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☆ How hydrogen bombs work and why they were created after WWII despite being more powerful than atomic bombs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Adam Barnes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

But just seven years after dropping the atomic bombs, the United States detonated an even more powerful nuclear weapon: the hydrogen bomb. A hydrogen bomb, also known as a thermonuclear bomb, can create explosive force hundreds or even thousands of times greater than an atomic bomb. That extra challenge is why it took scientists longer to build a hydrogen bomb than the atomic bomb. Some physicists, including Oppenheimer, who were concerned about the far greater destructive potential of hydrogen bombs compared to atomic bombs, opposed their development. Hydrogen bomb tests were incredibly powerfulOn November 1, 1952, the US detonated the first hydrogen bomb at Enewetak atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Persons: Edward Teller, Sun, there's, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, Robert Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy, Melinda Sue Gordon, Enrico Fermi, Isidor Isaac Rabi, Harry S, Truman, Stanislaw Ulam, Teller, Mike, NurPhoto, Dragon Organizations: US, Service, TNT, University of Nevada, Getty, Tsar, Manhattan Project, Los, Universal, Alamos, Soviet Union, Atomic Energy, Bravo, Castle Bravo, Marshall Locations: Los Alamos, Wall, Silicon, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, United States, Las Vegas, Mt, Soviet, Soviet Union, Marshall, Castle, Bikini Atoll, Japan, Great Britain, Russia

☆ Opinion: Oppenheimer’s not your daddy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Opinion Aanchal Saraf | Rebecca H. Hogue | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Corbis/Getty ImagesScholar Teresia Teaiwa famously critiqued the bikini as instrumental to depoliticizing and concealing the effects of nuclear weapons in the Pacific. Britain and France would later begin their own nuclear weapons programs on Indigenous lands and waters in Australia and French Occupied Polynesia, among others. The US began detonating nuclear bombs at the Nevada Test Site in 1951, garnering nearby Las Vegas the nickname Atomic City. Atomic playboys have aestheticized nuclear weapons as sexy — but still safe — since their very existence. Nolan prolongs the time between the flash and the blast, allowing Oppenheimer’s words to hang in unnerving suspension.

Persons: Rebecca H, Hogue, Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer, “ Barbie ”, Barbenheimer, Hogue Rebecca H, Baker, ” Rita Hayworth, Gilda, Hayworth, — Jacques Heim’s, Louis Réard, Corbis, Teresia Teaiwa, Lee A, Merlin, SpongeBob, Bert, Turtle, Walt, William Blandy, “, Christopher Nolan’s “ Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy, Nolan, Oppie, Ernest Lawrence, Josh Hartnett, Jean Tatlock, Florence Pugh, Kitty Oppenheimer, Emily Blunt, Tatlock, Oppenheimer, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan's, Melinda Sue Gordon, Nolan prolongs, “ Gilda, ”, Nolan bifurcates “ Oppenheimer ”, ” “ Oppenheimer, Barbie, Margot Robbie, ’, Ken, Ryan Gosling, —, Barbie’s, Mike ”, Edward Teller, “ It’s, Teller, “ Oppenheimer ” Organizations: Dartmouth College’s Society of Fellows, Mahindra Humanities Center, Harvard University, CNN, Warner Brothers Discovery, Universal, Trinity, Crossroads, Getty, Atomic Energy Commission, US, Las, Atomic, National Atomic Testing, Los, Communist Party, American, Twitter Locations: Pacific, Oceania, New Mexico, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Northern Paiute, Western, Nevada, Amchitka , Alaska, Bikini Atoll, Britain, France, Australia, French, Las Vegas, Las, Playthings, Los Alamos, Japan, American, iconicity, Alamos

☆ Philippines says refurbishing grounded ship an option to strengthen hold on disputed shoal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Karen Lema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A Philippine flag flutters onboard the BRP Sierra Madre, a marooned transport ship which Philippine Marines used as a military outpost, in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea March 30, 2014. REUTERS/Erik De Castro/File PhotoPUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines Aug 11 (Reuters) - The Philippines is looking at several options to strengthen its hold on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea including refurbishing a grounded and rusting warship it uses as a military outpost, a move that would likely anger Beijing. The Philippines intentionally grounded the World War Two-era warship Sierra Madre in 1999 as part of its sovereignty claim to the Second Thomas Shoal, which lies within its exclusive economic zone, and rotates a handful of troops through the ship. China has urged the Philippines to fulfill a "promise" to tow away the grounded vessel, but Manila denied striking any agreement to abandon the shoal, which it calls Ayungin. The Philippines won an international arbitration award in 2016 against China's South China Sea sovereignty claim, after a tribunal ruled Beijing's sweeping claim had no legal basis, including at the Second Thomas Shoal.

Persons: Thomas Shoal, Erik De Castro, Alberto Carlos, Romeo Brawner, Thomas, Ayungin, Carlos, Ramsey Gutierrez, Gutierrez, Karen Lema, Michael Perry Organizations: flutters, BRP, BRP Sierra Madre, Philippine Marines, REUTERS, Philippine Western Command, Chinese Coast Guard, Philippines, China's, Thomson Locations: BRP Sierra, Spratly, South, PRINCESA, Philippines, South China, Beijing, Sierra, China, Manila, Japan, France, South Korea, United States, Philippine, Thomas Shoal . China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia

Tensions have soared between the two neighbours over the South China Sea under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with Manila pivoting back to the United States, which supports the Southeast Asian nation in its maritime disputes with China. China's embassy in Manila criticised Washington for "gathering" its allies to continue "hyping up" the South China Sea issue and the boat incident. "South China Sea is not a 'safari park' for countries outside the region to make mischief and sow discord," the embassy said in a statement on Tuesday. The Second Thomas Shoal, which lies within the Philippines exclusive economic zone, is home to a handful of troops living aboard the former warship Sierra Madre. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, which overlaps with the exclusive economic zones of Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines.

Persons: Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Thomas, Thomas Shoal, Erik De Castro, Rommel Ong, Ong, Collin Koh, There's, Koh, Jonathan Malaya, Lloyd Austin, Gilbert Teodoro, Bernadette Baum, Alex Richardson, Sharon Singleton Organizations: South China, coastguard, BRP, BRP Sierra Madre, Philippine Navy, REUTERS, Singapore's, Rajaratnam, of International Studies, Philippines National Security Council, China, U.S . Defense, Philippines Defense, Pentagon, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, MANILA, China, Philippines, Manila, South, Philippine, United States, China's, Washington, Sierra Madre, BRP Sierra, Spratly, Beijing, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan, U.S, Japan, France

☆ Biden nominates China specialist to be ambassador to strategic Marshall Islands
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Tuesday nominated a senior career diplomat to be U.S. ambassador to the Marshall Islands, a strategic Pacific territory that has become a focus for competition with China. A Chinese speaker, Stone also worked previously as coordinator of efforts to counter Chinese malign economic influence and as acting deputy assistant secretary for China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mongolia. Meanwhile, Chinese diplomats have been courting the region and China's construction and mining companies have expanded their business in Pacific island nations. In May, the U.S. said it had renewed COFA terms with Micronesia and Palau and its chief negotiator told Reuters then he hoped to finalize a deal with the Marshall Islands, whose COFA is due to expire this year, in coming weeks. Last year, more than 100 arms-control, environmental and other activist groups urged the Biden administration to formally apologize to the Marshall Islands and provide fair compensation.

Persons: Joe Biden, Laura Stone, Stone, China's, Biden, David Brunnstrom, Sandra Maler Organizations: State Department's Office, Free Association, Washington, Marshall, Reuters, Marshall Islanders, U.S, Thomson Locations: Marshall, China, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mongolia, U.S, Pacific, Micronesia, Palau, Bikini

☆ SPECIAL REPORT-Inside the subsea cable firm secretly helping America take on China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Joe Brock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +23 min

Reuters is revealing details of the Diego Garcia project and SubCom’s deepening ties with the Pentagon. SubCom’s loyalty is especially important because it is the only major U.S. subsea cable company. Rather, they carefully obscured the U.S. military component within a larger private-sector cable project, according to four subsea cable industry sources with knowledge of the arrangement. That project, known as the Oman Australia Cable, was spearheaded by SUBCO, a Brisbane-based subsea cable investment company owned by Australian entrepreneur Bevan Slattery. Once the Navy project was complete, AT&T’s submarine cable project morphed into a commercial business, the former employees said.

Persons: Diego Garcia, SubCom, Cerberus, Stephen Feinberg, Donald Trump, Feinberg, Joe Biden, Biden, Eckhard Bruckschen, They’ve, ” Bruckschen, Trump, Brad Smith, –, Mao Ning, ”, Jacob Helberg, Bevan Slattery, SUBCO’s, Richard Payne, Payne, “ We’re, ” Payne, Alex Kerska, Catherine Creese, Creese, David Coughlan, Coughlan, Slattery, SubCom’s Coughlan, Rich, Australia West Express –, John Mariano, Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Caesar, Kellee Wicker, ” Wicker Organizations: CS, SubCom, Google, Microsoft, Meta, ., U.S, Navy, Cerberus Capital Management, U.S . Navy, President’s Intelligence, Board, U.S . Navy’s Pacific Fleet, U.S . Pacific Fleet, U.S ., Pentagon, America Inc, Cable Consultancy, Reuters, Japan’s NEC Corporation, France’s Alcatel Submarine Networks, China’s HMN, U.S . Department of Defense, White, U.S . Department of Justice, Foreign, Oracle, China Economic, Security, Commission, U.S . Department of Transportation, Department of Defense, government’s, Cable Security Fleet, Oman Australia Cable, SUBCO, The, The U.S . Pacific Fleet, SUBCO’s Oman Australia Cable, Facebook, Defense, Intelligence, SubCom’s, London Stock Exchange Group, U.S . Coast Guard, Naval, Cable, Office, Tyco Telecommunications, Australian, Financial, Australia West Express, GoTo Networks, couldn’t, Netflix, AT, Tyco International, Tyco, New, Washington, Science, Technology, Wilson, “ Cables Locations: Diego, Indian, China, New Jersey, United States, U.S, Soviet, Washington, New York, Philippine, South China, Beijing, America, American, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Eatontown , New Jersey, British, Britain, Australian, Australia, Oman, Brisbane, Southeast Asia, The U.S, SUBCO’s Oman, Perth, SubCom, Guam, U.S . Pacific, Republic of Djibouti, of Africa, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Scotland, Newfoundland

☆ Inside the subsea cable firm secretly helping American take on China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +24 min

Persons: Diego Garcia, SubCom, Cerberus, Stephen Feinberg, Donald Trump, Feinberg, Joe Biden, Biden, Eckhard Bruckschen, They’ve, ” Bruckschen, Trump, Brad Smith, –, Mao Ning, ”, Jacob Helberg, Bevan Slattery, SUBCO’s, Richard Payne, Payne, “ We're, ” Payne, Alex Kerska, Catherine Creese, Creese, David Coughlan, Coughlan, Slattery, SubCom’s Coughlan, Rich, Australia West Express –, John Mariano, Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Caesar, Kellee Wicker, ” Wicker, Joe Brock, Mohammad Kawoosa, Edgar Su, Catherine Tai Design, Eve Watling, Marla Dickerson Organizations: CS, SubCom, Google, Microsoft, Meta, ., U.S, Navy, Cerberus Capital Management, U.S . Navy, President’s Intelligence, Board, U.S . Navy’s Pacific Fleet, U.S . Pacific Fleet, U.S ., Pentagon, America Inc, Cable Consultancy, Reuters, Japan’s NEC Corporation, France’s Alcatel Submarine Networks, China’s HMN, U.S . Department of Defense, White, U.S . Department of Justice, Foreign, Oracle, China Economic, Security, Commission, U.S . Department of Transportation, Department of Defense, government’s, Cable Security Fleet, Oman Australia Cable, SUBCO, The, The U.S . Pacific Fleet, SUBCO’s Oman Australia Cable, Facebook, Defense, Intelligence, SubCom’s, London Stock Exchange Group, U.S . Coast Guard, Naval, Cable, Office, Tyco Telecommunications, Australian, Financial, Australia West Express, GoTo Networks, couldn’t, Netflix, AT, Tyco International, Tyco, New, Washington, Science, Technology, Wilson, “ Cables Locations: Diego, Indian, China, New Jersey, United States, U.S, Soviet, Washington, New York, Philippine, South China, Beijing, America, American, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Eatontown , New Jersey, British, Britain, Australian, Australia, Oman, Brisbane, Southeast Asia, The U.S, SUBCO’s Oman, Perth, SubCom, Guam, U.S . Pacific, Republic of Djibouti, of Africa, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Scotland, Newfoundland

☆ A US Navy battleship all but sunk at Pearl Harbor was brought back to life to battle the Germans on D-Day. The military later blasted it with a nuclear bomb.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The USS Nevada saw the world and multiple combat operations during its three decades of service. It was severely damaged at Pearl Harbor but later restored to hit German positions during D-Day. After returning to duty, the Nevada spent the next 11 years operating around the Pacific, and as tensions increased with Japan, the Nevada spent much of 1941 carrying out training exercises in the region. The USS Nevada burns following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese military. Damaged and radioactive, the Nevada survived the tests and returned to Pearl Harbor to be decommissioned later in August.

Persons: —, Pearl Harbor's Organizations: Service, US, USS, Getty, Army, Marshall Locations: Nevada, Massachusetts, Caribbean, USS Oklahoma, Ireland, USS Utah, Atlantic, Pacific, Americas, Japan, Island, USS, Attu, Alaska, Normandy's, Iwo Jima, Okinawa

☆ Most surprising facts about the radioactive particles that poison the air after a nuclear bomb detonates
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Adam Barnes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Fallout can stay in the atmosphere for yearsExplosion of Nuclear Device "Seminole" on Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Ocean on June 6, 1956. CORBIS/Corbis via Getty ImagesNuclear blasts create dangerous fallout — residual radioactive material that travels high into the air, cools into dust, and eventually settles back to the ground, poisoning it in the process. Most fallout from a nuclear blast takes anywhere from one day to a week to return to the ground, said Zaijing Sun, a nuclear physicist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. But some fallout gets kicked so high into the atmosphere, as much as 50 miles up, it can remain for several months to years before falling back to the surface, Sun added. Sun works as part of the Health, Environment, and Radiation Detection research group at UNLV that studies radioactive waste management, as well as applications of radiology and nuclear physics for medical uses.

☆ US to sign strategic pacts with two Pacific states, hopes for third in weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( David Brunnstrom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - The United States will sign new strategic pacts with the Pacific island states of Palau and Micronesia early next week and hopes to do so with the Marshall islands in coming weeks, the U.S. presidential envoy negotiating the deals said. As anticipated, he was unable to conclude the deal with the Marshall Islands. "We have made progress over my three-day visit to Marshall Islands and we hope to sign an agreement with the Marshall Islands in the coming weeks," he said. Chinese diplomats have been courting the region and China's construction and mining companies have expanded their business in many Pacific island nations. Yun said last month "topline" agreements would provide the three COFA states with a total of about $6.5 billion over 20 years.

☆ $59 Million, Gone: How Bikini Atoll Leaders Blew Through U.S. Trust Fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Pete Mckenzie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The golden sand of Bikini Atoll is laced with plutonium. In the 1940s and ’50s, the U.S. government used this coral reef, in the Pacific nation of the Marshall Islands, for testing nuclear weapons. In 2017, after a campaign by Bikini leaders for greater autonomy, the Trump administration announced that the government would lift withdrawal limits and stop auditing the main fund, then worth $59 million. Six years later, only about $100,000 remains, and the Bikini community is in crisis. He has defended some of the purchases as investments against climate change, as necessary to support isolated Bikinians and as attempts at revenue-generating projects.

☆ How to put your best travel foot forward for Earth Day 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Forrest Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

But you don’t have to totally cut out travel or stay super close to home to be a good planetary citizen. You need a city that’s dedicated to getting it right to best enjoy an urban biking vacation. Here, we've curated 30 of our favorite corners, including the Thu Bon River, which flows through central Vietnam. A maze of rivers and caves, the UNESCO World Centre is defined by its craggy limestone facades and jade green water. Bruno De Hogues/Photodisc/Getty Images Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park: A UNESCO World Heritage, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is heaven for spelunkers.

☆ A nuclear physicist describes 7 things you probably didn't know about radioactive fallout from a nuclear bomb
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Adam Barnes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

☆ The US military set off its largest nuclear explosion in testing 69 years ago, but scientists had no idea the blast would be that big
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Dozens of nuclear tests were carried out by the US in the Pacific between 1946 and 1958. The largest of these was the detonation of the Castle Bravo device on March 1, 1954. It was 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb that leveled Hiroshima during World War II. Castle Bravo was a real 'eyeopener'Despite the devastation caused by Castle Bravo, the US military continued to conducting nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific. The US, UK, and Soviet Union signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty in 1963, which barred nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater.

☆ Philippines, U.S. discuss joint coast guard patrols in South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MANILA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The Philippines and the United States are discussing conducting joint coast guard patrols, including in the South China Sea, a Manila official said on Monday. Jay Tarriela, the Philippine Coast Guard's (PCG) spokesperson on South China Sea issues, told CNN Philippines that talks with the United States have advanced beyond the infancy stage and the likelihood of carrying out joint patrols is high. "There is also a possibility that it will be conducted in the South China Sea in support of the freedom of navigation of the United States government," he said. The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the joint patrols. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr last week summoned China's ambassador to relay his concern over the frequency and intensity of China's actions in the South China Sea.

☆ Philippines urges China to prevent any 'provocative act' after complaint over laser
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China should restrain its forces to prevent them committing any "provocative act," the Philippine military said on Monday, after Manila accused China's coast guard of using a laser to try to disrupt a resupply mission to troops in the South China Sea. "I think it's time for the Chinese government to restrain its forces so that it does not commit any provocative act that will endanger the lives of people," military spokesperson Medel Aguilar told reporters. Aguilar quoted the Philippine defense chief as saying the Chinese action was "offensive" and unsafe. The incident took place at the Second Thomas Shoal, 105 nautical miles (120.83 miles) off the Philippine province of Palawan. The shoal is home to a small Philippine military contingent on board a rusty ship.

☆ Philippines Says Chinese Ship Flashed Military-Grade Laser to Disrupt Coast Guard Mission
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Feliz Solomon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

China’s coast guard used a military-grade laser to disrupt a resupply mission by the Philippines in the South China Sea, Philippine authorities said—the latest in a series of encounters that have raised tensions in the disputed waterway. The Philippine coast guard said in a statement Monday that Chinese coast guard vessels accompanied by boats belonging to China’s maritime militia created a blockade Feb. 6 around an atoll known as Second Thomas Shoal, which China also claims. The statement said the Chinese vessels deliberately prevented Philippine vessels from reaching an outpost there that has been a source of contention between the two nations in the past.

☆ Philippines urges China to halt any "provocative act" after laser aimed at vessel
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Karen Lema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Aguilar also quoted the Philippine defence chief as saying the action of the Chinese coast guard was "offensive" and unsafe." Images supplied by the PCG showed a green light emanating from a Chinese vessel with bow number 5205. China has said it was ready to manage maritime issues "cordially" with the Philippines during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's visit to Beijing in January. In February last year, Australia accused Beijing of an 'act of intimidation' after a Chinese navy vessel directed a laser at an Australian military surveillance aircraft. The VFA provides rules for the rotation of thousands of U.S. troops in and out of the Philippines for exercises.

☆ U.S. opens embassy in Solomon Islands, Blinken says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The United States has opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands after a 30-year absence as it seeks to boost diplomatic relations in the Pacific as a counter to China. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced plans to open a diplomatic mission in the Pacific island nation during a visit to the region last year. The last U.S. embassy in the Solomons closed in 1993 amid post-Cold War budget cuts and the United States was represented there by an ambassador based in Papua New Guinea. In a statement on Wednesday, Blinken said the State Department informed the Solomon Islands' government that the opening of the new embassy in the capital Honiara became official as of Jan. 27. The reopening of the embassy in the Solomons comes as Washington has been negotiating the renewal of cooperation agreements with three key Pacific island nations, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau.

☆ Kiribati to return to Pacific Islands regional group, ending rift
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The remote atoll nation of Kiribati said on Monday it would rejoin the Pacific Islands Forum, ending a split that had threatened unity at a time of increased superpower tensions in the strategically-located region. The statement said the Kiribati government had formally stated its "positive endorsement to rejoin the Pacific Islands Forum this year 2023". Kiribati, which is 3,000 kms (1,860 miles) southwest of the U.S. state of Hawaii, switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019. Rabuka's coalition government narrowly won a general election in December, the first transition of power in Fiji in 16 years, but has since been warned by Fiji's military against making "sweeping changes". Fiji's President Wiliame Katonivere on Monday evening announced that Fiji's Chief Justice Kamal Kumar had been suspended on Rabuka's advice.

☆ Pacific islands urge Japan to delay release of Fukushima waste over contamination fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Pacific island nations are urging Japan to delay the release of water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant over fears fisheries will be contaminated, the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) said on Wednesday. Japan had approved the future release of more than 1 million tonnes of water from the site into the ocean after treatment in April 2021. The United States conducted nuclear testing in the Pacific islands in the 1940s and 1950s and the Marshall Islands continues to campaign for more compensation from Washington over lasting health and environmental effects. France conducted atomic testing between 1966 and 1996 at Mururoa Atoll in French Pacific territories. Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - More than 100 arms-control, environmental and other activist groups have urged the Biden administration to formally apologize to the Marshall Islands for the impact of massive nuclear testing there in the 1940s and '50s and to provide fair compensation. The activists, led by the by the Arms Control Association and including Greenpeace, Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Marshallese Education Initiative, made the call in a Dec. 5 letter to President Joe Biden. It urged Washington to deliver on promises of nuclear justice in ongoing negotiations with the Marshall Islands on renewing a Compact of Free Association (COFA) that has been the basis of relations with the Pacific territory since the 1980s. COFA provisions will expire in 2023 for the Marshall Islands and another Pacific territory, the Federated States of Micronesia, and with Palau in 2024. They said that as well as issuing a formal apology and meeting compensation claims, Washington should support long-term environmental remediation, expand access to healthcare, especially for illnesses associated with radiation exposure, and declassify documents related on nuclear testing.

☆ US military atomic cleanup crews were sent out in the wake of American nuclear testing, and many paid a heavy price, veterans say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Over a period of more than a decade, the US military conducted dozens of nuclear tests in the Pacific. Years later, soldiers were sent to the Marshall Islands to try and clean up the fallout from the testing. Nuclear tests like Castle Bravo produced a substantial amount of nuclear fallout that negatively affected the people of the Marshall Islands, according to the Brookings Institution think tank. Impact of radiation contaminationNuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands had "devastating effects" on the country's environment that "remain unresolved," according to a 2019 report by the Republic of the Marshall Islands' National Nuclear Commission. However, he, like thousands of others, are excluded from the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which only covers veterans present for atmospheric nuclear tests.

☆ Chinese military scientists simulated a nuclear blast in space to knock out satellite networks like Starlink
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Stephen Chen | South China Morning Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Chinese scientists conducted a computer experiment of a nuclear blast in space. This could render nuclear weapons ineffective and too dangerous for an anti-satellite mission. Chinese military researchers worry that these satellites could provide communication services to rivals or slam into China's space station or satellites, acting as "suicide agents" to disable Chinese space infrastructure during a war. Some Chinese researchers have therefore proposed hitting a few carefully selected targets that could produce a small amount of space debris. "Whether it is legal to use nuclear weapons as a defence measure against a hypersonic weapon attack remains a subject of debate in the research community," he added.

☆ A rout by the US in an air battle around Taiwan led Japan to adopt desperate tactics in World War II's final months
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Their goal was to destroy as much of Japan's air and naval strength before US troops landed on the Philippine island of Leyte. A diversionA Japanese heavy cruiser after being bombed by US Navy aircraft during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. But Japan's air and naval power were still major threats, and to ensure the Philippines could be liberated, they had to be degraded, if not eliminated. By 1944, Japanese military leaders recognized their situation and devised a plan to prepare for US invasions of Japanese-held territory. Japanese attempts to attack the carriers were fruitless, with 42 more Japanese planes shot down trying to conduct attack runs.

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