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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019645

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday visited the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine and said experts would maintain a continued presence at the facility.

Rafael Grossi, who visited the plant for several hours, also said he would continue to worry until the situation at Zaporizhzhia had stabilised. Both Russia and Ukraine say they fear a possible radiation disaster as a result of shelling that the two sides blame on each other.

“We are not going anywhere. The IAEA is now there, it is at the plant and it is not moving – it’s going to stay there,” Grossi told reporters.

“We’re going to have a continued presence there at the plant with some of my experts.”

Those experts, he said, would provide what he called an impartial neutral technically sound assessment of what was happening on the ground.

“I worried, I worry and I will continue to be worried about the plant until we have a situation which is more stable, which is more predictable,” he said.

Local residents presented Grossi with a petition and documentation of damage caused by shelling in the area.

Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of creating a risk of atomic catastrophe by shelling the plant, where the situation has been unravelling in recent weeks.

Published : September 02, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019641

Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva maintains a 13-percentage-point lead over President Jair Bolsonaro, but the far-right incumbent has narrowed his leftist rival’s advantage ahead of the October election, according to a poll published on Thursday.

The survey by Datafolha showed Lula with 45% of voter support against 32% for Bolsonaro in the first round of the election scheduled for Oct. 2, compared to 47% and 32% respectively in the previous poll.

In an expected second-round run-off, Lula would get elected by 53% of the votes versus 38% for Bolsonaro, a 15 percentage point gap, down from 17 two weeks ago, the poll showed.

For political analyst Sergio Praca, the results of the second round results could swing either way.

On the streets, people’s opinions are torn. While some, such as storekeeper Raimundo Pereira, see Lula as the clear winner, others like taxi driver Sergio Praca would like to see Bolsonaro remain in power.

Datafolha interviewed 5,734 people in person between August 30 and Sept. 1. The poll has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Published : September 02, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019638

Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was threatened by a man with a gun late on Thursday, in what one government colleague described as an assassination attempt, but she was not harmed and no shots were fired.

The incident took place at the entrance of Fernandez de Kirchner’s Buenos Aires home, where hundreds of protesters have gathered in recent days to support the former president, who is in the midst of a corruption trial.

A police spokesman told Reuters that an armed man had been arrested near the residence and “a weapon was found a few meters from the scene.” He said the man could be of Brazilian origin.

Television footage had shown that no shots were fired after the man pointed a gun at Fernandez in the middle of a crowd. The media noted that the man appeared middle-aged.

The Clarin newspaper reported that the gun was loaded, citing official sources. Reuters could not independently confirm this.

Government and opposition leaders, as well as politicians from other Latin American countries, expressed solidarity with Fernandez de Kirchner, who has been a divisive political figure and served as president for two terms between 2007 and 2015.

Published : September 02, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019636

Taiwan’s shooting down of a drone off the Chinese coast that buzzed a Taiwanese-controlled island was the most “appropriate” thing to do after repeated warnings, and China should exercise restraint, Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang said on Friday.

On Thursday, Taiwan’s military for the first time shot down an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near the tiny Lion islet, which is part of the Kinmen islands that sits next door to China’s Xiamen city, after the government vowed to take tough measures to deal with an increase in such intrusions.

The incident came after Taiwan had repeatedly complained of harassment by drones coming from China and flying right up close to the Kinmen islands, which have been taking place as Beijing stages military drills around Taiwan.

At least two videos of recent drone trips have circulated widely on Chinese social media, in one of which Taiwanese soldiers were seen throwing stones at the craft. Chinese forces have been exercising near Taiwan since early last month, following the visit to Taipei of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which infuriated Beijing.

Published : September 02, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019602

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and law enforcement officials addressed public safety at a news conference Wednesday ahead of new gun laws going into effect in New York State.

“I’m proud to announce that the changes to the law will go into effect this week, most of them taking effect tomorrow, which is why we’re meeting today, “ said Hochul, speaking at a press conference Wednesday. “And these will strengthen the background checks and the gun safety training requirements, prohibit concealed carry in secure, sensitive locations, and require permit renewals every three years instead of five years.”

The changes to the law follow the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that said there was a constitutional right to carry weapons in public. The court’s conservative majority threw out the gun-license laws of New York and other states for denying some people those rights.

In July, lawmakers in New York state’s Democratic-controlled legislature passed a law overhauling licensing requirements and creating a long list of “sensitive locations” where possessing a gun would be a new felony.

The list included parks, schools, courthouses, public transit and bars. Only one location was singled out by name: Times Square.

On Wednesday, Adams said the city is posting signage around Times Square “informing people that the area is a gun-free zone… And then licensed gun carriers and others may not enter with a gun unless otherwise specifically authorized by law.”

Hochul also announced that the law to raise the age to purchase a semiautomatic weapon to 21 will go into effect on Sept. 4. She also said New York State will be the first state to require training for firearm permits.

Published : September 01, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019599

Dangerously hot conditions once again took over most of Arizona on Wednesday, with temperatures from 41 to 44 Celsius, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

The heat wave has physically and mentally impacted the unhoused community, who venture out each day to look for water and shade. Terry Price, who became homeless 16 months ago, cried while sharing her experience living on the streets during extreme weather conditions. “When you wake up in the morning and you’re like, ‘what do I do today?’ And then you think, ‘well, it’s hot. What can I do?’ You need food,” Price told Reuters.

Price says she is exhausted and fantasizes about being able to sit down in somebody’s yard to use the water hose.

Janné Croll is a Physician Assistant with Circle the City’s street medical team. On Wednesday, she made her usual rounds to local parks in Chandler. The first thing she did was offer water and information about the symptoms related to heat exposure.

“You know, we see people who are really struggling with the heat and that’s in the morning when it’s not even 43 or 46 Celsius out and it’s so dangerous. And we know that even with education, we’re going to lose people every year because the heat just, it comes upon you so quickly that you don’t even know what’s happening and then it’s too late,” Croll said.

For Brian Brewer, homeless for four years, the Arizona heat is like an oven that never turns off. “So imagine if that air conditioner never came on, right? You’re just in the heat all the time,” Brewer explained.

He was given electrolyte packets by Circle the City’s street medicine team, which he quickly added to water to hydrate himself.

“When these folks come out here and they give us some medical assistance and, you know, they, you know, cold water, you know, just whatever we need, things like that from day to day, basic stuff that, you know, we need. It’s really important,” Brewer said.

Published : September 01, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019592

Belgium announced a series of measures to tackle soaring energy prices on Wednesday, including cuts to public buildings’ power consumption and a proposal to tax the excess profits of energy companies such as Engie and TotalEnergies.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said heating in public buildings would be limited to 19 degrees Celsius and air conditioning use reduced. At the same time, the lighting of offices and monuments will be switched off at 7 p.m. Talks will continue to decide on turning off lights on highways and in cities at certain hours.

The federal government also said it would present by the end of September a proposal to tax the excess profits of energy companies.

“In our country, a tax on excess profits already exists in the nuclear sector. The aim of the (new) proposal is now to extend this measure to other companies in the energy sector, which profits are now very high,” De Croo told reporters after a meeting with regional political leaders.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began at the end of February, forced Belgium to rethink plans to rely more on natural gas and stop using nuclear power entirely in 2025.

In July, it reached an initial accord with French utility group Engie to extend the lives of its two newest nuclear reactors, Doel 4 and Tihange 3, by 10 years.

The Belgian government on Wednesday also asked operator Engie to look into postponing the final shutdown of one of its two oldest reactors Tihange 2 to March 31, 2023, at the latest, though Engie said it was impossible.

The EU’s statistics office Eurostat said earlier this year Belgium had the highest energy inflation in the EU and that the government in Brussels has only tinkered with taxes and tariffs to alleviate consumer pain.

Published : September 01, 2022

By : Reuters

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/international-news/40019590

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacted on Wednesday to the revelation that an informant for the Canadian intelligence agency was acting as a double agent when he facilitated the 2015 passage of British teenager Shamina Begum to live among Islamic State in Syria.

Trudeau seemed to suggest that, while intelligence work can be a messy business requiring both flexibility and creativity on the part of covert government agents, those agents observe rigorous rules in handling their informants, even while operating in a dangerous world.

Shamima Begum was a 15-year-old British student when she and two other girls fled London to join Islamic State. They apparently met an interlocutor at a bus station in Istanbul who facilitated their onward travel to Syria.

It was revealed on Wednesday that the interlocutor, Mohammed Al Rasheed, was providing intelligence information to the Canadian government, even while maintaining separate activities to smuggle individuals to Islamic State.

“We know we live in a particularly dangerous world. The fight against terrorism requires our intelligence services to continue to be flexible and to be creative in their approaches. But every step of the way, they are bound by strict rules by principles and values that Canadians hold dear, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and we expect that those rules be followed. I know there are questions about certain incidents or operations of the past and we will ensure to follow up on this,” Trudeau said.

Published : September 01, 2022

By : Reuters