Japan Finds it Hard to Abandon Nuclear Energy

By Richard Johnson

GlobalNewsHub | IDN-InDepth NewsReport

The restart of the Ohi nuclear reactor on July 1 in Fukui prefecture, near the centre of the Japan Sea Coast, points to a momentous trend nearly 15 months after the Fukushima meltdown, particularly as this is the first nuclear site to go back online since Japan shut down the last of the country's nuclear reactors in May 2012 because of security concerns.

Afghanistan Faces an Uncertain Future

By Reto Stocker*

GlobalNewsHub | ICRC

KABUL (IDN) - Many Afghans simply say they want to leave their homeland. And they are questioning what has really improved over the past 10 years of conflict. Of course a lot of things have changed. There have been improvements to infrastructure and communications, to name only two areas.

West's Spin On China's Veto Irks Many Asians

By Kalinga Seneviratne

GlobalNewsHub | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

SINGAPORE (IDN) - Ever since China, along with Russia, vetoed a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution on Syria on February 4 there has been a lot of criticism in the western media of China's role. Several reports are suggesting that China is playing an irresponsible game of self-interest in responding to the Arab uprisings and the issue of Iran's nuclear ambitions.

India Set to Take Lead on Abolishing Nukes

By Shastri Ramachandaran*

GlobalNewsHub | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

NEW DELHI (IDN) - The Government of India appears to be in right earnest about taking the lead in pursuing universal disarmament. The renewed vigour – for reviving the climate and conditions wherein the basic ideas and objectives of nuclear disarmament can be advanced – is evident in a series of engagements being lined up to carry forward former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's Action Plan (RGAP) for a nuclear-weapons-free world order.

Pakistan Rock Firm Against New Nuclear Treaty

By J. C. Suresh*

GlobalNewsHub | IDN-InDepth NewsAnalysis

TORONTO (IDN) - Pakistan is standing like a rock in the surf resisting growing international pressure to endorse a global treaty that would ban production of fissile material used as fuel for nuclear weapons. Reiterating its adamant opposition, Pakistan has warned that it would boycott any process to negotiate a U.S.-backed treaty outside the deadlocked UN Conference on Disarmament (CD), the sole negotiating forum for multilateral disarmament.

When Social Responsibility is Not Just a Buzzword

By Taro Ichikawa

GlobalNewsHub | IDN-InDepth NewsFeature

TOKYO (IDN) - Corporate social responsibility is not just a buzzword for Isao Mizuno. It is a commitment he and his 95 employees translate into practice day in and day out. Mizuno is the president of Chiyoda Unyu, a transportation company in western Tokyo.

Since 2002, they have been supporting a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Japan, which is engaged in a reforestation project in some 5,100 kilometres away Nepal. Chiyoda Unyu workers collect empty milk packages, considered as recyclable waste in Japan, and bring these to the company. Chiyoda Unyu forwards these to an NGO which sells these to a recycling company, and supports with the proceeds tree planting projects at the feet of the Himalayas. [GERMAN | JAPANESE]

North Koreans Strangers at Home in the South

By R Kim

GlobalNewsHub | IDN-InDepth NewsReport

SEOUL (IDN) - A new report has cautioned against hastening the collapse of North Korea and implicitly pleaded for a softer approach towards ending the division of Korea stemming from the 1945 U.S.-led Allied victory in Second World War.

Bin Laden's Death and the Implications for Jihadism

By Scott Stewart*

GlobalNewsHub | South Asian Outlook

U.S. President Barack Obama appeared in a hastily arranged televised address the night of May 1 to inform the world that U.S. counterterrorism forces had located and killed Osama bin Laden. The operation, which reportedly happened in the early hours of May 2 local time, targeted a compound in Abbottabad, a city located some 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital. The nighttime raid resulted in a brief firefight that left bin Laden and several others dead. A U.S. helicopter reportedly was damaged in the raid and later destroyed by U.S. forces. Obama reported that no U.S. personnel were lost in the operation. After a brief search of the compound, the U.S. forces left with bin Laden’s body and presumably anything else that appeared to have intelligence value. From Obama’s carefully scripted speech, it would appear that the United States conducted the operation unilaterally with no Pakistani assistance — or even knowledge.

Menschliche Barrikade gegen Stahlwerk im indischen Orissa

Von Sujoy Dhar

GlobalNewsHub | IPSNEWS.DE

BHUBANESHWAR (IPSNEWS.DE) - Satikanta Sahu hat alle Hände voll zu tun. Er versorgt seine Mutter und Nachbarn, die im Küstendorf Govindpur im indischen Bundesstaat Orissa eine menschliche Barrikade gegen den Bau eines Stahlwerks der südkoreanischen Firma POSCO errichtet haben, mit Trinkwasser. Sobald der 14-Jährige seine Botengänge erledigt hat, reiht er sich ein in die Menschenkette aus Frauen und Kindern, die aus ihrem Dorf nicht weichen wollen.