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Ukrainians put out fire at nuclear complex after Russian attack

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A fire that broke out in a training building near the largest nuclear power plant in Europe during intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces has been extinguished, Ukraine’s state emergency service said on Friday.

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said there was no indication of elevated radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia plant, which provides more than a fifth of total electricity generated in Ukraine.

Earlier, a video feed from the plant verified by Reuters showed shelling and smoke rising near a five-story building at the plant compound, Reuters reported.

The footage shot at night showed one building aflame, and a volley of incoming shells, before a large candescent ball lit up the sky, exploding beside a car park and sending smoke billowing across the compound. It was not immediately clear who was in control of the plant.

“Europeans, please wake up. Tell your politicians – Russian troops are shooting at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine,” Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address.

Zelenskiy said Russian tanks had shot at the nuclear reactor plants, though there was no evidence cited that they had been hit.

The mayor of the nearby town of Energodar about 550 km southeast of Kyiv said fierce fighting and “continuous enemy shelling” had caused casualties in the area, without providing details.

Thousands of people are believed to have been killed or wounded and more than one million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin last Thursday launched the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two, Reuters reported.

Early reports of the incident at the power plant sent financial markets in Asia spiralling, with stocks tumbling and oil prices surging further.

“Markets are worried about nuclear fallout. The risk is that there is a miscalculation or over-reaction and the war prolongs,” said Vasu Menon, executive director of investment strategy at OCBC Bank.

Russia has already captured the defunct Chernobyl plant, about 100 km north of Kyiv, which spewed radioactive waste over much of Europe when it melted down in 1986. The Zaporizhzhia plant is a different and safer type, some analysts said.

On Thursday, Russia and Ukraine negotiators agreed to the need for humanitarian corridors to help civilians escape and to deliver medicines and food to the areas where fighting was the fiercest.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said a temporary halt to fighting in select locations was also possible.

The negotiators will meet again next week, the Belarusian state news agency Belta quoted Podolyak as saying.

Only one Ukrainian city, the southern port of Kherson, has fallen to Russian forces since the invasion was launched on February 24, but Russian forces continue to surround and attack other cities.

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Shooting at Kentucky State University kills one, suspect in custody

The New York Times, citing a university spokesperson, reported that the suspect was not a student, but both victims were, and that the shooting had taken place outside of a residential dorm.

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A shooting at Kentucky State University on Tuesday left one person dead and another in critical condition, according to police, who said the suspected assailant was taken into custody, Reuters reported.

Local police in Frankfort, the state capital, and county sheriff’s deputies made the arrest and secured the campus soon after reports of an active shooter, authorities said on social media. The Frankfort Police Department did not provide further details.

A spokesperson for Kentucky State University, a historically Black school, declined comment, but said the school – which had an enrollment of 1,700 students as of the fall of 2023 – would release a statement later on Tuesday.

The New York Times, citing a university spokesperson, reported that the suspect was not a student, but both victims were, and that the shooting had taken place outside of a residential dorm.

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Powerful 7.6 earthquake hits northern Japan, tsunami warnings issued

At Kuji Port in Iwate, a 70-centimeter tsunami was recorded, while Hokkaido observed waves of 50 centimeters in Urakawa Town and 40 centimeters at Mutsuogawara Port.

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A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck northern Japan late Monday night, prompting tsunami advisories and an unprecedented alert for a potential “mega quake” along the country’s Pacific coast.

The quake occurred at 11:15 p.m. off the eastern coast of Aomori Prefecture at a depth of 54 kilometers. Authorities initially issued tsunami warnings for Iwate Prefecture as well as coastal areas of Hokkaido and Aomori.

USGS has recorded the quakes magnitude at 7.6. However, Japanese officials have stated it was a 7.5 magnitude quake. 

At Kuji Port in Iwate, a 70-centimeter tsunami was recorded, while Hokkaido observed waves of 50 centimeters in Urakawa Town and 40 centimeters at Mutsuogawara Port.

As of 1:00 a.m., officials confirmed six injuries in Aomori, with residents hurt by falling objects or during attempts to evacuate. More than three hours after the quake, the tsunami warnings were downgraded to advisories, though authorities continue to urge residents to stay clear of the shoreline.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency has issued a rare alert warning that a much larger earthquake could follow. A potential mega quake—magnitude 8 or higher—could generate tsunamis along the Pacific coast from Hokkaido down to Chiba.

Residents in the affected areas have been urged to review evacuation routes, prepare emergency supplies, secure household furniture, and ensure access to food, water, and portable toilets. Officials say people along the Pacific coastline should remain on high alert for the next week, although no formal evacuation recommendation is currently in place.

This is the first time Japan has issued an alert under this category since it was created in 2022.

Morikubo Tsukasa, a disaster preparedness official with the Cabinet Office, said: “Based on global earthquake statistics, there is a possibility that a large-scale earthquake with a magnitude of 8 or higher could occur as a follow-up along the Japan Trench or Chishima Trench off Hokkaido. It is unclear whether such an event will happen, but everyone should take precautions to protect their lives.”

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Ukraine to share revised peace plan with US on Tuesday, Zelenskiy says

Zelenskiy pointed to the delicate balancing act the European powers need to strike as they try to negotiate better terms to the proposed U.S. plan:

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Ukraine will share a revised peace plan with the U.S. on Tuesday that is aimed at ending Russia’s war, after talks in London between President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the leaders of France, Germany and Britain.

As the war nears its four-year mark, Kyiv, under pressure from the White House to agree quickly to a peace settlement, wants to balance out a U.S.-backed draft that was widely seen as favourable to Moscow.

Monday’s hastily arranged meeting among British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Zelenskiy was aimed to strengthen Ukraine’s hand.

Zelenskiy told reporters after the meeting that the revised plan comprised 20 points, but that there was still no agreement on the issue of giving up territory – which Moscow has pushed for.

“The mood of the Americans, in principle, is for finding a compromise,” he said. “Of course, there are complex issues related to the territory, and a compromise has not yet been found there.”

He repeated his oft-stated position that Ukraine cannot give up any part of its land.

Zelenskiy later flew to Brussels, where European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa said in social media posts that any peace deal had to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and guarantee its long-term security.

Zelenskiy, writing on Telegram, described his meeting with the two EU institution chiefs, as well as NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, as “good and productive. We are acting in a coordinated and constructive manner.”

Earlier, a British government source had said Monday’s meeting would focus on using the value of Russian assets frozen in the West.

Leaders from Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden urged the European Union to move quickly with a stalled proposal to use those assets to provide funds for Ukraine.

Starmer, Macron, Merz and Zelenskiy are also aiming to get U.S. security guarantees to help deter any further attacks from Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The publication of a U.S. ceasefire plan last month has gone some way to focus the minds of European leaders, who fear that Kyiv could be forced to accept many Russian demands, which some say could destabilise the continent.

But although U.S. officials said they were in the final stage of reaching an agreement, there has so far been little sign that either Ukraine or Russia is willing to sign the framework deal drawn up by Trump’s negotiators.

“We stand with Ukraine and, if there was to be a ceasefire, it has to be a just and lasting ceasefire,” Starmer said after welcoming the leaders to his Downing Street residence.

Macron and Merz also expressed their determination to press on with a firm plan, at a time the German chancellor described as “decisive … for all of us”.

Zelenskiy pointed to the delicate balancing act the European powers need to strike as they try to negotiate better terms to the proposed U.S. plan:

“There are some things we can’t manage without the Americans, things we can’t manage without Europe; that’s why we need to make some important decisions.”

Zelenskiy told Ukrainians in a video address late on Sunday that a “new diplomatic week” was starting.

“First and foremost, security issues, support for our resilience, and support packages for our defence. First and foremost, air defence and long-term funding for Ukraine. Of course, we will discuss a shared vision and common positions in the negotiations,” he said.

Ukraine is enduring one of its toughest periods of the war. Russian troops are grinding forward in the east, and Ukrainian cities and towns are suffering hours of power cuts due to intensified Russian strikes on the energy grid and other crucial infrastructure.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner brought a revised plan to Moscow last week, then held several more days of talks with Ukrainian officials in Miami, which ended on Saturday with no breakthrough.

Zelenskiy called the discussions constructive but not easy. Trump said on Sunday he was “disappointed” with Zelenskiy, accusing him of not having read the latest proposals backed by the U.S.

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