Inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog on Monday began examining uranium fuel that Russia is likely to send to Iran’s first atomic power station, a Russian nuclear official said.

Lebanon’s opposition groups voiced strong opposition to the attendance of the country’s prime minister at the so-called Middle-East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, warning that Siniora’s participation in the US meeting would serve the interests of the Israeli regime.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa here on Monday, said Tehran believes that Sri Lanka’s progress and mightiness would serve interests of regional countries.