#nuclear-safety

#nuclear-safety

The restart of the world's largest nuclear power plant was suspended in Japan on Thursday just a day after it went online for the first time in about 14 years, with the operator saying it does not know when the problem will be solved. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata province had been closed since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, but operations to relaunch it began on Wednesday after it received the final green light from the nuclear regulator.

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit western Japan on Tuesday, the country's meteorological agency said. The quake was relatively shallow, the meteorological service said, and struck around 10:18 a.m. local time (0118 GMT). There was no tsunami threat, the agency added. The US Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 5.7. The quake occurred in Shimane prefecture in northwestern Japan, impacting the cities of Matsue and Yasugi and nearby areas in Tottori prefecture.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had launched more than 3,500 drones and nearly 190 missiles against Ukraine so far in September, describing the onslaught as an aerial terror operation. Russian forces carried out a large attack on Ukraine's southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing a 41-year-old man, injuring at least 18 people and triggering several fires, regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said.

A coalition of civil society groups is warning of the dangers of cutting safety regulations as the government pushes to rip up the rules to accelerate the construction of new nuclear power stations. The 25 groups from communities neighbouring nuclear sites have submitted a joint response to a consultation by the nuclear regulatory taskforce, saying its proposals lack both credibility and rigour. They argue that the plans to relax regulations only serve to undermine confidence in regulators and the UK's nuclear regulatory regime.

Antonio Guterres condemned a recent Russian drone and missile attack against Ukraine, described as the largest in the ongoing conflict, raising alarms over escalating violence.

Critics warn that the United States may soon be taking on more nuclear safety risks after Donald Trump fired one of five members of an independent commission that monitors the country's nuclear reactors.

The head of Kyiv's military administration reported that Russian drone strikes had triggered fires in various residential districts, highlighting increasing hostilities.

Faced with unrelenting Russian aggression and the simultaneous withdrawal of American military and diplomatic support, European countries across the continent are reinvesting in defence.