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Iran Protests Enter Sixth Week

An effigy of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei hangs on a bridge over a highway in Tehran, Iran (Twitter)
An effigy of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei hangs on a bridge over a highway in Tehran, Iran (Twitter)
    London, Tehran - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Iran Protests Enter Sixth Week

An effigy of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei hangs on a bridge over a highway in Tehran, Iran (Twitter)
An effigy of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei hangs on a bridge over a highway in Tehran, Iran (Twitter)

Nationwide anti-regime protests in Iran have entered their sixth week, with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei becoming the primary target of public outrage sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Iranian officials have shown division in their approach to the riots as some have called for strict measures against protesters while others have urged action to restore societal calm.

Meanwhile, human rights organizations have voiced their growing fears about Iranian activists facing the threat of torture and even death behind bars.

Shared video footage of late-night protests showed demonstrators taking to the streets in major cities such as Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan, and Rasht, in addition to some Kurdish cities in northwestern Iran, such as Mahabad.

‘1500 Tasvir,’ an opposition Twitter account, posted videos of protests sweeping Isfahan in central Iran. In another video, protesters were seen setting fires in the streets of Mahabad late Thursday.

Demonstrators in different cities also hanged effigies of Khamenei, raised anti-establishment slogans, and sprayed graffiti depicting the victims of the security crackdown on the protests.

Reports from Iran also indicate that despite widespread arrests among striking workers in the oil and gas industry and young protesters on streets, the uprising in Iran shows no sign of abating.

On Thursday, the Union of Truck Drivers announced that in support of the protests they began a strike Friday and will stop transportation activities.

The Organizing Council of Oil Contract Workers in Iran says that more than 250 contractors have been arrested so far during labor strikes in recent days.

Last Tuesday, workers of Iran’s largest sugar company in Ahwaz joined the strikes.

The latest wave of dissent was sparked by the death of Amini while in police custody for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly. Authorities have met demonstrators with lethal force on city streets throughout the country.

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World

Taiwan Shuts Schools and Grounds Flights as Typhoon Champi Brushes by

A woman struggles with winds generated by Typhoon Champi in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP)
A woman struggles with winds generated by Typhoon Champi in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP)
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Taiwan Shuts Schools and Grounds Flights as Typhoon Champi Brushes by

A woman struggles with winds generated by Typhoon Champi in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP)
A woman struggles with winds generated by Typhoon Champi in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP)

Taiwan shut down schools and offices and grounded hundreds of flights as Typhoon Champi brushed by the island Friday, packing strong winds and torrential rains.

Champi peaked at 298 kph (185 mph) maximum sustained winds earlier this week but has weakened to 155 kph (96 mph) winds as it approached Taiwan from the southwest. Its center is forecast to remain offshore as it sweeps by the island's northeastern tip before turning north toward Japan's southwestern islands.

Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration urged residents in coastal areas to avoid outdoor activities and driving and be cautious of falling objects.

One person was killed Thursday after being swept by waves in Liuqiu, a small island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan’s main island, according to the fire department. Ninety-four others were injured in the storm.

Almost 1,300 people have been evacuated from vulnerable, mountainous areas, the government said.

All of Taiwan’s 262 domestic flights were cancelled along with 669 international flights, according to the transport ministry. High-speed rail services on the western coast were operating normally.

In southwestern Japan, the typhoon has injured one person, grounded flights and knocked out power.

On Miyako island, a woman in her 70s suffered a broken leg in the blowing wind, according to the Okinawa prefecture government.

On Ishigaki island, nearly 2,000 homes were without electricity.

Dozens of flights in and out of the southwestern islands, including Miyako, Ishigaki and Okinawa, have been canceled.

In the Philippines, the coast guard prohibited ships and ferries from venturing into the increasingly choppy waters off several northern towns and cities Friday.

The main domestic airport in Batanes provincial capital of Basco was shut down Friday and two local flights were canceled, Philippine aviation officials said. The airport’s windows were boarded up as a safety precaution.

In Cagayan province, nearly 200 people evacuated to safer grounds as a precaution, including nearly 100 who moved to government-run emergency shelters. Classes were suspended in all levels in the island town of Calayan off Cagayan due to the typhoon, provincial officials said.

Champi earlier this month blew past several Pacific islands, including Guam, where a federal disaster area was declared.

World

Powerful Earthquake in China’s Tibet Region Collapses Hundreds of Homes, Kills at Least 16 People

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, firefighters inspect an earthquake-hit village houses in Baqen County of Nagqu City in China's Tibet autonomous region, on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, firefighters inspect an earthquake-hit village houses in Baqen County of Nagqu City in China's Tibet autonomous region, on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (Xinhua via AP)
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Powerful Earthquake in China’s Tibet Region Collapses Hundreds of Homes, Kills at Least 16 People

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, firefighters inspect an earthquake-hit village houses in Baqen County of Nagqu City in China's Tibet autonomous region, on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, firefighters inspect an earthquake-hit village houses in Baqen County of Nagqu City in China's Tibet autonomous region, on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (Xinhua via AP)

A magnitude 7 earthquake hit China's Tibet region on Thursday evening, killing at least 16 people, injuring 54 and collapsing hundreds of homes in the northern regional city of Nagqu, official media said.

Search and rescue efforts continued following the collapse of at least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds, the Nagqu media office said, citing city government officials.

More than 1,600 people from the local county were deployed for rescue efforts. Supplies including 1,000 prefabricated housing units, around 3,000 tents and folding beds, as well as flashlights and winter clothing arrived in the region.

The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 10:33 p.m. local time, with its epicenter 191 kilometers (119 miles) east-northeast of Nagqu, in a sparsely populated, high-altitude area of northern Tibet. It put the earthquake’s depth at 18 kilometers (11 miles).

The US agency recorded at least seven aftershocks with magnitude between 4.3 and 5.2, all of them with a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) , according to its website

China’s official news agency Xinhua said on Friday that communication in some areas hit by the quake was down. Local railway authorities have taken emergency actions to halt trains passing through the region.

The earthquake also caused rockfalls that have forced local authorities to close a section of National Highway 317, allowing only emergency, rescue and official support vehicles through as crews worked to clear debris, according to Xinhua.

Intermittent snows are expected in the earthquake region over the next three days, Xinhua said.

It was the biggest earthquake in the region in the last five years, China's national broadcaster CCTV said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts in rescue operations and medical relief work.

World

South Korea Proposes Talks with North Korea on Land Border Again

In a photo taken on December 3, 2018 a South Korean soldier stands before the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) separating North and South Korea, on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in South Korea's Cheorwon county. (AFP)
In a photo taken on December 3, 2018 a South Korean soldier stands before the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) separating North and South Korea, on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in South Korea's Cheorwon county. (AFP)
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South Korea Proposes Talks with North Korea on Land Border Again

In a photo taken on December 3, 2018 a South Korean soldier stands before the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) separating North and South Korea, on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in South Korea's Cheorwon county. (AFP)
In a photo taken on December 3, 2018 a South Korean soldier stands before the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) separating North and South Korea, on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in South Korea's Cheorwon county. (AFP)

South Korea's defense ministry again proposed on Friday military talks with North Korea in order to agree on the exact location of the land border between the two Koreas and to reduce the ‌risk of accidental ‌clashes.

The proposal, announced ‌by ⁠Deputy Minister for ⁠National Defense Policy Kim Hong-cheol, follows a landmine explosion in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) last month that injured South Korean soldiers.

North Korean troops have been ⁠building tactical roads and fences ‌and ‌laying mines near the Military Demarcation ‌Line (MDL) in the DMZ separating ‌the two Koreas in recent years.

Kim said the North's troops had crossed the line in ‌the process.

The ministry proposed talks last November to resolve differences ⁠over ⁠where the line lies, but Pyongyang has not responded.

South Korean military had concluded that North Korea had buried the mines south of the MDL that caused the blast that seriously injured two South Korean soldiers in September. Pyongyang has rejected those findings.