Power Restored at Ukraine’s Chernobyl

Russian forces seized Chernobyl soon after it invaded Ukraine on February 24 Sergei SUPINSKY AFP/File
Russian forces seized Chernobyl soon after it invaded Ukraine on February 24 Sergei SUPINSKY AFP/File
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Power Restored at Ukraine’s Chernobyl

Russian forces seized Chernobyl soon after it invaded Ukraine on February 24 Sergei SUPINSKY AFP/File
Russian forces seized Chernobyl soon after it invaded Ukraine on February 24 Sergei SUPINSKY AFP/File

Power has been restored at Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power station, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986, the International Atomic Energy Agency said late Monday.

Separately, Ukraine's state nuclear operator Energoatom accused the Russian military of detonating ammunition at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in the country's south.

"Ukraine has informed IAEA that external power had again today been restored to the (Chernobyl) Nuclear Power Plant after line had been again damaged 'by the occupying forces'," the UN's atomic watchdog tweeted.

"Staff had restarted operations to reconnect the plant to the electricity grid."

Energy operator Ukrenergo had earlier said the power line supplying the Chernobyl plant had been "damaged by the occupying forces," after Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24 and seized the power station in the first days of the assault, according to AFP.

The retired Chernobyl nuclear reactors -- enclosed in a giant steel and concrete sarcophagus -- had also lost power early last week but supply was restored Sunday.

The power station has emergency diesel generators that can kick in when electricity is needed to power security systems including the cooling systems for the spent nuclear fuel storage facility, Ukraine's nuclear power inspection body SNRIU said last week.

Ukrenergo said Chernobyl "cannot be left without a reliable energy supply".

The 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant killed hundreds and spread a radioactive cloud across Europe.

On March 4, Russian forces shelled and captured the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's biggest nuclear power station, raising alarm in Europe over a possible nuclear catastrophe.

Ukraine's Energoatom accused the Russian military of detonating ammunition near a reactor.

"And they are continuing to conduct explosions at Europe's largest nuclear facility," Energoatom said on messaging app Telegram, urging the International Atomic Energy Agency to take action.

It said it was currently unclear if radiation levels had changed at the station.

The IAEA said it was "aware of reports that Russian forces have carried out munition explosions at the site of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant today" and was seeking information about the situation from Ukraine.

Energoatom also claimed that 11 representatives of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom were at the Zaporizhzhia plant and taking part in the explosions, accusing Rosatom of violating "all established international rules and requirements of nuclear and radiation safety."



Democrats, Trump Hold Final Rallies Before Midterm Elections

 President Donald Trump stands on stage after speaking at a campaign rally at the Salina Regional Airport, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Salina Kan. (AP)
President Donald Trump stands on stage after speaking at a campaign rally at the Salina Regional Airport, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Salina Kan. (AP)
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Democrats, Trump Hold Final Rallies Before Midterm Elections

 President Donald Trump stands on stage after speaking at a campaign rally at the Salina Regional Airport, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Salina Kan. (AP)
President Donald Trump stands on stage after speaking at a campaign rally at the Salina Regional Airport, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in Salina Kan. (AP)

Democrats teed up final get-out-the-vote rallies Monday on the eve of midterm elections where they expect to win at least partial control of Congress and impose political constraints on President Donald Trump for the first time in two years.

Rallies -- including by star Democratic Senate candidates James Talarico in Texas and Adam Hamilton in Kansas -- were capping a campaign of breathtaking tension and bitterness.

For his closing argument, Trump chose a speech in Washington at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool -- a landmark that has become synonymous with the 80-year-old president's obsessive, controversial drive to redevelop the US capital.

"We're going to win," he said on Sunday.

Polls, however, show that Democrats are near certain to take the majority from Republicans in the House of Representatives and have a real shot at winning the currently Republican Senate.

Even winning just the House would mean Democrats have voting power over the federal budget and would lead powerful committees able to investigate alleged corruption under Trump, the Epstein files and other explosive issues.

The loss of total Republican dominance would push Trump into unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory: a lame-duck period beset with high inflation at home, the sputtering war against Iran and hostile Democratic investigations into his activities in Washington.

But a decade into the Trump era, Democrats remain wary about predictions of victory.

"Nauseously optimistic," Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock told CNN to describe the mood.

- Scorched earth -

Republicans led by Trump have fought a political scorched-earth campaign, painting Democrats as communists and openly branding Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim candidate for senator in Michigan, as a terrorist.

Addressing a crowd in Iowa on Sunday, Trump said Democrats are "extreme and dangerous radicals" who will "steal your wealth" and let in migrants to "ransack, rape and plunder."

But polls show Americans heavily souring on Trump's wrecking-ball act.

An NBC News poll released on Sunday showed 60 percent disapprove of his performance, particularly over high prices exacerbated by his now eight-month war against Iran.

While the House seems highly likely to turn Democratic, the battle for the Senate is up in the air.

Only a third of the Senate's 100 seats are being contested in these midterms, and few of the races were seen as favorable to Democrats.

However, with surprisingly strong challenges in deeply Republican states, pollsters now say the odds of a Democratic flip are at minimum even.

The final New York Times/Siena poll released Sunday evening showed Democratic candidates leading in all seven seats viewed as most competitive, though five remained within the margin of error.

A Democratic Senate would be able to shut down Trump's lifetime appointments to courts -- especially the Supreme Court.

While Tuesday is election day, early voting has already seen a record 54 million people cast ballots around the country.

The midterms have seen about $11 billion spent on advertising, with large chunks coming from individual mega-donors.

Elon Musk, a close Trump ally who led the so-called DOGE effort in dismantling entire government departments, has given a staggering nearly half-billion dollars to help get Republicans elected.


Trump Reportedly Holds Call with Netanyahu Over State of Iran War

FILE - President Donald Trump speaks at the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
FILE - President Donald Trump speaks at the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
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Trump Reportedly Holds Call with Netanyahu Over State of Iran War

FILE - President Donald Trump speaks at the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
FILE - President Donald Trump speaks at the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

US President Donald Trump held a call with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu over when and whether to ramp up combat operations against Iran, US media reported Sunday.

Axios quoted one US and one Israeli official saying the two leaders on Saturday discussed the state of negotiations with Tehran, with Netanyahu pressing the president to launch strikes on Iran immediately after the US midterm elections and Trump eager to let negotiations play out.

The Israeli source described the call as "tough," while the American source said it was "direct," according to Axios.

Throughout the eight-month war Trump has pursued dual tracks with Tehran: a campaign of airstrikes and other attacks, while seeking to reach a deal that would jumpstart peace talks and fully open the Strait of Hormuz to vital oil and gas traffic.

On Saturday the president maintained to reporters that negotiations with Iran to end the war were "going fine," and that there were still one or two targets to "take care" of.

He stressed too that Washington was not in a hurry to take offensive action because it had already decimated Iran's military and its nuclear program.

The Trump-Netanyahu talks followed the disclosure Saturday by Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei that he had received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance seeking to revive stalled talks.

In another sign that mediators are keen to resume negotiations, a Qatari delegation arrived in Tehran on Friday for talks with Iranian officials, state media reported.


UKMTO: Vessel Struck in Strait of Hormuz

FILE PHOTO: Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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UKMTO: Vessel Struck in Strait of Hormuz

FILE PHOTO: Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

A vessel was struck on Sunday by "an unknown projectile" in the Strait of Hormuz, a British maritime security agency said, after Qatari media reported an earlier attack on a gas tanker.

Britain's UKMTO maritime agency said "the master of a merchant vessel has relayed a mayday call... stating that another vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile" in the strait.

Earlier, Qatar's state news agency said a Qatari gas tanker had been attacked on Friday with "unidentified objects" while transiting Gulf waters.

The attack struck a liquefied natural gas carrier, Al Mayeda, which belongs to the Qatar Gas Transport Company, Qatar News Agency said.