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Iran says IAEA report on undeclared sites 'not fair'

Iran condemned as "not fair" Tuesday a report by the UN nuclear watchdog on traces of nuclear material found at three undeclared sites.

The comments came with talks deadlocked since March on reviving a 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers.

"Unfortunately, this report does not reflect the reality of the negotiations between Iran and the IAEA," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters, referring to the Monday report by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

An image grab from a video released by state-run Iran Press news agency on May 31, 2022 shows Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh briefing reporters in Tehran -- he said the IAEA report was not "fair and balanced"

Death toll reaches 36 in Iran tower block collapse

The death toll has risen to 36 from a tower block that collapsed in southwestern Iran last week, sparking angry protests, state media reported Tuesday.

A large section of the 10-storey Metropol building that was under construction in a busy street in the city of Abadan crashed to the ground on May 23, resulting in one of the country's deadliest disasters in recent years.

Iranians gather at the site where a 10-storey building collapsed as rescue operations continue in the southwestern city of Abadan

Kozo Okamoto's long life after Israel suicide mission

Kozo Okamoto's life should have ended in 1972 when he took part in a suicide attack on Israel's Lod airport that killed 26 people.

Yet half a century and two stints in prison later, he is still alive, leading an uneventful existence as Lebanon's first and only political refugee.

Now a frail, grey-haired man, Kozo Okamoto is still wanted in his native Japan but remains something of a folk hero in Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps.

Kozo Okamoto (L) -- the only surviving member of the three-man Japanese Red Army commando that killed 26 people in Israel's Lod airport on May 30, 1972

Boards against boredom: Libya rolls out first skatepark

Libyan Mohamed Abderraouf put a foot on his board and launched himself across Tripoli's first skatepark, a welcome break in the conflict-battered capital with few facilities for bored young people.

"I can't describe the joy," said the 18-year-old, who bought his first skateboard in 2020 and had only been able to practice on street corners -- until now. "I'm going to come a couple of times a week."

Skateboarders show off their skills during the inauguration of a skatepark, a first in Libya, in the capital Tripoli

Israel should consider 'terror' tag for Jewish extremists: minister

Israel should consider placing on its terrorism list two right-wing extremist groups accused of violence towards Palestinians and who called for the death of Arabs, Defence Minister Benny Gantz said Monday.

"I believe it is time to examine defining groups like La Familia and Lehava as terror groups, and I know the issue is being presented to security forces," Gantz said during a faction meeting of his Blue and White party.

Members of "La Familia", a far-right fan group of Israel's Beitar Jerusalem football club, arrive on December 11, 2020 to confront supporters of the purchase, by a member of Abu Dhabi's royal family, of half ownership in the club

Palestinians in Beirut mark 1972 attack on Israel airport

Palestinian militants in Beirut on Monday marked the 50th anniversary of a deadly attack carried out by members of the Japanese Red Army at Israel's Lod airport.

Kozo Okamoto, the only surviving member of the three-man commando that killed 26 people on May 30, 1972 at the airport near Tel Aviv, made a rare appearance at the ceremony.

The short event was held at a cemetery on the edge of Shatila Palestinian refugee camp where Okamoto, now 74, laid a wreath on a grave honouring his fellow JRA members and flashed a V-sign.

Kozo Okamoto (C), the only surviving member of a three-man Japanese Red Army commando that killed 26 people at Israel's Lod airport on May 30, 1972, gestures at a ceremony organised by Palestinian militants in Beirut

Iran's enriched uranium stockpile 18 times over 2015 deal limit: IAEA

The UN nuclear watchdog said Monday that it estimated Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium had grown to more than 18 times the limit laid down in Tehran's 2015 deal with world powers.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said in its latest report on Iran's nuclear programme that it "estimated that, as of May 15, 2022, Iran's total enriched stockpile was 3,809.3 kilograms."

The limit in the 2015 deal was set at 300 kg (660 pounds) of a specific compound, the equivalent of 202.8 kg of uranium.

The IAEA estimates that Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile as of May 15, 2022 was 3,809.3 kilograms

Iran rejects Cannes movie award as 'biased, political'

Iran on Monday rejected as "biased and political" last week's award at Cannes for a film about a serial killer who targeted sex workers in an Iranian Shiite shrine city.

Iranian Zar Amir Ebrahimi won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday for her performance in the film "Holy Spider", directed by Danish-Iranian Ali Abbassi.

Ebrahimi, who went into exile following a smear campaign about her love life, was awarded for her portrayal of a journalist trying to solve the serial murders of sex workers in Iran's holy city of Mashhad.

Zar Amir Ebrahimi told Cannes that she had 'come a long way'

Irish court finds ex-soldier Lisa Smith guilty of joining IS

Three judges at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin on Monday found former soldier Lisa Smith guilty of joining the so-called Islamic State group in Syria.

Smith, 40, wept in the dock as judge Tony Hunt read the panel's decision, which was delivered after a nine-week trial.

The Muslim convert, who wore a hijab to court, pleaded not guilty to membership of an unlawful terrorist group between October 28, 2015 and December 1, 2019.

Former Irish soldier Lisa Smith was found guilty of joining the so-called Islamic State group but acquitted of funding terrorism

Sudan lifts state of emergency imposed since coup

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Sunday lifted a state of emergency imposed since last year's military coup, the ruling sovereign council said.

Burhan "issued a decree lifting the state of emergency nationwide," the council said in a statement.

The order was made "to prepare the atmosphere for a fruitful and meaningful dialogue that achieves stability for the transitional period", it added.

Sunday's decision came after a meeting with senior military officials recommending the state of emergency be lifted and people detained under an emergency law be freed.

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Sunday lifted a state of emergency imposed since an October 25 coup