Fukushima dumps once-radioactive water in sea
Tokyo: Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Monday began releasing previously contaminated water into the sea, but the man tasked with preventing another meltdown warned other highly radioactive fluid still stored on site could pose a major threat. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), which operates the plant in eastern Japan, discharged 850 tons of formerly contaminated water it had extracted from the ground near the plant into the sea, saying a filtration process had now made it safe
US campus shooting leaves one dead
Chicago: A university in the southern US state of Mississippi was on lock down on Monday after at least one person was killed in a shooting, Delta State University said. The university sent out an alert urging students to “stay inside and away from windows” after an “active shooter” was spotted on campus. “Please take immediate lock down action,” the university wrote on Twitter shortly after 11.30 am. It later confirmed one fatality in the incident and urged students to continue to hide. local media reported that a professor was killed in the shooting. Delta State is a public university which has over 4,000 students. It is located in Cleveland about 200 km north of Jackson, Mississippi.
Mullah Omar died of natural causes, says son
Islamabad: The Afghan Taliban's founder Mullah Omar died of natural causes in his home country, his son has said in an attempt to quash the myriad rumours surrounding the warrior cleric's mysterious death. The Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 and has waged an anti-Government insurgency since then, confirmed in July its founder had died. It later appointed Mullah Akhtar Mansour as its new head, sparking rift with Omar's family including his son Yakoub.
95K Russian troops in massive military drill
Moscow: Russia on Monday launched its largest military exercises of the year, Centre-2015, involving some 95,000 soldiers including ground troops, navy and air force units. The long-announced war games are "the most large-scale drill of 2015," the Defence Ministry said. Russia has recently intensified snap checks of its military might, testing its capabilities from the Arctic to the Far East as relations with the West have plunged to a post-Cold War low over the Ukraine crisis.
Sharif inaugurates Pak-China Friendship Tunnels
Islamabad: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday inaugurated five ‘Pakistan-China Friendship Tunnels' built at the cost of about $275 mn to restore a strategic road link to China via Gilgit-Baltistan. The tunnels are part of a 24-km realignment project which has been completed in collaboration with China in over three years.