logo
China, Russia firms to lead building of Kazakhstan's 1st nuclear power plants

China, Russia firms to lead building of Kazakhstan's 1st nuclear power plants

Nikkei Asia13 hours ago

ASTANA (Reuters) -- Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom and state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation have been tapped to lead separate consortiums to build the first nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan, the country's atomic energy agency said on Saturday.
The oil- and gas-rich nation of 20 million has not had any nuclear power generation capacity since 1999, when the BN-350 reactor on the shores of the Caspian Sea was decommissioned.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Zelenskiy says Ukraine Halts Russian Troop Advance in Sumy Region
Zelenskiy says Ukraine Halts Russian Troop Advance in Sumy Region

Yomiuri Shimbun

time34 minutes ago

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

Zelenskiy says Ukraine Halts Russian Troop Advance in Sumy Region

Reuters Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a joint press conference amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv on June 12. KYIV, June 14 (Reuters) — Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had recaptured Andriivka village in northeastern Sumy region as part of a drive to expel Russian forces from the area. Zelenskiy has in the past week focused on what he describes as a drive to push out Russian forces from the Sumy region, with border areas gripped by heavy fighting. He says Russia has amassed 53,000 troops in the area. 'Based on recent developments, our special thanks go to the soldiers of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment — for offensive operations in the Sumy region and the liberation, in particular, of Andriivka,' Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. Zelenskiy also noted 'successful actions' near Pokrovsk, for months a focus of Russian attacks in their slow advance on the eastern front, and 'strong results' near Kupiansk, an area in northeastern Ukraine that has come under heavy Russian pressure. In remarks released for publication earlier on Saturday, Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces had stopped Russian troops advancing in Sumy region and were battling to regain control along the border. 'We are levelling the position. The fighting there is along the border. You should understand that the enemy has been stopped there. And the maximum depth at which the fighting takes place is 7 kilometers from the border,' Zelenskiy said. Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports. Russia's troops have been focusing their assaults in the eastern Donetsk region, with Pokrovsk a particular target. But since the start of the month, they have intensified their attacks in the northeast, announcing plans to create a so-called 'buffer zone' in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions. Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that its forces had seized the village of Zelenyi Kut, southwest of Pokrovsk. The Russian war in Ukraine is in its fourth year, but it has intensified in recent weeks. Ukraine conducted an audacious drone attackthis month that took out multiple aircraft inside Russia and also hit the bridge connecting Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula using underwater explosives. Moscow ramped up its air assaults after the attack. Zelenskiy said Ukrainian troops had maintained defensive lines along more than 1,000 km of the frontline. He also dismissed Moscow's claims that Russian troops had crossed into the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk. Zelenskiy said that Russia was sending small assault groups 'to get one foot on the administrative border' and make a picture or a video, but these attacks were repelled. The popular Ukrainian military blog DeepState, which relies on open-source data, said Ukrainian troops had repelled a Russian attack in the area, but also reported Russian advances in other areas, including Pokrovsk. Dnipropetrovsk borders three regions that are partially occupied by Russia – Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russia now controls about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. Zelenskiy acknowledged that Ukraine was unable to regain all of its territory by military force and reiterated his pleas for stronger sanctions to force Moscow into talks to end the war. Two rounds of peace talks in Istanbul produced few results that could lead to a ceasefire and a broader peace deal. The two sides agreed only to exchange prisoners of war. Several swaps have already been conducted this month, and Zelenskiy said he expected them to continue until June 20 or 21. In separate remarks made on communications platform Telegram on Saturday, he said that a new group of Ukrainian prisoners of war had come home as part of another swap with Russia. 'We continue to take our people out of Russian captivity. This is the fourth exchange in a week,' Zelenskiy wrote. Ukrainian officials responsible for exchanging prisoners said the vast majority of the soldiers released in the exchange had been held captive since 2022 with many captured during the more than 80-day siege of the Sea of Azov port of Mariupol. The officials said Kyiv had, meanwhile,received the bodies of 1,200 of its soldiers killed in the war with Russia. The bodies were handed over to Ukraine on Friday. Russian state media, citing sources, reported that Moscow had not received any of its war dead back from Kyiv.

Britain's Starmer Announces National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs'
Britain's Starmer Announces National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs'

Yomiuri Shimbun

time35 minutes ago

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

Britain's Starmer Announces National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs'

Reuters file photo British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, speaks during the Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons in London, June 11. June 14 (Reuters) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday he would accept a recommendation for a national inquiry into grooming gangs who sexually abused thousands of girls, having previously resisted calls for a statutory review. The scandal, which revealed how gangs of mostly Pakistani men had groomed, trafficked and raped young white girls more than a decade ago, returned to the political agenda this year after U.S. billionaire Elon Musk criticised the British government. On Saturday, Musk responded to a post on X thanking him for drawing attention to the matter, saying he is 'glad to hear this is happening.' Interior minister Yvette Cooper in January asked Louise Casey, a former senior official, to undertake a 'rapid audit' of the scale and nature of gang-based exploitation in Britain. Casey's report is expected to say that vulnerable white British girls were 'institutionally ignored' by police and local authorities fearing being accused of racism, Sky News reported on Saturday. '(Casey's) position when she started the audit was that there was not a real need for a national inquiry, over and above what was going on,' Starmer told reporters en route to the G7 summit in Canada on Saturday. 'She has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she has seen. I have read every single word of her report and I am going to accept her recommendation,' he added. The Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer had to be led by the nose to make what she said was the correct decision. 'I've been repeatedly calling for a full national inquiry since January,' she said. 'Many survivors of the grooming gangs will be relieved that this is finally happening. But they need a resolution soon, not in 10 years' time.'

Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel's Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says
Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel's Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says

Yomiuri Shimbun

time43 minutes ago

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel's Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says

Reuters Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with participants of the 'Time of Heroes' project established for Russian service members and veterans at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday. MOSCOW (Reuters) — Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump for 50 minutes on Saturday, focusing on hostilities between Israel and Iran and calling for efforts to bring them to an end. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin condemned the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressed concern about the risks of escalation. Trump, in his account on Truth Social, said most of the discussion centered on the Middle East, but that he also told Putin that Russia's war in Ukraine should end. 'Vladimir Putin condemned Israel's military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East,' Ushakov told reporters. Ushakov said Trump described events in the Middle East as 'very alarming'. But the two leaders said they do not rule out a return to the negotiating track on Iran's nuclear programme, Ushakov said. Ushakov said U.S. negotiators were ready to hold further talks with Iranian representatives, with Oman as mediator. The latest round, scheduled for Sunday in Oman, has been cancelled. The Kremlin aide said Putin told Trump that Russia stood by proposals to ease tension and resolve issues concerning Iran's nuclear programme. 'The Russian president recalled that prior to the current rise in tension our side had proposed concrete steps intended to find mutually acceptable agreements during talks between U.S. and Iranian representatives about the Iranian nuclear programme,' Ushakov said. 'Russia's principled approach and interest in a resolution is unchanged and, as Vladimir Putin noted, we will continue to act based on this.' Trump's account of the conversation included what amounted to his first explicit appeal for the hostilities to end. 'The call lasted approximately 1 hour,' Trump wrote. 'He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end.' Trump said he and Putin mostly discussed the Middle East and spent 'much less time' talking about the war in Ukraine. Trump hinted at follow-up discussions on the war in Ukraine in the coming week. On Ukraine, Ushakov said Putin told the U.S. leader that Russia was ready to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians after June 22, according to state news agency RIA. Ushakov also said that the presidents expressed satisfaction 'at their personal relations which have allowed for them to speak in a business-like manner to seek solutions to issues that are bilateral or on the international agenda, however complex those issues might be'. Putin also congratulated Trump on his 79th birthday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store