While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 30
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A shopkeeper measures radiation levels of scallops from Japan at a fishery market in Daegu, South Korea.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Fukushima wastewater not toxic, says IAEA chief
The tritium concentration in wastewater being released from Japan’s stricken Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant is under expected levels and poses no risk to the population, the head of the UN atomic watchdog said on Tuesday.
“So far, we have been able to confirm that the first releases of these waters do not contain any radionucleide at levels that would be harmful,” Mr Rafael Grossi told AFP, during a visit to Stockholm.
Twelve years after one of the world’s worst nuclear accidents, Japan began releasing the wastewater into the Pacific Ocean last week, as it gradually discharges around 540 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of water over several decades.
“The beginning has been according to what we were expecting... but we will continue (to monitor)... until the last drop is released,” Mr Grossi said.
Florida braces for ‘extremely dangerous’ Hurricane Idalia
Hurricane Idalia barrelled towards the west coast of Florida on Tuesday, triggering mass evacuation orders and flood alerts as authorities warned the storm could strengthen to “extremely dangerous” levels before landfall.
The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said Idalia, a Category 1 storm with winds of 140kmh, was churning on Tuesday morning off Florida’s south-west, and bringing tropical storm conditions to western Cuba and flooding in Havana.
Warm Gulf of Mexico waters near 31 deg C are expected to turbocharge Idalia into an “extremely dangerous major hurricane before landfall on Wednesday,” the NHC said.
Century-old water main bursts, floods New York subway
New York’s best-known and busiest subway station, at Times Square, fell victim to spectacular flooding overnight on Tuesday, caused by an ancient water main that burst after more than a century of service.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) released videos and photos on Tuesday of water cascading into the Times Square-42nd Street station in the heart of Manhattan at around 3am (3pm, Singapore time).
During the course of the morning, 1.8 million gallons of water poured into the station, MTA said.
Lion escapes into heavy traffic in Pakistani city of Karachi
An adult lion escaped from a private vehicle amidst heavy traffic in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Tuesday, causing panic for two hours before it was recaptured, police said.
The lion was being transported by its owner when it escaped on the main road of the bustling port city during peak traffic hours, the police statement said.
“Our teams rushed here immediately. Praise be to Allah, it is with us safely and no one is in danger now,” Wildlife Inspector Mukhtyar Soomro told Reuters at the site of the lion’s capture.
Medvedev strolls into second round, as seeds tumble
REUTERS
Third seed Daniil Medvedev strolled into the second round of the US Open with a quick-fire victory as world number one Carlos Alcaraz prepared to launch his title defence on Tuesday.
Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, made a flying start with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 thrashing of Hungary’s Attila Balazs in just 74 minutes on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
The Russian will face Australia’s Christopher O’Connell in the second round on Thursday for a spot in the last 32.
