SYDNEY // Conservationists have reacted with dismay and bewilderment to a call by Australia's atomic industry to build 10 nuclear power stations by 2030.
But the head of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (Ansto) said such a move would be an effective way to cut emissions in a country which produces more greenhouse gas pollution per person than almost any other developed economy.
Ansto's chairman, Ziggy Switkowski, wrote recently in the Australian newspaper: "Previous studies have asserted that in the carbon-costed world of the 2020s, nuclear energy will be Australia's safest, cleanest and lowest cost form of baseload electricity generation. Two thirds of the world's population in 31 countries ... use nuclear electricity apparently with little hesitation."
Critics, however, insist that current methods are no safer than those used at Three Mile Island, which suffered a partial meltdown 30 years ago in America's worst civilian nuclear accident.
Dr Mark Diesendorf, deputy director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of New South Wales, said: "In a nutshell it is still too dangerous to be relied upon both in terms of proliferation of nuclear weapons and rare, but catastrophic accidents. It is far too expensive, much dearer than wind power. It is unnecessary because Australia has enormous renewable energy resources and in the long term it [nuclear energy] becomes a medium-level carbon dioxide emitter, although it is not a significant emitter right now."
"Let me stress, the main dangers that I'm concerned about are the proliferation of nuclear weapons. I have no confidence in past, present or future Australian governments that they would avoid keeping open the possibility of becoming nuclear armed if they built nuclear power," Dr Diesendorf said.
Australia has a single nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights on the edge of Sydney which is used for medical and research purposes.
In the late 1960s, plans were made to build an atomic power plant at Jervis Bay, in New South Wales, but the project was killed off by political pressure and opposition to nuclear energy has persisted at the highest levels of government ever since.
The country's resources minister, Martin Ferguson, said: "Australia is an energy-rich nation possessing abundant sources of low-cost conventional fuels such as coal and gas, as well as many renewable options, such as wind, solar, geothermal and wave energy.
"I acknowledge that nations with fewer energy options than Australia need to develop and expand their nuclear energy capacity as they respond to the challenges of climate change and energy security."
This official stance is in keeping with the views of most Australians, who overwhelmingly favour the development of renewable energy over nuclear, according to an opinion poll published earlier this month.
The Newspoll survey, commissioned by the Clean Energy Council, an association of clean-energy companies in Australia, showed that 80 per cent of respondents wanted the government to look to wind and solar power before pursuing the nuclear option, which undoubtedly has had an image problem, in large part because of the radiation disaster at Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1986.
Dr Barry Green, an Australian scientist and expert in fusion science, said he believed the industry had successfully repaired its reputation and was now safer than ever.
"Largely it [nuclear power] has been seen as very unpopular with the voters. Now, I don't think that is the situation anymore. A lot of the fears [over] nuclear power are more imagined than real and I think we should definitely start looking at it," he said from his home near Perth in Western Australia.
"Of course, safety is a concern and no one can forget the horrors of Chernobyl, but if we were to throw away a viable technology because of a severe accident then we wouldn't be flying planes anymore. When a jumbo jet comes down and 300 people are immediately killed our immediate reaction is not to do away with air travel but to make the system better [and] to improve the safety features," Mr Green said.
About 400 reactors are in use around the world. China, India, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan and Taiwan have embraced the technology, while the UAE, Indonesia and Thailand have ambitions to join them. In Europe, France is also an enthusiastic adherent, with 80 per cent of its electricity generated by atomic facilities.
"You only have to look at the track record of existing reactors in France ... to see we have had essentially trouble-free electricity. I would maintain the record is pretty good," Mr Green said.
As for concerns about weapons proliferation should Australia go down the atomic path, Mr Green said that the government would be bound by the rules of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure that sensitive fissile material would not be misused.
Despite such assurances, critics also remain worried about the safe storage of radioactive waste and while several sites have been suggested, those plans have met with fierce local opposition as Australia continues to wrestle with the vexed and divisive issue of nuclear power.
@Email:pmercer@thenational.ae
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Company%20profile
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Grand slam winners since July 2003
Who has won major titles since Wimbledon 2003 when Roger Federer won his first grand slam
Roger Federer 19 (8 Wimbledon, 5 Australian Open, 5 US Open, 1 French Open)
Rafael Nadal 16 (10 French Open, 3 US Open, 2 Wimbledon, 1 Australian Open)
Novak Djokovic 12 (6 Australian Open, 3 Wimbledon, 2 US Open, 1 French Open)
Andy Murray 3 (2 Wimbledon, 1 US Open)
Stan Wawrinka 3 (1 Australian Open, 1 French Open, 1 US Open)
Andy Roddick 1 (1 US Open)
Gaston Gaudio 1 (1 French Open)
Marat Safin 1 (1 Australian Open)
Juan Martin del Potro 1 (1 US Open)
Marin Cilic 1 (1 US Open)
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Real Sociedad v Leganes (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Real Valladolid (4pm)
Valencia v Granada (7pm)
Eibar v Real Madrid (9.30pm)
Barcelona v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Sunday
Real Mallorca v Villarreal (3pm)
Athletic Bilbao v Levante (5pm)
Atletico Madrid v Espanyol (7pm)
Getafe v Osasuna (9.30pm)
Real Betis v Sevilla (midnight)
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Match statistics
Dubai Sports City Eagles 8 Dubai Exiles 85
Eagles
Try: Bailey
Pen: Carey
Exiles
Tries: Botes 3, Sackmann 2, Fourie 2, Penalty, Walsh, Gairn, Crossley, Stubbs
Cons: Gerber 7
Pens: Gerber 3
Man of the match: Tomas Sackmann (Exiles)
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Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
Company%20profile
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.
Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
