Κυριακή 19 Ιουνίου 2016

UK government needs a nuclear plan B, says Tim Yeo

Ministers need to talk to the Chinese about fast-tracking the planned reactor at Bradwell in Essex because the future of the £18bn Hinkley Point project is so uncertain, according to a leading pro-nuclear campaigner.
Artists’s illustration of the Hinkley Point nuclear power station project
 The Hinkley project in Somerset has been hit by a series of delays. A final investment decision has been put back to September. Photograph: EDF Energy/PA
Tim Yeo, a former chair of the energy and climate change committee, said the government should also consider whether the Russian state operator, Rosatom, or the British state could build new atomic plants.

U.S. will seek billions more to support Afghan military efforts


Afghan border police take their positions following clashes with Pakistani forces on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in eastern Nangarhar province on Wednesday. (Noorullah Shirzada/AFP/Getty Images)
America’s longest war is about to include more cash for Afghanistan’s army and police force — without any new conditions to try to ensure it doesn’t get gobbled up before making it to the battlefield.

Steel and sea issues dominate U.S.-China dialogue

The recent Strategic and Economic Dialogue highlighted the importance of steel production and the South China Sea in U.S.-China relations.
Steel and sea issues dominate U.S.-China dialogue
Between 6-7 June, the U.S. and China were engaged in the 8th Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED). The meeting, established by President Obama and former Chinese president Hu Jintao in 2009, has notoriously failed to result in agreements. As a consequence, the forum is widely considered consultative, at best.