DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Russia's war in Ukraine: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Christian Edwards | Ed Upright | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

A view shows Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from the bank of Kakhovka Reservoir near the town of Nikopol after the Nova Kakhovka dam breach in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, on June 16, 2023. Zakharova responded by calling Ukraine “a terrorist regime.”“Now they have embarked on a plan for ‘their own salvation’ - systematic damage to the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The NATO summit should have focused on this very subject. After all, the vast majority of the Alliance members will find themselves in the direct hit zone,” she said. However, Zakharova’s claim that the “majority” of NATO members will find themselves in the hit zone is false.

Persons: Alina Smutko, Maria Zakharova, Zakharova, Hanna Maliar, Ukraine “, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Vladimir Putin, ” William Alberque, Zakhorova, Read Organizations: Reuters Russia's Foreign, NATO, Zaporizhzhia NPP, Alliance, Ukrainian, Technology, International Institute for Strategy Studies, CNN Locations: Kakhovka, Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, Russian

☆ The war in Ukraine will define Biden’s legacy, but peril and uncertainty lie ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

They include:— A war of words between Ukraine and Russia over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of readying a bomb attack. The back-and-forth is raising fears of another alarming new dimension to a war already marred by alleged war crimes and terrible suffering among civilians. In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that the potential for “sabotage” by Ukraine at the plant was high. Given Russia’s previous nuclear rhetoric and fog of war misinformation, many Western observers are likely to give Zelensky the benefit of the doubt. Zelensky argued in the interview that the uprising exposed splits inside Russia over the war and an erosion of Russians’ positions.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, Wagner, Vladimir Putin’s, CNN’s Erin Burnett, Zelensky, Dmitry Peskov, –, CNN’s Christian Edwards, Yevgeny Prigozhin, ” Zelensky, Putin, Mike Turner of, CNN’s Jake Tapper, ”, Burnett, “, Hanna Maliar, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Xi Jinping, what’s, ” McConnell, “ That’s, it’s, McConnell Organizations: CNN, NATO, Kremlin, UN, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagner Group, Senior, House Intelligence, Ukrainian, Republican, Senate, Kentucky Republican, America, Trump Locations: Ukraine, Lithuania, Baltic, Soviet Union, Russia, readying, Russian, Belarus, Moscow, Mike Turner of Ohio, Klishchiivka, Bakhmut, Washington, Europe, Fort Knox

☆ What to know about nuclear power in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Those developments, which might give anyone pause about the future of nuclear power, are counteracted by other headlines. The question of nuclear energy splits governmentsGermany made the decision to decommission all of its nuclear plants after disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima. Nuclear power in the USAs of 2022, about 18% of US electricity is generated by nuclear power, according to the US Energy Information Administration. First, be very carefulI talked to one nuclear expert who said the US should be slow and methodical about nuclear power and another who argued there are multiple, public misperceptions about nuclear power that should be corrected. The more circumspect voice is Rodney Ewing, a Stanford University professor and expert on nuclear waste who was chairman of a federal review of nuclear waste procedures.

Persons: CNN’s Clare Sebastian, Larry, Joe Biden, Rodney Ewing, ”, I’ve, ” Ewing, “, David Ruzic –, Ruzic, we’ve, ” Ruzic, “ It’s, it’s, Ewing Organizations: CNN, International Atomic Energy Agency, US Energy Information Administration, FirstEnergy Corp, Department of Energy, Stanford University, Bulletin, Atomic Scientists, University of Illinois, Lawmakers Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Europe’s, Japan, Georgia, Germany, Fukushima, France, CNN’s, China, Tennessee, California, Illinois

☆ Rabbi’s Brush With Danger in Ukraine Went Viral
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

His role as chief rabbi has particular resonance in a war that President Vladimir V. Putin has falsely claimed is about “denazifying” Ukraine, a country whose current president is Jewish and whose Jewish community has historically suffered persecution. Born in Leningrad, the rabbi emigrated to Israel in the 1980s to escape the former Soviet Union. After marrying a Ukrainian woman, he came to Ukraine in the early 1990s to help children affected by the Chernobyl disaster and later led the rehabilitation of Kyiv’s main synagogue. When Russian-backed fighters launched a war in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Rabbi Azman helped evacuate civilians from the fighting. Photographs of him shaking hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain and other notable people cover a wall in his office.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Rabbi Azman, Anatevka, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Boris Johnson Organizations: denazifying, Soviet Union Locations: Ukraine, Leningrad, Israel, Ukrainian, Kyiv’s, Russian, Kyiv, Britain

☆ 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

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Kyiv says it has proof Russia blew up Kakhovka dam; counteroffensive gets underway in Ukraine's east
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine's domestic security service said it intercepted a phone call proving a Russian "sabotage group" blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric station and dam in southern Ukraine. It posted a recording of what it said was an intercepted telephone call on its official Telegram channel. While one of the men appears to claim a Russian sabotage group was responsible for attacking the dam, he offers no evidence in support. That was our sabotage group. By blowing up the Kakhovka HPP dam, the Russian Federation finally proved that it is a threat to the entire civilized world.

Persons: It's, Vasyl Malyuk, Natasha Turak Organizations: CNBC, NBC, Security Service, Ukraine, Russian Federation Locations: Russian, Ukraine

☆ Ukrainian spies say they intercepted a phone call of a Russian soldier saying 'it was our sabotage group' that destroyed the Kakhovka dam
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Paul Squire | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian soldier revealed it was their sabotage group that destroyed a dam in Ukraine, spies say. Ukraine's Security Service says the soldier discussed the dam's destruction on an intercepted phone call. Floodwaters caused by the explosion rushed downstream this week, swamping Ukrainian villages. The Security Service of Ukraine said the phone call was between two Russian service members. It was our sabotage group," one soldier says, according to Ukraine.

Persons: — Organizations: Ukraine's Security Service, Service, Security Service, NBC News Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Dnipro, Crimea, Ukrainian, Russia, Kherson

CNN —The collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine is one of the biggest industrial and ecological disasters in Europe for decades. Satellite images of the Nova Kakhovka dam before its collapse (left, on June 5) and after the disaster (right, on June 7). The Ukrainians point out that the facility has been under Russian control for the past year, making it easy for Russian forces to plant explosives. But much of the east bank of the river south of the Nova Kakhovka dam remains under Russian control. Maxar Technologies/APThere are also suggestions that the dam collapse took at least some Russian forces by surprise.

Persons: António Guterres, it’s, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Mykhailo Podolyak, Zelensky, ”, Dmitry Peskov, “, Andrei Pidlisnyi, Chris Binnie, Craig Goff, ” Goff, They’ve, ” Binnie, Goff Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UN, NATO, Maxar Technologies, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukrainian Agricultural Ministry, Maxar, University of Exeter, Engineering, Environmental Services, UK Science Media, HR, Royal Air Force, “ Locations: Nova, Ukraine, Europe, Russia, Moscow, Russian, Kyiv, Dnipro, Kherson, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia, “, Crimea, Korsunka

☆ Commonwealth Fusion has raised $2 billion to make energy like the sun and stars — here's a look inside
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Bob Mumgaard, the CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems Photo courtesy Commonwealth Fusion SystemsYou don't need to be a nuclear physicist to follow this race. The Commonwealth Fusion Systems campus in headquartered in Devens, Mass., which is between 35 and 40 miles outside of downtown Boston. The 50-acre campus is where Commonwealth Fusion System's corporate headquarters, advanced manufacturing facility and demonstration fusion device are all located. What it looks like to spend $2 billion to build a fusion machineIn the race to deliver fusion, Commonwealth is a frontrunner. The Commonwealth Fusion Systems' SPARC facility under construction in Devens, Mass.

Persons: Cat Clifford, Mumgaard, Wright, Bob Mumgaard, We've, haven't, Andrew Holland, Brandon Sorbom, Sorbom, Ally Yost, Yost, Alex Creely Organizations: Commonwealth Fusion Systems, CNBC, Commonwealth Fusion, United, Commonwealth, Fusion Industry Association, SPARC, ARC, Boeing Locations: Devens , Mass, Boston, Germany, Fukushima, Commonwealth

☆ A remote-working employee of the world's biggest nuclear power plant left important documents on the roof of his car before driving off. It could delay a Tepco plant restart.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Tepco nuclear plant employee in Japan left work documents on the roof of his car before driving off. The incident could thwart efforts to restart the world's largest nuclear plant on Japan's west coast. But the incident could thwart efforts to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, which had been offline since 2012 amid strict nuclear energy regulations and safety lapses following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, per Bloomberg. The Fukushima disaster was the second worst nuclear accident in the history of nuclear power generation after Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union in 1986. Just last week, Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority decided to keep a de facto ban on the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility, according to various media reports, including broadcaster NHK.

Organizations: Service, Electric Power, Tepco, Bloomberg, Soviet Union, Authority, NHK Locations: Japan, Wall, Silicon, Niigata

☆ Situation around Europe's largest nuclear power plant is 'potentially dangerous,' watchdog warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Leila Sackur | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Members of the delegation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visit the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on March 29, 2023. The situation in the area near Europe's largest nuclear power plant is "becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous," the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said Saturday. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement that he was "extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risk," facing the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southeast Ukraine. "I'm extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant. The 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near the northern Ukrainian city of Pripyat is considered the worst on record.

☆ Oliver Stone says you should be more worried about the climate crisis than the risks of using nuclear power
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Oscar-wining director Oliver Stone released a documentary calling for more use of nuclear power. And nuclear power kills far fewer people than fossil fuels — the main cause of the climate crisis — in terms of air pollution and accidents. These events distorted the safety risks of nuclear energy, Stone argues, noting that beyond the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, few people have died from nuclear accidents. Stone told Insider he didn't know that Ralph Nader, who famously campaigned against nuclear power plants, described the documentary as a "propaganda boomerang." "I'd rather not," Stone told Insider.

☆ The UK and Germany have very different ideas about the future of nuclear energy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Joumanna Bercetche | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

As the price of oil increased, energy independence became a priority, and Germany started commissioning more nuclear reactors. It took the nuclear disasters in Chernobyl in 1986, which was then part of the Soviet Union, and Fukushima, Japan, in 2011 to shift German public opinion against nuclear energy. Germany's decision to end its reliance on nuclear energy made it reliant on Russian pipeline gas. The UK's first nuclear power station was built in the 1950s, but it was Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who, in the 1980s, proposed constructing a nuclear power station every year for a decade as part of the country's industrial strategy. A study by market research firm YouGov in 2022 showed that almost half of Britons back the use of nuclear energy, compared with 31% who are opposed.

☆ Israel begins Independence Day celebrations marred by protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jillian Kumagai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Former workers at what was then known as the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) began commemorative events, holding an overnight vigil in the northern town of Slavuytch to remember victims of the world's worst nuclear accident on April 26, 1986.

☆ Touching the sky: A rare solar eclipse and a new hotel in the clouds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Courtesy Amelia Earhart Hangar MuseumAmelia Earhart wasn’t just the first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic. Camelot Theme Park (England): Set in the leafy Lancashire countryside, the Magic Kingdom of Camelot resurrected tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Scott Audette/AP Pripyat Amusement Park (Ukraine): This theme park was orphaned in 1986 following the Chernobyl meltdown just five kilometers (three miles) away. Considered the first theme park in Southeast Asia, it featured an artificial lake, huge swimming pool with giant water slides and a Prehistoric Animal Kingdom. Anne Jones/Alamy Stock Photo 10 fascinating theme parks that have closed forever Prev NextThat’s the question posed by these no-longer-in-operation theme parks around the world.

☆ Opinion: No, nuclear power isn’t the ‘big bazooka’ climate fix you might think
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Opinion Paul Hockenos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Berlin CNN —Germany’s exit from nuclear power on April 15 doesn’t single it out as a quirky anomaly or black sheep in a world otherwise enthusiastically embracing nuclear energy. Since a highpoint in the early 2000s, the number of operational nuclear reactors worldwide has fallen – from 438 to 411, according to this year’s World Nuclear Industry Status Report. While at the same time, renewable energy generation – clean tech like solar, wind, bioenergy and geothermal – has expanded by more than 30-fold. In fact, when matched up against renewables as a source of energy that doesn’t emit carbon, nuclear power falls egregiously short. Nuclear power may look like an attractive, big bazooka fix to rising emissions.

☆ 10 fascinating theme parks that have closed forever
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Joe Yogerst | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In April, we’re taking a thrilling ride into the world of theme parks. “We think of amusement parks as vibrant, colorful, noisy, cheerful places,” says Jim Futrell of the National Amusement Park Historical Association. Pripyat Amusement Park (Ukraine)The Pripyat Amusement Park was built right before the Chernobyl disaster. Yongma Land (South Korea)Once in a blue moon, abandoned theme parks find new life by adopting totally new functions. Faced with increased competition from Orlando’s modern theme parks, Cypress Gardens closed in 2009 and was eventually absorbed into LEGOLAND Florida.

☆ Germany has shut down its last three nuclear power plants, and some climate scientists are aghast
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

16 April 2023, Baden-Württemberg, Neckarwestheim: The Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant. The era of commercial power generation with nuclear power plants in Germany came to an end on Saturday with the separation of the Isar 2, Neckarwestheim and Emsland nuclear power plants from the power grid. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty ImagesAs of Sunday, April 16, Germany is no longer producing any electricity from nuclear power plants. With the separation of the Isar 2, Neckarwestheim and Emsland nuclear power plants from the power grid, the era of commercial power generation with nuclear power plants in Germany came to an end on Saturday. Nuclear energy is also often more expensive than wind and solar power, Quaschning said, adding, "there are no longer any real advantages with nuclear energy."

☆ Scientists found the stray dogs of Chernobyl are 'genetically distinct' 40 years after the massive radiation leak
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Scientists compared dogs living within the Chernobyl power plant and those living farther away. Researchers found the Chernobyl dogs to be "genetically distinct." When the power plant in Ukraine exploded in 1986, residents who evacuated the area had to leave their pets behind. While authorities at the time culled many animals to stop contamination from spreading, clean-up workers cared for some dogs, according to the New Scientist. The Chernobyl Dog Research Initiative — which provides veterinary care — estimates that more than 800 feral dogs are living in the area.

☆ Timelapse map shows how close Russia came to taking Kyiv and how Ukraine reclaimed its land over a year of war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new timelapse map from AP shows how close Russia came to taking Kyiv and how Ukraine fended them off. Putin believed he could capture Kyiv in a matter of days, underestimating Ukraine's military. After a year of war, the conflict is focused on a hard fight in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. Insider previously reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin thought Russia could capture Kyiv in about two days, but he seriously overestimated Russia's military. While the war in Ukraine has ebbed and flowed over time, the battle for Kyiv stands as one of the first testaments to Ukraine's resilience and Putin's failure.

☆ Fact Check-Video showing thick dark clouds predates February 2023 train derailment in Ohio
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video which has been circulating online since at least November 2022 has been shared to falsely claim it shows the aftermath of the Norfolk Southern Railroad-operated train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023. This is Ohio's Chernobyl,” states a tweet sharing a video of a dark, ominous cloud (here). The TikTok user did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters found the spot the video was most likely filmed from on Google Street View (bit.ly/3XIrU4h). The video does not show the sky over Ohio following the Feb. 3 train derailment, it dates to at least November 2022.

☆ Rural Ohio is facing comparisons to Chernobyl after a massive chemical leak caused by a train derailment. Here's what the disaster really has in common with the nuclear accident.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

On February 3 a train derailment caused chemical spillage in East Palestine, Ohio. However, the environmental impact of the East Palestine incident should not be ignored, experts say. The chemicals in the East Palestine incident are also not as potent as the nuclear waste in Chernobyl. Nobody died as a result of the East Palestine chemical spillTwo people died immediately following the explosion at Chernobyl. East Palestine resulted in an evacuation, but it was short-livedAfter the derailment, close to 2,000 residents in East Palestine were asked to evacuate.

☆ The Ohio train derailment is a mess for the US. The Twitter of China is reacting with glee.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

People on Weibo are relishing the chance to mock the US after a 50-car train derailed in Ohio. It's another example of inflammatory rhetoric that's left to simmer on China's version of Twitter. On Tuesday, four of the top 20 "hot searches" on Weibo, the Twitter of China, featured videos or news blog articles about the derailment. Widespread US media coverage and discussion of the Chinese balloon incensed Chinese state media and Weibo users. After all, anything can happen in a country that can arrest journalists reporting this," wrote blogger MaVision of the train derailment.

☆ Factbox: Turkey earthquake and some of the worst natural disasters of this century
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HAITI 2010 EARTHQUAKEA 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Jan. 13, 2010, devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince and killed about 316,000 people. CHINA QUAKEA 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit China's Sichuan province on May 12, 2008, killing about 87,600 people. PAKISTAN QUAKEA 7.6 magnitude quake that struck northeast of Islamabad on Oct. 8, 2005, killed at least 73,000 people. JAPAN QUAKE/TSUNAMIA 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck Japan’s northeast on March 11, 2011, killing about 15,690 people. HAITI 2021 QUAKEA 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southern Haiti on Aug. 14, 2021, killing more than 2,200 people and destroying or damaging about 13,000 homes.

☆ Major deadly earthquakes in the past two decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

White Helmets/via REUTERSFeb 6 (Reuters) - Some of the world's most deadly earthquakes in the past two decades are listed below, after a 7.8 magnitude quake struck central Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday and killed hundreds of people. - Aug. 14, 2021 - HAITI - A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southern Haiti, killing more than 2,200 people and destroying or damaging about 13,000 homes. - April 16, 2016 - ECUADOR - A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hammered Ecuador, killing more than 650 people on the country’s Pacific coast. - Sept 24, 2013 - PAKISTAN - Twin earthquakes, measuring 7.7 and 6.8 magnitude, rattled southwestern Balochistan province, killing at least 825 people. - May 12, 2008 - CHINA - A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan province, killing about 87,600 people.

Search resuls for: "Chernobyl"

25 mentions found