RUSSIA, UKRAINE WARN OF ATTACK ON NUCLEAR PLANT

The Kremlin warned on Wednesday that Kyiv could be preparing a provocation at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, a flashpoint of concern in the conflict in Ukraine.

“The situation is quite tense because the threat of sabotage from the Kyiv regime is really high — sabotage that could have catastrophic consequences,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that Russia was planning “dangerous provocations” at the plant, the largest in Europe. Russia and Ukraine have regularly accused each other of putting the plant’s safety at risk since the Kremlin launched hostilities in Ukraine last February.

Meanwhile, Russia said on Wednesday that one person was killed and another 41 injured, including two children, by Ukrainian fire in the east Ukraine town of Makiivka, located 15 km east from Donetsk, controlled by Russian forces.

Ukraine’s military said it had destroyed a Russian “formation” in Makiivka and released video showing a huge explosion lighting up the night sky.

DID XI WARN PUTIN AGAINST USING NUKES? KREMLIN SAYS ‘FICTION’

Moscow : The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed as “fiction” a Financial Times report that Chinese President Xi Jinping had personally warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The FT, citing unidentified Western and Chinese officials, reportedthat Xi had warned Putin at a face-to-face meeting in March.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the report, said: “I can’t confirm it.” He said the two nations had issued considerable detail in statements at the time on the content of their talks. “Everything else is fiction.”

The FT cited people close to the Kremlin as saying that Putin had independently decided using tactical nuclear arms would not give Russia an advantage. The sources said a strike was likely to turn areas that Putin has claimed for Russia into an irradiated wasteland while doing little to help his forces advance.

IRAN TAKEN TO WORLD COURT OVER PASSENGER JET DOWNING IN 2020

The Hague : The UK, Canada, Sweden and Ukraine launched acase against Iran at the United Nations’ highest court Wednesday over the downing in 2020 of aUkrainian passenger jet and the deaths of all 176 passengers and crew. The four countries want the International Court of Justice to rule that Iran illegally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane and to order Tehran to apologize and pay compensation to the families of the victims.

Flight PS752 was traveling from Tehran to Kyiv on January 8, 2020 when it was shot down soon after takeoff. The people killed included nationals and residents of Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, as well as Afghanistan and Iran. “Today’s legal action reflects our unwavering commitment to achieving transparency, justice and accountability for the families of victim,” the countries said. They said they filed the case after Iran failed to respond to a December request for arbitration. The downing happened on the same day Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on US troops in Iraq in retaliation for an American drone strike that killed a top Iranian general.

PALESTINIANS TAKE TO STREETS AFTER ISRAEL ENDS ITS WEST BANK RAID

Jenin : Palestinian militant fighters paraded in Jenin on Wednesday and angry crowds confronted senior Palestinian Authority officials, accusing them of weakness, after one of the largest Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank in years.

The operation, which the Israeli military said targeted infrastructure and weapons depots of militant factions in the Jenin refugee camp, left a trail of wrecked streets and burned-out cars and sparked fury across the Arab world.

At least 12 Palestinians, most confirmed as militant fighters, were killed and around 100 wounded in an incursion that began with latenight drone strikes, followed by a sweep involving more than 1,000 Israeli troops. One Israeli soldier was also killed during the operation.

“We stayed inside the house, but then they cut off electricity then water,” said Mohammad Mansour, a resident of the camp where armoured bulldozers tore up streets to expose roadside bombs, cutting power cables and water pipes. “We ended up running out of bread and supplies. ”

At a funeral for 10 of the dead, three senior leaders ofthe Palestinian Authority were forced to leave after being confronted with a crowd of thousands, including dozens of gunmen. Following the withdrawal of the Israeli force on Tuesday evening, leaders of Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad and other armed factions claimed victory, and the mood among residents returning home to the camp appeared defiant. “They didn’t get what they wanted, thank God,” Mutasem Estatia, a father of six, said.

Israeli forces detained 150 suspected militants, seized guns and roadside mines anddestroyed a command centre, the army said. It said all the Palestinians killed were armed fighters. Islamic Jihad claimed seven as members, with Hamas claiming another.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Tuesday the Jenin operation was unlikely to be a “one-off” and said it would be “the beginning of regular incursions and continuous control of the territory”. In turn, the spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, said “every alley and street will soon turn into clashes and fighting fields”.

A POWER PLANT LEAVES JORDAN IN CHINA’S DEBT, RAISING INFLUENCE FEARS

Attarat : Jordan’s Attarat power plant was envisioned as a landmark project promising to provide the desert kingdom with a major source of energy while solidifying its relations with China.

But weeks after its official opening, the site, a sea of black, crumbly rock in the barren desert south of Jordan’s capital, is a source of controversy. Deals surrounding the plant put Jordan on the hook for billions of dollars in debt to China — all for a plant that is no longer needed for its energy, because of other agreements made since the project’s conception.

The result is fuelling tensions between China and Jordan and causing grief for the Jordanian government as it tries to contest the deal in an international legal battle. As Chinese influence grows in West Asia and America withdraws, the $2. 1 billion shale oil station has come to characterise China’s wider model that has burdened many Asian and African states with crippling debt and served as a cautionary tale for the region.

Conceived 15 years ago as a way to fulfill national ambitions of energy independence, the Attarat shale oil plant is now causing anger in Jordan because of its enormous price tag. If the original agreement holds, Jordan would have to pay China a staggering $8. 4 billion over 30 years to buy the electricity generated by the plant.

PAK ARRESTS 5 NATIONALS FOR WORKING IN ISRAEL

Islamabad : Five persons have been arrested by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for working in Israel for up to seven years allegedly in violation of the country’s passport and immigration laws

According to the FIA spokesperson, the suspects were working as helpers and car washers in Tel Aviv for four to seven years and had paid Israeli agents around $1200 to $1500 each to gain entry into thecountry. The suspects had illegally migrated to Israel on Schengen visas by travelling through different countries “The suspects had continued to send money to family members in Pakistan,” the spokesman said. Pakistani citizens are barred from visiting Israel and country’s passport clearly says it is valid for all countries of the world, except Israel.

US TO REVISE CITIZENSHIP TEST, MAKE IT TOUGHER WITH FOCUS ON ENGLISH SKILLS

St Paul (US) : The US citizenship test is being updated, and some immigrants and advocates worry the changes will hurt test-takers with lower levels of English proficiency.

The naturalisation test is one of the final steps toward citizenship — a monthslong process that requires legal permanent residency for years before applying.

Many are still shaken after former Republican President Donald Trump’s administration changed the test in 2020, making it longer and more difficult to pass. Within months, Democratic President Joe Biden took office and signed an executive order aimed at eliminating barriers to citizenship. In that spirit, the citizenship test was changed back to its previous version, which was last updated in 2008. In December, US authorities said the test was due for an update after 15 years. The new version is expected late nextyear.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services proposes that the new test adds a speaking section to assess English skills. An officer would show photos of ordinary scenarios — like daily activities, weather or food — and ask the applicant to verbally describe the photos.

In the current test, an officer evaluates speaking ability during the naturalisation interview by asking personal questions the applicant has already answered in the naturalization paperwork. Another proposed change would make the civics section on US history and government multiplechoice instead of the current oral short-answer format.

Acurrent civics question has an officer asking the applicant to name a war fought by the US in the 1900s. The applicant only needs to say one out of five acceptable answers to get the question right. But in the proposed multiplechoice format, the applicant would read that question and select the correct answer from the following choices. Currently, the applicant must answer six out of 10 civics questions correctly to pass.

GRETA CHARGED IN SWEDEN OVER CLIMATE PROTEST

Stockholm : Swedish prosecutors have charged climate activist Greta Thunberg with disobedience to law enforcement in connection with a protest in Malmo last month.

Local newspaper Sydsvenskan reported Wednesday that Thunberg was detained with other activists after they stopped traffic in the oil terminal of the port in Malmö on June 19. A short statement by Swedish prosecutors on Wednesday said a “young woman” was charged with disobedience because she “refused to comply with police orders to leave the scene” during the protest. The statement didn't identify the woman, but Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Annika Collin confirmed that it wasThunberg. Sydsvenskan said the 20-year-old Swedish activist will be called to trial at the end of July. Prosecutor Charlotte Ottosen told the paper that the crime of disobedience is typically punishable with fines. Thunberg’s team didn’t answer arequest for comment.

THAILAND’S PARLIAMENT TO VOTE ON NEW PRIME MINISTER ON JULY 13

BANGKOK: Thailand’s Parliament will vote on whether to appoint progressive party leader Pita Limjaroenrat Prime Minister on July 13, the new House speaker announced on Wednesday. Mr. Pita’s pro-democracy Move Forward Party netted the most seats at the May 14 election but there are no guarantees it will form a government.