Received

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 100

If Ukraine falls, further countries will face the wrath of Russian expansionism, Ukraine's top diplomat in Canberra warned as he reiterated his president's call for more aid.

Charge d'Affaires Volodymyr Shalkivskyi says Ukraine needs more aircraft, modern anti-aircraft systems and a no-fly zone over Ukraine to stave off the Russian advance as troops close in on the country's capital, Kyiv.

"(Russia's) ally Belarus needs access to the Baltic Sea and (needs) to go through the European Union and NATO members, so there is already clear evidence that in case Ukraine falls, then there will be next countries in line," he told the Seven Network.

"Our president is calling for the active participation of the world community and helping Ukraine to protect our land."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the United States Congress via video link and pleaded with American lawmakers for more aid as he referenced Pearl Harbour and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

President Joe Biden announced the US would send an additional $US800 million ($A1.1 billion) in military aid, including anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons, as well as drones, but Mr Zelensky reiterated his calls for a NATO-imposed no-fly zone.

His representative in Canberra, Mr Shalkivskyi, said Ukraine needed defensive systems and lethal support "in order for us to effectively sustain that military pressure that's coming from Russia".

"Russia has air superiority and the devastation that it caused on the ground in terms of civilian death and destruction of residential areas and civilian infrastructure is just striking," he said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said further announcements on aid to Ukraine would be made in the coming days following a phone call with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Wednesday.

"The people of Ukraine have shown, and their government and their leadership and President Zelensky have shown, an enormous grit and courage, and they're an inspiration," he told reporters on Thursday.

"We must ensure that Russia pays the dearest price for doing this - not just to ensure justice for the Ukrainian people, but to ward off any others who want to go down that autocratic path and seek to threaten to coerce their neighbours."

A further round of sanctions is also on the cards.

The federal government reportedly has its eye on two billionaires - Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg - with links to Russia's Rusal, one of the world's biggest aluminium manufacturers.

Rusal has a large financial stake in a Queensland aluminium refinery that sends millions of tonnes of the material to Russian entities.

Mr Deripaska was sanctioned by the UK government on March 10, alongside Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich, in a $27 billion hit on seven wealthy Russians.

Australia sanctioned Mr Abramovich four days later.

Mr Vekselberg was also recently sanctioned by the UK government.

A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Marise Payne said she was awaiting advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on further sanctions.

"We are consulting and cooperating closely with partners on sanctions, and would note that the UK only sanctioned Viktor Vekselberg and Oleg Deripaska in recent days," the spokesperson said.

Mr Morrison defended not sanctioning the oligarchs with Australian links earlier, saying further names are added to the sanctions list every day following the proper processes.

"Australia, which is a long way away from Ukraine, has been on the leading edge of the world when it comes to standing up for Ukraine," he said.

"We will continue to take action on all of those to whom sanctions should apply."

with AP

© AAP 2022

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 98

A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake has jolted Japan's northeast coast off Fukushima, leaving two dead and 94 injured.

Wednesday's event revived memories of a quake and tsunami that crippled the same region just over a decade earlier.

There were some reports of fire, the government said. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said on Thursday morning there had been two confirmed deaths and 94 injured, including four seriously.

The quake was felt in Tokyo, some 275 kilometres away, where the shaking of buildings was long and pronounced. Hundreds of thousands of homes in the capital were plunged into darkness for an hour or more, although power was fully restored by the early hours of Thursday morning.

Authorities cancelled an earlier tsunami warning.

Just before midnight, the quake hit off the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a depth of 60km, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. It sparked memories of a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, a week after that disaster's 11th anniversary.

There were no abnormalities at nuclear power plants, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. The 2011 disaster triggered a meltdown at the Daiichi nuclear plant in Fukushima, an incident Japan is still coming to grips with.

Authorities earlier said a fire alarm had been triggered at a turbine building at the crippled plant.

Separately, a Shinkansen bullet train derailed with some 100 people on board, although there were no reports of injuries.

Utility Tokyo Electric Power Company said that initially around two million households lost power on Wednesday, including 700,000 in the capital. Tohoku Electric Power said around 38,500 homes were still without power as of 7.40am on Thursday.

Strong quakes in Japan can disrupt manufacturing, particularly of sensitive electronic components such as semiconductors that are made using precision machinery.

The 2011 quake halted production for three months at a factory owned by Renesas Electronics Corp, which makes nearly a third of all microcontroller chips used in cars. A fire at the facility last year exacerbated a chip shortage that has forced auto companies to curb output.

Renesas said it was checking the condition of three of its plants - Naka, Yonezawa and Takasaki - and would provide a statement on whether production has been affected later.

Sitting on the boundary of several tectonic plates, Japan experiences around a fifth of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

© RAW 2022

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 124

US President Joe Biden has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal as the atrocities in Ukraine mount and the president there begged the US Congress for more help.

"He's a war criminal," Biden said of Putin as he left an unrelated event.

It is the sharpest condemnation yet of Putin and Russian actions by a US official since the invasion of Ukraine.

While other world leaders have used the words, the White House had been hesitant to declare Putin's actions those of a war criminal, saying it was a legal term that required research.

But in a speech on Wednesday, Biden said Russian troops had bombed hospitals and held doctors hostage.

He pledged more aid to help Ukraine fight Russia.

© AP 2022

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 133

A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake jolted Japan's northeast coast off Fukushima, leaving one dead and 69 injured.

Wednesday's event revived memories of a quake and tsunami that crippled the same region just over a decade earlier.

There were some reports of fire, the government said, and a number of people sustained injuries, but none of those immediately appeared serious.

Public broadcaster NHK said one person had died.

The quake was felt in Tokyo, some 275 kilometres away, where the shaking of buildings was long and pronounced. Hundreds of thousands of homes in the capital were plunged into darkness for an hour or more, although power was fully restored by the early hours of Thursday morning.

Just before midnight, the quake hit off the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a depth of 60km, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. It sparked memories of a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, one week after that disaster's 11th anniversary.

There were no abnormalities at nuclear power plants, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. The 2011 disaster triggered a meltdown at the Daiichi nuclear plant in Fukushima that Japan is still coming to grips with.

Authorities earlier said a fire alarm had been triggered at a turbine building at the crippled plant.

Separately, a Shinkansen bullet train derailed with some 100 people on board, although there were no reports of injuries.

Utility Tokyo Electric Power Company said that initially around 2 million households lost power on Wednesday, including 700,000 in the capital.

In northeast Japan nearly 100,000 households were still without power early on Thursday, according to Tohoku Electric, the local utility.

Authorities issued a tsunami warning for the region of as high as one metre, with waves of 20cm reported in some places. Residents in at least one coastal area were told to evacuate.

Strong quakes in Japan can disrupt manufacturing, particularly of sensitive electronic components such as semiconductors that are made using precision machinery.

The 2011 quake halted production for three months at a factory owned by Renesas Electronics Corp, which makes nearly a third of all microcontroller chips used in cars. A fire at the facility last year exacerbated a chip shortage that has forced auto companies to curb output.

Officials at Renesas were unavailable when Reuters contacted them outside regular business hours.

Authorities warned residents in Fukushima, Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures to expect aftershocks.

Sitting on the boundary of several tectonic plates, Japan experiences around a fifth of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

© RAW 2022