The IAEA's latest report on Iran said it had further expanded its uranium enrichment capacity by installing many more centrifuges.

"According to all the information available to me, they were used for civilian purposes," Merkel told public television station ARD.

Attahiru said a series of raids carried out on Islamist camps in northeastern Borno state had pushed Boko Haram into hiding in a forest.

Putin’s remarks came soon after a senior Defense Ministry official said Russia’s defense industry technology was largely outdated.

The Pakistani government summoned a top Afghan diplomat to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad to protest the incident.

The poll indicated that center-right voters were split almost down the middle about what to do if Berlusconi is ousted.

The airline, part of the Air France KLM group, had already announced plans to cut 5,100 jobs from its 69,000-strong workforce.

The accident occurred just outside a suburban train station in the city's west end in the middle of the morning commute.

“It seems to me that we haven’t had such an unfavorable situation in the last five years, since the crisis,” Alexei Ulyukayev said.