U.N. group to meet with Iran negotiator
VIENNA – A top nuclear negotiator from Tehran will meet with the head of the U.N.’s nuclear agency next week just hours before agency experts sit down with Iranian counterparts to renew their push for access to sites, people and documents believed linked to possible work on atomic arms, the agency said Thursday.
The talks between International Atomic Energy Agency specialists and Iranian negotiators have been set for nearly a month. But Iran’s decision to send Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was only announced Thursday.
Araghchi’s mission in Vienna was unclear, but he played a key role in nuclear talks last week with six world powers that negotiators from both sides described as encouraging after years of inconclusive meetings.
A new round is scheduled Nov. 7-8.
Iran has no nuclear arms and denies such work, saying all its atomic activities are peaceful.
University draws fire for honoring N. Korean
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A Malaysian university is facing public criticism for awarding an honorary doctorate in economics to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The privately run HELP University said a “simple ceremony” to mark the conferment was held in early October at North Korea’s embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
The event initially went unnoticed in this Southeast Asian nation but was reported briefly by North Korea’s official news agency, KCNA. It attracted criticism on social networks in Malaysia this week after the U.S.-based Foreign Policy magazine posted a blog article that expressed surprise about the decision.
The university’s president, Paul Chan, said in an undated statement released this week that the decision was about “building a bridge to reach the people.”
Chan’s office said he was not available for further comments Thursday
Roma woman offers to take DNA test
SOFIA, Bulgaria — A Roma woman in Bulgaria said Thursday that police have questioned her about whether she is the mother of a girl found living with an unrelated couple in Greece, and that she is willing to do a DNA test and take the child back if she is proved to be hers.
The case of the girl, known as “Maria” and believed to be 5-6 years old, has gained international attention.
Greek authorities took custody of the girl after finding her while raiding a Roma camp for illegal weapons and drugs.
After a DNA test proved she wasn’t theirs, an international search was then launched to find the child’s real parents, while the couple she had been living with were arrested. The search apparently led to central Bulgaria, where police tracked down 38-year-old Sasha Ruseva in the town of Nikolaevo.
Associated Press
