Cuba The move came after the ruling party approved a flurry of measures to save the controlled economy. Fidel Castro confirmed his exit from the Communist Party leadership on Tuesday, ceding power to his brother, Raul, as delegates prepare to vote on changes that could bring term limits to key posts. The move came after the sixth Communist Party Congress approved a flurry of measures aimed at keeping Cuba s centrally planned economy from collapse but without any broad embrace of market-oriented change. "Raul knew that I would not accept a formal role in the party today," Fidel wrote in an article on the Cubadebate.cu portal, referring to his absence from the party s newly elected central committee. Castro, 84, had served as first secretary in the central committee of the party -- which underpins the country s Communist government -- since the party s creation in 1965. Fidel said he had handed over the functions of the party head to Raul when he ceded power to his brother because of his own declining health in 2006, though he retained the first secretary title
Britain is sending military officers to help Libyan rebels improve their organisation, communications and logistics, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Tuesday. He said the “military liaison advisory team” would not be involved in training or arming the rebels fighting Maummar Qadhafi’s regime, nor would it help plan their military operations. In a statement, Hague said the government had agreed to send a contingent “drawn from experienced British military officers” to reinforce the diplomatic team already in the eastern city of Benghazi, where the rebels are based. Hague insisted the deployment was “fully within the terms” of the UN Security Council Resolution on Libya that authorised international air strikes to protect civilians from fighting between Qadhafi’s forces and the rebels. “These additional personnel will enable the UK to build on the work already being undertaken to support and advise the TNC (Transitional National Council) on how to better protect civilians,” he said. “In particular they will advise the TNC on how to improve their military organisational structures, communications and logistics, including how best to distribute humanitarian aid and deliver medical assistance.” Britain had in recent weeks decided to supply the rebels with “non-lethal assistance” to help them protect civilians, including telecommunications equipment and protective body armour, Hague added.The UN resolution expressly forbids any foreign occupation of Libyan soil. “Consistent with our obligations under that resolution, our officers will not be involved in training or arming the opposition’s fighting forces,” the foreign secretary said. “Nor will they be involved in the planning or execution of the TNC’s military operations or in the provision of any other form of operational military advice.”
Japan The overall release of radiation from Japan's tsunami-hit nuclear plant will not increase much between now and when it is finally brought under control, the UN atomic watchdog said Tuesday. Japan has been working feverishly to bring the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo, into safe shutdown since it was hit by a 14-metre (46-foot) tsunami on March 11, triggering the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), said on Sunday it aims to reduce radiation leaks within three months and to achieve a so-called "cold shutdown" within six to nine months. So far, the overall radioactivity release has been around 10 percent of that seen at Chernobyl 25 years ago, the Japanese authorities have said. And the International Atomic Energy Agency's head of nuclear safety, Denis Flory, said the amount would not increase much further. "There has been high bursts of radioactivity from the beginning," Flory told a regular news briefing here. Currently, radioactivity was still leaking "at low level" but those leaks were decreasing.
Nigeria Nigeria’s main northern cities were under curfew on Tuesday as protests broke out after the announcement of Goodluck Jonathan’s election as president. Mr Jonathan, 53, was officially declared winner of last Saturday’s presidential election by an overwhelming majority. The Independent National Electoral Commission, commended by domestic and international observers for conducting Nigeria’s fairest poll since the country returned to civilian rule in 1998, gave Mr Jonathan 58 per cent of the vote. His nearest challenger, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, polled 31.8 per cent. But the results have exposed stark divisions between the north and south of the country that pose an immediate challenge to Mr Jonathan’s presidency and have prompted widespread rioting in areas that voted for his main rival. Mr Jonathan was victorious in all but one of the southern states, and managed to avoid a run-off by securing more than 25 per cent of the vote in 32 of Nigeria’s 36 states. “People are protesting as much against poverty and frustration as they are against the results,” said Clement Nwankwo, a political activist with the Abuja-based Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre. “This is an expression of anger at underdevelopment of the region and the role of leaders in that. That is what makes it so dangerous.” In other circumstances, Mr Jonathan’s victory would be a Cinderella triumph for the zoologist from Obuiga in the Niger delta. Born to impoverished parents in 1957, the year oil was discovered in the area, his rise to the pinnacle of Africa’s most populous nation and third-biggest economy has been nothing short of a fairy tale. Mr Jonathan’s rapid elevation through the ruling People’s Democratic party (PDP) hierarchy was aided by a powerful old boy’s network that regarded him as a stopgap measure. For many Nigerians, especially in the delta region, which provides the oil that sustains the economy, Mr Jonathan’s victory is seen as a triumph for ethnic minorities. There has never been an elected president from the delta.
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