Iran State TV Hacked with Image of Khamenei in Crosshairs

Moments from the hacking of the Iranian news channel by the "Edalat-e Ali” group on Saturday evening (Reuters)
Moments from the hacking of the Iranian news channel by the "Edalat-e Ali” group on Saturday evening (Reuters)
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Iran State TV Hacked with Image of Khamenei in Crosshairs

Moments from the hacking of the Iranian news channel by the "Edalat-e Ali” group on Saturday evening (Reuters)
Moments from the hacking of the Iranian news channel by the "Edalat-e Ali” group on Saturday evening (Reuters)

Hackers supporting Iran's wave of women-led protests interrupted a state TV news broadcast with an image of gun-sight crosshairs and flames over an image of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, in footage widely shared online on Sunday.

In other anti-regime messages, activists have spray-painted "Death to Khamenei" and "The police are the murderers of the people" on billboards in Tehran, said AFP.

"The blood of our youths is on your hands," read an on-screen message that flashed up briefly during the TV broadcast Saturday evening, as street protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, again rocked Tehran and other cities.

"Police forces used tear gas to disperse the crowds in dozens of locations in Tehran," state news agency IRNA reported, adding that the demonstrators "chanted slogans and set fire to and damaged public property, including a police booth".

Anger has flared since the death of Amini on September 16, three days after she was arrested by the notorious morality police for an alleged breach of the Iranian republic's strict dress code for women.

"Join us and rise up," read another message in the TV hack claimed by the group Edalat-e Ali (Ali's Justice).

It also posted pictures of Amini and three other women killed in the crackdown that has claimed at least 95 lives according to Norway-based group Iran Human Rights.

Another 90 people were killed in Iran's far southeast, in unrest on September 30 sparked by the alleged rape of a teenage girl by a police chief in Sistan-Baluchestan province, said IHR, citing the UK-based Baluch Activists Campaign.

One Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps member was killed Saturday in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, and a member of the IRGC's Basij paramilitary force died in Tehran from "a serious head injury following an armed attack by a mob," IRNA said -- in killings that raised the death toll among security forces to 14.

- Bloody crackdown -
Iran has been torn by the biggest wave of social unrest in almost three years, which has seen protesters including university students and even young schoolgirls chant "Woman, Life, Freedom".

In Amini's hometown Saqez, Kurdistan, schoolgirls chanted and marched down a street waving their hijab headscarves in the air, in videos the Hengaw rights group said were recorded on Saturday.

Gruesome footage has emerged from the state's often bloody response, spread online despite widespread internet outages and blocks on all the major social media platforms.

One video shows a man who was shot dead at the wheel of his car in Sanandaj, Kurdistan's capital, where the province's police chief, Ali Azadi, later charged he was "killed by anti-revolutionary forces".

Angry men then appear to take revenge on a member of the feared Basij militia, swarming him and beating him badly, in another widely shared video.

Yet another video clip shows a young woman said to have been shot dead in Mashhad in the country's northeast.

Many on social media said it evoked images of Neda Agha Soltan, a young woman who became an enduring symbol of the Iranian opposition after she was shot dead at protests in 2009.

- 'Not afraid anymore' -
In the face of the violence and the online restrictions, protesters have adopted new tactics to spread their message of resistance in public spaces.

"We are not afraid anymore. We will fight," read one large banner placed on an overpass of Tehran's Modares highway, seen in images verified by AFP.

In other footage, a man with a spray can is seen altering the wording of a government billboard on the same highway from "The police are the servants of the people" to "The police are the murderers of the people".

Several water features in the Iranian capital were said to have been colored blood-red, although the head of city's municipality parks organization Ali Mohamad Mokhtari insisted that "this information is completely false".

Iran has accused outside forces of stirring up the protests, as solidarity rallies have been worldwide. The United States, European Union and other governments have imposed new sanctions on Iran.

Iranian army commander Abdolrahim Mousavi said the force "will not permit any interference and aggression by any foreign powers in the country's internal affairs", IRNA reported Sunday.

IRNA also said students at universities in Tehran and in Bushehr in the country's south organized gatherings to condemn "the actions of rioters".

Iranian pop singer Shervin Hajipour -- who was arrested after his song "Baraye" went viral online and became a protest anthem -- appeared back in an Instagram video Sunday for the first time since his release.

In a short message, the 25-year-old denied links to any "movement or organization outside the country" and said his song was only meant to "express solidarity with the people".



Boat with Migrants Stranded in Southern Greece with 1 Dead and 20 Missing

File photo: Migrants of African origin trying to flee to Europe are crammed on board of a small boat, as Tunisian coast guards prepare to transfer them onto their vessel, at sea between Tunisia and Italy, on August 10, 2023. (AFP)
File photo: Migrants of African origin trying to flee to Europe are crammed on board of a small boat, as Tunisian coast guards prepare to transfer them onto their vessel, at sea between Tunisia and Italy, on August 10, 2023. (AFP)
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Boat with Migrants Stranded in Southern Greece with 1 Dead and 20 Missing

File photo: Migrants of African origin trying to flee to Europe are crammed on board of a small boat, as Tunisian coast guards prepare to transfer them onto their vessel, at sea between Tunisia and Italy, on August 10, 2023. (AFP)
File photo: Migrants of African origin trying to flee to Europe are crammed on board of a small boat, as Tunisian coast guards prepare to transfer them onto their vessel, at sea between Tunisia and Italy, on August 10, 2023. (AFP)

A boat carrying migrants from Libya to the island of Crete took on water and became stranded, leaving at least one dead while 20 are believed to be missing, authorities in Greece said.

The Greek coast guard said 51 people were rescued from the site early Monday, some 75 kilometers (47 miles) south of Crete. Patrol boats, a helicopter and a drone as well as commercial vessels were involved in the search assisted by the European Union border protection agency, Frontex, said The Associated Press.

The perilous route across the Mediterranean from eastern Libya to Crete has become one of the busiest into Europe for illegal migration, as their numbers on other routes are broadly lower.


Russian Strike on Ukraine Warehouse Kills 3

 In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire following a Russian air attack in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire following a Russian air attack in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
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Russian Strike on Ukraine Warehouse Kills 3

 In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire following a Russian air attack in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire following a Russian air attack in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

A Russian strike on a warehouse in Ukraine's northeastern Chernigiv region killed three people on Monday, local police said, the latest in a wave of Russian attacks aimed at Ukrainian logistics.

Since June, Russian strikes have destroyed or damaged dozens of warehouses and distribution centers in Ukraine, many of them supplying Ukraine's largest supermarket chains and retailers.

The strikes have led to shortages in some stores and prompted fears of price rises.

Ukrainian police did not give details about the business owner or weapon used in Monday's attack.

"Earlier today, Russian forces attacked the warehouses of an agricultural business in the town of Pryluky. Preliminary reports indicate three people were killed and seven wounded," Ukrainian police said.

An image published by police showed a mound of bricks and rubble in front of a building, its roof partially destroyed.

Russia did not immediately comment, but has in the past denied targeting civilian infrastructure.

Pryluky is a town of about 50,000 people some 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have intensified long-range strikes on each other in recent months, with diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the four-and-a-half-year war deadlocked.


Road Crash Involving Multiple Vehicles in South Africa Kills at Least 21 People

The remains of a mini bus taxi on a police tow truck at the scene of a fatal crash of 13 schoolchildren who perished ​when their minibus collided with a truck, in Johannesburg, South Africa, January 19, 2026. REUTERS/Shiraaz Mohamed
The remains of a mini bus taxi on a police tow truck at the scene of a fatal crash of 13 schoolchildren who perished ​when their minibus collided with a truck, in Johannesburg, South Africa, January 19, 2026. REUTERS/Shiraaz Mohamed
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Road Crash Involving Multiple Vehicles in South Africa Kills at Least 21 People

The remains of a mini bus taxi on a police tow truck at the scene of a fatal crash of 13 schoolchildren who perished ​when their minibus collided with a truck, in Johannesburg, South Africa, January 19, 2026. REUTERS/Shiraaz Mohamed
The remains of a mini bus taxi on a police tow truck at the scene of a fatal crash of 13 schoolchildren who perished ​when their minibus collided with a truck, in Johannesburg, South Africa, January 19, 2026. REUTERS/Shiraaz Mohamed

Two minibus taxis collided head-on and a third vehicle crashed into them on one of South Africa's main highways, killing at least 21 people and leaving several seriously injured, authorities said Monday.

The crash on Sunday night in the Western Cape Province took place between the small towns of Prince Albert and Leeu-Gamka, around 380 kilometers (236 miles) east of Cape Town, the Road Traffic Management Corporation said.

The agency added that the death toll “may change as emergency services and authorities in the Western Cape continue their assessment of the scene.”

Minibus taxis are the main mode of public transport for millions of people in South Africa and are often involved in fatal collisions. Two separate crashes involving minibus taxis in January left at least 25 people dead, including 14 children.

Three of the victims in Sunday night's crash were rushed to a hospital but were declared dead on arrival there, The Associated Press quoted police as saying.

Authorities believe the crash started with the two minibus taxis colliding head-on, after which an SUV crashed into them, the Western Cape Mobility department said.

The N1 highway was closed at the scene of the crash, while an investigation was opened by the Road Traffic Management Corporation.