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☆ South Korea to issue soon response to Japan's Fukushima discharge plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A discharge outlet being constructed to release Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water into the sea stands in the water, at the disabled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, March 8, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File PhotoSEOUL, July 5 (Reuters) - South Korea will issue its own response as soon as possible after the U.N. nuclear watchdog approved Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima plant into the ocean, a government official said on Wednesday. Seoul would give its assessment of IAEA's examination of Japan's wastewater discharge plan when it announces its own review, Park said. South Korea's Agriculture Minister Chung Hwang-keun said on Tuesday the country will not lift a ban on Japanese food products from the area around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant until public concern over contamination ease. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, now in Japan, will visit South Korea from July 7 to 9 to explain the organisation's findings on Japan's planned discharge of water.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Japan's, Chung Hwang, keun, Rafael Grossi, Soo, Choi, Ed Davies Organizations: Processing, REUTERS, International Atomic Energy Agency, South Korea's, IAEA, Korea's Agriculture, Thomson Locations: Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, SEOUL, South Korea, Seoul, Tokyo

☆ Zaporizhzhia: Ukraine warns Russia might blow up nuclear power plant. How worried should we be?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Russian troops have placed “objects resembling explosives” on roofs at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address Tuesday that instantly sparked concerns around the world. That is, Russia may claim that any explosion at the power plant was the result of reckless Ukrainian shelling, rather than its own explosives. Grossi points on a map of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, March 2022. “The whole thing was saying: Russia’s basically going to have to kill me, in order for me not to make this nuclear power plant more safe. The Zaporizhzhia plant seen from the banks of the Dnipro on June 16, after the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, Zaporizhzhia, “, Kyrylo Budanov, ”, ” Karolina Hird, Dmitry Peskov, ” Peskov, –, Rafael Grossi, Petro Kotin, Joe Klamar, William Alberque, ” Alberque, Russia’s, Alberque, Alina Smutko, ” Cheryl Rofer, Stringer, Xi Jinping, Putin Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Institute for, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, United Nations, Russian, Grossi, Getty, Technology, International Institute for Strategy Studies, CAN, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Rescuers, Reuters, Russia, Financial Times Locations: Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia, Zaporizhzhia oblast, Kyiv, Europe –, Dnipro, Enerhodar, Russian, AFP, Nova, Moscow, ZNPP, Pennsylvania, India, Pakistan

☆ Japan to get crucial U.N. verdict for Fukushima water release
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Sakura Murakami | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Japan has not specified a date for the water release, pending the IAEA's final review and official approval from the national nuclear regulatory body for Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) (9501.T). Through its embassy in Japan, Beijing on Tuesday repeated the protest, saying the IAEA's report cannot be a "pass" for the water release and calling for the plan's suspension. Japan plans to release 1.3 million tonnes of water used to cool the fuel rods of the Fukushima plant damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The treated water will be diluted to well below internationally approved levels of tritium before being released into the Pacific Ocean. Nuclear power plants around the world regularly release waste water containing tritium above the concentration of TEPCO's treated water.

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Fumio Kishida, Sakura Murakami, Martin Pollard, Chang, Ran Kim, Gerry Doyle Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Tokyo Electric Power, Local, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan, China, Beijing, South, Tokyo

☆ Russia, Ukraine accuse each other of plotting imminent attack on nuclear plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

July 4 (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday accused each other of plotting to stage an attack on the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, long the subject of mutual recriminations and suspicions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, about Russian "dangerous provocations" at the plant in southeastern Ukraine. Zelenskiy tweeted that he had told Macron in a telephone conversation that "the occupation troops are preparing dangerous provocations at the Zaporizhzhia (nuclear plant)." "But in any case, the world sees - and cannot fail to see - that the only source of danger to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is Russia. Zelenskiy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Ukrainian television that Grossi had proved ineffective in trying to uphold safety at the plant.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Emmanuel Macron, Renat, Zelenskiy, Macron, Rafael Grossi, Mykhailo Podolyak, Grossi, Podolyak, Ron Popeski, Nick Starkov, Mark Heinrich, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, flipflopping, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Ukrainian

☆ Japan to get crucial UN verdict for Fukushima water release
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Construction site of the unit 5,6 seaside facilities of the Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in Okuma of Fukushima prefecture. Japan is set to receive a report from a U.N. nuclear watchdog on Tuesday approving its plan to release treated radioactive water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima plant into the ocean despite fierce resistance from Beijing and some local opposition. Japan has not specified a date to start the water release, which will take 30 to 40 years to complete, pending the IAEA's review and official approval from the national nuclear regulatory body for Tokyo Electric Power . Through its embassy in Japan, Beijing on Tuesday said the IAEA's report cannot be a "pass" for the water release and called for the plan's suspension. Japan maintains the process is safe as it has treated the water — enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools — used to cool the fuel rods of the Fukushima plant after it was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Fumio Kishida, Yoshimasa Hayashi Organizations: Tokyo Electric Power, International Atomic Energy Agency Locations: Fukushima, Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, Beijing

☆ Albert Einstein wrote to the US pleading with the government to build an atomic bomb 80 years ago. Here's what he said.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Albert Einstein was famously a pacifist, but he urged the US to develop the atomic bomb. Szilard and two other Hungarian physicists, Edward Teller and Eugene Wigner, who were both refugees, told Einstein of their grave concerns. Einstein and Leo Szilard reenacting the signing of their letter to Roosevelt warning that Germany may be building an atomic bomb. Einstein later said, "Had I known that the Germans would not succeed in developing an atomic bomb, I would have done nothing for the bomb." UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill meets with Roosevelt in the meeting where they finalized plans for an atomic bomb.

Persons: Albert Einstein, —, Franklin D, Roosevelt, Einstein, Alexander Sachs, Alex, Sachs, Leo Szilard, Szilard, Edward Teller, Eugene Wigner, Leo Szilard reenacting, Cynthia Kelly, Winston Churchill, Warren Buffett Organizations: Manhattan, Service, Atomic Heritage Foundation, New York Times, Jewish, Getty, Geographic, Uranium, Manhattan Project, AP, Gamma, Columbia University Locations: Japan, Nazi Germany, Germany, Hungarian, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, AP Nazi Germany, Keystone, France, United States

☆ Scientists Say Fukushima Water Is Safe, but Radiation Fears Persist
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Motoko Rich | Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In one of the remaining steps before Japan decides to release more than one million metric tons of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, the International Atomic Energy Agency declared on Tuesday that the government’s plan had met the agency’s safety standards. The nuclear authority’s final report concluded that the treated water would “have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment” once it is released. Japan’s plan has provoked controversy both at home and abroad, as government officials in China and many residents in South Korea have protested the release as unsafe. Rafael Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s director general, said that, should Japan proceed with its planned discharge, the IAEA would also open a station in Fukushima to continue reviewing the water’s safety “for decades to come.”

Persons: Rafael Grossi, ” Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, International Atomic Energy, IAEA Locations: Japan, China, South Korea, Fukushima

CNN —Japan will soon begin releasing treated radioactive water into the ocean following approval from the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog for a controversial plan that comes 12 years after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. Radioactive wastewater contains some dangerous elements, but the majority of these can be removed from the water, said TEPCO. The real issue is a hydrogen isotope called radioactive tritium, which cannot be taken away. A survey by Asahi Shimbun in March found that 51% of 1,304 respondents supported the wastewater release, while 41% opposed it. People in Tokyo protest against the Japanese government's plan to release nuclear wastewater into the sea on May 16, 2023.

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Fumio Kishida, Daniel Campisi, Grossi, ” Robert H, Richmond, ”, ” Grossi, “, Han Duck, Yonhap, aren’t, Tim Mousseau, Wang Yiliang, Zhang Xiaoyu Organizations: CNN, United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, UN, Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Kewalo, Laboratory, University of Hawaii, Forum, World Health Organization, State Department, Atomic Energy Council, Pacific Islands Forum, Korean, US, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, University of South, Reuters, Getty, Asahi Shimbun, – Locations: Japan, Fukushima, China, Manoa, Richmond, Asia, Pacific, California, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, University of South Carolina, South Korea, Seoul, Xinhua, Tokyo

☆ IAEA head Grossi meets with local residents ahead of visit to wrecked Fukushima plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Sakura Murakami | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TOKYO, July 5 (Reuters) - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi met residents on Wednesday to assuage concerns over the safety of Japan's plan to release treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean. The reality of people, the economy, and social perceptions may be different from the science, he said, acknowledging the fears surrounding the water release. Grossi will visit the wrecked plant on Wednesday, where he will inaugurate an IAEA office on site that will monitor the release of the water, which is expected to take 30 to 40 years. Some neighbouring countries have also raised concerns over the threat to the environment, with Beijing emerging as the biggest critic. The treated water will be diluted to well below internationally approved levels of tritium before being released into the Pacific.

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Nozaki, Grossi, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Fumio Kishida, Sakura Murakami, Chang, Ran Kim, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Nikkei, Korean, Yomiuri, Pacific, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan, Beijing, East Asia

☆ The risk of nuclear disaster in Ukraine skyrocketed with the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. Residents nearby are preparing for the worst.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In June, a controlled explosion caused the Ukrainian Kakhovka hydroelectric dam to collapse. The nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant relies on water reserves to cool its power reactors. He also said the loss of the dam could also endanger the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which draws on the reservoir at nearby Kakhovka for cooling. The security of the Zaporizhzhia plant — Europe's largest nuclear power plant — has been of paramount concern since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Russian leader Vladimir Putin targeting the plant early on. Recently, however, the IAEA has received reports of mines placed around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, a violation of the UN principles and a significant risk to the security of the nuclear reactors.

Persons: —, Nadiya Hez, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, Rafael Mariano Grossi, Grossi Organizations: Service, New York Times, Reuters, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, United Nations Security Council, UN Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Kyiv

☆ Russia asks IAEA to ensure Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant security
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 23 (Reuters) - Russia urged the International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday to ensure Ukraine does not shell the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, saying it was otherwise operating safely. Alexei Likhachev, chief executive of the Russian state nuclear energy firm Rosatom, made the comments at a meeting with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in the Russian city of Kaliningrad, Rosatom said in a statement, after Grossi visited the plant last week. "We expect concrete steps from the IAEA aimed at preventing strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, both on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and on adjacent territory and critical infrastructure facilities," Rosatom quoted its chief as saying in a statement. The IAEA said this week that the power plant was "grappling with ... water-related challenges" after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam emptied the vast reservoir on whose southern bank the plant sits. Moscow and Kyiv have regularly accused each other of shelling Europe's largest nuclear power station, with its six offline reactors.

Persons: Alexei Likhachev, Rafael Grossi, Rosatom, Grossi, Kevin Liffey Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Armed Forces of, Kyiv, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Kaliningrad, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Moscow, Kyiv

☆ Iran holds talks with EU mediator Mora in Qatar
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organisation's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 5, 2023. REUTERS/Leonhard FoegerDUBAI, June 21 (Reuters) - Iran held talks in Qatar with the European Union's Enrique Mora, who coordinates talks between Tehran and six powers on reviving a 2015 nuclear pact, top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani tweeted on Wednesday. Talks between Iran and world powers to re-establish a 2015 accord meant to curb Tehran's disputed nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief have stalled since last September. We exchanged views and discussed a range of issues including negotiations on sanctions lifting," Bagheri Kani said in a tweet. Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; editing by Jon Boyle and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Leonhard Foeger DUBAI, Enrique Mora, Ali Bagheri Kani, Bagheri Kani, Donald Trump, Jon Boyle, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, REUTERS, Mora, Dubai Newsroom, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Austria, Iran, Qatar, Tehran, Doha

☆ Momentum building in Iran talks with West, says source
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Mostafa Salem | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Momentum appears to be building to revive negotiations around Iran’s growing nuclear program. Talks between Iran and the European Union on Wednesday focused on key sticking points, including nuclear enrichment levels and Iranian cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, one diplomatic source briefed on the matter told CNN. “The current environment has been positive for de-escalation,” said the source, who requested anonymity citing longstanding norms around regional government communications with the media. Both Qatar and Oman have played mediating roles between Iran and Western powers in the past. Iran had demanded that South Korea release $7 billion in funds frozen in South Korean banks under US sanctions.

Persons: Enrique Mora, Ali Bagheri, ”, Mora, Kani, –, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, “, Biden, Brett McGurk, Siamak, Emad Sharghi, Morad, Shahab Dalili, Matthew Miller, Trump Organizations: CNN, European Union, International Atomic Energy Agency, Twitter, EU, –, Iran’s, South, Oman “, IAEA Locations: Iran, Doha, Iranian, Tehran, United States, – France, Germany, United Kingdom, Oman, Qatar, American, South Korea, Korean, Iraq

☆ China and Pakistan sign $4.8 billion nuclear power plant deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Pakistan and China signed a $4.8 billion deal on Tuesday to build a 1,200-megawatt nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, hailing the investment by a country that Pakistan views as its most dependable ally. Pakistan’s total nuclear energy production capacity rose to 1,400 mw, when the country’s sixth nuclear power plant opened two years ago. It is unclear whether the new investment is part of the $65 billion that China has pledged in infrastructure building for Pakistan under its Belt and Road Initiative. Instead, he said, the Chinese had disbursed an initial $104.53 million (30 billion Pakistani rupees) to start the project. CNN has reached out to China National Nuclear Cooperation and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.

Persons: Shehbaz Sharif, Sharif, ” Sharif Organizations: PTV, China National Nuclear Cooperation, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, “, Initiative, CNN, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: Pakistan, China, Punjab, Karachi

ISLAMABAD, June 20 (Reuters) - Pakistan and China signed a $4.8 billion deal on Tuesday to build a 1,200-megawatt nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, hailing the investment by a country that Pakistan views as its most dependable ally. Pakistan's total nuclear energy production capacity rose to 1,400 mw, when the country's sixth nuclear power plant opened two years ago. Located in the southern port city of Karachi, that 1,100 mw plant was also constructed with Chinese assistance. It is unclear whether the new investment is part of the $65 billion that China has pledged in infrastructure building for Pakistan under its Belt and Road Initiative. Instead, he said, the Chinese had disbursed an initial 30 billion Pakistani rupees ($104.53 million) to start the project.

Persons: Shehbaz Sharif, Sharif, Asif Shahzad, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: PTV, China National Nuclear Cooperation, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Initiative, Thomson Locations: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, China, Punjab, Karachi

☆ Trump lacked power to declassify secret nuclear arms document, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Jonathan Landay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks following his arraignment on classified document charges, at Trump National Golf Club, in Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., June 13, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File PhotoWASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) - Even when he was president, Donald Trump lacked the legal authority to declassify a U.S. nuclear weapons-related document that he is charged with illegally possessing, security experts said, contrary to the former U.S. president’s claim. The special status of nuclear-related information further erodes what many legal experts say is a weak defense centered around declassification. “The president is the executive branch and so he can declassify anything that is nuclear information,” he said. And it takes forever,” said Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive.

Persons: Donald Trump, Amr Alfiky, Trump, ”, Steven Aftergood, David Jonas, Elizabeth Goitein, it’s, Thomas Blanton, Jonathan Landay, Don Durfee, Amy Stevens, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: U.S, Trump National Golf Club, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Atomic Energy, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Federation of Atomic Scientists, Prosecutors, Trump, Republican, Atomic Energy Act, DOE, Pentagon, AEA, U.S . National Nuclear Security Administration, Brennan Center for Justice, Constitution, DOD, National Security, Thomson Locations: Bedminster , New Jersey, U.S, declassify, declassification, United States, Florida

Having failed to revive a 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Washington hopes to restore some limits on Iran to keep it from getting a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel and trigger a regional arms race. An Iranian official said: "Call it whatever you want, whether a temporary deal, an interim deal, or a mutual understanding - both sides want to prevent further escalation." U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley has also met Iran's ambassador to the U.N. after months of Iran refusing direct contact. The Western official said the key U.S. objective was to keep the nuclear situation from worsening and to avoid a potential clash between Israel and Iran. U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Republican, wrote to President Joe Biden on Thursday saying "any arrangement or understanding with Iran, even informal, requires submission to Congress".

Persons: Donald Trump, Matt Miller, Washington, Brett McGurk, Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran Rob Malley, miscalculate, Michael McCaul, Joe Biden, Parisa, John Irish, Arshad Mohammed, Ramu Ayub, Simon Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis, Don Durfee, William Mallard Organizations: U.S . Congress, State Department, U.S . National Security, International Atomic Energy Agency, U.S, . House Foreign, Republican, John, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, PARIS, United States, Iran, Russia, Washington, Israel, Tehran, U.S, de, Ukraine, Oman, Ali Bagheri Kani . U.S, IRAN, ISRAEL, Parisa Hafezi, Dubai, Paris, Saint Paul , Minnesota

☆ IAEA's Grossi: Water for cooling a priority at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

June 15 (Reuters) - The head of the U.N. atomic energy agency said on Thursday that ensuring water for cooling was a priority of his visit to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, adding that the station could operate safely for "some time". Rafael Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was inspecting the state of Europe's largest nuclear plant following last week's breach in the Kakhovka dam downstream on the Dnipro River. "With the water that is here the plant can be kept safe for some time. The plant is going to be working to replenish the water so that safety functions can continue normally." Russian forces captured both the nuclear plant and the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam shortly after President Vladimir Putin sent them into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Grossi, Read, Vladimir Putin, Gareth Jones, Ron Popeski, Angus MacSwan, Grant McCool Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Tass, Atomic Energy Agency, Press, United Nations, Security, TASS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Dnipro, Russia, Ukrainian, Moscow, Kyiv

☆ Counteroffensive Is Grueling and Costly, but Promising, Ukraine and U.S. Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Marc Santora | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United Nations’ chief nuclear energy watchdog, Rafael Mariano Grossi, ventured into the war zone on Thursday to visit the endangered Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, held since last year by Russian forces. After crossing the front line to reach the plant, he explained the concern in posts on Twitter, but did not say what he had found. On Thursday, a missile struck Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine, damaging an industrial area and injuring one man, but no deaths were reported. On Tuesday, a strike in the same city hit an apartment block and a warehouse, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens of others. A day earlier, a missile destroyed apartments and a warehouse in Odesa, on Ukraine’s southern coast, killing three people and displacing hundreds, officials said.

Persons: Rafael Mariano Grossi, Grossi Organizations: United Nations ’, International Atomic Energy Agency Locations: Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Odesa

☆ U.N. nuclear chief's visit to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant delayed
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, June 14 (Reuters) - A planned visit by U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi to Ukraine's Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been delayed by "some hours", a diplomatic source said on Wednesday. Russian state-owned news agency RIA said the visit had been expected to take place on Wednesday but that it had been delayed by a day. Russian forces captured the hydroelectric dam and the nuclear plant in southern Ukraine shortly after their February 2022 invasion. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant uses a cooling pond to keep its six reactors from potentially disastrous overheating. Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Grossi said there was no immediate danger but that it was a "serious situation".

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Grossi, RIA, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Andrew Osborn, Timothy Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Reuters, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine

☆ Factbox: Governments race to regulate AI tools
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

CHINA* Planning regulationsThe Chinese government will seek to initiate AI regulations in its country, billionaire Elon Musk said on June 5 after meeting with officials during his recent trip to China. ITALY* Investigating possible breachesItaly's data protection authority plans to review other artificial intelligence platforms and hire AI experts, a top official said in May. ChatGPT became available again to users in Italy in April after being temporarily banned over concerns by the national data protection authority in March. SPAIN* Investigating possible breachesSpain's data protection agency said in April it was launching a preliminary investigation into potential data breaches by ChatGPT. The Biden administration earlier in April said it was seeking public comments on potential accountability measures for AI systems.

Persons: Alan Turing, Elon Musk, Margrethe Vestager, Vestager, CNIL, Dado Ruvic, Ziv Katzir, Israel, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Michael Bennet, Biden, Alessandro Parodi, Amir Orusov, Jason Neely, Kirsten Donovan, Milla Nissi Organizations: Microsoft, Authority, Reuters, EU, Key, European Consumer Organisation, Seven, REUTERS, Israel Innovation Authority, UNITED, International Atomic Energy Agency, United Nations, U.S . Federal Trade Commission's, Thomson Locations: AUSTRALIA, BRITAIN, Britain, CHINA, China, Beijing, U.S, FRANCE, Italy, Hiroshima, Japan, IRELAND, ISRAEL, Israel, ITALY, JAPAN, SPAIN, Gdansk

☆ Russia-Ukraine War Updates: 6 Killed By Missile Attack in Kryvyi Rih
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Andrés R. Martínez | Gaya Gupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The breach of the dam sent water from the Dnipro River coursing downstream and drastically reduced the volume of water in the Kakhovka reservoir. Ukraine controls the western banks of the reservoir, while Russia holds parts of the eastern bank. But it also needs to be supplemented with reservoir water, which means accurate monitoring of the reservoir’s water level is crucial. Over the past year, shelling has cut external power supplies to the plant and also hit an area where spent fuel is stored. Mr. Grossi has repeatedly warned of the potential for nuclear catastrophe at the plant.

Persons: Rafael Mariano Grossi, Volodymyr Zelensky, Grossi, ” Mr Organizations: United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency Locations: Ukraine, Dnipro, Russian, Russia, Europe

Google and OpenAI, two U.S. leaders in artificial intelligence, have opposing ideas about how the technology should be regulated by the government, a new filing reveals. Google is one of the leading developers of generative AI with its chatbot Bard, alongside Microsoft -backed OpenAI with its ChatGPT bot. While OpenAI CEO Sam Altman touted the idea of a new government agency focused on AI to deal with its complexities and license the technology, Google in its filing said it preferred a "multi-layered, multi-stakeholder approach to AI governance." "At the national level, we support a hub-and-spoke approach—with a central agency like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) informing sectoral regulators overseeing AI implementation—rather than a 'Department of AI,'" Google wrote in its filing. "There is this question of should there be a new agency specifically for AI or not?"

Persons: Bard, Sam Altman, Emily M, Bender, Brad Smith, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, execs, Global Affairs Kent Walker, he's, Helen Toner, OpenAI Organizations: Google, National Telecommunications, Washington Post, Microsoft, National Institute of Standards, Technology, NIST, AI, FDA, University of Washington's Computational, Laboratory, Twitter, International Atomic Energy Agency, Post, Global Affairs, Georgetown's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, CNBC

☆ UN nuclear watchdog concerned over water levels at Ukraine plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 12 (Reuters) - The U.N. atomic watchdog said on Sunday that it needs wider access around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to check "a significant discrepancy" in water level data at the breached Kakhovka dam used for cooling the plant's reactors. Both the Kakhovka hydropower dam and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant have been occupied by Russia since the early days of its invasion in February 2022. "But we will only be able to know when we gain access to the thermal power plant." Grossi said the thermal power plant "plays a key role for the safety and security of the nuclear power plant a few kilometres away," hence the need for access and independent assessment. The agency has said earlier that the Zaporizhzhia plant can fall back on other water sources when the reservoir's water is no longer available, including a large cooling pond above the reservoir with several months' worth of water.

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Grossi, Gross, Lidia Kelly, Stephen Coates Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Melbourne

☆ UN chief backs idea of global AI watchdog like nuclear agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, June 12 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday backed a proposal by some artificial intelligence executives for the creation of an international AI watchdog body like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "Alarm bells over the latest form of artificial intelligence – generative AI – are deafening. But on Monday he added: "I would be favorable to the idea that we could have an artificial intelligence agency ... inspired by what the international agency of atomic energy is today." British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also supported the idea and said he wants Britain to be home to global AI safety regulation. He said he plans to appoint in the coming days a scientific advisory board of AI experts and chief scientists from U.N. agencies.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, ChatGPT, Guterres, OpenAI, Rishi Sunak, Michelle Nichols, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, United Nations, British, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Britain

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