Asia Briefs: Japan shuts nuclear reactor for inspections

Japan shuts nuclear reactor for inspections

TOKYO • A reactor at the centre of Japan's national debate over nuclear power was halted yesterday under stricter post-Fukushima safety standards, as Tokyo struggles to bring back atomic energy.

Utility Kyushu Electric is shutting down the No. 1 reactor at its Sendai plant in southern Kagoshima for a few months of inspections and maintenance, leaving Japan with just two operating reactors.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


HK project to provide 18-cent flats for poor

HONG KONG • For the first time, the Hong Kong government has partnered a social enterprise to turn an abandoned factory into homes for the poor, the South China Morning Post reported.

The enterprise Light Be is running the project aimed at providing homes for as many as 90 families for six years for a token fee of HK$1 (S$0.18), the report said on Wednesday.

The project in a 50-year-old textile factory has 45 units. Each flat is about 28 sq m in size and comes with a kitchen, bathroom and balcony.


HK protester jailed for hitting cops during riot

HONG KONG • A Hong Kong court jailed a protester yesterday in the first sentence handed down over a February riot that saw violent clashes in the city, fuelled by anti-China sentiment.

A magistrates' court sentenced Chan Pak-yeung, 31, an active member and online radio presenter for the localist political party Civic Passion, to nine months in prison for resisting and assaulting police officers, the party said.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 07, 2016, with the headline Asia Briefs: Japan shuts nuclear reactor for inspections . Subscribe