Russian troops shelling nuclear power station
Kyiv(AP): Russian troops are shelling Europe's largest nuclear power station in Ukraine. We demand that they stop the heavy weapons fire, Andriy Tuz, spokesperson for the plant in Enerhodar, said in a video posted on Telegram. There is a real threat of nuclear danger in the biggest atomic energy station in Europe.
The plant accounts for about one quarter of Ukraine's power generation.
Tuz told Ukrainian television that shells were falling directly on the Zaporizhzhia plant and had set fire to one of the facility's six reactors. That reactor is under renovation and not operating, but there is nuclear fuel inside, he said.
Firefighters cannot get near the fire because they are being shot at, Tuz said.
A live-streamed security camera linked from the homepage of the nuclear power plant showed what appeared to be armoured vehicles rolling into the facility's parking lot and shining spotlights on the building where the camera was mounted.
There are then what appear to be bright muzzle flashes from vehicles and then nearly simultaneous explosions in the surrounding buildings. Smoke then rises and drifts across the frame.
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Seoul: South Korea says it won an exemption from recently expanded US sanctions against Russia in exchange for strengthening its own export restrictions against the country over an escalating invasion of Ukraine.
South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy confirmed the agreement on Friday after Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo travelled to Washington this week for meetings with senior US officials.
The Biden administration last week announced a series of sanctions aimed at cutting off Russia's access to foreign technology products like semiconductors, lasers, aircraft and communications equipment in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
To enforce the measures, Washington has imposed a regulation called the foreign direct product rule, which allows American officials to restrict the sales of foreign-made products to Russia from any country if the items are produced with US technology.
The South Koreans had sought an exemption from the regulation to minimize the impact of US sanctions on major South Korean companies, whose technology exports drive the country's trade-dependent economy.
South Korea had already banned the export of strategic materials to Russia and joined international efforts to cut off key Russian banks from global payment systems.
US officials also told their South Korean counterparts that consumer goods such as smartphones, passenger cars and washing machines aren't subject to American sanctions as long as they are used by private Russian citizens or companies and not military users.
Washington: The Department of Homeland Security will grant temporary legal status to Ukrainians living in the US.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday that Temporary Protected Status would be extended for 18 months.
Russia's premeditated and unprovoked attack on Ukraine has resulted in an ongoing war, senseless violence, and Ukrainians forced to seek refuge in other countries, Mayorkas said in a statement.
Temporary Protected Status is given to citizens of countries devastated by war or natural disasters.
It comes as pressure was mounting on the Biden administration from members of Congress, including the Senate's top Democrat, to grant the status to Ukrainians following Russia's invasion of their country.
In order to be eligible for the protection, individuals would have to have been in the US since at least Tuesday. (AP)
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Karnataka PUC II exams from Feb 28; over 7.1 lakh students to appear
Bengaluru: The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) will commence the Pre-University Course (PUC) II examinations from February 28. The first exams will be Kannada and Arabic papers.
The Class 12 examinations will continue till March 17. These exams will be conducted at 1,217 centres across the state. A total of 7,10,363 students from 5,174 PU colleges have registered for the examinations this year and of them, 2,92,645 students are from the science stream, 2,11,174 from commerce and 1,42,982 from arts.
The board has reduced the minimum qualifying marks for PU II from 35 per cent to 30 per cent, as reported by The Indian Express. Authorities reaffirmed that strict guidelines to ensure smooth conduct of the examinations amid concerns over fake question papers being circulated on social media. KSEAB president Prakash Nittali said the question paper currently circulating online is fake and added that a complaint will be lodged with the cyber police.
The School Education and Literacy Department has announced that social media platforms will be closely monitored during both the PU and SSLC examinations to prevent misinformation and malpractice.
To facilitate students, the state government has arranged free bus travel in KSRTC and BMTC buses for those appearing for Class 10 and Class 12 examinations upon production of hall tickets. Similar arrangements will be made in private buses operating in the coastal and Malnad regions.
The Karnataka SSLC examinations are scheduled to begin on March 18 starting with the first language paper. A total of 9,02,889 students are expected to appear for the SSLC exams this year, with 8,12,855 fresh candidates, 62,845 repeaters and 27,189 private candidates.
