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UN Chief Calls for 'Coordinated International' Response after Mali Attacks

A general view of Bamako after insurgents launched attacks on military bases across the country, in Bamako, Mali April 25, 2026. REUTERS/Aboubacar Traore
A general view of Bamako after insurgents launched attacks on military bases across the country, in Bamako, Mali April 25, 2026. REUTERS/Aboubacar Traore
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UN Chief Calls for 'Coordinated International' Response after Mali Attacks

A general view of Bamako after insurgents launched attacks on military bases across the country, in Bamako, Mali April 25, 2026. REUTERS/Aboubacar Traore
A general view of Bamako after insurgents launched attacks on military bases across the country, in Bamako, Mali April 25, 2026. REUTERS/Aboubacar Traore

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Saturday condemned "acts of violence" in Mali after militants and Tuareg rebels claimed attacks against the army across the junta-ruled Sahel state.

"The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by reports of attacks in several locations across Mali," his spokesman said in a statement.

"The Secretary-General calls for coordinated international support to address the evolving threat of violent extremism and terrorism in the Sahel and to meet urgent humanitarian needs," spokesman Stephane Dujarric added.

An Al-Qaeda-linked militant group said Saturday it had joined forces with rebels to launch what was one of the most complex attacks in years in the impoverished west African country.

The groups launched surprise dawn attacks around the capital Bamako and other regions, and Tuareg rebels said they had seized the northern city of Kidal.

Guterres "strongly condemns these acts of violence, expresses solidarity with the Malian people and stresses the need to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure," the statement added.

He called for "robust security coordination and collaboration across the region."

Since 2012 Mali has grappled with a security crisis, with attacks by militants, criminal groups and separatists killing thousands and displacing tens of thousands more.

The junta that seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021 said it was doing so to battle the militants more effectively, but attacks have continued.

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World

US Draft Resolution at IAEA Demands Iran Open Up on Sites, Uranium Stocks

The IAEA logo is displayed in front of the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 5, 2026. (Reuters)
The IAEA logo is displayed in front of the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Draft Resolution at IAEA Demands Iran Open Up on Sites, Uranium Stocks

The IAEA logo is displayed in front of the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 5, 2026. (Reuters)
The IAEA logo is displayed in front of the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 5, 2026. (Reuters)

The US is lobbying other countries on the UN nuclear watchdog's Board of Governors to back a draft resolution demanding that Iran tell the agency what happened to its bombed nuclear sites and the enriched uranium stored there.

The US-drafted text, seen by Reuters on Sunday and circulated ahead of this week's quarterly meeting of the 35-nation board, risks complicating talks between Washington and Tehran.

Iran has typically retaliated against resolutions against it at the International Atomic Energy ‌Agency, escalating its nuclear ‌activities or scaling back cooperation.

Previous IAEA board resolutions on ‌Iran, ⁠submitted by the US, ⁠Britain, France and Germany, have passed by wide margins. One adopted in November demanded that Iran inform the agency "without delay" about the status of its enriched uranium stock and damaged sites - something that has yet to happen.

STATEMENT OF INTENT

The US draft says Iran must "provide the Agency with precise information on nuclear material accountancy and safeguarded nuclear facilities in Iran" and grant "all access it requires to verify this information." Both steps are described as "essential ⁠and urgent" and must be taken "without delay".

The text stops short ‌of referring Iran to the UN Security Council, ‌a move some diplomats had said was under consideration. That would have followed up on a ‌June 12, 2025 resolution declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.

Israel began ‌bombing Iran's nuclear sites a day later.

The US mission to the IAEA declined to comment.

While circulating a draft does not guarantee it will be formally submitted to the board, which would then vote on it, it signals an intention to do so.

Current US-Iran talks aim ‌to extend their ceasefire and pave the way for broader negotiations, including on Iran's nuclear program.

US President Donald Trump has ⁠said his goal is ⁠to ensure Iran cannot develop nuclear weapons, something Iran denies seeking.

RUSSIA ACCUSES US OF UNDERMINING COOPERATION

While June's strikes destroyed or badly damaged uranium-enrichment facilities, much of Iran's enriched uranium is believed to have survived.

Trump has said he wants Iran's highly enriched uranium removed, particularly what remains of the 440.9 kg (972 lbs) enriched to up to 60% purity - a short step from roughly 90% weapons grade - that the IAEA estimates Iran had when Israel first attacked. That amount would be enough, if further enriched, for 10 nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick.

Russia's ambassador to the IAEA told reporters on Friday a resolution would only antagonize Iran.

"It was exactly the United States who undermined this cooperation," he said, referring to the fact the IAEA had access to Iran's sites until the bombing started.

Russia and China have opposed all recent resolutions against Iran.

World

Russian Drone Hits Nuclear-Fuel Storage Facility Near Chornobyl, Ukraine Says

15 September 2021, Ukraine, Chornobyl: A group of tourists stand at the memorial in front of unit four of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which exploded in 1986. (dpa)
15 September 2021, Ukraine, Chornobyl: A group of tourists stand at the memorial in front of unit four of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which exploded in 1986. (dpa)
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Russian Drone Hits Nuclear-Fuel Storage Facility Near Chornobyl, Ukraine Says

15 September 2021, Ukraine, Chornobyl: A group of tourists stand at the memorial in front of unit four of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which exploded in 1986. (dpa)
15 September 2021, Ukraine, Chornobyl: A group of tourists stand at the memorial in front of unit four of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which exploded in 1986. (dpa)

Russian forces deliberately struck a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel near Ukraine's Chornobyl power plant, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, in an "extremely vile" attack that did not lead to a spike in radiation.

The strike significantly damaged a fuel-reception building meters away from where "large amounts of nuclear material" is stored, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which said it had ‌been briefed ‌by Ukraine.

Kyiv's state atomic agency ‌Energoatom ⁠said no spent ⁠fuel had been stored in the building at the time of the attack. A resulting fire was extinguished, and no injuries were reported.

Russia has not publicly commented on the alleged strike on the facility, which is located around ⁠15 km (9 miles) from the Chornobyl ‌plant, the site ‌of the world's worst nuclear disaster.

"An extremely critical infrastructure ‌facility – and an extremely vile Russian strike," ‌Zelenskiy wrote on X, adding that Russia had used a Shahed attack drone.

"As of now, there are no readings exceeding normal background radiation levels. But ‌there is certainly an increase in Russia's brazenness, which long ago went off ⁠the ⁠charts."

In a statement, the IAEA said a team would soon visit the site "to inspect the impact".

In February 2025, a Russian Shahed drone damaged a containment arch over the Chornobyl reactor that was destroyed in the April 1986 explosion and meltdown. Russia, which regularly attacks Ukrainian cities and infrastructure with drones and missiles, denied responsibility.

Kyiv and Moscow have also traded accusations of attacking the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine, Europe's largest.

World

Quakes Rattle Greek Island Near Athens, No Injuries Reported

Tourists visit the 5th century BC Propylaea on the Acropolis Hill during a hot day, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP)
Tourists visit the 5th century BC Propylaea on the Acropolis Hill during a hot day, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP)
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Quakes Rattle Greek Island Near Athens, No Injuries Reported

Tourists visit the 5th century BC Propylaea on the Acropolis Hill during a hot day, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP)
Tourists visit the 5th century BC Propylaea on the Acropolis Hill during a hot day, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP)

Two successive quakes with a magnitude near 5 hit the Greek ‌island of ‌Evia, northeast ‌of Athens, ⁠on Sunday, data ⁠from the Athens Geodynamic Institute showed.

No injuries ⁠were reported, ‌but ‌there were ‌some ‌reports of rocks falling from the tremor, ‌which was felt in the ⁠Greek capital ⁠about 130 km (80 miles) away from the epicenter in northern Evia.