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Fukushima plant water release: Russia follows China, suspends all Japanese seafood imports

WION News, Moscow, Russia Edited By: Srishti Singh Sisodia Oct 16, 2023,

Russia on Monday (Oct 16) suspended all Japanese seafood imports in the aftermath of Tokyo’s release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant. 

Previously, China had suspended the imports, saying that Tokyo has not proved the authenticity and accuracy of the nuclear wastewater data, nor that the ocean discharge of the water is harmless to the marine environment and human health. 

China was Japan’s biggest market for fish, accounting for more than $500 million worth of exports in 2022. 

Japan recently released treated radioactive water into the sea from its defunct nuclear reactor in Fukushima after the International Atomic Energy Agency approved the plan. ………………………………………………

What did Russia say? 

Ever since it released the treated water, Japan has faced the wrath of some nations and a number of environmentalists. 

Japan has also criticised Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, while Tokyo’s relations with Beijing, which has deepened ties with Moscow, have worsened. 

As reported by the news agency AFP, Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia’s body responsible for regulating agriculture products, said that as a “precautionary measure”, it was “joining China’s provisional restrictive measures on the import of fish and seafood products from Japan as of October 16, 2023”. 

It added that the restrictions would remain in place “until the necessary exhaustive information to confirm the safety of seafood produce … is forthcoming”.   https://www.wionews.com/world/fukushima-nuclear-plant-like-china-russia-suspends-all-japanese-seafood-imports-647527

October 18, 2023 Posted by | business and costs, Russia | Leave a comment

Zelensky orders reporters to keep silent about corruption – Ukrainian media.

 https://www.rt.com/russia/584929-ukraine-gags-media-corruption/ 16 Oct 23

The Ukrainian president reportedly told journalists not to mention the issue until the end of the Russia-Ukraine conflict

President Vladimir Zelensky has allegedly ordered Ukrainian journalists to avoid reporting on corruption, the editor-in-chief of the Zerkalo Nedeli (‘Mirror of the Week’) news outlet has claimed.

The Ukrainian president told journalists not to mention the issue until the end of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a leading Kievb outlet.

Speaking at the National Media Talk 2023, Yulia Mostovaya said that she had learned of Zelensky’s demand from colleagues who had attended an off-the-record meeting with him. 

The president reportedly made the request after the Ukrainian press published reports about inflated food prices paid by the country’s armed forces.  

According to Ukrainian media reports, including Zerkalo Nedeli, the Defense Ministry had been buying food and clothing for its service members at prices two to three times higher than the market price. For example, the ministry paid up to 17 hryvnia ($0.47) for a single egg and 22 hryvnia ($0.60) for a kilogram of potatoes, while the average prices for those goods at stores in Kiev at the time were about seven hryvnia ($0.19) and eight hryvnia ($0.22), respectively. 

Mostovaya stated that Zelensky’s request to avoid the topic of corruption in media publications was something the Ukrainian press may have considered if Zelensky had presented it in a “balanced manner” and explained that reporting on such issues could affect Ukraine’s battlefield capabilities. 

“We would accept these conditions if the president had said: ‘Here is a person. Here’s his phone number. If you have substantiated facts, please provide them to this person, he will immediately pick up the phone. And give us a week to respond. If there is no reaction within a week, send it to print.’” 

However, no such proposal was put forward by Zelensky, Mostovaya claimed, noting that instead the president told reporters to “remain silent until victory.”  

“If we remain silent, there will be no victory,” the editor-in-chief said. 

The issue of corruption in Ukraine has repeatedly been brought up by journalists and officials, both within the country and in the West.  

Last week, the former president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, stated that Ukraine will likely be unable to join the EU anytime soon because it is “corrupt at all levels of society.” He also urged Brussels not to make any “false promises” to the Ukrainian people who are already “up to their neck in suffering.” 

Ukraine has for years been seen as among the most corrupt countries in Europe and was ranked 116th out of 180 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index for 2022. #Ukraine

October 18, 2023 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Poland’s $40 billion plan for 2 nuclear reactors, built by 2043, (hopefully)

US and Polish officials have signed an agreement to go ahead with the construction of Poland’s first nuclear power plant, under the Polish government’s policy to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

The Polish state-owned utility Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe, PEJ, which is charged with overseeing the country’s nuclear programme, signed the agreement with a consortium of Westinghouse and Bechtel. The plant will be located about 280 km from Poland’s border with Germany, which recently shut down its last remaining nuclear reactors in line with its own national policy, and in 2022 the four German states closest to Poland said they were opposed to the Polish plan. There has also been some opposition to the plan within Poland on the grounds that the initial cost is prohibitive, and construction takes too long, but the opposition has not achieved any decisive results to date.

The current plan is for Poland to spend $40 billion on two nuclear plants, each with three reactors. The construction programme will come to a close in 2043. PEJ – a special purpose vehicle 100% owned by the State Treasury – applied to the ministry on 13 April for a decision-in-principle. The application included a description of project characteristics, indicating the maximum total installed capacity, the planned operating period and details of the Westinghouse AP1000 technology proposed for construction of the plant. In July the ministry issued a decision-in-principle, enabling the investor, PEJ, to apply for a number of further administrative decisions, including a siting decision and subsequently the construction licence………..

October 18, 2023 Posted by | EUROPE, politics | Leave a comment

IAEA: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to move second reactor into hot shutdown

Y! News, Abbey Fenbert, Sat, October 14, 2023

The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) intends to transition a second reactor into hot shutdown, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Oct. 13.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said authorities at the plant informed the agency they were beginning to move reactor 5 from cold to hot shutdown in order to provide warm water and heating for Enerhodar ahead of the winter season.

Previously, only one unit, reactor 4, was in hot shutdown mode. The IAEA has said that for safety purposes, all units at the nuclear plant should be kept in cold shutdown.

The agency has strongly recommended that the ZNPP find an external source of steam generation. The IAEA experts were told that the plant is looking into purchasing an external steam generator, but that “installation of this equipment is not expected until the first part of 2024, possibly not until after the end of the heating season.”

Occupying authorities at the plant did not tell IAEA inspectors how long unit 5 would remain in hot shutdown. They also said there were no plans to transfer addition units from cold to hot shutdown……………………..  https://news.yahoo.com/iaea-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-move-010453561.html #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants

October 17, 2023 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

The nuclear dispute driving a wedge between France and Germany

The two nations have opposing ideas about atomic energy, threatening the EU’s transition
away from fossil fuels. France and Germany’s split over nuclear power is a
tale of diverging mindsets fashioned over decades, including since the
Chernobyl disaster in USSR-era Ukraine.

But it has now become a major
faultline in a touchy relationship between Europe’s two biggest economies.
Their stand-off over how to treat nuclear in a series of EU reforms has
consequences for how Europe plans to advance towards cleaner energy. It
will also affect how the bloc secures power supplies as the region weans
itself off Russian gas, and how it provides its industry with affordable
energy to compete with the US and China.

France, which produces two-thirds
of its power from nuclear plants and has plans for more reactors, is
fighting for nuclear technology to be factored into its targets for
reducing emissions and for leeway to use state subsidies to fund the
sector.

For Germany, which closed its last nuclear plants this year and has
been particularly shaken by its former reliance on Russian gas, there’s
concern that a nuclear drive will detract from renewable energy advances.
Berlin is wary that Paris would benefit more than its neighbours if it ends
up being able to guarantee low power prices from its large nuclear output
as a result of new EU rules on electricity markets, people close to talks
between the two countries say.

FT 15th Oct 2023

https://www.ft.com/content/b1dbd7b4-d8b9-45eb-bd18-4976f7c9af5e #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants

October 17, 2023 Posted by | EUROPE, politics international | Leave a comment

Fresh stock of iodine tablets for Swiss living near nuclear plants

People living within a 50km radius of Swiss nuclear power plants will receive a fresh stock of iodine tablets over the coming weeks and until next April.

October 13, 2023

The government has purchased 12 million packs of iodine tablets. The budget for the iodine distribution campaign is CHF34 million of which CHF11 million will be financed by the nuclear power plant operators, who will pay CHF 1.22 million a year into government’s general fund from 2021 to 20……………………………………………………. more https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/fresh-stock-of-iodine-tablets-for-swiss-living-near-nuclear-plants/48887374

#nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants

 

October 17, 2023 Posted by | health, Switzerland | Leave a comment

UK’s old nuclear submarines, dead for over 40 years, and a new plan for turning them into “tin cans and razor blades”.

BABCOCK International want to build a new industrial building at Rosyth
Dockyard for the dismantling of old nuclear submarines. If approved, and a
planning application has gone into Fife Council, the metal waste disposal
facility will go up at the corner of Wood Road and Caledonia Road.

Seven old nuclear subs have been laid up at the yard for decades, Dreadnought has
been there since 1980, longer than it was in service, and last year
councillors were told of a UK Government pledge to “de-nuclearise Rosyth”
by 2035. They were also informed of a world first in removing the most
radioactive waste and the overall aim of cutting up the vessels and turning
them into “tin cans and razor blades”.

Blyth and Blyth, of Edinburgh, have
been appointed by Babcock as civil and structural engineering consultants
for the Rosyth Submarine Dismantling Project and are agents for the
application. The plans say the building would be around 200 square metres
in size and the council are expected to make a decision next month.

Dunfermline Press 16th Oct 2023

https://www.dunfermlinepress.com/news/23853192.rosyth-babcock-plans-new-metal-waste-disposal-building/ #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants

October 16, 2023 Posted by | decommission reactor, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Sweden: Vattenfall going too slow on developing nuclear reactors?

The Swedish government’s key coalition partner is ratcheting up pressure on
Vattenfall AB to expand nuclear power production and says a separate
company could be formed for that purpose if the state-run utility doesn’t
move fast enough.The strategy of the nationalist Sweden Democrats, whose
support is crucial to the country’s three-party government, stems from
their perception that Vattenfall is dragging its heels over expanding the
fleet of reactors. The utility has said it may take a decade or more to get
new units online.

Bloomberg 13th Oct 2023

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-13/swedish-nationalists-mull-new-nuclear-firm-to-rival-vattenfall #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants

October 16, 2023 Posted by | politics, Sweden | Leave a comment

France uses teargas on banned pro-Palestinian rally

By Layli Foroudi and Michel Rose, October 13, 20233

PARIS, Oct 12 (Reuters) – French police used teargas and water cannon to break up a banned rally in support of the Palestinian people in Paris on Thursday, as President Emmanuel Macron urged the French to remain united and refrain from bringing the Israel-Hamas conflict home.

Macron’s interior minister had earlier banned pro-Palestinian protests, saying they were “likely to generate disturbances to public order”.

France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish communities. The Middle East conflict has often stoked domestic tensions in the past.

“This event is an earthquake for Israel, the Middle East and beyond,” Macron said in a solemn TV address. “Let’s not pursue at home ideological adventures by imitating or projecting.”

“Let’s not add, through illusions or calculations, domestic divides to international divides,” he said. “The shield of unity will protect us from hatred and excesses.”

Macron said the government had acted to boost police protection of Jewish sites, including schools and synagogues, and that there could be no justification for atrocities……………..

BANNED RALLY

Despite the ban, several hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in central Paris in separate groups that police forces sought to keep from merging……….

“We live in a country of civil law, a country where we have the right to take a stand and to demonstrate. (It is unfair) to forbid for one side and to authorise for the other,” said Charlotte Vautier, 29, an employee at a non-profit who took part in the rally…………….

Two pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Paris had already been banned on Thursday for fear of outbursts when interior minister Gerald Darmanin told prefects to ban all pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country…………more https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/france-bans-pro-palestinian-protests-citing-risk-disturbances-public-order-2023-10-12/

October 15, 2023 Posted by | France, politics, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Skills gap and grid connections key hurdles in UK’s nuclear energy ambitions, says Great British Nuclear chair

Skills gap and grid connections key hurdles in UK’s nuclear energy
ambitions, says Great British Nuclear chair. Simon Bowen, chair of Great
British Nuclear, the organisation tasked with delivering the Government’s
long-term nuclear programme, has cited the skills gap and grid connections
as key issues faced by the nuclear energy sector on its road to achieving
Government targets.

 Yorkshire Post 12th Oct 2023

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/skills-gap-and-grid-connections-key-hurdles-in-uks-nuclear-energy-ambitions-says-great-british-nuclear-chair-4369765 #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants

October 15, 2023 Posted by | UK | Leave a comment

US bails on Ukraine…but doesn’t tell Zelensky.

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL 13 Oct 23

In an astonishing statement at a press briefing Wednesday, National Security Department spokesperson John Kirby admitted the US is running out of interest in weaponizing Ukraine for the long term. Since Ukraine is on US life support to continue fighting their lost cause to recapture Crimea, Donbas and join NATO, it’s clear ‘game over’ for Ukraine looms.

“I think in the immediate term, right now, we can continue to support Ukraine – with the authorities in the appropriations we have. But, you know, we’re … certainly running out of runway.”

Kirby then shifted from the runway metaphor to one even starker. “The US administration had the means to support Ukraine in the near term. But you don’t want to be trying to bake in long-term support when you’re at the end of the rope,” And on the Ukraine funding, we’re coming near to the end of the rope.  I mean, today we announced $200 million, and we’ll keep that aid going as long as we can, but it’s not going to be indefinite”

Is Ukraine President Zelensky listening to Kirby’s ominous warning? If he had an iota of understanding of Ukraine’s rapidly deteriorating plight, he’d immediately partner with responsible countries such as Turkey to initiate negotiations with Russia to end the war. He did that 18 months ago, Marcy 31-April 1, 2022, inking a tentative deal with Russia to end the war without losing any territory in Donbas, albeit giving Donbas regional autonomy under Ukraine sovereignty. The agreement would also have ended Ukraine’s self-destructive NATO aspirations.

To sum up: The US provoked the war by championing Ukraine NATO membership and weaponizing their civil war that killed thousands in Donbas. When Russia invaded to prevent both, the US sabotaged every effort to end the war quickly and peaceably, prolonging it with $113 billion in weapons and other aid.   Result? Hundreds of thousands of dead Ukrainians with no chance of victory.

It’s not just the US that is “certainly running out of runway” and “coming near to the end of the rope.” The US is moving on to enabling and supplying the ongoing destruction of Gaza. No more runway and no more rope are much more appropriate to the former comedian staring in ‘Tragedy in Ukraine.’ #Ukraine #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants

October 14, 2023 Posted by | politics international, Ukraine, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear reactor that operated for only 9 years will take many (expensive) decades to decommission .

Complete dismantling of experimental French reactor to proceed.

1WNN, 0 October 2023

EDF has been authorised to begin the third and final phase of the decommissioning of the Brennilis nuclear power plant in the Monts d’Arée in Brittany, France. The plant is a unique 75 MWe gas-cooled heavy water reactor that operated between 1972 and 1981.

The first phase of the plant’s decommissioning – the removal of all fuel and the dewatering of its systems – was completed in 1992. The second phase – the dismantling of equipment and all buildings (with the exception of the reactor building) – was completed in 2005.

On 26 September, EDF obtained the “complete dismantling” decree, signed by the Minister of Energy Transition, which makes it possible to launch the dismantling of the reactor, the cleaning up of the civil engineering, the demolition of the reactor building and the final rehabilitation of the Brennilis site………..

The final deconstruction of Brennilis is a complex operation,” noted Cédric Lewandowski, director of the nuclear and thermal fleet at EDF, on LinkedIn. “Indeed, this prototype, unique in France, using heavy water reactor technology, is contained in a concrete cube measuring 20 metres on each side and 1.5 metres thick. Inside, the equipment to be dismantled is tightly packed into a very cramped space.

“To carry out this work on time and to guarantee the protection of personnel, the EDF Deconstruction and Waste Projects Department (DP2D) is working with its industrial partners on innovative tele-operation and robotics solutions.”

The dismantling of the reactor’s peripheral circuits, entrusted by DP2D to Onet Technologies and Cyclife Engineering, will begin later this year.

October 13, 2023 Posted by | decommission reactor, France | Leave a comment

EU facing ‘huge shortage’ of ammunition – media

Rt.com 11 Oct 23

The Israel-Palestine crisis has increased the strain on Western arming of Ukraine, Foreign Policy magazine has reported

The war between Israel and Palestinian militant movement Hamas will divert Western attention and resources away from Ukraine, meaning more uncertainty for Kiev, Foreign Policy magazine has reported citing anonymous sources.

Ukraine was already experiencing issues with receiving additional weapons and funding for its counteroffensive against Russia, even before the surprise escalation of violence in the Middle East on Saturday. European nations in particular have found their armories and political willpower stretched thin, according to the outlet. 

“We face a huge ammo shortage due to Ukraine,” a German official told the magazine on condition of anonymity.

Kiev has enjoyed unprecedented Western assistance for its military, but its failure to achieve significant gains during the summer counteroffensive and political turmoil in the US appear to have diluted support for its plans. Last month, the US Congress declined to include aid for Ukraine in a 45-day stopgap spending bill under pressure from Republican lawmakers.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has attempted to link Israel’s situation with the needs of his own nation. He claimed this week that Ukraine has “clear” intelligence that Russia “is interested in triggering a war in the Middle East” to “undermine world unity” and “destroy freedom in Europe.” He offered no proof of the allegations.

In its report, titled ‘What will Russia do with Gaza chaos?’, Foreign Policy acknowledged there was no sign of Russian involvement in or prior knowledge of the deadly Hamas incursion into Israel.

Russia and Israel have a long-standing amicable relationship, with both sides recognizing each other’s security concerns and the complexities of their respective positions.

Moscow has mocked Zelensky’s attempt to control the narrative regarding the Israel crisis………..

Washington has pledged military support for Israel as it retaliates against Gaza, claiming it can do so without compromising assistance for Ukraine or its global readiness. The White House is reportedly seeking to include Ukraine in an aid package for Israel to push it through Congress.  https://www.rt.com/russia/584538-israel-crisis-ukraine-support/ #Ukraine

October 13, 2023 Posted by | Ukraine, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Are more weapons that USA will send to Ukraine likely to end up in the hands of Hamas ?

Hamas using weapons given to Ukraine – ex-Russian president

RT Mon, 09 Oct 2023

Arms Washington sent to Kiev and left in Afghanistan are about to be “uncontrollably used” around the world, Dmitry Medvedev has warned.

The weapons Kiev’s Western backers have actively supplied to Ukraine have found their way to Hamas militants and are now “being actively used in Israel,” former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said in a Telegram post on Monday, adding that any future military hardware supplied to Kiev could end up on the black market as well.

It will only get worse from here,” Medvedev warned, predicting that the world should “expect missiles, tanks, and even planes from Kiev on the black market soon.”

His words came amid rumors that Hamas militants that control the Gaza Strip had gotten their hands on some US-made weaponry before their attack on Israel over the weekend. No solid evidence confirming these claims has emerged so far. However, an unverified video circulating online showed a Palestinian militant displaying assorted US-made pieces, including a standard-issue M136 anti-tank grenade launcher, while thanking Ukrainians for the weapons.

According to Medvedev, “corrupt authorities” in Ukraine would not hesitate to trade everything they had received from their backers. “They would steal everything in sight,” the former president claimed, adding that the Western weapons sent to Ukraine would soon fuel conflicts in other parts of the world, just like the trove of weapons the Americans left in Afghanistan during their hasty withdrawal from the country in 2021.

The aforementioned video has already sparked concerns in the US, with Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene saying on Sunday that its origins must be investigated. The congresswoman also claimed on X, formerly known as Twitter, that some of the arms used by the militants might have come from Ukraine or Afghanistan.

Washington has been Kiev’s biggest supplier of military aid since the onset of its conflict with Moscow. The US has poured a total of $46.6 billion into military assistance to Ukraine, including direct weapons and ammunition shipments, as well as grants and loans for weapons and equipment.

Kiev has repeatedly faced accusations of misusing or selling off the weaponry, which it has vehemently denied. On Monday, the Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) blamed the rumors about weapons supposedly coming from Ukraine to Hamas on Russia………. more https://www.rt.com/russia/584448-hamas-use-weapons-given-ukraine/–#Ukraine

October 13, 2023 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Ukraine, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Ukrainians joining Americans in supporting negotiated end to Russo Ukraine war

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition , Glen Ellyn IL   – 11 Oct 23

Ukrainians are increasingly opposing the Kyiv government’s war goals of retaking Crimea and Donbas. Support for those goals has dropped from 70% to 60% according to a Gallop poll. Ukrainians seeking a diplomatic settlement has risen from 25% to 31% as well. This in spite of tight Kyiv control over media and targeting war dissenters. 

This mirrors dwindling support for more war weapons and no negotiations among American voters. The US also exercises tight, tho subtle control over its media. It doesn’t target war dissenters; just ignores them. 

Most distressing about dwindling support for a lost cause, squandering American treasure while hundreds of thousands in Ukraine die is this: The people are starting to get it; their leaders apparently, never will.

October 13, 2023 Posted by | public opinion, Ukraine | Leave a comment

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