ZELENSKY TO IAEA: RUSSIA HOLDS NUCLEAR PLANT HOSTAGE

KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency that safety at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station could not be guaranteed until Russian troops left the facility.

The president met Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, on Monday at the Dnipro hydroelectric power station – northeast of the Zaporizhzhia plant.

Russian forces took over the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s largest, in March 2022 in the early weeks of the war, and the Kremlin has shown no inclination to relinquish control over it. Russian officials say they want to connect the Zaporizhzhia plant to the Russian grid.

“Without an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops and staff from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and adjacent areas, any initiatives on restoring nuclear safety and security are doomed to failure,” the presidential website quoted Zelensky as saying.

Zelensky told Grossi that staff at the Zaporizhzhia plant were under constant pressure from Russian occupying forces, who he said were failing to uphold safety rules and interfering in technological processes, his office said. Kyiv has accused Moscow of using the plant as a shield for troops and military hardware.

In his nightly video address, Zelensky said his talks with Grossi focused on energy security including that of Ukraine’s nuclear power stations, which he said Russia was using “for radiation blackmail of the world.”

“Holding a nuclear power station hostage for more than a year – this is surely the worst thing that has ever happened in the history of European or worldwide nuclear power,” Zelenskiy said.

The Ukrainian president also met troops in southeastern Ukraine during a tour of the Zaporizhzhia region, his third trip to the front line in less than a week.

NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTER HAD 'EMOTIONAL DISORDER' AND SMALL ARSENAL, POLICE SAY

The shooter who killed three students and three staff members at a Christian school in Nashville legally bought seven weapons in recent years and hid the guns from their parents before carrying out the attack by firing indiscriminately at victims and spraying gunfire through doors and windows, police said Tuesday.

The suspect, Audrey Hale, 28, was a former student at the school. Hale did not target specific victims — among them three 9-year-olds and the head of the school — but did target “this school, this church building,” police spokesperson Don Aaron said at a news conference Tuesday.

Hale was under a doctor’s care for an undisclosed emotional disorder and was not known to police before the attack, Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said at the news conference.

If police had been told that Hale was suicidal or homicidal, “then we would have tried to get those weapons,” Drake said. “But as it stands, we had absolutely no idea who this person was or if (Hale) even existed.”

Tennessee does not currently have a “red flag” law, which lets police step in and take firearms away from people who threaten to kill.

Hale legally bought seven firearms from five local gun stores, Drake said. Three of them were used in Monday’s shooting.

Hale’s parents believed their child had sold one gun and did not own any others, Drake said, adding that Hale “had been hiding several weapons within the house.”

Hale’s motive is unknown, Drake said.

CHINA RAMPING UP BAILOUT LOANS TO BRI COUNTRIES: REPORT

China has handed out $240 billion worth of bailout loans to 22 developing countries at risk of default over the past two decades, with the trend accelerating in recent years, a report said on Tuesday.

Almost all the funds went to Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Turkey — mostly low- and middle-income nations that have received Chinese loans for infrastructure development, according to the study.

The 40-page report by the U.S.-based research lab AidData, the World Bank, the Harvard Kennedy School and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy showed bailout loans had accelerated between 2016 and 2021, with Beijing doling out 80% of its rescue lending in that period.

Around the world, BRI nations have come under strain as soaring inflation and interest rates, compounded by the lingering impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, have hurt their ability to repay debts.

China says more than 150 countries have signed up to the BRI, a trillion-dollar global infrastructure push unveiled by President Xi Jinping a decade ago.

Beijing says the initiative aims to deepen friendly trade relations with other nations. But critics have long accused China of luring lower-income countries into debt traps.

“China has developed a system of ‘Bailouts on the Belt and Road’ that helps recipient countries to avoid default, and continue servicing their BRI debts, at least in the short run,” the report said.

In comparison to the International Monetary Fund and the vast liquidity support extended by the U.S. Federal Reserve, China’s bailouts remain small but are growing quickly, according to the report.

XI HAILS WEST ASIA THAW IN CALL WITH SAUDI CROWN PRINCE

Chinese President Xi Jinping lauded what he called the easing of tensions in the West Asia during a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, state media reported. Beijing brokered an agreement between Tehran and Riyadh on March 10 to restore diplomatic ties following a seven-year freeze.

Long bitter rivals, Iran and Saudi Arabia have engaged in a series of proxy conflicts in the region.

In his first comments on the matter to be made public since the deal was struck, Mr. Xi said the dialogue promoted by China would “play a major role in strengthening regional unity and cooperation”.

BOUNDARY DEMARCATION WITH CHINA WILL HAPPEN SOON, SAYS BHUTAN PM

Bhutan hopes to complete the demarcation of territories with China in “one or two meetings”, said Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, indicating a resolution of boundary issues with Beijing could be expected soon. In an interview he gave to a Belgian newspaper in Brussels, Dr. Tshering also said that Bhutan is watching whether India and China could resolve their boundary issues as he hoped to discuss the issue over the Doklam trijunction, where the soldiers of the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) faced off in 2017, “trilaterally”. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) declined to comment on Tuesday on his remarks.

“We do not encounter major border problems with China, but certain territories are not yet demarcated,” Dr. Tshering told La Libre in an interview published this week.

“[Earlier this year], a Bhutanese delegation visited China and we are now awaiting the arrival in Bhutan of a Chinese technical team. After one or two more meetings, we will probably be able to draw a line,” Dr. Tshering said, referring to the last round of talks in January 2023 in Kunming. Shortly after thetalks in Kunming, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra had visited Thimphu.

FRANCE FACES NEW STRIKE AS MACRON REMAINS DEFIANT OVER PENSION PLAN

PARIS: France faced another day of strikes and protests on Tuesday with a record number of police deployed as President Emmanuel Macron remained defiant over a pensions reform. The day of action is the 10th such mobilisation since protests started in mid-January against the law, which includes raising the retirement age to 64.

FIRE AT MEXICO-U.S. BORDER MIGRANT CENTRE KILLS 39

Ciudad Juarez (Mexico) : At least 39 migrants from Central and South America died after a fire broke out late on Monday at a migrant holding center in the Mexican northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, the government’s National Migration Institute (INM) said on Tuesday.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the blaze apparently broke out after migrants set fire to mattresses in protest after discovering they would bedeported. “They didn’t think that would cause this terrible tragedy,” Lopez Obrador said,noting that most migrants at the facility were from Central America andVenezuela.

All told, there were 68 adult men from Central and South America staying at the facility in the city opposite ElPaso, Texas, the INM said. Twenty-nine of them were injured in the blaze and taken to four hospitals in the area.

Those who died included migrants from Guatemala and Honduras, a Mexican official said. A Reuters witness saw bodies lined up in body bags and confirmed that the fire, whose origins are under investigation, had been extinguished. The fire, one of the most lethal to hit the country in years, occurred as the US and Mexico are battling to cope with record levels of border crossings at their shared frontier.

WARY OF CHINA, PAK OPTS OUT OF US DEMOCRACY MEET

Islamabad : Pakistan, the closest ally of China, has decided to skip the Democracy Summit that begins in Washington on Tuesday, opting instead to engage with the US bilaterally to strengthen democratic values, the foreign office in Islamabad said. The virtual meet is cosponsored by the US state department and USAID on the theme of “Global Declaration of Mayors for Democracy”.

China and Turkiye have not been invited to the virtual summit. Islamabad chose to skip the event so that it does not potentially upset its “all-weather ally” China, officials said.

AI COULD REPLACE EQUIVALENT OF 300 MILLION JOBS - REPORT

Artificial intelligence (AI) could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs, a report by investment bank Goldman Sachs says.

It could replace a quarter of work tasks in the US and Europe but may also mean new jobs and a productivity boom.

And it could eventually increase the total annual value of goods and services produced globally by 7%.

Generative AI, able to create content indistinguishable from human work, is "a major advancement", the report says.

The government is keen to promote investment in AI in the UK, which it says will "ultimately drive productivity across the economy", and has tried to reassure the public about its impact.

"We want to make sure that AI is complementing the way we work in the UK, not disrupting it - making our jobs better, rather than taking them away," Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan told the Sun.

The report notes AI's impact will vary across different sectors - 46% of tasks in administrative and 44% in legal professions could be automated but only 6% in construction 4% in maintenance, it says.

AMSTERDAM LAUNCHES 'STAY AWAY' AD CAMPAIGN TARGETING YOUNG BRITISH MEN

Amsterdam has warned rowdy British sex and drug tourists to "stay away".

A digital discouragement campaign targeting men aged 18 to 35 in the UK is being pushed out by the Dutch city's council.

The initiative forms part of efforts to clean up Amsterdam's raunchy reputation as Europe's most liberal party capital.

Typically blunt, the videos show young men staggering in the street, handcuffed by police, finger-printed and having their mugshots taken.

The online ads, highlighting the risks associated with the excessive use of drugs and booze, will be triggered when people in Britain tap in terms like - stag party, cheap hotel or pub crawl Amsterdam.

The message is uncompromising - a long weekend in Amsterdam may create the wrong kind of memories, the escapism you crave in the renowned party capital could result in inescapable convictions.

Brits can find return flights to Amsterdam for £50 (€57; $62).

UK-based travel agencies also offer stag weekends in Amsterdam, including canal boat cruises with unlimited booze, "steak and strip" nights and red light district pub crawls.

For years people have complained of drunken Brits urinating in public, throwing up in canals, stripping off and engaging in drunken brawls.

20 KILLED AS A BUS FERRYING PILGRIMS CRASHES IN SAUDI

Riyadh : A bus ferrying pilgrims to the holy city of Mecca burst into flames after a collision on a bridge on Monday, killing 20 people, Saudistate media reported. The incident took place in Asir province. “According to preliminary information, the number of deaths reached 20, and the total number of injuries was approximately 29,” the state-affiliated AlEkhbariya channel reported.

It said the victims had “different nationalities” but did not mention them. The channel said the bus had “car trouble”, without specifying, while the private newspaper Okaz said the accident resulted from an issue with the brakes. The bus “then collided with a bridge, overturned and caught fire”.

AFGHAN GIRLS’ EDUCATION ACTIVIST HELD IN KABUL: UN

Islamabad : An Afghan rights activist who has campaigned for girls’ education has been arrested in Kabul, the UNsaid onTuesday. The UN mission in Afghanistan said Matiullah Wesa, founder and president of Pen Path was arrested in the Afghan capital on Monday. Local reports said Taliban security forces detained Wesa after his return from a trip toEurope.

The UN urged authorities in Kabul to clarify Wesa’s whereabouts, reasons for his arrest and ensure his access to legal representation and contact with family. There was no word from the Taliban on the arrest.

Wesa’s brother, Attaullah Wesa, said the Taliban forces surrounded their family’s house on Tuesday. They beat up the Wesas’ other two brothers, insulted their mother and confiscated the arrested activist’s mobile phone. Social media activists created a hashtag to campaign for Wesa’s release. Many posts condemned his detention and demanded freedom. Wesa has been outspoken in his demands for girls to have the right to go to school, and has repeatedly called on the Talibanled government to reverse its bans. Also Tuesday, Amnesty International raised the alarm about the deterioration of human rights in South Asian countries. In a report the London-based watch dog criticised Taliban for imposing restrictions on women since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

MYANMAR DISSOLVES SUU KYI’S NLD PARTY

Myanmar’s junta-stacked Election Commission announced on Tuesday that Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy Party would be dissolved for failing to re-register under a tough new military-drafted electoral law, state media said.

The NLD, which led to crushing victories over military-backed parties in elections in 2015 and 2020, will be “automatically cancelled as a political party” from Wednesday, said the MRTV broadcaster.

HIGH-RISK GROUPS SHOULD GET COVID BOOSTER 6-12 MTHS AFTER LAST VAX: WHO

The WHO has tailored its Covid-19 vaccination recommendations for a new phase of the pandemic, suggesting that healthy children and adolescents may not necessarily need a shot but older, high-risk groups should get a booster between 6 to 12 months after their last vaccine. The UN agency said the aim was to focus efforts on vaccinating those facing the greatest threat of severe disease and death from Covid, considering the high-level population immunity worldwide due to widespread infection and vaccination. The health agency defined high-risk populations as older adults, as well as younger people with other significant risk factors. For this group, the WHO recommends an additional shot of the vaccine either 6 or 12 months after the latest dose, based on factors such as age and immunocompromising conditions.

Meanwhile, it said healthy children and adolescents were “low priority” for Covid-19 vaccination, and urged countries to consider factors like disease burden before recommending vaccination of this group. It said boosters were safe for all ages, but the recommendations took into account other factors like cost-effectiveness. WHO also said its latest advice reflected the current disease picture and global immunity levels, but should not be seen as long-termguidance.