World News

May 3 (Reuters) – The Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Sunday that a drone had targeted its external radiation control laboratory.

There were no reported injuries and it was not yet known if the strike damaged the lab, which is located outside the nuclear power plant’s perimeter, according to the IAEA.

An IAEA team at the site has requested access to the lab, Director General Rafael Grossi said, reiterating that any attacks near nuclear sites can pose nuclear safety risks.

(Reporting by Angela Christy in BengaluruEditing by Peter Graff)

source

Family Urges Immediate Release of Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi After ‘Catastrophic’ Health Decline  

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has been transferred from prison in Iran to a hospital following what her family’s foundation described as a “catastrophic deterioration in her health condition,” after months in custody without access to specialized medical care.  

The foundation, which is run by her family, said the transfer came “after 140 days of arbitrary detention and the persistent denial of specialized healthcare.”  

Mohammadi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while imprisoned in Evin Prison in Tehran, has faced ongoing health concerns in recent months. In February, the foundation said she had begun a hunger strike, and in March it reported that her condition was “critical” and that she had suffered what was suspected to be a heart attack.  

According to the foundation, Mohammadi did not receive medical treatment during this period.  

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee and Mohammadi’s family have called on Iranian authorities to release her so she can receive treatment from her own medical team, warning that “her life remains in danger.”  

Her brother, Hamidreza Mohammadi, told the BBC on Saturday that her current medical condition is complicated by both acute and preexisting issues: “Her current problems include low blood pressure and a heart attack, but her previous conditions, such as pulmonary embolism (…) and having undergone stenting and angiography, make any treatment by the doctors in Zanjan effectively impossible.”  

Mohammadi has been arrested 13 times over her lifetime and sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes, according to her foundation.  

In 2021, she began serving a 13-year sentence on charges of committing “propaganda activity against the state” and “collusion against state security,” which she denied.  

Her case has drawn continued attention from international organizations and her family, who are urging her release amid concerns about her condition. 

source

White House Seeks May 11 Netanyahu and Aoun Meeting; Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets  

US President Donald Trump is seeking to host a May 11 meeting at the White House between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, according to a report by the Lebanese network Al-Mayadeen citing a diplomatic source.  

The US Embassy in Lebanon issued a statement supporting the proposed meeting, saying, “A direct meeting between President Aoun and Prime Minister Netanyahu, facilitated by President Trump, would give Lebanon the chance to secure concrete guarantees on full sovereignty, territorial integrity, secure borders, humanitarian and reconstruction support, and the complete restoration of Lebanese state authority over every inch of its territory—guaranteed by the United States.”  

Aoun has previously indicated he would not meet directly with Netanyahu, while at other times suggesting such a meeting could take place later in negotiations rather than at the outset.  

On Saturday in Beirut, Lebanon Army Commander Rodolphe Haikal met with US General Joseph Clearfield, who heads the ceasefire monitoring mechanism, at an Air Force base. The talks focused on the security situation in Lebanon, regional developments, and ways “to maximize the effectiveness of the existing mechanism and improve its operations,” including strengthening the role of the Lebanese army.  

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported a wave of strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Saturday, saying about 70 buildings used by the group were destroyed along with roughly 50 additional infrastructure sites. The military said the targets included command centers, a weapons storage facility, and other structures associated with Hezbollah.  

The IDF also said Hezbollah fired several rockets toward Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, with the projectiles landing in open areas.  

Brig. Gen. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, issued an evacuation warning for areas in southern Lebanon, calling on residents to leave.   

Separately, a drone infiltration alert was triggered at Kibbutz Yiftah in the Upper Galilee, with the IDF saying the details remain under investigation. 

source

MOSCOW, May 2 – Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday that its troops had taken control of the village of Myropillia in Ukraine’s Sumy region, but Ukraine’s military denied the village had changed hands.

A ministry report on Telegram said motorized units, aided by drones, “drove Ukrainian nationalists out of the village. Enemy reserves were destroyed in advance by our artillery.”

It posted video of what it described as aerial strikes in the area in northern Ukraine, near the border with Russia.

The Kursk group of the Ukrainian military, writing on Facebook, dismissed the Russian report as a “complete lie…Our units control the area, there is no enemy advance, nor has there been any assault actions in that area over the past few days.”

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield report from either side.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Ethan Smith)

source

SEOUL, May 3 (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met delegates to the ruling party’s youth league congress in Pyongyang, state media KCNA said on Sunday, as the government again cast young people as central to both domestic mobilisation and its military role in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The Eleventh Congress of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League, a once-in-five-years political gathering aimed at mobilising citizens aged roughly 14 to 30, concluded last week with mass rallies, torchlight parades and a gala in the capital.

Kim on Saturday told delegates that youth was the “vanguard” in advancing state goals, calling the league a key force for carrying out party decisions. He urged tighter organisation and ideological discipline and posed for a group photograph with participants, KCNA said.

In a letter published on Friday, the ruling Workers’ Party explicitly linked youth loyalty to Pyongyang’s involvement in the Ukraine war, telling the congress that young soldiers sent on overseas operations had “become bombs and flames” in defending the country’s honour.

North Korea sent an estimated 14,000 troops to fight alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region, according to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western officials, who say more than 6,000 North Korean soldiers were killed.

Kim last month unveiled a new memorial in Pyongyang to honour soldiers killed during those deployments.

The emphasis on youth control comes amid intensified repression of foreign cultural influence, with exposure to South Korean music, films and slang treated as serious political offences, as Kim casts youth policy as a pillar of social stability.

He has also increasingly appeared in public with his young daughter, believed to be named Ju Ae, at major state events.

(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim)

source

SEOUL, May 3 (Reuters) – North Korea’s foreign ministry on Sunday rejected U.S. accusations that Pyongyang poses a cyber threat, calling them a fabrication aimed at justifying Washington’s longstanding hostile policy, state media KCNA said.

A foreign ministry spokesperson said the United States was spreading false information about a “non‑existent ‘cyber threat’” from North Korea for political purposes, describing the claims as “nothing but an absurd slander to tarnish the image of our country.”

The spokesperson warned that Pyongyang would actively take all necessary measures for defending the interests of the state and protecting the rights and interests of its citizens in cyberspace, KCNA said.

U.S. officials have repeatedly accused North Korea of state-sponsored cyber activity, including hacking, cryptocurrency theft and networks of overseas IT workers used to generate revenue for its weapons programmes.

In March, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned six individuals and two entities linked to North Korean IT worker operations, saying they helped channel illicit earnings through digital assets. U.S. authorities said the schemes remain ongoing.

The Treasury and State Department imposed earlier sanctions in July on North Korean cyber operatives and foreign facilitators, saying Pyongyang deploys thousands of IT workers abroad and uses cyber-enabled theft to fund missile and nuclear development.

The U.S. Justice Department and FBI have also warned that North Korean cyber groups pose a continuing threat to governments, businesses and critical infrastructure worldwide.

(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim; Editing by Alistair Bell, Rod Nickel)

source

KYIV, May 2 (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he discussed Ukraine’s accession to the European Union with Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico in a conversation on Saturday.

“We need strong relations between our countries, and both of us are interested in this. It was important to hear that Slovakia supports Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and is ready to share its experience of accession,” he said on X.

A possible meeting of the leaders in the near future was discussed, Zelenskiy added.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa, Editing by William Maclean)

source

TAIPEI, May 2 (Reuters) – Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said he had arrived in Eswatini in southern Africa on Saturday, having blamed China for the forced cancellation of a prior trip. 

Lai made the comment in a Facebook post having not previously announced he was making another attempt to go ​after the government in April accused China of pressuring three African states to ‌block overflight permission for the president. 

“Although we are a few days late, the people of Eswatini have still given us the warmest and most enthusiastic welcome,” Lai said in his post. 

Taiwan said last month the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar unilaterally revoked flight permits for its presidential aircraft to cross airspace they manage on a ​planned trip to Eswatini, one of Taiwan’s 12 diplomatic allies.

“Eswatini has stood firm against various diplomatic and economic pressures, speaking out for Taiwan’s international place through concrete actions,” Lai added.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei Writing by Engen Tham in ShanghaiEditing by Keith Weir)

source

LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government could ban pro-Palestinian marches in some circumstances because of the “cumulative effect” the demonstrations had on the Jewish community after two Jewish men were stabbed in London on Wednesday.

Starmer told the BBC that he would always defend freedom of expression and peaceful protest, but chants like “Globalise the Intifada” during demonstrations were “completely off limits” and those voicing them should be prosecuted.

Pro-Palestinian marches have become a regular feature in London since the October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel that triggered the Gaza war. Critics say the demonstrations have generated hostility and become a focus for antisemitism.

Protesters have argued they are exercising their democratic right to spotlight ongoing human rights and political issues related to the situation in Gaza. 

Starmer said he was not denying there were “very strong legitimate views about the Middle East, about Gaza”, but many people in the Jewish community had told him they were concerned about the repeat nature of the marches.

Asked if the tougher response should focus on chants and banners, or whether the protests should be stopped altogether, Starmer said: “I think certainly the first, and I think there are instances for the latter.”

“I think it’s time to look across the board at protests and the cumulative effect,” he said, adding that the government needed to look at what further powers it could take.

Britain raised its terrorism threat level to “severe” on Thursday amid mounting security concerns that foreign states were helping fuel violence, including against the Jewish community.

“We are seeing an elevated threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions in the UK,” the head of counter-terrorism policing, Laurence Taylor, said in a statement, adding that police were also working “against an unpredictable global situation that has consequences closer to home, including physical threats by state-linked actors.”

(Reporting by Paul SandleEditing by Keith Weir)

source

DUBAI, May 2 (Reuters) – The UAE’s aviation authority said air traffic in the country has returned to normal, the state news agency reported on Saturday, after precautionary measures implemented on February 28 at the start of the Iran war were lifted.

The decision followed a comprehensive assessment of operational and security conditions in coordination with relevant entities, the General Civil Aviation Authority added.

(Reporting by Ahmed Elimam, Writing by Eman Abuhassira, Editing by William Maclean)

source