Sports

Manchester United player Antony takes leave of absence from club to address assault allegations

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Antony was dropped from the Brazil squad after accusations of physical aggression on several occasions towards his former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin

Published Date – 06:42 PM, Sun – 10 September 23


Manchester United player Antony takes leave of absence from club to address assault allegations

Antony was dropped from the Brazil squad after accusations of physical aggression on several occasions towards his former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin

Manchester: Manchester United winger Antony has been given a leave of absence in order to address allegations made against him of violence towards women.

The 23-year-old player earlier this week was dropped from the Brazil squad after accusations of physical aggression on several occasions since January towards his former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin, which are being investigated by police and which he denies.

United have agreed with the player for him to stay away from the club in order to focus on defending himself.

Antony has not been arrested or charged and says he will co-operate with police in order to prove his innocence.

United, fresh from dealing with Mason Greenwood’s exit from the club, said in a statement: “Manchester United acknowledges the allegations made against Antony.

“Players who have not participated in international matches are due back in training on Monday. However, it has been agreed with Antony that he will delay his return until further notice in order to address the allegations.”

United, who have not suspended Antony, will continue to monitor the situation as it develops, with Erik ten Hag consulted on the decision.

United added: “As a club we condemn acts of violence and abuse. We recognise the importance of safeguarding all those involved in this situation, and acknowledge the impact these allegations have on survivors of abuse.” Antony will remain on full pay and hopes to return to the club as soon as possible.

“I have agreed with Manchester United to take a period of absence while I address the allegations made against me,” he said in a statement.

“This was a mutual decision to avoid distraction to my team-mates and unnecessary controversy for the club. I want to reiterate my innocence of the things I have been accused of, and I will fully cooperate with the police to help them reach the truth. I look forward to returning to play as soon as possible.”

Business

RBI firmly focused to bring down inflation to 4 pc: Governor Das-Telangana Today

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The Reserve Bank has been mandated to maintain price stability, keeping in mind the objective of growth. Price stability has been numerically defined as maintaining a headline CPI inflation target of 4.0 per cent with a tolerance band of +/- 2 per cent.

Published Date – 07:23 PM, Tue – 5 September 23


RBI firmly focused to bring down inflation to 4 pc: Governor Das

File Photo

New Delhi: Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday said the central bank is firmly focused on bringing down inflation to 4 per cent and remains prepared to undertake policy responses to deal with supply shocks, which have become more frequent with profound implications.

The current episode of high global inflation and preceding overlapping shocks of the pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war have raised significant issues and challenges for the conduct of monetary policy, the governor said in a speech on ‘Art of Monetary Policy Making: The Indian Context’ at Delhi School of Economics (DSE) Diamond Jubilee Distinguished Lecture.

He said the monetary policy framework in India has evolved in line with the developments in theory and country practices, the changing nature of the economy and developments in financial markets. Within the broad objectives, the relative emphasis on inflation, growth and financial stability has, however, varied across monetary policy regimes since independence.

Das listed out steps the central bank took to deal with the situation created in the wake of the COVID pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Following the outbreak of the war, the central bank raised the policy rates by 250 basis points since May 2022.

“After a near-zero policy rate for a prolonged period, central banks in these (advanced) economies started raising interest rates aggressively in 2022, which contributed to stress in certain banks in these economies. In contrast, our battle against inflation is not constrained by financial stability concerns. In fact, even during the COVID phase, we continuously took measures to strengthen financial stability,” the governor said.

The Reserve Bank, he said, has adopted a prudent approach and taken several initiatives to revamp the regulation and supervision of banks, NBFCs and other financial entities by developing an integrated and harmonised architecture.

“Our banking system remains resilient and healthy with improved capital ratios, asset quality and profitability,” he said.

Das said the RBI‘s experience in recent years shows that supply shocks have become more frequent with profound implications for inflation management and anchoring of inflation expectations. A key risk of sustained high inflation is that it can de-anchor inflation expectations.

“It is, therefore, important to remain vigilant and take necessary steps in a calibrated and timely manner to keep expectations firmly anchored.

“The Reserve Bank has been quick and calibrated while navigating through such turbulences. We look through fleeting shocks but remain prepared to undertake policy responses if such shocks show signs of persistence and getting generalised,” he said.

In such a scenario, monetary policy has to focus on containing the second-round effects, the governor added.

“We will remain watchful of this also. The role of continued and timely supply-side interventions, as being undertaken by the government, assumes criticality in limiting the severity and duration of such food price shocks.

“In these circumstances, it is necessary to be watchful of any risk to price stability and act timely and appropriately. We remain firmly focused on aligning inflation to the target of 4.0 per cent,” he added.

Headline inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) had eased to 4.8 per cent in June 2023 from the peak of 7.8 per cent in April 2022. It, however, surged to 7.4 per cent in July, mainly on account of a spurt in vegetable prices, which have already started moderating.

Das noted that low and stable inflation helps households and businesses in planning for long-term savings and investments, which ultimately drive innovation, productivity and sustainable growth.

On the contrary, high and volatile inflation corrodes the economy by denting productivity and the long-term growth potential, he said, adding inflation also imposes a disproportionate burden on the poor.

The Reserve Bank has been mandated to maintain price stability, keeping in mind the objective of growth. Price stability has been numerically defined as maintaining a headline CPI inflation target of 4.0 per cent with a tolerance band of +/- 2 per cent.

The tolerance band provides flexibility to accommodate growth and financial stability concerns, supply shocks and measurement and forecast errors, Das said.

The target is set by the government in consultation with the Reserve Bank for 5 years.

Top News

Kim Jong Un Leaves North Korea On Train For Russia To Meet Putin

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Kim Jong Un Leaves North Korea On Train For Russia To Meet Putin

North Korea has confirmed that its supreme leader Kim Jong Un left for Russia by Train on Sunday.

Seoul:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was travelling to Russia by armoured train early Tuesday to meet President Vladimir Putin, Pyongyang reported, with face-to-face talks potentially focused on weapon sales.

Experts suggest Putin is seeking artillery shells and antitank missiles from North Korea for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, while Kim is reportedly in search of advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, as well as food aid for his impoverished nation.

Kim “left here by his train on Sunday afternoon to visit the Russian Federation” and was accompanied by senior figures in the Communist Party, the government and military agencies, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

KCNA did not report on the location of Kim’s train Tuesday, including whether it had crossed the Russian border.

On Monday the agency had reported that “the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un will meet and have a talk with Comrade Putin during the visit.”

The Kremlin also confirmed that Kim would visit Russia shortly.

Washington swiftly derided the upcoming summit as a sign that Putin was “begging” for help with his floundering invasion of Ukraine.

The confirmation from North Korea ends days of speculation after US and other officials said recently that Kim, who rarely leaves North Korea, was likely to head to Vladivostok for arms talks with Putin.

Kim has not travelled outside the North since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

South Korean broadcaster YTN said Seoul “expects that Chairman Kim will hold a meeting with President Putin of Russia around the day after tomorrow”, meaning Wednesday.

Vladivostok will be hosting the Eastern Economic Forum until Wednesday.

Moscow, a historical ally of Pyongyang, was a crucial backer of the isolated country for decades and their ties go back to the founding of North Korea 75 years ago.

Kim has been steadfast in his support for Moscow’s Ukraine invasion, including, Washington says, supplying rockets and missiles.

In July, Putin hailed Pyongyang’s “firm support for special military operations against Ukraine”.

– ‘Pay a price’ –

The White House recently warned that Pyongyang would “pay a price” if it supplies Moscow with weaponry for its war in Ukraine.

On Monday the United States described Putin as desperate in seeking a meeting with Kim.

“Having to travel across the length of his own country to meet with an international pariah to ask for assistance in a war that he expected to win in the opening month, I would characterize it as him begging for assistance,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

“President Putin launched this war against Ukraine, with its full-scale aggression, with a dream of restoring the glory of the Russian Empire. That hope, that expectation of his, has failed,” Miller said.

Washington has said Russia could use weapons from North Korea to attack Ukrainian food supplies and heating infrastructure heading into winter to “try to conquer territory that belongs to another sovereign nation”.

Miller renewed US warnings that a Moscow weapons deal with Pyongyang could trigger further sanctions.

Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert at Kookmin University in Seoul, told AFP that a Putin-Kim summit was part of Moscow’s “gentle diplomatic blackmail” of Seoul because Russia did not want South Korea to supply weapons to Kyiv.

Seoul is a major arms exporter and has sold tanks to Kyiv’s ally Poland, but longstanding domestic policy bars it from selling weapons into active conflicts.

“The major worry of the Russian government now is a possible shipment of the South Korean ammunition to Ukraine, not just one shipment but a lot of shipments,” Lankov said.

Kim is well-known for his preference for train travel when it comes to international trips. His father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, was famously scared of flying.

In 2019, the current leader made the 60-hour return train trip from Hanoi to Pyongyang by train after a summit with then-US president Donald Trump collapsed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hyderabad

Universities in Telangana roll out cyber security course for degree students

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The four-credit course designed by experts from the Osmania University, JNTU – Hyderabad, NALSAR and Police wing, will be offered in the second-year degree

Updated On – 09:04 PM, Mon – 11 September 23


Universities in Telangana roll out cyber security course for degree students

Education Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy along with TSCHE Chairman Prof. R Limbadri and other officials launched the cyber security course at degree level on Monday.

Hyderabad: With cases of cybercrime coming to light on a daily basis, the State universities have rolled out cyber security course for degree students, focusing on not just creating awareness among youngsters empowering them with tools to guard the cyberspace.

The four-credit course designed by experts from the Osmania University, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) – Hyderabad, NALSAR and Police wing, will be offered in the second-year degree. The cyber security course will be mandatory for all degree students including those pursuing BSc, BCom, BA and BBA programmes from the present academic year.

The course, which was launched by Education Minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy on Monday, comprises five modules including introduction to cyber security, basics of electronic governance and cyber laws, introduction of cybercrimes and digital forensics, social networks and cyber security, e-commerce and cyber security.

Students will be assessed with theory exams comprising 70 marks and practicals for 30 marks. For practical sessions, students have to either opt for virtual cyber forensic labs with live demo case studies or internships with organisations such as cybercrime police stations, cyber forensic laboratories, banks and IT companies, which are in the cyber security business.

“As per the directions of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who insists on reforms in higher education in tune with changing times, a new course is being commenced from this academic year. The course is being introduced with an aim to make students cyber warriors,” the Minister said.

Education department Secretary Vakati Karuna said a full-fledged course in cyber security would be introduced from the next academic year.

The Minister also released the ISB report on ‘Assessing Assessments in Higher Education’ in the State universities. The ISB recommended doing away with the present practice of rote-learning methods and wanted introduction of a continuous evaluation system with more focus on formative assessment.

TSCHE Chairman Prof. R Limbadri, ADG (Law and Order) Sanjay Kumar Jain, TSCHE Vice Chairman Prof. V Venkata Ramana, Prof. SK Mahmood and other officials were present.

 

World

Protests kick off at Israeli justice minister’s home day before major hearing on judicial overhaul

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Israeli police said they arrested six people in the central Israeli town of Modiin, home to Justice Minister Yariv Levin, on charges of disrupting public order and blocking roads

Updated On – 06:57 PM, Mon – 11 September 23


Protests kick off at Israeli justice minister’s home day before major hearing on judicial overhaul

Israeli military reservists block a road outside the house of Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin during a protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judicial system, in Modiin, Israel, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Modiin: Scores of Israeli protesters on Monday flooded the streets outside the home of Israel’s justice minister, the architect of the country’s divisive judicial overhaul, a day before the Supreme Court hears a crucial case against the curbing of its powers.

Israeli police said they arrested six people in the central Israeli town of Modiin, home to Justice Minister Yariv Levin, on charges of disrupting public order and blocking roads as they protested plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government to weaken the Supreme Court. The judicial plan has triggered one of the biggest domestic crises in Israeli history and exposed the country’s bitter divides.

On Tuesday, all 15 of Israel‘s Supreme Court justices will appear on the bench for the first time ever to hear an appeal against the first major part of the overhaul, which the the government pushed through parliament in July.

The rowdy crowd of roughly 200 demonstrators outside Levin’s home blew horns, chanted through megaphones against the government and brandished signs, jostling with police who pushed back the crowds. After a few hours, Levin left his besieged home in a sleek black car surrounded by police officers and security guards who tried to clear a path for him through the swarm of protesters.

Further demonstrations are expected this week as the Supreme Court hears petitions Tuesday by rights groups and individuals calling it to strike down the law passed by parliament that cancels the court’s ability to block government actions and appointments using the legal concept that they are “unreasonable”.

The hearings put the country’s top justices in the unprecedented position of defending their own independence and ruling on their own fate.

The court faces massive public pressure to strike down the law and has an inherent interest in preserving its powers and independence. But if it does so, Netanyahu’s government could ignore the ruling, setting the stage for a crisis over who has ultimate authority.

Levin, a Netanyahu ally who has spearheaded the overhaul, argued in interviews with local media last week against proposals to seek a compromise with the opposition and soften the current judicial changes.

Critics of the overhaul describe it as a blow to democracy, arguing that Israel’s judiciary represents the primary check on the powers of the prime minister and his majority coalition in parliament. They also say the prime minister has a conflict of interest trying to change the legal system at a time when he is on trial for corruption charges.

Supporters of Netanyahu’s far-right, ultra-Orthodox government say the law will prevent liberal, unelected judges from interfering with the decisions of elected lawmakers. They also say the court should not be able to rule on a law limiting its own authority.

Sports

Indian compound archer Prathamesh signs off with silver at World Cup Final

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Shanghai World Cup winner Jawkar lost 148-148 (10-10*) to Fullerton, who was adjudged the winner by virtue of his arrow being closer to the centre

Published Date – 06:53 PM, Sun – 10 September 23


Indian compound archer Prathamesh signs off with silver at World Cup Final

Shanghai World Cup winner Jawkar lost 148-148 (10-10*) to Fullerton, who was adjudged the winner by virtue of his arrow being closer to the centre

Hermosillo: Indian compound archer Prathamesh Jawkar’s dream run in his maiden ‘World Cup Final’ ended with a silver medal after he lost to Denmark’s Mathias Fullerton by the narrowest of margins in an intense shoot-off finish.

Shanghai World Cup winner Jawkar, who stunned the world No 1 and reigning champion Mike Schloesser for a second time in four months to storm into the final, lost 148-148 (10-10*) to Fullerton, who was adjudged the winner by virtue of his arrow being closer to the centre.

The Denmark archer took an early lead after the Indian 20-year-old dropped one point in the opening round of their final clash, here late on Saturday.

Trailing 89-90 at the midway mark, Jawkar brought the final on an even keel when he shot 30 points out of a possible 30 to make it 119-all going into the last round.

But in the designated final end, both the archers shot identical scores of 29 each to take it to shootoff.

The tiebreaker also saw a stalemate as the Indian missed Fullerton’s arrow by narrowest of margins.

In the semifinal, the Maharashtra archer dished out a flawless shooting of 150 out of a possible 150 points to pip Schloesser by one point (150-149).

The win also denied the Dutchman a hattrick of World Cup Final titles. Schloesser is a winner of four ‘World Cup Final’ (2016, 2019, 2021 and 2022).

It was Jawkar’s second win over the ‘Mr Perfectionist’ in four months. At the final of the Shanghai World Cup in May, Jawakar had prevailed over the Dutch heavyweight 149-148.

Schloesser, however, managed to bring his A-game in the bronze medal playoff, when he denied India a second medal defeating veteran Abhishek Verma 150-149.

Verma was eyeing a second World Cup Final bronze, when he made his way through to the third-place playoff defeating Sawyer Sullivan of the USA 146-146 (10-9) in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinal, Verma lost to eventual champion Fullerton 147-150.

Jawkar started off in an ominous fashion when he dropped just one point to eliminate host nation representative Miguel Becerra 149-141 in the quarterfinal. It’s only in the penultimate round that the Indian missed the centre once from 15 arrows in an otherwise perfect display.

The win set up Jawkar’s semifinal clash against the Dutch superstar Schloesser for a second time in four months.

India, however, disappointed in the women’s compound section with the duo of Aditi Swami and Jyothi Surekha Vennam returning empty-handed after losing their respective opening round matches.

World Cup stage winner Jyothi Surekha Vennam failed to cross the opening round hurdle, going down to Colombian heavyweight and eventual champion Sara Lopez by a five-point margin in a lopsided quarterfinal.

Jyothi dropped two points in the first end to trail by two points against Sara who had a perfect 30 out of 30 score. Jyothi recovered in the second end and at the halfway mark had a one-point deficit (88-89).

But a dismal fourth end where the Indian managed 27 (9-9-9) proved costly as Sara wrapped the issue 149-144 before sealing a hattrick of World Cup Final title. Overall, Sara has seven World Cup Final titles in her kitty.

All eyes were on reigning world champion Aditi Swami but the 17-year-old cracked under pressure to go down to eventual runner-up Tanja Gellenthien of Denmark 145-145 (9-10) in a shoot-off finish.

Despite shooting below-par, Aditi managed to keep a slender one-point lead till the penultimate end. But in the final round, Tanja levelled it with a perfect 30, as Aditi dropped one point to force a shoot-off where the Denmark archer sealed it with a perfect 10.

India will have a lone representative in the recurve section, where Dhiraj Bommadevara is pitted against Korean heavyweight Kim Woojin in a tough opening round clash.

No Indian could make it in the women’s recurve section.

This is the first time five Indian archers have qualified for the year-ender world showpiece.

Business

Aug inflation number likely to remain high; moderation expected from Sep-Telangana Today

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Last week, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das also said that the central bank expects inflation to moderate from September onwards

Published Date – 08:05 PM, Tue – 5 September 23


Aug inflation number likely to remain high; moderation expected from Sep

Representational Image

New Delhi: Having touched 15-month high of 7.4 per cent in July, retail inflation is expected to remain elevated in August as well, due to rising prices of cereals, sources said.

The August inflation print is scheduled to be announced on September 12.

However, sources said, it is expected to start moderating from September onwards due to fall in prices of vegetables like tomatoes, restrictions imposed on the export of non-basmati rice and cut in the prices of domestic LPG cylinders.

Last week, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das also said that the central bank expects inflation to moderate from September onwards.

“We expect overall inflation to start moderating from September onwards. August inflation will be again very high, but we expect from September onwards inflation to go down,” he had said.

Das had said that prices of tomatoes have already fallen and retail prices of other vegetables are also expected to come down from this month.

The RBI Governor had said that the government has taken several steps to ensure the supply of tomatoes and other items of common need to the people at affordable prices.

The Reserve Bank of India is likely to review incremental Cash Reserve Ratio on September 8, sources said.

Last month, RBI had imposed a 10 per cent incremental cash reserve ratio for a limited period to help suck out Rs 1 lakh crore of excess liquidity from the system.

The move, announced along with the bi-monthly policy review, was the best option under the current circumstances and there is enough liquidity in the system for the banks to continue their lending operations, he had said.

The decision aimed at neutralising the impact of liquidity following deposit of Rs 2,000 currency notes which are being withdrawn from circulation.

As much as 93 per cent (or Rs 3.32 lakh crore) of such notes have already come back to the system and only Rs 24,000 crore are left.

The last date for exchange or deposit of such currency notes is September 30, 2023.

Top News

Amit Shah, JP Nadda Hold Madhya Pradesh Core Group Meeting In Delhi

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Amit Shah, JP Nadda Hold Madhya Pradesh Core Group Meeting In Delhi

BJP declared the names of 39 candidates for the 230-seat Madhya Pradesh Assembly. (File)

New Delhi:

 Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday attended the Madhya Pradesh Core Group meeting at the residence of BJP national president JP Nadda in the national capital ahead of the state assembly election.

Earlier on August 17, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its first list of candidates for poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.

BJP declared the names of 39 candidates for the 230-seat Madhya Pradesh Assembly. The party has fielded its Indore district president Rajesh Sonkar to contest the election from the Sonkachh seat in Dewas district.

Former minister and Veteran Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma is the sitting MLA from Sonkatch seat. In the 2013 state assembly polls, BJP leader Sonkar defeated Tulsi Ram Silawat (now Water Resource Minister) when Silawat was in Congress from the Sanwer seat in the Indore district.

In the last 2018 assembly polls, Mr Sonkar lost to Mr Silawat (when he was still in Congress) from the same Sanwer seat. But later in 2020, Mr Silawat quit the Congress party along with Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scidia and others and joined the BJP. After that Mr Silawat contested the by-poll on BJP’s ticket from the Sanwer seat and won the election.

It is worth mentioning that the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls are scheduled to be held later this year.

In 2018 after the state legislative polls, the Congress formed the government with Kamal Nath becoming the CM.

In 2020, 22 MLAs along with Jyotiraditya Scindia resigned from the Congress, thus leading to a political pandemonium in the state.

As a result, the Congress government collapsed in the state and the BJP came to power with Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the CM.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hyderabad

Sitting MLAs in Telangana face least anger among poll-bound states: Report

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However, the picture reverses as more voters are angry at the sitting MLAs in Chhattisgarh with a score of 44. Only 27.6 are angry at the sitting MLA in Telangana and only 28.3 in Rajasthan

Updated On – 08:46 PM, Mon – 11 September 23


Sitting MLAs in Telangana face least anger among poll-bound states: Report

Representational Image

New Delhi: Sitting MLAs in Telangana face the least amount of anger from the electorate ahead the coming Assembly elections.

However, the picture reverses as more voters are angry at the sitting MLAs in Chhattisgarh with a score of 44. Only 27.6 are angry at the sitting MLA in Telangana and only 28.3 in Rajasthan.

Voters are very angry with sitting MLAs in Andhra Pradesh at 44.9, 41.2 in Mizoram, and 40.4 in Madhya Padesh. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is the most popular Chief Minister among those of the states slated for Assembly elections.

As per the IANS CVoter Anger Index in the poll-bound states, Baghel faces the least amount of anger which also implies he is the most popular Chief Minister among the poll bound states.

 

World

Grossi calls for Iran's serious cooperation with IAEA

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Speaking at a press conference before the IAEA’s Board of Governors in Vienna on Monday, Rafael Grossi called on Iran to seriously cooperate with the Agency in accordance with the Joint Statement signed in Tehran on 4 March.

Grossi said that there is no link between Iran and the IAEA cooperation and the recent indirect talks between Iran and the United States and the prisoner swap between them, saying that he only cares about the nuclear issue with Iran.

He pointed to the recent IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear program, claiming that there has not been “much progress” in relations between Tehran and the IAEA on the outstanding issues.

The IAEA chief said that Iran and the IAEA joint statement was supposed to be “a gradual process of confidence-building”, adding that the joint statement was supposed to increase Agency’s presence in Iran electronically (CCTV cameras) and otherwise.

He added that the issue of the recorded data by the cameras in Iran was supposed to be tackled.

The nuclear chief further said that Iran and the IAEA have to reach an agreement on access to the recorded date and information of the cameras in Iran, while also noting that the two sides are nowhere near that agreement for the time being.

In response to a question about the reports on the lack of a resolution against Iran despite alleged IAEA disappointment in its latest report on Iran nuclear program, Grossi said that the issue of resolution is in the realm of the member states of the agency, refusing to say that “if a resolution is good or bad.”

The IAEA chief also touched upon Iran’s nuclear program issue in his Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors where he said that, “As you are aware, the Agency’s JCPOA-related verification and monitoring has been seriously affected by Iran’s decision in February 2021 to stop implementing altogether its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA. The situation was exacerbated by Iran’s subsequent decision to remove all the Agency’s JCPOA-related surveillance and monitoring equipment.”

“It has been more than two and a half years since Iran stopped provisionally applying its Additional Protocol and, therefore, since it provided updated declarations, and since the Agency was able to conduct complementary access to sites and other locations in Iran,” he added.

Grossi also said that “You also have before you my report on NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran. I regret that no further progress has been made in implementing the activities set out in the Joint Statement signed in Tehran on 4 March.”

He went in to stress that, “Iran also still needs to provide the Agency with technically credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at Varamin and Turquzabad and inform the Agency of the current location(s) of related nuclear material and/or of contaminated equipment. It also still needs to resolve the discrepancy in the nuclear material balance evaluation relating to the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) and to implement modified Code 3.1.”

“These outstanding safeguards issues stem from Iran’s obligations under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and need to be resolved for the Agency to be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful,” he added.

Grossi further called upon Iran “to work with the Agency in earnest and in a sustained way towards the fulfilment of the commitments contained in the Joint Statement.”

Iran took some steps away from the 2015 nuclear deal known as the JCPOA after the illegal unilateral US withdrawal from the deal and the continued E3 participants’ indifference to the illegal US sanction on Iran. Tehran has vowed that it will reverse course and will fully abide by the deal when the Western parties remove all the sanctions against it in accordance with the text of the JCPOA.

Iran and the other parties to the nuclear deal were very close to concluding an agreement in September 2022 to revive the deal after the removal of sanctions on Tehran. However, as the Iranian foreign minister said recently in an interview, the United States and the three European parties to the JCPOA pulled back from the agreed draft agreement after pinning hope on last year’s riots in Iran which they thought they could topple the Iranian government.

KI