If the proverbial “drumbeat” for war with Iran has grown more insistent in recent weeks, it’s about to turn into something akin to the opening bars of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man“. That’s because the International Atomic Energy Agency is expected, in a report on Iran’s nuclear program due for release early this week, to suggest that the …
nuclear
“Atomic Anne” Lauvergeon Replaced As Head Of Nuclear Giant Areva
Anne Lauvergeon–longed ranked by international publications as one of the most influential and powerful women in global business—will be replaced as chairman of Areva, the one-stop nuclear giant she created in 2001. Thursday’s announcement by France’s conservative government to part with Lauvergeon when her current contract …
Why the Arab Spring Has Failed to Thaw the Iran Nuclear Standoff
The Arab Spring has, over the past five months, largely eclipsed the Iran nuclear standoff on the global agenda — and that may have come as a relief from a strategic headache for Western decision-makers. Because as the issue begins to make its way back into the headlines, the stalemate is more entrenched than ever.
New sanctions …
Japan’s Unlikely Saviors: Elderly Willing to Toil in a Nuke No-Go Zone
In ancient Japan, or so the folktale goes, there used to be a mountain where old people were taken and abandoned once they reached 60 years of age. Although the practice of obasute was probably more rural legend than actual reality, it is a chilling reminder of the perils of old age in a nation where roughly one-quarter of Japanese are …
Not So Fast: China Puts Nuke Power Projects on Hold
In China, there have been a range of reactions to the crises in Japan: smug satisfaction, heartfelt sympathy and, also, soul-searching. “Faced with that type of danger, I doubt I’d be able to behave so well,” said one blogger quoted by the Wall Street Journal. “The casualties from an 8.9 event in China would be hundreds of times higher …
Global Briefing, Mar. 17, 2011: Broken Promises and Bad Analogies
Broken Promises — TIME’s Krista Mahr meets evacuees in Yonezawa, a city of 90,000 about 60 miles west of the Fukushima plant. There, as elsewhere in Japan, anger is brewing about the handling of the nuclear crisis.
Solidarity — A group of 130 artists plan to boycott the $800 million Guggenheim museum being built in Abu Dhabi, …
Will Japan’s Nuclear Emergency Really Sour Europe To the Energy Source?
Given the enormity of human suffering and risk of an atomic catastrophe in Japan, it seems almost indecent to be offering up commentary out of safe, comfy Europe. But despite the understandably shocked and fearful reaction to a possible reactor melt down at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power station, it’s probably worth questioning even …
Global Briefing Mar. 16, 2011: Conservatives, Closed Doors and Cash Cows
Japan’s Pain —Bill Powell has the latest on the nuclear situation; Michael Schuman weighs in on the global economic impact of the disaster; LightBox showcases pictures of the aftermath.
Bad Times in Bahrain — In a dispatch form Manama, Karen Leigh shows how the country is caught between Iran and Saudi Arabia; On Global Spin, Aryn …
Global Briefing Mar. 15, 2011: Blasts, Booms and Busts
Nuclear Fallout — Hannah Beech reflects on how Japan copes with tragedy; Krista Mahr meets tsunami survivors; Bill Powell has the latest on the situation unfolding at Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Prelude to a Proxy War? — With Saudi troops deployed in majority Shi’ite Bahrain, Iran issues a stern condemnation.
Requesting …
Obama’s Tall Order: A Democratic Mideast That Shares U.S. Priorities
President Obama has reportedly told White House aides that he wants a “new Middle East policy” — one that urges beleaguered allies threatened by popular rebellions to “enact reforms that would satisfy the popular craving for change while preserving valuable partnerships on crucial U.S. interests, from soil security to counter-terrorism …