ARDEO

Opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych emerged as the apparent winner in Ukraine’s presidential contest Monday, holding onto a lead of almost 3 percentage points with about 99 percent of ballots counted.

Iran moves closer to being able to produce nuclear warheads Monday with formal notification that it will enrich uranium to higher levels, even while insisting that the move was meant only to provide fuel for its research reactor.

International election monitors have hailed Ukraine’s presidential elections as “professional, transparent and honest.”

American and British forces poised to assault the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand Province, have begun targeting insurgent leaders for assassination, The Sunday Times reported.

Iran has arrested seven people linked to a U.S.-funded Farsi-language radio station for allegedly fomenting unrest, and accused some of the suspects of working for American spy agencies, Iranian state media reported Sunday.

Lebanon’s marine commandos on Sunday recovered the black box of the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed into the Mediterranean last month, the Lebanese army said in a statement.

Hundreds of protesters denounced Iraqis still loyal to Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party on Sunday as tensions soared over the decision to blacklist suspected Baathists from next month’s election.

India again successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable missile Sunday that can hit targets across much of Asia and the Middle East, a defense ministry press release said.

Israel’s prime minister attempted to end a war of words with Syria on Sunday, saying his country is open to peace talks with its longtime enemy.

Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ordered his country’s atomic agency on Sunday to begin the production of higher enriched uranium.