IAEA chief: Iran is poised to increase stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Iran is poised to “quite dramatically” increase its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium. That’s according to comments by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday. Rafael Mariano Grossi spoke in Bahrain, on the sidelines of the International Institute of Strategic Studies’ Manama Dialogue. He says Iran had begun preparing advanced centrifuge cascades to spin at nuclear facilities to increase its supply of 60% enriched uranium. That kind of material is a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Grossi says this is “very concerning.” Iran did not immediately acknowledge the preparations, which Grossi said had begun on Friday. Inspectors hope to examine what’s going on.

Romania’s top court annuls first round of presidential vote won by far-right candidate

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A top Romanian court has annulled the first round of the country’s presidential election, days after declassified intelligence alleged Russia ran a coordinated online campaign to promote the far-right outsider who won the first round. Friday’s unprecedented and final decision by the Constitutional Court came after President Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence on Wednesday that alleged Russia ran a sprawling campaign comprising thousands of social media accounts to promote Calin Georgescu across platforms like TikTok and Telegram. Despite being a huge outsider who declared zero campaign spending, Georgescu emerged as the frontrunner on Nov. 24. He was due to face reformist Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party in a runoff on Sunday.

Thousands flee as Syrian insurgents advance to the country’s third-largest city

BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of people have fled the central Syrian city of Homs, the country’s third largest, as insurgents seized two towns on the outskirts Friday. The fighters are positioning themselves for an assault on a potentially major prize in their march against President Bashar Assad. The move was reported by pro-government media and an opposition war monitor. It was the latest in the stunning advances by opposition fighters over the past week that have so far met little resistance from Assad’s forces. A day earlier, fighters captured the central city of Hama, Syria’s fourth largest, after the army said it withdrew to avoid fighting inside the city and spare the lives of civilians.

Ailing kids wait months for Israeli permission to leave Gaza for treatment

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — UNICEF estimates that 2,500 ailing children need immediate evacuation from Gaza for treatment abroad. But many have been waiting for months for Israeli permission — or were met with unexplained rejections. The pace of medical evacuations has plummeted this year even as some 14,000 Palestinians of all ages are seeking permits. For parents, the wait has been tortuous as their children suffering from war wounds or chronic conditions face paralysis, blindness, amputation or even death if they don’t get treatment abroad. Israel’s military says it “makes every effort” to facilitate evacuations, but both patients and their caregivers face long security reviews.