UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Tuesday he was encouraged by the reaction of Ukraine and Russia to “concrete principles” laid out by the body to prevent catastrophe at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. The safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power facility, located in Ukraine’s southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, has been a concern since Russian forces seized it over a year ago during Moscow’s war on its neighbor. It […]
Tag: Nuclear
‘Could be your city’: a Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor’s warning
By Sara HUSSEIN Agence France-Presse HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 18, 2023 (AFP) – On August 6, 1945, four-year-old Masao Ito was riding a tricycle near his home in Hiroshima when a bomb fell from the sky and changed his life forever. He survived the US nuclear attack and made it home to his mother, but the horror was just beginning. His father, at work closer to the center of the western Japanese city, searched the […]
Japan to push disarmament in Hiroshima, with modest hopes
By Sara HUSSEIN Agence France-Presse HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 16, 2023 (AFP) – Japan hosts G7 leaders in Hiroshima this week hoping to drive home the dangers of nuclear weapons and push for progress on disarmament. But with North Korea and Russia making nuclear threats, and China growing its arsenal, there may be little appetite for bold action on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s stated goal of a “world free of nuclear weapons.” Here are […]
Biden, Yoon warn North Korea of nuclear response to any attack
by Sebastian Smith Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol warned North Korea it would face a nuclear response and the “end” of the leadership there if Pyongyang uses its own arsenal. Speaking at the White House after Oval Office talks during only the second state visit so far in the Biden presidency, the two leaders said the US security shield for South […]
How to decommission a nuclear power plant
Frankfurt, Germany | AFP | Saturday 4/15/2023 by Jean-Philippe LACOUR Germany’s last three nuclear power plants will stop generating electricity from Saturday but the arduous and decades-long process of decommissioning the sites is only just beginning. Here’s a look at what happens after the plants are taken offline. – Gradual shutdown – On the day of the shutdown, plant operators will gradually decrease electricity output. From 10:00 pm (2000 GMT), “we will lower the facility’s […]
Germany ends nuclear era as last reactors power down
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Saturday 4/15/2023 by Sebastien ASH Germany will switch off its last three nuclear reactors on Saturday, exiting atomic power even as it seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels and manage an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. While many Western countries are upping their investments in atomic energy to reduce their emissions, Germany is bringing an early end to its nuclear age. Europe’s largest economy has been […]
Germany to switch off last remaining nuclear plants
by Sophie MAKRIS Agence France-Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany will shut down its three remaining nuclear plants on Saturday, betting that it can fulfil its green ambitions without atomic power despite the energy crisis caused by the Ukraine war. The cloud of white steam that has risen since 1989 over the river in Neckarwestheim, near Stuttgart, will soon be a distant memory, as will the Isar 2 complex in Bavaria and the Emsland plant […]
N. Korea says tested another ‘underwater nuclear attack drone’
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Saturday 4/8/2023 North Korea claimed Saturday it had tested another underwater nuclear attack drone, in its latest response to South Korean and United States military drills, though analysts have questioned whether Pyongyang has such a weapon. In recent weeks, North Korea has tested what state media have described as an underwater nuclear-capable drone, and also carried out the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. “A national defence science research […]
High level of activity at N. Korean nuclear complex: US think tank
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Sunday 4/2/2023 Satellite imagery has indicated a high level of activity at North Korea’s main nuclear complex after leader Kim Jong Un ordered the production of weapons-grade nuclear material be ramped up, a US think tank said. Washington-based 38 North said Saturday that images from March 3 and 17 suggested that an experimental light water reactor (ELWR) at the country’s Yongbyon site was “nearing completion”. Construction had started on […]
World’s usable nuke arsenal rose in 2022: study
Oslo, Norway | AFP | Wednesday 3/29/2023 The global number of operational atomic warheads increased in 2022, driven largely by Russia and China, a new report out Wednesday said as nuclear tensions have risen since the war in Ukraine. The nine official and unofficial nuclear powers held 9,576 ready-to-use warheads in 2023 — up from 9,440 the previous year, according to the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor published by the NGO Norwegian People’s Aid. Those […]
Biden calls Putin’s nuclear deployment talk ‘dangerous’
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Joe Biden on Tuesday blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s stated plan to deploy nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, branding it “dangerous” talk. “This is dangerous kind of talk and it’s worrisome,” Biden told reporters at the White House. The Kremlin leader announced on Saturday that he was ordering the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, run by fellow authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko as […]
IAEA warns of ‘increasing’ military activity near Ukraine nuclear plant
Energodar, Ukraine | AFP | Wednesday 3/29/2023 The chief of the UN atomic watchdog said Wednesday he was working on a security plan for the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and warned of increased military activity around it. During a rare visit to Europe’s largest nuclear plant currently controlled by Russian forces, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said he was working to find a compromise that would suit both Moscow […]





