Russian lab worker’s death triggers health response over plague fears
The death of a laboratory employee at a Russian plague research institute in Siberia has triggered a major public health response and international...
Four people were killed in a gas explosion on Saturday in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz near the Iraqi border, while a separate blast in the port city of Bandar Abbas left one person dead and at least 14 others injured, Iranian media reported.
State-run Tehran Times said the Ahvaz explosion was caused by a gas leak, with no further details immediately available. Press TV reported that rescue crews were clearing debris in search of people trapped under the rubble.
Hours earlier, an unrelated explosion ripped through a residential building in Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main container port on the Strait of Hormuz. Local officials said the cause had not yet been identified, while state television quoted a fire official as saying a gas leak was the likely trigger.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency rejected social media claims that a Revolutionary Guard navy commander had been targeted in Bandar Abbas, calling the reports false. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also denied that any of its naval facilities had been hit.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused leaders in the U.S., Israel and Europe of exploiting Iran’s economic pressures, stirring unrest and giving people the means to “tear the nation apart”.
Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel was not involved in either explosion.
Bandar Abbas, located on the Strait of Hormuz, hosts Iran’s main container port and suffered a major explosion last April that killed dozens and injured more than 1,000 people.
Investigators later attributed that incident to failures in civil defence and security practices.
Iran continues to face nationwide protests fuelled by economic hardship.
An Iranian official told Reuters that at least 5,000 people have been killed in the unrest, including 500 members of the security forces.
Iran's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned, with Hamid Bovard, chief executive of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), appointed as acting oil minister, according to Iranian state media.
Right-wing Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro will face leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a runoff of the presidential election later this month, after he exceeded expectations in Sunday's first-round vote with a slight lead over the incumbent.
Candidates elected to Bosnia and Herzegovina's three-member presidency declared victory after preliminary unofficial results showed Denis Becirovic leading the Bosniak seat, Darijana Filipovic ahead in the Croat seat and Zeljka Cvijanovic likely retaining the Serb seat.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States meets seven conditions agreed under a June memorandum, as President Donald Trump signals he may soon decide whether to resume military operations against Tehran.
Uzbekistan’s grape exports have grown rapidly. In January-August 2025, the country exported 86,200 tonnes of fresh grapes worth $78.3 million to 19 countries but can it turn these crops into a recognisable international product?
Regional powers gathered in Moscow on Monday for talks on Afghanistan, focusing on security, economic cooperation and Kabul’s relations with its neighbours.
Four major German political foundations have halted their work in Georgia as tighter rules on foreign grants put pressure on a decades-old partnership and add to tensions between Tbilisi and its European partners.
The U.S. has deployed two additional Patriot missile batteries to the Gulf, protecting key energy facilities in Saudi Arabia and Qatar as Washington expands its military presence in the Middle East amid heightened tensions with Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan held talks in Tehran on Monday on bilateral ties and efforts to strengthen peace and security in the South Caucasus.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry says it has conveyed its initial position to the United States through Qatar over Washington’s response to Tehran’s seven-day plan aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment