Nord Stream leak: West shores up pipeline security, blaming Russia 'sabotage'
European countries say they will ramp up security around oil and gas installations after the suspected sabotage of two major pipelines, BBC reported.
The EU, US and Nato have suggested damage to the pipelines between Russia and Germany was deliberate, but have not blamed Russia directly.
Russia has said it was not involved, and asked if the US was instead.
Russia has previously been accused of using gas supplies as a weapon against the West over its support for Ukraine.
The leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were discovered on Monday and Tuesday.
Neither pipeline was operating at the time, as the Nord Stream 2 project was abandoned when Russia invaded Ukraine, and Russia shut down Nord Stream 1 in September, citing a need for maintenance.
But both pipelines were still full of gas, which bubbled to the surface in an area a kilometre wide on the sea's surface.
Danish Energy Minister Dan Jorgensen said the leaks were likely to last for at least a week, until the gas escaping from the pipes runs out. An investigation has been launched.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed accusations of sabotage as "predictable, stupid and absurd".
Mr Peskov said he was "extremely concerned" about the leaks, adding that the possibility of a deliberate attack could not be ruled out.
In the aftermath of the alleged attacks, Norway - now Europe's largest gas supplier - has decided to deploy its military to protect crucial infrastructure.
Any attack would be handled jointly with allies, he said, according to BBC.
The Navy would be deployed to protect offshore installations, while police could increase presence at onshore facilities, he said.
Equinor, a Norwegian state-owned energy company, also said on Wednesday that it had also stepped up security measures.
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he had discussed the protection of critical infrastructure with the defence minister of Denmark, the country closest to the damage.
And in the US, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the country would continue its work to safeguard Europe's energy security.
"We stand ready to provide support and assistance in close coordination with our allies and partners, if needed," Cpt Tamara Lawrence said.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline - which consists of two parallel branches stretches 745 miles (1,200km) under the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast near St Petersburg to north-eastern Germany.
Seismologists reported underwater blasts before the leaks emerged. Denmark's Defence Command has released footage of the leaks which shows bubbles - the largest is 1km (0.6 miles) in diameter - at the surface of the Baltic Sea.
"There is no doubt that these were explosions," said Bjorn Lund of Sweden's National Seismology Centre.
Mike Fulwood, a senior research fellow at the independent Oxford Institute for Energy Studies told the BBC sabotage was, indeed, the most likely cause of the leaks.
"To rupture an offshore pipeline is a rare occurrence, so three in 18 hours would be a big coincidence," he said.
If the sabotage was indeed committed by Russia, this was a "bizarre" move, he said, as it had already shut supplies off, BBC reported.
He estimated that repairs could take between three and six months, as the damaged sections would need to be replaced. Similar damage to a different pipeline in the past took nine months.
DSP lawmaker Chaudhary joins NC
Democratic Socialist Party leader and incumbent lawmaker Chanda Chaudhary joined the Nepali Congress on Wednesday. Party President and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife Arzu Deuba welcomed her in the party. Leaders closed to her said that she joined the party after being assured of getting a ticket of first-past-the-post (FPTP) ticket.
Koirala faction stages sit-in at party headquarters in Sanepa (In pictures)
The Shekhar Koirala faction staged a sit-in at the party headquarters in Sanepa on Wednesday arguing that party President Sher Bahadur Deuba submitted the closed list of the Proportional Representation category to the Election Commission without holding discussions with other leaders.
The Koirala faction staged the sit-in demanding equal opportunities and justice in the upcoming elections to the House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly.
They have demanded that the closed list be corrected at the earliest.
The Koirala faction said that they should get at least 40 percent of the total tickets to contest the elections.
On Tuesday, party spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat had said that the list was submitted to the Elections by holding consultations with all the leaders.
Earlier this morning, a meeting was held among the party office bearers in Baluwatar to address the demands of the Koirala faction.
German embassy celebrates Day of German Unity
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany Dr. Thomas Prinz and Mrs Anuza Prinz organized a program to celebrate the Day of German Unity and the 35th anniversary of the Kathmandu Branch Office of the South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University, at their residence on Tuesday. Over 400 people took part in the program. This year Heidelberg University’s South Asia Institute (SAI) is celebrating its 60th anniversary and its Kathmandu Branch Office is celebrating its 35th anniversary. SAI has played an important part in promoting and organizing research in Nepal in this period and will continue the academic cooperation in future as well. Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun was invited as the chief guest for the event. Ministers and secretaries from various ministries of the Government of Nepal, leaders of political parties, heads of Kathmandu-based diplomatic missions, civil society members, Human Rights advocates, businessperson, media person and people from various walks of life were invited in the program, read a statement issued by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kathmandu. In his welcome speech, ambassador Prinz said, “Our bilateral relations with Nepal this year were marked by the German Government’s decision to continue the development cooperation with Nepal recognizing the good progress Nepal has made in the last years in political and socio-economic development sector” In 1989, the so called “Berlin wall” came down – the wall which had been dividing the Eastern and Western part of Germany since 1963. The “Berliner Mauer” was designed to physically prevent disaffected East Germans from fleeing to the West. The Peaceful Revolution of 1989 led to the opening of the border on November 9, 1989, which for the first time after 28 years allowed Germans to freely move in the whole of the country. It led to a new form of encounters between the East and the West, and it re-united the whole of Europe.
