DUBAI, Jan 29 (Reuters) – A loud explosion struck a military trade factory close to the central Iranian metropolis of Isfahan in a single day in what Tehran mentioned on Sunday was a drone strike by unidentified attackers.

There was no instant declare of duty for the blast, which got here amid rigidity with the West over Tehran’s nuclear exercise and provide of arms for Russia’s battle in Ukraine, in addition to months of anti-government demonstrations at residence.

Iran’s international minister mentioned the “cowardly” attack was aimed toward creating “insecurity” in Iran. The Defence Ministry mentioned the explosion triggered solely minor injury and no casualties. The extent of the injury couldn’t be independently confirmed.

“Such actions will not impact our experts’ determination to progress in our peaceful nuclear work,” Hossein Amirabdollahian informed reporters in televised remarks.

Iranian media video confirmed a flash of sunshine on the plant, which the official information company IRNA described as an ammunition factory. Footage additionally confirmed emergency automobiles and fireplace vehicles exterior the complicated.

“Around 23:30 (2000 GMT) on Saturday night, an unsuccessful attack was carried out using micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) on one of the ministry’s workshop sites,” the Defence Ministry mentioned in a press release carried by state TV.

It mentioned one drone was shot down “and the other two were caught in defence traps and blew up. It caused only minor damage to the roof of a workshop building. There were no casualties.”

The attack “has not affected our installations and mission … and such blind measures will not have an impact on the continuation of the country’s progress,” the assertion mentioned.

Separately, IRNA reported early on Sunday an enormous fireplace at a motor oil factory in an industrial zone close to the northwestern metropolis of Tabriz. It gave no details about the reason for that blaze.

PAST EXPLOSIONS, FIRES

The Islamic Republic has prior to now accused arch-enemy Israel of planning assaults utilizing brokers inside Iranian territory. In July, Tehran mentioned it had arrested a sabotage workforce made up of Kurdish militants working for Israel who deliberate to explode a “sensitive” defence trade centre in Isfahan.

An Israeli military spokesperson declined remark when requested if Israel had a connection to the most recent incident. Israel has lengthy mentioned it might attack Iran if diplomacy fails to curb Tehran’s nuclear or ballistic missile programmes, however has a coverage of withholding touch upon particular incidents.

In Ukraine, which accuses Iran of supplying a whole bunch of drones to Russia to attack civilian targets in Ukrainian cities removed from the entrance, a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy linked the incident on to the battle there.

“War logic is inexorable & murderous. It bills the authors & accomplices strictly,” Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted. “Explosive night in Iran – drone & missile production, oil refineries. Did warn you.”

Several Iranian nuclear websites are situated in Isfahan province, together with Natanz, centrepiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment programme, which Iran accuses Israel of sabotaging in 2021. There have been various explosions and fires round Iranian military, nuclear and industrial websites in recent times.

Talks between Iran and world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal have stalled since September. Under the pact, deserted by Washington in 2018 beneath then-President Donald Trump, Tehran agreed to restrict nuclear work in return for relieving of sanctions.

Iran has acknowledged sending drones to Russia however says they had been despatched earlier than Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine final yr. Moscow denies its forces use Iranian drones in Ukraine, though many have been shot down and recovered there.

Iran’s clerical rulers have additionally confronted inside turmoil in latest months, with a crackdown on widespread anti-establishment demonstrations spurred by the demise in custody of a lady held for allegedly violating its strict Islamic costume code.

Reporting by Dubai newsroom,
Writing by Parisa Hafezi
Editing by Daniel Wallis, Cynthia Osterman, Josie Kao, Peter Graff and Mark Heinrich

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

MOSCOW, Dec 25 (Reuters) – Russia is ready to negotiate with all events concerned within the battle in Ukraine however Kyiv and its Western backers have refused to interact in talks, President Vladimir Putin mentioned in an interview aired on Sunday.

Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has triggered probably the most lethal European battle since World War Two and the most important confrontation between Moscow and the West because the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

There is, to this point, little finish in sight to the battle.

The Kremlin says it can struggle till all its goals are achieved whereas Kyiv says it is not going to relaxation till each Russian soldier is ejected from all of its territory.

“We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them – we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are,” Putin instructed Rossiya 1 state tv.

An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mentioned Putin wanted to return to actuality and acknowledge it was Russia which didn’t want talks.

“Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens,” the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted. “Russia doesn’t want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility.”

‘NO OTHER CHOICE’

Russian assaults on energy stations have left thousands and thousands with out electrical energy, and Zelenskiy mentioned Moscow would purpose to make the previous few days of 2022 darkish and tough.

“Russia has lost everything it could this year. … I know darkness will not prevent us from leading the occupiers to new defeats. But we have to be ready for any scenario,” he mentioned in a night video deal with.

The Ukrainian armed forces’ common workers mentioned there was nonetheless a menace of air and missile strikes on important infrastructure throughout the nation.

Russian troops had shelled dozens of cities and positions alongside the entrance line, it mentioned in a Facebook submit.

Zelenskiy, referring to a strike on the southern metropolis of Kherson on Saturday that officers say killed a minimum of 10 individuals, vowed, “We will find every Russian murderer”.

Putin accused the West of attempting to cleave Russia aside.

“I believe that we are acting in the right direction, we are defending our national interests, the interests of our citizens, our people. And we have no other choice but to protect our citizens,” Putin mentioned.

Asked if the geopolitical battle with the West was approaching a harmful stage, Putin mentioned: “I don’t think it’s so dangerous.”

Putin mentioned the West had begun the battle in 2014 by toppling a pro-Russian Ukrainian president within the Maidan Revolution protests.

Soon after, Russia annexed Crimea and Russian-backed separatist forces started combating in jap Ukraine.

“Actually, the fundamental thing here is the policy of our geopolitical opponents which is aimed at pulling apart Russia, historical Russia,” Putin mentioned.

Putin casts the battle in Ukraine, which he calls a “special military operation,” as a watershed second when Moscow lastly stood up to a Western bloc that he says has been in search of to destroy Russia because the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Ukraine and the West say Putin has no justification for what they solid as an imperial-style battle of occupation.

Putin described Russia as a “unique country” and mentioned the overwhelming majority of its individuals had been united in wanting to defend it.

“As for the main part – the 99.9% of our citizens, our people who are ready to give everything for the interests of the Motherland – there is nothing unusual for me here,” Putin mentioned.

“This just once again convinces me that Russia is a unique country and that we have an exceptional people. This has been confirmed throughout the history of Russia’s existence.”

Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv and David Ljunggren in Ottawa;
Editing by Gareth Jones, Diane Craft and Leslie Adler

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BANDUNG, Indonesia, Dec 7 (Reuters) – A suspected Islamist militant, angered by Indonesia’s new criminal code, killed one different individual and wounded at the least 10 in a suicide bomb assault at a police station within the metropolis of Bandung on Wednesday, authorities stated.

The suicide bomber was believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State-inspired group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) and had beforehand been jailed on terrorism costs, Indonesian police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo instructed a information convention.

The police chief stated the attacker, recognized as Agus Sujatno, was launched in late 2021 and investigators had discovered dozens of paperwork protesting the nation’s controversial new criminal code on the crime scene.

“We found dozens of papers protesting the newly ratified criminal code,” he stated.

Though there are sharia-based provisions within the new criminal code ratified by parliament on Tuesday, Islamist hardliners might have been angered by different articles that might be used to crackdown on the propagation of extremist ideologies, analysts say.

West Java police chief Suntana earlier instructed Metro TV that authorities had discovered a blue bike on the scene, which they believed was utilized by the attacker.

Attached to the bike was a note carrying a message decrying the new criminal code as “an infidel product,” Suntana stated.

Todd Elliott, a senior safety analyst at Concord Consulting in Jakarta, stated it was doubtless the assault had been deliberate for a while and was an ideological rejection of the nation’s new legal guidelines.

“While all the attention is on some of these sharia-based provisions in the criminal code and how that is an indication of the spread of conservative Islam in Indonesia, there are also changes in the criminal code that hardliners would not support,” he stated.

“Including outlawing any ideology that goes against the state ideology, Pancasila, and that would also include extremist ideology.”

Video footage from the scene of Wednesday’s assault confirmed smoke rising from the broken police station, with particles n the bottom.

“Suddenly I heard the sound of an explosion… I saw a few police officers come out from the station and they couldn’t walk properly,” Hanes, a 21-year-old avenue vendor who witnessed the explosion instructed Reuters.

Islamist militants have lately carried out assaults on the planet’s largest Muslim-majority nation, together with at church buildings, police stations and venues frequented by foreigners.

Members of JAD have been liable for a collection of suicide church bombings within the metropolis of Surabaya in 2018. Those assaults have been perpetrated by three households, who additionally hooked up suicide vests to their younger kids, and killed at the least 30 individuals.

In 2021, a pair of JAD newlyweds carried out a suicide bomb assault at a cathedral in Makassar, killing solely themselves.

In an effort to crack down on militants, Indonesia created a tricky new anti-terrorism legislation after suicide bombings linked to JAD.

The group, which is now largely splintered, has been considerably weakened by a wave of arrests by the counterterrorism company lately, analysts say.

Reporting by Ananda Teresia, Fransiska Nangoy, Stefanno Sulaiman, Yuddy Cahya Budiman and Kate Lamb; Writing by Kate Lamb; Editing by Ed Davies, Gerry Doyle & Simon Cameron-Moore

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

DUBAI, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Protesters in Iran known as on Sunday for a three-day strike this week, stepping up strain on authorities after the general public prosecutor mentioned the morality police whose detention of a younger girl triggered months of protests had been shut down.

There was no affirmation of the closure from the Interior Ministry which is in control of the morality police, and Iranian state media mentioned Public Prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri was not accountable for overseeing the power.

Top Iranian officers have repeatedly mentioned Tehran wouldn’t change the Islamic Republic’s necessary hijab coverage, which requires girls to decorate modestly and put on headscarves, regardless of 11 weeks of protests towards strict Islamic laws.

Hundreds of individuals have been killed within the unrest which erupted in September after the loss of life in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian girl who was detained by the morality police for flouting the hijab guidelines.

Protesters in search of to take care of their problem to Iran’s clerical rulers have known as for a three-day financial strike and a rally to Tehran’s Azadi (Freedom) Square on Wednesday, in response to particular person posts shared on Twitter by accounts unverified by Reuters.

President Ebrahim Raisi is because of deal with college students in Tehran on the identical day to mark Student Day in Iran.

Similar calls for strike motion and mass mobilisation have in previous weeks resulted in an escalation within the unrest which has swept the nation – a few of the largest anti-government protests since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The activist HRANA information company mentioned 470 protesters had been killed as of Saturday, together with 64 minors. It mentioned 18,210 demonstrators had been arrested and 61 members of the safety forces had been killed.

Iran’s Interior Ministry state safety council mentioned on Saturday the loss of life toll was 200, in response to the judiciary’s information company Mizan.

Residents posting on social media and newspapers similar to Shargh each day say there have been fewer sightings of the morality police on the streets in current weeks as authorities apparently attempt to keep away from scary extra protests.

On Saturday, Montazeri was cited by the semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency as saying that the morality police had been disbanded.

“The same authority which has established this police has shut it down,” he was quoted as saying. He mentioned the morality police was not below the judiciary’s authority, which “continues to monitor behavioural actions at the community level.”

Al Alam state tv mentioned overseas media had been depicting his feedback as “a retreat on the part of the Islamic Republic from its stance on hijab and religious morality as a result of the protests”, however that each one that may very well be understood from his feedback was that the morality police weren’t instantly associated to the judiciary.

EXECUTIONS

State media mentioned 4 males convicted of cooperating with Israel’s spy company Mossad had been executed on Sunday.

They had been arrested in June – earlier than the present unrest sweeping the nation – following cooperation between the Ministry of Intelligence and the Revolutionary Guards, Tasnim information company reported.

The prime minister’s workplace in Israel, which oversees Mossad, declined to remark.

The Islamic Republic has lengthy accused arch-enemy Israel of finishing up covert operations on its soil. Tehran has just lately accused Israeli of plotting a civil warfare in Iran, a cost it has additionally made towards the United States and different Western nations.

“Western countries are using the protests to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian instructed a information convention on Sunday.

Iranian state media reported on Wednesday that the nation’s Supreme Court had upheld the loss of life sentence handed out to the 4 males “for the crime of cooperating with the intelligence services of the Zionist regime and for kidnapping”.

Three different folks had been handed jail sentences of between 5 and 10 years after being convicted of crimes that included appearing towards nationwide safety, aiding in kidnapping and possessing unlawful weapons, the Mehr information company mentioned.

Reporting by Dubai Newsroom
Editing by Dominic Evans, Raissa Kasolowsky, William Maclean and Susan Fenton

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

PRAGUE/WARSAW, Nov 24 (Reuters) – Eastern Europe’s arms industry is churning out weapons, artillery shells and different navy provides at a tempo not seen for the reason that Cold War as governments within the area lead efforts to help Ukraine in its struggle in opposition to Russia.

Allies have been supplying Kyiv with weapons and navy gear since Russia invaded its neighbour on Feb. 24, depleting their very own inventories alongside the way in which.

The United States and Britain dedicated essentially the most direct navy support to Ukraine between Jan. 24 and Oct. 3, a Kiel Institute for the World Economy tracker shows, with Poland in third place and the Czech Republic ninth.

Still cautious of Russia, their Soviet-era grasp, some former Warsaw Pact nations see serving to Ukraine as a matter of regional safety.

But practically a dozen authorities and firm officers and analysts who spoke to Reuters stated the battle additionally offered new alternatives for the area’s arms industry.

“Taking into account the realities of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the visible attitude of many countries aimed at increased spending in the field of defence budgets, there is a real chance to enter new markets and increase export revenues in the coming years,” stated Sebastian Chwalek, CEO of Poland’s PGZ.

State-owned PGZ controls greater than 50 corporations making weapons and ammunition – from armoured transporters to unmanned air techniques – and holds stakes in dozens extra.

It now plans to take a position as much as 8 billion zlotys ($1.8 billion)over the following decade, greater than double its pre-war goal, Chwalek advised Reuters. That consists of new amenities situated farther from the border with Russia’s ally Belarus for safety causes, he stated.

Other producers too are rising manufacturing capability and racing to rent employees, corporations and authorities officers from Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic stated.

Immediately after Russia’s assault some japanese European militaries and producers started emptying their warehouses of Soviet-era weapons and ammunition that Ukrainians have been aware of, as Kyiv waited for NATO-standard gear from the West.

As these shares have dwindled, arms makers have cranked up manufacturing of each older and fashionable gear to maintain provides flowing. The stream of weapons has helped Ukraine push again Russian forces and reclaim swathes of territory.

Chwalek stated PGZ would now produce 1,000 transportable Piorun manpad air-defence techniques in 2023 – not all for Ukraine -compared to 600 in 2022 and 300 to 350 in earlier years.

The firm, which he stated has additionally delivered artillery and mortar techniques, howitzers, bulletproof vests, small arms and ammunition to Ukraine, is more likely to surpass a pre-war 2022 income goal of 6.74 billion zlotys.

Companies and officers who spoke to Reuters declined to provide particular particulars of navy provides to Ukraine, and a few didn’t wish to be recognized, citing safety and business sensitivities.

HISTORIC INDUSTRY

Eastern Europe’s arms industry dates again to the nineteenth Century, when Czech Emil Skoda started manufacturing weapons for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Under Communism, large factories in Czechoslovakia, the Warsaw Pact’s second-largest weapons producer, Poland and elsewhere within the area saved folks employed, turning out weapons for Cold War conflicts Moscow stoked around the globe.

“The Czech Republic was one of the powerhouses of weapons exporters and we have the personnel, material base and production lines needed to increase capacity,” its NATO Ambassador Jakub Landovsky advised Reuters.

“This is a great chance for the Czechs to increase what we need after giving the Ukrainians the old Soviet-era stocks. This can show other countries we can be a reliable partner in the arms industry.”

The 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and NATO’s enlargement into the area pushed corporations to modernise, however “they can still quickly produce things like ammunition that fits the Soviet systems”, stated Siemon Wezeman, a researcher on the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Deliveries to Ukraine have included artillery rounds of “Eastern” calibres, such as 152mm howitzer rounds and 122mm rockets not produced by Western corporations, officers and corporations stated.

They stated Ukraine had acquired weapons and gear through donations from governments and direct business contracts between Kyiv and the producers.

NOT JUST BUSINESS

“Eastern European countries support Ukraine substantially,” Christoph Trebesch, a professor on the Kiel Institute, stated. “At the same time it’s an opportunity for them to build up their military production industry.”

Ukraine has obtained practically 50 billion crowns ($2.1 billion) of weapons and gear from Czech corporations, about 95% of which have been business deliveries, Czech Deputy Defence Minister Tomas Kopecny advised Reuters. Czech arms exports this 12 months would be the highest since 1989, he stated, with many corporations within the sector including jobs and capability.

“For the Czech defence industry, the conflict in Ukraine, and the assistance it provides is clearly a boost that we have not seen in the last 30 years,” Kopecny stated.

David Hac, chief govt of Czech STV Group, outlined to Reuters plans so as to add new manufacturing strains for small-calibre ammunition and stated it’s contemplating increasing its large-calibre functionality. In a decent labour market, the corporate is attempting to poach employees from a slowing automotive industry, he stated.

Defence gross sales helped the Czechoslovak Group, which owns corporations together with Excalibur Army, Tatra Trucks and Tatra Defence, practically double its first-half revenues from a 12 months earlier, to 13.8 billion crowns.

The firm is rising manufacturing of each 155mm NATO and 152mm Eastern calibre rounds and refurbishing infantry preventing autos and Soviet-era T-72 tanks, spokesman Andrej Cirtek advised Reuters.

He stated supplying Ukraine was extra than simply good enterprise.

“After the Russian aggression started, our deliveries for Ukrainian army multiplied,” Cirtek stated.

“The majority of the Czech population still remember times of a Russian occupation of our country before 1990 and we don´t want to have Russian troops closer to our borders.”

($1 = 4.5165 zlotys)

($1 = 23.3850 Czech crowns)

Reporting by Michael Kahn and Robert Muller in Prague and Anna Koper in Warsaw; Editing by Catherine Evans

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SHANGHAI/TAIPEI, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Hundreds of employees joined protests at Foxconn’s (2317.TW) flagship iPhone plant in China, with some males smashing surveillance cameras and home windows, footage uploaded on social media confirmed.

The uncommon scenes of open dissent in China mark an escalation of unrest on the large manufacturing facility in Zhengzhou metropolis that has come to symbolise a harmful build-up in frustration with the nation’s ultra-harsh COVID guidelines in addition to inept dealing with of the state of affairs by the world’s largest contract producer.

The set off for the protests, which started early on Wednesday, gave the impression to be a plan to delay bonus funds, lots of the demonstrators mentioned on livestream feeds. The movies couldn’t be instantly verified by Reuters.

“Give us our pay!”, chanted employees who have been surrounded by individuals in full hazmat fits, some carrying batons, based on footage from one video. Other footage confirmed tear gasoline being deployed and employees taking down quarantine boundaries. Some employees had complained they have been pressured to share dormitories with colleagues who had examined optimistic for COVID-19.

Foxconn mentioned in an announcement it had fulfilled its cost contracts and that experiences of contaminated workers residing on campus with new recruits have been “untrue.”

“Regarding any violence, the company will continue to communicate with employees and the government to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” the corporate added.

A supply accustomed to the state of affairs in Zhengzhou mentioned manufacturing on the plant was unaffected by the worker unrest and output remained “normal”.

Reuters has beforehand reported that Foxconn aimed to renew full manufacturing on the Zhengzhou iPhone plant by the second half of November.

While the newest unrest has added “uncertainties” to the goal, the supply mentioned the corporate was nonetheless working onerous to hit it, including that “only a portion” of the brand new recruits took half in the unrest.

A second supply accustomed to the matter, nonetheless, mentioned Foxconn was unlikely to hit the goal, pointing to disruptions triggered by the unrest, impacting significantly new recruits who have been employed to bridge the hole in the workforce.

“Originally, we were trying to see if the new recruits could go online by the end of November. But with the unrest, it’s certain that we can’t resume normal production by the month-end.”

RECRUITMENT DRIVE

Discontent over strict quarantine guidelines, the corporate’s lack of ability to stamp out outbreaks and poor circumstances together with shortages of meals had triggered employees to flee the manufacturing facility campus because the Apple Inc (AAPL.O) provider imposed a so-called closed loop system on the world’s largest iPhone plant in late October.

Under closed-loop operations, workers dwell and work on web site, remoted from the broader world.

Former employees have estimated that hundreds fled the manufacturing facility campus. Before the unrest, the Zhengzhou plant employed some 200,000 individuals. To retain workers and lure extra employees Foxconn has needed to supply bonuses and better salaries.

Local authorities additionally stepped in to assist, with some urging retired troopers and authorities employees to tackle stints, based on native media experiences.

The first supply mentioned that the eagerness of native authorities to recruit employees could have performed a task in inflicting “miscommunication” with the brand new hires on points together with allowance and lodging.

The Zhengzhou authorities didn’t instantly reply to a faxed request for remark.

WORKER WOES

In the movies, employees vented about how they have been by no means positive if they might get meals whereas in quarantine or over insufficient curbs to include an outbreak.

“Foxconn never treats humans as humans,” mentioned one individual.

Apple didn’t reply to requests for remark.

“It’s now evident that closed-loop production in Foxconn only helps in preventing COVID from spreading to the city, but does nothing (if not make it even worse) for the workers in the factory,” Aiden Chau of China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based advocacy group, mentioned in an electronic mail.

As of Wednesday afternoon, a lot of the footage on Kuaishou, a social media platform the place Reuters reviewed lots of the movies, had been taken down. Kuaishou didn’t reply to a request for remark.

The protest photographs come at a time when buyers are involved about escalating international supply-chain points, due in half to China’s zero-COVID insurance policies that purpose to stamp out each outbreak.

The curbs and discontent have hit manufacturing. Reuters final month reported that iPhone output on the Zhengzhou manufacturing facility might droop by as a lot as 30% in November resulting from COVID restrictions. learn extra

Foxconn is Apple’s largest iPhone maker, accounting for 70% of iPhone shipments globally. It makes a lot of the telephones on the Zhengzhou plant, although it has different smaller manufacturing websites in India and southern China.

Shares of Foxconn, formally referred to as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, have slipped 2% because the unrest emerged in late October.

Reporting by Brenda Goh and Beijing Newsroom; Additional reporting by David Kirton in Shenzhen, Yimou Lee in Taipei and Yew Lun Tian ; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Edwina Gibbs, Louise Heavens and Bernadette Baum

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

DUBAI, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Weeks of protest in Iran entered a more violent phase on Sunday as college students defied an ultimatum by the Revolutionary Guards and had been met with tear fuel, beatings and gunfire from riot police and militia, social media movies confirmed.

The confrontations at dozens of universities prompted a risk of a more durable crackdown within the seventh week of demonstrations since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after she was arrested by the morality police for apparel deemed inappropriate.

Iranians from all walks of life have been protesting since Amini’s dying.

What started as outrage over Amini’s dying on Sept. 16 has developed into one of many hardest challenges to clerical rulers because the 1979 revolution, with some protesters calling for the dying of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The prime commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards advised protesters that Saturday could be their final day of taking to the streets, the harshest warning but by Iranian authorities.

Nevertheless, movies on social media, unverifiable by Reuters, confirmed confrontations between college students and riot police and Basij forces on Sunday at universities throughout Iran.

One video confirmed a member of Basij forces firing a gun at shut vary at college students protesting at a department of Azad University in Tehran. Gunshots had been additionally heard in a video shared by rights group HENGAW from protests on the University of Kurdistan in Sanandaj.

Videos from universities in another cities additionally confirmed Basij forces opening hearth at college students.

Across the nation, safety forces tried to dam college students inside college buildings, firing tear fuel and beating protesters with sticks. The college students, who gave the impression to be unarmed, pushed again, with some chanting “dishonoured Basij get lost” and “Death to Khamenei”.

HISTORY OF CRACKDOWNS

Social media reported arrests of at the least a dozen medical doctors, journalists and artists since Saturday.

The activist HRANA information company stated 283 protesters had been killed within the unrest as of Saturday together with 44 minors. Some 34 members of the safety forces had been additionally killed.

More than 14,000 folks have been arrested, together with 253 college students, in protests in 132 cities and cities, and 122 universities, it stated.

The Guards and its affiliated Basij power have crushed dissent prior to now. They stated on Sunday, “seditionists” had been insulting them at universities and within the streets, and warned they could use more power if the anti-government unrest continued.

“So far, Basijis have shown restraint and they have been patient,” the pinnacle of the Revolutionary Guards within the Khorasan Junubi province, Brigadier General Mohammadreza Mahdavi, was quoted as saying by state information company IRNA.

“But it will get out of our control if the situation continues.”

JOURNALISTS APPEAL

More than 300 Iranian journalists demanded the discharge of two colleagues jailed for his or her protection of Amini in an announcement revealed by the Iranian Etemad and different newspapers on Sunday.

Niloofar Hamedi took a photograph of Amini’s dad and mom hugging one another in a Tehran hospital the place their daughter was mendacity in a coma.

The picture, which Hamedi posted on Twitter, was the primary sign to the world that each one was not nicely with Amini, who had been detained three days earlier by Iran’s morality police for what they deemed inappropriate gown.

Elaheh Mohammadi lined Amini’s funeral in her Kurdish hometown Saqez, the place the protests started. A joint assertion launched by Iran’s intelligence ministry and the intelligence organisation of the Revolutionary Guards on Friday had accused Hamedi and Mohammadi of being CIA international brokers.

The arrests match an official narrative that Iran’s arch-enemy the United States, Israel and different Western powers and their native brokers are behind the unrest and are decided to destabilise the nation.

At least 40 journalists have been detained prior to now six weeks, in response to rights teams, and the quantity is rising.

Students and girls have performed a outstanding position within the unrest, burning their veils as crowds name for the autumn of the Islamic Republic, which got here to energy in 1979.

An official stated on Sunday the institution had no plan to retreat from obligatory veiling however needs to be “wise” about enforcement.

“Removing the veil is against our law and this headquarters will not retreat from its position,” Ali Khanmohammadi, the spokesman of Iran’s headquarters for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice advised the Khabaronline web site.

“However, our actions should be wise to avoid giving enemies a pretext to use it against us.”

The obvious trace at compromise is unlikely to appease the protesters, most of whose calls for have moved past gown code modifications to requires an finish to clerical rule.

In an extra obvious bid to defuse the state of affairs, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf stated folks had been proper to name for change and their calls for could be met in the event that they distanced themselves from the “criminals” taking to the streets.

“We consider the protests to be not only correct and the cause of progress, but we also believe that these social movements will change policies and decisions, provided that they are separated from violent people, criminals and separatists,” he stated, utilizing phrases officers sometimes use for the protesters.

Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Nick Macfie, Philippa Fletcher and Angus MacSwan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WINDSOR, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Prince Harry and his spouse Meghan joined William and spouse Kate on a walkabout amongst crowds close to Windsor Castle on Saturday following the demise of their grandmother Queen Elizabeth, elevating the prospect of a rapprochement between the brothers.

The two sons of King Charles, as soon as so shut after the demise of their mom Diana in a Paris automobile crash in 1997, have fallen out in recent times after Harry and Meghan gave up their royal titles to maneuver to the United States.

The couple had been in Britain on a short go to when the queen, Britain’s longest reigning monarch, died on Thursday.

Like different senior members of the royal household, Harry rushed to be by the queen’s facet as she deteriorated at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, and a spokesperson for the inheritor to the throne stated an invite for the Windsor stroll had been prolonged by William.

A royal supply described it as an necessary present of unity at an extremely troublesome time for the household. They emerged from the identical automobile, all carrying black.

The two {couples} didn’t work together a lot throughout the 40 minute walkabout close to one of many queen’s favorite English properties, as they stopped to learn messages left among the many flowers, and shake palms and chat with the hundreds of individuals lining the Long Walk.

“I think that really just sort of draws a line under what’s happened historically, and it’s a really strong sense of unity I think for the royal family. It was really lovely to see,” stated Raj Kaur, 41, who was within the crowd.

At one level Meghan was hugged by a lady within the crowd whereas others stretched to shake palms and discuss to the 4 royals within the early night. William spent a while bending down chatting to youngsters, whereas Kate and Harry accepted flowers and messages of encouragement from these within the crowd.

Royal observers had been searching for indicators of a detente amid the pomp and ceremony of a interval of nationwide mourning and Elizabeth’s state funeral. learn extra

On Friday Charles used his first tackle to the nation as king to specific his “love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas”.

He additionally bestowed on William and daughter-in-law Kate the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales, which he and his late spouse Diana beforehand held.

William was heard telling one well-wisher that the times following the queen’s demise had been “so surreal”.

“We all thought she was invincible,” he stated.

Asked by another person within the crowd how his youngsters, George, 9, Charlotte, 7, and Louis, 4, who all began at a brand new college on the day the queen died – have been coping, he replied: “The kids are well, thank you. They are good. Not ideal to start new schools with everything happening.”

Under royal guidelines, the monarch’s grandchildren are robotically eligible to turn into princes or princesses of the realm, so now that Harry’s father Charles is king, his youngsters, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, can obtain these titles. Lilibet was named after the queen’s childhood nickname.

It will not be clear whether or not they’ll take the titles.

“At the moment we’re focused on the next 10 days. As and when we get information, we will update the (royal) website,” a spokesperson for Charles instructed reporters.

Reporting by Kate Holton and Michael Holden in London and Peter Nicholls and Hanna Rantala in Windsor; Editing by Elizabeth Piper and Mark Potter

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SULAIMANIYA, Iraq, July 20 (Reuters) – Iraq’s authorities will name again the Iraqi cost d’affaires in Turkey for session after accusing Ankara of finishing up a strike on a mountain resort within the northern province of Dohuk, the state information company INA reported. learn extra

Turkey rebutted claims by Iraq that it had carried out a strike that killed eight vacationers and wounded one other 23 individuals, saying the attack was a terror act.

The “fierce artillery bombing” hit a resort in Zakho, a metropolis on the border between Iraq’s Kurdistan area and Turkey, Iraq state TV stated.

Iraq’s Cabinet additionally directed the overseas ministry to summon the Turkish envoy in Baghdad to protest in opposition to the attack. learn extra

“The Turkish forces committed blatant violation of the sovereignty of Iraq,” Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi wrote on Twitter. President Barham Salih additionally condemned the attack.

The United States stated it strongly backed Iraq’s sovereignty.

“The killing of civilians is unacceptable, and all states must respect their obligations under international law, including the protection of civilians,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price stated.

Children had been amongst the victims, together with a 1-year-old, the Kurdish well being minister stated in an announcement, including that all of the victims died earlier than reaching a hospital.

“We go towards the mountainside, there are strikes. We go towards the waterfall, there are strikes. We go towards this side, there are strikes,” stated Mustafa Alaa, 24, who was on the resort with a pal when the attack occurred.

“We pulled up the fence that was around the waterfall. We looked from inside, I saw children lying on the ground. … It’s a scene that I’ve never seen in my life,” Alaa added.

Turkey’s overseas ministry stated Ankara was saddened to listen to of the casualties within the attack, and added that Turkey took most care to keep away from civilian casualties or damaging historic, cultural websites in its counter-terrorism operations in opposition to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militia and others.

“Turkey is ready to take every step for the truth to come out,” the ministry stated in an announcement, including that Turkish navy operations had been in keeping with worldwide legal guidelines.

“We call on the Iraqi government to not make remarks influenced by the heinous terrorist organisation’s rhetoric and propaganda, and to engage in cooperation to uncover the perpetrators of this cruel act,” it stated, referring to the PKK.

Turkey repeatedly carries out air strikes in northern Iraq and has despatched commandos to help its offensives as a part of a long-running marketing campaign in Iraq and Syria in opposition to militants of the Kurdish PKK and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. Ankara regards each as terrorist teams.

The PKK took up arms in opposition to the Turkish state in 1984.

More than 40,000 individuals have been killed within the battle, which prior to now was primarily targeted in southeast Turkey the place the PKK sought to create an ethnic homeland.

Dozens of Iraqis gathered exterior the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad to protest the attack. The high United Nations envoy to Iraq additionally condemned it in an announcement revealed on Twitter and referred to as for an investigation.

Reporting by Ali Sultan in Sulaimaniya, Kawa Omar in Zakho and Yasmin Hussein in Cairo; Additional reporting by Thaier Al-Sudani in Baghdad, Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ece Toksabay in Ankara and Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; Writing by Amina Ismail; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel, Andrew Cawthorne, Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis

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OSLO, June 25 (Reuters) – Terrified revellers at a gay bar in Oslo hid in a basement and desperately known as family members as a gunman went on the rampage, killing two folks and injuring 21 on the day town was because of have fun its annual Pride parade.

Authorities mentioned the suspect, a 42-year-old Norwegian citizen of Iranian origin, was believed to be a radicalised Islamist with a historical past of psychological sickness who had been recognized to intelligence providers since 2015. learn extra

The suspect shall be subjected to a psychiatric analysis within the coming days as a part of the investigation, police mentioned.

The assault passed off within the early hours of Saturday, with victims shot inside and out of doors the London Pub, a longstanding hub of Oslo’s LGBTQ scene, as nicely as within the surrounding streets and at one different bar within the centre of the Norwegian capital.

The deceased had been two males of their 50s and 60s, police mentioned.

“Everything indicates that this has been an attack by an Islamist extremist,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere informed a information convention.

“We don’t (yet) know if the queer community was the intended target, but we know it is a victim.”

Bili Blum-Jansen, who was within the London Pub, mentioned he fled to the basement to flee the hail of bullets and hid there together with 80 to 100 different folks.

“Many called their partners and family, it felt almost as if they were saying goodbye. Others helped calm down those who were extremely terrified,” he informed TV2.

“I had a bit of panic and thought that if the shooter or shooters were to arrive, we’d all be dead. There was no way out.”

Rainbow flags symbolising the Pride group had been on distinguished show throughout Oslo this week, however Saturday’s deliberate parade was cancelled at the recommendation of police.

“Last night the rainbow was coloured black,” mentioned Anette Trettebergstuen, Norway’s minister of tradition and equality and herself a distinguished campaigner for LGBTQ rights.

‘CRYING AND SCREAMING’

While the official parade was known as off, a number of thousand folks held a spontaneous march in central Oslo, waving rainbow flags and chanting in English: “We’re here, we’re queer, we won’t disappear.”

Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon, his spouse Crown Princess Mette-Marit and their youngest youngster, 16-year-old Prince Sverre Magnus, later joined the prime minister and different officers to put pink and white roses close to the London Pub.

“We must protect the right in Norway to love whomever we want,” Haakon informed reporters.

The suspect was detained minutes after embarking on the taking pictures spree, in line with police, who mentioned they believed he acted alone. Two weapons, together with a completely computerized gun, had been retrieved from the crime scene, they added.

The man has declined to be interrogated by police, his lawyer John Christian Elden informed public broadcaster NRK.

Witnesses described the chaos that erupted inside and out of doors the London Pub, which has been open since 1979.

“Many people were crying and screaming, the injured were screaming, people were distressed and scared – very, very scared,” mentioned Marcus Nybakken, 46, who had left the bar shortly earlier than the taking pictures and returned later to assist.

“My first thought was that Pride was the target, so that’s frightening.”

Journalist Olav Roenneberg of broadcaster NRK mentioned he was within the space at the time and noticed a person arrive with a bag, take out a gun and begin to shoot: “Then I saw windows breaking and understood that I had to take cover.”

WIDESPREAD CONDEMNATION

European leaders condemned the taking pictures, as did the White House.

“I am shocked by the heinous attack on innocent people in Oslo,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted.

“No-one should have to fear for their life or well-being simply for who they are.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, writing in each French and Norwegian on his official Twitter account, expressed his sympathies. “We stand stronger against hate if we stand together,” he mentioned.

John Kirby, a spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council, informed reporters on board Air Force One the Biden administration had been in contact with Norway to supply condolences and help.

“We’re all horrified by the mass shooting in Oslo today targeting the LGBTQI+ community there and our hearts obviously go out to the all the families of the victims, the people of Norway, which is a tremendous ally, and of course the LGBTQI+ community there and around the world,” he mentioned.

Norwegian safety authorities raised the nation’s terrorism risk evaluation to its highest degree following the assault, wherein 21 folks had been additionally wounded, 10 of them severely.

The police, who aren’t usually armed, will carry weapons till additional discover, it mentioned.

Other main occasions within the capital went forward as deliberate on Saturday, police and organisers mentioned, together with a big outside music competition and a soccer match between the ladies’s groups of Norway and New Zealand.

The taking pictures passed off simply months after Norway marked 50 years for the reason that abolition of a legislation that criminalised gay intercourse.

The Nordic nation of 5.4 million has decrease crime charges than many Western international locations, although it has skilled hate-motivated shootings, together with when far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 folks in 2011.

Reporting by Terje Solsvik and Gwladys Fouche in Oslo, further reporting by Andrea Shalal aboard Air Force One, Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen and Foo Yun Chee in Brussels; Editing by Pravin Char, Frank Jack Daniel, Peter Graff

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