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Tehran Protests to Belgium over Iranian Envoy's Bomb Plot Case

A heavily armed policeman stands outside the courthouse in Antwerp. (AFP)
A heavily armed policeman stands outside the courthouse in Antwerp. (AFP)
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Tehran Protests to Belgium over Iranian Envoy's Bomb Plot Case

A heavily armed policeman stands outside the courthouse in Antwerp. (AFP)
A heavily armed policeman stands outside the courthouse in Antwerp. (AFP)

Iran on Tuesday summoned Belgium’s ambassador in Tehran over the conviction of an Iranian diplomat in a Belgian court on charges of planning to bomb an exiled opposition rally near Paris, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.

On Thursday, Vienna-based diplomat Assadolah Assadi was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the first trial of an Iranian official for suspected terrorism in the European Union since Iran’s 1979 revolution.

Belgian prosecution lawyers and civil parties to the prosecution said Assadi was found guilty of attempted terrorism over the 2018 plot, which was foiled by German, French and Belgian police.

“The Antwerp Court ruling violates international law and ignores Belgium’s obligations to the Republic of Iran, therefore Iran does not recognize it in any way,” IRNA quoted an Iranian foreign ministry official as telling the ambassador.

Three other Iranians were jailed for 15, 17 and 18 years in the trial for their role as accomplices.

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Southern Taiwan Hit by 6.4 Magnitude Quake, TSMC Evacuates Some Factories

A view of the traffic in Taipei, Taiwan January 17, 2025. (Reuters)
A view of the traffic in Taipei, Taiwan January 17, 2025. (Reuters)
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Southern Taiwan Hit by 6.4 Magnitude Quake, TSMC Evacuates Some Factories

A view of the traffic in Taipei, Taiwan January 17, 2025. (Reuters)
A view of the traffic in Taipei, Taiwan January 17, 2025. (Reuters)

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous area of Taiwan's south on Tuesday near the city of Chiayi, the island's weather administration said, with reports of initial minor damage.

Chipmaker TSMC said it had evacuated staff at its factories in central and southern Taiwan.

The quake shook buildings in the capital, Taipei. The quake had a depth of 9.4 km (6 miles) with its epicenter in Dapu township, the weather administration said.

The fire department said three people were trapped in a damaged building in the city of Tainan and rescue workers were on their way.

The science park in Tainan, home to major factories including of chipmaker TSMC, said buildings were evacuated.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes.

In April, a 7.2 magnitude quake hit the east coast county of Hualien, killing 13 people.

More than 100 people were killed in a quake in southern Taiwan in 2016 and a 7.3 magnitude quake killed more than 2,000 people in 1999.