second, critics claim that the iaea but lacks independence. founded in 1957 and expressly to promote the use of nuclear power, the agency enjoys close ties to the industry that is supposed to watch over. >> it is not a viable situation, in my opinion. people there are still too naÏve and optimistic about the wall of nuclear power. -- the role of nuclear power. but the reality of the situation is that there are still a lot of problems with this technology. it is a real dilemma for them. they keep calling for new standards, but they are not in a position to push through their recommendations. >> many lessons have been learned from the fukushima disaster, and yet, the iaea still does not have the power to order measures to improve the safety of nuclear power plants and prevent a similar mill down somewhere else in the world. >> and that has been our "in depth" report. as always, thanks for the company, everyone.

a five-day ministerial meeting of the iaea wrapped up in vienna on friday. the agency's director general yukiya amano summarized the meeting, which focused on nuclear safety following the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. >> we have seen varying views in some areas, which is entirely natural, but i'm struck by how much broad agreement there has been on the fundamentals. amano added that the iaea must produce results to ensure the safety of nuclear plants around the world. before his speech the chairs of three working groups reported on their discussions. they called for the iaea to carry out regular safety assessments of regulators and power plants of the member countries as well as random surprise inspections. these recommendations were in line with the proposals amano made on the opening day of the meeting, but experts wonder whether member countries will abide by the results of the safety assessments because nuclear safety is an issue that could interfere with their sovereignty. some countries considering introducing nuclear power gen

yukiya amano made the remarks in his opening speech at the iaea board of governors speech on monday. amano reported on the agency's activities such as sending a team of experts to japan last month to assess the safety issues following the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. he said the team is now preparing its final report to be submitted to the iaea mib st ministerial conference in vienna starting june 20th. >> the coming ministerial conference in june will be extremely important and it will determine the way ahead for the nuclear safety after the fukushima accident. i plan to make some practical suggestions drawing upon experience in assisting member states in the area of nuclear safety. >> he suggested that the iaea will look to forming a global nuclear safety framework at the meeting. >>> now an internal document from the agency lbs reveals that an emergency response office called an off-site center was nearly dysfunctional at the time of the plant's nuclear accident. the document obtained by nhk contains details about the malfunction of the center five kilome

the iaea announced the plan on thursday. it gained aagreement from its members to release oil ahead of the summer holidays. gasoline consumption is expected to rise in the northern hemisphere at that time. emergency oil reserves haven't been freed up since 2005. observers say the decision is meant to appease the united states. gas prices there are hovering at high levels. the iaea was founded in response to the oil crisis of the 1970s. it obliges its member nations to set aside emergency reserves of crude oil and gasoline equivalent to the amount they import in 90 days. following the iaea's annoyancement of the plan, crude oil futures in new york dropped to the $89 level per barrel at one point on thursday. >>> now let's turn to the markets to see how japanese stocks are trading. for that we're joined by yongghi kang from the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. how are things looking this thursday? >> reporter: good morning to you, ai and thank you very much for that. it is the last day of trading this week and so far, japan

the iaea has safety standards for nuclear facilities, emergency response measures and so on. member states incorporate these standards in the domestic laws at their own discretion, but there is no obligation to do so. countries are divided on whether they should become legally binding or not. how to strengthen the international monitoring system is another issue. the iaea sends a group of experts to review the regulatory system and emergency preparedness only if requested by a country. this is called a peer review. some countries think the peer review process should be managed, but other countries oppose the idea. in many countries the nuclear industry started out as military project, so one goal of these talks is to start bridging the gaps. it is part of a lengthy process of establishing a comprehensive safety framework for the post-fukushima era. >> thank you for your report, junko. >>> tokyo electric power company hopes to resume the decontamination process at fukuima daiichi nuclear power plant as early as tuesday. the water treatment system stopped functions only five ho

security council over this report by the iaea. other countries much more cautious. they say that this perhaps isn't the right moment to move against syria, that syria has now offered more cooperation with the agency and perhaps damascus should be given more time. now, interestingly, the dim macts have all said that this report has nothing to do with the uprising currently going on in syria itself, but i think some countries are worried that this perhaps isn't the time to put more pressure on syria, developing nations, although if syria were to be sent to the u.n. security council, that might open the door for more punitive measures, such as sanctioned. >> is it clear whether the information that has led to this concern has just emerged now or has it since that israeli raid, because what moment in time? >> well, what the iaea says is that it has been given a lot of information over the past three years, including intelligence information from a number of countries. it has wanted to get into syria on the ground to look back at this site, but it says based on the asses

that's what the iaea is saying at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. they praised the response at the plant as exemplary. the power plant was badly damaged after a quake triggered a tsunami in march. >>> former bosnia serb commander is now awaiting charges at the hague. he's facing war crimes of the massacre of 8,000 men and boys in 1995. >>> after 16 days in space, shuttle" endeavour" is back on earth. nasa's 30-year shuttle program will come to an end after the launch of "atlantis" in the coming weeks. those are the headlines. "world business today" starts now. >>> good morning, from cnn london, i'm nina december santos. >> good afternoon from cnn hong kong. i'm andrew stevens and you're watching "world business today." the top stories this wednesday, australia suffers its biggest economic squeeze in 20 years after severe flooding soaks the mining industry. >>> mixed fortunes in the tech sector. apple had its head in the data cloud wu nokia is feeling under the weather. >>> and doubts, mistakes and regrets. not many ceos are big enough to admit them

the agreement came on tuesday, the second day of the iaea's ministerial meeting in vienna. a working session was held to discuss a nuclear safety, based on the lessons from the accident at the fukushima daiichi power plant. some delegates said it's not appropriate to study universal safety measures based on the fukushima disaster. they said the accident was a special case, as the plant was hit by tsunami more than double the predicted height. other delegates stressed the importance of stricter safety procedures to prevent nuclear plants from completely losing their backup power sources. >> we will get to friday, and then we will come out with conclusions, and we look forward to a concrete action plan for the future as to how we can take these lessons forward and implement them on a global way. >> however, rifts are emerging between the nuclear and non-nuclear countries on how to improve safety. attention is focused on whether the iaea member nations will be able to overcome their differences and come up with specific measures. >>> earlier, government representatives of germ

the team will submit a full report to an iaea ministerial meeting that will open on june 20th in vienna. >>> the operator of fukushima power plant in western japan says it will postpone the start of a new reactor there while giving no restart timetable. the electric power company said on tuesday that additional safety measures are needed to start the operation of the number three reactor being constructed at the shimane plant. the company's initial plan was to put nuclear fuel rods in the reactor and start a test operation in june. the goal was to make it commercially operational in march next year. but following the accident at the fukushima plant, the utility now needs to build sea walls that can with stand 15 meter high tsunami waves. they must also find other ways to prevent the reactor buildings from being inundated by tsunami. the utility also said last november they discovered a problem with a device that moves the control rods. it said the defect has yet to be solved because the factory that makes the devices was damaged by the march 11 disaster. the power company said until the

nhk obtained the draft of a neck declaration to be issued at a conference of ministers from iaea member countries that will open on monday in vienna. the document says an iaea team of nuclear experts will conduct periodic safety assessments of the regulatory frameworks and operations of nuclear plants in each country. it calls for an international framework to be established to quickly deal with nuclear emergencies. the draft also urges the creation of a global liability regime so that states affected by nuclear accidents can receive appropriate compensation. there is no reference to this clause in the draft as of last week. it was apparently included to respond to countries' demands for compensation for the effects of radioactive materials from the fukushima daiichi plant. participants at the conference including nuclear experts will use the draft declaration to discuss how to bolster nuclear safety and the standards for nuclear plants. >>> canada has lifted all restrictions on food imports from japan. the rules were imposed after the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. th

the iaea explained the current status of the accident to its member nations during a meeting in vienna on thursday. deputy director general denis flory told reporters that so far information received from japan regarding the accident has been adequate. however, he stressed that however, he stressed that the latest information latest information must be provided at the ministerial level meeting later this month, which will focus on the accident. >> >> japan will have a role in explaining the accident and what are the very first findings. there is a need to rebuild the >> confidence. >> flory said the information should include the status of the nuclear reactors and why highly contaminated water is leaking into the sea. he also said countries must follow common safety standards in order to rebuild confidence in the nuclear energy industry and iaea standards should be their benchmark. >>> now we take a look at the latest in business news with ai uchida. good morning. >> very good morning to you catherine and very good morning to you stwl. >>> japanese automaker mazda motor plans to stop p

the iaea made the decision at a meeting of the board of governors in vienna on tuesday. australia, south korea and indonesia will lead the survey on possible sea pollution in the pacific ocean and the east china sea. samples of radioactive substances will be collected from the sea waters and compared with data from before the nuclear accident in march. the survey will be conducted over four years beginning in july. >>> in fukushima prefecture even residents living outside the exclusion zone have fears about radioactivity in and around their homes. one city is now facing this problem. radiation levels are being measured in this man's garden. although the reading is lower than the maximum aloud under japanese standards, it is much higher than he expected. he lives in data city fukushima prefecture. although the city is outside the exclusion zone, levels of radioactivity around 20 millisieverts have been found in ryozen district. this is a level set by the government for evacuation. three more areas in fukushima prefecture are in the same predicament. date held a residents'

. >> reporter: basically, this is a preliminary summary of this fact-finding mission of the iaea. this team has been here for the better part of a week now trying to figure out exactly what happened, what lessons learned there are. so in a nutshell this is what they found. japan as response post disaster has been exemplary. the problem was in the preparation. the government of japan did not look at the tsunami risk adequately, the tsunami hazard for several sites was underestimated. for example, the walls around the fukushima nuclear plants, the tsunami walls, they're built to withstand a tsunami wave of 5.7 meters maximum. the waves on that day were 14 meters tall. so those walls were easily overwhelmed by those tsunami waves. here's what the team leader told reporters. >> natural disasters, you perhaps don't predict the precise moment of when they might occur. but you can say that let me try and predict what is the consequence. and that's what you take into account in design. and that's the lessons to take away from the work. so you can make nuclear plants safe against natural e

in and 2000 iaea are setting up international standards for industrial products to prepare for the nuclear emergency like that in fukushima. however, there are many government that has its ow criteria insad a thathis difference means tons of work for japanese exporters. >> right. that's where the japanese government comes in. how can the japanese government improve this situation? >> yes. the important thing for japanese government is to establish a system in which a certificate is promptly issued. it is preferable if there is an integrated system under which a company can submit information, which country they're going to export and which kind of product. then immediately obtain the right certificates issued by, endorsed by the japanese government, and another thing the japanese government has to do is to disclose the level of radiation, which shows its safety in industry products, so that in foreign countries, the form people can buy them with peace of mind, and we have not experienced -- no country has experienced such a reputation damaged like japan's, s how janeseovernment deali with

. >> reports from the iaea and the japanese government point out the nuclear and industrial safety agency's lack of independence is a problem. what is the plan to resolve this issue? >> i think that nisa as a team has been very strict in implementing the safety regulations. so i don't think nisa's status as part of it was not so problematic in terms of safety. but it might invite some doubt from the people. so it is possible idea that nisa should be independent from meti. >> if you could talk to a farmer or fisherman who has lost his livelihood or an elderly couple who are staying in an evacuation facility, what would you say to them, given that nuclear authority's failure to protect them as they promised they would? >> i would first apologize for our failure to keep nuclear power stations safe. and we will, we will promise that we will let them know the most recent situation and the reasonable future look at when the situation will be, will return to normal. if we are successful in finalizing our water purifying system next week and we can continue to pour water to cool the fuel core and s

with international pressure bringing up -- becoming intensified, especially with the iaea, can russia maintain this? >> russia can maintain as much strong position as it wishes to do. russia has a bit of power in the u.n. security council, so for example, this current action by u.n. will eventually lead to some sort of resolution similar to the libyan one, in which russia did not oppose, russia has quite a few, quite a bit of leverage in this circumstance. >> ok. a russian political commentator based in new york. thank you very much for that. as we said, the united nations nuclear watchdog has decided to ref syria to the security council over an alleged covert nuclear program. the international atomic energy agency voted to rebuke czar on claims of a nuclear reactor in the country's remote northeast. syria has maintained it was a non-nuclear military site, destroyed by israel in 2007. hillary clinton, the u.s. secretary of state says the libyan government has been make tentative contacts about a possible end to the conflict. her comments came at a meeting in awe but dab by where the o

>> he is in this country because of his role in the iaea.e country. he's been in that country for a very long time. this is all new for egypt. we know on election day, a lot of things can change. the google guy who came out and became the face of tahrir square, he will be a contender as well. >> let's talk about the parliamentary election right now. the muslim brotherhood make secular egyptians and most of the u.s. a little bit nervous. they stand to gain a number of seats in the parliamentary election. should the u.s. nervous and should certain egyptians be nervous with your inclusion? >> the muslim brotherhood will probably wind up with 30% or 40% of the seat. they're the best organized, they're the oldest political organization there. but, again, best guesses are that sort of conglomerate of different secular groups will get amongst them a larger number of seats. where they can form a coalition is to be seen. the egyptian brotherhood has been taking care to tear down the rhetoric in the last couple of years, even before hosni mubarak was

the iaea began a four-day meeting in vienna this morning in the wake of japan's nuclear disaster.pan underestimated threat from tsunamis. >>> syrian president bashir al assad blamed saboteurs for the political unrest in his country. he hinted at constitutional reform and urged those who had fled the government crackdown to return. cbs news correspondent wyatt andrews is standing by on the board werrder with details. good morning, wyatt. >> reporter: betty, good morning. there were two bashar al assads speaking this morning. the first admitted that his government has been too corrupt, not responsive enough to some of the people and he said he would start something called the national dialogue authority to hear out the people's concerns, pass new laws and eventually develop a new constitution. what assad does not seem to be acknowledging, however, is that there's a new reality inside syria. he continues to argue that the mass demonstrations that turn out every friday are somehow a foreign conspiracy. he argues that the violence that's killed 1400 people has been started by the prote

the iaea blasted japan's planning for tsunamis but praised its overall response to the disastrous meltdownors is volunteering to help bring the crisis to an end. cnn's kyung lah has more on these so-called suicide corps. >> reporter: in this cramped office, these seniors are leading the charge to get retirees back on the job for one last and critical call. >> you want to do this? >> yeah, sure. >> reporter: why? age says 72-year-old yaseteru is a plus. it's highly contaminated with radiation, after the tsunami caused a full meltdown in at least one of the reactors. these workers are the front line to control the national crisis. at high risk of exposure and long-term health impacts. the elderly says this group don't worry much about anything long term. "death becomes familiar" as we get older. i don't want to die but we're not afried of it. she's not the only one. 250 volunteers over the age of 60 is compiled in this database, calling into the group, volunteering to work at the plant, a team calling themselves the skilled veterans corps. an idea that japan's pointman to the nuclear crisis

watchdog the iaea. they say in order to stop the process ground forces would have to be sent in. strikes would no longer be sufficient. iran denies that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons saying that their atomic program is intended for energy purposes only. and there are new concerns of violence breaking out in syria in this case it is something we have not seen there in decades. right now residents of one town are scrambling to get out. the syrian government is promising a brutal military crackdown saying that it is retaliation for the 120 security forces killed there over the weekend. leland vittert is following all of the developments live from our middle east bureau in what is becoming an increasingly tense and dangerous situation. leland. >> reporter: for sure, martha, bashar al-assad and his regime has shown no mercy on the protestors. a number of people are getting ready for the beauty t-l crackdown. nothing invites revenge than the ambush killing of 120 policemen. we are hearing from some of the opposition groups that they are trying to move civilians out of the to

we are in regular consultation with the iaea as well as oil producing states.e believe that supply is not aligned appropriately with demand because of a number of factors, but including obviously unrest in the middle east and specifically the disruption caused by the removal of about 1.5 million barrels a day from the market because of libya. and then, having said that, the president has also made clear that we add all of us in this room through our lives have been through this cycle before where gas prices spike. politicians expressed great alarm and demand that action be taken. gas prices go back down, and nothing happens. this is a long-term problem that requires a long-term solution. that is the approach the president has taken, which is why he has taken measures to increase domestic oil production, why he has passed a significant car rule, which will ensure that more fuel-efficient cars are rolling off the assembly line and populating the highways and streets of our country. it is why he has sought to diversify our energy supply from a broad array of sourc

and on this note the iaea chief says that safety improvements are only effective if countries apply them. meanwhile, an investigation by the associated press finds that united states federal regulators have been working with a nuclear power industry to keep the nation's reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening standards or failing to enforce them at all. the u.s. nuclear regulatory commission has found that some original regulations were too strict and they argued that safety margins could be eased without peril, their words. and nato says one of its air strikes in the libyan capital of tripoli went astray and may have killed civilians. a spokesman says the strike yesterday may have been due to a weapons systems failure. libyan officials say nine civilians were killed, including two children. a nato commander says it regrets the loss of innocent lives and takes great care in conducting the strikes. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> this weekend, book tv and american history tv look at the history and literary life of savannah georgia, wi

since the international community first began to face this challenge in the form of iaea inspectionsnd reports, various u.s. security council sanctions and resolutions and protracted negotiations to construct an effective coalition strong enough to have meaning, none of these actions have seriously thwarted the iranian regime's nuclear ambitions. that takes us to the third track of a comprehensive approach. those of us on the bipartisan policy commission in terms of -- in working with experts on all sides of this issue came to the conclusion that certain military options can be put in place that will serve serious and open discussion -- deserve serious and open discussion and diplomacy and sanctions since they have proven too weak, we need an extra kick to this process in order to achieve the desired result. i'm suggesting discussion and debate and dialogue, no one should suppose that including a military option in this package means anything other than preparing the ground for the logical, necessary access to measures of last resort should they be needed. through the bipartisan poli