VIENNA: UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi will head to Russia Tuesday for a fresh round of talks with President Vladimir Putin to discuss “the future operational status” of Ukraine’s Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
Europe’s largest nuclear plant has been at the center of fighting since it was captured by Russian forces in March 2022, with both Moscow and Kyiv frequently accusing each other of compromising its safety.
Grossi last met Putin in Saint Petersburg in October 2022 to discuss safety issues involving the Zaporizhzhia facility.
“I think it is very important that we keep this high-level dialogue with both belligerents,” Grossi — who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — told reporters Monday.
The IAEA chief said he hoped to discuss “technical points” with Putin and get “an impression of what the plans” for the plant are.
“There are issues related to the future operational status of the plant,” Grossi said when asked about the topics he intends to raise.
Russian Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also confirmed the talks.
Grossi has visited Ukraine several times to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior officials.
The IAEA chief said he also hopes to address the nuclear plant’s “extremely fragile and thin” external power supply lines, after the facility suffered a complete loss of off-site power multiple times during bouts of fighting in the past two years.
Fears over the plant’s safety have persisted throughout Russia’s invasion, with the IAEA warning that powerful explosions and mine blasts near the plant indicated “possible combat action” that were of “deep concern.”
Grossi has called for “maximum military restraint” around the plant “to reduce the danger of a nuclear accident.”
The UN nuclear watchdog has also voiced concerned about a possible shortage of staff at the Zaporizhzhia plant.
Since February, workers from Ukraine’s atomic energy operator Energoatom who refused to sign contracts with the Russian operating entity have been barred from working at the plant.
IAEA officials have been on the ground monitoring the plant since September 2022.
The plant’s six reactor units, which produced around a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity before Russia’s full-scale invasion, have been shut down.
IAEA chief to hold talks with Putin about Ukraine nuclear plant
https://arab.news/5nxgc
IAEA chief to hold talks with Putin about Ukraine nuclear plant
- Grossi last met Putin in Saint Petersburg in October 2022 to discuss safety issues involving the Zaporizhzhia facility
- The IAEA chief said he hoped to discuss “technical points” with Putin
Five arrested in UK for disrupting film starring Israeli actor Gadot
LONDON: London police on Wednesday arrested five people for trying to disrupt the filming of a movie starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot, a statement said.
Gadot, star of “Wonder Woman” and in “Fast and Furious” is in London to film a new thriller “The Runner.” She has been criticized by pro-Palestinian groups for expressing her support of Israel since the Gaza war erupted in 2023.
Police said officers were deployed to a “filming location” in Westminster “to identify suspects wanted in connection with offenses at previous film set protests and to deal with any new offenses.”
The arrests were for blocking an access to a place of work. Police said in a statement posted on social media that two of the arrests were for previous protests and three for action carried out Wednesday.
“While we absolutely acknowledge the importance of peaceful protest, we have a duty to intervene where it crosses the line into serious disruption or criminality,” said Superintendent Neil Holyoak in the statement.
“I hope today’s operation shows we will not tolerate the harassment of or unlawful interference with those trying to go about their legitimate professional work in London,” the officer added.
Pro-Palestinian protesters also disrupted a Hollywood ceremony in March when Gadot’s star on the Walk of Fame was unveiled.
Trump bid to deport Columbia activist Khalil likely unconstitutional, judge says
- Lawsuit says attempted deportation violates Khalil's right to freedom of speech under US Constitution’s First Amendment
- Khalil, a Columbia University student, was arrested on March 8 over his participation in pro-Palestinian protests
NEW YORK: A US judge said on Wednesday the Trump administration’s bid to deport Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is likely unconstitutional.
US District Judge Michael Farbiarz in Newark, New Jersey said he will issue a further order with next steps later on Wednesday. Khalil is currently in immigration detention in Louisiana.
Khalil was arrested on March 8 after the State Department revoked his green card under a little-used provision of US immigration law granting the US secretary of state the power to seek the deportation of any non-citizen whose presence in the country is deemed adverse to US foreign policy interests.
Khalil and his supporters say his arrest and attempted deportation are violations of his right to freedom of speech under the US Constitution’s First Amendment.
Farbiarz wrote that he would not rule for now on whether Khalil’s First Amendment rights were violated. But he said Khalil was likely to succeed in his argument that the legal provision invoked by the Trump administration is so vague as to be unconstitutional.
The judge wrote that it was unlikely that an “ordinary person” would know that the law “could be used against him based on his speech inside the United States, however odious it might allegedly have been.”
Lawyers for Khalil and spokespeople for the White House, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Khalil was the first known foreign student to be arrested as part of President Donald Trump’s bid to deport foreign students who took part in pro-Palestinian protests that swept US college campuses after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent military assault.
Civil rights groups argue that Trump’s administration unlawfully detained the 30-year-old public policy student in retaliation for his criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
The Hamas attack killed 1,195 people, according to Israeli tallies, and Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Khalil, a Palestinian who was born and raised in a refugee camp in Syria, entered the US on a student visa in 2022 and became a lawful permanent resident last year through his wife Noor Abdalla, an American citizen.
Federal judges in recent weeks have ordered another Palestinian Columbia student, Mohsen Mahdawi, and a Turkish student at Tufts University in Massachusetts, Rumeysa Ozturk, to be released from immigration detention while they challenge the government’s efforts to deport them.
Elon Musk criticizes Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill,’ a fracture in a key relationship
- Says the “massive spending bill” increases the federal deficit and “undermines the work” of the DOGE
- "A bill can be big or it could be beautiful,” Musk said, “but I don’t know if it could be both.”
WASHINGTON: Elon Musk is criticizing the centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda, a significant fracture in a partnership that was forged during last year’s campaign and was poised to reshape American politics and the federal government.
The billionaire entrepreneur, who supported Trump’s candidacy with at least $250 million and has worked for his administration as a senior adviser, said he was “disappointed” by what the president calls his “big beautiful bill.”
The legislation includes a mix of tax cuts and enhanced immigration enforcement. While speaking to CBS, Musk described it as a “massive spending bill” that increases the federal deficit and “undermines the work” of his Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE.
“I think a bill can be big or it could be beautiful,” Musk said. “But I don’t know if it could be both.”
His CBS interview came out Tuesday night. Trump, speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday, defended his agenda by talking about the delicate politics involved with negotiating the legislation.
“I’m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I’m thrilled by other aspects of it,” he said.
Trump also suggested that more changes could be made.
“We’re going to see what happens,” he said. “It’s got a way to go.”
Republicans recently pushed the measure through the House and are debating it in the Senate.
Musk’s concerns are shared by some Republican lawmakers. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said he was “pretty confident” there was enough opposition “to slow this process down until the president, our leadership, gets serious” about reducing spending. Speaking at a Milwaukee Press Club event on Wednesday, he added that there was no amount of pressure Trump could put on him to change his position.
Speaker Mike Johnson has asked senators to make as few changes to the legislation as possible, saying that House Republicans reached a “very delicate balance” that could be upended with major changes. The narrowly divided House will have to vote again on final passage once the Senate alters the bill.
On Wednesday, Johnson thanked Musk for his work and promised to pursue more spending cuts in the future, saying “the House is eager and ready to act on DOGE’s findings.”
The White House is sending some proposed rescissions, a mechanism used to cancel previously authorized spending, to Capitol Hill to solidify some of DOGE’s cuts. A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget said the package will include $1.1 billion from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, and $8.3 billion in foreign assistance.
Musk’s criticism come as he steps back from his government work, rededicating himself to companies like the electric automaker Tesla and rocket manufacturer SpaceX. He’s also said he’ll reduce his political spending, because “I think I’ve done enough.”
At times, he’s seemed chastened by his experience working in government. Although he hoped that DOGE would generate $1 trillion in spending cuts, he’s fallen far short of that target.
“The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized,” he told The Washington Post. “I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in D.C., to say the least.”
Musk had previously been energized by the opportunity to reshape Washington. He wore campaign hats in the White House, held his own campaign rallies and talked about excessive spending as an existential crisis. He often tended to be effusive in his praise of Trump.
“The more I’ve gotten to know President Trump, the more I like the guy,” Musk said in February. “Frankly, I love him.”
Trump repaid the favor, describing Musk as “a truly great American.” When Tesla faced declining sales, he turned the White House driveway into a makeshift showroom to illustrate his support.
It’s unclear what, if any, impact that Musk’s comments about the bill would have on the legislative debate. During the transition period, he helped whip up opposition to a spending measure as the country stood on the brink of a federal government shutdown.
His latest criticism could embolden Republicans who want bigger spending cuts. Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee reposted a Fox News story about Musk’s interview while also adding his own take on the measure, saying there was “still time to fix it.”
“The Senate version will be more aggressive,” Lee said. “It can, it must, and it will be. Or it won’t pass.”
Only two Republicans — Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — voted against the bill when the House took up the measure last week.
Davidson took note of Musk’s comments on social media.
“Hopefully, the Senate will succeed with the Big Beautiful Bill where the House missed the moment,” he wrote. “Don’t hope someone else will cut deficits someday, know it has been done this Congress.”
The Congressional Budget Office, in a preliminary estimate, said the tax provisions would increase federal deficits by $3.8 trillion over the decade, while the changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other services would reduce spending by slightly more than $1 trillion over the same period.
House Republican leaders say increased economic growth would allow the bill to be deficit neutral or reducing, but outside watchdogs are skeptical. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates the bill would add $3 trillion to the debt, including interest, over the next decade.
Macron navigates rocky path to recognizing Palestinian state
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron is leaning toward recognizing a Palestinian state, but diplomats and experts say such a move may prove a premature and ineffective way to pressure Israel into moving toward a peace deal with the Palestinians.
They say it could deepen Western splits, not only within the already-divided European Union, but also with the US, Israel’s staunchest ally, and would need to be accompanied by other measures such as sanctions and trade bans if recognition were to be anything more than a symbolic gesture.
French officials are weighing up the move ahead of a United Nations conference, which France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting between June 17-20, to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel’s security.
“Only a political solution will make it possible to restore peace and build for the long term,” Macron said on Wednesday during a visit to Indonesia.
“Together with Saudi Arabia, we will soon be organizing a conference on Gaza in New York to give fresh impetus to the recognition of a Palestinian state and the recognition of the State of Israel and its right to live in peace and security in this region,” added Macron.
If Macron does go ahead, France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities, would become the first Western heavyweight to recognize a Palestinian state, potentially giving greater momentum to a movement hitherto dominated by smaller nations that are generally more critical of Israel.
Macron’s stance has shifted amid Israel’s intensified Gaza offensive and escalating violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and there is a growing sense of urgency in Paris to act now before the idea of a two-state solution vanishes forever.
Any US-Iran deal should include ‘robust’ IAEA inspections: Grossi
- Tehran says may allow American inspectors from nuclear watchdog if an agreement is reached
VIENNA: Any deal between Iran and the US that would impose fresh nuclear curbs on Iran should include “very robust” inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday.
The two countries are holding talks meant to rein in Iranian nuclear activities that have rapidly accelerated since President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of a 2015 deal between Iran and major powers that strictly limited those activities.
As that deal has unraveled, Iran has increased the purity to which it is enriching uranium to up to 60 percent, close to the roughly 90 percent of nuclear arms-grade, from 3.67 percent under the deal. It has also scrapped the extra IAEA oversight imposed by the 2015 pact.
“My impression is that if you have that type of agreement, a solid, very robust inspection by the IAEA ... should be a prerequisite, and I’m sure it will be, because it would imply a very, very serious commitment on the part of Iran, which must be verified,” Grossi said.
He stopped short, however, of saying Iran should resume implementation of the Additional Protocol, an agreement between the IAEA and member states that broadens the range of IAEA oversight to include snap inspections of undeclared sites.
Iran implemented it under the 2015 deal, until the US exit in 2018.
Asked if he meant the protocol should be applied, Grossi said “I’m very practical,” adding that this was not a subject in the talks. While the IAEA is not part of the talks, he said he was in touch with both sides, including US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“I don’t think they are discussing it in these terms. I don’t see the discussion as being a discussion on legal norms to be applied or not. I tend to see this as more of an ad hoc approach,” said Grossi.
Iran, meanwhile, said it may consider allowing US inspectors with the IAEA to inspect its facilities if a deal is reached with the US.
“Countries that were hostile to us and behaved unprincipledly over the years — we have always tried not to accept inspectors from those countries,” Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said, referring to staff from the IAEA. Tehran “will reconsider accepting American inspectors through the agency” if “an agreement is reached, and Iran’s demands are taken into account,” he added.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that “consultations are ongoing regarding the time and location of the next round of talks, and once finalized, they will be announced by Oman.”
Eslami said: “The enrichment percentage depends on the type of use. When highly enriched uranium is produced, it does not necessarily mean military use,” he said.
Baqaei meanwhile said: “The continuation of enrichment in Iran is an inseparable part of the country’s nuclear industry and a fundamental principle for the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
“Any proposal or initiative that contradicts this principle or undermines this right is unacceptable.”
