ZURICH: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) raised grave concerns on Saturday about the shelling the previous day at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, saying the action showed the risk of a nuclear disaster.
Both sides accused each other on Saturday of engaging in “nuclear terrorism.” Ukraine’s state nuclear power company Energoatom blamed Russia for the damage while Russia’s defense ministry accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the plant.
“I’m extremely concerned by the shelling yesterday at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which underlines the very real risk of a nuclear disaster,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement.
Grossi, who leads the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog, urged all sides in the Ukraine conflict to exercise the “utmost restraint” around the plant.
Shells hit a high-voltage power line on Friday at the facility, prompting its operators to disconnect a reactor despite no radioactive leak being detected. The plant was captured by Russian forces in early March in the opening stage of the war but it is still run by its Ukrainian technicians.
Energoatom said Russia wanted to disconnect the station from the Ukrainian electricity system and cause blackouts in the south of the country. Moscow’s forces, it said, had placed weapons and explosives in two of the power-generating units and mined the shoreline outside the plant.
“It is highly probable that all of this will cause a nuclear and radiation disaster,” it said in a statement on Saturday.
Russia’s defense ministry said damage to the plant had only been avoided thanks to the “skilful, competent and effective actions” of its units.
Grossi said that military action jeopardizing the safety and security of the Zaporizhzhia plant “is completely unacceptable and must be avoided at all costs.”
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UN’s nuclear watchdog chief condemns shelling at Zaporizhzhia plant
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UN’s nuclear watchdog chief condemns shelling at Zaporizhzhia plant
Death toll from heavy Japan snow hits 30
TOKYO: Unusually heavy snow in Japan has been blamed for 30 deaths in the past two weeks, officials said Tuesday, including a 91-year-old woman found under a three-meter pile outside her home.
The central government has deployed troops to help residents in Aomori, the heaviest-hit region where as much as 4.5 meters (15 feet) of snow remains on the ground in remote areas.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a special cabinet-level meeting on Tuesday morning to instruct ministers to do all they can to prevent deaths and accidents.
A powerful cold air mass has resulted in heavy snow along the Sea of Japan coast in recent weeks, with some areas seeing more than double the usual volumes.
Since January 20 through Tuesday, 30 people have died as a result of the heavy snow, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Among them was Kina Jin, 91, whose body was found under a pile of snow at her home in Ajigasawa, Aomori, a local police official told AFP on a condition of anonymity.
Police believe snow from her rooftop fell on her. The cause of her death was suffocation, the official said. An aluminum shovel was found next to her body.
“As it gets warmer, the accumulated snow melts and falls. It depends on the volume (of snow) and the temperature. Under the rooftop is a dangerous place,” the official told AFP.
Aomori governor Soichiro Miyashita said on Monday he had asked Japan’s military to offer disaster relief.
He said he asked troops to help the region’s elderly who live alone and need help clearing snow.
Walls of snow as high as 1.8 meters are on the ground of the regional capital of Aomori city, the governor said, adding that local workers clearing snow from roads and houses were overwhelmed.
“The danger of life-threatening incidents, such as fatal accidents due to falling snow from the roofs or collapsing buildings, is imminent,” he said in the press conference.
The central government has deployed troops to help residents in Aomori, the heaviest-hit region where as much as 4.5 meters (15 feet) of snow remains on the ground in remote areas.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a special cabinet-level meeting on Tuesday morning to instruct ministers to do all they can to prevent deaths and accidents.
A powerful cold air mass has resulted in heavy snow along the Sea of Japan coast in recent weeks, with some areas seeing more than double the usual volumes.
Since January 20 through Tuesday, 30 people have died as a result of the heavy snow, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Among them was Kina Jin, 91, whose body was found under a pile of snow at her home in Ajigasawa, Aomori, a local police official told AFP on a condition of anonymity.
Police believe snow from her rooftop fell on her. The cause of her death was suffocation, the official said. An aluminum shovel was found next to her body.
“As it gets warmer, the accumulated snow melts and falls. It depends on the volume (of snow) and the temperature. Under the rooftop is a dangerous place,” the official told AFP.
Aomori governor Soichiro Miyashita said on Monday he had asked Japan’s military to offer disaster relief.
He said he asked troops to help the region’s elderly who live alone and need help clearing snow.
Walls of snow as high as 1.8 meters are on the ground of the regional capital of Aomori city, the governor said, adding that local workers clearing snow from roads and houses were overwhelmed.
“The danger of life-threatening incidents, such as fatal accidents due to falling snow from the roofs or collapsing buildings, is imminent,” he said in the press conference.
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