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Iran TV: Sandstorm Shuts Offices, Schools in Tehran, Region

A sandstorm engulfs a mosque in Iran's capital Tehran on May 17, 2022. (AFP)
A sandstorm engulfs a mosque in Iran's capital Tehran on May 17, 2022. (AFP)
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Iran TV: Sandstorm Shuts Offices, Schools in Tehran, Region

A sandstorm engulfs a mosque in Iran's capital Tehran on May 17, 2022. (AFP)
A sandstorm engulfs a mosque in Iran's capital Tehran on May 17, 2022. (AFP)

Schools and government offices closed in Iran's capital and several other cities in the country on Monday, after yet another sandstorm blanketed Tehran and the surrounding region.

State-run TV warned of poor air quality and advised the elderly, those sick and children to take precautions. Banks and the Tehran Stock Exchange would remain open, the report said.

This is the second time that Tehran shuttered schools and government offices and the fourth bad sandstorm since mid-April. Schools and government offices in Tehran were closed for the first time on account of a sandstorm in May. However, the country’s west, along the border with Iraq, has seen frequent closures of schools and offices due to sandstorms, AFP said.

Tehran is among the most polluted cities in the world. Experts blame poor government policies, desertification and low water levels, as well as climate change, for the frequency and intensity of recent sandstorms.

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World

Taliban Government Voices 'Serious Concern' over US Afghan Deportation Plans

TOPSHOT - Taliban security personnel stand guard near the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Nangarhar province on February 27, 2026. (Photo by Aimal Zahir / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Taliban security personnel stand guard near the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Nangarhar province on February 27, 2026. (Photo by Aimal Zahir / AFP)
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Taliban Government Voices 'Serious Concern' over US Afghan Deportation Plans

TOPSHOT - Taliban security personnel stand guard near the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Nangarhar province on February 27, 2026. (Photo by Aimal Zahir / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Taliban security personnel stand guard near the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Nangarhar province on February 27, 2026. (Photo by Aimal Zahir / AFP)

Afghanistan's Taliban authorities voiced concern on Monday over reported plans by Washington to deport scores of Afghan immigrants to Pakistan with the aim of their eventual return to their home country.

More than 150 Afghans in the United States would be deported via Pakistan to Afghanistan, including relatives of those who assisted US forces before their 2021 withdrawal, according to US media reports and an advocacy group.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan expresses its serious concern over reports that the United States intends to deport some Afghan refugees to Pakistan who have not yet been able to obtain legal residency documents in that country," foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said in a statement.

Advocacy groups have warned that the removal of former allies and their families could endanger their lives.

After regaining power, Taliban authorities announced a general amnesty for Afghans who worked with Western-backed forces and governments and have repeated promises this year that their former foes could safely return home.

However, the United Nations has recorded reports of extrajudicial killings, detentions and abuses.

President Donald Trump's administration last year issued travel bans for a number of countries, including Afghanistan, as part of a broad immigration crackdown.

His administration sort to sought to end deportation protections for Afghans, some of whom were granted special immigrant visas following the 2021 takeover by Taliban authorities.

Among those expected to be deported are relatives of Afghans who assisted the US military in the country prior to the fall of Kabul, according to AfghanEvac, a group seeking to help former Afghan allies.

While the United States cannot arrange deportations directly to Afghanistan, anonymous US officials told The New York Times that Pakistan will oversee their expulsion to Afghanistan.

In recent years, Germany and Türkiye have deported Afghan nationals directly to Afghanistan, despite concerns from human rights groups over the risks facing returnees.

Balkhi said Taliban authorities urged "the United States of America to adopt a responsible and measured approach in this regard and to take any decisions and measures regarding the fate of Afghan citizens with clear mutual understanding, necessary coordination, and consideration of the rights and legitimate demands of the individuals concerned".

"The Afghan side is ready to interact in this regard in a practical and mutually understanding manner," he added.

Pakistan's government earlier this year ordered law enforcement nationwide to arrest Afghan citizens without visas as part of a years-long repatriation policy that has pushed back millions of Afghans who fled throughout decades of war.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been fraught since the Taliban authorities took power and worsened after deadly border clashes last October that led to near-total closure of the border.

World

Nine Dead in Small Plane Crash Near Trump’s Florida Home

A Learjet explodes after crashing in a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, US, November 1, 2026, in this still image obtained from social media video. (Aki Kuusisto/via Reuters)
A Learjet explodes after crashing in a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, US, November 1, 2026, in this still image obtained from social media video. (Aki Kuusisto/via Reuters)
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Nine Dead in Small Plane Crash Near Trump’s Florida Home

A Learjet explodes after crashing in a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, US, November 1, 2026, in this still image obtained from social media video. (Aki Kuusisto/via Reuters)
A Learjet explodes after crashing in a residential area in Palm Beach County, Florida, US, November 1, 2026, in this still image obtained from social media video. (Aki Kuusisto/via Reuters)

A Learjet plummeted into a neighborhood in southern Florida miles from US President Donald Trump's resort home on Sunday, killing all nine people on board, officials said.

Several unverified clips posted to social media depicting the deadly crash showed an aircraft nearly vertical slamming at high speed into the ground, creating a large fireball and leaving a flaming crater near a busy roadside.

"Today's plane crash in Palm Beach County, Florida is a horrific tragedy," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement, confirming that all nine people on the aircraft were killed.

Duffy said the plane, a Learjet 60, had departed from Austin, Texas and was headed for the Bahamas.

The crash occurred near Cresthaven, a neighborhood in Palm Beach County that is less than seven miles (11 kilometers) from Trump's resort home Mar-a-Lago.

"Obviously this is a cataclysmic plane crash," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters near the scene.

"It looked like a missile going down," he said, adding there were no reports of anyone on the ground being injured.

Trump had been at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday but departed from the nearby and newly renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport shortly after he boarded Air Force One at 11:55 am (1655 GMT), about an hour before the crash of the Learjet aircraft.

The plane came down near the entrance to a mobile home park, Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said, noting about 600 residents were evacuated and relocated to shelters.

"The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate" the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.

Storms had been reported in the area. Trump carried an umbrella as he boarded Air Force One.

In an audio recording posted to air traffic website liveatc.net, someone in the cockpit can be heard reporting "moderate turbulence" and saying the crew was "managing the ice."

The person said the plane was "picking up precipitation" and needed "to climb" shortly before saying: "Mayday, mayday, we're descending 10,000 feet per minute."

Seconds later, the person said they were "declaring an emergency" as the plane descended 20,000 feet per minute.

"We're going to crash into the ground," the person said, shortly before communications stopped.

World

Bangladesh Garment Workers Clash with Police Protesting Higher Wages

Police manage crowds as garment workers block a road during a protest calling for higher minimum wages in Dhaka on Sunday. Shamim-US-SALEHIN / AFP
Police manage crowds as garment workers block a road during a protest calling for higher minimum wages in Dhaka on Sunday. Shamim-US-SALEHIN / AFP
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Bangladesh Garment Workers Clash with Police Protesting Higher Wages

Police manage crowds as garment workers block a road during a protest calling for higher minimum wages in Dhaka on Sunday. Shamim-US-SALEHIN / AFP
Police manage crowds as garment workers block a road during a protest calling for higher minimum wages in Dhaka on Sunday. Shamim-US-SALEHIN / AFP

Thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers blocked a major highway and clashed with police on Monday, demanding a monthly minimum wage more than double current pay, as protests spread across industrial hubs.

Bangladesh is the world's second-biggest garment exporter behind China, manufacturing clothes for some of the largest international brands.

Hundreds of workers in Gazipur, north of the capital Dhaka, blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway, vandalizing several vehicles, while large groups took to the streets in the Mirpur district, where police dispersed demonstrators with tear gas, AFP reporters saw.

The protests came despite the government's announcement on Sunday that it would establish a wage board to review the minimum wage in the vital garment industry, which employs millions of people and generates the bulk of Bangladesh's export earnings.

But labor leaders say workers' grievances extend beyond the formation of the board, citing inflation and rising household expenses.

Protesters demand a 30,000-taka monthly pay ($241), which is more than double their current pay.

Workers currently earn about 13,000 taka a month, according to Kalpona Akter of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman held an emergency cabinet meeting late Sunday.

"The prime minister... instructed us to ensure workers' rights and improve their living standards. He also instructed us to ensure that production and exports continue unhindered," Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told reporters after the meeting.

"We are requesting law enforcement agencies to crack down on those involved in violence, unruly behavior and unnecessary indiscipline and unrest," he added.

Kamrul Hasan, general secretary of the Ekota Garments Sramik Federation, told AFP Monday that some labor leaders had gone into hiding.

"We were not prepared for this unrest either, as the wage board has already been formed. But workers are now protesting over wages and other unresolved issues," he said.

Industry representatives who asked not to be identified confirmed that workers from at least 529 factories in Dhaka and its surrounding industrial areas, including Savar, Ashulia, Jirani and Gazipur, had left their workplaces yesterday.