UN Nuclear Agency to Hold Extraordinary Meeting on Iran Monday

Buildings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters reflect in doors with the agency's logo during the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
Buildings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters reflect in doors with the agency's logo during the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Nuclear Agency to Hold Extraordinary Meeting on Iran Monday

Buildings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters reflect in doors with the agency's logo during the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria on June 13, 2025. (AFP)
Buildings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters reflect in doors with the agency's logo during the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria on June 13, 2025. (AFP)

The United Nations' nuclear agency will hold an extraordinary meeting on Iran on Monday in the wake of the US-Israeli strikes on the country, aimed in part at Tehran's atomic program.

In a statement late on Saturday, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the meeting was at the request of Russia, a key ally of Tehran.

Iran had made the same request in a letter to IAEA chief Rafael Grossi on Saturday following the strikes, which led to the death of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

As a result, the agency will hold a "special session of the IAEA Board of Governors on matters related to military strikes of the United States and Israel against the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran", the IAEA said in a statement.

That extraordinary meeting will precede an already scheduled session of the board, which represents 35 countries.

Following the strikes, the IAEA said it was "closely monitoring developments in the Middle East, and urges restraint to avoid any nuclear safety risks to people in the region".

The UN nuclear watchdog had also stressed on Friday the "utmost urgency" of its request to verify all nuclear material in Iran, according to a confidential report seen by AFP.

Western countries led by the United States and Israel, Iran's arch-enemy, accuse Tehran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies having such military ambitions, but insists on its right to this technology for civilian purposes.



Hurricane Simon Expected to Become Major Hurricane off Mexico Coast

A member of the Mexican Army stands on the Malecon waterfront during the implementation of Plan DN-III-E, a disaster relief plan, as waves crash ashore ahead of Hurricane Simon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Christian Ruano
A member of the Mexican Army stands on the Malecon waterfront during the implementation of Plan DN-III-E, a disaster relief plan, as waves crash ashore ahead of Hurricane Simon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Christian Ruano
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Hurricane Simon Expected to Become Major Hurricane off Mexico Coast

A member of the Mexican Army stands on the Malecon waterfront during the implementation of Plan DN-III-E, a disaster relief plan, as waves crash ashore ahead of Hurricane Simon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Christian Ruano
A member of the Mexican Army stands on the Malecon waterfront during the implementation of Plan DN-III-E, a disaster relief plan, as waves crash ashore ahead of Hurricane Simon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Christian Ruano

Hurricane Simon is expected to become a major hurricane on Sunday near ‌the ‌west-central coast ‌of Mexico ⁠and move very close ⁠to the coast on Monday, ⁠the US National ‌Hurricane Center ‌said.

Simon was ‌located ‌about 60 miles (96.56 km) west-southwest of Manzanillo, ‌Mexico, early Sunday morning, ⁠packing ⁠maximum sustained winds of 155 mph, NHC said in its latest update.


Russia Says It Has Captured Four Settlements in Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Smoke billows from Yandex's Sasovo hub, one of the company's five large data centers, after a fire following a drone strike forced the suspension of operations at the site, which hosts tens of thousands of servers, Sasovo, Russia, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video on October 8, 2026. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS.
FILE PHOTO: Smoke billows from Yandex's Sasovo hub, one of the company's five large data centers, after a fire following a drone strike forced the suspension of operations at the site, which hosts tens of thousands of servers, Sasovo, Russia, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video on October 8, 2026. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS.
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Russia Says It Has Captured Four Settlements in Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Smoke billows from Yandex's Sasovo hub, one of the company's five large data centers, after a fire following a drone strike forced the suspension of operations at the site, which hosts tens of thousands of servers, Sasovo, Russia, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video on October 8, 2026. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS.
FILE PHOTO: Smoke billows from Yandex's Sasovo hub, one of the company's five large data centers, after a fire following a drone strike forced the suspension of operations at the site, which hosts tens of thousands of servers, Sasovo, Russia, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video on October 8, 2026. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS.

The Russian defense ministry said on Sunday ‌that ‌Russian troops ‌had ⁠captured the villages of Kupyne ⁠and Riznykove in ⁠Ukraine's ‌Kharkiv region, ‌as well ‌as Novotroitske ‌and Davydovske in the ‌Donetsk region, news ⁠agency Interfax reported.

Reuters ⁠could not immediately verify the battlefield reports.


109 Migrants Dead, 116 Missing after Boat Capsizes off Djibouti, Says UN

Migrants give signals to NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat in central Mediterranean Sea, August 17, 2022. (Reuters)
Migrants give signals to NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat in central Mediterranean Sea, August 17, 2022. (Reuters)
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109 Migrants Dead, 116 Missing after Boat Capsizes off Djibouti, Says UN

Migrants give signals to NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat in central Mediterranean Sea, August 17, 2022. (Reuters)
Migrants give signals to NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat in central Mediterranean Sea, August 17, 2022. (Reuters)

At least 109 migrants were killed, including 15 children, and some 116 were missing after a boat sank off the shores of Djibouti overnight on October 8-9, a UN agency said Sunday.

Survivors said the vessel -- which was carrying 350 people from Djibouti to Yemen -- capsized north of the Djibouti town of Obock, according to a statement from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), whose teams are on the ground alongside local authorities to provide emergency aid.