Briefly

JAPAN

4th nuke water release to resume despite backlash

Japan is set to start its fourth round of release of the nuclear-contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, local media reported. Despite raging concerns and opposition both at home and abroad, Tokyo Electric Power Company announced that it would start discharging about 7,800 tons of the water, in a similar amount to the previous three rounds, over about 17 days. Amid chilly winds in Tokyo, residents took to the street to oppose the upcoming ocean release. They also voiced concerns over the recent leakage of contaminated water from pipes at the Fukushima plant, as well as potential safety hazards for the disaster-prone country in light of the Noto Peninsula earthquake.

COLOMBIA

Govt, rebels to resume stalled negotiations

Colombia's government and the ELN guerrilla group said on Monday they will resume peace talks which the rebels had put on hold last week. In a joint statement in Havana — hosting talks that were held up for several days — the parties said they would "continue with the activities set out "in earlier agreements as they prepare for another round of negotiations in Venezuela in April. Last week, the ELN declared the process "frozen "until further notice, prompting the government to blame the guerrillas for unnecessarily prolonging the country's decades-old armed conflict.

UNITED STATES

Lunar lander to end mission in advance

US company Intuitive Machines' first lunar lander Odysseus will lose control and end its mission earlier than expected, the company said on Monday. The lander will lose communication with flight controllers in Houston due to its solar panels off work by early morning Tuesday. This will cut the mission short for two to three days from a week expected by NASA and other customers, according to US media reports. The uncrewed lander touched down at the lunar South Pole last Thursday.

Xinhua - Agencies