Iran to seek reparations if frozen assets plundered: Zarif

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• Iran’s Foreign Minister has criticized a US court ruling that allows Washington to take money from frozen Iranian assets to grant to the families of victims of a 1983 bombing in Beirut. Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran will seek reparations if the US administration tries to plunder Iranian funds.
• The head of the Syrian government delegation in the Geneva talks has accused the Saudi-backed opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee, of behind recent terrorist attacks in Syria. Bashar al-Ja'afari also said that Saudi Arabia and Turkey instruct terrorist groups to plan attacks in Syria.
• The UN Security Council has asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to submit a broad plan within a month on peace efforts in Yemen. The 15-member council also urged the warring sides in Yemen to develop a road-map for the implementation of interim security measures in the war-torn country.
• At least 2 person has been killed and several others have been wounded in a blast on a passenger bus in the Armenian capital Yerevan. Police and firefighters have been deployed to the scene to help the injured. Armenia’s Emergencies Ministry is investigating the cause of the incident.
• London’s mayor has slammed the US president’s intervention in a debate on Britain’s upcoming referendum on EU membership. Boris Johnson rejected as ridiculous Barack Obama’s comment that Brexit pushes Britain to the end of the queue for a trade deal with the US.
• Egyptian police have clashed with protesters angry over President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi’s decision to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. Demonstrators called on Sisi to step down. Earlier, the Egyptian president warned that security forces would deal firmly with protesters.
• Brazil’s Senate has convened to choose a 21-member commission responsible for following up on the impeachment process against President Dilma Rousseff. The committee will have 10 working days to debate the impeachment process before another vote in the Senate itself to decide Rousseff's fate.
• Venezuela's Supreme Court has rejected a proposed constitutional reform to shorten the term of President Nicolas Maduro. The court ruled that the amendment, which was proposed in a bill by opposition lawmakers, would breach the will of the people who elected him.

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