Al Shabab militants storm Hayat Hotel in Somali capital and continue to battle government soldiers, security officials say, leaving at least eight people dead.
Security forces patrol near the Hayat Hotel after an attack by Al Shabab in Somalia's Mogadishu.
(AFP)
At least eight people have been confirmed dead as security forces battled Al Shabab terrorists who stormed a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu, a security commander said.
"The security forces continued to neutralise terrorists who have been cordoned inside a room in the hotel building, most of the people were rescued but at least eight civilians were confirmed dead so far," Mohamed Abdikadir said early on Saturday.
The assault on the Hayat Hotel on Friday triggered a fierce gunfight between security forces and the terrorists who are still holed up inside the building.
The Al Qaeda-linked group, which has led an insurrection against Somalia's central government for about 15 years, claimed responsibility.
Security challenge
Earlier this week, the United States announced that its forces had killed 13 Al Shabab militants in an air strike in the central-southern part of the country as the gunmen were attacking Somali forces.
The US has carried out several air raids on the group in strikes in recent weeks.
In recent weeks, Al Shabab militants have also waged attacks on the Somalia-Ethiopia border, raising concerns about a possible new strategy.
Al Shabab terrorists were driven out of the capital in 2011 by an African Union force, but the group still controls swathes of countryside and frequently strikes civilian and military targets.
Somalia's new President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said last month that ending Al-Shabab's insurgency required more than a military approach, but that his government would negotiate with the group only when the time is right.
Al Shabab militants were driven out of the capital in 2011 by an African Union force, but the group still controls swathes of countryside.
It continues to wage deadly strikes on civilian and military targets, with hotels a quite frequent target.
A serviceman with a Russian flag on his uniform stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on August 4. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)
A delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency may be able to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in early September, according to Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian representative in Vienna where the IAEA is based.
Ulyanov said during an online briefing on Friday: “It’s too early to say anything about the details, these are all extremely sensitive issues, we are discussing and will continue to discuss the modalities of the mission, the route, the number of people who will be involved in this, how long they will stay at the station, for what tasks they are there sent."
"When the mission can take place -- forecasts do not always come true, but, according to my feelings, we can quite realistically talk about the first days of September, unless some extraneous factors that are not related to the goals arise again," Ulyanov said.
Ulyanov said that the organization of the mission is currently being discussed with the IAEA secretariat.
"Almost every day I communicate with the director general of the agency, Rafael Grossi ... On Monday, he will appear here in Vienna, and work in this direction will intensify," Ulyanov said.
The Russian and Ukrainian sides are at odds over the arrangements for such a visit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday an IAEA mission would have to travel only through territory not occupied by Russia.
As for the status of the plant, Ulyanov said: "So far, there are no serious consequences, but, as the IAEA director general rightly said at an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council a week ago, at any moment this could end badly," Ulyanov said.
He said the situation at the plant was "extremely alarming. What the Ukrainian military is doing when shelling this nuclear facility is completely unacceptable," he said.
Ukraine has denied shelling the area, and blamed Russia for doing so as a provocation. Some facilities at the plant have been damaged.
Ulyanov said he did not think the IAEA would support Ukraine's insistence that a demilitarized zone around the plant be created.
"I think IAEA won't support it, and for one simple reason -- the creation of demilitarized zones has nothing to do with the IAEA's mandate," he said.
Russian officials have rejected the idea of demilitarizing the plant, saying that it needs to be protected.
Amid a steady stream of accusations by each side, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Friday that Ukrainian recklessness was to blame for posing "a threat to the largest nuclear facility in Europe with potential risks for a huge territory, not only adjacent to this plant, but far beyond the Ukrainian borders."
"Our air defense systems in the region have been strengthened, we are taking all measures to ensure the safety of the station," Ryabkov said, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Ryabkov said that the presence of the Russian military guarding the nuclear plant was a guarantee that such a Chernobyl scenario would not be realized.
The suspect allegedly caught on video brutally sucker-punching a New York City pedestrian last week was arrested Friday for a parole violation, a day after he was taken into police custody and walked free after his charges were reportedly downgraded.
Bui Van Phu, a 55-year-old homeless man, was directed by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to report to his parole officer Friday morning, authorities said. He was arrested and is expected to appear before a judge within 24 hours.
On Thursday, he was released without bail during a court appearance after his initial attempted murder charge was downgraded.
"The Bronx District Attorney’s Office will continue to investigate the alleged attack on Jesus Cortes by defendant Bui Van Phu. The office is obtaining additional evidence, reviewing video, speaking to witnesses, analyzing medical records, and providing crime victim services,' a statement from the office of Bronx County District Attorney Darcel Clark said. "The defendant is currently charged with third-degree Assault and second-degree Harassment, which are not bail eligible under our current laws."
NYPD released video of an Aug. 12 unprovoked assault that unfolded at approximately 10:45 p.m. in front of 163 E 188 St in the Bronx. The allegedly attacker, Bui Van Phu, 55, was arrested Friday for a parole violation, authorities said.
(NYPD)
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the arrest at an unrelated news conference. She called the attack "horrific on all fronts" and said her office has been in contact with Clark to discuss what charges would be filed.
She said she directed corrections officials to determine whether Phu had committed a parole violation during the attack.
Phu allegedly approached Cortes just before 11 p.m. Aug. 12 and assaulted him as he was standing with a group after leaving a restaurant.
From behind, he allegedly delivers a hard blow to Cortes’ head, lying him out on the concrete. Police said the two had no interaction beforehand and that there’s no indication the alleged attacker and victim knew each other.
Cortes sustained a skull fracture, broken cheek and brain bleeding. He remains hospitalized.
NYC sucker punch assault suspect is a convicted sex offender.
(NYPD)
Phu was previously convicted of first-degree sex abuse in the Bronx in 1995 and was sentenced to six years to life in prison. He was paroled in 2019 and is now registered as a Level 3 sex offender — the most serious designation — for sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl in 1994, according to state records.
Fox News' Danielle Wallace and Stephanie Pagones contributed to this report.
Three more ships with exports leave Ukraine's Black Sea ports on day 175 of fighting, a monitoring group says, bringing number of vessels to leave Ukraine under Türkiye-brokered grain export deal to 24.
"This is a devious and cynical strike on civilians with no justification," says Ukraine's Zelenskyy.
(Reuters)
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
Death toll from Kharkiv attack climbs
Ukraine's president has condemned what he called a Russian strike that the region's governor said killed at least six people and wounded 16 in Ukraine's Kharkiv as "despicable and cynical".
"Unfortunately the number of deaths and injuries following the bombardment... has increased: six people died and 16 were wounded," regional governor Oleg Synegubov said on Telegram.
"We will not forgive, we will take revenge," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
NATO calls for ‘urgent’ inspection of Ukraine nuclear plant
It is "urgent" that the UN's atomic watchdog be allowed to inspect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine that is under Russian military control, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said.
Russia's seizure of the plant "poses a serious threat to the safety and the security of this facility (and) raises the risks of a nuclear accident or incident," he told reporters in Brussels.
"It is urgent to allow the inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency and to ensure the withdrawal of all Russian forces," he said.
Chinese military will send troops to Russia for joint exercise
Chinese troops will travel to Russia to take part in a joint exercise with Russia and other countries including India, Belarus and Tajikistan, the Chinese Defence Ministry has said.
Russian Black Sea fleet names new commander
Russia's Black Sea fleet based in annexed Crimea has named Viktor Sokolov as its new commander, RIA news agency has cited sources as saying.
The appointment followed blasts at Russian military bases in Crimea last week and on Tuesday.
Russian missile strikes leave several people injured in Odessa region — Ukrainian officials pic.twitter.com/68dJnIdrga
A major weapons lab in Russia has revamped its testing facility after it was mothballed following the fall of the Soviet Union, state news agency TASS has reported, citing the company's press service.
TsNIITochMash, which conducts research and designs arms including anti-tank missiles and rifles for Russia's military, told TASS the revamped lab would be able to test ballistic weapons and small-calibre artillery in extreme cold temperatures.
In a speech opening an arms show on Monday, President Vladimir Putin said Russia was ready to sell advanced weapons to its allies and cooperate with others in developing military technology.
Ukraine official calls for Crimea bridge to be ‘dismantled’
A senior Ukrainian official has called for Moscow's main bridge connecting the Russia-annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland to be "dismantled," in the wake of several attacks on the peninsula.
The 19-kilometre bridge inaugurated in 2018 by Russian President Vladimir Putin is Moscow's key military and civilian land corridor to the annexed peninsula.
"The bridge is an illegal object," presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak said on social media. It "must therefore be dismantled. Not important how — voluntary or not."
UN chief Antonio Guterres, Türkiye's President Erdogan, and his Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy will discuss in Ukraine the need for a political solution to the Ukrainian conflict, says UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric pic.twitter.com/ebvvc3QGVs
Four more ships have left Ukrainian ports under the Istanbul grain export deal, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said.
Ships carrying sunflower meal, sunflower oil and corn departed from the Ukrainian ports of Odessa and Chornomorsk, the ministry said on Twitter.
Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal last month to resume grain exports from the Ukrainian Black Sea ports of Yuzhny, Chornomorsk and Odessa, which were halted due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
EU looks to Russian tourist visa ban
Active discussions are continuing among several European Union member states on the need to ban tourist visas for Russian citizens amid the Ukraine conflict.
Through this ban, the EU hopes to increase pressure on Moscow and bring an end to its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
A draft decision on the ban was put forth for consideration as part of the seventh package of sanctions adopted by the European Council last month.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan set to travel to Ukraine's Lviv on Thursday to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, UN chief Antonio Guterres pic.twitter.com/yKnXLMiTz1
North Korea, Russia-backed separatists to develop 'bilateral cooperation'
North Korea and the Russian-backed
separatist Donetsk region of Ukraine will develop "equally
beneficial bilateral cooperation", Donetsk separatist head Denis Pushilin has said in a letter to Kim Jong-un, North Korean state media
reported.
In July, North Korea recognised the Donetsk and
Luhansk People's Republics in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region, as independent states.
Pushilin wrote a letter to congratulate Kim on the August 15 Korean liberation day, state news agency KCNA reported, two days after reporting a similar message from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Kim.
"The people of the Donbas region, too, are fighting to regain their freedom and justice of history today just as the Korean people did 77 years ago," the report cited Pushilin's letter as saying.
For live updates from Tuesday (August 16), click here
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Law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation into Salman Rushdie's attack told ABC News that "a preliminary investigation into the suspected perpetrator's probable social media presence indicates a likely adherence or sympathy towards Shi'a extremism and sympathies to the Iranian regime/Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."
Author Salman Rushdie listens during an interview with Reuters in London, April 15, 2008.
Dylan Martinez/Reuters, FILE
Author Salman Rushdie was attacked while giving a lecture at an education center, the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, in southwestern New York, Friday morning. Rushdie was stabbed at least once in the neck and abdomen, after a man ran up on stage and attacked him and his interviewer. The interviewer, Henry Reese, 73, suffered a minor head injury during the attack, police said. He was treated for a facial injury at a nearby hospital and has since been released, police said.
Rushdie's agent told ABC News on Friday that he will likely lose an eye, the nerves in his arm were severed and his liver was stabbed and damaged.
Law enforcement have identified Rushdie's attacker as 24-year-old Hadi Matar of New Jersey. Matar is currently in New York State Police custody. Matar is charged with felony attempted second-degree murder and second-degree assault.
Matar was processed at SP Jamestown and transported to Chautauqua County Jail and will be arraigned on Aug.13.
A view of who appears to be author Salman Rushdie treated by emergency personnel after being stabbed on stage before his scheduled speech at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, N.Y., Aug. 12, 2022, is seen in an image obtained from social media.
Mary Newsom via Reuters
The suspect was born in California, sources told ABC News. On the suspect's phone, investigators say they found photos of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of Iraq's pro-Iranian militia movement, also killed by U.S. forces. Police recovered a fake New Jersey driver's license, which appears to have used the suspect's picture with the alias "Hassan Mughniyah," a possible reference to Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah, and Imad Mughniyeh, who was the group's No. 2 official before being killed in 2008, sources said.
A New Jersey police officer and a plain-clothed police officer exit the building where alleged attacker of Salman Rushdie, Hadi Matar, lives in Fairview, N.J., Aug. 12, 2022.
Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
Detectives are now calling the attack an "apparent assassination attempt" by "an individual with strong indicators of ideological support for the Iranian regime." They said the incident occurred during a period of "plot disruptions" apparently connected to the current state of U.S.-Iran tensions.
Local police and FBI agents block the area around the home of Hadi Matar on Morningside Avenue, in Fairview, N.J., Aug. 12, 2022. Matar rushed a stage and stabbed Salman Rushdie, as the author was about to give a lecture in western New York.
Ted Shaffrey/AP
Investigators are noting Iran continues to threaten its enemies around the world as part of its stated play for revenge for the killings of Soleimani and al-Muhandis.
Law enforcement officers detain a person outside the Chautauqua Institution, in Chautauqua, N.Y., Aug. 12, 2022. Salman Rushdie, the author whose writing led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was attacked and apparently stabbed by a man who rushed the stage, as Rushdie was about to give a lecture at the institute.
Charles Fox/AP
Investigators say they do not know, at this point, whether the Ayatollah's prior call to assassinate Rushdie was a motivator. No Iranian official has commented on the attack yet.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution and a prominent Shi'a Muslim figure, issued a "fatwa," a religious decree, on Feb. 14, 1989, calling for the death of Rushdie and his publishers over his book "The Satanic Verses." Officials stress that the probe is ongoing and information is subject to change. The incident occurred less than 24 hours ago.
Shooting on bus in flashpoint area leaves at least seven wounded, two of them critically, Israeli police say.
Old City of occupied Jerusalem is home to some of the holiest sites in Islam, Judaism and Christianity.
(AFP)
Seven people have been wounded, two of them critically, after a shooting attack on a bus in occupied Jerusalem's Old City, Israeli police and the national emergency medical services said.
"The police were informed of a shooting of a bus ... police have cordoned off the scene and are searching for a suspect who fled," police said early on Sunday.
Bus driver Daniel Kanievsky said the attack occurred near King David's Tomb.
"I was coming from the Western Wall. The bus was full of passengers. I stopped at the station of the Tomb of David. At this moment starts the shootings. Two people outside I see falling, two inside were bleeding. Everybody panicked," he told reporters at the scene.
Old City of occupied Jerusalem is home to some of the holiest sites in Islam, Judaism and Christianity.
Al Aqsa Mosque is one of the holiest sites for Muslims.
Jews call the area the "Temple Mount," claiming it was the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
Since 2003, Israel has allowed illegal settlers into the compound almost daily.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognised by the international community.
Gaza fighting
Since March, 19 people –– mostly Israeli civilians –– have been killed in attacks.
Israeli authorities have increased raids in the occupied West Bank.
More than 50 Palestinians have been killed in such operations since then.
Last week saw three days of intense conflict between Israel and Palestinians in besieged Gaza.
At least 49 Palestinians, including many children, were killed in the Israeli aggression, which ended last Sunday after Egypt negotiated a truce.
The White House said Friday that it finds the stabbing of author Salman Rushdie "reprehensible" and Biden administration officials are praying for his recovery.
Rushdie was stabbed multiple times before a speech at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, on Friday. The attacker allegedly rushed onto the stage and stabbed him in the neck. Rushdie is undergoing surgery at a local hospital.
"Today, the country and the world witnessed a reprehensible attack against the writer Salman Rushdie," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. "This act of violence is appalling. All of us in the Biden-Harris Administration are praying for his speedy recovery."
Salman Rushdie was stabbed multiple times before a speech at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, on Friday.
(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
"We are thankful to good citizens and first responders for helping Mr. Rushdie so quickly after the attack and to law enforcement for its swift and effective work, which is ongoing," he continued.
A State Trooper assigned to the event at the Chautauqua Institution took the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Hadi Matar, into custody immediately after the attack, New York State Police said. The event moderator also suffered a minor head injury.
Andrew Wylie, an agent for Rushdie, told The New York Times that the writer is on a ventilator and is unable to speak.
The attacker allegedly rushed onto the stage and stabbed Rushdie in the neck.
(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
"The news is not good," Wylie said. "Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged."
Rushdie has lived under the threat of a fatwa on his life after Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini condemned his book, "The Satanic Verses," as blasphemy in 1989 and called for the author's death. The book was also banned in Iran. A fatwa is a decree from an Islamic religious leader.
Iran has offered more than $3 million for anyone who kills Rushdie.
Rushdie has lived under the threat of a fatwa on his life after Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini condemned his book, "The Satanic Verses," as blasphemy in 1989 and called for the author's death.
((Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images))
Iran's government has since distanced itself from Khomeini’s decree, but Rushdie still faced opposition. A semi-official Iranian religious foundation raised a bounty for Rushdie in 2012 from $2.8 million to $3.3 million.
Fox News' Adam Sabes and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
Sophisticated weekend attack involving drones, explosives, car bombs and artillery leaves 42 soldiers dead and 22 others wounded, say officials of the troubled African country.
Heavy fighting took place in the troubled "three-border" region where the frontiers of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso converge.
(Reuters)
Forty-two Malian soldiers have been killed and 22 others wounded in an attack near the town of Tessit, a sophisticated attack blamed on Daesh affiliate in the landlocked West African country.
"The Malian army units of Tessit... reacted vigorously to a complex and coordinated attack by armed terrorist groups, presumably from Islamic State [Daesh] in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), characterised by the use of drones, explosives, car bombs, and artillery," the government said in a statement on Wednesday.
The attack took place on Sunday and was one of the deadliest attacks in recent years for the Malian army which has been battling a decade-long insurgency across the Sahel region.
Soldiers killed 37 militants during several hours of heavy fighting in the troubled "three-border" region where the borders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso converge.
The army had previously said that 17 soldiers had been killed in the attack and that nine had gone missing.
Deadly tri-junction
Thousands have fled Tessit to the nearest large town of Gao, which is located some 150 kilometres to the north.
The last time Mali's armed forces sustained heavy losses was in a string of attacks in the same region between late 2019 and early 2020.
During those attacks, hundreds of soldiers were killed in assaults on nearly a dozen bases. These attacks are typically carried out by militants on motorbikes.
The attacks also prompted the Malian, Nigerien and Burkinabe forces to fall back from forward bases and hunker down in better-defended locations.
Mobile phone connections to the area have been frequently cut over the last few years and access to the area is difficult during the mid-year rainy season.
Mali is ruled by a military junta that overthrew the democratic government in 2020, in part over frustration at its failure to rein in the violence, but attacks have remained common.
Fierce fighting between Kiev and Moscow continues on the 166th day as more ships carrying Ukraine's grain set out for safe transportation in the Türkiye-brokered deal.
The fighting on Friday at the plant has prompted the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to warn of "the very real risk of a nuclear disaster".
(Reuters)
Monday, August 8, 2022
Any attack on a nuclear plant 'suicidal' — UN
Any attack on a nuclear plant is "suicidal", United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned after fresh reports suggesting shelling hit a huge atomic power complex in Zaporizhzhia, southern Ukraine.
The fighting on Friday at the plant has prompted the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to warn of "the very real risk of a nuclear disaster".
"Any attack to a nuclear plant is a suicidal thing. I hope that those attacks will end, and at the same time I hope that the IAEA will be able to access the plant."
We support the IAEA on their efforts in relation to create the conditions of stabilisation of that plant.
Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
For live updates from Sunday (August 7), click here
BEIJING -- Taiwan said Saturday that China’s military drills appear to simulate an attack on the self-ruled island, after multiple Chinese warships and aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait following U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei that infuriated Beijing.
Taiwan's armed forces issued an alert, dispatched air and naval patrols around the island, and activated land-based missile systems in response to the Chinese exercises, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said on Twitter.
China launched live-fire military drills following Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan earlier this week, saying that it violated the “one-China” policy. China sees the island as a breakaway province to be annexed by force if necessary, and considers visits to Taiwan by foreign officials as recognizing its sovereignty.
Taiwan's army also said it detected four unmanned aerial vehicles flying in the vicinity of the offshore county of Kinmen on Friday night, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.
The four drones, which Taiwan believed were Chinese, were spotted over waters around the Kinmen island group and the nearby Lieyu Island and Beiding islet, according to Taiwan’s Kinmen Defense Command.
Taiwan’s military fired warning flares in response.
Kinmen, also known as Quemoy, is a group of islands only 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) east of the Chinese coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province in the Taiwan Strait, which divides the two sides that split amid civil war in 1949.
“Our government & military are closely monitoring China’s military exercises & information warfare operations, ready to respond as necessary,” Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said in a tweet.
“I call on the international community to support democratic Taiwan & halt any escalation of the regional security situation,” she added.
The Chinese military exercises began Thursday and are expected to last until Sunday. So far, the drills have included missile strikes on targets in the seas north and south of the island in an echo of the last major Chinese military drills in 1995 and 1996 aimed at intimidating Taiwan’s leaders and voters.
Taiwan has put its military on alert and staged civil defense drills, while the U.S. has deployed numerous naval assets in the area.
The Biden administration and Pelosi have said the U.S. remains committed to a “one-China” policy, which recognizes Beijing as the government of China but allows informal relations and defense ties with Taipei. The administration discouraged but did not prevent Pelosi from visiting.
China has also cut off defense talks with the U.S. and imposed sanctions on Pelosi in retaliation for the visit.
Pelosi said Friday in Tokyo, the last stop of her Asia tour, that China will not be able to isolate Taiwan by preventing U.S. officials from traveling there.
Pelosi has been a long-time advocate of human rights in China. She, along with other lawmakers, visited Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1991 to support democracy two years after a bloody military crackdown on protesters at the square.
A general view shows the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, situated in the Russian-controlled area of Enerhodar, seen from Nikopol in April 27, 2022. Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images
Concerns have mounted after the British Ministry of Defense echoed accusations from the Ukrainian military that Russian forces are using the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine to fire at military positions across the Dnieper River, but Western officials have downplayed the danger.
Russian forces are probably operating in the regions adjacent to the power station and have used artillery units based in these areas to target Ukrainian territory on the western bank of the Dnipro river,” UK's Ministry of Defence (MOD) said in its latest update on the situation in Ukraine. “Russian forces have probably used the wider facility area, in particular the adjacent city of Enerhodar, to rest their forces, utilizing the protected status of the nuclear power plant to reduce the risk to their equipment and personnel from overnight Ukrainian attacks.”
The MOD’s assessment echoes accusations made by the mayor of the Russian-occupied town of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, who said in late July that Russia was using the plant as a fortress. “They (Russian forces) know very well that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will not respond to these attacks, as they can damage the nuclear power plant,” Orlov told Ukrainian broadcaster Espreso TV.
A mixed picture: On Thursday, Western officials downplayed the likelihood of intense combat in and around the nuclear power plant.
“Russia might use the site as a safe zone, from which to carry out defensive operations. Ukraine will consider very carefully how to avoid taking major risks around the site,” the officials said.
“The area of the site itself of nuclear power plant is too small an area to be very significant in terms of an advance. It could always be surrounded or bypassed by Ukraine,” the officials added. “It's a consideration and something that people need to be careful in their planning around but is in no way going to prevent an advance.”
The MOD's concerns come after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Grossi told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the situation at the plant was “completely out of control.”
Grossi said he was trying to put together a mission, with the support of the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, to visit the plant, but explained actually going was a “very complex thing,” because “it requires the understanding and the cooperation" of the Ukrainians and the Russians occupying it.
Some background: Russia seized the plant, which is the largest nuclear plant in Europe, in the early days of the war on March 5. A week later, on March 12, a team of officials and technicians from Russia's state nuclear agency, ROSATOM, arrived on site to help manage the plant and help with repairs, Ukraine's nuclear agency, Energoatom, said.
The situation at the plant has remained complex ever since, with Ukrainian and Russian staff working alongside each other. Communications between the plant and the IAEA has been intermittent.
Military operations in the area, with an announced Ukrainian counter-offensive to take Kherson have made the situation even more volatile, the IAEA has said.
While Western officials understand some of the IAEA's concerns, they “don't think [the situation] is as dire as it is necessarily been painted in the media at the moment.”
The officials went on to explain that plants like the one in Zaporizhzhia are built with multiple safeguards in place. “So please don't think that we're looking at Chernobyl like situation, that's not the case,” officials said. “We think overall, the circumstances of that site are still okay.”
CNN reached out to Rosatom for comment but has yet to hear back.
The blast occurred in a west Kabul neighbourhood that is mainly inhabited by members of the ethnic Hazara community, who are mostly Shia Muslims.
No group has so far claimed the blast, but Daesh has regularly targeted Shia Muslims in Afghanistan.
(Reuters Archive)
A bomb attached to a handcart has exploded in Kabul, police said, killing eight people and wounding 18 in an area largely inhabited by Afghanistan's minority Shia Muslim community.
The explosives were attached to a handcart loaded with vegetables and parked in an area where residents shopped for daily food items, Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran told reporters on Friday.
"The explosion took place amongst civilians and according to preliminary information two of our citizens were martyred and three others were wounded," he said.
The blast occurred in a west Kabul neighbourhood that is mainly inhabited by members of the ethnic Hazara community, who are mostly Shia Muslims.
Shia Muslims in Afghanistan are currently commemorating the first 10 days of the Islamic holy month of Muharram, culminating in Ashura, which marks the death of the revered Imam Hussein Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
No group has so far claimed the blast, but Daesh has regularly targeted Shia Muslims in Afghanistan.
The number of violent public attacks across the country has fallen since the Taliban returned to power in August last year, but Daesh has continued to target Shia Muslims, whom it views as heretics.
The minority group makes up between 10 to 20 percent of Afghanistan's population of 38 million.
Taliban officials insist their forces have defeated Daesh, but analysts say the group remains a key security challenge.
A drone attack on the Russian fleet in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Sunday wounded six people, the Russian-annexed city's mayor Mikhail Razvozhayev said.
"This morning, Ukrainian nationalists decided to spoil the Day of the Russian Fleet" being celebrated on Sunday, he said on Telegram, adding that six people, including employees of the army staff, had been wounded.
All festivities had been "canceled for security reasons," he said, asking residents of the city to remain indoors "if possible."
Huge celebrations are due to take place in Russia, including a naval parade in St. Petersburg that will be attended by President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian forces have in recent weeks retaken territory seized by Russian forces since their Feb. 24 invasion.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian strikes partially destroyed a major bridge in the city of Kherson, occupied by Russian forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs the supervisory board meeting of the presidential forum "Russia - Land of Opportunity" at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia April 20, 2022.
Mikhail Tereshchenko | Sputnik | via Reuters
WASHINGTON – World leaders swiftly condemned the Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian port, a dramatic revelation amid a U.N.-brokered deal that secured a sea corridor for grains and other foodstuff exports.
A day prior, representatives from the U.N., Turkey, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement to reopen three Ukrainian ports, an apparent breakthrough as the Kremlin's war on its ex-Soviet neighbor marches into its fifth month.
The strike on Odesa, Ukraine's largest port, illustrates yet another anxious turn in fruitless efforts to mitigate a mounting global food crisis.
A general view shows a fire engine at a scene of a burning building after a shelling, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues in a location given as Odesa, Ukraine in this picture obtained from social media released on July 19, 2022.
State Emergency Service of Ukraine | Via Reuters
An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia "predictably worthless" on the heels of the attack.
"The ink has not had time to dry out, yet there are two vile provocations: attack on a seaport in Odesa and a statement by Russia's Defense Ministry that Ukraine ports are "dangerous for shipping," wrote Mykhailo Podolyak on Twitter.
"Not even 24 hours had passed before these grain terminals, the territory of Odesa and the port were struck," Zelenskyy told a U.S. delegation of lawmakers visiting Ukraine.
Among those visiting Zelenskyy, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said Russian President Vladimir Putin "violated the spirit of that agreement with more missile strikes."
"He simply cannot be trusted," Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, wrote in a statement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. strongly condemns the Russian missile attack and said Russia bears responsibility for deepening the world's food crisis.
The attack "undermines work of the U.N., Turkey and Ukraine to get critical food to world markets," Blinken said in a statement.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "unequivocally" condemned the missile strike on the port.
"Full implementation [of the deal] by the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Turkey is imperative," the U.N. chief wrote.
Bridget Brink, President Joe Biden's Ambassador to Ukraine, urged the global community to hold Russia to account.
"The Kremlin continues to weaponize food. Russia must be held to account," Brink wrote on Twitter.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called Russia's missile strike on Odesa "reprehensible."
"Striking a target crucial for grain export a day after the signature of Istanbul agreements is particularly reprehensible again demonstrates Russia's total disregard for international law and commitments," Borrell wrote on Twitter.
Spanish celebrity chef and restaurateur Jose Andres, who brought his humanitarian organization to Ukraine to alleviate the food crisis triggered by Russia's war, also slammed the missile strikes on Odesa.
"Why are you attacking the grain that needs to be exported? Why? Stop please and let's feed the world," wrote the two-star Michelin chef and founder of the World Central Kitchen, a group dedicated to feeding vulnerable communities.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said the missile strikes were "all you need to know about deals with Russia."
"Today, Russian missiles hit the port of Odesa. That's all you need to know about deals with Russia. The world must help Ukraine fight the aggressor," she wrote.
President Zelenskyy rules out a ceasefire without recovering Russia-controlled territories as deadly missile strikes hit central Ukraine on the 150th day of the fighting.
Turkish Defense Minister says, "The Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with this attack and that they were inspecting the issue very closely and in detail."
(Reuters)
Saturday, July 23, 2022
“No setback” at Ukraine’s Odessa port after missile attack
Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said that Türkiye continues to fulfill its responsibilities under the grain deal it brokered between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul.
Speaking to Anadolu News Agency, Hulusi Akar said Türkiye has been in contact with both Ukrainian and Russian sides about Saturday's missile attack on Ukraine's Odesa port, adding: "We continue to fulfill our responsibilities in line with the deal we brokered yesterday."
"The fact that such an incident took place right after the agreement we made yesterday really worried us," he added.
Akar noted that Ukrainian officials said "one of the missiles hit one of the (grain) silos, and the other one fell in an area close to the silo, but the important thing is that there is no setback in the loading capacity and capability of the docks, and that the activities can continue."
Turkish National Defence Minister Hulusi Akar says after the missile attack on Ukraine's Odessa port that Türkiye continues to fulfill its responsibilities under the grain deal it brokered between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul pic.twitter.com/utg3vSEzR9
Ukraine hits bridge used for Russian supplies in occupied south
Ukraine struck a bridge in the occupied Black Sea region of Kherson, targeting a Russian supply route as Kiev prepares for a major counter-offensive, a Ukrainian regional official said.
The strike hit the Daryivskyi bridge across the Ingulets river used for supplies by Russian troops, days after a key bridge over the nearby Dnieper was hit, said an adviser to the region's governor who is on Ukrainian-held territory.
"Every bridge is a weak point for logistics and our armed forces are skillfully destroying the enemy system. This is not yet the liberation of Kherson, but a serious preparatory step in that direction," the official, Serhiy Khlan, wrote on Facebook.
'Historic victory of diplomacy': Pakistan hails Türkiye's role in Ukraine grain deal
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed Türkiye for its key role in preventing a looming global food crisis by brokering a deal on Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports.
With the mediation of Türkiye and the UN, Kiev and Moscow signed an agreement in Istanbul on Friday to resume Ukrainian grain shipments from Black Sea ports.
“Ukraine grain deal signed in Istanbul is a historic victory of diplomacy signifying that all crises can be averted through meaningful engagement,” Sharif said on Twitter.
Albania hails Türkiye's role in Ukraine grain deal
Albania’s prime minister hailed Türkiye for brokering the Ukraine grain exports deal.
"This shows once again that the only way to resolve problems between states is through dialogue and diplomacy," said Edi Rama.
UK govt calls Odessa attack 'absolutely appalling'
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss called a Russian attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa "absolutely appalling" and "completely unwarranted".
Truss said the strike, just a day after a deal between Ukraine and Russia to unblock grain exports, showed that Russia's Vladimir Putin could not be trusted.
"We need to urgently work with our international partners to find a better way of getting the grain out of Ukraine that doesn't involve Russia and their broken promises," she added.
Russia finds ways 'not to implement' promises: Zelenskyy
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of routinely violating agreements after Moscow's forces bombed Odessa's port, a facility key to a grain export deal the warring parties signed a day earlier.
"This proves only one thing: no matter what Russia says and promises, it will find ways not to implement it," Zelenskyy said during a meeting with US lawmakers, according to a statement from the presidency.
The Ukrainian military said its air defences had shot down two cruise missiles but two more hit the port, threatening the landmark agreement hammered out over months of negotiations aimed at relieving a global food crisis.
Two Americans die in Ukraine's Donbass war zone
Russian missile strikes on the port in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa caused injuries, the regional governor said, without specifying how many people were hurt.
"Unfortunately, some people are injured. Port infrastructure is damaged," the Odessa regional governor Maksym Marchenko said in a video statement on social media without giving details of the severity of the injuries.
Russia attacked the Odessa sea port with Kalibr cruise missiles as two of the missiles were shot down by air defences, says the representative of the Ukraine's Odessa region. Our correspondent Aksel Zaimovic has more from Kiev pic.twitter.com/h07R9tHpgB
Russian strikes kill three in central Ukraine - governor
Russian missile strikes on railway infrastructure and a military airfield in central Ukraine have left at least three people dead, including a Ukrainian serviceman, a regional governor has said.
"Nine Ukrainian servicemen were injured and one serviceman is dead. First, two guards of an electrical substation were killed," Andriy Raikovych, the head of the Kirovograd region told Ukrainian media.
Raikovych said earlier in a statement on social media that a barrage of 13 sea-launched Russian cruise missiles had struck outside the administrative centre of the region.
Russian missiles strike Ukraine's Odessa port - official
Ukraine says Russian missiles have struck the Odessa port, a key Black Sea terminal, one day after Moscow and Kiev penned a deal to resume grain exports blocked by the conflict.
"The enemy attacked the Odessa sea port with Kalibr cruise missiles. Two of the missiles were shot down by air defences. Two hit port infrastructure," Sergiy Bratchuk, a representative of the Odessa region said in a statement on social media.
UK: Ukraine continues offensive against Russia in Kherson
Heavy fighting has been taking place in the last 48 hours as Ukrainian forces continued their offensive against Russia in Kherson province, west of the Dnipro River, British military intelligence has said.
Russian forces are using artillery fire along the Ingulets River, a tributary of the Dnipro, the UK's Ministry of Defence said. "Supply lines of the Russian forces west of the river are increasingly at risk," the ministry said in an intelligence update.
It added that additional Ukrainian strikes have caused further damage to the key Antonivsky Bridge, though Russia has conducted temporary repairs.
Hungary's Orban calls for new EU strategy on Ukraine
The European Union needs a new strategy on the crisis in Ukraine as sanctions against Moscow have not worked, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said.
The strategy should aim for peace instead of winning, Orban said in a speech in Romania.
Lithuania lifts ban on rail transport into Russian Kaliningrad
The Baltic state of Lithuania has lifted a ban on the rail transport of sanctioned goods into and out of the Russian territory of Kaliningrad, Russia's RIA news agency said.
The European Union last week said the transit ban only affected road, not rail, transit, and Lithuania should therefore allow Russia to ship concrete, wood and alcohol across EU territory to the exclave.
"It is possible that some goods will be transported today," RIA quoted Mantas Dubauskas, spokesman for the state railway company, as telling Lithuanian TV.
Fitch and Scope downgrade Ukraine ratings
Credit rating firms Fitch and Scope downgraded Ukraine to a 'C' grade — just one step from default — two days after the war-ravaged country requested a debt payment freeze.
A "default-like process has begun" Fitch said referring to Kiev's "consent solicitation" request for a two-year deferral on its $20 billion-plus stock of international debt.
"The rating would be downgraded to 'restricted default' and the affected instruments to 'D' following the consent solicitation 'effective date' should it be accepted, which we view as likely," Fitch added.
For live updates from Friday (July 22), click here
The suspect in the attack of Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., was arrested Saturday afternoon on a federal assault charge, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of New York announced.
David Jakubonis is scheduled to make his first court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marion W. Payson Saturday. Zeldin is running for New York governor as a Republican.
Jakubonis, 43 of Fairport, New York, has been charged with attempted assault in the second degree on the state level. He was arraigned in Perinton Town Court and released on his own recognizance after the Thursday attack.
Congressman Lee Zeldin stands on stage during his stump speech, before an alleged attack on him, in Fairport, New York, United States, July 21, 2022.
(Ian Winner/Handout via REUTERS )
Before Jakubonis' release, Zeldin predicted that the suspect would be released. Zeldin has promised to fire district attorneys that do not enforce the law.
'Illegal Armenian armed detachments' open fire on troops stationed in Lachin border region, says Azerbaijani Defense Ministry
