All posts tagged: International Atomic Energy Agency

US to Give 0 Million to Repair Damaged Chornobyl Nuclear Shelter, Kyiv Says

US to Give $100 Million to Repair Damaged Chornobyl Nuclear Shelter, Kyiv Says

Published by Sam Flores

KYIV, April 29 (Reuters) – ⁠The ⁠U.S. will ⁠give $100 million towards repairs ​of the vast radiation containment ‌dome at the ‌Chornobyl plant in ⁠northern ⁠Ukraine, site of the world’s worst atomic ​accident in 1986, after the dome was damaged by ​a Russian drone, Kyiv’s energy ⁠minister, Denys ⁠Shmyhal, said ⁠on Wednesday. One ​of Chornobyl’s four reactors exploded ​in 1986 ⁠and is now enclosed by a shelter to contain the lingering ⁠radiation. A Russian drone hit that structure in ⁠February last year. In a post on Telegram, Shmyhal said funding for repairs of the dome, at an estimated cost of 500 million euros ($584.95 million), ⁠was discussed with international partners at a recent conference about the plant. (Reporting by Max HunderEditing ​by David Goodman) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters. Photos You Should See – April 2026 Source link

US, Iran Clash at UN After Tehran Gets Nuclear Non-Proliferation Role

US, Iran Clash at UN After Tehran Gets Nuclear Non-Proliferation Role

Published by Sam Flores

April 27 (Reuters) – The United States and Iran clashed ⁠at ⁠the United Nations on Monday ⁠over Tehran’s nuclear program and its selection to be one of dozens of ​vice presidents at a month-long conference to review the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The 11th conference to review implementation of the NPT, ‌which came into force in 1970, ‌began on Monday at the United Nations in New York. Different groups nominated 34 conference vice presidents, and ⁠the conference ⁠chair, Vietnam’s U.N. ambassador Do Hung Viet, said Iran was picked by “the group ​of non-aligned and other states.” Christopher Yeaw, assistant secretary for the U.S. Bureau of Arms Control and Nonproliferation, told the conference that Iran’s selection was an “affront” to the NPT. He said it was “indisputable that Iran has long demonstrated its contempt for the ​non-proliferation commitments of the NPT,” and had refused to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog to resolve ⁠questions ⁠about its program. He called Iran’s ⁠selection “beyond shameful and ​an embarrassment to the credibility of this conference.” Reza Najafi, who serves as …

Lebanon President Says Ceasefire Should Move to Permanent Agreements

Lebanon President Says Ceasefire Should Move to Permanent Agreements

Published by Sam Flores

BEIRUT, April 17 (Reuters) – Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on ⁠Friday ⁠that a ceasefire agreed to by ⁠his country should be transformed into “permanent agreements,” without saying whether he was ​referring to a prospective peace deal with Israel. The televised address was his first speech since the U.S. brokered a ‌ceasefire to end six weeks of ‌fighting between Israel and Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah on Thursday. The text of the deal says ⁠Israel and ⁠Lebanon would hold direct talks to produce “peace between the two countries.” Aoun thanked U.S. President ​Donald Trump and regional countries for helping secure the ceasefire. “Now, we all stand before a new phase: the transition from working towards a ceasefire to working towards permanent agreements that preserve the rights of our people, ​the unity of our land, and the sovereignty of our nation,” he said. Hezbollah has said it ⁠opposes ⁠direct talks with Israel and ⁠its lawmakers on ​Friday criticised the government for agreeing to hold such negotiations.   Without mentioning Israel, Aoun said, “These negotiations are ​not a sign of …

UN Watchdog Says North Korea Is Boosting Nuclear Weapons Capacity

UN Watchdog Says North Korea Is Boosting Nuclear Weapons Capacity

Published by Sam Flores

By Joyce Lee and Kyu-seok Shim SEOUL, April 15 (Reuters) – North Korea has made “very ⁠serious” ⁠advances in its abilities to turn out nuclear ⁠weapons, with the probable addition of a new uranium enrichment facility, as it stepped up activity at ​a key complex, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday. Enriching uranium can provide an alternative, and experts say, a more effective, path to acquiring weapons-grade ‌material in addition to reprocessing spent plutonium extracted ‌from a nuclear reactor. Speaking in Seoul, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed a rapid rise in activity at the 5-megawatt reactor, ⁠the reprocessing unit, ⁠a light water reactor and other facilities at the North’s Yongbyon nuclear complex. NORTH’S NUCLEAR PROGRAMME ​ESTIMATED AT FEW DOZEN WARHEADS North Korea’s nuclear programme was estimated at a few dozen warheads, he told a news conference, citing signs of activity such as the operation of a light water reactor and activation of other facilities besides Yongbyon.  “All of them point to a very serious increase in the capabilities of the …

EU Can No Longer Rely on ‘Rules-Based’ System Against Threats, Von Der Leyen Says

EU Can No Longer Rely on ‘Rules-Based’ System Against Threats, Von Der Leyen Says

Published by Sam Flores

BRUSSELS, March 9 (Reuters) – The ⁠EU ⁠must be prepared ⁠to project its power more assertively ​as it can no longer rely on a “rules-based” ‌system against threats and ‌must determine if its institutions and ⁠systems ⁠help or hinder its credibility, European Commission President ​Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday. “We will always defend and uphold the rules-based system that ​we helped to build with our allies, ⁠but we ⁠can no longer ⁠rely ​on it as the only way to defend our ​interests or ⁠assume its rules will shelter us from the complex threats that we face,” von der Leyen said at a conference for ⁠EU ambassadors. “We urgently need to reflect on whether our ⁠doctrine, our institutions and our decision making – all designed in a postwar world of stability and multilateralism – have kept pace with the speed of change around us. Whether the system that we built – with all of its well-intentioned attempts ⁠at consensus and compromise – is more a help or a hindrance to our credibility as a …

No Sign Iran’s Nuclear Sites Were Hit, IAEA Says, but Iran Alleges One Was

No Sign Iran’s Nuclear Sites Were Hit, IAEA Says, but Iran Alleges One Was

Published by Sam Flores

VIENNA, March 2 (Reuters) – The U.N. nuclear watchdog has no ⁠indication ⁠Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran ⁠have hit any nuclear facilities, its chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday, despite Iran’s ​envoy stating one was targeted a day earlier. Iran’s nuclear programme has been among the reasons Israel and the U.S. have given for ‌the attacks, alleging Iran was getting ‌too close to being able to eventually make an atom bomb. At the same time, what remains of Iran’s atomic facilities ⁠after the two ⁠militaries attacked them in June appears to have been largely spared in this ​campaign so far. “We have no indication that any of the nuclear installations … have been damaged or hit,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement to a meeting of his agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors. IAEA HAS LIMITED CONTACT WITH IRAN While the IAEA’s ​crisis-response centre has been unable to reach Iran’s nuclear regulatory authorities, there has been some contact with Iranian ⁠officials, Grossi ⁠later told a press conference. “We ⁠are, of …

Analysis-US and Iran Slide Towards Conflict as Military Buildup Eclipses Talks

Analysis-US and Iran Slide Towards Conflict as Military Buildup Eclipses Talks

Published by Sam Flores

By Samia Nakhoul, Parisa Hafezi and John Irish DUBAI, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Iran and the United States are sliding rapidly towards military conflict as hopes ⁠fade for ⁠a diplomatic solution to their standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme, officials on both ⁠sides and diplomats across the Gulf and Europe say. Iran’s Gulf neighbours and its enemy Israel now consider a conflict to be more likely than a settlement, these sources say, with Washington building ​up one of its biggest military deployments in the region since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Israel’s government believes Tehran and Washington are at an impasse and is making preparations for possible joint military action with the United States, though no decision has been made yet on whether to carry ‌out such an operation, said a source familiar with the planning. It ‌would be the second time the U.S. and Israel have attacked Iran in less than a year, following U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against military and nuclear facilities last June. Regional officials say oil-producing Gulf countries are preparing for …

Ukraine’s Grid Operator Says Energy Situation Has ‘Significantly’ Worsened

Ukraine’s Grid Operator Says Energy Situation Has ‘Significantly’ Worsened

Published by Sam Flores

KYIV, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s energy situation “significantly” worsened on Friday after ‌recent ​Russian air attacks, triggering emergency power ‌outages in most regions, Kyiv’s grid operator said. The grim assessment followed a remark by ​Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal on Thursday that Ukraine’s energy system had endured its most difficult day since a widespread blackout in ‍November 2022, when Russia began bombing ​the power grid. In new comments on Friday, Shmyhal said the situation with the grid remained difficult, but he expected ​things to stabilise ⁠somewhat. Moscow has stepped up air strikes in recent weeks, further damaging battered infrastructure and leaving large numbers of residents without power and heating during a subzero cold snap. Several power generation facilities are undergoing emergency repairs as a result of the combined drone and missile attacks, Ukrenergo said on the Telegram messaging app. “The equipment is operating at ‌the limits of its capabilities,” it said, adding that power blocks were carrying a “tremendous” overload due to ​earlier damage ‌from Russian strikes. Speaking to Reuters ‍on Friday, Maxim ⁠Timchenko, CEO …

External Power Line to Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Has Been Restored, Management Says

External Power Line to Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Has Been Restored, Management Says

Published by Sam Flores

Dec 29 (Reuters) – An external power link ‌has ​been restored to the ‌Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine after ​the completion of repairs, the plant’s Russian management said on Monday. A statement ‍said the line had been ​put out of action by “fire from the Ukrainian armed ​forces”. Repairs ⁠were carried out with monitors present from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. It said the situation at the plant was under control, with normal radiation levels. The station is connected ‌to the power grid by two lines — the second had remained ​in ‌operation through the repair ‍work. In ⁠September and October, the plant was without external power for 30 days, relying on backup diesel generators, until a damaged line was reconnected during a local ceasefire arranged with the IAEA’s help. Russian forces seized the nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, in the early weeks of Moscow’s invasion of ​Ukraine and each side regularly accuses the other of actions endangering safety there. The plant is not producing electricity but relies on external …

Zaporizhzhia Power Plant Could Restart in 18 Months Once the War Ends, Head Says

Zaporizhzhia Power Plant Could Restart in 18 Months Once the War Ends, Head Says

Published by Sam Flores

MOSCOW, Dec 29 (Reuters) – The ‌head ​of the Russian-controlled ‌Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern ​Ukraine said on Monday the facility could restart ‍power generation by the ​middle of 2027 if the war ​concludes ⁠in the near future. “If this (the end of the conflict) happens tomorrow, we will be ready to start up in mid-2027,” Ramil Galiyev was ‌cited as saying by Russia’s RIA state news ​agency. The ‌nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, ‍has ⁠been under Russian control since March 2022, when Russian forces overran much of southeastern Ukraine. It is not currently producing electricity but relies on external power to keep the nuclear material ​cool and avoid a meltdown. Power line repairs are currently underway at the plant under the watch of a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and are expected to last a few days. Galiyev said “serious issues” at the plant would have to be addressed before it could go online, ​including replenishing the cooling pond and preparing railway tracks. Both Russia and Ukraine regularly accuse one another …