nuclear

Dec. 22 (UPI) — Japan has approved Tokyo Electric Power Co. to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear site as the world’s largest nuclear power plant.

On Monday, the Niigata assembly backed Governor Hideyo Hanazumi’s decision to stay in office after approving the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in its first reactor restart since the Fukushima disaster more than a decade ago.

“We remain firmly committed to never repeating such an accident and ensuring Niigata residents never experience anything similar,” ‌a Tepco spokesperson told The Japan Times.

The decision finalizes local approval to restart the plant.

Hanazumi will meet Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa on Tuesday to confirm the prefecture’s consent.

TEPCO intends to apply to the Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority by Wednesday to restart its No. 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant.

The utility aims to resume operations around Jan. 20 marking the facility’s first activity since shut down March 2012 a year after the Fukushima disaster.

On Nov. 21, Hanazumi approved restarting operations but said final approval depended on a vote by the prefectural assembly.

The assembly passed the measure with backing from the Liberal Democratic Party while opposition parties objected and called for a gubernatorial election or public referendum instead.

The Niigata provincial assembly in northern Japan approved a supplementary budget that included public relations funds for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa.

With consent already granted by the Kashiwazaki and Kariwa municipal governments, the vote cleared TEPCO’s final hurdle to resume operations.

Most of the plant’s power supplies the Tokyo area, but electric bills are expected to remain unchanged as TEPCO planned.

Meanwhile, Japan has restarted 14 of its 33 active nuclear plants to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels.

BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 19 (UPI) — Argentina has formally created the Secretariat of Nuclear Affairs, a significant structural shift in the country’s national energy strategy under President Javier Milei, aimed at positioning Argentina as a global energy leader and attracting large-scale investment.

In announcing the move, the government highlighted the country’s strengths for developing a nuclear plan, including its pool of highly trained human capital and vast, low-temperature lands in Patagonia seen as suitable for hosting artificial intelligence data centers. These advantages, officials said, allow for a combination of clean nuclear energy and cutting-edge technology.

The plan will roll out in stages. The first phase involves building small modular reactors, or SMRs, at the Atucha Nuclear Power Plant site, already underway, to ensure nationwide energy supply and reduce power outages.

SMRs produce stable and low-cost electricity, making them well-suited to power AI data centers, and would position Argentina as a regional hub for digital innovation and nuclear energy exports.

In the second phase, the government plans to develop uranium reserves to meet domestic demand and turn Argentina into an exporter of high-value nuclear fuels.

The Economy Ministry summed up the strategy in a recent statement, saying the government aims to “turn Argentina into the ‘Saudi Arabia of uranium.'”

This ambitious goal is based on the country’s uranium reserves, estimated at 36,483 tons identified and concentrated in provinces such as Mendoza, San Juan and Chubut, according to a report by the National Mining Secretariat.

Those reserves could generate significant export volumes and position Argentina as a key supplier in a growing global market driven by the energy transition.

However, physicist Alberto Baruj urged caution.

“Argentina has enough uranium for its reactors for decades. It does not have the extraordinary reserves found in other countries. Talking about being the Saudi Arabia of uranium is an exaggeration that I cannot support from a technical standpoint,” Baruj told UPI.

Baruj said Argentina could export uranium, thanks to its processing capacity. However, “it makes no sense to do so with raw ore. It would be far more convenient to process it for use in domestic reactors, including small modular reactors such as the domestically designed CAREM.”

The new nuclear institutional framework will also be tasked with leading policy on the exploitation of rare earth elements, minerals critical for batteries, cellphones and green technology, as well as nuclear minerals, in coordination with other government agencies.

It will promote collaboration among mining companies, provincial governments and private actors to increase production of these resources and drive investment, working alongside the Mining Secretariat to advance nuclear mining projects, material processing and technological applications.

“The Secretariat of Nuclear Affairs is taking on roles that previously belonged to the National Atomic Energy Commission, which blurs the agency’s place within the institutional structure,” a respected nuclear sector source who requested anonymity told UPI.

In their view, amid a budget crisis at the commission, the creation of a new body “further endangers what has historically been the center of Argentina’s nuclear activity. The inclusion of rare earth exploitation comes as a surprise within a nuclear affairs secretariat.”

Baruj also questioned the need for the new agency, saying its stated purpose, coordinating the nuclear sector, already falls by law under the National Atomic Energy Commission.

“It is possible that with the creation of the Secretariat, the government is seeking greater political control over the sector,” Baruj said. But, he added, creating a new secretariat is unnecessary if each institution fulfilled its assigned role.

“The massive loss of technical personnel with extraordinary capabilities must be reversed. But above all, the salary issue must be resolved, because the commission pays the lowest wages in the entire science and technology sector,” he said.

Baruj said the priority should be to ensure continuity of key projects such as completion of the RA-10 multipurpose reactor, its associated neutron beam laboratory, the CEARP Proton Therapy Center and the heavy water industrial plant.

“Argentina’s nuclear sector has sufficient capacity and depth to take on and carry out these projects. What is lacking, precisely, is political will,” he said.Based o

WHEN Helen Flanagan and Scott Sinclair split after 13 years, they vowed to keep things amicable for the sake of their young kids.

But it was not long before the dynamic of the celebrity couple’s co-parenting soon began to show signs of strain.

The former Corrie actress blamed petty squabbles and communication issues, yet still remained tight-lipped about her ex.

But overnight, tensions between the pair appear to have hit DEFCON 1.

Helen, 35, flipped her lid when she spotted photos of Scott, 36, living the high life at the Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, skipping their four-year-old son’s Christmas nativity play.

Lashing out online at the retired Bristol Rovers footballer, she raged: “You really are a piece of s**t,” ­sharing Scott’s Instagram post.

“How dare you not turn up to ­Charlie’s nativity,” she added.

Scott had posted snaps from his VIP weekend in the United Arab Emirates where he watched Lando Norris secure his maiden Drivers’ Championship title.

Standing in front of a huge F1 sign, he posed gleefully, tagging the post “What a weekend — Abu Dhabi F1.” He added: “Happy Days, blurry nights.”

Meanwhile, Helen shared a sweet snap of her cuddling their young son, captioning it: “Loved Charlie’s nativity. My star, my heartbeat.”

But when she spotted Scott’s jet- setting post, her blood boiled.

Now sources have told The Sun that Helen’s ex’s decision to skip ­Charlie’s school performance was just the tip of the iceberg — a culmination of bad behaviour that has left the telly star fuming.

The former couple share daughters Matilda, ten, Delilah, seven, and four-year-old son Charlie.

Yesterday Helen was spotted looking stony-faced while heading to her latest panto performance in Liverpool, where she is starring as The Wicked Queen in a production of Snow White.

A pal told The Sun: “Helen’s livid with Scott’s behaviour. He’s thinking about himself, not his children.

“She said, ‘I’m done letting him treat his family like this’. At the end of the day Helen is the mother of his kids. He needs to show more respect.”

Another pal said: “Helen is working full-time at the moment in panto so was expecting Scott to cover the nativity and go for her, as she has a lot on her plate and he is retired.

“When he didn’t bother, she wasn’t happy and took to her social media to vent her frustration and make a point.

“Their relationship is difficult at times — co-parenting is hard.”

Boys’ trips

Meanwhile another source close to the couple blames newly single Scott for embracing his “Hot Boy Winter” moment, leaving his family to ­suffer.

“Ever since Scott became single again things started to go downhill,” the source said.

“It’s been an incredibly testing few months for Helen, who feels like she is busting a gut and Scott doesn’t seem to get it.

“To make matters worse he is having the children for Christmas this year, which is another blow.”

Last year The Sun told how Scott was dating family friend Lauren Davies, 32, who is from his home city of Bath.

Things were going well up until the start of this year, when they are said to have decided they were better off as friends.

The source said: “Helen really liked Lauren and thought she was really good for Scotty.

You really are a piece of s***. How dare you not turn up to ­Charlie’s nativity

Helen on Instagram

“She has great values and felt it was important that Scott sees his kids and she wanted everyone to get along.

“But since their split, Scott hasn’t been present. He is constantly showing off his wealth online — with his extravagant boys’ trips. It’s a bit of a kick in the teeth.”

According to pals, tensions between Helen and Scott are so bad that the pair have blocked each other on WhatsApp, only communicating through family members.

The Sun also understands Scott wants to sell the £1.5million family home near Bolton and move Helen and the kids into a smaller property.

The eight-bedroom house went on the market in June, but Helen is standing firm. One pal said: “Scott is trying to sell the family home, but Helen has moved six times since Matilda was born.

“And because she is refusing to uproot the children, he’s stopped some of the money he was giving her for the kids. She’s fuming.

“The house is right next to her mum and dad, who take care of the kids while Helen works.

“Scott’s retired so he could have them, but he’s swanning around in Dubai and London and flashing it all over Instagram.

“At the same time he is claiming he can’t afford to give her the money, but he goes and blows £20,000 on the F1.”

Helen’s livid with Scott’s behaviour. He’s thinking about himself, not his children

A pal

The pal said Christmas will be particularly hard for Helen without her kids.

They said: “She is working full-time at the panto and dealing with the kids, with no help from Scott.

“Then he’ll have them at Christmas and post it all over Instagram, claiming to be dad of the year. He’s picking and choosing when he wants to help, but parenting doesn’t work like that.

“Helen has supported him for his whole football career and moved all over the country, but she’s adamant that she doesn’t want to uproot the kids and cause more disruption in their lives.”

This comes after Helen signed up to star in reality TV show Celebrity Ex On The Beach, in which she intends to “cause fireworks”.

Last month we revealed she was abroad filming scenes — and will not be holding back when it comes to getting what she wants.

Number blocked

It is not the first time the couple’s co-parenting relation- ship has been tested, with Helen previously saying Scott had her number blocked on his phone.

In October 2024 she told a podcast: “I’m on block at the moment on Scott’s phone. I really am. I’m on block.” However, she later said that the couple were on speaking terms so that they could co-parent their brood.

To make matters worse he is having the children for Christmas this year, which is another blow

Source

But in recent months things appear to have taken a turn again, as Helen hinted at trouble.

Earlier this month she told The Sun: “He lives in Somerset and I live in Lancashire. So we live so far away from each other, which is really difficult when you’ve got three young children.

“I hate calling it co-parenting because I don’t really feel like a co-parent, to be honest with you.”

Reflecting on their split in 2024, Helen told The Sun: “It was a mutual decision and personally, I felt as a mum that this was the best thing for my children.

“I want them to see healthy relationships and to be in healthy environments. I think if you’re unhappy then that projects on to them.”

She added: “I love Scott and I know that he loves me, but I suppose we just don’t like each other very much at the moment.

“We don’t really speak and there’s no point in pretending that we’re the best of friends when we’re not.”

Both Helen and Scott were approached for comment.

In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview recorded in October with Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines documentary programme, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi tells correspondent Hind Hassan that strikes by Israel and the United States in June caused “serious damage” to Iran’s nuclear facilities but insists its nuclear programme will continue.

“Technology cannot be eliminated by bombing,” he says, arguing that Iran’s scientific knowledge remains intact.

As Iran remains locked in a standoff with the US and refuses to renew negotiations while zero uranium enrichment demands remain in place, Araghchi says European snapback sanctions have undermined future cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Iran would reconsider how it cooperates in the future.

Despite emphasising that “diplomacy is our priority,” the foreign minister insists that Iran is prepared to fight back if it is attacked again. Araghchi maintains that while Tehran has “never trusted the United States as an honest negotiating partner”, Iran remains prepared to engage diplomatically if both sides respect each other’s rights and pursue mutual interests based on equality.

In this episode of On the Record, Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem is joined by Iran’s former foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. They discuss Iran’s political and military involvement in the Middle East and beyond. Zarif reflects on Iran’s involvement with resistance groups in Syria, Gaza and Lebanon and why Iran’s nuclear ambitions have not been obliterated by either the US or Israel.