Environment

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake has hit off the Japanese coast, just north of Tokyo, according to the Japanese national broadcaster NHK . Local news reports that the quake, which struck at around 9.25pm local time or 1.25pm GMT, was felt in the Saitama and Tokyo areas, where buildings were swaying. RT reports: Metro operations were briefly suspended on all routes in Tokyo, but services restarted four minutes later. An elevator maintenance firm in Tokyo said several elevators stopped in the metropolitan area due to the quake with commuters asked to “use emergency buttons,” according to NHK.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) say that the elevated gamma radiation levels around the Hanford site, America’s largest nuclear waste storage facility, is down to natural causes However a few inconsistencies have been found in the EPA’s claims as Russia Today’s Alexey Yaroshevsky has discovered: RT has reported extensively on the situation at Washington State’s Hanford Nuclear storage facility since various leaks and injuries to workers were reported.

When Crimea's secession to Russia was accepted by Putin, the logical next phase of the process was to cut off Crimea's reliance on Ukraine for energy, and fully integrate it into Russia's supply network. That phase has now been completed, as the fourth and final line supplying electricity from mainland Russian to the Crimean peninsula has been completed according to RT...

India are filing 16 cases against the US for violating WTO treaties, according to local media reports.  Delhi say that some U.S. programs in the renewable energy sector violate global standards. RT.com reports: When asked whether Delhi is planning to “to file 16 cases against the US for violating WTO treaties,” Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman replied positively.