Chernobyl

Text and photographs by Joel Gunter Published 1 day ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Russia-Ukraine war Saltivka, in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, has been relentlessly bombarded by the Russians. Among the ruins, a few residents are trying to survive. When Russian shells began raining down on Saltivka in February, life in the neighbourhood's numbered apartment blocks became a lottery - one block hit, the next spared. Inside each building, the residents of each apartment survived by their own luck - one apartment turned to ash, the next untouched. As the bombardment of Kharkiv went on - March, April, May, June - fewer and fewer buildings in Saltivka were spared. Now the neighbourhood is a ghost town. Everywhere you look, deathly black burn marks rise up from the windows where shells hit. There are multi-storey gashes in the sides of … [Read more...] about ‘It’s like Chernobyl now’: Life in Kharkiv’s ghost town

Live Updates Today is Day 26 of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine rejects Russia's ultimatum in Mariupol . Russia said people could leave the besieged port city if they surrendered. About 300,000 are trapped. Strategically important Mariupol has been turned to rubble with weeks of Russian shelling, with 90 percent of buildings estimated to be damaged. Olena Zelenska , Ukraine's first lady, tells citizens in the city: "Please hold on, dear people, I beg you." In Kyiv, shelling that struck a shopping mall has reportedly left eight dead. Across Ukraine, about 10 million have fled their homes, according to the United Nations' refugee agency; about 3.4 million traveled abroad . Joe Biden will seek to rally U.S. allies in Europe this week, speaking with leaders in Germany, Britain, France, and Italy later Monday. He will travel to Belgium on Wednesday for a NATO emergency meeting about the war and then visit with Polish President Andrzej Duda in … [Read more...] about Ukraine War: Chernobyl staff rotate after working 27 days

RMT blames Grant Shapps for 'wrecking' strike talks No 10: 'Reckless' to raise public pay in line with inflation Jacob Rees-Mogg announces dashboard to track EU laws Alistair Darling: Sturgeon knows she'd lose second referendum The lowdown on tomorrow's Wakefield and Tiverton by-elections B ritons should give back cash from next year's pension rise if they do not believe they need it, Therese Coffey has suggested. The Treasury confirmed on Tuesday the pension "triple lock" will be reinstated after it was paused during the pandemic, taking retirees' annual payout beyond £10,000 for the first time as the state pension and benefits rise in line with inflation . Lord Clarke, the former Chancellor, told the BBC World at One the Government should "protect the poor [and] stop giving me money to pay my power bills". But Ms Coffey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said in comments given to the same programme: "Of course there’ll be some people like Lord … [Read more...] about Give back pension rise cash if you don’t need it, suggests Therese Coffey

When Sajid Javid let it be known that General Sir Gordon Messenger would be conducting a review into leadership in health and social care many of us cheered. Hopes were high that this ex-Royal Marine and former vice-chief of the defence staff – who won the DSO not once, but twice, for defeating Saddam Hussein’s forces in Iraq and leading British troops in Afghanistan – would engage NHS managers with all the tender consideration he showed towards the Taliban. Oh, sweet Montgomery of Alamein, what a letdown! Instead of delivering a commando’s knife in the ribs, the good general clearly had his guns spiked by the public-sector Blob. The Messenger Review, which should have recommended that a scalpel (on second thoughts, make that a chainsaw) be taken to the monstrous, metastasising bureaucracy that sucks resources away from the life-giving parts of the NHS, landed with all the ferocity of a feather on a futon. It’s as if the general had been asked to write a report about Chernobyl and … [Read more...] about The NHS is wasting your money – again

An Irish man missing for 18 years was discovered dead on the bed of Lough Erne after a local fisherman observed an “odd shape” on his sonar equipment, an inquest has heard. The body of digger driver Michael Anthony Lynch was found in his car on the bottom of the water in County Fermanagh in May 2020, after disappearing in January 2002. A diving company director had been using specialist equipment on the lake in February 2020 when a shape appeared near Corradillar Quay, in Lisnaskea, the Irish Mirror reports. READ MORE: Lost tapes show Chernobyl babies glowing green and men with horror scars In a statement read to the coroner’s court sitting at Laganside in Belfast on Wednesday (June 22), the man said he had been using “specialist side-imaging sonar” which creates 3D images of anything lying on the bottom. His statement read: “I was about 25 metres away from Corradillar Quay slipway when I saw an odd shape on the lough bed which I thought might have been a car. “I … [Read more...] about Man missing for 18 years found after fisherman spotted ‘odd shape’ in water

There are fresh hopes of a breakthrough in the clean-up of the Fukushima nuclear plant after new images emerged from beneath its wreckage. Possible melted uranium fuel rods may have been spotted in pictures taken underneath one of three reactors that suffered a meltdown in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), the operator of the crippled plant, said on Monday it may have spotted the radioactive debris beneath the damaged No 2 reactor. Photographs and video footage captured by a remote-controlled camera show black lumps on a grate under the reactor's pressure vessel. The lumps were not present before the earthquake. If confirmed as nuclear debris, it may pave the way for Tepco to remove the melted fuel after years of delays, missteps and leaks of radioactive water. Advertisement A Tepco official called the discovery "a big step forward" in the "decommissioning process". Previous attempts to use robots to locate … [Read more...] about Fukushima breakthrough? Lost nuclear fuel may have been found

[ UPDATE: The fire at the power plant has been put out. The fire was extinguished as Russians seized control of the plant. Original story below. ] A fire broke out at the Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine as Russian forces bombard the facility, leading Ukrainian officials to claim that the threat could be “10 times larger than Chernobyl,” if the power plant blew up. “Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe,” Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted on Thursday evening. “Fire has already broke out. If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chornobyl! Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone!” Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Fire has already broke out. If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chornobyl! Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish … [Read more...] about Fire Out At Ukrainian Nuclear Plant [UPDATED] | The Daily Wire

Big Little Lies: Meryl Streep stars in season two Don't miss the best new TV releases for 2022 and behind the scenes news SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info With the global coronavirus pandemic keeping viewers inside, many will be looking for entertainment to keep them distracted. Viewers will be searching for the most compelling content to keep them distracted during the COVID-19 lockdown. Express.co.uk has everything you need to know about watch HBO ’s finest TV shows in the UK. Trending How to watch HBO shows in the UK Streaming platform NOW TV is the best way to access HBO content in the UK. There are several different subscriptions to choose from including the Entertainment Pass, Sky Cinema Pass, Kids … [Read more...] about HBO streaming: How to watch HBO shows in the UK

Around this time last year, Dasha Shipunova was busy celebrating her 18th birthday with her best friends from Kharkiv university, Vika Mankovska and Yarik Size. Pictures from the day show Dasha holding her cake, covered with heart-shaped decorations and candles spelling out 18, with a sparkly backdrop and gold balloons hanging behind her. Their only worries were about cooking lunch and whether it would rain. Yarik described it as “one of the warmest days of my life”. This year there were no such celebrations. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24, the students’ world has changed beyond recognition. “Everything we celebrated with [last year] I cannot afford this year,” said Dasha. “Simple things have become really impossible, which is very scary to realise.” The three friends, who were all studying journalism together, have been scattered across the country and have not seen each other since. Dasha became a refugee in western Ukraine, Vika fled to Krasnograd in the … [Read more...] about 100 days of war in Ukraine in the lives of three best friends

Ukraine forces appear to use Brimstone missiles against Russia Sign up for our news briefing, including a daily special Russia-Ukraine edition SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info In an address on Tuesday, Putin said giving up Russian oil will make energy prices in Europe the highest in the world for the long term. He said: "Giving up Russian energy resources will make Europe the region with the highest energy costs in the world systematically, for the long term. And this may have very serious [...] irreversible consequences for a significant part of European industry." This comes as Poland and the Baltic states are asking for a significantly stronger military presence on their soil and new capabilities such as antiaircraft defense … [Read more...] about Ukraine: Putin warns of ‘irreversible’ harm as Poland fears imminent Russian attack