Situation Report

Image: A street light in front of the EDF London Eye. Photograph: Andrew Winning/Reuters

theguardian.com - April 25th, 2014 - Terry Macalister

Boris Johnson has announced plans for the London mayor's office to become the UK's latest electricity supplier with an official launch next year of a scheme aimed at lowering bills and bolstering the capital's energy independence.

London will be the first public authority to receive a "junior" electricity licence from industry regulator Ofgem as part of the plan to produce 25% of the capital's power from local sources by 2025.

Energy for London, as the scheme is likely to be named, will initially buy power from small-scale generators owned by London boroughs and public bodies and then sell it on to Transport for London and the Metropolitan police.

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International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies

The World Disasters Report 2013 examines the profound impact of technological innovations on humanitarian action, how humanitarians employ technology in new and creative ways, and what risks and opportunities may emerge as a result of technological innovations.

The responsible use of technology offers concrete ways to make humanitarian assistance more effective, efficient and accountable and can, in turn, directly reduce vulnerability and strengthen resilience. Finding ways for advances in technology to serve the most vulnerable is a moral imperative; a responsibility, not a choice.

Published annually since 1993, the World Disasters Report brings together the latest trends, facts and analysis of contemporary catastrophes and their effect on vulnerable populations worldwide. Initiated by the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies, it convenes eminent researchers, authors and development and humanitarian aid practitioners to highlight contemporary issues on a yearly basis.

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AFP / Getty Images

The Pacific Island nation, the site of many nuclear tests, is taking its case to the ICJ and US courts

Associated Press - america.aljazeera.com - April 24, 2014

The tiny Pacific nation of the Marshall Islands is taking on the United States and the world’s eight other nuclear-armed nations with an unprecedented lawsuit demanding that they meet their obligations toward disarmament, and accusing them of “flagrant violations” of international law. . .

. . . The country is also filing a federal lawsuit against the U.S. in San Francisco, naming President Barack Obama, the departments and secretaries of defense and energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration.

The Marshall Islands claims the nine countries are modernizing their nuclear arsenals instead of negotiating disarmament, and it estimates that they will spend $1 trillion on those arsenals over the next decade.

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