Soma, Japan : People in northeast Japan were cleaning up and surveying the damage on Thursday after a powerful 7.4-magnitude quake derailed a bullet train, opened cracks in highways and initially cut power to over two million homes. At least one death was directly caused by the overnight quake, government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said, but […]
Nuclear
EU warns Belarus opening door to Russian nukes after vote
Brussels: The EU warned Monday that Belarus could start hosting Russian nuclear weapons after a “very dangerous” decision at a referendum to drop the country’s non-nuclear status. “We know what does it mean for Belarus to be nuclear. It means that Russia will put nuclear weapons in Belarus and this is a very dangerous path,” […]
Iran’s Khamenei says experience shows ‘trusting West does not work’
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that the outgoing government’s experience of engaging with world powers including the United States shows that “trusting the West does not work”. President Hassan Rouhani’s signature diplomatic achievement, a 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, gave Iran some relief from international sanctions in exchange for limits on […]
UK could bar China firm from nuclear projects: report
Britain is investigating ways to block China’s state-owned nuclear energy company from all future power projects in the UK, amid chilling relations between London and Beijing, according to reports Monday. The move could see China General Nuclear (CGN) excluded from several projects, including a consortium planning to build a nuclear plant on the Suffolk coast […]
Macron pressured to apologise for nuclear tests in French Polynesia
French President Emmanuel Macron faced pressure to apologise for the devastating impact of decades of nuclear testing as he kicked off his first official trip to French Polynesia. During his four-day visit, Macron plans to address the legacy of nuclear testing from 1966 to 1996 as France developed atomic weapons, as well as discuss the […]
Iran confirms no new round of nuclear talks before new govt
Negotiations in Vienna aimed at salvaging Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers will not resume before the country’s new government takes office in August, an Iranian official said Saturday. The Islamic republic has held talks since April in Vienna with major powers on reviving its troubled 2015 nuclear agreement. “”We’re in a transition period… #Vienna_talks […]
Rouhani says hopes Iran’s next govt can conclude nuclear talks
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday he hopes his successor can clinch a deal to lift US sanctions, implying that nuclear talks will not conclude before his term ends in August. The Islamic republic has held talks since April in Vienna with major powers on reviving its troubled 2015 nuclear agreement. The accord offered Tehran […]
US calls on Iran to stop nuclear ‘brinksmanship’
The United States on Tuesday warned Iran to stop nuclear “brinksmanship,” saying the country’s latest efforts to enrich uranium could complicate its return to talks aimed at restarting the 2015 nuclear accord. “We continue to urge Iran to stop this brinksmanship, to return to Vienna prepared for real talks, and to be in a position […]
Iran endangering nuclear talks, say European powers
European powers expressed “grave concern” on Tuesday over Iran’s latest move to enrich uranium in its nuclear programme, saying the step endangered talks in Vienna aimed at reviving a 2015 accord seeking to resolve the crisis. “With its latest steps, Iran is threatening a successful outcome to the Vienna talks despite the progress achieved in six […]
New generation protests Pacific’s nuclear legacy 75 years on
Seventy-five years after the US military began using the Marshall Islands as a nuke testing ground, a new generation fired-up by climate activism is demanding justice. When the Able atomic bomb was detonated at Bikini Atoll on July 1, 1946, Alson Kelen’s family were among those forced from their palm-fringed ancestral homes. For decades, complaints […]