JAPAN
Nuclear plant to restart
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) plans to restart the first unit of its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the world’s biggest, on Jan. 20, TEPCO president Tomiaki Kobayakawa told reporters yesterday. This week, the prefecture assembly in Niigata, the region where the plant is located, gave a green light for the partial restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. It would be the first for TEPCO since its Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear reactor’s meltdown in 2011. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa was among 54 reactors shut after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima plant.
Photo: Reuters
CHINA
Crash kills eight
Eight people, including several children, were killed when a kindergarten director lost control of an SUV and plunged into a pond, state media reported yesterday. The crash occurred on Tuesday afternoon in Pengze County, 480km west of Shanghai. The crash took place on a downhill section of road likely made slippery by rainfall, New Security reported. The seven-seat SUV was typically used to transport children attending a private kindergarten in the area, the report said.
THAILAND
Party names PM candidate
Caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul yesterday was picked by his Bhumjaithai Party to stand as its candidate in a general election in early February. Less than 100 days after he was elected prime minister, Anutin dissolved the parliament earlier this month when his minority government faced the threat of a no-confidence vote. Speaking to party members and supporters yesterday, Anutin said that he and his Bhumjaithai Party were ready to return to power, describing the Feb. 8 election as “the most consequential poll” for the party since its formation in 2008. “Today we are sure and ready to enter the election race to serve Thailand and its people,” Anutin said. “This is the first time the Thai people has high expectations from the Bhumjaithai Party.”
RUSSIA
Moon plans unveiled
Roscosmos plans to put a nuclear power plant on the moon in the next decade to supply its lunar space program and a joint Russian-Chinese research station. The state space corporation in a statement said that it planned to build a lunar power plant by 2036 and signed a contract with the Lavochkin Association aerospace company to do it. Roscosmos said the purpose of the plant was to power the nation’s lunar program, including rovers, an observatory and the infrastructure of the Russian-Chinese International Lunar Research Station. “The project is an important step towards the creation of a permanently functioning scientific lunar station and the transition from one-time missions to a long-term lunar exploration program,” Roscosmos said.
UNITED STATES
Palau asked about transfers
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau spoke with Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr about transferring third-country nationals to the Pacific island nation. “The leaders discussed a new US-Palau memorandum of understanding regarding the transfer of third-country nationals with no known criminal histories,” the Department of State said in a statement after Tuesday’s call. In late July, Palau’s Congress said it “cannot accept” a proposal by Washington for it to accept asylum seekers from other countries.
REVENGE: Trump said he had the support of the Syrian government for the strikes, which took place in response to an Islamic State attack on US soldiers last week The US launched large-scale airstrikes on more than 70 targets across Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s vow to strike back after the killing of two US soldiers. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” The US Central Command said that fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery targeted ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned
Seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed and a calf was injured when a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in India’s northeastern state of Assam early yesterday, local authorities said. The train driver spotted the herd of about 100 elephants and used the emergency brakes, but the train still hit some of the animals, Indian Railways spokesman Kapinjal Kishore Sharma told reporters. Five train coaches and the engine derailed following the impact, but there were no human casualties, Sharma said. Veterinarians carried out autopsies on the dead elephants, which were to be buried later in the day. The accident site
RUSHED: The US pushed for the October deal to be ready for a ceremony with Trump, but sometimes it takes time to create an agreement that can hold, a Thai official said Defense officials from Thailand and Cambodia are to meet tomorrow to discuss the possibility of resuming a ceasefire between the two countries, Thailand’s top diplomat said yesterday, as border fighting entered a third week. A ceasefire agreement in October was rushed to ensure it could be witnessed by US President Donald Trump and lacked sufficient details to ensure the deal to end the armed conflict would hold, Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow said after an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The two countries agreed to hold talks using their General Border Committee, an established bilateral mechanism, with Thailand
‘POLITICAL LOYALTY’: The move breaks with decades of precedent among US administrations, which have tended to leave career ambassadors in their posts US President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered dozens of US ambassadors to step down, people familiar with the matter said, a precedent-breaking recall that would leave embassies abroad without US Senate-confirmed leadership. The envoys, career diplomats who were almost all named to their jobs under former US president Joe Biden, were told over the phone in the past few days they needed to depart in the next few weeks, the people said. They would not be fired, but finding new roles would be a challenge given that many are far along in their careers and opportunities for senior diplomats can
RSS