Exclusive- Ahwazi Palm Groves Die amid Water Shortage Protests

Protesters calling to halt projects for diverting the course of the Karun River in October 2013
Protesters calling to halt projects for diverting the course of the Karun River in October 2013
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Exclusive- Ahwazi Palm Groves Die amid Water Shortage Protests

Protesters calling to halt projects for diverting the course of the Karun River in October 2013
Protesters calling to halt projects for diverting the course of the Karun River in October 2013

Ahwaz is a clear example of environmental and social disasters taking place in Iran as a result of river diverting projects to the country’s central provinces.

Most provinces facing serious water shortages are populated with non-Persian ethnicities. Three decades ago, two-thirds of Iran's fresh water was found in the country’s southwest, which is an Arab majority area.

Over the past 30 years, Ahwaz has been affected by the construction of 67 large and small dams and 6 water transfer projects. 

The registered volume of Ahwaz reservoirs reached more than 45 billion cubic meters of water.

Water transfer projects were designed to transport 8 billion cubic meters per year to all central provinces of Iran and Qom.

“Most dams and water-transfer projects in Ahwaz have not received an environmental license as a prerequisite for the implementation of such projects, but they are continuing despite these conditions,” says an environmental expert.

Sustaining heavy impact from dam projects, Ahwaz lands, which once surprised travelers with their rich green palm groves, became home to the largest dust storms in Iran. Over the past two decades, millions of palm trees have died because of water shortage.

According to official sources, more than 4 million palm trees in Ahwaz are dying today, the fishing industry saw a 30 percent drop and continues to decline.

Such is the case for hundreds of thousands of farms and orchards that once enjoyed golden fertility and now are left arid.

All of which caused the rise of “shocking” crises in the city. 

The Ahwazi Doctors Association also began warning against a breakout of respiratory diseases and cancer.

According to some reports, the rate of cancer in the city of Ahwaz is four times greater than that of other regions in Iran.

The city witnesses persistent protests demanding to roll back projects that are environmentally detrimental.

Speaking under the condition of anonymity, the environmental expert speculated of Iranian parties conspiring to kill Ahwazi nature. He labeled it a ‘large-scale ethnic cleansing project.’



Ukraine Shells Russian Village with Cluster Munitions, Says Russian Official 

A road sign damaged by cluster munition is seen following a military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine June 10, 2022. (Reuters)
A road sign damaged by cluster munition is seen following a military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine June 10, 2022. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Shells Russian Village with Cluster Munitions, Says Russian Official 

A road sign damaged by cluster munition is seen following a military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine June 10, 2022. (Reuters)
A road sign damaged by cluster munition is seen following a military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine June 10, 2022. (Reuters)

Ukraine fired cluster munitions at a Russian village near the Ukrainian border on Tuesday, damaging several houses, the governor of Russia's Bryansk region said.

According to preliminary information, there were no casualties in the shelling of the village of Klimovo, Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on the Telegram messaging app.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the governor's statement, which he made without providing visual evidence. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

Ukraine has received cluster munitions from the United States, but it has pledged to use them only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers.

Russian officials in Bryansk and other regions bordering Ukraine have repeatedly accused Kyiv of an indiscriminate shelling by Ukraine's armed forces.

Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries. They typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode can pose a danger for decades.


Trump Calls New York Fraud Case a ‘Scam’ as Trial Begins

 Former US President Donald Trump attends the trial of himself, his adult sons, the Trump Organization and others in a civil fraud case brought by state Attorney General Letitia James, at a Manhattan courthouse, in New York City, on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
Former US President Donald Trump attends the trial of himself, his adult sons, the Trump Organization and others in a civil fraud case brought by state Attorney General Letitia James, at a Manhattan courthouse, in New York City, on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
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Trump Calls New York Fraud Case a ‘Scam’ as Trial Begins

 Former US President Donald Trump attends the trial of himself, his adult sons, the Trump Organization and others in a civil fraud case brought by state Attorney General Letitia James, at a Manhattan courthouse, in New York City, on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
Former US President Donald Trump attends the trial of himself, his adult sons, the Trump Organization and others in a civil fraud case brought by state Attorney General Letitia James, at a Manhattan courthouse, in New York City, on October 2, 2023. (AFP)

A civil fraud trial that could deal a major blow to Donald Trump's real estate empire began on Monday, with a New York state lawyer accusing the former president of generating more than $1 billion by lying, and Trump blasting the case as a "scam."

The trial in a downtown Manhattan courtroom case concerns accusations by state Attorney General Letitia James that Trump inflated his assets and his own net worth from 2011 to 2021 to obtain favorable bank loans and lower insurance premiums.

James is seeking at least $250 million in fines, a permanent ban against Trump and his sons Donald Jr and Eric from running businesses in New York and a five-year commercial real estate ban against Trump and the Trump Organization.

Trump looked on with his arms crossed are Kevin Wallace, a lawyer in James' office, called Trump "materially inaccurate" in describing his finances to banks and insurers.

"This isn't business as usual, and this isn't how sophisticated parties deal with each other," Wallace said in his opening statement. "These are not victimless crimes."

Christopher Kise, a lawyer for Trump, countered in his opening statement that the financials for Trump and the Trump organization were entirely legal.

"It is one of the most highly successful brands in the world, and he has made a fortune literally being right about real estate investments," Kise said. "There was no intent to defraud, there was no illegality, there was no default, there was no breach, there was no reliance from the banks, there were no unjust profits, and there were no victims."

Trump holds a commanding lead over rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

He wore a dark blue suit, a brighter blue tie and an American flag pin on his lapel, and told reporters before entering the courtroom that the case was a "scam," a "sham," and "a continuation of the single greatest witch hunt of all time.

"We have a great company. I built a great company. It's tremendous," Trump said. "It's got some of the greatest real estate assets in the world. And now I have to go in before a rogue judge."

James said her office was ready to prove its case.

"The law is both powerful and fragile," she said before entering the courtroom. "No matter how much money you think you may have, no one is above the law."

Many legal woes

Trump's trial is overseen by Justice Arthur Engoron, who will hear evidence without a jury.

It largely concerns penalties that Trump, his adult sons and 10 of his companies must face after Engoron last week found them liable for fraud.

Before opening arguments, Engoron described himself as a generalist on the law. "One thing I know a lot about is the definition of fraud," he said.

In his Sept. 26 decision, Engoron described in scathing terms how the defendants made up valuations.

That included Trump calculating the value of his apartment in Trump Tower as if it were three times its actual size, and listing his Mar-a-Lago estate as being worth up to $739 million though deed restrictions capped it at $28 million.

Engoron's decision also covers several other properties including Trump's family estate in Westchester County, New York, and various office buildings and golf clubs.

The judge canceled business certificates for companies controlling pillars of Trump's empire, and said he would appoint receivers to oversee their dissolution.

Trump responded to the decision by calling Engoron "deranged."

Wallace played an excerpt from a deposition where Michael Cohen, who had been Trump's personal lawyer and fixer but has since turned against his former boss, said the goal was "to attain the number that Mr. Trump wanted."

Kise countered that just because people disagree about valuations does not mean one valuation must be fraudulent.

He also said Trump's banks and insurers knew his valuations were estimates.

"They are not designed to be absolutes," he said.

The trial is scheduled to run through early December.

More than 150 people including Cohen could testify, though much of the trial may be a battle of experts opining on financial documents.

Trump also faces several other legal headaches, which have been a financial drain, and made him the first sitting or former US president to be criminally charged.

He has been criminally charged in Washington over his efforts to undo his loss in the 2020 presidential election, in Georgia over moves to reverse election results there, in Florida over his handling of classified documents upon leaving office, and in New York over hush money payments to a porn star.

Trump has denied all wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.


Armenian Exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh Ebbs as Azerbaijan Moves to Reaffirm Control

This photograph taken on October 2, 2023 in Stepanakert shows a new road sign, written in Azerbaijani, displaying the Azerbaijani names for the towns Khankendi, Khojaly, Asgaran and Aghdam in the newly controlled Azeri region of Nagorno-Karabakh, during an Azeri government organized media trip. (AFP)
This photograph taken on October 2, 2023 in Stepanakert shows a new road sign, written in Azerbaijani, displaying the Azerbaijani names for the towns Khankendi, Khojaly, Asgaran and Aghdam in the newly controlled Azeri region of Nagorno-Karabakh, during an Azeri government organized media trip. (AFP)
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Armenian Exodus from Nagorno-Karabakh Ebbs as Azerbaijan Moves to Reaffirm Control

This photograph taken on October 2, 2023 in Stepanakert shows a new road sign, written in Azerbaijani, displaying the Azerbaijani names for the towns Khankendi, Khojaly, Asgaran and Aghdam in the newly controlled Azeri region of Nagorno-Karabakh, during an Azeri government organized media trip. (AFP)
This photograph taken on October 2, 2023 in Stepanakert shows a new road sign, written in Azerbaijani, displaying the Azerbaijani names for the towns Khankendi, Khojaly, Asgaran and Aghdam in the newly controlled Azeri region of Nagorno-Karabakh, during an Azeri government organized media trip. (AFP)

The last bus carrying ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh left the region Monday, completing a grueling weeklong exodus of over 100,000 people — more than 80% of its residents — after Azerbaijan reclaimed the area in a lightning military operation.

The bus that entered Armenia carried 15 passengers with serious illnesses and mobility problems, said Gegham Stepanyan, Nagorno-Karabakh's human rights ombudsman. He called for information about any other residents who want to leave but have had trouble doing so.

In a 24-hour military campaign that began on Sept. 19, the Azerbaijani army routed the region's undermanned and outgunned Armenian forces, forcing them to capitulate. Separatist authorities then agreed to dissolve their government by the end of this year.

Azerbaijan Interior Ministry spokesman Elshad Hajiyev told The Associated Press on Monday that the country’s police have established control over the entire region.

"Work is conducted to enforce law and order in the entire Karabakh region," he said, adding that Azerbaijani police have moved to "protect the rights and ensure security of the Armenian population in accordance with Azerbaijan’s law."

While Baku has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians, most of them hastily fled the region, fearing reprisals or losing the freedom to use their language and practice their religion and customs.

The Armenian government said Monday that 100,514 of the region’s estimated 120,000 residents have crossed into Armenia.

Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan said some people had died during the exhausting and slow journey over the single mountain road into Armenia that took as long as 40 hours. The exodus followed a nine-month Azerbaijani blockade of the region that left many suffering from malnutrition and lack of medicines.

Sergey Astsetryan, 40, one of the last Nagorno-Karabakh residents to leave in his own vehicle Sunday, said some elderly people have decided to stay, adding that others might return if they see it’s safe for ethnic Armenians under Azerbaijani rule.

"My father told me that he will return when he has the opportunity," Astsetryan told reporters at a checkpoint on the Armenian border.

Azerbaijani authorities moved quickly to reaffirm control of the region, arresting several former members of its separatist government and encouraging ethnic Azerbaijani residents who fled the area amid a separatist war three decades ago to start moving back.

The streets of the regional capital, known as Stepanakert to the ethnic Armenian population and Khankendi to Azerbaijanisi, appeared empty and littered with trash, with doors of deserted shops flung open.

The sign with the city’s Azerbaijani name was placed at the entrance and Azerbaijani police checkpoints were set up on the city’s edges, with officers checking the trunks of cars.

Just outside the city, a herd of cows grazed in an abandoned private orchard, and a small dog, which appeared to have been left behind by its owners, stood silently looking at passing vehicles.

Russian peacekeeping troops could be seen on a balcony of one building in the city, and others were at their base outside it, where their vehicles were parked.

On Sunday, Azerbaijan prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arayik Harutyunyan, who led the region before stepping down at the beginning of September. Azerbaijani police arrested one of Harutyunyan’s former prime ministers, Ruben Vardanyan, on Wednesday as he tried to cross into Armenia.

"We put an end to the conflict," Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in a speech Monday. "We protected our dignity, we restored justice and international law."

He added that "our agenda is peace in the Caucasus, peace in the region, cooperation, shared benefits, and today, we demonstrate that."

After six years of separatist fighting ended in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia. After a six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan took back parts of the region in the south Caucasus Mountains along with surrounding territory that Armenian forces had captured earlier.

Armenian authorities have accused the Russian peacekeepers, who were deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh after the 2020 war, of standing idle and failing to stop the Azerbaijani onslaught. The accusations were rejected by Moscow, which argued that its troops didn't have a mandate to intervene.

The mutual accusations have further strained the relations between Armenia and its longtime ally Russia, which has accused the Armenian government of a pro-Western tilt.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan alleged Thursday that the exodus of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh amounted to "a direct act of ethnic cleansing and depriving people of their motherland."

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry strongly rejected Pashinyan’s accusations, arguing their departure was "their personal and individual decision and has nothing to do with forced relocation."

Azerbaijan's presidential office said in a statement that the country has presented a plan for the "reintegration" of ethnic Armenians in the region, noting that "the equality of rights and freedoms, including security, is guaranteed to everyone regardless of their ethnic, religious or linguistic affiliation."

It said that the plan envisages improving infrastructure to bring it line with the rest of the country and offers tax exemptions, subsidies, low-interest loans and other incentives. The statement noted that Azerbaijani authorities have held three rounds of talks with representatives of the region's ethnic Armenian population and will continue the discussions.

A United Nations delegation arrived Sunday in Nagorno-Karabakh to monitor the situation. The mission is the organization’s first to the region for three decades, due to the "very complicated and delicate geopolitical situation" there, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Friday.

Local officials dismissed the visit as a formality. Hunan Tadevosyan, spokesperson for Nagorno-Karabakh’s emergency services, said the UN representatives had come too late and the number of civilians left in the regional capital of Stepanakert could be "counted on one hand."

"We walked around the whole city but found no one. There is no general population left," he said.


New UN Migration Chief to Visit Africa on First Trip

New Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope attends a press conference at the United Office in Geneva, on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
New Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope attends a press conference at the United Office in Geneva, on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
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New UN Migration Chief to Visit Africa on First Trip

New Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope attends a press conference at the United Office in Geneva, on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
New Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Amy Pope attends a press conference at the United Office in Geneva, on October 2, 2023. (AFP)

The new head of the UN's migration agency will visit Africa on her first official trip from Sunday to highlight the scale of migration happening around the continent.

Amy Pope, the first woman elected to lead the International Organization for Migration, will then head to Brussels as the 27-member EU bloc deals with a recent influx of migrant arrivals in Italy.

The American, who took office on October 1, will visit the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, before meeting Ethiopian officials.

She will then travel to Kenya and Djibouti.

"Over 80 percent of the migration takes place in Africa," Pope said at a press briefing in Geneva, at a time when attention is particularly focused on migrants trying to reach Europe.

She also spoke of the large number of African migrants heading for the Gulf, highlighting "very, very troubling reports" about their treatment there.

"Ensuring that there is better protection and access for migrants to services in that context is important," she added.

"The evidence is fairly overwhelming that migration actually benefits economies... on the whole is a benefit," Pope went on, citing its role in "fueling the renovation or revitalization of ageing communities," while providing manpower and innovation.

"It's critical that IOM begin to engage these partners who recognize the benefits of migration and demonstrate to our member states how that can work in a very pragmatic way, rather than in a political way."

Pope meanwhile insisted she would "refrain from getting into any direct conflict with Elon Musk," who courted controversy this weekend in claiming that Berlin-funded migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean could be seen as an "invasion" of Italy.

The tech billionaire is a migrant himself, having been born in South Africa, has Canadian nationality and lives in the United States.

"We hear especially in the technology space, there is an overwhelming need for new ideas (and) for people for a sustainable workforce.

"And frankly, migration is our most obvious way to build out a sustainable workforce," said Pope, urging investment in skills training as climate change encroaches on ever greater numbers of people.

Pope is to discuss with the African Union the best way of guaranteeing the movement of people, in particular to support the free trade agreements promoted by the organization.


Kremlin Sees US Budget Setback for Ukraine as Harbinger of Western War Fatigue 

A Ukrainian military Mi-8 helicopter flies in the sky, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Eastern Ukraine, September 29, 2023. (Reuters)
A Ukrainian military Mi-8 helicopter flies in the sky, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Eastern Ukraine, September 29, 2023. (Reuters)
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Kremlin Sees US Budget Setback for Ukraine as Harbinger of Western War Fatigue 

A Ukrainian military Mi-8 helicopter flies in the sky, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Eastern Ukraine, September 29, 2023. (Reuters)
A Ukrainian military Mi-8 helicopter flies in the sky, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location in Eastern Ukraine, September 29, 2023. (Reuters)

The Kremlin said on Monday it believed a decision by US Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill that omitted aid for Ukraine was a temporary setback for Kyiv, but forecast war fatigue in the West would grow and increasingly split opinion.

Congress passed legislation on Saturday which extended funding for more than a month to avoid a government shutdown but did not include any aid for Kyiv, despite Washington's status as Ukraine's biggest financial and military backer.

Asked about the US development, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he thought the setback for Ukraine was "a temporary phenomenon" and that Washington would clearly continue what he called its direct involvement in the conflict.

But Peskov, speaking after the party of Robert Fico won a weekend election in Slovakia pledging to end military aid to Ukraine, said that Moscow had long forecast that the West would grow increasingly weary of supporting Ukraine.

"Obviously, this (the US setback) is a temporary phenomenon. America will continue its involvement in this conflict, in fact direct involvement," said Peskov.

"But we have repeatedly said before that according to our forecasts fatigue from this conflict, fatigue from the completely absurd sponsorship of the Kyiv regime, will grow in various countries, including the United States.

"And this fatigue will lead to the fragmentation of the political establishment and the growth of contradictions."

The Kremlin has girded Russia for a long war in Ukraine, with big increases in defense spending and production.

US President Joe Biden assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a visit to Washington last month that Washington would maintain strong support for Ukraine in the war despite opposition from some Republican lawmakers.

After the Congressional funding bill was passed, Biden said on Sunday that Republicans had pledged to provide aid to Ukraine through a separate vote, adding: "We cannot under any circumstances allow America's support for Ukraine to be interrupted."


EU Pledges Lasting Support at ‘Historic’ Kyiv Meeting

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell holds a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Reuters)
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell holds a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Reuters)
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EU Pledges Lasting Support at ‘Historic’ Kyiv Meeting

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell holds a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Reuters)
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell holds a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 1, 2023. (Reuters)

The European Union signaled its long-term support for Ukraine on Monday as its foreign ministers convened in Kyiv for a historic first gathering beyond the bloc's borders.  

The meeting came as disagreements grow among EU members over support for Ukraine and as Kyiv's forces make limited gains in a high-stakes counteroffensive against Russian troops in the south and east of the country.  

"We are convening in a historic meeting of the EU foreign ministers here in Ukraine, candidate country and future member of the EU," the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

The purpose of the meeting was to "express our solidarity and support to the Ukrainian people", he said, acknowledging that the gathering "does not have the aim of reaching concrete conclusions and decisions".

President Volodymyr Zelensky told the ministers that the length of the war, now in its twentieth month, will depend entirely on support Ukraine receives from its allies.  

"Our victory directly depends on our cooperation: the more strong and principled steps we take together, the sooner this war will end," Zelensky said in a statement.  

To bring about a speedy end to fighting, he urged the EU to expand its sanctions regime on Russia and Iran, which has supplied attack drones for Russian forces.  

And he also called for the "acceleration" of work by the bloc to direct "frozen Russian assets to finance the restoration of war-torn Ukraine."  

The EU's 27 nations have remained broadly united through the war on their support for Ukraine, hitting Russia with 11 rounds of sanctions and spending billions of euros on arms for Kyiv.  

'Lasting support'  

But there are growing fears of cracks appearing within the bloc as concern also rises over the support of key backer the United States, where a deal this weekend left out fresh funding for Ukraine due to opposition from hardline Republicans.  

Hungary, Russia's closest ally in the EU, could now be joined by Slovakia as a potential block to more backing as populist Robert Fico pushes for power in Bratislava after winning elections this weekend.

There have also been tensions between Kyiv and some of its most strident backers -- most notably Poland -- over the influx of Ukrainian grain onto their markets.  

France's top diplomat Catherine Colonna appeared to address the concerns, saying the meeting was a signal to Moscow of the bloc's "lasting support for Ukraine, until it can win".  

"It is also a message to Russia that it should not count on our fatigue. We will be there for a long time to come."  

The Kremlin, which anticipated a lightning-fast takeover of Ukraine, is counting on Western countries tiring in their support for Kyiv, and said Monday that fatigue over Ukraine "will grow".  

'Winter protection plan'  

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock meanwhile called for a strategy to limit the fallout from a feared campaign of Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy grid in the coming months as temperatures drop.

"Ukraine needs a winter protection plan of air defense, generators and a strengthening of the energy supply," she said.  

"We saw last winter the brutal way in which the Russian president wages this war."  

Ukrainian authorities say Russia has launched systemic aerial attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, a strategy that last year left millions without heating or water.  

Foreign ministers from Hungary, Poland and Latvia did not attend the summit, a Ukrainian government official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The Polish and Latvian representatives were ill, the official said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and his army swept quickly through large swathes of the south and east of the country but were beaten back from the north.  

In June, Kyiv launched a long-awaited counteroffensive but has acknowledged slow progress as its forces encounter deep lines of heavily fortified Russian defenses.  

Ukraine's Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said Monday that Russia had shelled the city of Kherson in the south, critically wounding a civilian and two police. One of the policemen later died.  

Officials also said a civilian was killed by Russian fire in the nearly encircled town of Avdiivka in the war-battered Donetsk region in the east. Another civilian was killed in the eastern village of Torske.


Iranian Authorities Arrest Tens of Protesters in Baluchistan

A demonstrator raises a banner addressing Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei and saying residents in Zahedan will not forget the victims of Bloody Friday (Haalvsh)
A demonstrator raises a banner addressing Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei and saying residents in Zahedan will not forget the victims of Bloody Friday (Haalvsh)
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Iranian Authorities Arrest Tens of Protesters in Baluchistan

A demonstrator raises a banner addressing Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei and saying residents in Zahedan will not forget the victims of Bloody Friday (Haalvsh)
A demonstrator raises a banner addressing Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei and saying residents in Zahedan will not forget the victims of Bloody Friday (Haalvsh)

Iranian security forces made dozens of arrests Saturday as protesters in the southeast commemorated the killing of dozens of demonstrators in the region one year ago, human rights groups said.

At least 104 people were killed, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO, in what is known as “Bloody Friday,” when security forces fired on a protest in Zahedan, the main city of Sistan-Baluchistan province, on September 30 last year.

Baluch officials demand an investigation into the events that marked the deadliest day on record since protests started in the southeastern province last year. The Revolutionary Guard faces charges of shooting at protesters.

The Zahedan protests were sparked by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the country’s dress code.

Activists have long complained that the ethnic Baluch population in Sistan-Baluchistan, who adhere to Sunni Islam instead of the Shiite branch of the faith dominant in Iran, suffer from discrimination.

Security forces fired tear gas and live rounds for a second straight day to disperse protesters who turned out in Zahedan to mark the anniversary, the Baluch-focused rights group Haalvsh said, according to AFP.

The group posted on its website that authorities arrested at least 128 protesters in the cities of Zahedan, Khash, and Mirjavah, noting that the identity of 31 people had been confirmed as of Sunday.

Throughout Saturday, businesses in Zahedan and other towns observed a general strike, it said, adding that “dozens” of people had been arrested.

The group also posted footage with the sound of gunfire clearly audible amid a heavy security presence in the city.

Security forces had already used live fire to disperse those protesting on Friday, wounding at least 25 people, including children, the Baloch Activists Campaign group said.

There was no immediate word on any casualties in Saturday’s unrest.

Meanwhile, seven prominent female political prisoners delivered a letter from Iran’s Evin Prison, commemorating the shooting of dozens of protesters in Zahedan.

Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned Iranian human rights activist, said in a message on her Instagram account from Evin prison, “Bloody Friday is an important and influential turning point in Women, Life, and Freedom,” in reference to the slogan of last year’s protests.

She added, “On the anniversary of that bloody crime, it is the duty of every Iranian to stand in solidarity and participate in the defense of Baluchistan.”

On the eve of the protests, Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib said that Iranian operatives have neutralized a chain of imminent assassination plots.

“The planned attacks were meant to target Sunni clerics, judges and officers within the ranks of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps,” the minister said, in an indirect attempt to justify the tight security measures imposed in Zahedan.

He then warned that the adversaries were aiming to create unrest along the eastern borders and urged authorities, both Shia and Sunni, to exercise caution, according to Fars, the IRGC-linked website.

Residents of Zahedan have held regular Friday protests throughout the past year, even as the protest movement dwindled elsewhere in Iran.

The city’s Friday prayer leader, Molavi Abdolhamid, who has been outspoken in his support of the protests over the past year, issued a new call for justice over “Bloody Friday,” telling the faithful to “know your rights.”

Footage posted on social media on Friday showed chaotic scenes as hospitals filled with injured, including children, while people on the streets sought to escape to safety amid the sound of heavy gunfire.

IHR said that the protests in Zahedan and other cities were again “brutally crushed” with authorities using “live ammunition, pellet bullets and tear gas against unarmed protesters.”


Donald Trump's Business Empire in Peril as Civil Fraud Trial Opens in New York

Former US President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower, ahead of his appearance in a civil fraud trial in New York City, US, October 1, 2023. REUTERS/Bing Guan
Former US President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower, ahead of his appearance in a civil fraud trial in New York City, US, October 1, 2023. REUTERS/Bing Guan
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Donald Trump's Business Empire in Peril as Civil Fraud Trial Opens in New York

Former US President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower, ahead of his appearance in a civil fraud trial in New York City, US, October 1, 2023. REUTERS/Bing Guan
Former US President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower, ahead of his appearance in a civil fraud trial in New York City, US, October 1, 2023. REUTERS/Bing Guan

Donald Trump and his family business are set to stand trial in New York on Monday in a civil fraud case that could deal a major blow to the former US president’s real estate empire.
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is accused by Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James of inflating the value of his assets by billions of dollars to secure better loan and insurance terms.
Trump plans to attend the first week of trial in state court in Manhattan, according to a court filing in an unrelated case.
The trial comes a week after the judge presiding over the case found Trump liable for fraud and will largely concern the penalties he must face, Reuters said.
James is seeking at least $250 million in fines, a permanent ban against Trump and his sons Donald Jr and Eric from running businesses in New York and a five-year restriction on commercial real estate activities by Trump and his flagship Trump Organization.
Trump has said the case is part of a political witch hunt.
Justice Arthur Engoron ruled last week that James had proven her fraud case against Trump, his two adult sons and 10 of his companies.
Engoron described in scathing terms how they made up valuations. That included Trump calculating the value of his apartment in Trump Tower as if it were three times its actual size.
"A discrepancy of this order of magnitude, by a real estate developer sizing up his own living space for decades, can only be considered fraud," he said.
Engoron canceled business certificates for companies controlling pillars of Trump’s empire -- including Trump Tower and his golf clubs in New York -- and said he would appoint receivers to oversee their dissolution.
The ruling covers only a handful of the roughly 500 entities in Trump's portfolio but includes some of his most valuable properties. The specifics of how that order will be implemented have not been decided, but the loss of those prized assets would be a major blow to Trump's finances. If Engoron tacks on fines and business restrictions, that damage would compound.
The trial is scheduled to run through early December. More than 150 people including Trump are listed as potential witnesses, but much of the trial will likely be a battle of experts opining on financial documents.
James alleges Trump reaped hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten savings by "grossly" inflating the values of his assets to get better deals from lenders and insurers.
That included listing his Mar-a-Lago club and residence in Florida as being worth up to $739 million even though deed restrictions capped it at $28 million, James said.
The case is one of several legal headaches Trump faces as he campaigns to retake the White House in the 2024 election. None have dented his commanding lead over rivals for the Republican nomination, though they have been a financial drain.
Trump, the first sitting or former US president to be criminally charged, is under indictment in four separate cases.
He has been charged in Florida over his handling of classified documents upon leaving office, in Washington D.C. in his efforts to undo his loss in the 2020 presidential election, in Georgia over moves to reverse the election results in that state and in New York in hush money payments he made to a porn star.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in all four cases.


Türkiye Strikes Suspected PKK Targets in Northern Iraq after Suicide Attack in Ankara

Turkish security forces work at the site of a suicide attack near the Interior Ministry in Ankara, Türkiye, 01 October 2023. EPA/NECATI SAVAS
Turkish security forces work at the site of a suicide attack near the Interior Ministry in Ankara, Türkiye, 01 October 2023. EPA/NECATI SAVAS
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Türkiye Strikes Suspected PKK Targets in Northern Iraq after Suicide Attack in Ankara

Turkish security forces work at the site of a suicide attack near the Interior Ministry in Ankara, Türkiye, 01 October 2023. EPA/NECATI SAVAS
Turkish security forces work at the site of a suicide attack near the Interior Ministry in Ankara, Türkiye, 01 October 2023. EPA/NECATI SAVAS

Turkish warplanes carried out airstrikes on suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq on Sunday following a suicide attack on a government building in the Turkish capital, Türkiye’s defense ministry announced.
Some 20 targets of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, were “destroyed” in the latest aerial operation, including caves, shelters and depots, the ministry said, adding that a large number of PKK operatives were “neutralized” in the strikes.
Earlier on Sunday, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near an entrance of the Interior Ministry, wounding two police officers. A second assailant was killed in a shootout with police, The Associated Press said.
The PKK, which maintains bases in northern Iraq, claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing, according to a news agency close to the rebel group. Türkiye’s Interior Ministry also identified one of the assailants as a member of the outlawed group. It said efforts were still underway to identify the second attacker.
The attack happened hours before Türkiye’s Parliament reopened after its three-month summer recess with an address by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The two assailants arrived at the scene inside a light commercial vehicle, which they seized from a veterinarian in the central province of Kayseri, according to the Interior Ministry. The pro-government daily Sabah reported that they shot the man in the head and threw his body into a ditch by the side of the road. They then drove the vehicle to Ankara, roughly 300 kilometers (200 miles) away.
“Our heroic police officers, through their intuition, resisted the terrorists as soon as they got out of the vehicle,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters. “One of them blew himself up, while the other one was shot in the head before he had a chance to blow himself up.”
“Our fight against terrorism, their collaborators, the (drug) dealers, gangs and organized crime organizations will continue with determination,” he said.
Police found plastic explosives, hand grenades and a rocket launcher at the scene, a ministry statement said.
Erdogan gave his speech in Parliament as planned and called the attack “the last stand of terrorism.”
“The scoundrels who targeted the peace and security of the citizens could not achieve their goals and they never will," he said.
The president reiterated his government's aim to create a 30-kilometer (20 mile) safe zone along Türkiye’s border with Syria to secure its southern border from attacks.
Türkiye has conducted numerous cross-border offensives against the PKK in northern Iraq. It has also launched incursions into northern Syria since 2016 to drive away the ISIS group and a Kurdish militia group, known by the initials YPG, and controls swaths of territory in the area.
Türkiye views the YPG as an extension of the PKK, which is listed as a terror group by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. The PKK has waged an insurgency against Türkiye since 1984. Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict.
Last year, a bomb blast in a bustling pedestrian street in Istanbul left six people dead, including two children. More than 80 others were wounded. Türkiye blamed the attack on the PKK and the YPG.
Security camera footage on Sunday showed the vehicle stopping in front of the Interior Ministry, with a man exiting it and rushing toward the entrance of the building before blowing himself up. A second man is seen following him.
Earlier, television footage showed bomb squads working near a vehicle in the area, which is located near the Turkish Grand National Assembly and other government buildings. A rocket launcher could be seen lying near the vehicle.
Turkish authorities later imposed a temporary blackout on images from the scene.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation has been launched into the “terror attack.”
“These attacks will in no way hinder Türkiye’s fight against terrorism,” he wrote on X. “Our fight against terrorism will continue with more determination.”
Police cordoned off access to the city center and increased security measures, warning citizens that they would be conducting controlled explosions of suspicious packages.
The two police officers were being treated in a hospital and were not in serious condition, Yerlikaya said.
Egypt, which has normalized ties with Türkiye after a decade of tensions, condemned the attack. A terse statement from the Foreign Ministry offered Egypt’s solidarity with Türkiye.
The US Embassy in Ankara and other foreign missions also issued messages condemning the attack.
Erdogan in his speech did not provide any indication as to when Türkiye’s parliament may ratify Sweden’s membership in NATO.
Stockholm applied for NATO membership alongside Finland following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. While Finland has since joined, Türkiye blocked Sweden’s membership in the military alliance, accusing it of not doing enough to tackle groups like PKK from operating on its soil. In a posting on X, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Stockholm “strongly condemns today’s terrorist attack in Ankara."
"We reaffirm our commitment to long-term cooperation with Türkiye in combating terrorism and wish for quick and full recovery of the ones injured,” he wrote, using the Turkish government's preferred spelling for the country.


Azerbaijan Issues Warrant for Former Separatist Leader as UN Mission Arrives in Nagorno-Karabakh

This photograph taken on October 1, 2023 during an Azeri government organized media trip shows an Azeri military vehicle moving on a road between Lachin and Shusha in the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan retook from Armenia after its one-day offensive last week. (AFP)
This photograph taken on October 1, 2023 during an Azeri government organized media trip shows an Azeri military vehicle moving on a road between Lachin and Shusha in the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan retook from Armenia after its one-day offensive last week. (AFP)
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Azerbaijan Issues Warrant for Former Separatist Leader as UN Mission Arrives in Nagorno-Karabakh

This photograph taken on October 1, 2023 during an Azeri government organized media trip shows an Azeri military vehicle moving on a road between Lachin and Shusha in the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan retook from Armenia after its one-day offensive last week. (AFP)
This photograph taken on October 1, 2023 during an Azeri government organized media trip shows an Azeri military vehicle moving on a road between Lachin and Shusha in the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan retook from Armenia after its one-day offensive last week. (AFP)

Azerbaijan’s prosecutor general issued an arrest warrant for ex-Nagorno-Karabakh leader Arayik Harutyunyan Sunday as the first United Nations mission to visit the region in three decades arrived in the former breakaway state.

Harutyunyan led the breakaway region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but was largely populated by ethnic Armenians, between May 2020 and last month, when the separatist government said it would dissolve itself by the end of the year after a three-decade bid for independence.

Azerbaijani police arrested one of Harutyunyan’s former prime ministers, Ruben Vardanyan, on Wednesday as he tried to cross into Armenia along with tens of thousands of others who have fled following Baku’s 24-hour blitz last week to reclaim control of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Harutyunyan and the enclave's former military commander, Jalal Harutyunyan, are accused of firing missiles on Azerbaijan's third-largest city, Ganja, during a 44-day war in late 2020, local media reported. The clash between the Azerbaijani military clash and Nagorno Karabakh forces led to the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the region.

The arrest warrant announcement by Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev reflects Azerbaijan’s intention to quickly and forcefully enforce its grip on the region following three decades of conflict with the separatist state.

While Baku has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, many have fled due to fear of reprisals or losing the freedom to use their language and to practice their religion and cultural customs.

In a briefing Sunday, Armenia's presidential press secretary, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, said that 100,483 people had already arrived in Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, which had a population of about 120,000 before Azerbaijan's offensive.

Some people lined up for days to escape the region because the only route to Armenia — a winding mountain road — became jammed with slow-moving vehicles.

A United Nations delegation arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh Sunday to monitor the situation. The mission is the organization's first to the region for three decades, due to the “very complicated and delicate geopolitical situation” there, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters Friday.

Local officials dismissed the visit as a formality. Hunan Tadevosyan, spokesperson for Nagorno-Karabakh’s emergency services, said the UN representatives had come too late and the number of civilians left in the regional capital of Stepanakert could be “counted on one hand.”

“I did the volunteer work. The people who were left sheltering in the basements, even people who were mentally unwell and did not understand what was happening, I put them on buses with my own hands and we took them out of Stepanakert,” Tadevosyan told Armenian outlet News.am.

“We walked around the whole city but found no one. There is no general population left,” he said.

Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan said some people, including older adults, had died while on the road to Armenia as they were “exhausted due to malnutrition, left without even taking medicine with them, and were on the road for more than 40 hours.”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan alleged Thursday that the exodus of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh amounted to “a direct act of an ethnic cleansing and depriving people of their motherland.”

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry strongly rejected Pashinyan’s accusations, saying the departure of Armenians was “their personal and individual decision and has nothing to do with forced relocation.”