UN agency to inspect Ukraine nuclear plant in urgent mission
A UN nuclear watchdog team set off on an urgent mission Monday to safeguard the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant at the heart of fighting in Ukraine, a long-awaited trip the world hopes will help avoid a radioactive catastrophe, Associated Press reported.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for the International Atomic Energy Agency experts who will visit the plant in a country where the 1986 Chernobyl disaster spewed radiation throughout the region, shocking the world and intensifying a global push away from nuclear energy.
“Without an exaggeration, this mission will be the hardest in the history of IAEA,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
Underscoring the urgency, Ukraine and Russia again accused each other of shelling the wider region around the nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, which was briefly knocked offline last week. The dangers are so high that officials have begun handing out anti-radiation iodine tablets to nearby residents.
“The day has come,” Grossi tweeted Monday, adding that the Vienna-based IAEA’s “Support and Assistance Mission ... is now on its way.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said the team, which Grossi heads, was scheduled to arrive in Kyiv on Monday. In April, Grossi had headed an IAEA mission to Chernobyl, which Russian forces occupied earlier in the war.
The IAEA said that its team will “undertake urgent safeguards activities,” assess damage, determine the functionality of the plant’s safety and security systems and evaluate the control room staff’s working conditions.
Ukraine’s nuclear energy agency, Energoatom, warned Monday of Russian attempts to cover up their military use of the plant.
“The occupiers, preparing for the arrival of the IAEA mission, increased pressure on the personnel ... to prevent them from disclosing evidence of the occupiers’ crimes at the plant and its use as a military base,” Energoatom said, adding that four plant workers were wounded in Russian shelling of the city where they live.
Ukraine accused Russia of new rocket and artillery strikes at or near the plant, intensifying fears that the fighting could cause a massive radiation leak. So far, radiation levels at the facility, which has six reactors, have been reported to be normal, according to Associated Press.
Ukraine has alleged that Russia is essentially holding the plant hostage, storing weapons there and launching attacks from around it, while Moscow accuses Ukraine of recklessly firing on the facility.
World leaders have called on the Russians to demilitarize the plant. Satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies on Monday showed armored personnel carriers on a road near the reactors, damage to a building’s roof also near the reactors, and brush fires burning nearby.
Ukraine reported more Russian shelling in Nikopol, across the Dnieper River from the nuclear power plant, with one person killed and five wounded. Relentless shelling has hit the city for weeks. In Enerhodar, a few kilometers from the plant, the city’s Ukrainian mayor, Dmytro Orlov, blamed Russian shelling for wounding at least 10 residents, Associated Press reported.
Moqtada al-Sadr: At least 15 dead amid fighting in Iraqi capital
At least 15 people have been killed as clashes between Iraqi security forces and supporters of a powerful Shia cleric continued in Baghdad overnight, BBC reported.
Officials say dozens more were injured after protesters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr stormed the presidential palace.
The violence was sparked after Mr Sadr announced his retirement from politics.
Iraq's caretaker prime minister has called for calm and the military has declared a nationwide curfew after unrest in several other cities.
Street fighting erupted overnight, as fighters exchanged gunfire and tracer rounds illuminated the night sky in some of the worst violence to hit the Iraqi capital in recent years. Much of the fighting has been concentrated around the city's Green Zone, an area that houses government buildings and foreign embassies.
Security officials said some of the violence was between the Peace Brigades, a militia loyal to Mr Sadr, and members of the Iraqi military. Videos shared on social media appeared to show some fighters using heavy weaponry, including rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).
Iran has closed its borers with Iraq amidst the fighting, and Kuwait has urged its citizens to leave the country immediately.
A spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was alarmed by events and called for "immediate steps to de-escalate the situation".
And Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the interim prime minister and an ally of Mr Sadr, has suspended cabinet meetings and has pleaded with the influential cleric to intervene and stop the violence, according to BBC.
A senior aide to Mr Sadr later told Iraq's state news agency INA that he had announced a hunger strike until the violence and use of weapons stopped.
In October, candidates loyal to Mr Sadr won the most seats in Iraq's parliament, but he failed to secure enough seats to form a government. He has since refused to negotiate with Iranian-backed Shia groups, sparking almost a year of political instability.
Mr Sadr said in a statement: "I had decided not to interfere in political affairs, but I now announce my final retirement and the closure of all [Sadrist] institutions." Some religious sites linked to his movement will remain open.
Mr Sadr, 48, has been a dominant figure in Iraqi public and political life for the past two decades. His Mehdi Army emerged as one of the most powerful militias which fought US and allied Iraqi government forces in the aftermath of the invasion which toppled former ruler Saddam Hussein.
He later rebranded it as the Peace Brigades, and it remains one of the biggest militias which now form part of the Iraqi armed forces.
Although the Mehdi Army had links to Iran, Mr Sadr had latterly distanced himself from Iraq's Shia neighbour and repositioned himself as a nationalist wanting to end US and Iranian influence over Iraq's internal affairs.
Mr Sadr, one of Iraq's most recognisable figures with his black turban, dark eyes and heavy set build, had championed ordinary Iraqis hit by high unemployment, continual power cuts and corruption, BBC reported.
He is one of a few figures who could quickly mobilise hundreds of thousands of supporters onto the streets, and draw them down again. Hundreds have been camped outside parliament since storming it twice in July and August in protest at the deadlock.
Buildings stormed after Moqtada al-Sadr, Iraqi political leader, retires
One of Iraq's most powerful figures, who has been at the centre of a long crisis over forming a government, says he is retiring from political life, BBC reported.
Moqtada al-Sadr, a firebrand Shia cleric with millions of followers, announced his decision on Twitter.
Several people were reported killed in clashes after his supporters stormed the presidential palace.
Hundreds have been camped outside parliament for weeks after previously storming it in protest at the deadlock.
Mr Sadr's announcement comes two days after he called for all parties and figures involved in political life following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq to quit.
Pakistan floods: One third of country is under water - minister
One-third of Pakistan has been completely submerged by historic flooding, its climate minister says, BBC reported.
Devastating flash floods have washed away roads, homes and crops - leaving a trail of deadly havoc across Pakistan.
"It's all one big ocean, there's no dry land to pump the water out," Sherry Rehman said, calling it a "crisis of unimaginable proportions."
At least 1,136 people have died since the monsoon season began in June, according to officials.
The summer rain is the heaviest recorded in a decade and is blamed by the government on climate change.
"Literally, one-third of Pakistan is underwater right now, which has exceeded every boundary, every norm we've seen in the past," Ms Rehman told AFP news agency.
Of those who are known to have died, 75 were in the past 24 hours alone, officials said on Monday, adding that the death toll is expected to rise.
Speaking to the BBC, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said one-third of those killed are believed to be children.
"We're still coming to grips with the extent of the damage," he added.
Officials estimate that more than 33 million Pakistanis - one in seven people - have been affected by the historic flooding.
Heavy waters in the country's northern Swat Valley have swept away bridges and roads, cutting off entire villages, according to BBC.
"Village after village has been wiped out. Millions of houses have been destroyed," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday after flying over the area in a helicopter.
Those who managed to escape have been crowded into one of many makeshift camps across the country.
"Living here is miserable. Our self-respect is at stake," flood victim Fazal Malik told AFP from a school that was being used to home some 2,500 evacuees in the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Provinces like Sindh and Balochistan are the worst affected but mountainous regions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also been badly hit.
This year's record monsoon is comparable to the devastating floods of 2010 - the deadliest in Pakistan's history - which left more than 2,000 people dead.
"A very early, preliminary estimate is that it is big, it is higher than $10bn (£8.5bn)," Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal told Reuters.
Almost half of the country's cotton crop has been washed away and vegetable, fruit, and rice fields have sustained significant damage, he added.
But Mr Sharif said the resumption of a loan by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), worth around $1.2bn (£1bn) over the coming year, would be of major assistance in reviving the economy.
The programme, which Pakistan entered into in 2019, had been suspended earlier this year after Islamabad failed to meet targets set by the lender, BBC reported.
On Saturday the UK government announced it had allocated up to £1.5m ($1.8m) for the flood relief efforts.
Speaking separately, Queen Elizabeth II said said was "deeply saddened to hear of the tragic loss of life and destruction" caused by the flooding.
"The United Kingdom stands in solidarity with Pakistan as it embarks on its recovery," she added.
A rice farmer near the south-eastern city of Sukkur in the Sindh province, told AFP news agency that his fields had been devastated by the flooding.
"Our crop spanned over 5,000 acres on which the best quality rice was sown and is eaten by you and us," 70-year-old Khalil Ahmed said. "All that is finished."
Sindh is so inundated with water that emergency workers are struggling to reach those in need of help, according to BBC.
"There are no landing strips or approaches available... our pilots find it difficult to land," a Pakistani military official told AFP.
Furnish clarification within seven days: SC tells Mayor Shah
The Supreme Court has directed Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah to furnish written clarification on the contempt of court case within seven days. Earlier, the SC had issued a temporary interim order directing the KMC not to demolish the structures of Thapathali-based Norvic Hospital. Soon after the order, Mayor Shah said that the right to pass the map should also be given to the apex court by amending the Constitution. A single bench of Justice Hari Krishna Karki had asked for clarification from Shah.
President Bhandari calls UML leaders to hold discussion on Citizenship Bill
President Bidya Devi Bhandari has called the main opposition CPN-UML leaders for a discussion. UML Vice-Chairman Subash Chandra Nembang said that the President called the leaders to hold a discussion on contemporary issues. “The President has called us at 5 pm for a discussion. The meeting will dwell on contemporary issues,” he said. According to a Sheetal Niwas source, President Bhandari called the UML leaders to discuss the Citizenship Bill. It has been learnt that senior leaders of the party will take part in the meeting. Earlier today, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had urged President Bhandari to authenticate the bill.
PM Deuba urges President Bhandari to certify Citizenship Bill
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has urged President Bidya Devi Bhandari to authenticate the Citizenship Bill. He along with the Nepali Congress office bearers on Monday reached Sheetal Niwas to hold a discussion on the Citizenship Bill with President Bhandari. Earlier, the President had sent the bill, endorsed by both the houses, back to the Parliament with a 15-point message for reconsideration. But, the House of Representatives endorsed the bill without any change. Meanwhile, the National Assembly on Sunday sent the bill to the Legislation Management Committee of the Parliament for clause-wise discussion.
Nepse surges by 3. 76 points on Monday
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 3. 76 points to close at 1,993.02 points on Monday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 1. 76 points to close at 387. 46 points. A total of 3,440,900 unit shares of 222 companies were traded for Rs 1. 26 billion. In today’s market, all sub-indices saw green except for Banking, Life Insurance, Mircrofinance, Mutual Fund and Investment. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 85 trillion.
