Nuclear Powers Rebuked As 122 Nations Adopt U.N. Ban
Jacqueline Klimas | Politico
While Friday's meeting between the leaders of the two biggest nuclear powers drew world attention, representatives from 122 other countries did something truly historic that barely registered a blip: They negotiated the first-ever treaty outlawing atomic bombs. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, passed at the United Nations by a vote of 122 to 1, was the culmination of a decade long effort by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons — and a resounding rebuke to the world's nuclear weapons states, which were glaringly absent and immediately dismissed the effort.
Related: Read George Perkovich's "The Nuclear Ban Treaty: What Would Follow?"
Trump Pledges to Act 'Very Strongly' on North Korea Missile Threat
Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton | Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump vowed on Thursday to confront North Korea "very strongly" following its latest missile test and urged nations to show Pyongyang there would be consequences for its weapons program. North Korea on Tuesday test launched an intercontinental ballistic missile that some experts believe has the range to reach Alaska and Hawaii and perhaps the U.S. Pacific Northwest. North Korea said it could carry a large nuclear warhead.
China Says 'China Responsibility Theory' on North Korea Has to Stop
Reuters
China hit back on Tuesday in unusually strong terms at repeated calls from the United States to put more pressure on North Korea, urging a halt to what it called the "China responsibility theory", and saying all parties needed to pull their weight. U.S President Trump took a more conciliatory tone at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday, but he has expressed some impatience that China, with its close economic and diplomatic ties to Pyongyang, is not doing enough to rein in North Korea.
Russians Are Suspects in Nuclear Site Hackings, Sources Say
Michael Riley , Jennifer A Dlouhy , and Bryan Gruley | Bloomberg
Hackers working for a foreign government recently breached at least a dozen U.S. power plants, including the Wolf Creek nuclear facility in Kansas, according to current and former U.S. officials, sparking concerns the attackers were searching for vulnerabilities in the electrical grid. The intruders could be positioning themselves to eventually disrupt the nation’s power supply, warned the officials, who noted that a general alert was distributed to utilities a week ago. Adding to those concerns, hackers recently infiltrated an unidentified company that makes control systems for equipment used in the power industry, an attack that officials believe may be related.
France Could Close 'Up to 17' Nuclear Power Plants by 2025
France 24
Nicolas Hulot, France’s environment minister, announced on Monday that France could close “up to 17 nuclear reactors” by 2025. Hulot says the move aims to bring policy into line with a law on renewable energy that aims to reduce French reliance on nuclear power to 50 percent. France currently derives close to 75 percent of its electricity from nuclear power. The push for diversification comes on the heels of other high-profile stances taken by Hulot and the administration of President Emmanuel Macron, including a ban on new fossil fuel exploration an end to the sale of gas and diesel-powered vehicles by 2040, and a recently announced climate conference to be held on December 12 for the two-year anniversary of the signing of the Paris Accord.
Trump Triggers Fight Over Yucca Waste Site
Timothy Cama | Hill
Supporters and opponents of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site in Nevada are ramping up their advocacy efforts in hopes of swaying Congress and the Trump administration. For the first time in at least seven years, the proposed repository for high-level nuclear waste is on the political agenda in Washington, D.C., and lobbyists are dusting off their playbooks to once again advocate for or against the site.