IAEA chief urges 'better communication’ to deal with Kudankulam-like stir

KORIYAMA (FUKUSHIMA): UN nuclear watchdog IAEA chief Yukiya Amano on Saturday called for "better communication and higher transparency" in dealing with Kudankulam-like protests against nuclear power. Even as he sought to distance himself from both sides — protesters as well as votaries of nuclear power —the director-general said that the issue of spent nuclear fuel, which is at the core of protests in India, was one of the lessons the world had learnt from the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in Japan last year.

Amano was talking exclusively to TOI here on the sidelines of the Fukushima ministerial conference that saw many smaller countries pleading for nuclear power generation to deal with rising fossil fuel prices and climate change issues. The conference, which was presided over by Japanese foreign minister Koichiro Gemba, was held to strengthen nuclear safety worldwide.

"I don't have any particular comment on opposition to nuclear power anywhere, or those who support it, but if I can give a recommendation, we need to share both good news and bad news to be able to get a better understanding of the problem," he told TOI, replying to a query about protests in India that have delayed the commissioning of the first unit at Kudankulam.

"Communication is one of the areas where we need to improve and IAEA has been organizing meetings of international experts to look into this. We have to explain complicated things in a simple manner and it is only through better communication and higher transparency that we can achieve this," he added.

Amano admitted that the safety aspect of the spent nuclear fuel was a very important issue. "Let's say it is a lesson we have learnt from the Fukushima accident in which debris fell into spent fuel pools. We are trying to address the issue but it will take time," he said.

The government's 'success' in acquiring reprocessing rights from Russia has actually become a millstone around its neck as this prevents it from sending the spent or used fuel back to Russia. The government painstakingly maintains that it considers spent fuel an asset that is used to produce electricity.

Amano said that ensuring the highest level of safety was not the responsibility of the IAEA but the country which was using the nuclear power. "We can only assist them in achieving that highest level of safety," he said.

"We have safeguards agreements and we implement it. The IAEA standards are not legally binding but I believe these are effective because in the end these are in the interest of each country that has nuclear power," he said. Amano said that the Fukushima accident was not likely to impact the peaceful uses of nuclear power in the manner in which the last accident in Chernobyl did. "You have to remember that 65 nuclear reactors are still under construction all over the world even after Fukushima. There are countries which want to have nuclear power because of the volatile fossil fuel prices and also because of issues related to climate change," he added.

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Space Pictures This Week: Frosty Mars, Mini Nile, More

Photograph by Mike Theiss, National Geographic

The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, illuminates the Arctic sky in a recent picture by National Geographic photographer Mike Theiss.

A storm chaser by trade, Theiss is in the Arctic Circle on an expedition to photograph auroras, which result from collisions between charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere and gaseous particles in Earth's atmosphere.

After one particularly amazing show, he wrote on YouTube, "The lights were dancing, rolling, and twisting, and at times looked like they were close enough to touch!" (Watch his time-lapse video of the northern lights.)

Published December 14, 2012

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School Shooting: Officials Seek Details on Gunman

The FBI is in at least three states interviewing relatives and friends of the elementary school gunman who killed 20 children, seven adults and himself, trying to put together a better picture of the shooter and uncover any possible explanation for the massacre, ABC News has learned.

The authorities have fanned out to New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts to interview relatives of Adam Lanza, 20, and his mother, who was one of Lanza's shooting victims.

CLICK HERE for full coverage of the tragedy at the elementary school.

The victims died Friday when Lanza invaded Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and sprayed staff and students with bullets, officials said. Lanza also was found dead in the school.

Lt. Paul Vance said 18 children died in the school and two more died later in a hospital.

Six adults also were slain, bringing the total to 26. Among them was the school's principal, Dawn Hochsprung, multiple sources told ABC News. Another adult victim was teacher Vicki Soto, her cousin confirmed.

In addition to the casualties at the school, Lanza's mother, Nancy Lanza, was killed in her home, federal and state sources told ABC News.

According to sources, Lanza shot his mother in the face, then left his house armed with at least two semi-automatic handguns, a Glock and a Sig Sauer, and a semi-automatic rifle. He was also wearing a bulletproof vest.

READ: Connecticut Shooter Adam Lanza: 'Obviously Not Well'

Newtown Teacher Kept 1st Graders Calm During Massacre Watch Video

Newtown School Shooting: What to Tell Your Kids Watch Video

Lanza then drove to the elementary school and continued his rampage, authorities said.

It appeared that Lanza died from what was believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The rifle was found in his car.

"Evil visited this community today," Gov. Dan Malloy said at a news conference Friday evening.

CLICK HERE for more photos from the scene.

In the early confusion surrounding the investigation, federal sources initially identified the suspect as Adam's older brother Ryan Lanza, 24. Identification belonging to Ryan Lanza was found at the shooting scene, federal sources told ABC News.

Ryan Lanza soon took to Facebook to say he was alive and not responsible for the shooting. He later was questioned by police.

During the rampage, first-grade teacher Kaitlin Roig, 29, locked her 14 students in a class bathroom and listened to "tons of shooting" until police came to help.

"It was horrific," Roig said. "I thought we were going to die."

She said that the terrified kids were saying, "I just want Christmas. ... I don't want to die. I just want to have Christmas."

A tearful President Obama said Friday that there was "not a parent in America who doesn't feel the overwhelming grief that I do."

The president had to pause to compose himself after saying these were "beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10."

As he continued with his statement, Obama wiped away tears from each eye. He has ordered flags flown as half staff.

It is the second worst mass shooting in U.S. history, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 when 32 were killed before the shooter turned the gun on himself. The carnage in Connecticut exceeded the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in which 13 died and 24 were injured.

Friday's shooting came three days after masked gunman Jacob Roberts opened fire in a busy Oregon mall, killing two before turning the gun on himself.

The Connecticut shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, which includes 450 students in grades K-4. The town is located about 12 miles east of Danbury, Conn.

The massacre prompted the town of Newtown to lock down all its schools and draw SWAT teams to the school, authorities said.

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Susan Rice explains; former Sen. Frist’s divorce; and the FDR flick (read-this roundup)

(Michael Nagle - Getty Images)
Here’s what the Loop is reading Friday:

In her own words — Susan Rice on why she stepped out of the ring.

Divide and conquer — Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist gets to keep his old Senate desk — and the beach house and the stuffed buffalo — in his divorce from wife Karyn.

Ladies man? — The new movie about FDR, “Hyde Park on Hudson,” gets it wrong when it comes to his ways with women.

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MICE organisers reeling from rising rentals and wages

SINGAPORE : It is a mixed bag for Singapore's Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) sector. Exhibition venues are raking in the cash, but event organisers have said they are reeling from rising rentals and wages.

Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) said attractions such as its Marine Life Park are luring in customers.

RWS will pull in 600,000 delegates for 3,000 events this year - 20 per cent more than last year. And it is convinced there is more upside.

Noel Hawkes, vice president of Attraction Sales at Resorts World Sentosa Singapore, said: "2013 is going to be an interesting year. The world economy is a bit shaky at the moment, but we are cautiously optimistic that we will continue to grow our business. And we can definitely see a growth of at least 10 per cent in our MICE business.

To keep up with competition, RWS said it must not "rest on its laurels" and has to continuously find new products to excite customers.

Visitors can expect a new "Sesame Street" ride to be unveiled at Universal Studios in the first quarter of next year.

In this business, the old adage "you have got to spend money to make money" rings true.

Suntec Singapore will close its doors for six months for wide-scale renovations, and it is convinced the facelift will give it an edge over the competition.

Arun Madhok, CEO of Suntec Singapore, said: "Our entire building is re-modelled to deliver a high level of flexibility. This will allow us to meet the volume needs of customers.

"We are improving our food production techniques and service style. We are adding a whole range of technology into the building to actually assist us in delivering the perfect experience for our customers."

But it isn't rosy for everyone.

Event organisers like Conference & Exhibition Management Services said they are in a fix.

Edward Liu, managing director of Conference & Exhibition Management Services, said: "Most of the venues that we make use of...tend to increase their rental rates every couple of years.

"Their rationale is that they are also facing cost challenges due to manpower costs, maintenance and so forth. So obviously, they are passing the higher charges to the hirers of their facilities."

Mr Liu added that event organisers now need to secure about 1,500 square metres of exhibition space, or about 150 booths in order to breakeven. That is an increase of 15 per cent in 10 years.

The organisers warn if they do not fill their event calendars, the rising cost of rentals and wages will squeeze their margins.

- CNA/ms

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Chhattisgarh paid Kareena Kapoor Rs 1.40 crore for dance show

RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh government has admitted that it paid a whopping sum of Rs 1.40 crore to Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor for her performance last month at the state's anniversary function.

In a written reply to Congress member Mohammed Akbar in the state assembly, public works department minister Brijmohan Agrawal, who holds the tourism and culture portfolios as well, said that 245 artistes performed during the weeklong (November 1-7) state foundation anniversary — Rajayotasava 2012 — celebrations held in various districts and the government paid over Rs 5 crore to them.

The total expenditure as honorarium to 245 artistes, that included 42 artistes from outside the state, during Rajayotasava 2012 was Rs 5,21,22,500, the minister said.

He also listed details of per person honorarium paid out by the government, with Kareena Kapoor topping the list at Rs 1,40,71,000.

Kareena performed at main Rajayotasava venue at Naya Raipur November 1 and her show was hardly for eight minutes.

The government also paid heavy amount to other artistes such as Sonu Nigam (Rs 36,50,000), Sunidhi Chauhan (Rs 32,00,000), Dia Mirza (Rs 25,00,000), Himesh Reshamia (Rs 24,00,000) and Pankaj Udhas (Rs 90,000).

The minister also informed the house that his department spent Rs 54,62,461 on inviting the artistes and their travel expenditure while the bill for artistes' lodging and food was put at Rs 11,67,956.

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Pictures: Surveying Rain Forest Arthropods

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  Insects on High

  
  Photograph courtesy Jürgen Schmidl, University of Erlangen

  After an exhaustive search for the creepy crawlies living in a small patch of Panama's rain forest, researchers have discovered that the entire 6,000-hectare forest could harbor up to 25,000 arthropod species.

  Dawn Frame and Alexey Tishechkin, researchers with Project IBISCA-Panama—supported by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute—stand in a crane gondola so that they can capture insects feeding on flowers in the forest canopy.

  Published December 14, 2012

  
  











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  Open “Eyes”

  
  Photograph by Darlyne A. Murawski, National Geographic

  An Io moth—known for the false "eyes" located on its hind wings—is one of the many species identified by scientists during a project spanning nearly a decade.

  Published December 14, 2012

  
  











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  Ant Mimic

  
  Photograph by Christian Ziegler, National Geographic

  A broad-headed Hyalymenus nymph (right), mimics its ant neighbors (left) while visiting a flower. By looking like an aggressive ant that can sting attackers, the harmless nymph tricks predators into leaving it alone. Mimicry is a type of camouflage and occurs throughout the animal kingdom. ("Art of Deception": Can you find the animals hidden in these photos?)

  Published December 14, 2012

  
  











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  Foggy With a Chance of Bugs

  
  Photograph courtesy Roger Le Guen, Panacoco

  Researcher Jürgen Schmidl fogs the rain forest understory in an attempt to collect insects in the vegetation. Some techniques use chemicals that stun the insects, causing them to rain down on sheets laid out to catch them.

  Published December 14, 2012

  
  











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  Deceptive Defense

  
  Photograph by Christian Ziegler, National Geographic

  Normally, saw-nosed plant hoppers try to keep a low profile. Blending in with tree bark offers some protection from predators. But when their cover is blown, plant hoppers have a second line of defense: Flashing the red spots hidden under their wings gives the impression that the eyes of a much larger animal are staring back.

  Published December 14, 2012

  
  











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  Brown on the Ground

  
  Photograph courtesy Thomas Martin, Jean-Philippe Sobczak, and Hendrik Dietz, T.U. Munich

  Although some beetles are famous for their metallic jewel tones, this scarab beetle (Megasoma elephas), also known as an elephant beetle, is covered in brownish yellow hairs. This scarab beetle species flaunts itself in other ways—males sport a horn that they use in fights with other males for mating rights.

  Published December 14, 2012

  
  











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  Bubbling Up

  
  Photograph courtesy Maurice Leponce, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences

  Researcher Maurice Leponce floats above the San Lorenzo forest canopy on the Canopy Bubble.

  Published December 14, 2012

  
  











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  Nighttime Snack

  
  Photograph by Christian Ziegler, National Geographic

  Africanized honeybees visit an Ochroma flower just after sunset, looking for some nectar. (Late-night nectar binge: See pictures of animals caught in the act.)

  Published December 14, 2012

  
  











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  Red Flags

  
  Photograph by Christian Ziegler, National Geographic

  A flat-footed bug uses flashy red "flags" on its hind limbs to distract potential predators, such as birds. By placing attractive lures away from vital areas such as the head, the insect ensures a striking predator will miss the important bits.

  Published December 14, 2012

  
  











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  Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt, National Geographic

  Published December 14, 2012

  
  

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'Active Shooter' Reported at CT Elementary School

A shooting at a Connecticut elementary school this morning prompted the town of Newton to lock down all of its schools and drew SWAT teams to the school, authorities said today.

A gunman has been killed, authorities told ABC News.

The shooting occurred at the Sandy Creek Elementary School in Newtown, about 12 miles east of Danbury.

A photo from the scene shows a line of distressed children being led out of the school.

Shannon Hicks/The Newton Bee

Newton Public School District secretary of superintendent Kathy June said in a statement that the district's school were locked down because of the report of a shooting. "The district is taking preventive measures by putting all schools in lockdown until we ensure the safety of all students and staff."

State police sent SWAT team units to Newtown.

All public and private schools in the town are on lockdown.

State emergency management officials said ambulances and other units were also en route and staging near the school.

A message on the school district website says that all afternoon kindergarten is cancelled today and there will be no mid-day bus runs.

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Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s 2012 Christmas card: Fiscal cliff, Gretzky in heaven

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen — your Rep. Loretta Sanchez Christmas card for 2012!

(Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez)
Over the past decade, the California Democrat’s wacky holiday greetings have drawn a cult following. “I’ve seen them being sold on eBay,” the congresswoman told us.

(Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez)
Nice topical theme this year! “The ‘fiscal cliff’ is a very serious situation, so we didn’t want to make light of it,” she said. “But sometimes a chuckle makes things a lot easier.” (Last year’s card tipped a hat to Occupy Wall Street and all that 99 percent talk: “May the joy of the holidays occupy 100 percent of your heart.”)

That’s husband Jack Einwechter dancing with her. Sanchez’s late beloved cat Gretzky, the star of so many cards over the years, is represented inside the card, a halo over his furry head. “Of course — Angel Gretzky,” she said. “We keep Gretzky every year because he has so many followers.”

Earlier:
Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s ‘Call Me Maybe’ parody, with summer interns, 7/2/12

Last year:
Rep. Loretta Sanchez carries on holiday card tradition, without beloved cat Gretzky, 12/9/11

Loretta Sanchez’s 2011 Christmas card, 12/16/11

Also in The Reliable Source:

Jenna Bush Hager announces pregnancy on ‘Today’

Hey, isn’t that. . .?: Steve Harvey; Max Baucus and Tim Geithner

Quoted: Marco Rubio on his hair loss

D.C. power players appear in new video portrait — but is it art?

Elizabeth Kucinich becomes a real-estate agent; will keep public-affairs job, too

Albert Small buys George Washington letter for $290,000 — but don’t tell his wife

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Ukrainian MPs brawl in parliament as PM re-appointed

KIEV: The Ukrainian parliament Thursday voted to reinstate its prime minister after dozens of opposition and pro-government lawmakers brawled for a second day in the chamber notorious for its fisticuffs.

Newly-elected world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko sought to stand above the fray by staying well out of the fighting that came just before parliament voted to re-appoint Prime Minister Mykola Azarov.

Deputies in suits and shirtsleeves climbed on tables, shouted and grappled with opponents in an angry protest against lawmakers pressing electronic buttons to vote for absentee colleagues.

While lawmakers are legally obliged to vote in person, many of them run around pressing buttons for absent colleagues.

Opposition politicians rose to their feet and rushed to blockade the speaker's tribune, while being pushed back by pro-government lawmakers.

Amid angry shouts and calls for calm, some clambered on desks from where they dealt blows and jumped down on opponents.

At least one opposition lawmaker had a bruised face after being thrown to the floor and receiving punches and kicks from ruling party lawmakers, the Interfax news agency reported.

The towering boxing champion Klitschko, whose opposition party UDAR, or punch, has won 42 seats in the parliament, refrained from joining the skirmishes and could be seen seated, watching the fight calmly.

"You could call the fists of a world champion a nuclear weapon. I don't think we will use this weapon yet," Klitschko said, quoted by his party press service.

But he added: "We do support the blockading of the tribune."

After a break, the parliament managed to restore calm and hold a vote to reappoint prime minister Azarov that had been postponed from Wednesday.

A total of 252 deputies out of 450 in the single-chamber parliament supported Azarov's return to office, including President Viktor Yanukovych's ruling Regions Party, the Communists and several independents.

Three opposition factions - Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party close to jailed ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the UDAR party of Klitschko and the Svoboda nationalist movement - did not back Azarov.

"The politics of the Regions Party of which Azarov is a representative is anti-Ukrainian, anti-social and anti-democratic," said comments from Svoboda.

It remained unclear why Azarov, 64, took the dramatic step of resigning earlier this month, with the presidency saying at the time that Yanukovych had accepted his request to give up his post and become an MP.

Azarov called on the parliament to leave behind the "confrontation" to "face together outside challenges" including the global economic crisis that is already hurting Ukraine.

The parliament's opening session on Wednesday had earlier seen fighting erupt between opposition lawmakers and deputies whom they accused of defecting to the pro-government camp.

In a typically raucous session, feminist group Femen also staged a topless anti-corruption protest outside the entrance to the parliament wearing only black pants.

The brawls were an ugly start to a new parliament apparently still controlled by Yanukovych's Regions Party, which claims to have won a majority in legislative elections on October 28.

The October polls were widely criticised by the international community, coming as Tymoshenko continues to serve a seven-year prison term for abuse of power that she argues is politically motivated.

The Ukrainian parliament is often the scene of scuffles with lawmakers throwing eggs and letting off smokebombs.

Two years ago several opposition deputies were badly injured in a bloody brawl prompted by the opening of a criminal probe into Tymoshenko that saw punches thrown and chairs hurled.

- AFP/de

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