Tag: net25

IAEA says Ukraine nuclear plant cut from main power line

Vienna, Austria (AFP) The global atomic energy watchdog said on Saturday that Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant had been disconnected from its last remaining main power line to the grid and is now relying on a reserve line. “Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has once again lost the connection to its last remaining main external power line, but the facility is continuing to supply electricity to the grid through a reserve line, the International […]

China’s No. 3 leader to visit Russia next week

Beijing, China (AFP) China’s top legislator Li Zhanshu will visit Russia next week, state media reported Sunday, becoming the highest-ranking Communist Party politician to travel to the country since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Beijing and Moscow have drawn closer in recent years, ramping up cooperation as part of what they call a “no limits” relationship, acting as a counterweight to the global dominance of the United States. Meanwhile, tensions between China and the West have […]

Germany agrees 65bn-euro inflation relief package

Berlin, Germany (AFP) The German government on Sunday agreed a 65-billion-euro ($65-billion) plan to ease the pressure on households as Russian gas supplies dwindle and energy bills soar, according to a policy paper seen by AFP. “Timely and proportionate relief for citizens and businesses is necessary due to the rapidly increasing burden of high energy prices,” Germany’s coalition partners said in the document, adding that the total package came to “over 65 billion euros”. The […]

NFL rusher Robinson will miss four games after being shot

Washington, United States (AFP) The Washington Commanders placed rookie running back Brian Robinson on the NFL team’s non-football injury list on Thursday, four days after he received two gunshot wounds in an attempted robbery. Putting Robinson on the reserve list keeps him eligible to return later in the campaign but will require him to rest and fully recover. Robinson will miss games against Jacksonville, Detroit, Philadelphia and arch-rival Dallas but be able to return for […]

IAEA chief says integrity of Ukraine nuclear plant ‘violated’

Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine (AFP) by Stanislav DOSHCHITSYN The head of the UN nuclear agency on Thursday said the “physical integrity” of a Russian-held Ukrainian nuclear plant had been “violated” following frequent shelling, on his team’s first visit to the facility. Russian forces seized control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, Europe’s largest, and the surrounding region shortly after the February 24 invasion. Both sides have traded blame for recent shelling near the plant lying […]

Sexual assaults in US military reach new record

Washington, United States (AFP) The number of sexual assaults in the US military increased by 13 percent in fiscal year 2021, reaching a record high, according to an annual report published Thursday by the Pentagon. The Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPR) said there were 8,866 reported assaults “involving service members as either victims or subjects” in the year to September 30, 2021, compared to 7,813 the previous year. But only […]

Putin visits Baltic exclave Kaliningrad as tensions with EU soar

Moscow, Russia (AFP) President Vladimir Putin on Thursday was in Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad, wedged between NATO member countries, with tensions soaring between Moscow and the EU over fighting in Ukraine. As part of his visit, Putin met with Kaliningrad school students to mark the start of the school year, answering questions on topics ranging from the economy, space exploration and Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine. “The mission of our soldiers… is to stop this […]

NBA Jazz trade star guard Mitchell to Cavaliers: reports

New York, United States (AFP) Three-time NBA All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell was traded from the Utah Jazz to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday for three players and three NBA Draft picks, according to multiple reports. The deal, reported by ESPN and The Athletic, comes two months after the Jazz moved superstar French big man Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Cleveland will send Collin Sexton, Finnish 7-foot forward Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, a 22-year-old US […]

Twitter says it is actively testing edit button

New York, United States (AFP) Twitter said Thursday it has begun actively testing an edit button, after months of publicly discussing such a tweak. The trial of “Edit Tweet” will begin with internal employees, then be expanded out to the platform’s “Twitter Blue” subscription population, the company said. “Edit Tweet is a feature that lets people make changes to their Tweet after it’s been published,” the company said on its blog. “Think of it as […]

EU watchdog approves first Omicron jabs

The Hague, Netherlands (AFP) by Danny KEMP The EU’s drug regulator on Thursday approved Covid-19 vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna adapted for the Omicron variant, paving the way for a booster campaign this winter. The so-called “bivalent” jabs target both the original virus that emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019 and the BA.1 subvariant of Omicron, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said. The vaccines are not updated for the newer and more […]

10 times normal rainfall drove vast Pakistan flooding: ESA

  Paris, France (AFP) Rainfall 10 times heavier than usual caused Pakistan’s devastating floods, the European Space Agency said Thursday, as it released satellite images of a vast lake created by the overflowing Indus river. Rains, described by UN chief Antonio Guterres as a “monsoon on steroids” have claimed hundreds of lives since June, unleashing powerful floods that have washed away swathes of vital crops and damaged or destroyed more than a million homes. Data […]

Chinese city of 21 million shuts down over Covid outbreak

Beijing, China (AFP) Around 21 million people in the Chinese city of Chengdu effectively went into lockdown on Thursday as authorities raced to snuff out a new Covid-19 outbreak. China is the last major economy wedded to a zero-Covid policy, stamping out virus flare-ups with snap shutdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines. Chengdu, in the southwest, became the latest city to announce a shutdown, saying in an official notice that residents must “stay home in […]