nuclear
New York (AFP) - Despite the recent cancellation of a next-generation US nuclear plant, backers of the carbon-free power source remain hopeful new projects will come on line by the end of the decade. Late last year, the US energy company NuScale announced it was pulling the plug on a small modular reactor (SMR) project in the western state of Idaho. The project -- the sole SMR design yet to be approved by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission -- faced exploding costs that took the estimated price from $5.3 billion up to $9.3 billion. The "collapse of NuScale's project should spell the end for s...
AFP
White Sands (United States) (AFP) - Wesley Burris was fast asleep in bed when the world's first atomic bomb exploded just 25 miles from his front door. A blinding light filled the home in the New Mexico desert, before the impossible force of the blast shattered its windows, spraying glass across the four-year-old boy and his brother. "It was so bright, I couldn't see," Burris recalls. "I can remember asking, 'Dad, what happened? Did the Sun blow up?'" The events of 5:30 am on July 16, 1945 are now best known to millions from their dramatic re-enactment in the Oscar-tipped movie "Oppenheimer." ...
AFP
New York (AFP) - US authorities said Wednesday they had charged a member of the Japanese yakuza criminal underworld with handling nuclear material sourced from Myanmar and seeking to sell it to fund an illicit arms deal. According to a superseding indictment unsealed in a Manhattan court, yakuza leader Takeshi Ebisawa and co-defendant Somphop Singhasiri had previously been charged in April 2022 with drug trafficking and firearms offenses, and both were remanded. "The defendant stands accused of conspiring to sell weapons grade nuclear material and lethal narcotics from Burma (Myanmar), and to ...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - US President Joe Biden's national security chief will brief top lawmakers Thursday after they warned of a "serious" threat reportedly involving a Russian bid to build a space-based nuclear capability. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will hold a closed-doors meeting with congressional leaders, as US media said Russia was developing a weapon that could knock out Western satellites. Moscow denied the "malicious" and "unfounded" reports, describing them as a White House ploy to try to pass a multi-billion-dollar Ukrainian war aid package stalled in Congress. ...
AFP
San Francisco (AFP) - The United States on Thursday signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with the Philippines, clearing a path for US investment to jumpstart atomic power in a country racing to expand its electricity supply. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who has become a close US ally in his more-than one year in power, was on hand when his energy secretary signed the pact with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in San Francisco. "We see nuclear energy becoming a part of the Philippine energy mix by 2032 and we will be more than happy to pur...
AFP
Seoul (AFP) - US and South Korean defence chiefs on Monday updated a key military agreement against nuclear-armed North Korea for the first time in a decade as they hailed their "stronger than ever" alliance. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is in Seoul for an annual security meeting with his South Korean counterpart Shin Won-sik, as the allies ramp up their defence cooperation in the face of growing missile and nuclear threats from Pyongyang. At the Security Consultative Meeting, the defence chiefs revised the Tailored Deterrence Strategy (TDS), a deal on joint deterrence strategies to co...
AFP
Moscow (AFP) - Russian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to revoke Moscow's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, moving closer to abandoning a landmark agreement that outlaws the testing of nuclear weapons. The move comes after President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month he was "not ready to say" whether Russia needed to carry out live nuclear tests. Lawmakers in the State Duma lower house of parliament unanimously approved the de-ratification bill in its first reading, with 412 voting for and none voting against. The bill can be signed into law by Putin after passing thre...
AFP
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday he was willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, seeking a diplomatic path as tensions soar over Pyongyang's weapons programs. Kishida reiterated the public offer at the UN General Assembly days after his government publicly announced his willingness for a summit. In a speech from the UN rostrum, Kishida said that Japan was willing to resolve all issues with North Korea -- including Pyongyang's past kidnappings of Japanese civilians to train its spies. "From the perspective of opening up a new era ...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - Two and a half years into Joe Biden's presidency, and after exhaustive diplomacy with Iran's clerical leadership, his administration has reached a first deal -- to free five detained Americans. The delicate agreement heralds an easing of tensions between the longtime adversaries, and experts and diplomats believe it could bring further, quiet efforts to address concerns including Iran's nuclear work. Few people, however, expect major agreements anytime soon, with the clock ticking to the 2024 US presidential election. "I think both sides have an interest in using this initia...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - NASA and the US military said Wednesday they had selected defense contractor Lockheed Martin to develop a nuclear powered rocket, with a view to using the technology for missions to Mars. The Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) program may launch as soon as 2027, officials said on a call. Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) systems could cut journey times, increase fuel efficiency, and require less propellant, meaning future spacecraft could carry larger payloads than today's best chemical rockets. NTP works by pumping a liquid propellant, in DRACO's cas...
AFP
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