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Fuel tank ablaze at bridge in Crimea -Russia’s RIA
Oct 8 (Reuters) – A fuel tank was on fire on the Kerch bridge in Crimea early on Saturday, Russia’s RIA state news agency said, while Ukraine’s media reported an explosion.
Traffic was suspended on the road-and-rail bridge, opened in 2018 and designed to link Crimea into Russia’s transport network.
“A fuel tank is on fire on one of the sections of the Crimean bridge,” the agency said, citing a regional official, but without stating the cause.
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“The shipping arches are not damaged.”
Ukrainian media said the blast on the bridge happened at about 6 a.m. (0300 GMT).
Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled the bridge in 2018, after Crimea was annexed from Ukraine in 2014, bringing sanctions and a deterioration in ties with the West.
In September, Russia announced the annexation of the provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia after staging referendums that Kyiv and the West say were phoney exercises held at gunpoint.
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Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Additional reporting by Rhea Binoy in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard and Clarence Fernandez
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Ukrainian nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, ablaze after Russian attack – minister
BORODYANKA/LVIV, Ukraine, March 4 (Reuters) – The largest nuclear power plant in Europe is on fire following a Russian attack, Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Friday, as he called for a security zone and firefighters to be allowed to tackle the incident.
A generating unit at the plant has been hit during an attack by Russian troops and part of the station is on fire, RIA news agency cited the Ukrainian atomic energy ministry as saying on Friday.
A plant spokesperson told RIA that background levels of radiation had not changed.
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“Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
“Fire has already broke out … Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone!”
There has been fierce fighting in the area about 550 kilometers (342 miles) southeast of Kyiv, the mayor of the nearby town of Energodar said in an online post. He said there had been casualties, without giving details.
Russia has already captured the defunct Chernobyl plant, some 100 km north of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a tweet that it was “aware of reports of shelling” at the power plant and was in contact with Ukrainian authorities about situation.
Earlier, Ukrainian authorities reported Russian troops were stepping up efforts to seize the plant and had entered the town with tanks.
“As a result of continuous enemy shelling of buildings and units of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is on fire,” Orlov said on his Telegram channel, citing what he called a threat to world security. He did not give details.
Reuters could not immediately verify the information, including the potential seriousness of any fire.
As the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two enters its ninth day, thousands are thought to have died or been wounded, 1 million refugees have fled Ukraine and Russia’s economy has been rocked by international sanctions.
On Thursday, the United States and Britain announced sanctions on more Russian oligarchs, following on from EU measures, as they ratcheted up the pressure on the Kremlin.
Sanctions have “had a profound impact already,” said U.S. President Joe Biden.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” that is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its neighbour’s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists. It denies targeting civilians.
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Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Natalia Zinets, Aleksandar Vasovic in Ukraine, David Ljunggren in Ottawa and other Reuters bureaux; Writing by Costas Pitas; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Stephen Coates
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‘Orion’s Fireplace’: Flame Nebula is ablaze with color in stunning new image
The Flame Nebula rings in the New Year from the constellation Orion in a blazing new photo from the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
In the new telescope view, the nebula, nicknamed “Orion’s fireplace,” looks like an inferno, but it’s actually a colorful cloud of interstellar dust and gas and a nursery for new star formation. The cluster of young stars at the center of this emission nebula emit high-energy radiation that causes the surrounding gases to glow brightly, according to a statement from the ESO.
“As astronomers like to say, whenever there is a new telescope or instrument around, observe Orion: there will always be something new and interesting to discover!” Thomas Stanke, a former ESO astronomer and lead author of a new study on the region, said in the statement.
Related: Spectacular photos of nebulas in deep space
The Flame Nebula is located in the Orion constellation, one of the most famous regions in the sky as one of the most active stellar nurseries near Earth. The constellation is home to the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, which is located between 1,300 and 1,600 light-years away from Earth’s neighborhood and where new stars and planets form, according to the statement.
Despite the Flame Nebula’s fiery appearance, these clouds are actually very cold, with temperatures just a few tens of degrees above absolute zero, which is equivalent to about minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 273 degrees Celsius). The new image was taken using the SuperCam instrument on the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) radio telescope, which is located at the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory in the Atacama desert in northern Chile and operated by the ESO.
In the new image, the Flame Nebula is the large formation on the left. The image also features other cosmic objects, including reflection nebulas NGC 2071 and NGC 2023, which reflect the light of nearby stars, and the iconic Horsehead Nebula, located in the top right, above NGC 2023. The team also identified a new, small, almost circular cosmic cloud, which they have named the Cow Nebula, according to the statement.
The APEX instrument observed the radio waves emitted by carbon monoxide (CO) in the Orion clouds as part of the APEX Large CO Heterodyne Orion Legacy Survey (ALCOHOLS), which is aimed at mapping large gas clouds that give birth to new stars.
“The different colors indicate the velocity of the gas,” ESO officials wrote in the statement. “The Flame Nebula and its surroundings are moving away from us, with the red clouds in the background receding faster than the yellow ones in the foreground.”
The new research is described in a paper that was accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics on Jan. 3.
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Report: Kazakh president’s home ablaze as protests escalate
MOSCOW (AP) — Protesters in Kazakhstan’s largest city stormed the presidential residence and the mayor’s office on Wednesday and set both buildings on fire, according to new reports, as demonstrations sparked by a rise in fuel prices in the Central Asian nation escalated sharply.
Police fired on some protesters at the presidential palace before fleeing. They have clashed repeatedly with demonstrators in recent days, deploying water cannons in the freezing weather, tear gas and concussion grenades.
The government resigned in response to the unrest and the president vowed to take harsh measures to quell it. In possibly the first of those efforts, Kazakh news sites became inaccessible late in the day, and the global watchdog organization Netblocks said the country was experiencing a pervasive internet blackout.
Although the protests began over a near-doubling of prices for a type of liquefied gas that is widely used as vehicle fuel, the size and rapid spread of the unrest suggest they reflect wider discontent in the country that has been under the rule of the same party since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Kazakhstan, the ninth-largest country in the world, borders Russia to the north and China to the east and has extensive oil reserves that make it strategically and economically important. Despite those reserves and mineral wealth, discontent over poor living conditions is strong in some parts of the country. Many Kazakhs also chafe at the dominance of the ruling party, which holds more than 80% of the seats in parliament.
Hours after thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the presidential residence in Almaty, Russia’s Tass news agency reported that it was on fire and that demonstrators, some wielding firearms, were trying to break into it. Police fled from the residence after shooting at demonstrators, according to the report, which was filed from Kazakhstan.
Many of the demonstrators who converged on the mayoral office carried clubs and shields, according to earlier reports in Kazakh media. Tass later said the building was engulfed in flames.
Protesters also broke into the Almaty office of the Russia-based Mir television and radio company and destroyed some equipment, the broadcaster said. It later reported that a crowd broke into the Almaty building of the Kazakh national broadcaster.
The protests began Sunday in Zhanaozen, a city in the west where resentment of the government was strong in the wake of a 2011 oil-worker strike in which police fatally shot at least 15 people. They spread across the country in the following days and on Tuesday large demonstrations broke out in the capital, Nur-Sultan, and in Almaty, the country’s largest city and former capital.
The protests appear to have no identifiable leader or demands.
In a televised statement to the nation on Wednesday, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that “we intend to act with maximum severity regarding law-breakers.”
Tokayev said police have died in clashes with demonstrators, but there were no immediate casualty figures for police or civilians.
In the statement, he also promised to make political reforms and announced that he was assuming the leadership of the national security council. The latter is potentially significant because the council had been headed by Nursultan Nazarbayev, who was president from 1991 until he resigned in 2019.
Nazarbayev dominated Kazakhstan’s politics and his rule was marked by a moderate cult of personality. Critics say he effectively instituted a clan system in government.
After the demonstrations spread to Almaty and the capital, the government announced its resignation, but Tokayev said the ministers would remain in their roles until a new Cabinet is formed, making it uncertain whether the resignation will have significant effect.
Tokayev has declared a two-week state of emergency for both the capital and Almaty, imposing an overnight curfew and restricting movement into and around the cities.
At the start of the year, prices for the gas called LPG roughly doubled as the government moved away from price controls — part of efforts to transition to a market economy.
Pakistan: Dozens arrested after Sri Lankan lynched, set ablaze | News
Official says up to 120 arrests made and raids are continuing after factory manager, accused of blasphemy, was killed on Friday.
Dozens of people have been arrested in Pakistan after a Sri Lankan factory manager was beaten to death and set ablaze by a mob who accused him of blasphemy.
Several gruesome video clips shared on social media showed a mob beating the victim while chanting slogans against blasphemy on Friday. Other clips showed his body set ablaze, as well as the overturned wreckage of what was said to be his car.
Many in the mob made no attempt to hide their identity and some took selfies in front of the burning corpse.
On Saturday, police spokesman Khurram Shahzad said up to 120 people were arrested, including one of the main suspects, with raids still continuing.
“Police experts are investigating this case from various angles, including that some factory workers played a religious card to take revenge on the manager,” said Tahir Ashrafi, a religious scholar and special representative of the prime minister on religious harmony, who confirmed the arrests and said some workers had said the manager was “very strict”.
Malik Naseem Awan, a resident and lawyer in Sialkot, a district in central Punjab province about 200km (125 miles) southeast of the capital, Islamabad, where the attack took place, told AFP news agency he was worried about the effect it would have on the country’s image.
“I can’t tell you how embarrassed I am. It would have been different if someone had done this individually but the crowd present there was watching it silently, and no one tried to rescue him,” he said.
The attack has caused outrage, with Prime Minister Imran Khan calling it a “day of shame for Pakistan”.
The horrific vigilante attack on factory in Sialkot & the burning alive of Sri Lankan manager is a day of shame for Pakistan. I am overseeing the investigations & let there be no mistake all those responsible will be punished with full severity of the law. Arrests are in progress
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 3, 2021
A senior Pakistan official told AFP that Islamabad had been in touch with Sri Lankan diplomats over the incident “and have assured them that all those involved in the heinous crime will be brought to justice”.
Few issues are as galvanising in Pakistan as blasphemy, and even the slightest suggestion of an insult to Islam can supercharge protests and incite lynchings.
Rights groups say accusations of blasphemy can often be wielded to settle personal vendettas, with minorities largely the target.
Bristol crime bill protesters injure police and set vehicles ablaze
The “Kill the Bill” protest was denounced by the government and local lawmakers after protesters clashed with police, attacking a police station and leaving some officers with broken bones on Sunday evening.
“Thuggery and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated,” the UK’s Home Secretary, Priti Patel, tweeted, calling the scenes “unacceptable.”
The event had begun as a demonstration against Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s flagship policing bill, which critics say would hand the police and ministers powers that could seriously curb the ability of citizens to protest peacefully.
But tensions escalated as the protest wore on Sunday, leading to violent scenes that have been condemned by officers and lawmakers across the political spectrum.
“Officers have been subjected to considerable levels of abuse and violence. One suffered a broken arm and another suffered broken ribs. Both have been taken to hospital,” Avon and Somerset Police said Sunday night. “They should never be subjected to assaults or abuse in this way. At least two police vehicles have been set on fire and damage has been caused to the outside of the station.”
Andy Roebuck, chairman of the Avon and Somerset Police Federation, called the protesters “a mob of animals,” while the national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, John Apter, questioned their motives. “This is not about protecting the right to protest, it’s violent criminality from a hardcore minority who will hijack any situation for their own aims,” he said.
And local Member of Parliament Darren Jones, from the opposition Labour party, said: “You don’t campaign for the right to peaceful protest by setting police vans on fire or graffitiing buildings.”
The proposed policing bill, along with the violent break-up of a vigil to a murdered woman last weekend and the arrest of a serving police officer on suspicion of her murder, has put relations between British police and much of the public under severe strain.
Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens was charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard earlier this month, in a case that has been intensely followed and led to a renewed national discussion about intimidation, harassment and violence against women.
But the police became subjects of ire, too, when they moved in on a peaceful vigil to Everard in south London on March 13 and appeared to force women to the ground, an approach that has led to a review and cast scrutiny on pending legislation that would boost their powers to dismantle protests and mass gatherings in the future.
Bristol’s mayor, Marvin Rees, said he had “major concerns about the Bill myself, which is poorly thought out and could impose disproportionate controls on free expression and the right to peaceful protest.”
But he condemned violent demonstrators in his city for making it more likely that the bill would pass. “Smashing buildings in our city center, vandalizing vehicles, attacking our police, will do nothing to lessen the likelihood of the Bill going through. On the contrary, the lawlessness on show will be used as evidence and promote the need for the Bill.”
The bill was debated in Parliament last week. It suggests, in somewhat vague language, that demonstrations and protests should not “intentionally” or “recklessly” cause “public nuisance,” and elsewhere says that damage to monuments could carry a punishment of up to 10 years in prison — a clause seen as a response to Black Lives Matter protesters, who tore down or condemned statues of slave traders in Bristol and elsewhere last year.
At the top of a fact sheet for the bill on the government’s website, Cressida Dick, Metropolitan Police Commissioner, is quoted as saying that ever since the Extinction Rebellion climate change protests in London, police forces have needed “change to powers and to legislation that would enable the police to deal better with protests” that “are not primarily violent or seriously disorderly,” but “had an avowed intent to bring policing to its knees and the city to a halt.”
Five men arrested after asylum center set ablaze in UK
The fire broke out on Friday at the Napier Barracks, a decommissioned military complex that now houses asylum-seekers and has been at the center of a recent row between Home Secretary Priti Patel and refugee charities who have called on her to close the facility.
Charities have claimed that the estimated 400 asylum-seekers at the facility have been living in poor conditions in overcrowded dormitories and that a recent Covid-19 outbreak has infected at least 120 people, PA Media reported.
Kent police Saturday said enquiries into the incident were continuing and that “no serious injuries were reported as a result of the incident, however a significant amount of damage was caused to one part of the site following a fire — which is believed to have been started deliberately.”
On Friday, the home secretary took to Twitter to condemn the “shocking scenes” from Napier Barracks where the Home Office said windows were smashed and a building set on fire.
“The damage and destruction at Napier Barracks is not only appalling but deeply offensive to the taxpayers of this country who are providing accommodation while asylum claims are being processed,” Patel tweeted.
“This site has previously accommodated our brave soldiers and army personnel — it is an insult to say that it is not good enough for these individuals,” she added.
Patel’s comments drew some criticism, with the founder of one refugee charity saying the home secretary “should be ashamed of herself” for so quickly pointing the finger at asylum-seekers.
“For a British home secretary to accuse and castigate ordinary people when the facts of this incident are not yet even known is shocking and disturbing,” Clare Mosley, founder of the charity Care4Calais, said in statement sent to CNN.
“This is not simply a careless, off-the-cuff emotional response. It is a misleading, opportunistic smoke screen concocted to deflect attention from the multiple warnings she has had about what was clearly going to happen at Napier barracks,” Mosley added.
Care4Calais, in a Facebook post on Friday, said Napier residents they had spoken to “tell us they are simply terrified.”
“Their future remains uncertain and today’s events create more distress and fear,” it added.