Russia to build up to 16 nuclear reactors in India
15 March 2010 - Russia will build up to 16 nuclear reactors for power stations in India, Russia's Deputy Premier said on Friday during a visit to India with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to reaffirm decades-old ties. Russia is competing with French and American firms for lucrative contracts to build nuclear power plants for energy-hungry India because Asia's third-largest economy needs to boost its supply to help sustain rapid economic growth. Setting the tone for his one-day visit mainly aimed at keeping one of the world's biggest arms importers interested in Russian weapons, Putin offered state financial aid for the Indian telecoms unit of Russian conglomerate Sistema. He also sought to assure Indian businessmen that Russian nuclear reactors were safe. Russia has almost completed equipment delivery for two reactors at Kudankulam nuclear power station and is in talks to build two more reactors. (more)

Thai protesters vow to spill their own blood
15 March 2010 - Protest leaders vowed Monday to collect blood from tens of thousands of anti-government activists and splash it onto the Thai government headquarters in a symbolic sacrifice to press their demands for new elections. As many as 100,000 'Red Shirt' protesters converged Sunday on Bangkok to demand that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva agree to dissolve Parliament by midday Monday. Abhisit refused and blanketed the capital in security, but said his government was open to listening to what else the protesters have to say. Thailand has been in constant political turmoil since early 2006, when anti-Thaksin demonstrations began. In 2008, when Thaksin's political allies came back to power for a year, his opponents occupied the prime minister's office compound for three months and seized Bangkok's two airports for a week. (more)

UN Agency: Tiger on verge of extinction
15 March 2010 - The world has 'failed miserably' at protecting tigers in the wild, bringing an animal that is a symbol for many cultures and religions to 'the verge of extinction,' a top official with the United Nations Wildlife Agency said Monday. Just 20 years ago there were 100,000 tigers in Asia, but now only 3,200 remain in the wild, according to UN Willem Wijnstekers, the Secretary General of the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES. He called on countries to come up with strategies, and cooperate with international agencies such as Interpol, to end poaching and illegal trade in tiger products. 'We must admit that we have failed miserably,' Wijnstekers said at the two-week conference in the Gulf state of Qatar. 'Although the tiger has been prized throughout history ... it is now literally on the verge of extinction.' (more)

West condemns Georgia's divisive war spoof
15 March 2010 - Western envoys on Monday condemned a fake news report in Georgia that Russian tanks had entered the capital, wading into a row that has exposed deep divisions over opposition attempts to mend ties with Moscow. Saturday's 20-minute primetime report on pro-government Imedi TV caused panic 18 months after the ex-Soviet neighbours fought a five-day war. Shock has given way to accusation over the politics behind the broadcast. EU special envoy to the South Caucasus Peter Semneby said the stunt did not help stability in Georgia and the region. 'It seems to have created further internal political divisions. It may even have been intended to do so,' he told Reuters. (more)