OCTOBER 3, 2014
SIGNS EMERGE THAT LIBERALS' LOVE OF POPE FRANCIS IS FLAGGING
Facebook plots first steps into healthcare
JPMorgan Chase & Co, others underwrite aggressive Tibco buyout loan: IFR
JPMorgan hack exposed data of 83 million, among biggest breaches in history
Should Jennifer Lawrence Have an IPO for Herself?
Contact Lost With Planes One by One as FAA Fire Spread
october 1, 2014
Attack of the Five Monarchies, An Alliance of Dictators and Despots
Ebola now in America; Dallas patient confirmed to have carried deadly virus
Top ten things you need to do NOW to protect yourself from an uncontrolled Ebola outbreak
Exclusive: Top 10 Flashlight Apps Are Stealing Your Data, Even Pics Off Your Phone
Judge Says Poor Have No Right To Clean Water, Allows Detroit Water Shutoffs To Continue
SEPTEMBER 20-25, 2014
ITALY STAGES EBOLA EVACUATION DRILL _ JUST IN CASE
Liberia’s Largest Newspaper Accuses US of Manufacturing Ebola Virus (Video)
Church network offers sanctuary to illegal
immigrants to avoid deportation
Brigham and Women’s nurses sue over flu shot mandate
Just why does the NFL have tax-exempt status?
Pope sacks Paraguayan bishop accused of protecting abuser priest
SEPTEMBER 19, 2014
Russian Nuclear Bombers Buzz Alaska, N. Europe
Exclusive: CIA halts spying in Europe
Politician accused of dropping pants, hurling racist slurs dropping out of race
Tiny Implants Could Give Humans Self-Healing Superpowers
september 18, 2014
H.R. 24 ‘Audit the Fed’ Bill Passes in House
POSSIBLE TAINTED VACCINATIONS KILL OVER 36 CHILDREN
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT ASKS US FOR MILITARY AID
VATICAN SET TO OVERHAUL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICES
San Francisco lawmaker says he takes anti-HIV drug, urges wider use
Iran rules out cooperating with US in Iraq
The 9/11 CONSPIRACY EXPLAINED in 5 MINUETS
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Japanese regulator approves restart of first nuclear reactors
BY KENTARO HAMADA AND OSAMU TSUKIMORI
TOKYO Tue Sep 9, 2014 11:34pm EDT
(Reuters) - Japan's nuclear regulator gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for the restart of a nuclear power station, the first step to reopening an industry that was mothballed after the Fukushima disaster and which may involve the definitive closure of a dozen old plants.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said Kyushu Electric Power's two-reactor Sendai plant in southwestern Japan could restart, although that still needs the approval of local authorities.
Japan is nearing the end of its first full year without nuclear power since 1966 and public mistrust of the sector remains high after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, the worst since Chernobyl in 1986.
The government is pressing regulators to make the tough decision on whether to decommission the oldest of the country's 48 reactors, which face higher safety hurdles than the rest.
Weeding out reactors that are 40 years old or more may help win public trust in the rest of the industry.
"For myself, I would like to proceed with smooth decommissioning (of some plants) and at the same time the restart of nuclear power stations certified as safe," Yuko Obuchi, the new minister for economy, trade and industry, who oversees the nuclear industry, said last week.
The government has been pressing for the restart of reactors that receive safety approval from the NRA to reduce Japan's reliance on expensive imported fuel.
The push for a reckoning on some plants is "clearly part of the strategy by the government and utilities to send a signal to the people of Japan that they are listening and taking into account the lessons of Fukushima", said prominent nuclear-power critic Arnie Gundersen, director of Fairewinds Energy Education.
"But it also reflects the challenge faced by utilities in finding the funds to bring older reactors to a standard that can pass NRA approval," Gunderson, a veteran U.S. nuclear engineer who turned against nuclear energy for safety reasons, said by email.
Under post-Fukushima rules, reactors are supposed to be decommissioned after 40 years. They can receive a 20-year extension but that is subject to more rigorous and costly safety regulations.
As many as two-thirds of Japan's 48 idled nuclear units may never return to operation because of the high costs, local opposition or seismic risks, while one-third will probably come back online eventually, a Reuters analysis showed this year.
The NRA gave its final safety clearance at a meeting on Wednesday for the Sendai plant after granting the two-reactor power station preliminary approval in July.
LOCAL HESITATION
While the approval certifies the upgraded design and safety features of the reactors, the units, which have been shut for more than three years, will still have to undergo operational safety checks and be given the green light by local authorities.
The mayor of Satsumasendai, where the Sendai plant is located, and the governor of Kagoshima prefecture are in favor of reopening the plant, but residents remain concerned over evacuation plans. Activists have also said that the regulator has done little to vet volcanic risks near the Sendai plant.
Japanese media have said the restart of the Sendai plant, about 1,000 km (600 miles) southwest of Tokyo, may not come until next year.
Utilities that want to extend the operating life of old reactors must submit detailed safety applications by July 2015, explaining how those facilities could be updated to meet the tough new safety standards.
NRA chief Shunichi Tanaka said it takes time and money to clear the additional hurdles. The capacity of the aging reactors is typically about half that of newer ones and the massive investment necessary to bring them up to scratch may not make economic sense.
The government may ask the operators of 12 reactors that began operations before 1980 to decide by the end of the year whether to decommission them, media have reported.
(Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Writing by James Topham; Editing by William Mallard and Alan Raybould)
BY KENTARO HAMADA AND OSAMU TSUKIMORI
TOKYO Tue Sep 9, 2014 11:34pm EDT
(Reuters) - Japan's nuclear regulator gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for the restart of a nuclear power station, the first step to reopening an industry that was mothballed after the Fukushima disaster and which may involve the definitive closure of a dozen old plants.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said Kyushu Electric Power's two-reactor Sendai plant in southwestern Japan could restart, although that still needs the approval of local authorities.
Japan is nearing the end of its first full year without nuclear power since 1966 and public mistrust of the sector remains high after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, the worst since Chernobyl in 1986.
The government is pressing regulators to make the tough decision on whether to decommission the oldest of the country's 48 reactors, which face higher safety hurdles than the rest.
Weeding out reactors that are 40 years old or more may help win public trust in the rest of the industry.
"For myself, I would like to proceed with smooth decommissioning (of some plants) and at the same time the restart of nuclear power stations certified as safe," Yuko Obuchi, the new minister for economy, trade and industry, who oversees the nuclear industry, said last week.
The government has been pressing for the restart of reactors that receive safety approval from the NRA to reduce Japan's reliance on expensive imported fuel.
The push for a reckoning on some plants is "clearly part of the strategy by the government and utilities to send a signal to the people of Japan that they are listening and taking into account the lessons of Fukushima", said prominent nuclear-power critic Arnie Gundersen, director of Fairewinds Energy Education.
"But it also reflects the challenge faced by utilities in finding the funds to bring older reactors to a standard that can pass NRA approval," Gunderson, a veteran U.S. nuclear engineer who turned against nuclear energy for safety reasons, said by email.
Under post-Fukushima rules, reactors are supposed to be decommissioned after 40 years. They can receive a 20-year extension but that is subject to more rigorous and costly safety regulations.
As many as two-thirds of Japan's 48 idled nuclear units may never return to operation because of the high costs, local opposition or seismic risks, while one-third will probably come back online eventually, a Reuters analysis showed this year.
The NRA gave its final safety clearance at a meeting on Wednesday for the Sendai plant after granting the two-reactor power station preliminary approval in July.
LOCAL HESITATION
While the approval certifies the upgraded design and safety features of the reactors, the units, which have been shut for more than three years, will still have to undergo operational safety checks and be given the green light by local authorities.
The mayor of Satsumasendai, where the Sendai plant is located, and the governor of Kagoshima prefecture are in favor of reopening the plant, but residents remain concerned over evacuation plans. Activists have also said that the regulator has done little to vet volcanic risks near the Sendai plant.
Japanese media have said the restart of the Sendai plant, about 1,000 km (600 miles) southwest of Tokyo, may not come until next year.
Utilities that want to extend the operating life of old reactors must submit detailed safety applications by July 2015, explaining how those facilities could be updated to meet the tough new safety standards.
NRA chief Shunichi Tanaka said it takes time and money to clear the additional hurdles. The capacity of the aging reactors is typically about half that of newer ones and the massive investment necessary to bring them up to scratch may not make economic sense.
The government may ask the operators of 12 reactors that began operations before 1980 to decide by the end of the year whether to decommission them, media have reported.
(Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Writing by James Topham; Editing by William Mallard and Alan Raybould)
U.S., China security leaders spar over jet maneuvers
BY MEGHA RAJAGOPALAN BEIJING Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:16am EDT (Reuters) - Top U.S. and China security officials disagreed this week over what the United States said was China's intercept of a U.S. Navy patrol plane near the southern island province of Hainan. U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice, on a three-day visit to Beijing, told several senior Chinese officials that China must halt the "dangerous intercepts", senior Obama administration officials said. However, General Fan Changlong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, called on the United States to "reduce and ultimately cease naval and aerial reconnaissance activities near China", according to the official Xinhua news agency. The row began in August when the United States complained that a Chinese military aircraft had launched a risky intercept of a U.S. Navy patrol plane in international air space. The Chinese pilot flew a few yards from the U.S. plane and performed acrobatic maneuvers around it, the Pentagon said. China said the pilot had done nothing wrong and that U.S. surveillance patrols harm China's national security interests. Despite the disagreement over the incident, Obama administration officials called Rice's dialogue with Chinese leaders on the issue "constructive" and added China took U.S. concerns seriously. The two countries are working to adopt new confidence-building measures, they said, without elaborating on what the measures would entail. Rice met Fan on her first official visit to China as national security adviser, along with President Xi Jinping, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and State Councillor Yang Jiechi. "When it comes to the issue of unsafe intercepts, this is risky behavior that could imperil the bilateral relationship," a senior U.S. administration official said. Hainan is home to several Chinese naval bases as well as a sensitive submarine base. In public remarks to Fan on Tuesday, Rice alluded to the issue, saying: "we certainly to need to avoid any incidents that could complicate the relationship." A more serious aggressive intercept by a Chinese fighter jet in April 2001 in the same area resulted in a collision that killed the Chinese pilot. China held 24 U.S. air crew members for 11 days until the United States apologized. U.S.-China ties have been impacted by China's increasingly assertive posture in the South China and East China seas, the cause of several territorial disputes between China and U.S. allies including Japan and the Philippines. U.S. and Chinese officials held talks at the Pentagon after the intercept incident about rules of behavior for air and maritime activities. Xi is set to meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Beijing in November. Rice also renewed calls for the U.S. to establish a "level playing field" for U.S. businesses following Chinese regulatory probes into U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc. and Microsoft Corp.. "Use of legal means for intimidating and harassing U.S. companies is antithetical to that," the senior administration official said. (Reporting By Megha Rajagopalan, additional reporting by Michael Martina and Joseph Campbell; Editing by Nick Macfie, Robert Birsel) Blast at German chemical plant damages nearby buildings
Tue Sep 9, 2014 9:13pm EDT (Reuters) - A blast hit a northern Germany chemical plant in the city of Ritterhude late Tuesday and damaged several nearby buildings, police said. Officials did not evacuate nearby residential buildings after the explosion at around 1830 GMT, said police spokesman Marcus Neumann in the district of Osterholz. The residents in the street directly beside the burning chemical plant were advised to leave their homes for the night voluntarily as a precaution. One person working for the company called "Organo Fluid" was missing, and another person was seriously injured with third-degree burns, the spokesman said. "The injured person might be the missing employee, but at this point there is no final confirmation for that," Neumann said. The spokesman did not say if the explosion and the smoke might pose any health risk to the residents living nearby. Local media reported the firefighters did not discover any dangerous vapors in the air around the burning plant. (Reporting by Aashika Jain in Bangalore and Michael Nienaber in Germany; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) |
Japan, U.S. discussing offensive military capability for Tokyo
BY NOBUHIRO KUBO TOKYO Tue Sep 9, 2014 8:57pm EDT (Reuters) - Japan and the United States are exploring the possibility of Tokyo acquiring offensive weapons that would allow Japan to project power far beyond its borders, Japanese officials said, a move that would likely infuriate China. While Japan's intensifying rivalry with China dominates the headlines, Tokyo's focus would be the ability to take out North Korean missile bases, said three Japanese officials involved in the process. They said Tokyo was holding the informal, previously undisclosed talks with Washington about capabilities that would mark an enhancement of military might for a country that has not fired a shot in anger since its defeat in World War Two. The talks on what Japan regards as a "strike capability" are preliminary and do not cover specific hardware at this stage, the Japanese officials told Reuters. Defense experts say an offensive capability would require a change in Japan's purely defensive military doctrine, which could open the door to billions of dollars worth of offensive missile systems and other hardware. These could take various forms, such as submarine-fired cruise missiles similar to the U.S. Tomahawk. U.S. officials said there were no formal discussions on the matter but did not rule out the possibility that informal contacts on the issue had taken place. One U.S. official said Japan had approached American officials informally last year about the matter. Japan's military is already robust but is constrained by a pacifist Constitution. The Self Defense Forces have dozens of naval surface ships, 16 submarines and three helicopter carriers, with more vessels under construction. Japan is also buying 42 advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets. Reshaping the military into a more assertive force is a core policy of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He has reversed a decade of military spending cuts, ended a ban on Japanese troops fighting abroad and eased curbs on arms exports. RILING CHINA Tokyo had dropped a request to discuss offensive capabilities during high-profile talks on revising guidelines for the U.S.-Japan security alliance which are expected to be finished by year-end, the Japanese officials said. Instead, the sensitive issue was "being discussed on a separate track", said one official with direct knowledge of the matter. But any deal with Washington is years away and the obstacles are significant – from the costs to the heavily indebted Japanese government to concerns about ties with Asian neighbors such as China and sensitivities within the alliance itself. The Japanese officials said their U.S. counterparts were cautious to the idea, partly because it could outrage China, which accuses Abe of reviving wartime militarism. The officials declined to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the closed-door deliberations. A Japanese Defense Ministry spokesman said he could not comment on negotiations with Washington. Japan would need U.S. backing for any shift in military doctrine because it would change the framework of the alliance, often described as America supplying the "sword" of forward-based troops and nuclear deterrence while Japan holds the defensive "shield". Washington did not have a position on upgrading Japan's offensive capabilities, "in part because the Japanese have not developed a specific concept or come to us with a specific request", said another U.S. official. "We're not there yet - and they're not there yet," the official said. "We're prepared to have that conversation when they're ready." NORTH KOREAN MISSILES North Korea lies less than 600 km (370 miles) from Japan at the closest point. Pyongyang, which regularly fires short-range rockets into the sea separating the Koreas from Japan, has improved its ballistic missile capabilities and conducted three nuclear weapons tests, its most recent in February 2013. In April, North Korea said that in the event of war on the Korean Peninsula, Japan would be "consumed in nuclear flames". Part of Japan's motivation for upgrading its capabilities is a nagging suspicion that the United States, with some 28,000 troops in South Korea as well as 38,000 in Japan, might hesitate to attack the North in a crisis, Japanese experts said. U.S. forces might hold off in some situations, such as if South Korea wanted to prevent an escalation, said Narushige Michishita, a national security adviser to the Japanese government from 2004-2006. "We might want to maintain some kind of limited strike capability in order to be able to initiate a strike, so that we can tell the Americans, 'unless you do the job for us, we will have to do it on our own,'" said Michishita, a security expert at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo. Reflecting Japan's concerns, Abe told parliament in May 2013 that it was vital "not to give the mistaken impression that the American sword would not be used" in an emergency. read more |