Briefly

AUSTRIA

IAEA chief to visit Zaporizhzhia plant

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, said on Thursday that he will visit the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant next week as nuclear safety situation there "remains precarious". IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said in a statement he will hold high-level talks and assess developments at the plant. Grossi's visit comes after what he called "recent deeply concerning incidents" at the plant, including a fire at the plant's cooling tower and a drone strike close to the facility earlier this month.

JAPAN

Typhoon Shanshan drenches nation

Typhoon Shanshan soaked large swathes of Japan with torrential rain on Friday, prompting warnings for flooding and landslides hundreds of miles from the storm's center, halting travel services and shutting production at major factories. At least four people have been killed and 99 injured in storm-related incidents in recent days, according to the disaster management agency.

EUROPE

ECB official urges cautiousness on rates

Eurozone interest rate setters should proceed "gradually and cautiously" in loosening monetary policy as there are still challenges in tackling inflation despite progress, an ECB board member cautioned on Friday. After the European Central Bank's historic campaign of interest rate hikes, eurozone inflation has slowly come to the central bank's two-percent target. Data this week showed inflation dropping to 1.9 percent in both Germany and France in August, the first time it has fallen below two percent in both countries since 2021.

Agencies - Xinhua