Showing posts with label Nuclear. Show all posts
US sources claim China and Russia got access to Snowden's computers
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| Reuters / Kacper Pempel |
United States officials believe that classified intelligence taken out of the country by NSA leaker Edward Snowden has been compromised by agencies in Russia and China.
Snowden, a 30-year-old former employee of intelligence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, fled the US for Hong Kong last month and then supplied journalists with classified information pertaining to vast surveillance operations conducted by the American government’s National Security Agency.
Both Russian and US officials have made claims that Snowden is now in Moscow, likely arranging for possible asylum in another country. In the meantime, though, US sources speaking with the Washington Free Beacon say that China and Russia have gained access to “highly classified US intelligence and military information contained on electronic media” held by Snowden.
“The exact compromise of the secret data held on Snowden’s laptop computers remains unknown but is the subject of an ongoing damage assessment within NSA and other intelligence agencies,” Bill Gertz of the Free Beacon wrote on Wednesday.
According to Gertz, those officials fear that Snowden may have accessed recently created nuclear war plans that could pose as future embarrassment for the US in the wake of disclosures already attributed to Snowden.
Previously, Snowden supplied The Guardian newspaper with documentation showing how the NSA routinely collects the phone records pertaining to millions of Americans every day. On Thursday this week, The Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald and Spencer Ackerman published their latest installment in the NSA leaks, exposing further surveillance under the administration of President Barack Obama that put Internet records directly into the hands of government officials.
Snowden has said that he’s personally reviewed the trove of documents supplied to The Guardian and other outlets, carefully evaluated every single one “to ensure that each was legitimately in the public interest.” Glenn Greenwald said that Snowden brought “thousands” of files with him to Hong Kong, “dozens” of which he believes are newsworthy.
What exactly Snowden knows remains a mystery, however, and he reportedly has four laptops in his possession right now that contain classified intelligence.
Earlier this month, the Washington Post cited an anonymous former intelligence official who claimed that Russian authorities were almost certain to seize any computer files Snowden brought into the country.
In a separate article earlier this month, the Post quoted another former senior US intelligence official who predicted that any intelligence compromised by Russia would have seen a similar fate en route from Hong Kong.
“I guarantee the Chinese intelligence service got their hands on that right away. If they imaged the hard drives and then returned them to him, well, then the Russians have that stuff now,” the source said.
“The Chinese already have everything Snowden had,” a separate source added to the Beacon’s Gertz this week.
360 liters of radioactive water leaked from Fukushima plant – TEPCO
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| A construction worker walks beside the underground water tank and water tanks at Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture June 12, 2013. (Reuters/Toshifumi Kitamura) |
At least 360 liters of radioactive water have leaked from a desalination unit at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, TEPCO has revealed. Earlier, elevated levels of cancer-causing radioactive isotope were discovered in the plant’s groundwater.Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the owner of the wrecked plant, said it had suspended operations at the desalination unit early Friday after the leak was detected, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. The affected unit is used to remove salt from contaminated water after radioactive materials have been filtered out. The leaked water is being contained within the complex, TEPCO added. The company did not reveal precise radiation levels, but confirmed that levels in the surrounding areas had not significantly changed.
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| RIA Novosti |
The new leak is the latest in a series of problems faced by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power plant. The facility suffered a reactor meltdown and released radiation following the 9.0-magnitude Tokohu earthquake – the most powerful recorded earthquake to ever hit Japan – which struck off the coast of the country on March 11, 2011. The earthquake unleashed a tsunami with waves of up to 14 meters high (the plant was designed to withstand up to 5.7-meter waves) that knocked out the emergency generators required to cool the reactors, causing a meltdown. The substances released in the aftermath of the meltdown were not absorbed by the soil, and have trickled underground. On Wednesday, TEPCO revealed test results showing levels of cancer-causing radioactive isotope strontium-90 in the groundwater at 30 times the allowable rate, along with tritium at around eight times the permitted level. Another discharge of contaminated water was discovered in the beginning of June, and radioactive caesium was detected in groundwater flowing into the plant, contradicting an earlier finding that contamination levels around the facility were negligible. Earlier in April, leaks were also discovered in the plant’s underground storage tanks, prompting TEPCO to speed up the construction of stronger above-ground containers. About 400 tons of groundwater flow daily into the reactor buildings, where it is mixed with the highly contaminated water used as coolant for the melted fuel. The contaminated groundwater is thought to be contained by the plant’s concrete foundations and steel sheets, with gaps plugged by a material known as ‘liquid glass’ that solidifies to prevent the flow of contaminated groundwater. The power company is seeking approval for its plan to dump 100 tons of groundwater a day from the plant into the sea, which requires the consent of local fishermen, who strongly oppose the idea.
Iran ready to halt 20% uranium enrichment, West must reciprocate – Lavrov
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| Centrifuges at Iran's Nantanz nuclear site.(AFP Photo / Press TV) |
Iran has confirmed it is prepared to halt its enrichment of 20-percent uranium, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, urging Western nations to end their sanctions against Tehran.“For the first time in many years, there are encouraging signs in the process of settlement of the situation with the Iranian nuclear program,” he said in the interview to Kuwait’s KUNA news agency, that was published on Russian Foreign Ministry’s website. “Without going into details, the Iranians confirm the most important [point]: Their readiness to stop 20 percent uranium enrichment at its current levels,” Lavrov said.“This could become a breakthrough agreement, significantly alleviating existing problems, including concerns about the possibility of advanced uranium enrichment to a weapons-grade level.” Such a move “implies significant reciprocal steps by the Six,” the minister added, referring to the group of world powers seeking to peacefully resolve the issue of Iran’s nuclear program. “The international community must adequately respond to the constructive progress made by Iran, including gradual suspension and lifting of sanctions, both unilateral and those introduced by the UN Security Council. It would be a shame not to take advantage of this opportunity,” Lavrov concluded. News of Iran’s possible concessions over its nuclear program comports with promises made by Iranian President-elect Hassan Rowhani, who vowed to make the program more transparent. Still, the moderate cleric stressed on Monday that Tehran would not consider halting the country’s uranium enrichment activities entirely. Rowhani insisted that Iran’s nuclear activities are “within the framework of law,” and dubbed the international sanctions “baseless.” Despite numerous accusations by Israel and the US that it is secretly conducting military nuclear research, Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is only for civilian purposes. At his first media conference since winning the presidential elections, Rowhani – who previously headed Iran’s delegation during nuclear talks with the six world powers – said that Tehran’s nuclear activities “are already transparent,” but “the only way to end the sanctions is to increase the transparency and trust” between Iran and the international community. Washington has been expecting changes in Iran’s hardline stance on the nuclear issue following the country’s presidential elections. White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said Sunday on ‘Face the Nation’ that Washington is ready to work with the new administration in Tehran, "If he lives up to his obligations under the UN Security Council resolution to come clean on this illicit nuclear program.” But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained unconvinced: "The international community must not become caught up in wishes and be tempted to relax the pressure on Iran to stop its nuclear program,” he said. President-elect Rowhani will assume office in August. He believes that he can heal the “old wound” of troubled US-Iran relations if Washington stops interfering in Tehran’s internal affairs and permanently ends its “bullying” practices towards Iran.
