3 Oct, 2022 15:23

'Mushroom cloud' spotted near large US city

A giant cloud had some in Nevada wondering if the US had renewed nuclear tests

People in Las Vegas shared photos of a mushroom-shaped cloud billowing on the horizon on Sunday, with some joking that it reminded them of nuclear tests — one of Sin City’s tourist attractions in the 1950s.

The unnerving sight was apparently made more eerie by rays of the setting sun coloring the cloud various shades of orange.

Thunderclouds can take a mushroom-like shape when an upward current draws them to a higher altitude but at which there is no strong wind to blow them away. The San Diego office of the National Weather Service shared a photo of a similar-looking cloud on Monday, but without the dramatic lighting, as it moved west over California.

The US tested over a thousand nuclear devices at its Nevada Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, over four decades. The infamous mushroom clouds were easily visible and became a tourist attraction for the city.

When it ratified the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the US pledged not to conduct most kinds of nuclear tests. The US carried out its last underground nuclear test in September 1992. Four years later, Washington signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which forbids all detonations anywhere, though it has still not ratified the treaty.

https://www.rt.com/news/563973-las-vegas-mushroom-cloud/

3 Oct, 2022 15:44

EU state suffers unplanned nuclear reactor shutdown

An investigation has been launched at Belgium’s Tihange 3 while the reactor is closed

One of Belgium’s six functioning nuclear reactors has shut down unexpectedly, the plant’s operator Engie told VRT News on Monday. The reactor, called Tihange 3, underwent an automatic shutdown at around 8:25am local time at which point “employees then brought the power plant into a safe condition,” the company said. The reasons for the stoppage are unclear but an investigation into the incident has been launched.

According to local media, the unexpected shutdown of a reactor that provided 1,038 megawatts of electricity to Belgium would not jeopardize the country’s energy supply.

Belgium shut down one of the reactors at its Doel plant “for good” just over a week ago, following through on long-held plans to dismantle its nuclear energy infrastructure even as the EU finds itself in an energy crisis. Electrabel, which runs the Doel plant, explained that the company was merely fulfilling a 2003 agreement to enact a “gradual phase-out of nuclear energy for industrial electricity production.”

Belgium’s reactors had previously supplied half of the country’s electricity needs. All were due to close by 2025 until the government signed a tentative agreement with Electrabel in March to potentially extend the life of the two newest reactors by ten years. This came amid concern about the country’s increasing dependence on fossil fuels, especially from Russia. The unexpectedly stricken Tihange 3 thus had its demise postponed until 2035, as did another reactor at the Doel plant. However, the deal is not binding and efforts to similarly extend the life of the neighboring Tihange 2 reactor past its planned shutdown date of February 1, 2023 were rebuffed in July.

The Belgian government has stressed that clinging to its once-scorned nuclear energy capacity in the EU’s time of need should not be seen as discarding its commitment to renewable energy. At the same time as it revealed the draft agreement to keep Tihange 3 and Doel 4 operational until 2035, it announced a €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) investment in wind, hydrogen, and solar energy “to give a boost to the transition to climate neutrality.” The investment will also pay for small modular nuclear reactors. As early as 2007, Belgian scientists were warning that closing the country’s nuclear plants would double the price of energy, harm the country's energy independence, and increase its reliance on fossil fuels.

Costs are already at or near record highs across the EU due to sanctions on Russian energy, a situation exacerbated by last week’s alleged sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline that had previously carried Russian gas to Europe.

https://www.rt.com/news/563983-belgium-tihange-nuclear-reactor-shutdown/

Sabotage by US to blame Russia?

3 Oct, 2022 14:21

EU asylum system has failed – Austria

The country has seen a near 200% increase in applications this year

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer declared on Monday that the European Union’s asylum system has failed, after his country saw a record 56,000 refugee applications this year. Together with Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic, Nehammer proposed tightening border security.

“Austria is currently heavily burdened by illegal migration. The solidarity contribution that we are making in Europe is disproportionately high,” Nehammer stated at a summit with Orban and Vucic in Budapest, according to Austria’s Kronen Zeitung newspaper.

“The asylum policy has failed. There is still no strong EU external border protection, and the reality of the problem is being disregarded,”the chancellor added.

Under the EU’s ‘Effective Solidarity’ program, wealthier member states are encouraged to accept migrants rejected by other nations struggling to handle the influx. If these wealthy countries refuse, other members are asked to take what the European Commission terms “their fair share” of the migrants.

Some 56,149 asylum applications were filed in Austria between January and August this year, according to the country’s interior ministry. This represents an increase of 195% on the same period last year. The ministry noted that most of the applications were made by Indian nationals, who have no chance of actually being granted asylum due to their arrival from a safe country.

Pakistanis, Moroccans and Tunisians are also among those claiming asylum, with their cases highly likely to be rejected.

"As long as the EU does not intervene with efficient measures, we will have to help ourselves,” Nehammer said on Monday.“Austria is therefore doing everything possible to protect itself, and we want to take further measures together with Serbia and Hungary. Because if the Serbian and Hungarian borders are protected, our own frontier is also protected."

Austria has used its military to impose border controls on several occasions since millions of migrants began pouring into Europe in 2015, and last year deployed an additional 400 soldiers at its frontier with Hungary. Orban has taken an even tougher stance, and constructed a double-layer fence along its borders with Croatia and Serbia, while immediately expelling migrants deemed inadmissible. Belgrade rejects most asylum applications.

https://www.rt.com/news/563974-eu-migrant-system-failed/

3 Oct, 2022 14:29

Time for EU to sanction Türkiye – top German MP

The bloc should “very seriously consider” penalizing Ankara as it “regularly undermines” EU and NATO interests, Jurgen Trittin says

The EU should consider taking “economic measures” against Türkiye over its stance in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, tensions with Greece, and other issues, a senior German MP, Jurgen Trittin, believes. Formerly minister for the environment and now the head of foreign policy in Germany’s Green Party, Trittin made the remarks in an interview with the Greek newspaper Kathimerini published on Monday.

“Turkey regularly undermines the common interests of the EU and NATO. It undermines the sanctions policy against Russia, acts against international law in Syria, prevents the control of the UN arms embargo against Libya and violates the sovereign rights of Greece, a NATO ally and EU member,” Trittin stated, referring to Türkiye by its old name in English.

The MP also launched a personal attack at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accusing him of pursuing solely domestic political goals while “ignoring” common Euro-Atlantic interests. The EU should target Ankara with economic restrictions to send a strong message that Türkiye itself needs the bloc the most, Trittin suggested.

Since there are no sanction mechanisms within NATO, nor is it possible to expel a member, the EU must very seriously consider taking economic measures and sanctioning Turkey. Turkey needs the European market and it needs the alliance with NATO. This must be made very clear to it.

Ankara has long aspired to become an EU member, originally launching its bid back in 1987. The process has been extremely slow, however, with formal candidate status achieved only in 1999.

Little to no progress has been made since then, while Türkiye has had repeated run-ins with the bloc over various foreign policy issues. It has failed to meet the political and economic criteria outlined by Brussels for it to become a full-fledged member, while ties with the EU have been gradually deteriorating since 2016, following the failed coup d’état attempt in the country and tensions over the influx of migrants.

In recent months, Ankara has found itself at odds with Brussels over its ambiguous position on the Ukraine crisis. Türkiye has refused to join the Western sanctions against Russia, maintaining ties with both Moscow and Kiev and seeking to play the role of mediator in the ongoing conflict. Türkiye has also experienced renewed tensions with its long-time adversary – and NATO ally – Greece, with the two nations embroiled in a bitter spat over the alleged militarization of the Aegean Islands by Athens.

https://www.rt.com/news/563963-eu-germany-turkey-sanctions/

They will eat their own if others do not become the group think programming, EU seems like it will be collapsing soon.

3 Oct, 2022 14:09

Russia has clear policy on use of nuclear weapons – Kremlin

Spokesman was responding to a weekend call from the head of Chechnya

Emotions should play no role when discussing the use of nuclear weapons, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said, adding that Moscow has a clear policy in this regard. His comments came shortly after Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Chechen Republic, suggested that Russia should use “low-yield nuclear weapons” against Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Peskov said that governors and heads of regions in Russia have the right to express their personal opinion and to “give assessments” on issues. This includes Kadyrov, who Peskov said has “contributed a lot” to Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

That, however, does not mean officials can give free rein to their emotions, “even in difficult times,” Peskov said.

Asked if Kadyrov’s remark could be considered an inappropriate display of emotion, the Kremlin spokesman said that in Russia, the use of nuclear weapons “is based on what is laid down in the respective doctrine.”

“There can be no other considerations here,” he added.

Kadyrov made his comments on Telegram on Saturday in response to the retreat of Russian forces from the town of Krasny Liman in Donetsk Region. The Russian Defense Ministry said the pullback was due to the “emerging threat of encirclement” by Ukrainian forces.

The Chechen leader called for Russia to take “more drastic measures” in Ukraine, suggesting martial law in Russian regions bordering Ukraine and “the use of low-yield nuclear weapons.”

The latest version of Russia’s nuclear doctrine, published in 2020, statesMoscow reserves the right to use atomic weapons only if such arms or other weapons of mass destruction are being targeted at the country or it is being faced with an existential threat from conventional arms.

https://www.rt.com/russia/563966-kremlin-kadyrov-nuclear-weapons/

3 Oct, 2022 12:51

Ukrainian commander believes Putin wants to take Kiev

Russia hasn’t given up plans to capture the capital, Lieutenant General Sergey Nayev says

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to eventually capture Kiev, Deputy Chief of Ukraine’s General Staff Lieutenant General Sergey Nayev has claimed. He added, however, that there is no imminent danger to the capital.

“There are chances, of course, because [Putin] will never give up intentions to conquer Ukraine and our country’s capital. Indeed, it is among the priorities of his criminal plans,”Nayev, who commands the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, told the TV channel TSN on Monday.

“At present, there is no such threat because we are not seeing a concentration of the invasion forces. What will happen next? Everything depends on [Putin’s] decisions, as well as on the availability of forces and equipment.”

Russian troops withdrew from Kiev and other parts of northern Ukraine in late March, after weeks of fighting around the capital. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed at the time that the pullback was a goodwill gesture amid the peace negotiations that were underway between Moscow and Kiev.

Negotiations broke down and fighting resumed in southern Ukraine and Donbass. Last month, Putin ordered a partial mobilization with the goal of calling up 300,000 reservists in order to bolster the military operation in the neighboring country.

https://www.rt.com/russia/563961-sergey-nayev-putin-kiev-threat/

If Russia wanted to take Kiev they would have done it first and finalized it. Their strategy was to only take and protect the endangered regions. These assholes are always trying to ratchet up fear & anger.