IAEA wants ‘permanent presence’ at Russia-held nuclear plant
UN inspectors said on Wednesday they would seek to establish a permanent presence at a Russian-held plant in southern Ukraine to avoid “a nuclear accident” at the facility on the front line of the fighting.
The 14-strong team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to arrive at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Thursday which lies inside Russian-held territory.
“My mission is.. to prevent a nuclear accident and preserve the largest nuclear power plant in Europe,” IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi told reporters after travelling from Kyiv to the city of Zaporizhzhia. “We are preparing for the real work which begins tomorrow,” he said. “We are going to try to establish a permanent presence for the agency.”
Fresh shelling struck the town next to Europe’s largest atomic facility on Wednesday, with the fate of the plant on the banks of the Dnipro River stoking global concern.
Germany says it will expand military presence in Indo-Pacific
Germany will expand its military presence in the Indo-Pacific by sending more warships and joining drills with allies as it keeps an eye on the "enormous" build-up of China's armed forces, the German defence chief told Reuters.
Germany is joining other Western nations in showing more muscle in the region amid growing alarm over Beijing's territorial ambitions.
Last year, Berlin sent its first warship in almost 20 years to the disputed waters of the South China Sea - at the risk of irking its top trade partner - and this month it sent 13 military aircraft to joint exercises in Australia.
World monkeypox outbreak tops 50,000 cases
More than 50,000 monkeypox cases have been recorded in the global outbreak, WHO figures showed on Wednesday, but transmission is slowing in the virus hotspots of Europe and the United States.
The World Health Organisation's dashboard listed 50,496 cases and 16 deaths as reported this year to the UN agency, which declared the outbreak a global public health emergency in July.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the declines in new infections proved the outbreak could be brought to a halt.
Schooling, Lim 'treated same' as others in cannabis use probe
In his first public comments on the Central Narcotics Bureau investigation concerning national swimmers Joseph Schooling and Amanda Lim for the consumption of cannabis, Minister for Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam on Wednesday night said the duo did not receive any preferential treatment.
He also urged Singaporeans to support and back the pair.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday, it was revealed that Schooling, the country's only Olympic gold medallist, confessed to consuming cannabis when in Vietnam for the SEA Games in May.
Football: Haaland hits City treble, Arsenal stay perfect
Erling Haaland hit a second successive hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Nottingham Forest 6-0, while leaders Arsenal extended their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 2-1 win against Aston Villa on Wednesday.
City and Arsenal have set the early pace, but Liverpool are gathering momentum after snatching a last-gasp 2-1 victory against Newcastle.
Haaland has made a blistering start since his £50 million (S$70 million) move from Borussia Dortmund in the close-season and the Norway striker’s latest goal spree set a Premier League record.
