Monday, 15th August, 2022

Page 2
Taiwan's foreign ministry tweeted an image of
members of the group being greeted at a Taipei airport
A
US congressional
delegation has
arrived for an unannounced
visit to
Taiwan, 12 days after
a tour of the island by House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Five members of Congress
will visit until Monday, said
Washington's de-facto embassy
in the capital Taipei.
China launched its largest-ever
military exercises
around Taiwan after Ms Pelosi's
visit earlier in August.
Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky
has accused
Russia of using
"nuclear blackmail"
at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear
power plant - Europe's largest.
Russia seized the plant in
March and has been accused
of turning it into a base from
where it hits nearby towns.
Both countries have traded
blame for shelling it in recent
days, prompting UN warnings
of a nuclear disaster.
Mr Zelensky says any Russian
soldier who shoots at or
under the cover of the plant will
be a "special target".
The six-nuclear reactor
Zaporizhzhia station is located
in the city of Enerhodar, on the
eastern bank of the Dnieper
River (Dnipro in Ukrainian) in
southern Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on
24 February, seizing the plant
within days. Moscow has kept
Ukrainian personnel to operate
the facility.
The UN has warned that
continued hostilities around
the station could lead to a nuclear
disaster affecting much of
Europe.
Russia has repeatedly
denied any wrongdoing at the
plant.
It says it seized control of
the plant to prevent leaks of
radioactive materials during
fighting in the region.
During his video address
late on Saturday, Mr Zelensky
said Russia had engaged in
"constant provocations" by
firing on the plant and said
forces stationed there had used
Beijing sees the self-governing
island as its own, renegade
territory that must be
reunited with the mainland.
It believes that mission
could be necessary with force,
if other attempts at unification
are unsuccessful.
Ms Pelosi became the most
senior American politician
to visit the island in 25 years
during her appearance earlier
this month.
Her brief, but controversial,
stopover was labelled "manic,
DAILY ANALYST Monday, 15th August, 2022
irresponsible and irrational" by
the Chinese foreign minister.
Speaking during a meeting
of south-east Asian foreign
ministers in Cambodia, Wang
Yi insisted that Taiwan would
"eventually return to the embrace
of the motherland".
Beijing continues to carry
out military drills near the
island. Earlier on Sunday, Taipei
said it had detected 22 Chinese
aircraft and six naval ships in
and around the Taiwan Strait.
At the height of China's
military exercises, Taiwan
accused its neighbour of trying
to change the status quo in the
region.
On Sunday, its foreign
ministry published photos of
members of the US congressional
delegation being greeted at
Ukraine war: Zelensky warns Russian
soldiers at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
it as a base to shell the cities
of Nikopol and Marhanets - on
the other bank of the river.
This was being done, the
president said, to "blackmail
our state and the entire free
world". But he stressed that
"Russian blackmail only mobilises
even more global efforts to
confront terror".
"Every Russian soldier who
either shoots at the plant, or
shoots under the cover of the
plant, must understand that he
is becoming a special target for
our intelligence, for our special
services, for our army," the
president said.
He added that "every day"
of Russia's occupation of the
plant "increases the radiation
threat to Europe".
Ukraine's defence intelligence
agency also accused Russia
of a provocation by parking
a Pion self-propelled heavy
artillery piece outside a nearby
town and painting a Ukrainian
flag on it, in an attempt to discredit
Kyiv.
A BBC investigation revealed
earlier this week that many of
the Ukrainian workers at the
site are being kept under armed
guard amid harsh conditions.
On Thursday, foreign minsters
from the G7 group of industrial
democracies demanded
that Russia withdraw from the
site immediately.
Their warning echoed statements
from the United Nations'
nuclear watchdog, the International
Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), which called for an end
to "all military activities that
endanger nuclear security".
UN Secretary General António
Guterres has warned that
the situation at the plant could
"lead to disaster".
Global News
Congress team follows
Pelosi with second highlevel
visit in a month
an airport.
A statement from the American
Institute in Taiwan said
the team's visit was part of a
wider visit to the Indo-Pacific
region.
It added that the five members
- led by Democratic Senator
Ed Markey - would discuss
issues including regional security,
trade and investment with
Taiwanese leaders.
The group are due to meet
The blaze happened in Giza, which
lies just across the Nile from Cairo
Dozens of people
have died after a
fire broke out at a
church in Egypt,
many of them
crushed during a desperate
scramble to escape.
Officials say the number of
dead is at least 41, with dozens
injured. Children are believed to
be among the dead.
An electrical fire broke out
as 5,000 worshippers gathered
for Mass at the Coptic Abu Sifin
church, security sources told
Reuters.
The fire blocked an entrance,
causing a stampede, they said.
Fire services say the blaze
has been brought under control.
The exact cause of the fire is
not clear.
However, Father Farid
Fahmy, from another nearby
church in the Imbaba neighbourhood,
told the AFP news
agency that it was caused by a
short circuit.
"The power was out and
they were using a generator,"
he said. "When the power came
back, it caused an overload."
Worshippers have been explaining
their moments since
the blaze ignited.
President Tsai Ing-wen on
Monday.
President Tsai's office said
the month's second high-level
American visit signalled "firm
support" for Taiwan.
The US does not officially
recognise Taiwan - only a few
countries do - however, it does
maintain a strong relationship
with the island, which includes
selling weapons for Taiwan to
defend itself.
Egypt fire: Dozens dead
in Giza Coptic church
"People were gathering on
the third and fourth floor, and
we saw smoke coming from the
second floor. People rushed to
go down the stairs and started
falling on top of each other,"
Yasir Munir told Reuters.
"Then we heard a bang and
sparks and fire coming out of
the window," he said, adding
that he and his daughter were
on the ground floor and able to
escape.
Egyptian President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi offered his "sincere
condolences to the families
of the innocent victims that
have passed on to be with their
Lord in one of his houses of
worship".
The prosecutor's office said
it had sent a team to the scene
to investigate the cause of the
blaze.
Giza lies just across the Nile
from Cairo and is part of the
Greater Cairo metropolis.
Coptic Christians make up
at least 10 million of Egypt's 103
million people.
Copts claims they face
discrimination and play a lesser
part in Egyptian public life than
their numbers justify.