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CNN —Yet again, tens of thousands of people in Gaza are on the move, as the Israeli military issues fresh evacuation orders for a number of areas in Gaza City. It’s unclear how many people in Gaza City have heeded the latest evacuation order. The IDF confirmed to CNN that the evacuation order for parts of Gaza City was the third in the past 10 days. On July 2, the Israeli authorities clarified that the European Hospital in Khan Younis was not included in the evacuation order. Now, one of the main hospitals in Gaza City – the Al Ahli Baptist – has also closed its doors.

Persons: CNN —, Khan Younis, don’t, Khader Al Za’anoun, Wafa, Al Za’anoun, “, ” Al Za’anoun, OCHA, Deir, Dawoud Abu Alkas, – Jonathan Whittall –, Tedros Ghebreyesus, –, Nasser, Al, Hosam Naoum, Rasheed, Saleh, ” Saleh, ” OCHA, ”, Maysa Saleh, Khan Younis “, Louise Wateridge Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, UN, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs, IDF, Reuters, European Hospital, World Health Organization, Cross, Nasser, WHO, Episcopal, Facebook, Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC Locations: Gaza, Gaza City, Shujaya, Old City, Daraj, Khan Younis, Rafah, Al Mawasi, Khan, Al Ahli, Jerusalem, Deir al, Deir

☆ Russia will increase the number of military instructors in Burkina Faso, foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Anneclaire Stapleton | Sebastian Shukla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Russia will increase the number of military instructors in Burkina Faso, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday during a trip to the West African nation. “Here, Russian instructors are working; their number will increase.”Russia furthermore intends to supply Burkina Faso with military products to strengthen the country’s defense capability, he said. Burkina Faso is currently under military rule after a junta staged a coup d’état in July 2022. Engulfed in violence, Burkina Faso has been named the world’s most neglected displacement crisis for the second year, by the NRC. Burkina Faso was the first country to do this quickly and effectively,” he said.

Persons: Sergey Lavrov, ” Lavrov, Lavrov, Ibrahim Traoré, Yevkurov, Traoré, Thomas Waldhauser, ” Organizations: CNN, Russian, Russian Federation, Russian Deputy Defense, Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC, US Africa Command, Africa Command Locations: Russia, Burkina Faso, West African, Russian, Ouagadougou, “, China, Africa, Ukraine, ”

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2024. On Friday, advanced nuclear fission company Oklo, for which Sam Altman serves as chairman, started trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Oklo's business model is based on commercializing nuclear fission, the reaction that fuels all nuclear power plants. "I don't see a way for us to get there without nuclear," Altman told CNBC in 2023. It's not Altman's only foray into nuclear energy or other infrastructure that could power large-scale AI growth.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Oklo, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Jacob DeWitte, hasn't, we've, DeWitte, It's, Helion, OpenAI Organizations: Economic, New York Stock Exchange, AltC, U.S . Air Force, Microsoft, Amazon, CNBC, U.S . Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, DeWitte, Nvidia Locations: Davos, Switzerland, Idaho, OpenAI's San Francisco, U.S, Saudi Aramco, Rain

Tech firms and Silicon Valley billionaires have been pouring money into nuclear energy for years, pitching the sustainable power source as crucial to the green transition. While generative AI has grown at lightning speed, nuclear power projects are heavily regulated and usually advance at a plodding pace. That's raising questions about whether advances in nuclear energy can cut emissions as swiftly as energy-guzzling AI and other fast-growing technologies are adding to them. The nuclear power industry hasn't meaningfully expanded its share of the U.S. energy mix for decades. By one estimate, up to 800 gigawatts of new nuclear power will be needed by 2050 to meet current green energy targets.

Persons: Sarah Myers West, Myers, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Altman, Jacob DeWitte, Oklo, hadn't, You've, DeWitte, Oklo's Organizations: Silicon, CNBC, Helion Energy, Microsoft, federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Air Force, NRC, Idaho National Laboratory, Energy Department, Pew Research Locations: Idaho, Ohio, United States, Alaska, U.S, Ukraine, Fukushima, Japan

☆ Live updates: The latest on the Israel-Hamas news
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Chris Lau | Andrew Raine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

A woman and children sit outside tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah, Gaza, on February 8. Satellite images showed this week how a tent city has swelled in size in just a few weeks. Also, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised concerns about the expansion into Rafah during meetings with Netanyahu and other Israeli officials this week, two Israeli officials told CNN on Wednesday. Non-governmental organizations issue warnings: Several non-governmental organizations have warned about the humanitarian consequences of Israeli operations in Rafah. Half of UNRWA requests to deliver aid in Gaza denied: The UN's main relief agency in Gaza said Friday that half of its aid mission requests to deliver aid in Gaza since the beginning of the year have been denied.

Persons: Mohammed Abed, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Vedant Patel, Antony Blinken, Netanyahu, won’t, Philippe Lazzarini Organizations: Getty, United Nations, Israel Defense Forces, CNN, Wednesday, Norwegian Refugee Council, Hamas, The United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestine Refugees Locations: Rafah, Gaza, AFP, ”, Israel, United States, Egypt

☆ Netanyahu directs Israeli military to draw up plan to evacuate more than one million people from Rafah as offensive looms
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Amir Tal | Mick Krever | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the country’s military to plan for the “evacuation of the population” from Rafah, his office said in a statement on Friday, ahead of an anticipated ground assault on the southern Gaza city. More than 1.3 million people are believed to be in Rafah, the majority displaced from other parts of Gaza, according to the United Nations. But it is unclear where next they could go; the city borders Egypt to the south, but the border into the country has been closed for months. The top commander in charge of Israel’s military operation in southern Gaza told CNN on Sunday that there was no plan in place yet for how to minimize civilian deaths in the city. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) meanwhile said in a press release Thursday that Rafah could soon turn “into a zone of bloodshed and destruction that people won’t be able to escape.”

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, “, Dan Goldfuss, ”, Vedant Patel, Biden, ” Biden, “ I’ve, it’s, won’t Organizations: CNN, Israeli, United Nations, Israel Defense Forces, Prime Minister’s, IDF, United States State Department, White, Norwegian Refugee Council Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Hamas’s, Egypt, ”, Brig, Israeli

☆ The US, Russia and China are in a race to dominate new-wave nuclear energy — and win global influence
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Angela Dewan | Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Russia's floating nuclear power plant, Akademik Lomonosov, leaving the service base Rosatomflot on August 23, 2019. For some experts, nuclear energy — in all forms, large or small — has an important role to play in that transition. Globally, the construction of conventional nuclear power plants dipped following the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986. Russia has already built or designed nuclear plants — the traditional type — for China, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Slovakia, Egypt and Iran. “It certainly dampens the excitement abroad,” said John Parsons, a senior lecturer at MIT and a financial economist focused on nuclear energy.

Persons: Akademik Lomonosov, Biden, Lomonosov, Maxim Shemetov, “ There’s, ”, Josh Freed, China —, Vladimir Putin’s, Bill Gates ’, Luo Yunfei, Kirsten Cutler, they’re, Cutler, ” Cutler, They’re, John Parsons, John Kerry, Thomas Mukoya, Way’s Freed, “, ” Parsons, Mohammed Hamdaoui, ” Hamdaoui, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, Reuters, European Union, International Energy Agency, Energy, World Nuclear, IEA, US, SMR, US Export, Import Bank, International Development Finance Corporation, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, China, Changjiang, China News Service, Nuclear Energy, US State Department, “, MIT, InfluenceMap, The State Department, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, Rystad Energy Locations: Alaska, Russian, Russia, China, European, Japan, India, South Korea, Europe, Dubai, America, Poland, North Carolina, Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Slovakia, Egypt, Iran, Lomonosov, Siberia, Russia’s, Washington, Bill Gates ’ TerraPower, Wyoming, Changjiang Li Autonomous County, Hainan province, United States, Oregon, Idaho, United Arab Emirates

☆ In setback, Wilders' first post-election appointee resigns
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The swift departure of Gom van Strien, appointed on Friday by Wilders, underlines the difficulties ahead for coalition talks as Wilders seeks to form a government with himself as prime minister. "Therefore I have informed Geert Wilders and the chairwoman of parliament I will lay down my work as scout immediately," he said in a statement. Wilders' PVV booked major gains in the Nov. 22 election. Van Strien had been due to meet with VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz on Monday. Newspaper NRC Handelsblad first reported on Saturday that Van Strien was sued in March by a subsidiary of Utrecht University over alleged fraud.

Persons: Geert Wilders, Wilders, Van Strien, Gom van Strien, PVV, Mark Rutte, Dilan Yesilgoz, Pieter Omtzigt, Toby Sterling, Peter Graff, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Freedom Party, VVD Party, NSC Party, NRC, Utrecht University, Thomson Locations: The Hague, Netherlands, AMSTERDAM, Dutch, Wilders

☆ Far-Right's Wilders Seeks to Form Dutch Govt After Shock Election Win
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

The historic election victory that the PVV achieved on Wednesday exceeded all expectations," Dutch center-right daily NRC said. Wilders' win comes two months after the return to power of the equally anti-EU populist Robert Fico in Slovakia, who has pledged to halt military aid to Ukraine and cut immigration. Last year, Italy formed its most right-wing government since World War Two after the election victory of Giorgia Meloni. CONCERNIslamic and Moroccan organisations expressed concerns about Wilders' victory. "The distress and fear are enormous," Habib el Kaddouri, who heads an organisation representing Dutch Moroccans, told Dutch news agency ANP.

Persons: Bart H, Meijer, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Ingrid Melander AMSTERDAM, Geert Wilders, Viktor Orban, Wilders, Mark Rutte, Pieter Omtzigt, Robert Fico, Giorgia, Orban, Pen, Rutte's, Habib el Kaddouri, party's Omtzigt, Dilan Yesilgoz, wouldn't, Bart Meijer, Charlotte van Campenhout, Anthony Deutsch, Ingrid Melander Organizations: Hungary's, Freedom Party, Labour, Green, People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, NRC, VVD, Dutch, ANP Locations: EU, Netherlands, Europe, Ukraine, Hague, Slovakia, Italy, France, Moroccan

[1/2] Supporters of Dutch far-right politician and leader of the PVV party Geert Wilders react to the exit poll and early results in the Dutch parliamentary elections, in The Hague, Netherlands November 22, 2023. The historic election victory that the PVV achieved on Wednesday exceeded all expectations," Dutch center-right daily NRC said. Congratulations to Geert Wilders on winning the Dutch elections," Orban said late on Wednesday. CONCERNIslamic and Moroccan organisations expressed concerns about Wilders' victory. "The distress and fear are enormous," Habib el Kaddouri, who heads an organisation representing Dutch Moroccans, told Dutch news agency ANP.

Persons: Geert Wilders, Yves Herman Acquire, Viktor Orban, Wilders, Mark Rutte, Pieter Omtzigt, Robert Fico, Giorgia, Orban, Pen, Rutte's, Habib el Kaddouri, party's Omtzigt, Dilan Yesilgoz, wouldn't, Bart Meijer, Charlotte van Campenhout, Anthony Deutsch, Ingrid Melander Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Hungary's, Freedom Party, Labour, Green, People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, NRC, VVD, Dutch, ANP, Thomson Locations: Dutch, The Hague, Netherlands, EU, Europe, Ukraine, Hague, Slovakia, Italy, France, Moroccan

Nov 8 (Reuters) - NuScale Power (SMR.N) said on Wednesday it has agreed with a power group in Utah to terminate the company's small modular reactor project, dealing a blow to U.S. ambitions for a wave of nuclear energy to fight climate change and sending NuScale's shares down 20%. In 2020, the Department of Energy approved $1.35 billion over 10 years for the plant, known as the Carbon Free Power Project, subject to congressional appropriations. NuScale's Utah plant was expected to be the first SMR to win a license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for construction. An Energy Department spokesperson said it was unfortunate news, but added, "We believe the work accomplished to date on CFPP will be valuable for future nuclear energy projects. So far, only NuScale's SMR design has been approved by the NRC.

Persons: NuScale, John Hopkins, Critics, Biden, Manas Mishra, Timothy Gardner, Shounak Dasgupta, Krishna Chandra Eluri, Leslie Adler Organizations: Department of Energy, Carbon, Power, Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, SMR, U.S . Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Energy Department, DOE, NRC, Thomson Locations: Utah, Romania, Kazakhstan, Poland, Ukraine, NuScale's Utah, U.S, Bengaluru, Washington

[1/5] People walk amidst the wreckage, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya September 15, 2023. "Bodies are littering the streets, washing back on shore and are buried under collapsed buildings and debris. Mohammad al-Qabisi, head of Derna's Wahda Hospital, said a field hospital was treating people with chronic illnesses needing regular attention. Thursday's U.N. report said more than 1,000 bodies in Derna and over 100 bodies in Al Bayda, another coastal city which was hit by flooding, had been buried in mass graves. The ICRC sent a cargo flight to Benghazi, eastern Libya's largest city, on Friday with 5,000 body bags.

Persons: Omran, DERNA, Bilal Sablouh, Ibrahim al, Mohammad al, Nouri Mohamed, Derna's, Kazunobu Kojima, Derna, Thursday's U.N, Al Bayda, I've, Ahmed Bayram, Saad Rajab Mohamed al, Martin Griffiths, Ahmed Elumami, Ayman al, Laila Bassam, Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Nayera Abdallah, Mark Heinrich, William Maclean, Edmund Blair Organizations: REUTERS, WHO, World Health Organization, Reuters, Derna's, Organization for, International Committee, Cross, International Federation of, Red Crescent Societies, ICRC, Norwegian Refugee Council, Danish Refugee, Thomson Locations: Derna, Libya, U.N, GENEVA, Libyan, Africa, Geneva, Libya's Tripoli, Libya's, WHO's, Al, Benghazi, Susah, Beirut

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Environmental groups called on federal regulators Thursday to immediately shut down one of two reactors at California’s last nuclear power plant until tests can be conducted on critical machinery they believe could fail and cause a catastrophe. “We will not sit idly by while PG&E cuts corners on Unit 1’s safety,” Hallie Templeton, legal director for Friends of the Earth, said in a statement. Friends of the Earth, a longtime critic of plant safety, was a central player in negotiating the 2016 closing agreement. He noted that unlike most other reactor safety components, the pressure vessel has no independent backup system that can be called upon if it should crack or fracture and lose essential cooling water. According to the NRC, embrittlement occurs as a result of reactor operation when neutrons from the nuclear fuel irradiate the steel plates and welds used to construct the reactor vessel.

Persons: Peace, “, ” Hallie Templeton, Suzanne Hosn, ” Hosn, Gavin Newsom, Digby Macdonald, ”, Macdonald, ” Macdonald, Critics, Newsom, it’s Organizations: ANGELES, —, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Pacific Gas &, Democratic, University of California, NRC Locations: Los Angeles, San Francisco, California, Washington, Berkeley

“They just come and say ‘vote.’ So people vote,” Baska told CNN. “Here, when you buy a SIM card for your phone, you immediately get an SMS from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and United Russia Party,” Baska said. The text messages carry pro-Kremlin messaging, informing voters that “about 90% of voters are ready to vote for Yedianaya Rossiya (United Russia),” or that “United Russia is helping Zaporizhzhia region,” she added. Guerrilla activity by Ukrainian partisans has taken place but is more difficult to achieve now, Baska told CNN. ‘Nothing to do with democracy’Few residents in Melitopol are interested in the bogus elections taking place, Baska told CNN.

Persons: ”, Alexander Ermochenko, ” Baska, Yedianaya Rossiya, ’, Vladimir Putin’s, “, Jens Stoltenberg, Baska, Melitopol, …, Republic Denis Pushilin, Yuriy Sobolevskyi, ” Sobolevskyi Organizations: CNN, Communist, National Resistance Center, Ministry of Internal Affairs, United Russia Party, Kremlin, “, NRC, Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of, NATO, Yale Humanitarian Research, United Russia, Russian, Russian Guard Locations: Melitopol, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, United Russia, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Luhansk, Kyiv, of Europe, ”, Mariupol, Crimea, Republic

Summary U.S. regulators are ready to review and license the next generation of nuclear reactors while staying committed to safety, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) says. The NRC is under pressure to show it can move fast on a new generation of nuclear technology, including small modular reactors (SMRs) and other previously untested designs, as many in the industry call for deep reforms at the regulator. NuScale’s VOYGR 50-MW SMR power plant became the first SMR design certified by the NRC in January. Earlier this month, the NRC accepted NuScale's uprated VOYGR-6 plant design for a Standard Design Approval (SDA) application. “We are yielding timelier and more cost-effective reviews without compromising on safety,” Taylor says.

Persons: ”, Judi Greenwald, “, Steven Arndt, NRC Robert Taylor, NuScale’s VOYGR, ” Taylor, “ We're, Taylor, Kairos, they're, it's, –, bro, Allison Macfarlane, Macfarlane skewered, ” Macfarlane Organizations: Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, Nuclear Innovation Alliance, Department of Energy, DOE, American Nuclear Society, New Reactors, ” Tech bros, Institute of Art, Thomson Locations: United States

☆ A Ukrainian group says it's wreaking havoc on Russian occupiers, from directing missile strikes to trolling them with the national anthem
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A secretive Ukrainian group detailed its acts of sabotage against Russian occupiers in Ukraine. The National Resistance Center aims to inflict psychological pressure on Russian troops. The group, the National Resistance Center, is run by Ukraine's special forces. Per Ostap, NRC members tipped off the Ukrainian military about the gathering, enabling them to launch an attack with the US-provided HIMARS missile system. The NRC spokesperson said their aim is to inflict psychological pressure on the Russian military.

Persons: Ostap Organizations: National Resistance Center, Service, Kyiv Post, NRC, Nazi, Allies, CNN Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Kyiv

Circuit Court of Appeals found that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission lacked the authority under federal law to issue permits for private, temporary nuclear waste storage sites. Circuit Judge James Ho, writing for the court, agreed with Texas that the Atomic Energy Act does not give the agency the broad authority "to license a private, away-from-reactor storage facility for spent nuclear fuel." Abbott opposed the plan, saying he would not let Texas become "America's nuclear waste dumping ground." The plan for a temporary facility was devised in order to address a growing nuclear waste problem in the United States. The Andrews County site was chosen after efforts to build a permanent storage facility in Nevada fell apart amid fierce local opposition.

Persons: James Ho, William F, Buckley, Jr, Michelle McLoughlin, Ho, Donald Trump, Greg Abbott's, Abbott, Clark Mindock, Will Dunham Organizations: Yale University, REUTERS, Republican, Circuit, Appeals, U.S . Nuclear, Commission, Partners, Atomic Energy, Waste, NRC, Thomson Locations: New Haven , Connecticut, U.S, Texas, New Orleans, Andrews County , Texas, United States, Andrews, Nevada, New York

WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The Biden administration has tightened controls on the export of materials and components for nuclear power plants to China, saying it would ensure the items were used only for peaceful purposes and not the proliferation of atomic weapons. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the federal agency responsible for nuclear energy safety, also requires exporters to get specific licenses to export special nuclear material and source material. That includes different types of uranium as well as deuterium, a hydrogen isotope that, in large amounts, could be used in reactors to make tritium, a nuclear weapons component. China opposes "putting geopolitical interests above nuclear non-proliferation efforts," he said. Two exports to China of the regulated nuclear materials occurred under a general license in the last year.

Persons: Biden, Liu Pengyu, Edwin Lyman, Henry Sokolski, Donald Trump's, Timothy Gardner, Michael Martina, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Industry and Security, Commerce Department, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC, U.S, Nuclear Weapons, Union of, Pentagon, Nonproliferation, Education Center . U.S, Westinghouse, Thomson Locations: China, Washington, Beijing, U.S, United States

☆ Sam Altman explains why he's helping to take nuclear microreactor company Oklo public via SPAC
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

And if we get those, we'll be quite surprised about how different and how much better the future is," Altman told CNBC in a phone conversation on Friday. I think there's urgent demand for tons and tons of cheap, safe, clean energy at scale," Altman told CNBC. I mean, maybe we could get there just with solar and storage," Altman told CNBC. There's no lack of desire or need for this," Altman told CNBC. Some of that is the reactor's smaller size, but some of it is how the Oklo reactors have been designed.

Persons: Gensler, Sam Altman, Oklo, Jake DeWitte, Aurora, Altman, chatbot, Caroline Cochran, Jacob DeWitte, Y, OpenAI, Joel Saget, He's, We've, DeWitte Organizations: AltC Acquistion Corp, CNBC, Microsoft, Oklo, Y Combinator, Afp, Getty, Helion, Southern, Initiative, U.S . Department of Energy, Idaho National Laboratory, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC Locations: ramping, OpenAI, Paris, Georgia, U.S, Southern Ohio, Idaho

☆ The Jenin incursion was meant to weaken militant groups. It has ended up deepening the defiance of Palestinian fighters
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Salma Abdelaziz Muhammad Darwish Kareem Khadder | Salma Abdelaziz | Muhammad Darwish | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

A foul stench filled the hot summer air, much of Jenin was left without running water or power during Israel’s largest incursion in the occupied West Bank in decades. Widespread devastationFor many Palestinians, Jenin is a name and a place synonymous with suffering and resistance. Now it is a built-up and densely populated area with one of the highest rates of poverty and unemployment in the West Bank, according to the UN. At least 50 shooting attacks toward Israelis have emanated from Jenin, according to the Israeli military. Last year was the deadliest year on record for both Palestinians and Israelis across the West Bank and Israel in more than a decade.

Persons: “, Abu, Wafa, alleyways, Israel, Israel’s, Muhammad Darwish, Hanaa, ”, Shalaby, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu, Najwa, ” Israel Organizations: West Bank CNN —, West Bank, AK, Jenin Brigade, United Nations, UN, CNN, UNRWA, Norwegian Refugee Council, Israel, NRC, Palestinian Authority Locations: Jenin, Palestine, West, Israel

☆ Taliban official letter reinforces bar of female aid staff in southern Kandahar
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KABUL, June 23 (Reuters) - Taliban authorities in Afghanistan's Kandahar province ordered female aid workers this week to stop work on a refugee project, according to an official letter, reinforcing rules against women working despite exemptions sought by some organisations. The letter underscored the uncertainty of the operating environment in Afghanistan for aid agencies who say they intend to stay and deliver aid during a humanitarian crisis but seek exemptions to let female staff work, to reach female beneficiaries and avoid breaching UN charter principles. The Taliban administration signalled in January it would work on a set of written guidelines that could allow aid groups to operate with female staff in some cases, but it has not yet done so. The Norwegian Refugee Council, an international NGO, in May said it had received exemptions for many of its operations in Kandahar and was resuming work with female staff. The Taliban's restrictions on women aid workers and access to education have been widely criticized by the international community.

Persons: Haibatullah Akhundzada, Charlotte Greenfield, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Peter Graff Organizations: Reuters, Department of Refugees, United Nations, Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC, Diplomats, Thomson Locations: KABUL, Afghanistan's Kandahar, Kandahar, Spin, Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States

☆ Egypt bans Dutch archaeology team from Saqqara due to museum’s ‘Afrocentric’ exhibition
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A team of archaeologists from a Dutch museum has been banned from carrying out excavations in Egypt’s rich Saqqara necropolis, after the museum mounted an exhibition that drew condemnation from Egyptian authorities. He also confirmed that the journalist who wrote the NRC article had seen the email from the Egyptian authorities. Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. Some commented with photos showing light-skinned ancient Egyptian drawings, next to ones with darker skin tones, which they say the museum is propagating. It recently criticized the Netflix docuseries “Queen Cleopatra,” which portrays the ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt as a woman of color.

Persons: CNN —, Museum of Antiquities Wim Weijland, Oudheden, ” Weijland, Mostafa Waziri, Weijland, “, Nubia …, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, Rihanna, ”, Cleopatra Organizations: CNN, National Museum of Antiquities, Egyptian Antiquities Service, NRC, Leiden Turin Expedition, Museum of Antiquities, “, Supreme, of Antiquities of, Netflix Locations: Kemet, Egypt, Hip, Leiden, Saqqara, Leiden Turin, Cairo, of Antiquities of Egypt, Nubia, ” Nubia, Africa, Khartoum, Sudan, Nubian, Ptolemaic Kingdom

☆ Aid group NRC resumes work with female staff in Taliban heartland
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The move comes after Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Secretary General Jan Egeland told Reuters last month that key Taliban leaders in Kandahar had signaled a willingness to agree to an interim arrangement for NRC female aid workers. "All our work is for women & men, girls & boys alike, & with equal participation of our female & male humanitarian colleagues," Egeland wrote. In April, Taliban authorities began enforcing a ban on Afghan women working for the U.N. after stopping women working for aid groups in December. The U.N. and aid groups have been trying to carve out exemptions for women to deliver aid, particularly in health and education. The Taliban administration has been promising since January a set of written guidelines to allow aid groups to operate with female staff.

Persons: Jan Egeland, Egeland, Michelle Nichols, Hugh Lawson Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, Taliban, Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC, Reuters, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan, Kandahar, U.N

☆ Microsoft to buy power from nuclear fusion company Helion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - Private U.S. nuclear fusion company Helion Energy will provide Microsoft (MSFT.O) with electricity in about five years, the companies said on Wednesday, in the first such deal for the power source that fuels the sun but has been elusive on Earth. Government labs and more than 30 companies are racing to generate power from fusion, which could one day help the world slash emissions linked to climate change. Helion's plant is expected to be online by 2028 and will target power generation of 50 megawatts or greater after a one-year ramp up period, it said. Polaris, Helion's seventh generation machine, should come online next year and demonstrate electricity generation, using a mix of laser and magnet technologies to achieve fusion, Kirtley said. In 2021, Helion was the first private company to achieve 100 million degrees Celsius and the optimum temperature is about twice that, Kirtley said.

☆ US approves temporary nuclear waste storage in New Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said the license authorizes private company Holtec to store 500 canisters holding nearly 8,700 metric tonnes of spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants for 40 years. Opponents of nuclear power say the government does not yet have a permanent fix for the waste that can be toxic for hundreds of thousands of years. It bans storage of the waste, until the state agrees to handle it and until the federal government figures out permanent storage. The Biden administration prefers a consent-based siting of nuclear waste facilities in which local communities are involved in the site selection process. The NRC issued a license in 2021 to Interim Storage Partners LLC for a proposed storage site in Andrews, Texas, but the company has not started construction.

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