TOKYO: A difficult operation to remove a small piece of radioactive debris from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant using a robotic device was completed successfully, the plant operator said Thursday, after technical issues halted earlier attempts.
Extracting the estimated 880 tonnes of highly radioactive fuel and debris from Fukushima remains the most challenging part of the decades-long decommissioning process.
But radioactivity levels inside the former power station, which went into meltdown in 2011 after being hit by a catastrophic tsunami, are too high for humans to enter.
So engineers used a specially developed extendible robotic device to remove a sample with a diameter of five millimeters (0.2 inches), aiming to study it for clues about conditions inside the stricken reactors.
The trial debris removal began in September, after an initial attempt in August was suspended at an early stage over a problem with the equipment’s installation.
Another technical snag related to cameras on the apparatus caused a pause of over a month before the procedure resumed in late October.
On Thursday, plant operator TEPCO said it had “completed the trial removal of fuel debris,” declaring the operation a success after several complex steps.
Over the weekend, the robot managed to remove a piece of debris from a containment vessel surrounding a damaged reactor for the first time.
Technicians then tested the radiation level of the sample on Tuesday and put it in a special container.
It will be sent to research institutes in Ibaraki north of Tokyo for analysis, a TEPCO spokeswoman said, adding that the company is still studying when it will be able to start the full-fledged removal of the radioactive debris.
Three of Fukushima’s six reactors were operating when the tsunami hit on March 11, 2011, triggering the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
Japan last year began releasing into the Pacific Ocean some of the 540 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of treated reactor cooling water amassed since the disaster.
The step sparked a diplomatic row with China and Russia, both of which banned seafood imports, although Japan insists the discharge is safe, a view backed by the UN atomic agency.
Beijing, however, said in September it would “gradually resume” importing seafood from Japan after imposing the blanket ban.
Trial operation to remove radioactive debris from Fukushima nuclear plant successful
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Trial operation to remove radioactive debris from Fukushima nuclear plant successful
- Extracting the estimated 880 tonnes of highly radioactive fuel and debris from Fukushima remains the most challenging part of the decades-long decommissioning process
Kyiv targeted in massive Russian drone barrage overnight
- Russia has systematically targeted the Ukrainian capital with drone and missile barrages
- Kyiv was targeted by drone attacks on six days in the first week of November and 20 days in October
Officials meanwhile in the south and east of the country said Russian attacks had killed two Ukrainian civilians in Kherson and Sumy.
Russia has systematically targeted the capital with drone and missile barrages since the first day of its invasion launched nearly three years ago on Febr. 24, 2022.
The capital was targeted by drone attacks on six days in the first week of November and 20 days in October, officials said.
“The attack took place in waves, from different directions, with drones entering the city at different altitudes — both very low and high,” the city administration said.
It added that more than 36 drones had been downed over the capital and the surrounding area and that falling debris had fallen on six districts of Kyiv and wounded two people.
AFP journalists heard air raid sirens ring out over the capital beginning shortly after midnight Kyiv time and the alert lasted some eight hours.
The reporters also heard drones buzzing over the city and air defense systems working to shoot down the drones.
The attack caused a fire in a 30-story residential building in the city center, and residents had to be evacuated, the mayor’s office said.
The head of the Kherson region meanwhile said the body of a deceased man was recovered from the rubble of a house destroyed by the attack in a Russian attack overnight.
In the eastern Sumy region, the body of another killed person was recovered following a Russian airstrike hours earlier, the interior ministry said.
Joe Biden set to address nation after Donald Trump’s decisive US election win
- Biden was replaced as the Democrats’ candidate by Kamala Harris due to concerns about his mental acuity
- Former President Trump’s victory underscored how disenchanted Americans had become with the economy
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden was set to address the nation on Thursday after a stinging election defeat for his Democratic Party at the hands of Republican Donald Trump, whose stunning political comeback has reverberated around the world. Biden, who was replaced in July as the Democrats’ candidate in the race by Vice President Kamala Harris due to concerns about his mental acuity after a stumbling debate with Trump, will speak at 11:00 a.m. (1600 GMT), the White House said. Harris sought on Wednesday to console the voters who had hoped she would become the first woman to win the White House. She, like Biden, has promised to aid Trump’s transition between now and his inauguration on Jan. 20 but said she was not prepared to embrace his vision for the country.
Trump’s campaign said Biden had invited him to a meeting at the White House at an unspecified time.
Former President Trump’s victory, surprisingly decisive after opinion polls that had showed a neck-and-neck contest ahead of Tuesday’s election, underscored how disenchanted Americans had become with the economy – in particular the effect of inflation on their standard of living – border security and the direction of the country and its culture. Hispanics, traditionally Democratic voters, and lower-income households hit hardest by inflation helped fuel the victory. Harris’ campaign had sought to press the message that Trump was unfit to serve again as president, as a convicted felon and one whose false claims of voting fraud after his 2020 election defeat spurred a mob to storm the US Capitol.
This time, Trump prevailed in five of the seven battleground states to push him past the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency and was leading in the remaining two, Arizona and Nevada, where votes were still being tallied.
He was also on track to become the first Republican presidential candidate to win the popular vote since George W. Bush two decades ago.
Republicans wrested control of the US Senate from Democrats, ensuring Trump will control at least one chamber of Congress next year. It is not clear if they will retain their majority in the US House of Representatives, with dozens of races not yet called.
In the days and weeks ahead, Trump will select personnel to serve under his leadership, his campaign said on Wednesday.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a prominent Trump donor, has been promised a role in his administration, as has former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson are seen as possible new entrants to his administration, while former Trump officials Robert O’Brien and Mike Pompeo could return to office.
On trade, Trump is expected to revive policies he favored during his first term, notably tariffs that he has called the “most beautiful word.” That could set him on a collision course with China, which has the world’s second largest economy, sow discord with allies and roil global industries from automakers to chipmakers.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent Trump a congratulatory message and said he hopes the two powers will coexist peacefully and achieve win-win cooperation, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was among world leaders congratulating Trump. But Trump has been critical of Biden’s assistance for Ukraine in its war with Russia. He has said he could end the war in 24 hours but has not offered a detailed plan. The White House plans to rush billions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine before Biden leaves office in January, sources said on Wednesday, hoping to shore up the government in Kyiv before Trump takes over.
Typhoon Yinxing slams into northern Philippine region still reeling from back-to-back storms
- Typhoon Yinxing is the 13th to batter the disaster-prone Southeast Asian archipelago in 2024
- Tropical Storm Trami and Typhoon Kong-rey hit the northern Philippines in recent weeks
MANILA: A strong typhoon slammed into a northern Philippine province on Thursday as thousands were evacuated in a region still recovering from back-to-back storms that hit a few weeks ago.
Typhoon Yinxing is the 13th to batter the disaster-prone Southeast Asian archipelago in 2024.
“I really pity our people but all of them are tough,” Gov. Marilou Cayco of the province of Batanes said by telephone. Her province was ravaged by recent destructive storms and is expected to be affected by Yinxing’s fierce wind and rain.
Tens of thousands of villagers were returning to emergency shelters, and disaster-response teams were again put on alert in Cagayan and other northern provinces near the expected path of Yinxing. The typhoon blew into Santa Ana town in Cagayan province on Thursday afternoon.
The slow-moving typhoon, locally named Marce, was packing sustained winds of up to 175 kilometers (109 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 240 kph (149 mph) just before it made landfall in the coastal town of Santa Ana in Cagayan province, government forecasters said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.
Aside from flash floods, authorities were concerned about the higher possibilities of landslides in northern mountainous region, which has been inundated by pounding rains from two previous storms.
The coast guard, army, air force and police were on high alert. Inter-island ferries and cargo services and domestic flights were suspended in northern provinces.
Tropical Storm Trami and Typhoon Kong-rey hit the northern Philippines in recent weeks, leaving at least 151 people dead and affecting nearly 9 million others. More than 14 billion pesos ($241 million) in rice, corn and other crops and infrastructure were damaged.
The death and destruction from the storms prompted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to declare a day of national mourning on Monday when he visited the worst-hit province of Batangas, south of the capital, Manila. At least 61 people perished in the coastal province.
Trami dumped one to two months’ worth of rain in just 24 hours in some regions, including in Batangas.
“We want to avoid the loss of lives due to calamities,” Marcos said in Talisay town in Batangas, where he brought key Cabinet members to reassure storm victims of rapid government help. “Storms nowadays are more intense, extensive and powerful.”
In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened entire villages and caused ships to run aground and smash into houses in the central Philippines.
Philippines confident in US alliance under Trump amid China tensions, envoy says
- US-Philippine security engagements have deepened under President Joe Biden and Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
- Both leaders keen to counter what they see as China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea and near Taiwan
MANILA: The Philippines expects US policy in the Indo-Pacific and support for its treaty ally amid South China Sea tensions to remain steady under Donald Trump, driven by bipartisan resolve in Washington, its ambassador to the US said on Thursday.
Both Democrats and Republicans prioritize countering China’s influence, including in the South China Sea, Jose Manuel Romualdez said, suggesting that military cooperation, economic ties and security commitments with the Philippines will continue.
“It is in their interest that the Indo-Pacific region remains free, peaceful and stable, especially given the economic part of it, with trillions of dollars passing through the South China Sea,” Romualdez said in an interview.
US-Philippine security engagements have deepened under President Joe Biden and Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with both leaders keen to counter what they see as China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.
Marcos said in a congratulatory message after Trump’s victory: “I am hopeful that this unshakeable alliance, tested in war and peace, will be a force of good that will blaze a path of prosperity and amity, in the region, and in both sides of the Pacific.”
Under Marcos, the Philippines has increased the number of its bases accessible to US forces to nine from five, some facing the South China Sea, where China has built artificial islands equipped with runways and missile systems.
The US has proposed $128 million for infrastructure improvements at those bases, in addition to a $500 million pledge for the Philippine military and coast guard.
Romualdez expressed confidence that these commitments, including joint US-Philippine maritime exercises that began last year, would continue under Trump.
“We have very strong bipartisan support in the US Congress where the money comes from. Every single one of our friends in the Republican side has signified their concern and strong support for whatever we’re doing right now in relation to the challenges we face with China today,” Romualdez said.
He suggested potential changes under Trump would be “minimal” and could even be favorable.
During Trump’s previous term, the US dispelled any doubts about its defense commitments when then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured Manila in 2019 that Washington would defend its ally if attacked in the South China Sea, reinforcing the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.
Beijing claims much of the South China Sea, where about $3 trillion in ship-borne trade passes annually, with the area becoming a flashpoint for Chinese and US tensions around naval operations. There have been recent clashes over territorial claims between China and the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Romualdez emphasized Manila’s intent to manage disputes peacefully, and “will continue to dialogue with China as long as it’s not detrimental to our interests.”
“We’re not at war,” Romualdez said, adding there are many areas where Philippines and China can work with.
Mozambique deploys soldiers ahead of planned protests
- The southern African nation has been rocked by violence since an October 9 vote
- Main opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane says results were false and that he won
MAPUTO: Soldiers and police were patrolling Mozambique’s capital Maputo early Thursday ahead of a planned protest against election results seen by the opposition as fraudulent, AFP reporters said.
The southern African nation has been rocked by violence since an October 9 vote won by the Frelimo party, which has been in power for almost 50 years.
The city of more than one more million people was a ghost town on Thursday morning, with shops, banks, schools and universities closed.
A group of a dozen demonstrators, many wearing flip flops and one man wrapped in a Mozambican flag, gathered around 0700 GMT on one of the main streets before being told by a soldier to go home.
Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo won the presidential election with 71 percent of the vote, according to the electoral commission, while the main opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane came in second with 20 percent.
Mondlane, backed by the small Podemos party, who said results were false and that he won, called for a mass protest on Thursday.
Using social media, he has rallied supporters out onto the streets since the election in demonstrations that have turned violent in police crackdowns.
In an interview with AFP, the opposition leader, whose whereabouts are unknown, said he would not be present at the march due to concerns over his safety.
At least 18 protesters have been killed in post-electoral violence, according to Human Rights Watch. Local NGO the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD) said the death toll was 24.
A police officer was also killed in a protest at the weekend, Defense Minister Cristovao Chume told reporters Tuesday, warning the army could intervene “to protect the interests of the state.”
“There is an intention to change the democratically established power,” he said, amid fears that outgoing President Filipe Nyusi could declare a state of emergency.
Nyusi is expected to step down early next year at the end of his two-term limit.
The authorities have restricted access to Internet across the country in what seemed like an effort to “suppress peaceful protests and public criticism of the government,” according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
“The shutdown inhibits people’s ability to receive and use life-saving information, to assemble peacefully, and to express their political opinions in a time of crisis,” said Allan Ngari, Africa advocacy director at HRW.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Wednesday that he was “deeply alarmed by reports of violence across the country.”
“The police must refrain from using unnecessary or disproportionate force and ensure that they manage protests in line with Mozambique’s international human rights obligations,” he said.
The Southern African Development Community has called for an extraordinary summit between November 16 and 20 in part to discuss developments in Mozambique.
