A second explosion has struck the Fukushima nuclear plant, raising fresh fears of emissions of radioactive gas. Such radioactive releases could last months, according to The New York Times: As the scale of Japan’s nuclear crisis begins to come to light, experts in Japan and the United States say the country is now facing a cascade of accumulating problems that suggest that radioactive releases of steam from the crippled plants could go on for weeks or even months.
Berita Harian has made global news – for the wrong reason. It published a cartoon on the tsunami in Japan that has been widely seen as appallingly distasteful and insensitive.
Negotiations between the Malaysia and the European Union for a free trade agreement (FTA) are expected to begin in Brussels next week. But most Malaysians are being left in the dark about what this means for Malaysia while Parliament is not even looking at this seriously. The way I see it, the EU-Malaysia FTA aims to prise open the Malaysian market for large European firms – in the same way that these firms are eyeing the vast Indian market under the EU-India FTA and the Asean market under the EU-Asean FTA. That’s the main agenda of Corporate Europe. These large European firms or BusinessEurope are working very closely with EU Commission negotiators to secure the best possible outcome for themselves. What are they looking for? We can get a pretty good idea of what they want by looking at the negotiations for the EU-India FTA.
According to Unctad’s World Investment Report 2009 released last night, Malaysia experienced a net FDI outflow of US$6.0 billion in 2008, more than double the US$2.7 billion net outflow posted in the previous year. Inward FDI fell to US$8.1 billion (18.4 per cent of GDP) in 2008 from US$8.4 billion (20.6 per cent of GDP) the previous year. Outward FDI, on the other hand, soared to US$14.1 billion from US$11.9 billion in 2007.
This Merdeka brings news that Japan’s LDP has been dumped after virtually unbroken rule since 1955. The new Democratic Party-led government, which is expected to adopt a less subservient relationship with the United States and to expand the welfare state, is forecasted to win 308 of the 480 seats in the lower house.