Four reactor units at one of France’s largest nuclear power stations have been forced to shut down due to a swarm of jellyfish in the plant’s water pumping stations, French energy group Electricite de France (EDF) said.
Three reactor units were automatically shut down on Sunday evening at Gravelines on the English Channel, followed by the fourth early on Monday morning, EDF said, adding that the safety of the plant, its employees and the environment was not at risk.
“These shutdowns are the result of the massive and unpredictable presence of jellyfish in the filter drums of the pumping stations,” EDF said in a statement.
The plant in northern France is one of the largest in the country and is cooled from a canal connected to the North Sea.
Teams were carrying out inspections to restart the site “in complete safety”, EDF said, adding the reactors that were shut down are expected to restart on Thursday.
The beaches around Gravelines, between the major cities of Dunkirk and Calais, have seen an increase in jellyfish in recent years due to warming waters and the introduction of invasive species.
Jellyfish lie on the shore near the Gravelines nuclear power plant in Gravelines, northern France, August 12, 2025 [Sameer al-Doumy/AFP]
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists wrote in 2021 that jellyfish swarms incapacitating nuclear power plants is “neither new nor unknown” and there was substantial economic cost due to the forced closure of power plants.
Scientists are currently exploring ways to avert closures due to sea swarms, including using drones to map the movement of jellyfish, which would allow early intervention.
“Jellyfish breed faster when water is warmer, and because areas like the North Sea are becoming warmer, the reproductive window is getting wider and wider,” Derek Wright, marine biology consultant with the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Reuters news agency.
“Jellyfish can also hitch rides on tanker ships, entering the ships’ ballast tank in one port and often getting pumped out into waters halfway across the globe,” he said.
An invasive species known as the Asian Moon jellyfish, native to the Pacific Northwest, was first sighted in the North Sea in 2020. The species, which prefers still water with high levels of animal plankton, such as that in ports and canals, has caused similar problems before in ports and at nuclear plants in China, Japan, and India.
EDF said it did not know the species of jellyfish involved in the shutdown, but this is not the first time jellyfish have shut down a nuclear facility, though such incidents were “quite rare” – the last effect on EDF operations was in the 1990s.
There have been cases of plants in other countries shutting down due to jellyfish invasions, notably a three-day closure in Sweden in 2013 and a 1999 incident in Japan that caused a major drop in power output.
Experts say overfishing, plastic pollution and climate change have created conditions for jellyfish to thrive and reproduce.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, is “in denial” about the suffering inflicted on Gaza, and the international community is now saying, “Enough is enough”.
A day after announcing that Australia will recognise Palestinian statehood at the United Nations next month, Albanese said that frustration with the Israeli government amid the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza had contributed to Australia’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state.
“[Netanyahu] again reiterated to me what he has said publicly as well, which is to be in denial about the consequences that are occurring for innocent people,” Albanese said in an interview with state broadcaster ABC on Tuesday.
Albanese said he spoke with Netanyahu last week to inform him of Australia’s decision to join France, Canada and the United Kingdom in recognising a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly meeting in September.
Netanyahu, he said, continued to make the same arguments he made last year regarding the conduct of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has now killed more than 61,500 Palestinians since October 2023.
“That if we just have more military action in Gaza, somehow that will produce a different outcome,” Albanese said, recounting his call with the Israeli leader, according to ABC News.
Announcing Australia’s decision to recognise Palestinian statehood on Monday, Albanese said that “the risk of trying is nothing compared to the danger of letting this moment pass us by”.
“The toll of the status quo is growing by the day, and it could be measured in innocent lives,” Albanese said, adding the decision was made as part of a “coordinated global effort” on the two-state solution, which he had discussed with the leaders of the UK, France, New Zealand and Japan.
pic.twitter.com/9VkQU0LcwV
“A two-state solution is humanity’s best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza,” he said.
“It seems to me very clearly… we need a political solution, not a military one,” he said.
Albanese had said just last month that he would not be drawn on a timeline for recognition of a Palestinian state, and has previously been wary of a public opinion backlash in Australia, which has significant Jewish and Muslim minorities.
But the public mood has shifted sharply in Australia against Israel’s war on Gaza.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched across Sydney’s Harbour Bridge this month, calling for aid deliveries to be allowed to enter Gaza as the humanitarian crisis worsens and Israel’s military continues to block relief efforts.
Israel also plans to take military control of Gaza City, risking the lives of more than a million Palestinians and instigating what a senior UN official said would be “another calamity”, as deaths from starvation and malnutrition continue to grow across the enclave.
United States President Donald Trump has announced that he is temporarily taking control of the Washington, DC, police department, while deploying 800 National Guard troops to the city.
Trump said his actions are needed to “rescue” the US capital from a surge in crime.
While violent crime spiked in Washington, DC, in 2023, data shows it has been falling quickly since then.
Here is what we know:
What has Trump announced?
During a 78-minute news conference, Trump announced that the federal government would take control of the District of Columbia (DC) Metropolitan Police Department to address surging crime.
“I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse,” Trump said during the conference in which he was joined by US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who will oversee the city’s police force while it is under federal control.
“This is Liberation Day in DC, and we’re going to take our capital back. We’re taking it back,” Trump said.
“Under the authorities vested in me as the President of the United States, I’m officially invoking section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act… and placing the DC Metropolitan and Police Department under direct federal control,” he said.
He also announced the deployment of the National Guard.
“I’m deploying the National Guard to help reestablish law, order and public safety in Washington, DC, and they’re going to be allowed to do their job properly,” he said.
Trump also said that he intends to remove the capital’s homeless population, but did not provide details on how the plan would be carried out.
What is the Home Rule Act of 1973?
The Home Rule Act of 1973 is a US federal law that gave Washington, DC, a significant degree of self-government for the first time.
Washington, DC, is the seat of the federal government and the only US city that is not part of the 50 states. As a result, it has no voting representation in Congress.
For about a century, up until 1973, the city was run by three presidentially appointed commissioners. That was until then-President Richard Nixon signed the Home Rule Act, enabling district residents to elect a mayor and city council.
But the Home Rule Act also says the president can take control of the city’s police force if “special conditions of an emergency nature exist”.
This is something Trump threatened to do in 2020, amid nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd. The city’s police can be used for “federal purposes”.
The president can use the DC police force for 48 hours, or up to 30 days if he notifies Congress.
Trump said he plans to keep the federal takeover of the force going past the first 48 hours, and will officially inform the appropriate parties.
The mayor of Washington, DC, Muriel Bowser, is adamant that the city still has control: “Let me be clear. Chief Pamela Smith is the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, and its 3,100 members work under her direction.”
“Nothing about our organisational chart has changed,” Bowser said. “And nothing in the executive order would indicate otherwise.”
According to a report by the news outlet Politico, federal law enforcement officers will be tasked with protecting federal buildings and national monuments.
What do we know about the National Guard deployment?
According to a statement from the US Army, “between 100-200 soldiers will be supporting law enforcement at any given time”.
“Their duties will include an array of tasks from administrative, logistics and physical presence in support of law enforcement,” the army said.
The National Guard will operate under Title 32 status, meaning they remain under local control but are funded by the federal government. In this status, they are not bound by the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars US service members from engaging in law enforcement activities.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that the Guard would begin flowing into DC this week.
According to a report by CNN, deployed troops are not expected to openly carry rifles as they patrol the streets. Instead, they will probably keep their weapons nearby, for example, in their trucks, so they can access them if necessary for self-defence, the official said.
Hegseth said the Pentagon was “prepared to bring in other National Guard units – other specialised units”, but did not offer any further details.
When asked whether the military would assist with clearing homeless people from the city, Hegseth said that the soldiers would assist local law enforcement.
“Our job is to stand alongside law enforcement,” he said.
Why is Trump taking these measures?
In the executive order, Trump states that rising violence in the capital has become an emergency.
The “rising violence in the capital now urgently endangers public servants, citizens, and tourists, disrupts safe and secure transportation and the proper functioning of the Federal Government”, the order states.
“The magnitude of the violent crime crisis places the District of Columbia among the most violent jurisdictions in the United States.”
It also says that the attorney general shall regularly update the president “on the status of the special conditions of an emergency nature that exist in the District of Columbia”.
MAKE D.C. SAFE AGAIN 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/xJRIcgy4ld
According to reports, the move seems to have been triggered by an assault involving Edward Coristine, a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer and protege of Elon Musk, who previously led DOGE. Police say 10 teenagers attacked the 19-year-old and his partner early on August 3. Two 15-year-olds were later arrested and charged.
“If DC doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City, and run this City how it should be run,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, days after the attack, with an image showing a shirtless Coristine with what appeared to be blood spattered on his face, body and trousers.
“Perhaps it should have been done a long time ago, then this incredible young man, and so many others, would not have had to go through the horrors of Violent Crime,” Trump added.
Is DC truly facing a crime emergency?
The mayor of Washington, DC, Bowser, questioned the effectiveness of deploying the National Guard to enforce local laws, saying that more funding for prosecutors would make a more meaningful difference.
At a news conference on Monday, the mayor said that Trump’s perception of the city was “shaped by his COVID-view experience during his first term”.
“It is true that those were more challenging times related to some issues. It is also true that we experienced a crime spike post-COVID, but we worked quickly to put laws in place and tactics that got violent offenders off our streets, and gave our police officers more tools,” she said.
According to Bowser, violent crime is now at a 30-year low in Washington, DC.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser holds a news conference following Trump’s announcement to deploy the National Guard [Annabelle Gordon/Reuters]
Washington, DC’s crime numbers have been questioned after authorities began investigating claims that some figures were changed to make the situation look better.
But Bowser has stood by the data and said that Trump’s picture of DC as lawless is wrong.
In January, the Department of Justice reported that violent crime in the nation’s capital fell 35 percent from 2023 to 2024.
Official crime statistics from the DC Metropolitan Police Department show that violent offences declined between 2023 and 2024, and preliminary 2025 data indicate the trend is continuing.
The data for this year shows that homicides have fallen by 12 percent, and assaults with dangerous weapons by 20 percent.
United States President Donald Trump has tapped an economist from a conservative think tank to lead a key statistics agency after firing its previous head over her role in the release of weak employment figures.
Trump said on Monday that he had nominated EJ Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
“Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE. I know E.J. Antoni will do an incredible job in this new role. Congratulations E.J.!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump’s nomination of Antoni, who requires confirmation by the US Senate, comes after his firing of Erika McEntarfer earlier this month raised concerns about US government statistics remaining credible and free of political influence.
Trump justified McEntarfer’s dismissal by claiming, without evidence, that the latest jobs report, which showed sharply slower jobs growth for May and June than previously estimated, had been “rigged” to make him look bad.
At the Heritage Foundation, Antoni, who had called for McEntarfer’s removal shortly before she was fired, has consistently showered Trump with praise.
After Trump’s announcement of a trade deal with Japan last month, Antoni described the agreement as “darn close” to perfect and the US president and his Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, as “artistic masters”.
Last week, Antoni said in a social media post that there were “better ways to collect, process, and disseminate” economic data, and that the next head of the BLS would need to deliver “accurate data in a timely manner” to rebuild trust in the agency.
Antoni and the Heritage Foundation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Antoni’s nomination swiftly drew criticism from economists, who raised concerns about his qualifications and partisan leanings.
Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard Kennedy School who served as an adviser to former US President Barack Obama, called Antoni “completely unqualified”.
“He is an extreme partisan and does not have any relevant expertise. He would be a break from decades of nonpartisan technocrats,” Furman said in a post on X.
Erica Groshen, who led the BLS under Obama, voiced similar concerns.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Vladimir Putin is not preparing for a ceasefire but is readying his troops for “new offensive operations” in Ukraine, even as the Russian leader is set to meet US President Donald Trump for peace talks in Alaska.
Zelenskyy said reports from Ukrainian intelligence and military commanders indicate that Putin intends to present his meeting on Friday with Trump as “a personal victory and then continue acting exactly as before” in the war on Ukraine.
“He is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war,” Zelenskyy said in a video message posted to his social media account on Monday night.
“There is no indication whatsoever that the Russians have received signals to prepare for a post-war situation,” he said.
“On the contrary, they are redeploying their troops and forces in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations. If someone is preparing for peace, this is not what he does,” he added.
Today, there was a report from the intelligence and military command on what Putin is counting on and what he is actually preparing for, including military preparations. He is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war. Putin is determined only to present a… pic.twitter.com/T3sqQg0ltT
Ukraine’s military spokesperson for the southern front-line sector, Vladyslav Voloshyn, told the Reuters news agency on Monday that Russia was moving some military units in the Zaporizhia region for further assaults.
Earlier on Monday, Zelenskyy warned that any concessions to Russia would not persuade it to stop fighting in Ukraine.
“Russia refuses to stop the killings, and therefore, must not receive any rewards or benefits,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“Concessions do not persuade a killer,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader’s warnings come in advance of Trump’s scheduled meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday, and after the US president said that Kyiv would have to cede land to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, a proposition that Ukraine has firmly rejected.
“There’ll be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody; to the good, for the good of Ukraine. Good stuff, not bad stuff. Also, some bad stuff for both,” Trump told a news conference in Washington, DC, on Monday.
Trump also said he would know “probably in the first two minutes” of meeting with Putin, whether progress was possible.
“I’m going to be telling him, ‘You’ve got to end this war,’” Trump said, adding that a future meeting with Putin could include Zelenskyy.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also said on Monday that a peace deal for Ukraine must involve Kyiv and not be imposed upon it.
“Both leaders underscored that Ukraine’s future must be one of freedom, sovereignty, and self-determination,” a spokesperson for Starmer said.
Zelenskyy also said he had spoken to Canada’s Carney and told him that the “Russians simply want to buy time, not end the war”.
“The situation on the battlefield and Russia’s wicked strikes on civilian infrastructure and ordinary people prove this clearly,” Zelenskyy said in a post on social media.
US-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which monitors the conflict in Ukraine on a daily basis, said in a recent report that Moscow does not appear to be preparing the Russian public for accepting “a settlement short of a full victory in Ukraine”.
That assessment, the ISW said, was based on “the lack of change in public Kremlin messaging, in combination with ongoing speculation that Putin is looking to ‘outplay’ the West”.
United States President Donald Trump has said his administration is “looking at” reclassifying cannabis as a less dangerous drug.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump said he would make a determination on the legal classification of the drug over the next few weeks.
“That determination hopefully will be the right one,” Trump said. “It’s a very complicated subject.”
Trump said that while he had heard “great things” about medical-use cannabis, he had heard bad things about “just about everything else” to do with the drug.
“Some people like it, some people hate it,” he said. “Some people hate the whole concept of marijuana because if it does bad for the children, it does bad for people that are older than children.”
Stocks in cannabis-related businesses soared following Trump’s remarks.
New York-based Tilray Brands jumped nearly 42 percent, while Canada’s Village Farms International and Canopy Growth Corp closed up about 34 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
Trump made his comments after The Wall Street Journal reported last week that he told attendees at a recent fundraising dinner that he was interested in reclassifying the drug.
While cannabis is fully legal, including for recreational use, in 24 US states, the use and possession of the drug is illegal at the federal level.
Cannabis is currently classified as a Schedule I drug, putting it in the same category as heroin, LSD and ecstasy.
Under the Drug Enforcement Administration’s classification system, Schedule I drugs are defined as those with “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse”.
