Iran starts taking nuclear centrifuges offline
DUBAI/TOKYO (Reuters) – Iran has begun shutting down uranium enrichment centrifuges under the terms of a deal struck with six world powers in July on limiting its nuclear program, Tehran’s atomic energy chief said on Monday during a visit to Tokyo.
Faction-riven Lebanon scrambles to pay late army salaries
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese authorities scrambled on Monday to pay overdue salaries to the army, a crisis that has laid bare the extent of paralysis in government and added to criticism of the politicians whose rivalries are to blame.
Russia preparing contract to supply Iran with S-300 missiles: Interfax
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Monday it is preparing a contract to supply Iran with S-300 missile systems, Interfax news agency reported.
Kerry courts Kazakh leader as U.S. eyes stronger Central Asia ties
ASTANA (Reuters) – Secretary of State John Kerry reaffirmed U.S. interests in Kazakhstan on Monday in talks with veteran leader Nursultan Nazarbayev who has lured huge Western investments to his Central Asian state while keeping it in Moscow’s politica…
After escaping war, asylum seekers in Sweden now face arson attacks
MUNKEDAL, Sweden (Reuters) – Throughout Europe’s migrant crisis, Sweden has laid out the welcome mat for tens of thousands of asylum seekers. But in towns like Munkedal and other small communities, someone has replaced it with death threats and arson.
U.S., allies conduct 10 air strikes in Syria, 17 in Iraq: U.S. military
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S.-led coalition conducted 10 air strikes against Islamic State in Syria on Sunday and 17 in Iraq, the U.S. military said, stepping up its air assault in Syria as fighting on the ground escalated.
Azeri ruling party wins majority, election observers see shortcomings
BAKU (Reuters) – Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, maintained his grip on power in the oil-producing nation after loyalists won most parliamentary seats in an election on Sunday, but the opposition cried foul and observers saw democratic shortcomin…
First bodies delivered to Russia after Egypt plane crash
ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) – The first bodies from a plane crash in Egypt in which all 224 passengers, most of them Russians, died over the weekend arrived in St Petersburg early on Monday morning aboard a Russian government plane.
Rare cyclone kills three on Yemeni island, heads for Qaeda-run city
ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) – A rare tropical cyclone packing hurricane-force winds killed three people and injured scores on the Yemeni island of Socotra on Monday, residents and officials said, and then headed for an Al Qaeda-controlled town on the mainlan…
Iraq parliament bars Abadi government from passing reforms unilaterally
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s parliament voted unanimously on Monday to bar the government from passing important reforms without its approval in an effort to curb Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi amid discontent over his leadership style, lawmakers said.
