A Chinese nuclear power plant near Hong Kong had five broken fuel rods in a reactor but no radioactivity leaked, the government said Wednesday in its first confirmation of the incident that prompted concern over the facility’s safety.
Radiation rose inside the No. 1 reactor of the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong province but was contained by barriers that functioned as planned, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on its social media account.
The Hong Kong government said it was watching the plant and asking officials in Guangdong for details after its French co-owner on Monday reported increased “noble gases” in the reactor. Experts said that suggested fuel rods broke and leaked radioactive gas produced during nuclear fission.
Election race narrows amid reports of low voter turnout
Iran grappled with fears of low voter turnout two days ahead of its presidential election as the race narrowed into a showdown between the country’s hard-line judiciary chief and moderate former Central Bank chief.
Iran’s clerical vetting body had barred a range of prominent reformists and key allies of President Hassan Rouhani to run in this election, giving the green light to just hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi and some low-profile candidates.
The only reformist candidate in the vote also dropped out, making former Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati the main moderate contender.
The state-linked polling agency recently projected a 42% turnout from the country’s 59 million eligible voters.
Senators seek to stop move to strip 144 cities’ ‘metropolitan’ status
Some lawmakers are trying to stop 144 U.S. cities from losing their designations as metropolitan areas as the government doubles the minimum number of residents required in a city’s urban core to 100,000.
Sens. John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, and Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, introduced legislation that would stop the change.
The 50,000-person threshold for being counted as a metropolitan statistical area has been in place for 70 years. Cities losing this status, with urban core populations of 50,000 to 99,999, would become “micropolitan” statistical areas instead.
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