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Rouhani Says Low-Risk Economic Activities to Resume in Iran from April 11 amid Coronavirus

Red Crescent members test people for coronavirus symptoms, as Iranian police blocked Tehran to Alborz highway to check every car. (AFP)
Red Crescent members test people for coronavirus symptoms, as Iranian police blocked Tehran to Alborz highway to check every car. (AFP)
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Rouhani Says Low-Risk Economic Activities to Resume in Iran from April 11 amid Coronavirus

Red Crescent members test people for coronavirus symptoms, as Iranian police blocked Tehran to Alborz highway to check every car. (AFP)
Red Crescent members test people for coronavirus symptoms, as Iranian police blocked Tehran to Alborz highway to check every car. (AFP)

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday "low-risk" economic activities would resume from April 11 in the country worst-affected by the new coronavirus in the region.

Iran has been struggling to curb the spread of the highly infectious respiratory disease known as COVID-19 but authorities are also concerned that measures to limit public life to contain the virus could wreck an already sanctions-battered economy.

The death toll in Iran from the outbreak has reached 3,603, health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said in a statement broadcast live on state TV on Sunday.

One hundred and fifty-one people have died in the past 24 hours, he said. Iran now has a total of 58,226 infections.

"Under the supervision of the health ministry, all those low-risk economic activities will resume from Saturday," Rouhani said in a televised meeting, adding that "those activities will resume in Tehran from April 18".

"Two thirds of all Iranian government employees will work out of the office from Saturday...The decision does not contradict stay at home advice by the health authorities."

Rouhani did not spell what he meant by low-risk activity, but said the suspension of "high-risk activities" - schools, universities and various social, cultural, sports and religious events would be extended to April 18.

Iranian officials have repeatedly complained that many Iranians ignored appeals to stay at home and cancel travel plans for the New Year holidays that began on March 20.

Health authorities have since warned of a new wave of coronavirus infections in Iran. Rouhani's government has refrained from imposing a lockdown on cities but prohibited intercity travel until April 8.

Rouhani said this ban would now be extended until April 18.

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World

Mexican Army Kills Leader of Jalisco New Generation Cartel

A vehicle sits charred after being set on fire, on a road in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, after the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, "El Mencho." (AP Photo/Alejandra Leyva)
A vehicle sits charred after being set on fire, on a road in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, after the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, "El Mencho." (AP Photo/Alejandra Leyva)
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Mexican Army Kills Leader of Jalisco New Generation Cartel

A vehicle sits charred after being set on fire, on a road in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, after the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, "El Mencho." (AP Photo/Alejandra Leyva)
A vehicle sits charred after being set on fire, on a road in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, Mexico, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, after the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, "El Mencho." (AP Photo/Alejandra Leyva)

The Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho,” in an operation Sunday, a federal official said.

The official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said it happened during a military operation in the western state of Jalisco.

It followed several hours of roadblocks with burning vehicles in Jalisco and other states, The Associated Press reported. Such tactics are commonly used by the cartels to block military operations.

Videos circulating social media showed plumes of smoke billowing over the city of Puerto Vallarta, a major city in Jalisco, and sprinting through the airport of the state's capital in panic.

The US State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is one of the most powerful and fasted growing criminal organizations in Mexico.

In February, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.

It has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military—including helicopters—and a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force and now head of federal security.

The DEA considers this cartel to be as powerful as the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico's most infamous criminal groups, with a presence in all 50 US states where it distributes tons of drugs. It is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the US market and, like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions from the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines.

World

Secret Service Kills Armed Man Trying to Access Trump Florida Estate

A Palm Beach County Sheriff Office vehicle patrols a road block near the Mar-a-Lago club in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 22 February 2026. EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH
A Palm Beach County Sheriff Office vehicle patrols a road block near the Mar-a-Lago club in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 22 February 2026. EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH
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Secret Service Kills Armed Man Trying to Access Trump Florida Estate

A Palm Beach County Sheriff Office vehicle patrols a road block near the Mar-a-Lago club in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 22 February 2026. EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH
A Palm Beach County Sheriff Office vehicle patrols a road block near the Mar-a-Lago club in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 22 February 2026. EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH

US Secret Service agents fatally shot a man armed with a shotgun who breached the security perimeter of President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Although the president often spends weekends at his resort, he and first lady Melania Trump were at the White House when the breach occurred.

Officials said the incident happened around 1:30 am (0630 GMT).

The suspect was spotted by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property, carrying a shotgun and a fuel can, the Secret Service said.

Agents confronted the man and told him to disarm but he raised his gun.

He was identified as Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of North Carolina.

"The only words that we said to him was 'drop the items,'" Palm Beach County sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters.

"At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position," Bradshaw said.

A deputy and two Secret Service agents then shot him. The man was pronounced deceased and no US officers were injured.

The Secret Service said no one under its protection was present in Mar-a-Lago at the time.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed Democrats for an ongoing partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Secret Service.

"It's shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their Department," she wrote on X.

Democrats oppose any new funding for DHS until major changes are implemented in the way the Trump administration conducts its massive and sometimes violent deportation campaign.

Trump has been the target of several assassination plots or attempts.

Earlier this month, Ryan Routh, 59, who plotted to assassinate the president at a Florida golf course in September 2024, two months before the last US election, was sentenced to life in prison.

Routh's planned attack on Trump came two months after an assassination attempt on the Republican leader in Pennsylvania, where 20-year-old Matthew Crooks fired several shots during a rally, one of them grazing Trump's right ear.

That attack, in which a rallygoer was killed, proved to be a turning point in Trump's return to power. It yielded a now famous photo of a bloodied Trump raising his fist to the crowd and urging his followers to "fight, fight."

Crooks was immediately shot and killed by security forces and his motive remains unknown.

World

Iran Reportedly Agreed Secret Shoulder-fired Missile Deal with Russia

A Russian soldier holds a "Verba" launch unit. Photo: A grab from a Russian army video
A Russian soldier holds a "Verba" launch unit. Photo: A grab from a Russian army video
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Iran Reportedly Agreed Secret Shoulder-fired Missile Deal with Russia

A Russian soldier holds a "Verba" launch unit. Photo: A grab from a Russian army video
A Russian soldier holds a "Verba" launch unit. Photo: A grab from a Russian army video

Iran agreed a secret 500 million euro ($589 million) arms deal with Russia to acquire thousands of advanced shoulder-fired missiles, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

The agreement, signed in Moscow in December, commits Russia to deliver 500 man-portable "Verba" launch units and 2,500 "9M336" missiles over three years, the FT said, citing leaked Russian documents seen by the FT and several people familiar with the deal.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Under the ⁠deal the deliveries ⁠are scheduled in three tranches, running from 2027 through 2029, the FT said.

The deal was negotiated between Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the Moscow representative of Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), the FT said.

Tehran ⁠formally requested the systems last July, according to a contract seen by the FT. In June last year, US forces struck Iran's three main nuclear sites as the country joined Israel's military campaign against Iran.

President Donald Trump said Iran's key nuclear facilities were destroyed in the attack. However, according to a preliminary US intelligence assessment at the time, the US airstrikes did not destroy Iran's ⁠nuclear ⁠capability and only set it back by a few months.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said Tehran had recovered from the damage incurred during the war and that its capabilities are better than ever.