Japan has started producing nuclear energy again at a plant on its northern island. Meanwhile, workers in the south are still trying to cool reactors at Fukushima enough to shut the plant.
Tehran had believed that one of the country’s leading nuclear physicists had been assassinated by the US and Israel – however it now says that this was a case of mistaken identity.
The International Atomic Energy Agency commended Japan’s response to the crisis, but said the Fukushima plant was ill-prepared for the tsunami which struck on 11 March.
Reports issued by the IAEA today also say it has received information from UN members that Iran has worked secretly on the development of nuclear weapons.
Japanese nuclear officials have now said that three of the plant’s six reactors suffered a meltdown after the plant sustained serious damage in March’s earthquake and tsunami.
The EU is to impose asset freezes and travel bans on additional Iranian officials and companies over the country’s nuclear programme – meanwhile, Iran has announced it is to impose sanctions on the US over its “human rights violations”.
Despite scientists warning of the “incontrovertible risks” of establishing nuclear sites in a country where 90 per cent of the territory is crisscrossed by seismic fault lines, Iran’s leaders have decided to build a network of reactors.
The IAEA is sending a 20-person team of international nuclear experts to Japan to identify if there are any more places that require “exploration or assessment”.
A man has died on his second day working at Japan’s battered Fukushima nuclear power plant, however the plant operator has insisted that harmful levels of radiation were not detected in his body.
Toshiso Kosako claims the government ignored his advice on safety limits for radiation levels, which he says are too high for children in the area surrounding the Fukushima plant.
ESRI Review of Irish Energy Policy also makes case for bringing Corrib gas field to production “rapidly” – and says nuclear power will not work for Ireland.
Nine things to know: Irish toddler to undergo pioneering surgery; Afghan police search for over 450 escaped prisoners; and a ‘human canonball’ stuntman has been killed in Kent.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said that the approach to nuclear power needs to be reconsidered following the disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima.
After sensitive information about nuclear submarine fleet surfaced online, reports claim two other UK government departments have accidentally leaked classified information.
A quarter of a century after the world’s worst nuclear accident in Ukraine, food there is still contaminated by unacceptably high levels of radiation, according to the environmental group.
In today’s Fix: Eamon Gilmore tries to get EU support for a change to Ireland’s bailout deal; the Queen of England plans to visit Croke Park; and Charlie Sheen bombs in Detroit.
THE POSSIBILITY OF Ireland being part of a joint-bid to co-host football’s most prestigious competition is now a step closer.
Last night, the FAI expressed delight after the UK government committed to supporting the joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
Under the proposals, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England would put in a joint bid to host the tournament.
For Ireland to co-host the tournament in its centenary year, it may face stiff competition. China is apparently plotting a bid, while Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay are also considering a joint-push to host the World Cup.
The formal bidding process gets under way next year.
So, what do you think: Would you like to see Ireland co-host the 2030 World Cup?
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