AFP, Washington
President Barack Obama’s national security team believes there is “no specific, credible threat” to the United States from Islamic State, the White House said, amid stepped up coalition strikes on the extremist group.
Obama convened his National Security Council to discuss the recent string of attacks by the self-proclaimed Islamic State, which claims it has created a caliphate taking in huge swathes of Iraq and Syria.
Ukraine closes
its airspace to Russia
AP, Moscow
Ukraine’s prime minister says his government has decided to close the country’s airspace to all Russian planes.
Ukraine last month banned all Russian airlines from flying into Ukraine but Russian planes have been allowed to fly over its territory.
Iran N- deal with world powers in Jan
Reuters, Vienna
Iran expects a deal it reached with world powers in July, under which sanctions will be lifted in return for it scaling down its nuclear program, to be implemented at the start of next year, Iranian nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday.
“We expect early January,” Araqchi told reporters after meeting the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is tasked with verifying whether Iran is keeping its commitments under the deal.
Sweden tightens asylum rules further
AFP, Stockholm
Sweden said Tuesday it would drastically tighten its asylum rules in a bid to stem the flow of migrants coming to the country, putting its rules on a par with the EU’s minimum regulations.
“It pains me to say that Sweden can no longer take in asylum seekers at the same high level … Sweden needs some breathing room,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told reporters.
