Reuters

(Reuters) -Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner long seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain near the Azerbaijan border, officials and state media said on Monday.

The helicopter was also carrying Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six other passengers and crew, all of whom perished.

Here are reactions to the news:

SAUDI... (continue reading...)

By Pesha Magid

RIYADH (Reuters) -Saudia Group, owner of the Saudia airline and budget carrier flyadeal, on Monday announced an order for 105 Airbus narrow-body aircraft in what the company's director general described as the largest ever order from a Saudi airline.

The order consists of 12 A320neo and 93 A321neo single aisle aircraft. State-owned Saudia Group said that Saudia would be receiving 54 of the A321neo jets, while flyadeal would... (continue reading...)

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian military said on Monday it had taken full control of the settlement of Bilohorivka in Ukraine's Luhansk region and had taken up better positions in the area.

The Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement its forces had also been involved in fierce clashes in Ukraine's Kharkiv region near Vovchansk, Starytsia and Hlyboke where it said they had repelled two counter-attacks.

Russian forces earlier this... (continue reading...)

By Fatos Bytyci and Florion Goga

TIRANA (Reuters) - On the roof of the mayor's office in Albania's capital Tirana, lesbians Alba Ahmetaj and Edlira Mara held an unofficial wedding ceremony on Sunday, a symbolic move they hope will promote LGBT+ rights in the conservative Balkan country.

Guests threw white petals as the couple, dressed in billowing white gowns, approached the altar that overlooked the historic city centre. When the... (continue reading...)

By Dave Sherwood

(Reuters) - The Dominican Republic's Luis Abinader, who is set for a second term after winning a preliminary 58.85% in Sunday's vote, inherited a nightmare scenario when he first took office as president in August 2020.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Caribbean island nation's tally of cases had soared to more than 86,000, all but shutting down the region's top tourism destination, and tanking its economy.