Nuclear plant leak stopped
Tokyo Japanese workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant have blocked the flow of highly radioactive water into the Pacific and are trying to prevent another explosion in one of the overheating reactors (Richard Lloyd Parry writes).
The leak was stopped after chemicals were pumped into tunnels below the No 2 reactor. Nitrogen was being pumped into the plant’s first reactor to prevent a hydrogen blast.
Protesters defy leader
Sanaa Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis swarmed through the flashpoint city of Taiz to make renewed demands for President Saleh to resign amid a bloody crackdown on protests. More than 20 demonstrators have been shot dead in clashes this week. (AFP)
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Surrogacy ruling blow
Paris France’s highest court ruled that children born to surrogate mothers abroad should not be given French nationality. It upheld a lower court ruling on a case involving twin girls born in California in 2000. France does not recognise surrogacy. (AFP)
Political website under attack
Moscow LiveJournal, a blogging website that is popular in Russia as a venue for political discussion, repeatedly came under cyber attack, with users saying that authorities were trying to silence discussion before elections. (AFP)
Anger at Nazi cakes
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Vienna A pastry shop in the Austrian village of Maria Enzersdorf, near Vienna, faces calls for its owners to be arrested as their promotional photographs feature cakes decorated with Nazi themes. The owners say they were fulfilling customers’ requests. (AP)
Pepper assault
Lakewood American police in the Denver suburb of Lakewood said that they were right to use pepper spray on an eight-year-old boy throwing a tantrum at school. The boy, who allegedly tried to stab teachers with a piece of wood, was also handcuffed. (AP)
Everest clean-up led by sherpa
Kathmandu A team of mountaineers led by a veteran Sherpa flew to Mount Everest to clear tonnes of rubbish left by climbers since 1953. The Eco Everest Expedition hopes to clear 5 tonnes this spring in the fourth year of the operation. (AP)
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Woman, 75, logs off countries
Tbilisi A woman aged 75 was arrested after she cut off internet connections in Georgia and Armenia while digging for scrap metal and hacking into a fibre-optic cable. The Georgian woman, from Ksani village, could be jailed for three years. (AFP)