Hungarian PM denounces EU-Mercosur deal as threat to farmers and sovereignty
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has sharply criticised the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, warning it benefits traders at the expense of farmers a...
Tasnim News Agency says more than 150 people identified by Iranian authorities as organisers and key actors in recent unrest in Yazd have been arrested.
According to Tasnim’s account, the arrests centre on individuals described by officials as leading or coordinating recent unrest in the city.
The agency said that those detained were associated with groups that Iranian authorities classify as hostile, including members of the Baha’i community, supporters of the Rey-Start group, individuals said to have links to the Taliban, and people alleged to be connected with foreign-based media outlets such as Iran International.
Tasnim’s report focused on the identities and affiliations of those detained as characterised by officials. It did not provide additional information about the operations or the circumstances of the arrests.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Baha’is constitute Iran’s largest unrecognised non-Muslim religious minority, with estimates placing the community at around 300,000 people.
Their faith, founded in the 19th century in the country, is not recognised by the state, which classifies Baha’is as outside the accepted religious framework.
Human Rights Watch and Minority Rights Group International report that since the 1979 revolution, Baha’is in Iran have faced restrictions on education, employment and property, along with periodic arrests.
Rights groups describe these measures as systemic discrimination, while the community maintains that it is non-political and centred on principles of equality and peaceful conduct.
Meanwhile the Iranian state has rejected a resolution by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council that strongly condemned the “violent crackdown on peaceful protests” by security forces that left thousands dead.
The human rights council called on Iran to stop the arrests of people in connection with the protests, and to take steps to “prevent extrajudicial killing, other forms of arbitrary deprivation of life, enforced disappearance, sexual and gender-based violence” and other actions violating its human rights obligations.
Iran said that the Western-led sponsors of the emergency meeting on Friday had never genuinely cared for human rights in Iran, or else they would not have imposed sanctions that have devastated the Iranian population over the past decade.
The UN Human Rights Council has condemned Iran for rights abuses and ordered an expanded investigation into a crackdown on anti-government protests that killed thousands, as Tehran warned any military attack would be treated as an all-out war.
Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on 23 January there are signs Israel is still seeking an opportunity to attack Iran, warning that such a move could further destabilise the Middle East.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has activated the state’s National Guard following the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis, an incident that has triggered protests and intensified tensions between state and federal authorities.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Albania’s capital Tirana on Saturday in an anti-government protest sparked by the indictment of Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku over alleged corruption linked to major infrastructure projects.
U.S. electricity grid operators ramped up preventive measures on Saturday to head off rotating power cuts as a severe cold snap affecting around half the country put heavy strain on their systems.
The strategic axis between Israel and Azerbaijan has been significantly reinforced this week as President Ilham Aliyev received Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar in Baku.
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will embark on an official visit to Türkiye on Monday to bolster bilateral ties.
Israel will reopen Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt for the passage of people only after completing an operation to locate the body of the last remaining Israeli hostage in the territory, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late on Sunday.
Libya signed a series of multilateral agreements with international and regional partners, including Türkiye, aimed at boosting energy production, accelerating investment and deepening cooperation in the energy sector on Saturday.
The Georgian government plans to draw up a long-term strategic development plan extending through 2036, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.
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