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Fire Breaks Out after Accident at Gas Pipeline in Crimea

File photo: Smoke rises following an alleged drone attack in Sevastopol, Crimea in 2023. (Reuters)
File photo: Smoke rises following an alleged drone attack in Sevastopol, Crimea in 2023. (Reuters)
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Fire Breaks Out after Accident at Gas Pipeline in Crimea

File photo: Smoke rises following an alleged drone attack in Sevastopol, Crimea in 2023. (Reuters)
File photo: Smoke rises following an alleged drone attack in Sevastopol, Crimea in 2023. (Reuters)

A fire broke out late Saturday after an accident at a gas pipeline near the village of Vinogradnoye in Moscow-annexed Crimea, spreading to nearby forest and cutting gas to the resort town of Alushta and more than a dozen settlements, Russian officials said.
"There is no threat to the populated area," Russia's emergency ministry said early on Sunday on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia-installed officials of the Crimean Peninsula reported late on Saturday on Telegram that gas supplies were cut to Alushta, a city of around 30,000 people, and 14 nearby settlements.
"After the gas in the pipes completely burns out, restoration work will begin," the Russian-installed administration of Crimea said on Telegram.
Russian agencies reported, citing officials, that there were no injuries. The fire was consuming an area of about 1,500 square meters (16,000 square feet), TASS state news agency reported.
It was not immediately clear what accident caused the fire.

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Taiwan Reports Chinese Balloon, First Time in Six Months

A woman holds flags amid celebrations of the 130th foundation anniversary of Taiwan's largest opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), in Taoyuan, Taiwan November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
A woman holds flags amid celebrations of the 130th foundation anniversary of Taiwan's largest opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), in Taoyuan, Taiwan November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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Taiwan Reports Chinese Balloon, First Time in Six Months

A woman holds flags amid celebrations of the 130th foundation anniversary of Taiwan's largest opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), in Taoyuan, Taiwan November 24, 2024. (Reuters)
A woman holds flags amid celebrations of the 130th foundation anniversary of Taiwan's largest opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), in Taoyuan, Taiwan November 24, 2024. (Reuters)

Taiwan's defense ministry on Monday reported that a Chinese balloon had been detected over the sea to Taiwan's north, the first time since April it has reported such an incident in what Taipei views as part of a pattern of harassment by Beijing.

Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, complained that in the weeks leading up to its presidential election in January Chinese balloon activity took place at an "unprecedented scale".

It described the incidents as part of a Chinese pressure campaign - so-called grey-zone warfare designed to exhaust a foe using irregular tactics without open combat.

Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.

The ministry, in its regular morning update on Chinese military activities over the previous 24 hours, said the single balloon was detected at 6:21 p.m. (1021 GMT) on Sunday 60 nautical miles (111 km) to the north of Taiwan's Keelung port.

It then vanished some two hours later, having flown at an altitude of 33,000 ft (10,000 meters), but without crossing Taiwan itself, the ministry said.

China's defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

China has previously dismissed Taiwan's complaints about the balloons, saying they were for meteorological purposes and should not be hyped up for political reasons.

The potential for China to use balloons for spying became a global issue last year when the United States shot down what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon. China said the balloon was a civilian craft that accidentally drifted astray.