Briefly

MIDDLE EAST

Israel, US to prevent nuclear-armed Iran

Israel and the United States will "work together" to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons despite their disagreements over the emerging nuclear deal, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said on Sunday after meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Blinken said the emerging renewed nuclear deal between Iran and world powers is the best way "to put Iran's nuclear program back in the box it was in". Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to participate in the first summit of foreign ministers of Arab countries that have normalized ties with Israel.

GENEVA

Former Togo PM to lead UN labor agency

Gilbert F. Houngbo of Togo will be the International Labour Organization's next director-general, the organization said on Friday. He was elected by the United Nations agency's governing body comprising representatives of governments, workers and employers during the meeting in Geneva. Houngbo, former prime minister of Togo, will be the 11th head of the agency and the first African to hold the post. His five-year term will begin on Oct 1. Guy Ryder, the current director-general from the United Kingdom, has held office since 2012.

IRAQ

Parliament postpones vote on new president

Iraq's parliament decided on Saturday to postpone the vote for a new president till Wednesday after failing to reach a quorum due to political disputes among parliamentary political blocs, a state-run TV channel reported. Parliament held a session in the afternoon with the attendance of 202 lawmakers out of the 329-seat parliament, and the vote for a new president had to be postponed due to a lack of the required two-thirds quorum of the parliament, according to the Iraqiya channel.

Xinhua - Agencies