Top story: In an effort to dial up the pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, European Union foreign ministers have adopted an oil embargo against Tehran, which currently sends about 20 percent of its oil exports to the EU. European ministers also agreed to freeze the assets of Iran's central bank and ban trade in gold and other precious metals with the bank and other public entities.
"I want the pressure of these sanctions to result in negotiations" with the West, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton explained. The tougher EU measures come shortly after the Obama administration imposed fresh sanctions on Iran's oil sector, and Europe and the United States are now trying to persuade Asian countries to reduce their purchases of Iranian oil as well.
European ministers elected to phase in the embargo gradually to protect the European economy as it struggles to overcome its debt crisis, but enraged Iranian authorities may foil that plan. Iran's Fars news agency quoted one official as saying Iran should halt oil exports to the EU immediately "so that the price of oil soars and the Europeans ... have trouble."
Yemen: Outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh has left Yemen for New York, where he'll receive medical treatment on a visit approved by the Obama administration. The State Department says Saleh, who has yet to officially relinquish power, will stay in the United States for a "limited time that corresponds to the duration of this treatment."
Middle East
- Syria has rejected a new Arab League peace plan calling for President Bashar al-Assad to cede power to a unity government.
- Libya's interim government delayed the release of a controversial election law and top Transitional National Council official Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga resigned after protesters attacked the council's offices in Benghazi.
- Egypt's new Islamist-dominated lower house of parliament is holding its inaugural session and focusing on procedural duties such as electing a speaker.
Europe
- Croatians voted to join the European Union by a two-to-one margin even as the bloc struggles with a debt crisis.
- In a move that could further damage France's relations with Turkey, the French Senate is slated to vote on Monday on a bill passed by the country's lower house that would penalize genocide denial.
- Italian truckers are blocking roads throughout Italy and taxi drivers are on strike to protest the government's fuel-tax hike and economic reforms.
Asia
- U.S. envoy Marc Grossman has rejected reports that peace talks with the Taliban could begin this week and suggested instead that negotiations won't be launched anytime soon.
- Indian news outlets are reporting that police invented an assassination plot against Salman Rushdie to deter the author from attending a literature festival.
- A judge in New Zealand has delayed a decision on bail for the founder of the file-sharing website Megaupload, which the FBI has accused of Internet piracy and money laundering.
Africa
- The International Criminal Court has ordered two Kenyan presidential candidates to stand trial for committing crimes against humanity during violence that erupted after the country's 2007 election.
- A U.S. drone strike killed a senior foreign commander fighting with Shabab militants near Mogadishu, according to officials with the Islamic militant group.
- An Ethiopian rebel group says it kidnapped two German tourists and two Ethiopians in a deadly attack in the remote region of Afar last week.
Americas
- A Guatemalan judge has ordered former military dictator Efrain Rios Montt to appear in court this week in what could be a prelude to a trial on genocide charges.
- Brazilian police stormed an illegal settlement in Sao Paulo to reclaim the land for private owners.
- Workers have called off a strike that paralyzed the expansion of the Panama Canal for a week.
Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images
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