The UN Atomic Energy Agency is investigating Ukrainian allegations that Russian soldiers in possession of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant left after receiving high doses of radioactivity. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said it can not confirm the allegations of Ukrainian state-owned energy company Energoatom and is calling for an independent assessment. It will send its first “aid and support mission” to Chernobyl, in northern Ukraine, in the coming days. Energoatom said the Russians had dug trenches in the forest inside the exclusion zone at the site of the worst nuclear disaster in the world in 1986 and that troops “panicked at the first sign of illness” that “appeared very quickly” and began preparing to leave. Meanwhile, Energoatom also said that the Russian side had formally agreed to hand over responsibility for the protection of Chernobyl to Ukraine. He shared the scan of a document signed by individuals he identified as a senior Chernobyl officer and a Russian military official who had taken over Chernobyl custody.
What is Chernobyl? The plant was the site of the worst nuclear accident in the world in 1986. Staff continue to oversee the safe storage of spent fuel and to monitor the remnants of the exploded reactor enclosed in concrete. When did Russia take control of Chernobyl? Russian troops occupied the nuclear power plant shortly after the February 24 invasion. There have been concerns over power outages and fighting over the past month that have hampered staff turnover. What allegations is the UN agency likely to investigate? Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk claimed that Russian troops dug trenches in the forest and were exposed to radiation. Some reports suggest that soldiers were sent to a special medical facility in Belarus after crossing tanks in the “dead zone” around the nuclear power plant, spewing radioactive dust. (These allegations have not been verified.)
Mariupol officials say Russians are blocking aid reaching the besieged Ukrainian city
People pass in front of a destroyed apartment building in Mariupol. Photo: Alexander Ermochenko / Reuters An aide to the mayor of Mariupol said the besieged city of southern Ukraine remained closed to anyone trying to enter and was “very dangerous” for anyone trying to leave. Petro Andriushenko said Russian forces were preventing even the smallest amount of humanitarian supplies from reaching trapped residents. A bus convoy that started for Mariupol did not reach the city, Ukrainian officials said last night. Russia has promised a limited ceasefire along the route from Mariupol to the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia. Repeated efforts to set up humanitarian corridors to evacuate up to 170,000 people remaining in Mariupol, which has been under four weeks of bombing and few supplies, have failed. Ukraine has accused Russian forces of bombing supposedly safe routes outside various battlefields, a claim Moscow denies. Meanwhile, intelligence secretaries in the UK are divided over GCHQ boss Jeremy Fleming’s leak strategy, says my colleague Dan Sabbagh. Fleming revealed details of how Russian forces “accidentally shot down their own aircraft”, sparking a debate amid espionage intelligence.
Trump could face a day in court over reggae singer Eddie Grant
Guyano-British reggae musician Eddie Grant is suing for copyright infringement and is seeking $ 300,000 in damages. Photo: Jean-Christophe Bott / AP Reggae singer Eddie Grant can succeed where the New York attorney general and other powerful personalities have struggled – forcing Donald Trump to answer questions under oath in a lawsuit. Grant sued the former president and his campaign for using the Electric Avenue song in a 2020 ad. In the ad, Grant’s song plays over a cartoon of Joe Biden traveling slowly in a manual as a Trump campaign train passes at high speed. Comments from Biden are also heard. Trump has failed to dismiss the lawsuit and claims it was a fair use with the exception of satire.
Who is Eddie Grant? A 74-year-old Guyano-British reggae musician. The song Electric Avenue was released in 1982. How much compensation does Grant claim? $ 300,000 for copyright infringement. How many times has the video been viewed? More than 13.7 million times, the lawsuit claims.
In other news…
Statistics of the day: more than 9,500 indigenous people are missing in 2021
Gallup’s Meskee Yatsayte (left) and Vangie Randall-Shorty of Farmington hold placards to raise awareness of missing and murdered Native Americans in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Oct. 11, 2021. Photo: Adolphe / Journal Al Pierre / ZU / REX / Shutterstock In 2021, the National Crime Information Center listed more than 9,500 indigenous people as missing, with 1,554 of these cases remaining active by the end of the year. A year after the Home Office announced it was launching a new research unit to prioritize the crisis over missing and murdered Native Americans, at least nine Native families have seen matters of jurisdiction and poor communication prevent their unit from interfering with their efforts. . or met with months of silence.
Do not miss this: “I have embraced 500,000 people around the world”
David Sylvester hides a passerby in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he lives. Photo: Kyle Kielinski / Kyle & Linette Kielinski “I bring a click to count the number of people I have hugged – my record is 1,300 a day at a retail conference in Las Vegas – and I choose cities where I hope to be welcomed,” says David Sylvester. “On September 12, 2001, I learned that one of my closest childhood friends had died at the World Trade Center. The grief was so awful that I was determined to channel it into something purposeful. “
Climate control: UN-linked global seabed regulator blamed for ‘careless’ deep-sea mining failures
An Ocean Rebellion protest in Rotterdam against exploitation of the seabed, with the Hidden Gem deepwater mining vessel in the background. Photo: Sipa US / Alamy The International Seabed Authority, the United Nations-affiliated organization overseeing the controversial new deep-water mining industry, has been accused of lacking transparency following the expulsion of an independent reporting body. Scientists have warned that damage to ecosystems from the extraction of nickel, cobalt and other metals at the bottom will be “irreversible” and “reckless”.
One last thing: do feeders highlight aggression in birds?
Male siskin and goldfinch on a seed feeder. Photo: SoopySue / Getty Images Violent clashes sometimes erupt between syrups, greenery and tree sparrows over a perch in the feeder, writes Phil Gates in his country diary. Maybe that’s what providing unlimited luxury food at one location does to bird behavior: it promotes competition and conflict. A siskin needs to collect about 10,000 alder seeds to match its body weight. He could spend most of the day looking for natural food. Or, he could spend an hour shaking next to the sunflower feeder.
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