By Kantaro Komiya, Yuka Obayashi and Katya Golubkova NIIGATA, Japan, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The Japanese region of Niigata is expected to endorse a decision to restart the world's largest nuclear power plant on Monday, a watershed moment in the country's pivot back to nuclear since the 2011 ​Fukushima disaster. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, located about 220 km (136 miles) northwest of Tokyo, was among 54 reactors shut after a massive earthquake and tsunami crippled the ‌Fukushima Daiichi plant in the worst n

The humpback whale that freed itself early on Friday from a sandbank off of Germany's Baltic Sea coast is now heading out of the Bay of Lübeck, a marine scientist said. Stephanie Gross from the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW) said the marine mammal was on course to leave the bay.

Spain's Catholic bishops and the Spanish government took another step Monday toward compensating victims of sexual abuse by clergy members who have died or whose possible crimes are too old to be prosecuted. In January, Spain’s Catholic bishops agreed to let the country’s ombudsman have the final say in the church’s compensation of such victims. It's aimed at resolving disagreements between the left-wing government and church authorities over reparations after victims criticized the church’s o