Month: October 2025

Moscow – Emergency diesel generators have maintained cooling functions at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine for the ninth consecutive day following the disruption of an external power line, according to reports by its Russian management on Wednesday, reports 24brussels.

The Russian state RIA news agency quoted officials from the plant, indicating that while the backup electricity supply is currently sufficient, the restoration of a regular power supply through the external Dneprovskaya line remains problematic due to ongoing Ukrainian shelling.

Ukrainian authorities have countered that Russian attacks are obstructing efforts to restore external power to Europe’s largest nuclear facility. The last external power line was severed amidst hostilities on September 23, heightening concerns regarding the plant’s safety.

The Russian management reported that emergency generators are adequately functioning, with only a limited number currently in operation. They further assured that all equipment is operating normally.

What safety risks arise from prolonged power outages?

The Zaporizhzhia plant houses six reactors of the Soviet-designed VVER-1000 V-320 model, which utilize water-cooling and moderation techniques, containing Uranium 235. Currently, all reactors are shut down, resulting in lower temperature levels.

The critical risk is that without external power or functioning emergency generators, the nuclear fuel—located just 500 kilometers from the site of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster—may overheat, potentially leading to a meltdown.

What does the IAEA say regarding the shutdown?

Maintaining power is vital for circulating water necessary to cool the reactors and spent fuel. The IAEA and Russian officials state that radiation levels remain stable amidst the ongoing conflict. However, the United Nations’ nuclear agency has repeatedly issued serious warnings about the risk of a significant nuclear incident near various large Soviet-era nuclear facilities in Ukraine.

“Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has been without external power for more than a week now, which is by far the longest-lasting such event during more than three and a half years of war,”

stated IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

“The current status of the reactor units and spent fuel is stable as long as the emergency diesel generators are able to provide sufficient power to maintain essential safety-related functions and cooling,”

he added.

Almaty has reinforced its status as Central Asia’s logistics capital with the opening of the 28th Kazakhstan International Exhibition Transport and Logistics – TransLogistica Kazakhstan 2025. The event, being held at the Atakent Exhibition Center from September 30 to October 2, has gathered 303 exhibitors from 21 countries, underscoring the growing international interest in Kazakhstan’s transport sector.

Organizers reported a 21% increase in participation compared with 2024, with new entrants from India, Romania, and Pakistan joining companies from Kazakhstan, China, and Russia. National pavilions represented Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Diplomatic and business delegations from several countries, including Finland and Pakistan, also attended.

The event combined an exhibition floor with technical seminars led by logistics firms presenting developments in warehousing, machinery, and digital solutions. A central session was the VII International Business Forum “New Silk Way,” which featured a video address by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. In his remarks, Tokayev announced the launch of a second track on the Dostyk–Moyynty railway, a project intended to expand export and transit capacity on the Trans-Kazakhstan corridor linking China and Europe.

Image: TransLogistica Kazakhstan 2025

Another focus was the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, known as the Middle Corridor. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed a memorandum aimed at strengthening the route’s role as a multimodal link between Asia and Europe. The agreement follows a series of regional initiatives to adapt to new transport realities and diversify trade flows away from more traditional corridors. Beyond high-level sessions, participants examined practical issues facing the sector. Delegates also visited the Burunday Container Terminal to review operations in intermodal freight and storage.

TransLogistica 2025 was organized by Iteca and ICA Events Group with support from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport and the national rail operator Kazakhstan Temir Zholy. While annual exhibitions often serve as promotional platforms, the scale of this year’s event and the agreements announced highlight Kazakhstan’s broader effort to position itself as a transit hub at the center of Eurasian trade routes.

• Dan Steven Erickson built a $650,000 retirement fund from a career of mainly teaching.
• He also leveraged real estate investments and employer-matched retirement plans to grow his savings.
• Despite financial growth, he feels insecure about retirement and wishes he had invested earlier.

I got my first job at 17 and worked mainly dead-end jobs at restaurants, in construction, and at mini-marts. I was a late bloomer and started college in 1993 at 30.

I graduated with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in communications and moved to Kansas to take a full-time position teaching at the community college level.

The job offered a state program called KPERs, a retirement program with some matching. I participated and contributed a small amount, which started my retirement journey.

I left the community college and Kansas a year later

My partner and I lost our firstborn child, and it was too hard to stay there. I then went to work for a college in Indiana. They also offered retirement benefits, such as matching, which I participated in. I worked there from 2002 to 2004.

I left Indiana and got a job at a college in Washington, where my daughter was born in 2005. I worked there for the next 20 years and just quit in June.

I bought my first property in Washington in about 2012, which got me into real estate

I then sold it in 2019 for around $70,000 profit — it paid off all my old student loans, credit card debt, and car payments.

I moved to Maine in 2022 and still taught remotely. I bought another property in Washington in 2021, sold it in 2023, and made a nice profit on it.

I bought a third property in Maine. We lived there for two years before deciding to move to Tennessee. I was unable to find full-time academic work in Maine, so I relocated for better job prospects.

I rent the condo in Maine to a family member, so the mortgage is covered while I pay rent in Tennessee.

I’ve never purposefully invested; it’s just been part of my benefits

About five years ago, I started contributing 7% of my income to retirement, which my employer matched. I was making enough money, so I invested an extra $200 a month. As I was consistent, my portfolio grew.

When I was 59 years old, my retirement accounts hit $500,000. I also received a small inheritance of $70,000 from my mom when she died in 2022. Along with my savings, that’s close to another $100,000 for my retirement. I’ve got about $100,000 in equity in my real estate. So, my retirement nest egg is about $650,000 thus far.

In my retirement journey, I’ve held many jobs. I worked for the Postal Service, but I quit because I was working too much for too little pay. Now, I’m working part-time at Cabela’s and part-time teaching.

I don’t feel secure enough, and it’s scary

I’m nervous. My ex-wife and I divorced in 2006. I’m single and building my retirement nest egg alone. Even though $650,000 sounds like a lot, it isn’t. If I’ve lived off $50,000 a year, my retirement savings will only last about 12 years.

I have some medical issues that may make my life a little shorter than the average person’s, but I don’t know about being 71 and still working, and I worry I could run out of money. In my 70s, I don’t want to rely on Social Security and public housing.

I’m working on securing another job in Tennessee. I’ll put in another four years to get to 65 and probably retire, unless I love my job. Then, I could start taking Social Security.

The one thing I would’ve done differently is I would’ve bought real estate earlier

I’ve made a lot of money off the real estate I’ve owned and sold. Real estate boosted me financially in my mid-to-late fifties.

I’m frustrated because I’m a creative person. I’d like to spend my life doing creative work, whether I make money or not, such as writing, music, songwriting, or photography.

Now, I’m stuck working 50 to 60 hours a week at various jobs, and it’s exhausting. I don’t like any of the jobs that I’ve had; they’re means to an end.

I wish I had started putting money away earlier, and that’s the advice I would give young people.

Of course, working dead-end jobs is hard, and you barely make it paycheck to paycheck. I probably would’ve started adding a little extra once I got a job with matching programs because that’s where it adds up.