IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Iran

UN official in Teheran as atomic deal unravels

The acting director-general of the United Nations nuclear watchdog is in Teheran for meetings after Iran announced it would begin using advanced centrifuges prohibited by its 2015 atomic deal with world powers. Iranian state television aired a Sunday video of UN official Cornel Feruta in Teheran. Feruta was scheduled to meet Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iranian foreign minister, and Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. Iran on Saturday announced it would begin using two types of advanced centrifuges. Iran already has crept past limits the deal imposed on nuclear enrichment and its uranium stockpile. It is trying to pressure Europe to offer a way to sell crude oil abroad despite sanctions by the United States.

France

Yellow vest protests revive across nation

French police clashed on Saturday with protesters seeking to inject fresh momentum into demonstrations calling for social justice and the ouster of President Emmanuel Macron. The movement's weekend rallies began last November but had tapered off over the summer, but its leaders hope to galvanize support for a fresh wave of rallies across the country as the government begins a reform of France's retirement system. Officials in the southern city of Montpellier said around 2,000 people gathered in the city center, although organizers put numbers at closer to 5,000. During clashes between police and protesters, officers fired tear gas to try to disperse the crowd and a firebomb wrecked an unoccupied police car.

Agencies

(China Daily 09/09/2019 page11)