IRAN: The US should lift sanctions to “break the deadlock” on Iranian nuclear development, China said today as Tehran began restricting international inspections.
Iran has moved away from parts of the nuclear deal agreed in 2015 in response to Washington’s decision to walk out and impose crippling sanctions, toughening its stance following provocations such as the assassination of scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh last November.
China said the situation was at a “critical point” and called for the US to return to the deal and lift sanctions.

GREECE: A six-year-old Iranian boy has died from burns sustained during a fire at a refugee camp near Thebes.
The fire service said in a statement that firefighters sent to the incident were initially prevented by camp residents from entering, and had to call for police support to get in and extinguish the blaze.
Conditions at overcrowded refugee camps in Greece are reported to be unsanitary and dangerous, with long-term residents suffering mental health problems.

NEPAL: Thousands of demonstrators rallied today to demand that Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli resign after the Supreme Court ruled that his dissolution of parliament was unconstitutional.
Mr Oli’s action aimed to avoid his own dismissal after he lost the confidence of the ruling Nepal Communist Party, itself a recent amalgamation of the Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) and the Communist Party (Maoist).

GERMANY: A former Syrian security official was convicted in Germany today of facilitating the torture of prisoners during the country’s civil war.
Eyad al-Gharib was convicted of being an accessory to crimes against humanity and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail. German prosecutors invoked the principle of universal jurisdiction for serious crimes to bring the case, which involved victims and defendants who were in Germany.
All sides in the Syrian war between the government and jihadist insurgent groups, including Isis, have been accused of war crimes.