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Greece to Hike Fines for Violation of COVID-19 Restrictions

Hotel worker Mailinda Kaci cleans the windows in a restaurant area at the Acropolian Spirit Hotel in central Athens as the ancient Acropolis is seen in the background, on Monday June 1, 2020. Lockdown restrictions were lifted on non-seasonal hotels Monday as the country prepares to start its tourism season on June 15. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Hotel worker Mailinda Kaci cleans the windows in a restaurant area at the Acropolian Spirit Hotel in central Athens as the ancient Acropolis is seen in the background, on Monday June 1, 2020. Lockdown restrictions were lifted on non-seasonal hotels Monday as the country prepares to start its tourism season on June 15. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
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Greece to Hike Fines for Violation of COVID-19 Restrictions

Hotel worker Mailinda Kaci cleans the windows in a restaurant area at the Acropolian Spirit Hotel in central Athens as the ancient Acropolis is seen in the background, on Monday June 1, 2020. Lockdown restrictions were lifted on non-seasonal hotels Monday as the country prepares to start its tourism season on June 15. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Hotel worker Mailinda Kaci cleans the windows in a restaurant area at the Acropolian Spirit Hotel in central Athens as the ancient Acropolis is seen in the background, on Monday June 1, 2020. Lockdown restrictions were lifted on non-seasonal hotels Monday as the country prepares to start its tourism season on June 15. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Greece’s prime minister said the country’s retail sector might begin to gradually reopen next week, if the scientists advising the government on the coronavirus pandemic recommend it is safe to do so today.

Speaking in Parliament Friday during a debate on the government’s handling of the pandemic, Kyriakos Mitsotakis also said fines for violating measures imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus will increase to 500 euros, from the current 300 euros.

Lockdown restrictions were imposed nationwide in Greece in early November to tackle a surge in coronavirus infections, shutting down restaurants, bars, cafes, retail stores, schools, entertainment venues and anything not considered an essential business.

Primary schools and kindergartens reopened this week, but high school lessons are being held online only. People are allowed to leave their homes only for a limited number of specific reasons, and must send a telephone text message to authorities or carry a self-declaration in order to do so.

Violating the current lockdown restrictions is punishable by a 300 euro fine, which Mitsotakis said will increase to 500 euros.

Greece currently has had a total of just under 150,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 5,387 deaths since the start of the pandemic in this country of about 11 million people.

Mitsotakis said the pressure on the country's health system is beginning to ease, with more than 400 intensive care unit beds now free, allowing for restrictive measures to be gradually relaxed.

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Iran Says No Country Can Deprive it of Enrichment Rights

A handout photo made available by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepahnews on 17 February 2026 shows IRGC conducting a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Persian gulf, southern Iran. EPA/SEPAHNEWS HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepahnews on 17 February 2026 shows IRGC conducting a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Persian gulf, southern Iran. EPA/SEPAHNEWS HANDOUT
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Iran Says No Country Can Deprive it of Enrichment Rights

A handout photo made available by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepahnews on 17 February 2026 shows IRGC conducting a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Persian gulf, southern Iran. EPA/SEPAHNEWS HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepahnews on 17 February 2026 shows IRGC conducting a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Persian gulf, southern Iran. EPA/SEPAHNEWS HANDOUT

Iran's atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami said no country can deprive the Iranian republic of its right to nuclear enrichment, after US President Donald Trump again hinted at military action following talks in Geneva.

"The basis of the nuclear industry is enrichment. Whatever you want to do in the nuclear process, you need nuclear fuel," said Eslami, according to a video published by Etemad daily on Thursday.

"Iran's nuclear program is proceeding according to the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and no country can deprive Iran of the right to peacefully benefit from this technology."

The comments follow the second round of Oman-mediated talks between Tehran and Washington in Geneva on Tuesday.

The two foes had held an initial round of discussions on February 6 in Oman, the first since previous talks collapsed during the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June.

The United States briefly joined the war alongside Israel, striking Iranian nuclear facilities.

On Wednesday, Trump again suggested the United States might strike Iran in a post on his Truth Social site.

He warned Britain against giving up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, saying that the archipelago's Diego Garcia airbase might be needed were Iran not to agree a deal, "in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime".

Washington has repeatedly called for zero enrichment, but has also sought to address Iran's ballistic missile program and its support for militant groups in the region -- issues which Israel has pushed to include in the talks.

Western countries accuse the Iranian republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies having such military ambitions but insists on its right to this technology for civilian purposes.

Trump, who has ratcheted up pressure on Iran to reach an agreement, has deployed a significant naval force to the region, which he has described as an "armada".

After sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and escort battleships to the Gulf in January, he recently indicated that a second aircraft carrier, the Gerald Ford, would depart "very soon" for the Middle East.

Separately, the Iranian and Russian navies were conducting joint drills in the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean on Thursday.

World

Karachi Building Collapse after Blast Kills 16

Rescue workers and people gather at the site of a residential compound following a suspected gas leakage blast in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 February 2026. EPA/REHAN KHAN
Rescue workers and people gather at the site of a residential compound following a suspected gas leakage blast in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 February 2026. EPA/REHAN KHAN
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Karachi Building Collapse after Blast Kills 16

Rescue workers and people gather at the site of a residential compound following a suspected gas leakage blast in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 February 2026. EPA/REHAN KHAN
Rescue workers and people gather at the site of a residential compound following a suspected gas leakage blast in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 February 2026. EPA/REHAN KHAN

A building collapse caused by an explosion in Pakistan's southern megacity of Karachi killed at least 16 people on Thursday, including children, officials said.

More than a dozen people were injured in the incident in the Soldier Bazaar neighborhood of Karachi at around 4:00 am, when Muslim families start preparing Sehri, the pre-sunrise meal eaten during Ramadan.

World

Australian Police Investigate Threatening Letter to Country's Largest Mosque

FILE PHOTO: A security guard stands outside the Lakemba Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque as people arrive for Friday prayers in Sydney, Australia, December 19, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A security guard stands outside the Lakemba Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque as people arrive for Friday prayers in Sydney, Australia, December 19, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo
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Australian Police Investigate Threatening Letter to Country's Largest Mosque

FILE PHOTO: A security guard stands outside the Lakemba Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque as people arrive for Friday prayers in Sydney, Australia, December 19, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A security guard stands outside the Lakemba Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque as people arrive for Friday prayers in Sydney, Australia, December 19, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo

Australian police said on Thursday they had launched an investigation after a threatening letter was sent to the country’s largest mosque, the third such incident in the lead-up to the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The letter sent to Lakemba Mosque in Sydney’s west on Wednesday contained a drawing of a pig and a threat to kill the "Muslim race", local media reported. Police said they had taken the letter for forensic testing, and would continue to patrol ‌religious sites including ‌the mosque, as well as community events.

The latest letter ‌comes ⁠weeks after a ⁠similar message was mailed to the mosque, depicting Muslim people inside a mosque on fire.

Police have also arrested and charged a 70-year-old man in connection with a third threatening letter sent to Lakemba Mosque's staff in January.

The Lebanese Muslim Association, which runs the mosque, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) it had written to the government to request more funding for additional security guards and ⁠CCTV cameras.

Some 5,000 people are expected to attend ‌the mosque each night during Ramadan. More ‌than 60% of residents in the suburb of Lakemba identify as Muslim, according to ‌the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Bilal El-Hayek, mayor of Canterbury-Bankstown council, where Lakemba ‌is located, said the community was feeling "very anxious".

"I've heard first-hand from people saying that they won't be sending their kids to practice this Ramadan because they're very concerned about things that might happen in local mosques," AFP quoted him as saying.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ‌condemned the recent string of threats.

"It is outrageous that people just going about commemorating their faith, particularly during the ⁠holy month ⁠for Muslims of Ramadan, are subject to this sort of intimidation," he told ABC radio.

"I have said repeatedly we need to turn down the temperature of political discourse in this country, and we certainly need to do that."

Anti-Muslim sentiment has been growing in Australia since the war in Gaza War in late 2023, according to a recent report commissioned by the government.

The Islamophobia Register Australia has also documented a 740% rise in reports following the Bondi mass shooting on December 14, where authorities allege two gunmen inspired by ISIS killed 15 people attending a Jewish holiday celebration.

"There's been a massive increase post-Bondi," Mayor El-Hayek said. "Without a doubt, this is the worst I have ever seen it. There's a lot of tension out there."