Two in tight race to lead UN nuclear watchdog

Two candidates from two continents are in a tight race to become the next head the UN's nuclear watchdog, which is tasked with monitoring the implementation of the faltering Iran nuclear deal, a diplomat said Tuesday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is searching for a new chief following the death of its head, Yukiya Amano, in July.

Romanian diplomat Cornel Feruta, the organisation's acting director general since Amano's death, is running neck-to-neck with the Argentinian ambassador to the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, to replace Amano.

In an informal vote by the 35-member board of governors of the Vienna-based organisation, Feruta received 14 votes, while Grossi got 15 endorsements, the diplomat said.

A third candidate, Lassina Zerbo of Burkina Faso, got five votes. In total, 34 votes were cast.

Zerbo is the executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), also based in Vienna.

A fourth candidate, Marta Ziakova, head of the Slovak Nuclear ...