MOSCOW–(ENWESPF)–March 22, 2011 – Coalition forces enforcing a no-fly zone in Libya to halt the slaughter of citizens by Moammar Gadhafi “have gone to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today. Gates and Russian Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov met to discuss a range[Read More…]

Alexandria, Egypt–(ENEWSPF)–March 22, 2011.  On March 15, as the fighting in Libya intensified and moved further east, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams left Benghazi due to increased insecurity. From Alexandria, Egypt, MSF emergency coordinator Simon Burroughs talks about the team’s efforts to get back into Libya and the[Read More…]

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–March 22, 2011 – 2:30 P.M. EDT. According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which manages three radiation measurement areas for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, radiation levels in the United States have not exceeded natural background levels since before the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. These levels[Read More…]

Vienna, Austria–(ENEWSPF)–22 March 2011 -18:00 UTC. Spent Fuel Pools at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant – Updated Spent fuel removed from a nuclear reactor is highly radioactive and generates intense heat. This irradiated fuel needs to be actively cooled for one to three years in pools that cool the fuel,[Read More…]

NEW YORK–(ENEWSPF)–22 March 2011 – The United Nations human rights office today voiced its deep concern at recent events in Yemen, Bahrain and Syria, including the excessive use of force and killing of protesters, while stressing the responsibility of Governments to uphold basic freedoms, even in times of instability. Rupert[Read More…]

NEW YORK–(ENEWSPF)–22 March 2011 – Thousands of residents of Côte d’Ivoire’s commercial capital, Abidjan, have been flocking to bus stations seeking transport out of the city fearing that an all-out war is in the offing after an escalation of violence, the United Nations refugee agency reported today. As many as[Read More…]

BELGIUM–(ENEWSPF)–22 March 2011.  The following remarks are attributed to NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. NATO has now decided to launch an operation to enforce the arms embargo against Libya. All Allies are committed to meet their responsibilities under the United Nations resolution to stop the intolerable violence against Libyan[Read More…]

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–March 22, 2011.   The President spoke yesterday evening with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey to continue the two leaders’ consultations on the situation in Libya.  The President expressed appreciation for Turkey’s ongoing humanitarian efforts in Libya, including its assistance in facilitating the release and safe passage[Read More…]

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–March 22, 2011 – 9:30 A.M. EDT. Tokyo Electric Power Co. has reconnected external power supply at Fukushima Daiichi reactors 1, 2, 5 and 6. Offsite electricity is providing power to cooling pumps for the used fuel pools at reactors 5 and 6. Components and circuits at reactors 1 and[Read More…]

Vienna, Austria–(ENEWSPF)–22 March 2011 – 4:15 UTC. Japanese authorities have reported that they will measure radioactivity in the marine environment around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The monitoring will be conducted from 22-23 March by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). Sea water sampling from eight locations[Read More…]