into the sea so the more highly contaminated water can be stored in waste buildings. On Tuesday, elevated levels of iodine – about twice the legal limit for vegetables – were found in launce (a small fish) caught off Ibaraki prefecture to the south of Fukushima
Libya targeted civilian protesters – war crimes court [BBC News]
- The government planned to crush protests by killing civilians even before the uprising in Libya broke out, the International Criminal Court says. The chief prosecutor said the plans had been a reaction to street protests that led to the fall of the Tunisian regime. Luis Moreno Ocampo is expected to request arrest warrants for Col Muammar Gaddafi, his sons and close aides
- Nato says international air strikes have reduced Col Gaddafi’s military capabilities by nearly a third, but his forces have deliberately moved weaponry into civilian areas to hamper air strikes. Rebel forces in the east of the country have retreated after heavy bombardment from Col Gaddafi’s army. Also on Tuesday, the Gaddafi government made senior diplomat Abdelati Obeidi its new foreign minister, replacing Moussa Koussa
- In a boost to the rebels on Tuesday, a tanker arrived at the eastern port of Tobruk to pick up the first consignment of oil to be exported from the rebel-held region. The Greek-owned ship is capable of carrying more than $100m worth of oil. Since the revolt against Col Gaddafi’s rule began nearly two months ago, exports of Libya’s main commodity have collapsed, driving up the price of oil to a two-and-a-half year high
Yemen unrest: Three die in Sanaa clashes [BBC News]
- Fresh fighting has flared in Yemen between tribesmen loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and soldiers backing anti-government protesters. At least three people were killed and 15 others injured in Sanaa after pro-Saleh tribesmen arrived at a barracks occupied by mutinous troops. There has also been renewed violence in the city of Taiz, where at least 15 people died on Monday
- The European Union has said that a transition of power must begin now. More than 100 have died since protests against Mr Saleh began in February. Protesters are calling for the president to step aside after 32 years in power, but he has signalled he has no plans to leave immediately
- The US has been a key ally of Mr Saleh’s, but analysts say Washington now appears to be losing patience. Members of a regional grouping, the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), have offered to host talks between Mr Saleh and opposition groups.
But Mr Saleh has been taking an increasingly hard line with the protesters, and has not publicly responded to offers of mediation
Portugal pays higher rate to raise 1bn euros [BBC News]
- Portugal has successfully raised about 1bn euros ($1.4bn) but is paying a much higher interest rate to lenders. The government was forced to tap the financial markets to raise money to repay loans falling due next week. But Lisbon is paying yields of 5.1% and 5.9% to borrow money for six and 12 months, against the 3% and 4% it was paying to borrow last month
- Analysts said paying such high rates was unsustainable for an economy that is seeing virtually no growth. The BBC’s business editor, Robert Peston, said the rate is more than Ireland was paying before it received bail-out funds and “implies Portugal will have to go for a rescue after its general election” in June
- The jump in yields was sparked by ratings agency Moody’s downgrading Portuguese government debt by one notch, to Baa1 from A3. The rating is still investment grade – but only just. It is the second downgrade by Moody’s in less than a month and follows fellow agency Standard & Poor’s cut last week. Portugal has to repay more than 4.2bn euros in loans on 15 April, and then another 4.9bn euros in June
Sept. 11 suspects to be tried at Guantanamo Bay [Reuters]
- President Barack Obama yielded to political opposition Monday, agreeing to try the self-professed mastermind of the September 11 attacks in a military tribunal at Guantanamo and not in a civilian court as he had promised. Attorney General Eric Holder blamed lawmakers for the policy reversal, saying their December decision to block funding for prosecuting the 9/11 suspects in a New York court “tied our hands” and forced the administration to resume military trials
- In moving the case back to the military system, the Justice Department unsealed a nine-count criminal indictment that detailed how Mohammed trained the 9/11 hijackers to use short-bladed knives by killing sheep and camels. Another of the five — Walid bin Attash — tested air security by carrying a pocket knife and wandering close to the doors of aircraft cockpits to check for reactions, said the indictment
- The decision to abandon civilian prosecution was an admission that Obama has not been able to overcome political opposition to his effort to close the prison for terrorism suspects and enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, a key 2008 campaign promise. It came on the day he kicked off his campaign for re-election in 2012. The prison still holds 172 people, down from 245 when Obama took office in January 2009
Texas Instruments to buy NatSemi for $6.5 billion [Reuters]
- Texas Instruments Inc is buying National Semiconductor Corp for $6.5 billion, paying a rich 78% premium to merge two of the industry’s oldest firms into a dominant force in analog microchips used in products ranging from phones to cars. The deal is one of the industry’s largest in years
- The acquisition would extend TI’s lead in the vast but fragmented market for analog chips, while NatSemi, with a strong portfolio of power management microchips for industrial uses as well as for wireless telephones. “TI has been a pretty prudent company. There is either some kind of buried patent (owned by NatSemi) that is unbelievably attractive to them, or there were other bidders and they felt pressured to get it,” said Fort Pitt Capital analyst Kim Caughey Forrest
- Analog chips translate real-world phenomena like sound, temperature and light into the 1s and 0s that comprise digital computer language. They are instrumental in regulating electricity consumption — a crucial point for power-hungry smartphones and tablets and their battery lives. Apple Inc’s iPod Touch MP3 player and Motorola Inc’s Xoom tablet computer both use power-related analog chips made by Texas Instruments
Obama declares himself candidate for re-election [Reuters]
- President Barack Obama declared himself a candidate for re-election in 2012 on Monday, jumping ahead of a slow-starting Republican field and hoping an economic recovery will boost his case for a new term. Obama’s announcement, made through an email and video sent to supporters, set in motion a plan to tap donors and raise as much as $1 billion, which would shatter the $750 million campaign finance record he set in 2008
- Five months after his Democrats were routed by Republicans in November congressional elections, Obama looks in fairly good shape for re-election when paired against any of a group of potential Republican challengers. It is early yet. The economic recovery has picked up pace in recent weeks but could be slowed by rising gasoline prices or any number of unpredictable events in the next 18 months, such as an unexpected expansion of the Libya conflict
- Obama became the first black U.S. president in 2009, and scored big legislative victories when Congress approved reforms of healthcare and financial regulation laws last year. But the economy has been slow to recover from recession despite a stimulus package of more than $800 billion. Obama’s path to re-election will depend greatly on how he fares with independent voters, who were crucial to his 2008 victory but who abandoned Democrats last November
Google’s Page presages bolder era; some uneasy [Reuters]
- Google Inc’s Larry Page is back in charge of the company he founded a decade ago and, while some investors are uneasy about his credentials, they hope he will breathe new life into the Internet search giant. Page takes over on Monday after a decade of “adult supervision” for Google under Eric Schmidt, as the outgoing CEO called it
- The switch comes as mobile gadgets redefine the way people use the Internet and Google’s main ad business is under threat from rapidly growing upstarts such as Facebook and Groupon. Page has yet to make his battle plan public. But industry insiders and analysts expect he will try to shore up Google’s strength in search and mobile, while breaking into a hot social networking market that has eluded his company
- With more than 24,000 employees, Google has used its vast resources to expand into various markets beyond Web search, including telephone and television products, online productivity software and even electronic books. Google’s Android software has become the No. 1 smartphone operating system after barely three years on the market. While Page is widely respected for his technology prowess and vision, it remains to be seen how he will adapt to the day-to-day duties of running a giant, advertising-supported business
Photograph by REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
An anti-government protester flashes the victory sign as he emerges through a gap in Yemen’s national flag during a demonstration in Sanaa April 4, 2011.
Comments