Category: 2. World

China has broken ground on what it says will be the world’s largest hydropower project, a $170 billion feat capable of generating enough electricity each year to power Britain.

The scheme dwarfs the mighty Three Gorges Dam, currently the world’s largest, and Chinese construction and engineering stocks surged after Premier Li Qiang unveiled it on the weekend.

For Beijing, the project promises clean power, jobs and a jolt of stimulus for a slowing economy. For neighbours downstream, it stirs old anxieties about water security: the Yarlung Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra in India and Bangladesh, a lifeline for millions.

What exactly did China approve?

The plan involves five dams along a 50-kilometre stretch where the river plunges 2,000 metres off the Tibetan Plateau.

First power is expected to be generated in the early-to-mid 2030s, but beyond that and the price tag, China has published little information about how it intends to build the project.

Why are neighbours concerned

That lack of information is compounding fears about water security in India and Bangladesh, which rely on the Brahmaputra for irrigation, hydropower and drinking water.

The chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China, said earlier this year that the dam could dry out 80 per cent of the river passing through the Indian state while potentially inundating downstream areas such as neighbouring Assam state.

In addition to water, the dam will also mean less sediment flowing downstream, according to Michael Steckler, a professor at Columbia University. That sediment carries nutrients essential for agriculture on floodplains downstream.

India and China fought a border war in this region in the 1960s, and the lack of transparency from Beijing has helped fuel speculation it might use the dam to cut off water in another conflict, according to Sayanangshu Modak, an expert on the India-China water relationship at the University of Arizona.

“The construction of the Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project is a matter within the scope of Chinas sovereign affairs,” Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding the dam would provide clean energy and prevent flooding.

“China has also conducted necessary communication with downstream countries regarding hydrological information, flood control, and disaster mitigation cooperation related to the Yarlung Zangbo project,” the ministry said.

India’s foreign and water ministries did not respond to requests for comment.

Will it starve India of water?

But the impact of the dam on downstream flows has been overstated, in part because the bulk of the water that enters the Brahmaputra is from monsoon rainfall south of the Himalayas, and not from China, said Modak.

He added that China’s plans are for a “run of the river” hydropower project, which means the water will flow normally along the usual course of the Brahmaputra.

India itself has proposed two dams on the Siang river, its name for the Yarlung Zangbo. One, an 11.5-gigawatt project in Arunachal Pradesh, will be India’s largest if it goes ahead. Those have been proposed, in part, to assert India’s claims on the river and bolster its case should China ever seek to divert the water, Modak added.

“If India can show that it has been using the waters, then China cannot unilaterally divert,” he said.

Controversy is common

Quarrels over dams and water security are not new. Pakistan has accused India of weaponising shared water supplies in the disputed Kashmir region after New Delhi suspended its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty, which regulates water sharing between the neighbours.

In Egypt, a senior politician was once caught on camera proposing to bomb a controversial Nile river dam planned by Ethiopia during a long-running dispute over the project.

Earthquake and extreme weather risks

The dam will be built in an earthquake zone also prone to landslides, glacial-lake floods and storms. A spree of dam building in the area sparked concerns from experts about safety following a devastating earthquake in Tibet earlier this year.

A much smaller hydropower project on a nearby tributary has been limited to four-month construction windows because of engineering challenges in high altitudes and vicious winters.

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Header image: The Baihetan hydropower plant is seen in operation on the border between Qiaojia county of Yunnan province and Ningnan county of Sichuan province, China on June 28, 2021. — Reuters

The outlet said Araghchi’s acknowledgment that the US strikes caused “serious damage” to nuclear facilities and led to a halt in enrichment signaled weakness.

“Our facilities have been damaged – seriously damaged,” Araghchi said. “The extent of which is now under evaluation … enrichment has currently ceased.”

Fars called the remarks exaggerated and warned that such statements could be viewed as a sign of excessive flexibility, encouraging the West to increase pressure on Iran.

The agency linked the remarks to a recent comment by US President Donald Trump, who said, “If necessary, we will strike again.”

Araghchi downplays fatwa targeting Trump

Fars also criticized Araghchi for dismissing a clerical fatwa calling for the killing of Trump as a move by “radical groups.” The decree, issued by two senior Iranian clerics, has drawn support from others and sparked online fundraising.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked Araghchi directly about the fundraising activity. In response, Araghchi distanced the government from the fatwa, a stance Fars said signaled weakness and undermined Iran’s unified position against what it called foreign aggression.

In the same interview, Araghchi also addressed the slogan “Death to America,” saying it is aimed at US foreign policy, not the American people. “It means death to US foreign policy, not death to the people,” he said.

A statement from Iran’s parliament last week said the slogan means “death to Trump” and “those who rule America,” directly targeting US leaders.

Iran denies seeking Israel’s destruction

The interview also drew attention for Araghchi’s comments about Iran’s position on Israel. When asked about threats from Iran-backed groups to wipe Israel off the map, he said: “That is up to them… but this has never been Iran’s policy to wipe out Israel from the map.”

Fars did not directly reference that part of the exchange, but the remarks contrast with statements made by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other Iranian officials over the years expressing support for Israel’s elimination.

Despite affirming Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment, Iran’s top diplomat failed to maintain the right balance between diplomacy and deterrence, Fars said.

The interview aired ahead of renewed nuclear talks with Britain, France and Germany, as Tehran faces threats of a UN snapback mechanism and possible reimposition of international sanctions.

TEHRAN: Iran has no plans to abandon its nuclear programme including uranium enrichment despite the “severe” damage caused by US strikes to its facilities, the country’s foreign minister said ahead of renewed talks with European powers.

Iran is scheduled to meet Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul on Friday, to discuss its nuclear programme, with Tehran accusing European powers of scuppering a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

The meeting will be the first since Iran’s 12-day war with Israel last month, during which the United States carried out strikes against Tehran’s nuclear facilities.

For now, enrichment “is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Fox News‘ “Special Report with Bret Baier” on Monday.

“But obviously we cannot give up enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists,” he continued, calling it a source of “national pride”.

US President Donald Trump responded to the comments on his platform Truth Social, saying Washington would carry out strikes again “if necessary”.

The 2015 agreement, reached between Iran and UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany, imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

However, it unravelled in 2018 when the United States, during Trump’s first term, unilaterally withdrew and reimposed sweeping sanctions.

Though Europe pledged continued support, a mechanism intended to offset US sanctions never effectively materialised, forcing many Western firms to exit Iran and deepening its economic crisis.

“Iran holds the European parties responsible for negligence in implementing the agreement,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei ahead of Friday’s talks in Istanbul on the deal’s future.

Iran will also host a trilateral meeting Tuesday with Chinese and Russian representatives to discuss the nuclear issue and potential sanctions.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Beijing would “continue to play a constructive role in pushing relevant sides to restart dialogue and negotiations, and reach a solution that takes in account the legitimate concerns of all parties”.

In recent weeks, the three European powers have threatened to reimpose international sanctions on Tehran, accusing it of breaching its nuclear commitments.

Germany said the Istanbul talks would be at the expert level, with the European trio, or E3, working “flat out” to find a sustainable and verifiable diplomatic solution.

“If no solution is reached by the end of August… the snapback also remains an option for the E3,” said its foreign ministry spokesman, Martin Giese.

A clause in the 2015 agreement allows for UN sanctions on Iran to be reimposed through a “snapback” mechanism in the event of non-compliance.

However, the agreement expires in October, leaving a tight deadline.

‘No intention of speaking with America’

The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed country currently enriching uranium to 60% — far beyond the 3.67% cap set by the 2015 accord.

That is a short step from the 90% enrichment required for a nuclear weapon.

Using the snapback clause was “meaningless, unjustifiable and immoral”, Baqaei told a news conference, arguing that Iran only began distancing itself from the agreement in response to Western non-compliance.

“Iran’s reduction of its commitments was carried out in accordance with the provisions outlined in the agreement,” he said.

Western powers — led by the United States and backed by Israel — have long accused Tehran of secretly seeking nuclear weapons.

Iran has repeatedly denied this, insisting its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes such as energy production.

Tehran and Washington had held five rounds of nuclear talks starting in April, but a planned meeting on June 15 was cancelled after Israel launched strikes on Iran, triggering a 12-day conflict.

“At this stage, we have no intention of speaking with America,” Baqaei said Monday.

Israel launched a wave of surprise strikes on its regional nemesis on June 13, targeting key military and nuclear facilities.

The United States launched its own strikes against Iran’s nuclear programme on June 22, hitting the uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, in Qom province south of Tehran, as well as nuclear sites in Isfahan and Natanz.

Researchers are developing a new app which will use artificial intelligence to warn farmers of a fungal disease which can devastate potato crops.

Welsh scientists say the app will allow farmers to detect late blight using their phone before it becomes visible to the human eye.

The disease is responsible for 20% of potato crop losses and £3.5bn in economic losses worldwide, the research team at Aberystwyth University said.

Early diagnosis would boost productivity and reduce costs for farmers, as well as decrease their reliance on environmentally harmful pesticides, they added.

The DeepDetect project will use machine learning to deliver accurate, location-specific disease diagnoses to farmers on their smartphones.

“By integrating farmer feedback from the outset, we will ensure that this technology is grounded in real-world needs and challenges,” said Edore Akpokodje, computer science lecturer at Aberystwyth University.

The technology also has the potential for wider application across other crops, he said.

The project aims to reduce the environmental and financial burden of preventive spraying, which the researchers said currently cost Welsh farmers up to £5.27m annually.

Potatoes are a vital crop globally and in Wales over 17,000 hectares are dedicated to potato farming.

The team plans to create an AI-powered prototype using image datasets of healthy and diseased potato leaves.

It will then refine the model and eventually the team hopes to create a national early warning system for potato blight, with potential to expand the technology to other crops and regions in the future.

“Potatoes are the fourth most important staple crop globally, and optimal production is essential for a growing global population,” Aiswarya Girija from the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University said.

“Potato blight is therefore not just a farming issue – it’s a food security issue.”

The UK foreign secretary has said he is “appalled, sickened” by the “grotesque” targeting of starving Palestinians seeking food by the Israeli military, saying there would be further sanctions if the war did not end soon.

Israel on Monday launched air raids and a ground operation in Gaza, targeting Deir al-Balah, the main hub for humanitarian efforts. Military action over the weekend resulted in the highest death toll in almost two years as Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 93 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire as they were queueing for food.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, David Lammy said he deeply regretted that it was not within the UK’s unilateral power to end the war and insisted, despite criticism from human rights groups, that there were no arms licences issued by the UK that could be used in Gaza and that RAF surveillance flights did not share intelligence with the Israeli military.

The UK has joined 27 other countries, including Australia, Canada and France, in condemning Israel for depriving Palestinians of “human dignity”, and urging the Israeli government to lift restrictions on the flow of aid, arguing that the suffering of civilians had “reached new depths”.

Rights groups including Amnesty International called the statement “empty words” and said all arms exports must be halted whether direct or indirect, including components for F-35 fighter jets.

Asked why there were still more than 300 licences in operation, Lammy said: “We have suspended arms sales that can be used in Gaza. I’m satisfied that we are not in any way complicit in a breach of international humanitarian law. That’s the sober undertaking that I take as foreign secretary.”

Lammy said the UK could not single-handedly force an end to the war. “I wish we could, but the truth is … we are unable to do that just as the United Kingdom. We have to work in partnership with our allies, that is what we have done. And I’m afraid if we do not see this war come to an end, there will be more action.

“But I stand on my record and it’s a good record. I believe it’s one that we can hold up, and it’s one that you would find other governments have not done as much as the UK government has done to bring the war to an end, but have we succeeded at this point? We have obviously failed until it succeeds. That is the truth.”

Asked if RAF flights that overfly Gaza shared information to help Israel conduct the war, Lammy said: “No … We are not assisting, and it would be quite wrong for the British government to assist in the prosecution of this war in Gaza. We are not doing that. I would never do that.”

Lammy told BBC Breakfast he felt “appalled, sickened” by the scenes of starving Palestinians being shot as they sought food.

“These are not words that are usually used by a foreign secretary who is attempting to be diplomatic, but when you see innocent children holding out their hand for food, and you see them shot and killed in the way that we have seen in the last few days, of course Britain must call it out,” he said.

“We will continue to pressure, we will continue to act, we will continue to urge this Israeli government to listen to 83% of its public who are urging them now to move to a ceasefire so those hostages can come out.”

Asked by ITV’s Good Morning Britain what more he planned to do if Israel did not agree to end the conflict, Lammy replied: “Well, we’ve announced a raft of sanctions over the last few months.

“There will be more, clearly, and we keep all of those options under consideration if we do not see a change in behaviour and the suffering that we are seeing come to an end.”

The United States will soon require international visitors to pay a “visa integrity fee” of at least $250, a new addition to existing visa application costs, according to a provision in the Trump administration’s recently enacted domestic policy bill, CNN reported on Tuesday.

In the fiscal year 2024, the US issued nearly 11 million non-immigrant visas according to the State Department. These encompass international students, many leisure and business travellers and other temporary visitors.

The new fee will apply to all visitors requiring non-immigrant visas to enter the US. This does not include tourists and business travellers from countries that are included in the Visa Waiver Programme — including Australia and many European countries — that do not need visas for stays of 90 days or less.

The fee is to be paid at the time visas are issued. Although there will be no fee waivers for the payment, the provision states that travellers who comply with the terms of their visa can have the fee reimbursed after their trip.

Houston-based Reddy Neumann Brown PC law firm’s immigration attorney, Steven A. Brown, said in a post, “The intent behind this refund provision is to incentivise compliance with US immigration laws by treating the $250 as a refundable security deposit — essentially rewarding those who follow the rules.”

However, he added that the refund is not automatic and that “the burden will likely fall on the visa holder to prove compliance” in an as-yet-undefined refund application process.

“Until those procedures are announced, employers and foreign nationals should treat the $250 visa integrity fee as a non-refundable upfront cost and plan accordingly. If a refund becomes viable in the future, it may provide an added benefit — but for now, it remains a theoretical incentive awaiting implementation guidelines.”

In an email to CNN, Brown noted that the purpose of the fee was unclear, saying that in general, immigration fees were meant to cover adjudication or issuance expenses, but that theoretically, all visa integrity fees could be refunded in a “perfect world” with no overstays or violations.

No specific information has been provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding the refund process or other aspects of the policy, including when it will be rolled out.

“The visa integrity fee requires cross-agency coordination before implementation,” a DHS spokesperson told CNN.

A State Department spokesperson said that details of the change, implemented by DHS, would be posted on the State Department’s visa information page.

The spokesperson said that the purpose of the fee was to “support the administration’s priorities of strengthening immigration enforcement, deterring visa overstays, and funding border security.”

The initial fee for the 2025 fiscal year has been outlined as either $250 or “such amount as the Secretary of Homeland Security may establish, by rule”, whichever amount is greater. The fee is subject to annual adjustments for inflation.

The bill provision added that fees that were not reimbursed would be “deposited into the general fund of the treasury”.

The US Travel Association, a nonprofit organisation, called the new visa fee “a giant leap backwards” despite praising other aspects of the domestic policy bill.

The senior vice president of government relations for the association, Erik Hansen, said in a statement that the fee “adds an unnecessary financial barrier for international visitors”.

The association calculated that the fee would boost the upfront costs of visiting the US by 144pc.

“Even if it is technically reimbursable, the added complexity and cost will discourage visitors,” Hansen said.

Meanwhile, the CEO of the association, Geoff Freeman, called the fee a “foolish” move that undercut otherwise smart investments in travel infrastructure and security, according to a statement on US Travel SmartBrief.

He argued that imposing new costs on travellers “undermines efforts to attract international visitors and support the US economy”, the statement said.

In a rare and culturally significant ceremony, two brothers from the Hatti tribe in India’s Himachal Pradesh married the same woman, reviving the ancient, though now-declining, tradition of polyandry.

The unique wedding took place in Shillai village, situated in the Trans-Giri region of Sirmaur district, and was attended by hundreds of well-wishers, reported Gulf News.

The three-day celebration began on July 12, during which Sunita Chauhan wed Pradeep and Kapil Negi. The union, rooted in time-honoured customs, was marked by traditional dances, folk music, and sacred rituals. Videos of the event have since gone viral on social media.

Both grooms and the bride emphasised that the decision was mutual and made without any coercion, as per PTI.

“I knew about this tradition and chose it willingly,” said Sunita, the bride, who hails from Kunhat village. “I respect the bond we’ve formed.”

One of her husbands, Pradeep, a government employee, said, “We’re proud to follow our tradition openly.”

Kapil, the other husband, added: “Though I live away, this marriage ensures stability, support, and love for our wife, as a united family.”

Known as Jodidara, this form of polyandry is still recognised under Himachal Pradesh’s revenue laws. Though rarely practiced, it remains socially accepted in certain areas. Five such marriages have taken place in Badhana in the past six years.

Elders say such marriages are now carried out more privately, even if still accepted locally. Experts trace the origins to the need for land preservation. Marrying brothers to the same woman helped keep ancestral property intact.

Nonetheless, women’s rights to property remain a significant unresolved issue.

Kundan Singh Shastri, general secretary of the Kendriya Hatti Samiti, explained: “It helped prevent land fragmentation, promoted unity among brothers, even half-brothers, and ensured security through larger families.”

As chants echoed through the hills of Shillai, the rare ceremony stood as a reminder that some age-old, and at times controversial, traditions still continue in the minds of some.

Dhaka, Bangladesh
CNN
 — 

Hundreds of students gathered outside the smoldering remains of a school in the Bangladeshi capital on Tuesday to demand answers after a military jet slammed into the campus, killing dozens of children.

An ordinary school day turned into terror on Monday when a Bangladesh Air Force jet suffered a mid-air mechanical fault and ploughed into the Milestone School and College in Dhaka, engulfing the two-story building in flames and smoke.

Young students were finishing up afternoon classes and parents had gathered outside the gates to greet their children when the aircraft hit, killing at least 31 people – including 25 children – in the country’s deadliest air incident in recent memory. Some 165 others were left injured, according to the armed forces public relations directorate (ISPR), many with severe burns.

That most of the dead and injured are young children has compounded the tragedy that shocked the nation of 171 million people and sent the country into national mourning.

As police and air force personnel worked at the scene to retrieve parts of the crashed plane on Tuesday, the gathered crowd began shouting at officials, with some students telling CNN they believe the death toll may be higher than officially released.

The government has denied it is withholding information about the casualties of the crash, state media BSS News reported, citing the Chief Adviser’s press wing. It added that the identities of those killed are still being verified.

At the crash site on Tuesday, witnesses were still visibly shaken by the horror they had seen the day before.

“We saw scattered parts of different bodies, of children, guardians,” Mohammad Imran Hussein, a lecturer in the school’s English department, told CNN.

“I cannot express everything in words,” he said, emotionally distressed and struggling to speak.

Hussein said he was in a school building across the playground when the jet crashed.

“The sound was really intolerable. And I looked around to see what happened, I saw the tail of the plane. I saw a huge flame of fire,” he said.

Milestone College has a kindergarten, an elementary school and a high school on its campus. The building destroyed in the crash was one of about 20 housing almost 100 students between the ages of six and 13, Hussein said.

“It’s like this building was turned into a death trap. It was horrible, totally horrible,” said Sheik Rameen, 21, a student at the high school.

“I saw a lot of children, I tried to save their lives,” he told CNN at the site. “I saw a burnt child seek help but nobody came to help them.”

The FT-7 jet was on a routine training mission when it crashed soon after take off at around 1:18 p.m. local time on Monday (3:18 a.m. EST) after a mechanical fault, according to BSS News, citing the country’s armed forces.

The plane’s pilot, who has been named as Flight Lieutenant Towkir Islam, made “every effort to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas toward a more sparsely inhabited location,” the military said.

The F-7  BGI is the final and most advanced variant in China’s Chengdu J-7/F-7 aircraft family, according to Jane’s Information Group. Reuters reported that Bangladesh signed a contract for 16 aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013.

Images from the crash site showed parts of the mangled wreckage of the jet lodged into the side of the scorched school as emergency crews continued their operations.

Following the crash, emergency crews and families rushed the injured to hospitals in the capital where doctors raced to treat severe burns caused by the inferno. The hospitals quickly became overwhelmed with frantic relatives desperate for news of their loved ones.

Most of the injured at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s burns unit are children under the age of 12, resident surgeon Harunur Rashid told Reuters.

Video shows crowds waiting outside the hospital and waiting rooms packed with anxious families.

Bangladesh’s interim government leader Muhammad Yunus said on Monday that, “I have no words. I don’t know how to begin.”

“None of us ever imagined it. It wasn’t within anyone’s expectations. But we had to suddenly accept this unbelievable reality,” Yunus said in a video message.

Yunus said the training aircraft “crashed and fell upon these innocent children” and many were “burned to death in the fire.”

“What answer can we give to their parents? What can we possibly say to them? We can’t even answer ourselves,” he said.