Briefly

IRAN

Surveillance camera deal agreed with UN

Iran agreed on Sunday to allow international inspectors to install new memory cards in surveillance cameras at its sensitive nuclear sites and to continue filming there. The announcement by Mohammad Eslami of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran was made after a meeting with Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Grossi said it "is indispensable for us to provide the necessary guarantee and information to the IAEA and to the world that everything is in order." Eslami described the negotiations between Iran and the Vienna-based IAEA as "sheerly technical" without any room for politics. Grossi would return to Iran soon to talk with officials, Eslami said, without further elaboration.

FRANCE

120,000 join protests against health passes

More than 120,000 people demonstrated across France on Saturday, according to official figures, to protest the coronavirus health passes that they say discriminate against the unvaccinated. The health pass is required to enter cafes, restaurants and many other public places. The interior ministry said 121,000 people had demonstrated, with 19,000 of them in the capital, Paris, where police arrested 85 people after clashes broke out. Three police officials were slightly injured during the protests, the ministry added. Saturday's protests came a day after former French health minister Agnes Buzyn was charged over her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, after investigators at a special court in Paris concluded there were grounds to prosecute her.

UNITED STATES

COVID-19 spreads through gorillas at zoo

At least 13 western lowland gorillas have tested positive for COVID-19 at Zoo Atlanta in the US state of Georgia, including 60-year-old Ozzie, the oldest male gorilla in captivity. The zoo said on Friday that the gorillas had been coughing, had runny noses and showed changes in appetite. A veterinary lab at the University of Georgia returned positive tests for the respiratory illness. Zoo officials said they believe an asymptomatic employee who cares for the gorillas passed on the virus. The employee had been fully vaccinated and was wearing protective equipment. The zoo said there's no evidence that the gorillas can pass the virus back to humans.

Agencies Via Xinhua