WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–April 26, 2011.  The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division issued the following statement today after announcing the closing of its investigation into the proposed acquisition of AirTran Airways by Southwest Airlines Company: After a thorough investigation, the division determined that the merger is not likely to substantially lessen competition.  The[Read More…]

Vienna, Austria–(ENEWSPF)–26 April 2011 – UPDATE 18:00 UTC. Presentation: → Summary of Reactor Status 1. Current situation Overall, the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant remains very serious, but there are signs of recovery in some functions, such as electrical power and instrumentation. After the announcement on 11 April[Read More…]

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–April 25, 2011.   MS. FULTON: Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for joining us for our special press briefing today. We have with us Mark Bartolini, who is the director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance at USAID, and Reuben Brigety, who is a Deputy Assistant Secretary of[Read More…]

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–April 25, 2011.   President Obama spoke to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to continue the two leaders’ consultations on developments in the Middle East.  The President expressed appreciation for Turkey’s ongoing humanitarian efforts in Libya and its participation in the NATO No-Fly Zone and Arms Embargo operations. [Read More…]

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–April 25, 2011 – 12: 45 P.M. EDT.  See below for an answer to a question (marked with an asterisk) posed in the briefing that required follow up. MR. CARNEY:  Good afternoon.  I have no special announcements or statements, so I will begin by calling on Mr. Feller. Q   [Read More…]

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–April 25, 2011.   Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi called President Obama today to inform the President of his decision to provide additional military support to Operation Unified Protector by authorizing air-to-ground strikes on Libyan regime targets. The President expressed his great appreciation for Italy’s many critical contributions to NATO-led[Read More…]

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–April 25, 2011. Last night, a handful of news organizations released hundreds of pages of documents profiling past and present detainees held at Guantánamo. Among other things, the documents reveal: Evidence the government held detainees not because they were serious threats, but rather because the government thought the detainee[Read More…]

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–April 25, 2011. Today is the 22nd Birthday of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet, who has not been seen since his disappearance in May, 1995. The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) joins governments and concerned individuals across the world today in urging the Chinese authorities[Read More…]

NEW YORK–(ENEWSPF)–25 April 2011 – The United Nations human rights chief today denounced the Syrian Government’s increasingly violent crackdown on peaceful protesters and urged an immediate end to the use of excessive force, which she noted has only intensified in recent days. “The international community has repeatedly urged the Syrian[Read More…]

NAPLES–(ENEWSPF)–25 April 2011.  NATO carried out a precision strike in central Tripoli last night. The target was a Communications Headquarter that was used to coordinate attacks against civilians. We have no independent means of verifying reports of possible civilian casualties. Unlike pro-Qadhafi forces, we continue to go to great lengths[Read More…]