JAPAN

Thousands rally against nuke power

Thousands of Japanese joined a march against nuclear power as worries grow about the restarting of reactors idled after the March 11 meltdown disaster in northeastern Japan.

Holding "No Nukes" signs, they gathered at Yoyogi Park for a rally on Saturday, including Nobel Prize-winning writer Kenzaburo Oe.

The protesters then marched peacefully through the streets demanding Japan abandon atomic power.

VENEZUELA

Chavez announces satellite launch plan

President Hugo Chavez said on Friday that a new Chinese-built satellite for Venezuela will be launched this year.

Chavez made the announcement at a farewell party in Miraflores Palace, the presidential residence, for a group of 50 telecommunications engineers before they traveled to China for training.

The group of civil and military engineers from the Bolivarian Agency for Space Activities will train in China for six months to operate the new satellite.

INDONESIA

Suspect leaks bomb-making trick

An Indonesian terrorism suspect known as "Demolition Man" for his expertise with explosives told interrogators he used common household items, including a rice ladle and a kitchen scale, to build a massive bomb that ripped apart nightclubs on the tourist island of Bali, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.

After more than a month of painstaking work, Umar Patek stashed the 700-kilogram bomb in four filing cabinets installed in a van along with a vest bomb that ripped apart two nightclubs on Oct 12, 2002, killing 202 people, according to the documents detailing his interrogation.

Most victims were foreign tourists.

Patek goes on trial on Monday for his alleged role in the Bali bombings and other alleged acts of terrorism following a nine-year flight from justice that took him from Indonesia to the Philippines to Pakistan, reportedly in pursuit of more terrorism opportunities.

UNITED NATIONS

Argentina, Britain spat over islets

Senior diplomats from Argentina and the UK on Friday traded accusations over contested islands (called the Malvinas by Argentina and the Falklands by Britain) at separate news conferences held at the UN headquarters in New York.

Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman urged Britain to comply with UN resolutions, sit down at the negotiating table and "refrain from this military escalation that they are carrying out in the South Atlantic with the introduction of the latest generation of warships and warplanes, and dispatching a nuclear submarine with the capacity to unload nuclear weapons".

Tensions have been on the rise between Britain and Argentina.

The former announced recently that it would explore for oil in the surrounding waters, as the 30th anniversary of a 1982 war that saw Argentina defeated by Britain is approaching.

British Permanent Representative to the UN Mark Lyall Grant countered Timerman's statement about British militarization of the islands, calling the comments "manifestly absurd".

IRAN

Nuclear progress to be announced

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that Iran will not surrender to Western pressures over its nuclear issue, adding that the Islamic Republic would soon announce "very important" achievements in the nuclear field, state TV reported.

Addressing a crowd at Teheran's Azadi ("Liberty") Square on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic republic, Ahmadinejad said that Iran has always been ready for talks, but Iranians will not surrender to Western pressures and "coercion" over its nuclear program.

NEWS WATCH

Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney racked up yet another honor on Friday when he received the MusiCares' 2012 Person of the Year award at a ceremony hosted by Grammy organizers ahead of this weekend's music awards.

Reuters - Xinhua - Associated Press

(China Daily 02/12/2012 page2)