BERLIN: Germany has suspended a coalition agreement to delay closing the nation's ageing nuclear power stations, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday after the Japanese crisis stiffened opposition to an unpopular deal. Last year, the coalition agreed to prolong the life of the 17 nuclear plants — some of which are well over 30 years old — beyond their original planned closure dates. On Monday Merkel said this agreement would now be suspended for three months. One of Germany's oldest nuclear reactors is in the state, where Merkel's conservative CDU party risks losing power in the polls two weeks from now, partly because of rising support for the opposition Greens. “We will suspend the extension of the life of Germany's nuclear power stations, which was decided only recently. The moratorium will last for three months,” Merkel told a news conference, saying safety tests would be applied “without taboos”. The government had decided to keep the plants running for 12 years beyond their original shutdown date. India, Philippines concerned India and Philippines announced Monday that the safety of all of the country's nuclear power plants would be checked in the wake of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told parliament that the department of atomic energy and its agencies “have been instructed to undertake an immediate technical review of all safety systems of our nuclear power plants.” India is one of the world's biggest markets for nuclear technology, with plans to reach a nuclear power capacity of 63,000 megawatts by 2032, from the current level of 4,560 megawatts. The leading proponent of introducing nuclear energy to the Philippines reversed his stand Monday. Mark Cojuangco, a cousin of President Benigno Aquino, said there was a need to rethink assumptions that nuclear power was safe following two explosions in three days at Japan's Fukushima plant.
