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TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER CO VIA GETTY IMAGES
EXTREMELY HIGH LEVELS OF RADIATION DETECTED AT JAPAN’S FUKUSHIMA PLANT
Officials say thet’ve detected the highest levels of radiation at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant since it was damaged in a massive earthquake six yeras ago. Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc. said that the radiation level in Reactor 2 at Fukushima hit a maximum of 530 sieverts per hour. A person could die from a brief exposure to that level of radiation, experts say.
CARL COURT/GETTY IMAGES
ISRAELI LEADER URGES UK TO IMPOSE NEW SANCTIONS ON IRAN
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Feb. 6 urged British Prime Minister Theresa May to follow the American administration in imposing new sanctions on Iran over a recent missile test. The two leaders met at 10 Downing St. for talks British officials hoped would focus on boosting trade ties between the two countries once Britain leaves the European Union.
EU ENVOYS BACK KEEPING SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA OVER UKRAINE
The European Union’s top diplomats vowed to uphold sanctions against Russia for destabilizing conflict-torn Ukraine. EU foreign ministers said their economic sanctions must remain in place until Russian President Vladimir Putin respects his promise to work for a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine and ensure that heavy weapons are withdrawn from border areas.
ANDREI PUNGOVSCHI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
‘PEOPLE POWER’ IN ROMANIA HALTS CORRUPTION DECREE
A spontaneous display of “people power” in the capital Bucharest and cities throughout Romania has for the moment slowed a, government push to impose by “emergency decree” the decriminalization of some forms of corruption committed by public officials, including the misuse of public office for personal gain. The confrontation has seen the largest protests since the 1989 revolution that ended the regime of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
ADEM ALTAN/GETTY IMAGES
MAYOR SUGGESTS PLOT TO HARM TURKEY THROUGH ARTIFICIAL QUAKES
The mayor of Ankara has suggested that two earthquakes that demolished homes on Turkeys northern Aegean coast may have been triggered artificially as part of a plot to harm Turkey’s economy.
Melih Gokcek, who frequently courts controversy, said in a series of tweets on Feb. 7 that authorities should keep a close eye on all submarines and heavily equipped ships sailing off Turkey’s northwestern coast, where two magnitude-53 quakes damaged homes in 11 villages and injured five people.
WARREN VIOLATES ARCANE RULE, SPARKING SENATE DUSTUP
Senate Republicans silenced Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren for criticizing colleague and attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions using the words of Coretta Scott King from three decades ago.
The Massachusetts lawmaker, whose name has been prominent in speculation about the 2020 presidential race, was given a rare Senate rebuke for impugning a fellow senator. She was barred from saying anything more on the Senate floor about Sessions.
The chamber was debating the Alabama Republican’s nomination for attorney general, with Democrats dropping senatorial niceties to oppose Sessions.
DMITRY SEREBRYAKOV/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
COURT UPHOLDS GUILTY VERDICT FOR RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER
A court in a provincial Russian city has found opposition leader Alexei Navalny guilty in the retrial of a 2013 fraud case, which means that he cannot run for president next year.
Judge Alexei Vtyurin said Navalny was guilty of embezzlingtimber worth about $500,000.
The previous guilty verdict was overturned by the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled that Russia violated Navalny’s right to a fair trial.
Navalny was the driving force behind massive anti-government protests in 2011 and 2012.
AP PHOTO/LEE JIN-MAN
POLITICAL SCANDAL OVERSHADOWS SOUTH KOREA 2018 OLYMPIC PREPARATIONS
When the South Korean ski resort town of Pyeongchang was awarded the 2018 Olympics six years ago, many Koreans felt that the first Winter Games on home snow would herald their entry into the top tier of rich nations.
One year before the Olympics, however, the country is in political disarray, and winter sports are the last thing on many people's minds. After protests that saw millions take to the streets, South Korea’s president now languishes in her mountainside palace as a court ponders whether to approve her impeachment and trigger early elections.
US NAVY VIA AP
FIRST NAVY SEAL TO BECOME ADMIRAL DIES AT 93
Richard Lyon, the first Navy SEAL to rise to the rank of admiral, has died at 93.
Lyon served four decades in the Navy, fought in World War II and the Korean War, and was among the first U.S. troops to enter Japan after the atomic bomb was dropped.
He went on to work as a staff scout intelligence officer in northern China and later served in Korea.
Rear Adm. Tim Szymanski, commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, called Lyon a legend who was honored with the title “Bullfrog” for being the oldest-serving SEAL. Lyon regularly attended the graduation ceremonies of SEALs.
TANZANIA TO SEEK GERMAN REPARATIONS OVER COLONIAL ACTS
A high-ranking Tanzanian official says his government is considering legal action to force former colonizer Germany to pay reparations for alleged atrocities committed over a century ago.
Defense Minister Hussein Mwinyi told lawmakers that Tanzania’s government will seek compensation for over tens of thousands of people who allegedly were starved, tortured, and killed by German forces trying to put down rebellious tribes.
Germany ruled Tanzania, then known as Tanganyika, from 1890 to 1919.
SCOTT BARBOUR/GETTY IMAGES
AUSTRALIA MAIL CHIEF MAKES $4.3M, 10 TIMES MORE THAN PM
An Australian Senate committee has revealed that the country’s mail chief is the nation’s highest-paid public servant.
The Communications and Environment Committee announced that Ahmed Fahour, managing director of the national mail service, was paid AU$4.4 million salary plus a bonus of AU$1.2 million in the last fiscal year—more than 10 times the prime minister’s salary of AU$507,000.
By contrast, U.S. Postal Service Chief Executive and Postmaster General Megan Brennan’s salary was $286,137 last year.
Australia Post had argued that revealing the salary package was not in the public interest.
From Epoch Times
and The Associated Press