MAGDEBURG, June 26 (Reuters) - A Saudi doctor was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for killing six people and injuring hundreds, ramming a rented BMW into crowds at a historic market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg days before Christmas in 2024.

The attack shocked the country and stirred up tensions over the charged issue of immigration, months before a general election that was held in February 2025.

TOKYO, June 26 (Reuters) - The interim U.S.-Iran peace accord gives U.N. nuclear inspectors access to Iran, the watchdog's top official said on Friday, after Tehran indicated key sites would remain off-limits until a final deal with Washington was reached and sanctions lifted.

The U.S. and Iran last week signed a memorandum of understanding paving the way for 60 days of talks to resolve thornier issues, including those related to Iran's nuclear programme. Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Wednesday there were no plans to grant access to inspectors.

By Gram Slattery

MANAMA, June 26 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration has pushed hard to present a united front on the Iran war, but statements by his vice president and secretary of state have at times diverged over the past week, especially on the subject of Israel.

"Very strong" verification is needed in Iran following the Middle East conflict to ensure that it does not develop nuclear weapons, the UN atomic watchdog chief said on Friday.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi's remarks come as the United States and Iran negotiate a broader agreement to end the war, with Tehran's nuclear programme a key sticking point.

By Kate Abnett and Tuvan Gumrukcu

LUXEMBOURG, June 26 (Reuters) - The European Union has rebuked Turkey for excluding Cyprus from preparations for this year's U.N. climate summit, as diplomatic tensions mount over the issue ahead of the global climate talks.

Turkey will host the COP31 climate summit in November, where nearly 200 countries will gather for their annual talks on how to address global warming.

At a meeting of EU climate ministers on Thursday, Cyprus said it had not been invited by Turkey to two preparatory meetings for COP31, in New York and Tokyo.

SINGAPORE, June 26 (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco resumed oil loading on Friday at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf after a near four-month halt, shipping data from LSEG showed.

Two Very Large Crude Carriers were seen loading crude at the terminal, while another waited nearby, the data showed. Each VLCC is capable of loading 2 million barrels of oil.

Saudi Aramco could not be immediately reached for comment outside office hours.

June 25 (Reuters) - Governments and humanitarian organizations worldwide have begun sending cash, rescue teams and other forms of aid to Venezuela after two powerful earthquakes on Wednesday killed at least 188 people and left more than 1,500 injured, with casualties expected to rise.

The back-to-back quakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude and striking roughly 160 km (100 miles) west of the capital Caracas, damaged at least 250 buildings and left, at the most recent tally, about 200 people trapped in debris.

U.N. HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS OFFICE

ANKARA, June 25 (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed the earthquakes in Venezuela and the country's need for aid in a call with his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil on Thursday, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.

Fidan also said Turkey would continue to help and support Venezuela, the source said.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Chris Reese)

WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - NATO chief Mark Rutte said on Thursday that tens of billions of dollars in new defense-related contracts will be announced at the alliance's upcoming Julysummit in Ankara.

In remarks at the Atlantic Council, Rutte also said NATO would pledge support for Ukraine at the summit, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Jonathan Landay, Katharine Jackson; Editing by Daphne Psaledakis)

LONDON, June 25 (Reuters) - The United Nations’ shipping agency on Thursday paused an evacuation effort to get hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of seafarers out through the Strait of Hormuz after a vessel was attacked in the Gulf of Oman.

"I have been informed of an attack today in the Gulf of Oman on a vessel which passed through the Strait of Hormuz. This vessel did not transit under IMO’s evacuation framework," Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization (IMO), said in a statement.