‘Haaretz’ provides details of Iran nuclear draft
A draft agreement drawn up by the EU to relaunch the international accord on Iranian nuclear powerhas seen light in one of Israel’s leading newspapers, ‘Haaretz’. The agreement foresees four phases in 165 days, before it fully enters fully into force, during which measures would be implemented to build mutual trust between the parties.
Reporting the proposal in detail, ‘Haaretz’ says that before the signing of the relaunch of the agreement, Iran would release prisoners in exchange for the release of Tehran funds deposited in various international banks and some easing of sanctions. At the same time, the Islamic Republic would be required to put an end to all violations of the 2015 agreement it had carried out so far but would be able to maintain the uranium stocks accumulated over this period of time. In the third phase, 60 days after the approval of the agreement by the US Congress, a representative of the State Department would inform the UN Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency (Aiea) of Washington’s decision to return to the nuclear agreement and after another 60 days there would be full implementation of the agreement, with a joint US-Iran declaration and the simultaneous withdrawal of further American sanctions. 165 days after the signing of the relaunch agreement, the latter would come into force with the revocation of the latest restrictive measures against Tehran and the US green light for trade with the Islamic Republic which, for its part, would remove the enrichment of uranium.
‘Relegate nuclear weapons to history’ – Guterres
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed to the international community to “relegate nuclear weapons to history, once and for all”. In a Twitter post on the occasion of “International Nuclear Test Day, he wrote that “our world has been held hostage by this type of weapon for too long. Such devices of death do not guarantee victory or safety; as they are designed, their only result is destruction.”
IAEA team heading to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi has said he was on his way to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which has been the target of strikes in recent weeks. “The day has come, IAEA’s Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya is now on its way,” Grossi tweeted, saying the team from the UN atomic watchdog would arrive at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant “later this week”.
‘Over 200 attacks in the Zaporizhzhia region’
As the war in Ukraine enters its 186th day, the world is concerned about the situation at Zaporizhzhya nucledar plant. There is a risk of a “spill of radioactive substances”, according to the Ukrainian National Nuclear Energy Company as missiles continue to fall in the area. The IAEA reports that some buildings, 100 metres from the plant, have been hit. Kiev said there had been “over 200 attacks in the Zaporizhzhia region in the last hours”. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter: “Nuclear safety has been our priority for decades. The Russian invaders have turned the Zaporizhzhya power plant into a military base putting the entire continent at risk. The Russian military must leave the plant: they have nothing to do there.”
Russian missile flies low over a nuclear power plant
Russia launched a cruise missile that flew over a nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine in the Mykolayiv region, passing “critically low” over the plant. The report came from the national operator of the plants, Energoatom. “The Russian forces still do not understand that even the smallest fragment of a missile that can hit a functioning power supply can cause a nuclear catastrophe and a loss of radiation,” Energoatom affirmed in a statement.
‘Gas prices will rise to €5,000’ – Medvedev
Gas prices in the European Union can rise up to €5,000 per thousand cubic metres by the end of 2022, forecasts the vice president of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev. Writing on ‘Telegram’, he said: “In relation to the increase in gas prices to €3,500 euros per thousand cubic metres, I am forced to increase the forecast to €5,000 by the end of 2022.”
EU visa ban on Russians ‘unlikely’ – Borrell
European Union foreign ministers meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday in Prague, are unlikely to unanimously back a visa ban on all Russians, as would be needed to put in place such a ban, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told Austria’s ORF TV. “I don’t think that to cut the relationship with the Russian civilian population will help and I don’t think that this idea will have the required unanimity,” Borrell, who chairs EU foreign ministers’ meetings, told the national broadcaster. “I think that we have to review the way that some Russians get a visa. We have to be more selective. But I am not in favour of stopping delivering visas to all Russians.”
Truss wants to declare China ‘a threat to national security’
British Foreign Minister Liz Truss wants to declare, for the first time, China as “a threat to the national security of the United Kingdom” if she is elected prime minister, ‘The Times’ reports quoting political sources close to the minister. “The foreign minister has promised to reshape foreign policy if he becomes prime minister,” explain the sources of the British daily. “She has pledged to reopen the integrated review, published last year, which established the British priorities in diplomacy and defence in the next decade.”
Calm returns to Tripoli
Calm seems to have returned in Tripoli, where clashes between opposing militias in the last two days have resulted in 32 dead and 159 wounded. Most of the shops have reopened to the public and Mitiga airport is also back in operation. The fighting, with heavy and light weapons, involved the supporters of the two rival governments: on the one hand that of Tripoli, led by Abdulhamid Dbeibah, on the other that of the East, led by Fathi Bashagha and supported by General Khalifa Haftar, the strongman of eastern Libya. The clashes ended with Bashagha’s unsuccessful attempt to remove the government of his rival, media and experts reported.
Air France suspends pilots for ‘totally inappropriate’ behaviour
Air France says two pilots have been suspended while management decides what to do about their “totally inappropriate behaviour” on a flight in mid-June. The airline confirmed the suspensions after ‘La Tribune’ reported that the captain and co-pilot brawled in the cockpit of an Airbus A320 flight from Paris to Geneva. According to the French newspaper, the altercation began when the co-pilot refused to follow an instruction during the climb phase after take-off. After what one pilot described as an “inadvertent blow” and the other described as a slap, the men grabbed each other’s collars and one pilot allegedly threw a wooden object in the other man’s face. Members of the cabin crew overheard the dissention and stepped in to calm the situation, ‘Simple Flying’ reports. One cabin crew member stayed in the cockpit to keep the peace for the remainder of the flight. Air France confirmed the suspensions to ‘Bloomberg’ and said the rest of the flight passed without incident. France’s civil aviation safety investigation authority, the Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses, said it was not notified of the incident because there were no consequences for the flight.
Police to investigate Paul Pogba’s claims of extortion
French police have opened an investigation into World Cup winner Paul Pogba’s claims he is being threatened and targeted for extortion by gangsters, a source close to the case told AFP. Pogba’s allegations came after his brother Mathias published a bizarre video online – in four languages (French, Italian, English and Spanish) – promising “great revelations” about the Juventus star. A statement signed by his lawyers, his mother Yeo Moriba and current agent Rafaela Pimenta said that the videos published on Saturday night “are unfortunately no surprise. They are in addition to threats and extortion attempts by an organised gang against Paul Pogba.”
