The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- South Korea to restart one of two troubled reactors this week
- China academics warn of "violent revolution" if no political reform
- U.S. Secretary of State Clinton hospitalized with blood clot
| South Korea to restart one of two troubled reactors this week Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:12 PM PST SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea will restart one of two nuclear reactors this week after being shut for nearly two months to replace parts which were found to have forged documents, easing power supply concerns as winter bites, the nuclear regulator and operator said. The State-run Nuclear Safety & Security Commission said in a statement on Monday that it had approved the restart of a 1,000-megawatt (MW) reactor in Yeonggwang county, 300 km (186 miles) southwest of the capital Seoul. A spokesman at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, state-run Korea Electric Power Corp's subsidiary that runs the country's nuclear industry, said the reactor is expected to fully supply power within this week. South Korea's nuclear sector has been involved in a series of minor incidents and a scandal over forged certificates for parts used in what the government insists are non-essential operations - events that led to the closure of two reactors. The commission has not yet decided when to approve the restart of the second reactor and is still discussing the issue with local residents, its officials said. The commission has been investigating all 23 reactors to see if they were supplied with parts with fake quality documents and whether there are any safety concerns. South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, depends heavily on oil and gas imports but its nuclear reactors supply a third of its power. Of the 23 reactors, four with a combined 3,680 MW power supply capacity remain closed, according to industry data. Public support for nuclear power remains strong in South Korea despite last year's Fukushima disaster in Japan last year, and Seoul plans to have added another 11 reactors by 2024. The government has been campaigning nationwide to save energy and avoid power blackouts in the colder than usual winter. (Reporting by Meeyoung Cho, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher) Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| China academics warn of "violent revolution" if no political reform Posted: 30 Dec 2012 08:10 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - A prominent group of Chinese academics has warned in a bold open letter that the country risks "violent revolution" if the government does not respond to public pressure and allow long-stalled political reforms. The 73 scholars, including well-known current and retired legal experts at top universities and lawyers, said political reform had not matched the quick pace of economic expansion. "If reforms to the system urgently needed by Chinese society keep being frustrated and stagnate without progress, then official corruption and dissatisfaction in society will boil up to a crisis point and China will once again miss the opportunity for peaceful reform, and slip into the turbulence and chaos of violent revolution," they wrote. The letter began being circulated on the Internet earlier this month, but online references to it in Chinese media reports have now been removed. The government, which since 1949 has been controlled by the Communist Party, needed to push democracy and independence of the judiciary as well as deepen market reforms, the letter said. He Weifang, a law professor at Peking University and one of the signatories, told Reuters he believed the demands were rather moderate, but that now was the time to make them as President Hu Jintao prepared to hand over the reins of state power to Xi Jinping, who was made party chief in November. "We have come to that period again when the leadership is changing. People expect continuing advances when it comes to reform of the political system," he said. "The Chinese people, including intellectuals, have been talking about this for a while, but little has happened. So I think we have the opportunity now to push it again." Other signatories include Zhang Sizhi, defence lawyer for Mao Zedong's widow, Jiang Qing, leader of the "Gang of Four" that wielded supreme power during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. She was given a suspended death sentence in 1981 for the deaths of tens of thousands during that period of chaos. About 65 Chinese academics, lawyers and human rights activists have signed a similar letter demanding top party members reveal their financial assets, saying it is the most fundamental way to end corruption. Analysts have been searching for signs that China's new leaders might steer a path of political reform, whether by allowing freer expression on the Internet, greater experimentation with grassroots democracy or releasing jailed dissidents. But the party, which brooks no dissent to its rule and values stability above all else, has so far shown little sign of wanting to go down this path, despite Xi trying to project a softer and more open image than his predecessor. However, Xi himself warned shortly after becoming party boss that if corruption were allowed to run wild, the party risked major unrest and the collapse of its rule. The letter said democracy, rule of law and respect of human rights were "a global trend that could not be stopped". "China's 100 years of bloody and violent history - especially the painful and tragic lesson of the decade-long Cultural Revolution - show that once we go against the tide of democracy, human rights, rule of law and constitutional government, the people will suffer disaster and social and political stability will be impossible," the letter said. (Additional reporting by John Ruwitch in Shanghai; Editing by Nick Macfie) Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| U.S. Secretary of State Clinton hospitalized with blood clot Posted: 30 Dec 2012 07:57 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was admitted to a New York hospital on Sunday with a blood clot linked to a concussion she suffered earlier this month, the State Department said in an announcement that looked sure to fuel speculation over the health of one of America's best-known political figures.
Clinton, 65, has been out of the public spotlight since mid-December, when officials said she suffered a concussion after fainting due to a stomach virus contracted during a trip to Europe. "In the course of a follow-up exam today, Secretary Clinton's doctors discovered a blood clot had formed, stemming from the concussion she sustained several weeks ago," State Department spokesman Philippe Reines said in a statement. "She is being treated with anti-coagulants and is at New York-Presbyterian Hospital so that they can monitor the medication over the next 48 hours," Reines said. "They will determine if any further action is required." U.S. officials said on December 15 that Clinton, who cancelled an overseas trip because of the stomach virus, suffered a concussion after fainting due to dehydration. They have since described her condition as improving and played down suggestions that it was more serious. She had been expected to return to work this week. Clinton's illness, already the subject of widespread political speculation, forced her to cancel planned testimony to Congress on December 20 in connection with a report on the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya. The attack became the subject of heated political debate in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election in November, and Republican lawmakers have repeatedly demanded that Clinton appear to answer questions directly. Clinton's two top deputies testified in her place on the September 11 attack in Benghazi, which killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans and raised questions about security at far-flung diplomatic posts. Some Republican commentators have implied that Clinton was seeking to avoid questioning on the subject, suggestions that have been strongly rebutted by State Department officials. Clinton has stressed that she remains ready to testify and was expected to appear before lawmakers this month before she steps down, as planned, around the time of Obama's inauguration for his second term in late January. After narrowly losing the Democratic presidential nomination to Obama in 2008, Clinton has been consistently rated as the most popular member of his Cabinet and is often mentioned as a potential presidential candidate in 2016. Any serious medical concern could throw a fresh question mark over her future plans, although she has frequently alluded to her general good health. BLOOD THINNERS Dr. Edward Ellerbeck, a professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, said clots are more common in people who are sedentary, genetically predisposed, or on certain types of medicines such as the contraceptive pill or Estrogen replacements. Ellerbeck, who is not treating Clinton, said clots are usually treated with blood thinners, typically for three to six months, and generally carry a low risk of further complications Clinton is not known to have any of the risk factors that increase the risk of abnormal clotting, such as atherosclerosis or autoimmune disorders. Head injuries such as the one she sustained earlier this month are associated more with bleeding than with clotting. In one well-known case of bleeding following a head injury, actress Natasha Richardson hit her head skiing in 2009 and seemed fine, but died two days later of a hematoma, or bleeding between the outer membrane of the brain and the skull. Clinton has said she wants to take a break from public life and has laughed off suggestions that she may mount another bid to become the first woman president of the United States - a goal she came close to reaching in 2008. Her stint as secretary of state has further burnished the credentials she earned as a political partner to her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and later as a Democratic senator from New York. In the four years since she became Obama's surprise choice as the top U.S. diplomat, Clinton has broken travel records as she dealt with immediate crises, including Libya and Syria, and sought to manage longer-term challenges, including U.S. relations with China and Russia. She has maintained a punishing travel schedule, and was diagnosed with the virus after a December trip that took her to the Czech Republic, NATO headquarters in Brussels, Dublin and Belfast - where she had her last public appearance on December 7. Officials announced on December 9 that she was ill with the stomach virus, forcing her to cancel a trip to North Africa and the Gulf that was to include a stop in Morocco for a meeting on the Syria crisis. READY TO STEP DOWN Clinton has repeatedly said that she only intended to serve one term, and aides said she was on track to leave office within the next few weeks, once a successor is confirmed by the Senate. Her last months in office have been overshadowed by the Benghazi attack, the first to kill a U.S. ambassador in the line of duty since 1979, which brought sharp criticism of the State Department. An independent inquiry this month found widespread failures in both security planning and internal management in the department. It did not find Clinton personally responsible for any security failures, although she publicly took overall responsibility for Benghazi and the safety and security of U.S. diplomats overseas. The State Department's top security officer resigned from his post under pressure and three other mid-level employees were relieved of their duties after the inquiry released its report. The controversy also cost U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice her chance to succeed Clinton as secretary of state. Rice drew heavy Republican criticism for comments on several television talk shows in which she said the attack appeared to be the result of a spontaneous demonstration rather than a planned assault. She ultimately withdrew her name for consideration for the top diplomatic job. Obama on December 21 nominated Senator John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to fill the position of secretary of state. (Additional reporting by Jilian Mincer and Sharon Begley.; Editing by Eric Walsh and Christopher Wilson) Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
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