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Saturday, March 26, 2011 – Daily News – 7C WORLD BRIEFING Setback at Fukushima nuclear plant TOKYO (AP) — A possible breach at Japan’s troubled nuclear plant escalated the crisis anew Friday, two full weeks after an earthquake and tsunami first compro- mised the facility. The development suggested radioactive contamination may be worse than first thought, with tainted groundwater the most likely consequence. Japanese leaders defended their decision not to evacuate people from a wider area around the plant, insisting they are safe if they stay indoors. But officials also said residents may want to voluntarily move to areas with better facilities, since supplies in the tsunami-devastated region are running short. The escalation in the nuclear plant crisis came as the death toll from the quake and tsunami passed 10,000 on Friday. Across the battered northeast coast, hundreds of thou- sands of people whose homes were destroyed still have no power, no hot meals and, in many cases, no showers for 14 days. The uncertain nuclear situation again halted work at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex, where authorities have been scrambling to stop the overheated facility from leaking dangerous radia- tion. Low levels of radia- tion have been seeping out since the March 11 quake and tsunami knocked out the plant’s cooling system, but a breach could mean a much larger release of contaminants. The most likely consequence would be contamination of the groundwater. ‘‘The situation today at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant is still very grave and serious. We must remain vigilant,’’ a somber Prime Minister Naoto Kan said. ‘‘We are not in a position where we can be optimistic. We must treat every develop- ment with the utmost care.’’ Troops fire on protests as Mideast’s upheaval reaches Syria DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Troops opened fire on protesters in cities across Syria and pro- and anti-government crowds clashed in the capital’s historic old city as one of the Mideast’s most repressive regimes sought to put down demonstra- tions that exploded nationwide Friday demanding reform. The upheaval sweep- ing the region definitively took root in Syria as an eight-day uprising cen- tered on a rural southern town dramatically expanded into protests by tens of thousands in mul- tiple cities. The once- unimaginable scenario posed the biggest chal- lenge in decades to Syria’s iron-fisted rule. Protesters wept over the bloodied bodies of slain comrades and mas- sive crowds chanted anti- government slogans, then fled as gunfire erupted, according to footage post- ed online. Security forces shot to death more than 15 people in at least six cities and villages, includ- ing a suburb of the capi- tal, Damascus, witnesses told The Associated Press. Their accounts could not be independent- ly confirmed. The regime of Presi- dent Bashar Assad, an ally of Iran and supporter of militant groups around the region, had seemed immune from the Middle East’s three-month wave of popular uprising. His security forces, which have long silenced the slightest signs of dissent, quickly snuffed out small- er attempts at protests last month. Syrians also have fearful memories of the brutal crackdown unleashed by his father and predecessor, Hafez Assad, when Muslim fun- damentalists in the central town of Hama tried an uprising in 1982: Thou- sands were killed and parts of the city were flat- tened by artillery and bulldozers. The Assads’ leadership — centered on members of their Alawi minority sect, a branch of Shiite Islam in this mainly Sunni nation — have built their rule by mixing draconian repression with increasing economic freedom, main- taining the loyality of wealthy Sunni merchant class in the prosperous cities of Damascus and Aleppo. Even as US Libya role shrinks, Pentagon mulls adding air power WASHINGTON (AP) — Even as other nations begin taking a larger role in the international air assault mission in Libya, the Penta- gon is considering adding Air Force gunships and other attack aircraft that are better suited for tangling with Libyan ground forces in contested urban areas like Misrata, a senior Pentagon official said Friday. Navy Vice Adm. William Gortney told a Pen- tagon news conference that for the second consecutive day, all air missions to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya were flown by non- U.S. aircraft, and U.S. planes conducted about half the missions attacking Libyan air defenses, missile sites and ground forces. Qatar became the first Arab nation to join the effort, fly- ing F-16s in support of the no-fly zone. ‘‘The division of labor between the U.S. and our partners has largely evened out,’’ Gortney said. With the Obama admin- istration eager to take a back seat, it remained unclear when NATO would assume command of the no-fly patrols. Also unclear was when — and even if — the U.S. military’s African Command would hand off to NATO the lead role in attacking Libyan ground targets. President Barack Obama spoke with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders about Libya on Fri- day afternoon amid criti- cism that he’s failed to ade- quately consult with Capitol Hill on the U.S. military goals there. Republican lawmakers push ID RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Empowered by last year’s elections, Republi- can leaders in about half the states are pushing to require voters to show photo ID at the polls despite little evidence of fraud and already-sub- stantial punishments for those who vote illegally. Democrats claim the moves will disenfranchise poor and minority voters — many of whom tradi- tionally vote for their can- didates. The measures will also increase spend- ing and oversight in some states even as Republi- cans are focused on cut- ting budgets and decreas- ing regulations. Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, a Republican, said he believes his state’s pro- posed photo ID law will increase citizen confi- dence in the process and combat fraud that could be going undetected. ‘‘I can’t figure out who it would disenfranchise,’’ Hargett said. ‘‘The only people I can think it dis- enfranchises is those peo- ple who might be voting illegally.’’ Hargett said the mea- sure currently moving through Tennessee’s leg- islature — now controlled by Republicans — would accommodate people who don’t have IDs by having them sign oaths of identi- ty, which provide more prominent warning to potential fakers than the standard name-signing. Nevada Republicans gamble on caucuses LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada Republicans are gambling that they can turn this swing state best known for showgirls and cowboys into a major player in picking the party’s presidential nomi- nee. After Iowa and New Hampshire get their turns, Nevada hopes to draw all the GOP hopefuls to its caucuses — and do better than the flop of 2008 when party infighting and inexperience with the caucuses turned the con- test into an afterthought. Mitt Romney won three years ago, thanks to the state’s significant number of Mormon voters and the absence of many of his rivals. Most GOP candidates skipped Neva- da to focus instead on South Carolina. Nevada Republicans are determined to make the Feb. 18, 2012, caucus- es an event not to be missed, and they’re already seeing their share of likely candidates almost a full year before the voting. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour courted the state’s top Republi- cans and talked to donors this week. Rom- ney will address the Republican Jewish Coalition Winter Lead- ership Meeting in Las Vegas on April 2. Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty and Sarah Palin have traveled to the state for fundraising dinners and private meetings. Opposition parties bring down Canada’s Conservative government TORONTO (AP) — Canadian opposition par- ties brought down the Conservative government in a no confidence vote Friday, triggering an elec- tion that polls show the Conservatives will win. The opposition parties held Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s govern- ment in contempt of Par- liament in a 156-145 vote for failing to disclose the full financial details of his tougher crime legislation, corporate tax cuts and plans to purchase stealth fighter jets. Opinion polls expect Harper’s Conservative Party to win re-election but not a majority, mean- ing he likely will continue to govern with a minority in Parliament, dependent on opposition votes to stay afloat. The opposition parties combined hold the major- ity of the seats in Parlia- ment with 160, while the Conservatives have 143. But in the latest twist, there is a chance the left- of-center parties might join forces in a coalition if Harper wins another minority government on the expected election date of May 2. Jesuits settle abuse claims from Indians SEATTLE (AP) — An order of priests has agreed to pay $166.1 million to hundreds of Native Americans and Alaska Natives who were abused as children at the order’s schools around the Pacific Northwest. The settlement between more than 450 victims and the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus is one of the largest in the Catholic church’s sweeping sex abuse scandal. It also calls for a written apolo- gy to the victims. The province previ- ously settled another 200 claims. Then it filed for bankruptcy, claiming the payments depleted its treasury. But victims argued the province remained wealthy because it controls and owns several schools and properties. The relationship between the Jesuit order and other Jesuit proper- ties, including Gonzaga University, has been an issue in bankruptcy pro- ceedings. But both the college and the province maintain they are sepa- rate entities. States borrow, import drug for executions ATLANTA (AP) — Prison officials around the country have been going to extraordinary — and in at least one case, legally question- able — lengths to obtain a scarce lethal-injection drug, securing it from middlemen in Britain and a manufacturer in India and borrowing it from other states to keep their executions on track, according to records reviewed by The Associated Press. ‘‘You guys in AZ are life savers,’’ California prisons official Scott Kernan emailed a coun- terpart in Arizona, with what may have been unintentional irony, in appreciation for 12 grams of the drug sent in September. ‘‘Buy you a beer next time I get that way.’’ The wheeling and dealing come amid a severe shortage of sodi- um thiopental, a seda- tive that is part of the three-drug lethal injec- tion cocktail used by nearly all 34 death penalty states. The shortage started last year, after Hospira Inc., the sole U.S. manufac- turer of the drug and the only sodium-thiopental maker approved by the Food and Drug Admin- istration, stopped mak- ing it. As supplies dwin- dled, at least six states — Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Nebraska and Tennessee — obtained sodium thiopental overseas, with several of them cit- ing Georgia as the trail- blazer. Best of Tehama County Will be announced in a special section on Digital Edition will stay online through March, 2012 2011 Winners Thursday, March 31, 2011 D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY