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Hugo Perrin-Paulus

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photo of abandoned houses in fukushima
Green

How Japan Wound Up Stuck With Tons Of Fukushima's Radioactive Soil

Facing 14 million cubic meters of contaminated soil collected during the cleanup of fields and villages near the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant, the Japanese government promised residents it would remove the soil, but now finds itself in a deadlock, despite the tens of billions of dollars spent..

OKUMA — It is the planet's largest ever nuclear cleanup job.

As Japanese authorities continue to dismantle the four reactors destroyed during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, and prepare to gradually release collected and treated water into the sea, they're also trying to clear and store the tons of contaminated soil collected during the cleanup of surrounding fields and villages.

Dozens of former fields, filled rice paddies and hundreds of hectares of forest around the now-disabled power plant have been turned into a giant radioactive landfill. In the municipalities of Okuma and Futaba, some areas are still off-limits to the public.

On a recent day, countless dump trucks came to drop off contaminated soil. An army of construction vehicles including excavators, bulldozers and rollers compress the soil in successive layers, building artificial hills 15 meters high, a sort of layered cake.

"Collection began in 2015 in the villages of the area," explains Yoshitomo Mori, a Ministry of Environment executive working on the project. "We have already recovered a total of 14 million cubic meters of contaminated soil." That's the equivalent of more than five pyramids of Giza.

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Photo of Army soldiers holding a Taiwanese flag during a military drill simulating defence operations
Geopolitics

China-Taiwan: Between Election Maneuvering And Dress Rehearsals For War

The Chinese military's encirclement of Taiwan is above all a political move, not a tactical one. War is unlikely for now: Beijing still has other cards to play in the crisis. But if these fail, anything is possible.

-Analysis-

BEIJING — No one, not even China (despite how it may seem), nor the United States or Taiwan, want war in the region. But for the past three days, the world has watched a game of intimidation around this island of 24 million inhabitants, which has become, as The Economist described it a few years ago, "the most dangerous place in the world."

The means deployed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army are considerable, including the Shandong aircraft carrier, the pride of the Beijing navy, as well as the new J-15 fighter jet. The maneuvers, which included repeated violations of the Taiwanese air identification zone, are like a dress rehearsal for a possible Chinese invasion of the island.

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Photo of the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy
Geopolitics

Macron In China, Tsai In California: Why Europe Must Face The Taiwan Question

The issue of Taiwan has come up during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to China. The unresolved question of the island's independence shows Europe will find it hard to remain neutral as tensions between the U.S. and China reach a new peak.

-Analysis-

BEIJING — If an example was needed of the escalation of Chinese-American rivalry, the visit to the United States by the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, would be enough. This visit, and especially her meeting Wednesday in California with the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, are like a red rag to the leaders of Beijing, who promise "retaliation."

This new boiling point — yet one more — is shaking up the delicate balance of the visit to China by French President Emmanuel Macron, joined Thursday by European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen. European leaders hope to redefine the China-Europe relationship by side-stepping the new Sino-American Cold War— but, as Emmanuel Macron himself admits, this path is very narrow.

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Demonstrators in Tunis holding a banner saying "I'm an African, arrest me !" in a fight against racism in the country and against President Kais Saied
Geopolitics

The African Union Must Take A Stand On Tunisian President's Racist Tactics

Tunisia's president has risen to power on the back of populism that suggests black people are trying to replace Arabs. The African Union has not intervened, begging the question of what is its purpose.

-OpEd-

DAKAR — Habib Bourguiba led Tunisia to independence from France and led the country for over 30 years. The continent remembers Bourguiba the African, and the title of Supreme Fighter was awarded to him posthumously by the Mandela Institute in 2017.

The father of independence had time to embrace the African and Mediterranean dimension of his country and assimilate the three isms (pan-Africanism, pan-Arabism, and pan-Islamism) that constitute the Tunisian identity.

But the difference between Habib Bourguiba and the country's current President Kaci Saïed could not be more stark.

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Photo of Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia
Geopolitics

Russia Running UN Security Council? Symbol (And More) Of A Broken World Order

It sounded made for April Fool's: Russia is taking over the presidency of the UN Security Council, the highest governing body in the world. But this is all too real. It's time to rethink how the council works, Pierre Haski writes.

-Analysis-

PARIS — "A disgrace, an extreme absurdity, a symbolic blow to an international order based on law" — Ukrainian officials were left stunned, almost at a loss for words to describe Russia's appointment on April 1 to the presidency of the UN Security Council.

But the appointment is completely above board. Russia didn't scheme or cheat to get it: the rules of the Security Council, established in 1945, schedule a monthly rotation among the council's 15 members, and it just happened to be Russia's turn.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

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Of course, Ukraine's dismay is entirely understandable, as the nation watches its invader — whose head of state is wanted on an international warrant for crimes against humanity — be appointed to lead the body that aims to build global peace.

To prevent Russia from presiding over the Security Council, the country would have had to choose not to take the presidency; even if the remaining Security Council members voted to exclude Russia, the country has the same right as any other permanent member to veto votes, and would never have allowed such a resolution to pass.

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This Happened - March 31: Dalai Lama Flees For His Life
This Happened

This Happened - March 31: Dalai Lama Flees For His Life

On this day in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama crossed the border from Tibet to India seeking political asylum because he and his followers were facing increasing persecution from the Chinese government. The Chinese had occupied Tibet in 1950, and tensions between the Tibetan people and the Chinese authorities had been escalating.
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This Happened - March 30: Reagan Is Shot
This Happened

This Happened - March 30: Reagan Is Shot

U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot on this day in 1981, while leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel.

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Bibi Blinked: Can Netanyahu Survive After Backing Down On Judicial Putsch?
Israel

Bibi Blinked: Can Netanyahu Survive After Backing Down On Judicial Putsch?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu has backed down in the 11th hour on his plans to push forward on a major judicial reform bill that had sparked massive protests.

-Analysis-

Benjamin Netanyahu played the sorcerer's apprentice and lost. By announcing Monday night the suspension of his judicial reform, which has deeply divided Israeli society and brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the nation's streets, he signed his defeat.

One thing we know about the Israeli prime minister is that he has not said his last word: the reform is only suspended, not withdrawn. He promised a "real dialogue" after the Passover holiday.

Netanyahu is not one to back down easily: he had clearly gone too far, first by allying himself with extreme right-wing forces from the fringes of the political spectrum; but above all by wanting to change the balance on which the Jewish State had lived since its foundation in 1948. His plans threatened to change the nature of the state in a patently "illiberal" direction.

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This Happened - March 28: Three Mile Island Meltdown
This Happened

This Happened - March 28: Three Mile Island Meltdown

On this day in 1979, a nuclear reactor at the Three Mile Island power plant in Pennsylvania experienced a partial meltdown due to a combination of equipment malfunctions, operator errors, and design flaws. As a result, radioactive gas was released into the environment, and the plant had to be shut down permanently.

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Image of a crowd of protestors holding Israeli flags and a woman speaking into a megaphone
Geopolitics

U.S., France, Israel: How Three Model Democracies Are Coming Unglued

France, Israel, United States: these three democracies all face their own distinct problems. But these problems are revealing disturbing cracks in society that pose a real danger to hard-earned progress that won't be easily regained.

"I'd rather be a Russian than a Democrat," reads the t-shirt of a Republican Party supporter in the U.S.

"We need to bring the French economy to its knees," announces the leader of the French union Confédération Générale du Travail.

"Let's end the power of the Supreme Court filled with leftist and pro-Palestinian Ashkenazis," say Israeli government cabinet ministers pushing extreme judicial reforms

The United States, France, Israel: three countries, three continents, three situations that have nothing to do with each other. But each country appears to be on the edge of a nervous breakdown of what seemed like solid democracies.

How can we explain these political excesses, irrational proclamations, even suicidal tendencies?

The answer seems simple: in the United States, in France, in Israel — far from an exhaustive list — democracy is facing the challenge of society's ever-greater polarization. We can manage the competition of ideas and opposing interests. But how to respond to rage, even hatred, borne of a sense of injustice and humiliation?

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This Happened - March 27: Quentin Tarantino Was Born
This Happened

This Happened - March 27: Quentin Tarantino Was Born

American filmmaker, screenwriter, and actor Quentin Tarantino was born on this day in 1963.

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Photo of Indian romance statues
Society

Tales From A Blushing Nation: Exploring India's 'Issues' With Love And Sex

Why is it that this nation of a billion-plus has such problems with intimacy and romance?

KOLKATA — To a foreigner, India may seem to be a country obsessed with romance. What with the booming Bollywood film industry which tirelessly churns out tales of love and glory clothed in brilliant dance and action sequences, a history etched with ideal romantics like Laila-Majnu or the fact that the Taj Mahal has immortalised the love between king Shahjahan and queen Mumtaz.

It is difficult to fathom how this country with a billion-plus population routinely gets red in the face at the slightest hint or mention of sex.

It therefore may have come as a shock to many when the ‘couple-friendly’ hospitality brand OYO announced that they are “extremely humbled to share that we observed a record 90.57% increase in Valentine’s Day bookings across India.”

What does that say about India’s romantic culture?

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