Japan to resume whale hunting

Japan to resume whale hunting in the Antarctic despite opposition

Japan's chief whaling negotiator has confirmedits ships will return to the Antarctic this year to hunt whales, despite a call by global regulators to provide more evidence that the hunt has a scientific purpose.

Joji Morishita said the debate about whether or not Japan should be killing the mammals had long since moved away from science and into politics.

The scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) said Japan had failed to give enough detail to explain why it wanted to kill almost 4,000 minke whales in the Antarctic over the next 12 years.

original post found herhttp://www.abc.net.au/news

Explosion,Afghanistan's parliament

Explosion, gunfire heard outside Afghanistan's parliament.

A loud explosion has rocked the Afghan parliament and shattered windows as members were in session.

Television was broadcasting live from the building in the west of the capital, Kabul, when the explosion struck and lawmakers were seen leaving the building.

Gunfire was heard shortly afterwards.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blast or whether there were casualties.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

original post found herhttp://www.abc.net.au/news

Greece:Debt CrisisTalks

Greece faces moment of truth in last minute debt talks.

Greece is facing its last chance to unlock more bailout funds at a meeting of European leaders and finance ministers tonight.

If no resolution is reached, Athens will almost certainly miss a repayment to the IMF, pushing it into default and possibly out of the eurozone.

Five years of tough austerity has seen Greece's economy shrink by a third and unemployment almost triple - from 9.1 per cent in January 2009 to 25.4 per cent in February this year - driving tens of thousands of Greeks below the poverty line.Greece owes a staggering 320 billion euros - almost 180 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), the key measure of national income.

The nation is running out of money quickly as its debt bills stack up and it desperately needs its creditors to release a second bailout worth 7.2 billion euros.

original post found herhttp://www.abc.net.au/news