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Members of UN’s IAEA team assessing the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
👋 Allegra!*
Welcome to Wednesday, where the IAEA says Russia puts pressure on the UN team of nuclear inspectors, there isn’t a white man in sight in Liz Truss’ cabinet, and mammal mia! that’s one very old shrew. Meanwhile, Indian news website The Wire gauges the magnitude of the destruction caused by the recent “monster” monsoon.
[*Romansh, Switzerland]
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🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Russia pressured the IAEA: Russia put pressure on the UN team at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as IAEA inspectors observed the presence of Russian representatives on site. This comes after the IAEA released a report on the situation and called for a “security zone” around the area. Russia has requested “further clarification.”
• UK unveils first diverse government: UK Prime Minister Liz Truss appointed her cabinet and for the first time, there will not be a white man in one of the country’s top ministerial positions. Truss selected Kwasi Kwarteng and James Cleverly as first Black Finance Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister while Suella Braverman became the second ethnic minority Home Secretary.
• Typhoon Hinnamnor: Rescuers found seven dead in a submerged underground parking garage in South Korea, victims of Typhoon Hinnamnor. People were trapped in the flooded car park after going there to move their cars.
• Vietnam karaoke bar fire: At least 14 people died in a fire that engulfed a karaoke bar in southern Vietnam in the Binh Duong region near the city of Ho Chi Minh. Local officials report that the fire erupted on the upper floor of the bar and some people jumped from the second and third floors to escape.
• Chile's Boric reshuffles cabinet: In a move to relaunch his government, Chilean President Gabriel Boric reshuffled his cabinet less than 48 hours after voters rejected the new constitution, saying that changing the cabinet was “painful but necessary.”
• Gulf nations demand Netflix to remove content: In a statement, Saudi Arabia and Gulf Arab countries have demanded U.S. giant Netflix to remove unspecified content that “violates Islamic and societal values and principles.”
• Chimps’ signature drum beats: Scientists have found that wild chimpanzees have their own signature styles when they drum on tree roots. The drumming allows them to send messages and information to other chimps over long distances.
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad turns a strip of butter into fine jewelry to wink at the rising costs of staple products, as inflation reached a record 12% in the Netherlands in August.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
225 million years
A team of Brazilian and British researchers have identified the world’s oldest mammal, a shrew-like creature who was as small as 20 centimeters (8 inches) long. Brasilodon quadrangularis roamed the earth 225 million years ago, making it as old as some of the oldest dinosaurs. Its age was determined using dental records, and this discovery will provide scientists with an insight into the evolution of modern mammals.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
Pakistan's “Monster Monsoon” and the decade of destruction left in its path
Caught between a natural disaster, an economic crisis and poor governance, flood-affected Pakistanis contemplate a future in ruins, Veenga writes for Indian news website The Wire.
🇵🇰 Pakistan is receiving an abnormal amount of rain this monsoon season. This, combined with the water from the melting of glaciers in the mountain ranges of the north, has led to floods unlike anything the country has seen before. More than 1,100 people have died, while innumerable others have been injured and at least 33 million have been stranded. Lack of communication and medical facilities in remote parts of the country mean that more cases of death, injury and stranding may be unreported.
⛑️ Given the scale of these floods, food is a major problem for the flood-affected, who complain about poor governance. For example, the local administration provided a community of almost 500 people with just one daig (cauldron) of edibles. The people also say that the government did little to rescue those who were stranded. Between the natural disaster and poor governance, it is the poor who suffer the most. Not only are the provincial governments unable to deal with the situation, but the tight hold that they keep on non-governmental organizations or NGOs means that the NGOs are unable to work efficiently as well.
🌾 Thatta district has reported a record number of malaria cases. More diseases are expected to arise as river water mingles with flood water. Since the government cannot bring the malaria situation under control, the flood-affected fear that other diseases will run rampant. They do not ask the government to provide everything, they say, but it should at least give them the essentials to survive this tough situation. Pakistan is now likely to face a food shortage as a large amount of crops have been damaged.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📣 VERBATIM
We have not lost anything and will not lose anything.
— In his speech at the Eastern Economic Forum, Vladimir Putin slammed the West's “sanctions fever” and assured that Russia would emerge victorious from the conflict with Ukraine. While he acknowledged some difficulties for Russian industries, Putin did not comment on military casualties or Russia's economic crisis: “our main gain is strengthening sovereignty,” he added.
✍️ Newsletter by Anne-Sophie Goninet, Lisa Berdet, Chloé Touchard and Lila Paulou
Let us know what’s happening in your corner of the world!
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When the world gets closer, we help you see farther
- Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.
- Stories from the best international journalists.
- Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries
