All Blog Posts from World Watch
Some Japanese towns face decade of radioactivity
A volunteer monitors the radiation levels in the exclusion zone near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on March 12, 2012.
(Credit: CBS)(CBS News) As Japan continues to clean up after the deadly earthquake and tsunami that killed nearly 16,000 people on March 11, 2011, one thing is clear: something went really wrong at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, and the people who lived nearby will suffer for decades as a result.
The airborne radiation levels in parts of Fukushima prefecture are expected to remain at or close to dangerous amounts at least until 2022, according to a new government report written about in the Japan Times. Government officials project annual radiation dosages to exceed 50 millisieverts in the towns nearest the plant, a level which the government has said makes areas off-limits to the thousands of affected evacuees.
Continue »U.N. diplomats play soccer for Sierra Leone victims
(Watch at left)
After the United Nations voted Saturday morning to expand the observer mission to Syria to monitor a shaky cease-fire, the secretary-general and ambassadors swapped business suits for soccer shorts in the afternoon to benefit the victims of violence in Sierra Leone.
Did they achieve more than they do at the U.N.? Not clear but they put aside politics for a good cause on a sunny day on Randall's Island.
Special Section: The Arab Spring
U.N. mission to Syria goes to regime-held town
Security Council OKs 300 observers to Syria
U.N. chief wants more observers in Syria
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks during a press conference April 17, 2012, in Luxembourg.
(Credit: AFP/Getty Images)In a letter to the Security Council, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposes a supervision mission of up to 300 observers in Syria.
Special Section: The Arab Spring
Syrian activists: Deadly soldier-defector clashes
U.S. Syria policy a tacit nod to Assad's firm grip
Losing the media war in Afghanistan
A soldier from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division poses with a dead insurgent's hand on his shoulder. The image was first published in the LA Times, which received it from an unnamed soldier in the division.
(CBS News) It is said the U.S. military won every battle in Vietnam, but we lost the war. One of the most vivid images of that time is of a U.S. helicopter on the roof of the American embassy as people are climbing on, hoping to be on the last flight out of Saigon.
With its overwhelming firepower both on the ground and in the air, the U.S. has probably won every battle it has fought in Afghanistan. But now there is a 24/7 news cycle. The war, more than in Vietnam, is being fought on the airwaves and in the press. Afghanistan is a largely illiterate country, but for thousands of years people have sat around campfires at night and talked. Stories have passed down for centuries.
Today, every village, no matter how isolated, has a battery-powered radio and every day and every night someone listens to the BBC or VOA and learns the news. The Afghans are illiterate, but they are not naive. After 30 years of war they understand international politics. They understand war. They form their opinions by what they see, or hear about, happening in their country.
Continue »Report: Taliban man turns self in for reward
Former Taliban militants hold their weapons during a joining ceremony with the Afghan government in Herat, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday Jan. 30, 2012.
(Credit: AP Photo/Hoshang Hashimi)(CBS News) Apparently not understanding how rewards for capturing criminals works, a mid-level Taliban commander walked up to a police checkpoint with a wanted poster bearing his own face seeking the reward listed on it, the Washington Post reports.
Mohammad Ashan, a mid-level Taliban commander in Paktika province, demanded of the officers at the scene the $100 finder's fee listed on the poster, the Post reports.
Ashan was arrested on the spot, and is suspected of plotting at least two attacks against Afghan security forces, the Post reports.
"We asked him, 'Is this you?' Mohammad Ashan answered with an incredible amount of enthusiasm, 'Yes, yes, that's me! Can I get my award now?'" SPC Matthew Baker told the Post.
Continue »Report: 150 Afghan schoolgirls poisoned
(Credit: CBS/AP)
Reuters said the girls suffered headaches and vomiting, with some in critical condition.
"This is not a natural illness. It's an intentional act to poison schoolgirls," Haffizullah Safi, head of Takhar province's public health department, told Reuters.
The Taliban banned education for women when it controlled Afghanistan, saying it was anti-Islamic.
Girls have gone back to school since the Taliban were toppled, but attacks against female students, teachers and school buildings have occurred, particularly in southern and eastern areas of the country, when Taliban insurgents enjoy more public support.
Norwegians suffering from Breivik fatigue
Norwegian gunman who killed 77 people, Anders Behring Breivik, stands at court in Oslo on Feb. 6, 2012.
(Credit: JUNGE HEIKO/AFP/Getty Images)(CBS News) Too much news about Anders Behring Breivik is frustrating the people of Norway. According to Sky News, most citizens do not believe the continuing coverage - which is increasing this week as Breivik's trial begins - will add important details about the attack that claimed 77 lives last July.
In fact, citizens are so annoyed with the coverage that one newspaper, Dagbladet, has included a "Breivik button" on its website that strips out stories on the accused mass-murderer for a Breivik-free reading experience.
Crush of media at mass killer's trial in Norway
Prosecutors: Breivik's network doesn't exist
Norway mass killer Anders Behring Breivik claims self-defense in bomb-and-shooting massacre
Revelations in U.K. businessman's death in China
British businessman Neil Heywood is seen in this undated photo taken at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. He was found dead in a hotel in Chongqing last November, and sources close to a police inquiry say he was poisoned.
(Credit: REUTERS/Stringer)The revelations about Neil Heywood, 41, which have come to light since he was found dead November 15 in Chongqing, have already scuttled the prospects of a prominent government official, Bo Xilai, who was jockeying for a leadership position in the country's ruling Politburo.
Last week the Chinese government said that Heywood's death, which was at first classified a case of alcohol poisoning, was murder. Bo's wife, a lawyer named Gu Kailai, was taken into custody for complicity in Heywood's death. No further details were released, beyond Chinese state media's report that Heywood was killed following a financial dispute.
Reuters has reported that, according to sources familiar with the police investigation, Heywood was poisoned. He died at the Nanshan Lijing Holiday Hotel in Chongqing's Nan'an district.
The New York Times reported Monday that sources indicate Heywood - who had a long relationship with Bo and Gu - was involved in facilitating large, illicit transfers of money overseas for Bo's family. Heywood is also said to have helped Bo's son, Guagua, gain entrance to elite British schools.
Kidnapped Aussie penguin rescued after close call
Dirk, a seven-year-old captive-bred fairy penguin from Sea World on Queensland's Gold Coast in Australia, was allegedly stolen by three men Saturday after they broke into the facility and swam in the dolphin enclosure, swiping the bird on their way out
(Credit: CBS)(CBS News) A stolen penguin is back in captivity after facing a harrowing ordeal during which he was chased by a dog and pursued by another marine animal, possibly a shark, according to reports.
Dirk, a seven-year-old captive-bred fairy penguin from Sea World on Queensland's Gold Coast in Australia, was allegedly stolen by three men Saturday after they broke into the facility and swam in the dolphin enclosure, swiping the bird on their way out, according to Agence France-Presse.
The trio, who were caught after they posted the photos of themselves with the kidnapped penguin on Facebook, allegedly confessed to police they dropped the penguin off into the Broadwater, a water body known to contain sharks. A couple witnessed Dirk being chased out of the water by what was possibly a shark. A dog then chased the penguin back into the water. He was rescued by Sea World workers later after witnesses contacted the park.
Continue »What can U.N. do about North Korea?
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second right, salutes with the Korean People's Army senior officers, Vice Marshal and Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission Choe Ryong Hae (far right) during a mass military parade in Kim Il Sung Square, celebrating the centenary of the birth of his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang, North Korea, April 15, 2012.
(Credit: AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service)(CBS News) UNITED NATIONS - The language of Monday's U.N. Security Council's Presidential statement condemning North Korea's launch of a ballistic missile last Friday was particularly strong, deploring the launch as a grave security concern in the region. But the most important element of the council's condemnatory statement is that China - North Korea's strongest alley - was on board.
It gives weight to the fact that Beijing also considers North Korea's nuclear ambitions a threat to security.
After lengthy debate, and resistance from China during negotiations on Friday and Saturday, the U.N. issued its Presidential statement (which is a U.N. document that has to be adopted unanimously) condemning the rocket launch, making the point that any launch using ballistic missile technology - even if it a satellite launch or a space vehicle - is a violation of Security Council Resolutions.
That was intended to dispel any pretext by North Korea that its launch was for peaceful purposes, permissible under treaty obligations.
