IAEA Affirms Reinstalling Surveillance Cameras in Iran

A sample of the surveillance cameras that monitor the Iranian nuclear facilities presented at a press conference in Vienna. (Reuters)
A sample of the surveillance cameras that monitor the Iranian nuclear facilities presented at a press conference in Vienna. (Reuters)
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IAEA Affirms Reinstalling Surveillance Cameras in Iran

A sample of the surveillance cameras that monitor the Iranian nuclear facilities presented at a press conference in Vienna. (Reuters)
A sample of the surveillance cameras that monitor the Iranian nuclear facilities presented at a press conference in Vienna. (Reuters)

The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed the reinstallation of surveillance cameras in Iran, as part of the recent deal between the IAEA director-general and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

IAEA's spokesman Fredrik Dahl told the German news agency (dpa) that work was “underway” to reinstall surveillance cameras at several sites.

Yet, he didn’t point to the number of surveillance cameras or the sites where they will be reinstalled.

The Washington-based Arms Control Agency reported that IAEA began reinstalling cameras at certain nuclear facilities which approach the nuclear threshold.

In early March, IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi reached an agreement with Iranian officials to restart surveillance cameras at several nuclear sites and increase inspections at the Fordow facility.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Monday that two delegations from the IAEA have visited Tehran following the recent deal, adding that “cooperation with them continues step by step”.

Last June, Iran called on the IAEA to dismantle the cameras at its nuclear sites due to tension regarding the nuclear deal.

Iran wishes to leave a good impression by allowing the reinstallation of the cameras before the IAEA Board of Governors' meeting in June.

The cameras don’t grant the IAEA a better view of the nuclear facilities.

Although there is footage from the time before the removal of the cameras, the international inspectors failed to access the data since Tehran abandoned the protocol of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in February 2021.

Tehran said it would turn over the data collected from the cameras to the IAEA if the 2015 nuclear deal was restored.



UN Report: 1.1 Billion People in Acute Poverty

A woman sweeps the veranda at the Grande Hotel in Beira, Mozambique on October 12, 2024. (Photo by Zinyange Auntony / AFP)
A woman sweeps the veranda at the Grande Hotel in Beira, Mozambique on October 12, 2024. (Photo by Zinyange Auntony / AFP)
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UN Report: 1.1 Billion People in Acute Poverty

A woman sweeps the veranda at the Grande Hotel in Beira, Mozambique on October 12, 2024. (Photo by Zinyange Auntony / AFP)
A woman sweeps the veranda at the Grande Hotel in Beira, Mozambique on October 12, 2024. (Photo by Zinyange Auntony / AFP)

More than one billion people are living in acute poverty across the globe, a UN Development Program report said Thursday, with children accounting for over half of those affected.

The paper published with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) highlighted that poverty rates were three times higher in countries at war, as 2023 saw the most conflicts around the world since the Second World War.

The UNDP and the OPHI have published their Multidimensional Poverty Index annually since 2010, harvesting data from 112 countries with a combined population of 6.3 billion people, AFP reported.

It uses indicators such as a lack of adequate housing, sanitation, electricity, cooking fuel, nutrition and school attendance.

"The 2024 MPI paints a sobering picture: 1.1 billion people endure multidimensional poverty, of which 455 million live in the shadow of conflict," said Yanchun Zhang, chief statistician at the UNDP.

"For the poor in conflict-affected countries, the struggle for basic needs is a far harsher and more desperate battle," Zhang told AFP.

The report echoed last year's findings that 1.1 billion out of 6.1 billion people across 110 countries were facing extreme multidimensional poverty.

Thursday's paper showed that some 584 million people under 18 were experiencing extreme poverty, accounting for 27.9 percent of children worldwide, compared with 13.5 percent of adults.

It also showed that 83.2 percent of the world's poorest people live in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Sabina Alkire, director of the OPHI, told AFP that conflicts were hindering efforts for poverty reduction.

"At some level, these findings are intuitive. But what shocked us was the sheer magnitude of people who are struggling to live a decent life and at the same time fearing for their safety -- 455 million," she said.

"This points to a stark but unavoidable challenge to the international community to both zero in on poverty reduction and foster peace, so that any ensuing peace actually endures," Alkire added.

India was the country with the largest number of people in extreme poverty, which impacts 234 million of its 1.4 billion population.

It was followed by Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The five countries accounted for nearly half of the 1.1 billion poor people.