The crumbling concrete and steel shelter hastily erected over the destroyed nuclear reactor at Chernobyl is in no danger of collapsing, a senior Ukrainian official has said.

ACROSS the former Soviet Union, people lit candles, laid flowers and demonstrated yesterday to mark the 18th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which spread radiation over much of northern Europe.

Across the former Soviet Union, people lit candles, laid flowers and held demonstrations today to mark the 18th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which spread radiation over much of northern Europe.